It was the winter Olympics that got me thinking. What does it take to be a leader? What are the traits? Although leaders are usually individuals – could those human attributes be translated onto a company?
What makes a leader?
Deloitte identified “The six signature traits of inclusive leadership ”
Another IBC has come and gone. Who would believe it – this year was my 15th in a row! How did it compare? As you’d expect with a mature industry there was much the same, but it was refreshing to see some differences. See if you agree with my reflections?
Comfortably familiar
Walking into Hall 1, you experience that wave of excitement and
Contrary to popular belief, pay TV remains remarkably robust across Europe and, according to analysts Futuresource Consulting, the reason why is the user experience.
In its latest ‘Living With Digital’ consumer research report, Futuresource states that across all major European territories, the most important reason given for continuing with a pay TV subscription was ease of use and a wide range of channels.
Pay-TV operators have used CA since the 1990s to encrypt digital content. Over the years, CA has evolved, with Irdeto launching the first software based card-less CA in 2011. But does the CA technology still have a role to play going forward?
Looking back
CA started life in the analogue broadcast world. Its role was to scramble the video signal. With the evolution to digital broadcast, CA transformed to what you can call “true” conditional access with encryption.
In February 1996, chess champion Gary Kasparov beat Deep Blue, the world’s strongest chess computer. Having suffered a defeat to the computer earlier, Kasparov changed his approach. His moves focused on where the short-term position was cloudy and there was no imminent tactical objective.
He did what the computer wasn’t expecting; hadn’t been designed to handle.
Consolidation within the industry shows no sign of stopping. The EU approves BSkyB’s proposed acquisition of Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia. Vodafone CEO hints at interest in more acquisitions after its recent purchase of Spain’s largest cable operator – Ono. And that’s only a couple of examples. You would image that the inevitable consequence for the “mega” operator is the headache of being locked into multiple long-term vendors.
A recent customer meeting reassured me that operators are interested in breaking free. They just need the headache tablet.
As you know from my earlier post, the inevitable march toward 4K has begun. And yes, with any new technology there will be challenges. But based on my discussions with studios and operators it’s clear that for well-prepared pay-TV operators, 4K could in fact bring opportunities.
Let me share some insights from recent conversations with studios and operators.