Siano-MS Blog

Participating teams, at least US$8 million. World champions, $35 million. Runners-up, $25 million. Teams that lose in the round of 16, $9 million. And quarter-finalists, $14 million. Overall, FIFA will allocate $576 million, a new record, and an increase from the $420 million allocated in South Africa.

Too bad there’s no payout to the tens of thousands of fans sweating in the stands, let alone the millions around the world who will glued to their TVs, laptops, a whole slew of mobile devices. So what if you can't afford the flight to Rio or the hat or the t-shirt or the entrance fee? With the largest, most competitive, most exciting, most testosterone-charged event of the year, if you can’t make it to the World Cup, the next best thing, is to watch it live wherever you are. 

We live in a crowded, overpopulated digital world stuffed to the gills with movie theatres, TVs, mobile devices of all shapes and sizes, and yet it’s the radio that has remained resilient and still enormously popular.

Ever since 1910 when Marconi figured out what to do right, radio has not lost its footing or its allure. But now, it’s digital radio that’s thriving, replacing much of the AM-FM transmissions as we know them. With the adoption of DAB+ technology in Europe as the standard for digital radio, more stations and services have become available. What is curiously interesting is that for radio’s longtime rival, the television, the move from analog to digital TV has been seamless in most world regions. But whereas the majority of the world has moved to digital TV, radio has been left in the dark.

Thailand is the most popular tourist destination in Southeast Asia, and for good reason. You can find just about anything there - sparkling beaches, lush forests, incredible cuisine, some of the best hotels on the planet, and come April, digital TV broadcasts, or what locals already call DVB-T2.

Now, if you happen to be a resident or if you’re just passing through, I can assure you that DVB-T2 is gonna rock your world – your… digital mobile world. And if you’re lucky, it might even cause a commotion on the shores of Koh Phi Phi. Once up and running nationwide, high-quality digital mobile TV will be available anywhere – anytime, as accessible as a bottle of suntan lotion and a tall Mai Tai in Phuket.

Global market consultants, Ernst & Young (EY), were quick to help me out as I sat down to write this blog. They too, decided to reflect on 2013 and take a closer look at the driving force behind the future of television. The way I see it, is that our industry is getting ready for a major upheaval – a big shift in how we do business and as a result, what we’ll see on our screens.

According to the report, Future of Television – Media & Entertainment, viewing audiences aren’t willing to park themselves in a recliner just to be entertained. Seems they’re toughening up and demanding television experiences that are interactive, mobile and tailored to their needs and interests. The future of the squawk box now rests on the relationship between content and viewer, or what EY refers to as “compelling content tailored to an audience of one.”

What’s worth a mere 35 billion dollars? It could very well be the GNP of a small nation off the coast of the Galapagos or it could be the anticipated revenues of a market we all know and love. Luckily for me, since I’m more familiar with the market than with Galapagos geography, it’s global online TV and video revenues that will take over the world by 2018.

Let’s just say that the $34.99 billion “menu” is what the media has been calling “record breaking,” and this is because of the huge increase in people watch online TV and video in the privacy of their homes. In less than five years, an expected 520 million homes in 40 different countries will watch online TV and video. Big business? You betcha’. It’s a haven for advertisers and it’s a big boon for mobile device makers too. It’s the pods, the pads, and the phones that will be replacing the big screen in our living rooms.

More than mere bedtime reading, TDG (The Diffusion Group) has a new report out entitled The Future of TV – A View from 2013. TDG are one of the noted market trenders, maybe even trendsetters, as they ply the connected consumer and the shift to quantum video access and consumption. Or rather, in easy English, they examine our industry’s dynamics and consumer behavior with an eye toward predicting their movement in the next 3-5 years.

As my colleagues and I bask in the glory of mobile digital TV, of late, making some significant growth and noise in the U.S., the findings in this report really do – fit. It’s a pretty straight-edged vision of how television will unfold, unravel, and yes, take over every inch of everything we do.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking with people in our industry and writing here about mobile digital TV becoming the next big thing. Sounds cliché? Maybe so, but one thing I do know for sure - MDTV is already a mega breakthrough for broadcasters in the digital world. They are busy plugging away and expanding broadcast TV coverage across all 50 states, now that DyleTV^TM is more than just a myth.

I think we’ve been so intent on getting digital over-the-air signals onto our smartphones and tablets, that we’ve ignored one of the fastest-growing mobile TV markets on the planet – India. By end 2013, India is expected to overtake China to become the world's largest mobile market. We will witness a total mobile subscriber base of over 1.160 billion. Enter Doordarshan. Known as “DD” to the locals, they’re a colossal public service broadcaster and part of the largest broadcasting organization in India. And they’ve just jumped head first into mobile TV.

I thought I'd take a night course and brush up on my Spanish. I'm doing this because it might come in handy and because TV in Latin America is spicy hot, hugely popular, is in every home, corner bar, bistro, bus, train, car – just name it. And after a slow start, mobile digital TV is about to skyrocket in Latin America and a lot of players will want to be there when it happens.

Just how high? Well, from less than 1/3 of homes at the end of 2012 to almost half by the end 2013 – and 84% by 2018, according to a new report from Digital TV Research. There will be over 100 million digital TV households in Latin America. That’s the entire southern hemisphere full of digital TV addicts!

Order pizza from your mobile. Extra cheese, thin crust. Book a hotel, rent a car, pay your bills. Sing your kids a lullaby. All from your mobile. But now there’s a built-in gar gizmo that let’s your fleet manager know if you went through a stop sign. There a clip-on doodad that measures your heart rate while you’re jogging and then lets you read your detailed chart on a website.  

Wave goodbye to the wires that once propelled our lives. Nowadays, if it’s not wireless, it ain’t worth it.  

While speculations about Apple TV are buzzing around without anything really happening publicly (at least at the time of writing this post), tablets (led by the iPad) are dramatically changing the TV industry. Tablets are fast on the rise, particularly in the US, and without a doubt, this will have a tremendous influence on the TV industry. According to recent research by TDG, tablet TV and video viewing is estimated to rise to 58 billion hours per year by 2017!

Bill Niemeyer, TDG Senior Analyst and author of a new TDG report, states, “We estimate that 65% of US households will own tablets at the end of 2017 and the average number of tablets per household will more than double from current levels”… “This will create major new opportunities and challenges for content providers, TV networks, multichannel operators, and advertisers. These companies need to be actively exercising their tablet strategies now, not later.” (Source: http://tdgresearch.com)

To coin a familiar phrase, 2013 is “peering out from around the corner.” And the first shocker of  2013 is that in North America alone, annual tablet sales are expected to surpass notebook sales for the first time in our wireless device history (according to NPD Display Search). Translated into big numbers we can’t even process, that’s 80 million tablets vs. 63.8 million notebooks.

Let’s assume that to ring in the New Year you’ve convinced yourself you need an iPad. That is, of course, if you don’t already own one. Then alongside your purchase comes some other trendy and pretty much “fun” things. These are what I like to call “Padding-Your-iPad”. That’s right. It’s all one word. It’s the moment when you and probably your loved ones decide which iPad accessories are an absolute must-have.

Ronen Jashek

It seems like I just got off the plane from CES in Las Vegas earlier this year and no less than a minute later, I was whisked off to IFA in Berlin. IFA is a large and colorful consumer technology show that has often been hailed the “European CES”. I remember when IFA was for IT geeks (like me!), but of late, it’s taken a turn towards those fun, innovative and “just gotta have ‘em” gadgets, making IFA Europe’s leading Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances show with a pretty savvy guest list.

I have been in the mobile DTV industry for quite some time, and have always remained up-to-date about how our industry is impacted by events taking place around the world.

Imagine, for example, what it would have been like for people to have been able to watch on their cell phones live the rescue of these guys.

I am a child of the 80s and early 90s. And, of course, like with any era there were a lot of things that defined that period, such as the Live Aid concerts, Reagan-omics, the Cold War and very, very strange clothing.

But for me, as a boy growing up then, it was all about sports.  And for someone who cares a lot about sports, there is nothing like the Olympic Games.

The recent NAB show was a breath of fresh air for those of us who play in the mobile DTV space (and not only due to the dry, warm Vegas weather).  While it wasn't a complete coming out party for the industry, there were several very important things we saw there that are sure to lay additional strong groundwork for the MDTV structure in the United States.

So what happened and why am I so enthusiastic?

All Major NYC Broadcasters Involved in Suits

A number of broadcasting companies have quickly moved to sue Aereo, a startup that aims to stream broadcast HDTV content. The broadcasters are attempting to prevent the service from launching, accusing the startup of copyright infringement and asking judges to order an injunction to block the service before it becomes available to the public.

Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/12/03/01/all.major.nyc.broadcasters.involved.in.suits/#ixzz1o8n2lS7h

SCENARIO #1:
"So what should we do tonight?"
"I don't know.  Let's see what's on TV."
"Okay."

SCENARIO #2:
A family sits down to dinner and turns on the TV. The 14-year old flips from station to station until his sister says, "Hey, let's watch this. I've heard it's funny!" 

When you are at the cutting edge of an emerging market, like Siano in MDTV, one of the fascinating dynamics is watching (and participating as) the industry grows up. 

We recently visited the Telematics show in Munich, the event attended by just everyone associated with the automotive communications industry. 

We in the MDTV space have always known that the future would be bright for our technology. After all, there is always going to be an interest in watching television, e.g., the news, prime-time programming, sports, etc.

And certain markets have already proven to be solid, led by Japan, China and certain countries in Europe.

It used to be that if you didn't have a VCR, you were not up to date with technology.  Then it moved to cell phones.  Then, it was MP3 players.  But that was all child's play, compared to what has happened more recently.

With the advent of real smartphones and tablets, it is clear what the "must-haves" are.  And it is clear that everything is moving very fast.