Category Archives: Customers
The TV Business: A Primer For The Uninformed
It’s a relentless drumbeat: the TV industry is dead. It’s just like the music industry. 20somethings are avoiding the cord. I want HBO a la carte. YouTube will kill cable. The TV industry is dead. And yet, if there’s a common thread to all these articles and blog posts, it’s that so many of the people writing them have a limited idea of how the television industry actually works, particularly from a business perspective. So here’s a little primer on how the US television industry works (there are significant difference in other countries), just to clear the air. The Players: This is step one – knowing who is who and what their relationships are. We are going to look at the 7 key players, circa 2013: The Networks, The MVPDs, The Premium Networks, The OTT Networks, Smart TVs, Third Party devices and Social TV. PLAYER #1: The Networks: The networks (ABC, CBS, MTV, et al) provide content and right now, … Continue reading
Still Not My Friend
I was at a conference the other day and much to my dismay, I heard an entire panel of what seemed to be reasonably smart people repeating the old canard about location based advertising and how great the world will be once it’s up and running. Not at all. I remember reading a piece by Robert Scoble about 4 or 5 years ago where he waxed enthusiastically about a scenario where he’s walking down the street in his hometown of Half Moon Bay at lunchtime, receiving text messages with offers from every restaurant serving lunch. And all I could think was “this is the seventh ring of hell.” Users, guys. Users. So easy to forget, yet so critical to the success of whatever it is you want to do. So, to use an example from someone on stage at this panel: I am walking down the street and pass a pub where I have had dinner before. The pub texts … Continue reading
Do Consumers Really Know What They Want?
This week brings another update from our Content Lead, Laura Frankel. I wanted to share with you a study that I got as part of being a member of CTAM. Check it out here. As with all research data, one needs to overlay the information with what they know and are learning from their own consumer base. For me, this data rings true… not necessarily the segmentation piece; but the overlap of needs and behaviors that shows that about 25% of the US population has cut the cord or was never attached to the cord in the first place. The Omnivores (who get content from a variety of sources) maybe the one behavior segment that is still attached to the cord, but are not tied to it. I want to add one comment on segmentation before I discuss the findings on what elements around the TV experience matter most. I have been in the media biz for over 20 … Continue reading
Evander Holyfield at the 2012 NAB Show
KIT digital is excited to announce that our newest customer, 5-time heavy weight champion Evander Holyfield, will be joining us at the 2012 NAB show. On April 17, Holyfield will be at the KIT digital booth (SU8505) for two official public appearances and a special after-hours media event. Holyfield will be helping to showcase the solution KIT has developed to better deliver and monetize video from his storied career. Holyfield will be available for photo-ops at 11AM PST and 2PM PST. For all media/analyst inquiries, or to sign up to meet Holyfield, please e-mail: Martin.Paul@KIT-digital.com
KIT digital Is Going Big at NAB 2012
The changes brought about by the convergence of the internet and television are bound to dominate the conversation at NAB this year, and KIT digital will be front and center during those discussions. From our booth at SU8505, we’ll be showcasing our latest product introductions, from our white label Social EPG product (the next generation of Social TV) to our enhanced partnerships with IBM. Stop by to say hello and hang out in our Living Room of the Future, where you can play with a live demo of our Social EPG, and check out what we’ve been building for BSkyB and other network operators. Keep your eyes open for a special surprise announcement during NAB that’s sure to be a knockout. To set up an appointment for a personalized private demo, email us at nab-rsvp@kitd.com
Super Bowl with a Second Screen
The rapid adoption of viewing live TV in tandem with a “second screen” device is bound to make the 2012 Super Bowl the biggest social TV events of the year. As a matter of fact, every major Super Bowl commercial has a social TV component. We think this is the right approach: 30-second commercial slots can’t stand alone, and advertising campaigns should go social. Music app Shazam is making all the right moves for the Super Bowl. They made headlines last year upon the launch of Shazam for TV. This year, they will power nearly a third of all Super Bowl advertisements. With over 175 million users (60 million in the U.S,) Shazam is considered one of the driving forces behind second screen interactive television. TV check-in service GetGlue, in comparison, is 2 million strong. Shazam, along with other major media companies, is relying on viewers to use their phones to interact with commercials for more than catching up with the … Continue reading
The VOD Wars
While social TV seems to be garnering the bulk of the buzz these days, the real action is happening in Video on Demand or VOD. VOD was once treated as the ugly stepsister of the industry, with most operators regarding it as a promotional vehicle (hence the proliferation of 5-minute “Making of X” videos on most On Demand channels.) Purchasing broadcast rights from the studios was costly, VOD technology was very unstable and prone to mid-broadcast meltdowns, and, with the ubiquity of DVD rental services, there was very little demand for On Demand. Until, of course, there was. Reed Hasting and his board seem just as stunned as the rest of the industry by the rapid growth of Netflix streaming video. The fact that consumers, a notoriously technophobic lot, would actually figure out how to hook up a third-party device (laptops, PlayStations, Roku boxes and the like) and use them to stream movies over WiFi to their television sets was … Continue reading
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Challenges of the SOPA Discussion
What a day yesterday has been in this curious world that has whipped content makers, technologists and the US House of Representatives into a frenzy of passionate conflict. At KIT digital, we’re a bit stuck in the middle. On the one hand, many of our clients invest tens of millions of dollars into creating and distributing the worlds best content, and their investment ought to be protected by laws that stop and punish those who steal that content. Because make no mistake, stealing is what it is. Of course, on the other hand, anyone can see that the SOPA/PIPA bill suffers from a lack of technical insight from the US Congress as well as a more basic disregard for many principles inherent in this lofty idea that all of us believe in, the “free internet”. In a nutshell, this is a bill that was created in the name of ‘prosperity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation.’ SOPA grants the U.S government and … Continue reading
Developers Impress at 2012 CES with Innovations in Convergence
Tablets were the rage at the 2011 CES, which led to developers scurrying on to develop the next big thing for the ever-growing tablet segment. This year, the convergence of mobile devices with TV is clearly one of the most predominant themes. We are keeping tabs on this trend, as we consistently seek ways to add to our Connected Device Framework. One of the biggest surprises was Linux entering the TV market with Ubuntu TV. The controls are touch, and gesture based, and smartphones can be used as a remote as well. In addition to intelligent search, and streaming capabilities, Ubuntus cloud will be built into their new TV. This means users can enjoy the programs that are stored on other devices. Developers are very well aware of how smartphones are changing the way users consume information, and their tweaks on mobile operating systems are significantly changing how that content is delivered. For example, Myriads launch of Alien Vue (Android … Continue reading
KIT Powers “Nautilus Live” Experience
Today we announced a partnership with the JASON project, in which we’re helping to broadcast “Nautilus Live” – a series of live, 24-7 video streams from a four-month ocean exploration expedition in the Black and Mediterranean Seas and the Atlantic Ocean. KIT is helping to encode raw satellite feeds, organize the footage into channels and programs and deliver them to the web and a special channel on Roku set-top boxes, which have been distributed to museums, aquariums, schools and after-school clubs. From the press release: Both the Nautilus Live and JASON outlets are designed to give viewers the experience of being aboard the Nautilus ship, looking over the shoulders of the scientists and crew and listening to their conversations during the expedition–enabling participants to communicate with each other and learn about and share discoveries in real time as they watch live ocean exploration and shipboard activities during each leg of the journey. We’re extremely excited about what this announcement means … Continue reading
KIT digital Provides Liberty Global With Technology and Services Platform for New Multiscreen IP-Based Video-on-Demand and Live Streaming Service
Liberty Global, a leading international cable operator, has selected KIT digital to design, build and host the platform driving its new IP-based video-on-demand and live streaming service announced at IBC. The Horizon online service will see the creation of an ecosystem that provides a single and flexible, multi-lingual, multi-tenant, and multi-currency platform that can be rolled out across all of Liberty Global’s worldwide subsidiaries. Scheduled to go live later this year, the service will initially be available to subscribers in the Netherlands and then rolled out to other countries in Liberty Global’s footprint. The service provides subscribers with the flexibility to access video content on multiple devices anywhere there is a broadband connection. The solution provides an open platform that allows for integration to the multiple operating countries’ existing operations support system (OSS)/business support system (BSS) platforms, as well as the flexibility to create a customized user experience based on local country requirements and devices. Read the press release.
KIT digital Powers Sky’s Online and Mobile Service Sky Go
British Sky Broadcasting (Sky), the most comprehensive multichannel, multi-platform television service in the UK and Ireland, selected ioko, now rebranded and part of KIT digital to support and manage its new multiplatform TV service, Sky Go. Sky’s new offering combines two existing products – Sky Player, Sky’s online TV service, and Sky Mobile TV, the UK’s largest mobile TV service – into one new service, Sky Go, available free of charge to existing Sky TV customers, and for a fee to non-Sky TV customers. Subscribers are provided with flexible access to Sky channels and programmes on up to two registered devices including the iPhone, iPad, PC, Mac and Xbox 360. In 2005, ioko first helped develop, build and manage the Sky Player Platform, Sky’s over-the-top (OTT) TV platform, the first of its kind in Europe, and has worked with Sky since then to continuously enhance its online TV offering. With this most recent service launch, Sky’s existing back-end infrastructure has … Continue reading