"This impatience was reflected in a quote from Frank Aycock, a 'theoretical
televisionist' and professor at Appalachian State University: 'It's time to
declare ATSC 3.0 DOA,' he said. 'Just like Mobile DTV before it, ATSC 3.0 has
not lived (and is not living) up to the hype that heralded its introduction to
the 21st Century Television audience.'"
Honestly, he has a point. Much of the hype was badly misplaced - the constant
insistence on the it-serves-no-purpose-in-broadcast IP transport, for instance.
And the déjà vu all over again, where getting an ATSC 3.0 receiver is like
pulling hens' teeth, for absolutely no reason (unless we postulate under the
table payoffs). Just like last time around, were it not for the Michael Powell
FCC, who did what anyone expecting results would have to do.
This time, no Michael Powell. On the contrary, we get extremist, libertarian,
self-destructive and counter-productive rhetoric. But it probably doesn't make
much difference, I say again. One-way broadcast delivery is way too limited, in
a day when technology has gone far beyond that technique. As this article
reports, even old-timers are waking up to the fact that there are far more
enjoyable ways of watching TV.
It is interesting to note that NBC, for one, is starting to mention "stream
anytime" before bothering with other options, such as an appointment schedule
and channel. Clearly, the center of mass is shifting. It has been doing so for
many years. Even while the traditionalists kept insisting that those streaming
consisted of a vanishingly small minority.
Bert
----------------------------------------
https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/ooyala-broadcasters-future-is-with-ott
Ooyala: Broadcasters' Future is with OTT
Report declares ATSC 3.0 'dead on arrival'
Tom Butts Jan 16, 2019
The explosion of streaming/OTT services and channels have given the average
American TV household more choices than ever before. Although Millennials are
increasingly abandoning traditional TV for viewing SVOD on mobile devices, Baby
Boomers are not far behind in their adoption of OTT as well, according to a new
report from Ooyala.
"While older viewers remain the lifeblood of traditional broadcasters,
increasingly they too are adopting OTT," said Jim O'Neill, principal analyst
for the company in its "State of the Broadcast Industry 2019." He cited a 2018
Kagan survey that showed that VOD-only viewing among Internet adults had
doubled to 12 percent from 6 percent a year earlier, with Boomers and the
Silent Generation--those born before World War II--showing the biggest shift
toward VOD.
In respect to UHD, consumers are "all in" on the high-res format, O'Neill said,
citing a report from Futuresource that predicts double digit growth in sales
into 2022 as UHD TV shipments "power past 100 million units" in 2018. China is
the biggest market for UHD, followed by the U.S.
The demand for UHD/4K content will be driven by new, affordable 4K-capable
streaming devices and the availability of content from services such as
Netflix. "Broadcasters have upped their UHD game as well," O'Neill said. "The
promise of 4K and UHD content from the Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup
helped drive consumer interested and prompted more broadcasters to make those
streams available."
Ironically, if broadcasters are going to deliver on the promise of UHD, it
won't be via the new broadcast standard ATSC 3.0, according to the report.
O'Neill cited the slow process of standards development and deployment and
questions over whether consumer electronics devices will be available as
mitigating factors.
"The standards have been debated for years," he said. "Every major broadcasting
conference contains multiple sessions to talk about its future, and several
major players have promised to support it. The bigger problem may be a simple
one: Consumers. Television sets need the right chips to take advantage of ATSC
3.0, so consumer electronics manufacturers have to be onboard."
This impatience was reflected in a quote from Frank Aycock, a "theoretical
televisionist" and professor at Appalachian State University: "It's time to
declare ATSC 3.0 DOA," he said. "Just like Mobile DTV before it, ATSC 3.0 has
not lived (and is not living) up to the hype that heralded its introduction to
the 21st Century Television audience."
"The bottom line may be that 5G is already winning the content delivery race
before it has even officially begun," O'Neill concludes.
The report recommends broadcasters wholeheartedly embrace OTT, citing the
networks' move towards creating their own OTT portals for network programming.
"Broadcasters CBS and NBCU have turned selling content to streamers into an
art, even calling out impressive revenue streams from OTT sales as highlights
in quarterly earnings calls," O'Neill said. "That, more than anything else,
shines a bright light on the future of broadcasting and the future of streaming.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.