Report from Telecom '05
Friday, October 28, 2005
Broadcasters Eye New Opportunities via Telcoms
A resounding theme of Telecom '05, which took place this week in Las Vegas, is that telecoms will play a leading role in bringing consumers the next great advances in communications. BIA Financial Network's Rick Ducey, EVP of BIAfn Strategic Advisory Group and a speaker at Telecom '05, spoke on this subject of an opportunity for a partnership between broadcasters and telecoms and identified a number of business models where it makes sense for these two industries to come together around complementary core competency areas.
For example, broadcasters have local market rights to the most popular video content. However, this programming is now carried into homes via cable and satellite much more so than over-the-air. To preserve their future and support new business models, Ducey explained how broadcasters should have landing rights in the home, as well as throughout the now "four screen" world of television, which comprises TV, PC, mobile phone and portable players like iPod.
Similarly, Ducey argued, telcos - offering both wireline and wireless video products - need to differentiate their offers. Partnering with local stations to get access to local and regional content certainly helps this goal.
To take these steps forward, telcos could enlist the confidence and cooperation of broadcasters by deploying IPTV set-top boxes that feature over-the-air ATSC reception. This would give telco video customers access to the full complement of local DTV signals (HDTV, multicast, data services), as well as any new services the telco operator introduces. Neither cable nor satellite is capable of supporting this offer, so it opens a clear path to differentiation for telcos and a strong opportunity to attract broadcasters looking for an opening to deal with telcos as new players in the video universe. It's an interesting new world that offers valuable opportunities for both industries.
For more on this story:
Cable is yesterday's technology
BY GREG SKALL AND DON HICKS, RBR/TVBR
Thursday, October 27, 2005
©2005 Radio Business Report, Inc. All rights reserved Volume 22, Issue 209 10/25/05
Reprinted with permission, Jim Carnegie, Publisher / Radio Business Report & Television Business Report. Volume 22, Issue 209 10/25/05 www.rbr.com or www.tvbr.com for trial readership information.
|
