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Native language content MTV. Today, major international networks appear on cable and satellite systems on five continents. Initially, such a global operation was prohibitively expensive for all but the largest of the world’s broadcasters. Tailoring international content for overseas markets was a technically and financially gargantuan task and remained so through the end of the 20th century. To effectively cater to these markets, a broadcaster had to establish local bureaus as well as purchase huge amounts of satellite capacity. However, once the digital age had replaced analogue broadcast and Internet bandwidth became robust enough to carry streaming video, the floodgates of information opened wide. All of this set the stage for an unprecedented explosion in international content. An ideal marriage: international content and multiplatform delivery We know that today’s connected world is all about content. But if content is king, the user experience is King Kong. International content has a built-in advantage in this respect; after all, what experience could be better than feeling “transported home” on any device, anywhere in the world This former niche area is finding exciting new ways to touch audiences far beyond their borders, sharing their unique world perspective and reaching expatriate, immigrant, and cultureminded viewers across the globe. Consumer demand is driving video delivery on user devices ranging from gaming consoles, mobiles, and tablets to PCs and connected TVs - and international content is no exception. As a result, today’s viewers live in an age in which, with a click of the mouse or a wave of the finger, they have unprecedented access to their program or channel of choice. For shrewd broadcasters who apply the right tools and choose the right distribution, it’s an opportunity to build loyalty and revenue by presenting engaging content to targeted audiences. The multiplatform, multi-device environment lends itself well to international content delivery for a variety of reasons. The first reason is the scalable nature of these solutions with the ability to control costs. This is particularly important to broadcasters who are launching in a brand new market. Even premier broadcasters in their home country may have to start from scratch from a budgetary standpoint when expanding to a new country. Conventional solutions such as satellite - although they have a wide reach - can be prohibitively expensive in some cases. Over-the-top (OTT) distribution via IP networks offers a more cost-effective entry point for broadcasters looking to establish themselves in new markets. While many broadcasters view OTT as a complementary strategy for their traditional services, others approach it as a primary launching pad for entering a new market. In some cases this choice can be dictated by technology as well - especially in less-developed regions where terrestrial networks are not as mature or reliable as mobile services. Despite the initial uncertainty of launching in a new country, if they do their research right, international broadcasters have a clear advantage over local and thematic content in the sense that they have a dedicated, built-in community of viewers hungering for content in their own language and culture. In fact, some viewers are so hungry that they will get their content through any means necessary - even illegal downloads off the Internet or satellite pirating. Therefore, it behoves broadcasters to proactively approach these markets and take control of content delivery through managed service offerings. From a technology standpoint, the increased mobility of viewers and the access that comes with a handy mobile device only enhances the opportunity to win these viewers over. Key ingredients for success In order to build a profitable operation and unlock every opportunity for monetization, broadcasters need to offer the widest possible variety of content at the highest quality, with relevance to different audiences wherever they may live. The best OTT offerings make full use of the broadcaster’s entire content portfolio by offering live programming that can be easily converted to VOD for catch-up viewing, as well as pre-existing VOD titles and assets from media libraries. Of course, each offering must be highly tailored to the target audience and region; simply time-shifting the content or trying to stream the same channel to every market might have worked before, but is no longer effective in today’s hyper-connected world. Therefore, robust tools for content regionalization and localization are a must, as are tools for graphic insertion, subtitling, and program substitution. The good news is that Internet-delivered content makes it much easier for broadcasters to create tailored offerings, by providing easy access to a wealth of statistics and metrics about their audiences. Better knowledge of viewers and their habits leads to better targeting of services and therefore better controls on the viewer experience with the goal of increasing audience loyalty. Also, a competent global service partner can help ensure a smooth rollout of tailored content offerings by providing an intimate understanding of the target markets, and also providing localization services. The future is now Although we might be a few years away from widespread availability of international content in any language and from any country, there’s already a groundswell of activity from broadcasters around the world. To date, leading broadcasters from Brazil, Africa, Romania, and Portugal have signed onto the service as an easy and cost-effective means of bringing local news, sports, and entertainment programming to their expatriate communities in the U.S. Other examples abound. beIN Sport a global network of sports channels jointly owned and operated by Qatari Sports Investments, now offers three channels in France and two in the U.S. The Cambodian Television Network (CTN) now delivers Cambodian-language content to viewers in the U.S. and also offers a mobile app for accessing the content from phones and tablets. Russia Today, a 24/7 channel covering news, world affairs, and human interest stories from a Russian perspective, is now available in a range of Asian countries. To summarize, there is a bold and extremely lucrative new world awaiting broadcasters, and they need look no further than their expatriate communities in other countries - people who yearn for familiar content in their own language. With the right global partner, broadcasters can harness this demand not only to create new revenue streams, but to create a meaningful experience for their overseas viewers and bring new levels of closeness and connection to communities everywhere. • 34 • EMEA 2013
Virtual working The essentials of virtuality by John Berry, Director and Management Consultant, TimelessTime Today, broadband connections are adequate for virtual working, but without richer communications, people will struggle to convince participants of the presence of others, and connections will not replace face-to-face. Most firms wish that at least some of their workers could work on the move or from home or client sites. Effective virtual teams need connectivity, computers, Internet connections from wherever they are; appropriate applications with relevant peripherals; methods that make teams function; and workers with the right competencies and behaviours. John Berry is a Director and Management Consultant with TimelessTime, a people-management consulting firm. Prior to founding, TimelessTime. Mr Berry served with Inter<strong>Connect</strong> Communications, part of Ericsson, as the director responsible for their consulting in wireless regulation. Previously, Mr Berry started and built ATDI Ltd, a wireless and spectrum management software and consulting, he also worked for Thales in radio spectrum management and led Maxon’s mobile marketing firm. Mr Berry started his technology management career with Philips, leading its base station lab, and then led its mobile systems marketing. Mr Berry is a regular presenter and speaker on technology and management. John Berry has a BSc in electronics and a BA in sociology, politics and economics. He also has an MBA, specialising in the management of technology and is just finishing an MSc in organisational technology at Birkbeck, University of London. Today, the majority of firms are looking at the prospect that at least some of its workers could benefit from working while on the move or from home or client sites. The idea that one can participate in an audiovisual conference call while on the train, for instance, must be hugely attractive. After all, time is money and reducing lost time through travel must be every manager’s aim. Similarly, the ability to run a workshop with clients from the comfort of home is an obvious benefit to a firm. Office space is an overhead and so any corporate real estate reduction must be eagerly sought. It’s 2013 and it feels as though all the pieces of the jigsaw are in place. Regulators have allocated spectrum, 3G (if not 4G) networks have rolled out, fibre is in the ground to cabinets, and every worker has a computer. Surely virtuality is with us Well perhaps… Today, most of us work in teams and for effective virtual team function, five things are necessary. From the technology side, firms need connectivity and computers. They need workers to be able to connect with the Internet from wherever they are located; and they need computers running appropriate applications with relevant peripherals. From the people side, they need methods that make teams function and workers with the right competencies and behaviours. How practical is virtuality today. There are technological advances that allow virtual operation. Then too, there are the people and there are companies either trying to foster the dual development of employees and technology virtuality requires. Other companies, though, simply wait expecting technology alone to drive the change towards the virtual organisation. Our experiences with a recent virtual project team, spread geographically across Europe and the Middle East, provides some insight into how technology benefits such operations. An EMEA case study As a backdrop to this discussion there’s a case study: around eight consultants located in the UK, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Qatar and around six clients located in Iraq. All worked recently on a cross-national, cross-company project. All the consultants worked from home or from touch-down centres and all clients worked from offices in the Green Zone in Baghdad. This case study tells us much about how advanced the technology and the people are and hence how well firms across the region can embrace virtuality. It will be used throughout to illustrate the various arguments. Raw connectivity For virtual operation, the participants must be afforded the ability to communicate wherever they are located. But what does that mean Team members need to communicate by voice. We have that today - although international mobile calls are costly and many operators block free services such as Skype. Luckily subscription services, such as GoToMeeting, are allowed and, today, local access points are provided in many countries. It was quite a shock when one project team member announced his participation while mobile across Jordan. So the team can associate and build trust through regular calls. It’s somewhat more effective though if voice is augmented by imagery. Watching the caller on screen can be a distraction but looking at and helping construct an organisational chart or a job description on-screen helps understanding. The audio and visual cues work together. So online workshops need Citrix-style applications which, in turn, EMEA 2013 • 35
Page 1 and 2: EMEA 2013 Kees van Veenendaal VP an
Page 3 and 4: All articles are available for down
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Page 43 and 44: 25 - 26 March 2014 Bangkok, Thailan
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Page 51: DELIVER THE BEST EXPERIENCE ON EVER

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