The proliferation of internet-connected devices and the introduction of 4G networks in recent times mean there are now more and more ways of consuming video content, both legally and illegally. CASBAA Chief Policy Officer John Medeiros explains that the report is indeed a result of these rapid changes in video consumption patterns, and this is particularly evident in a market like Singapore where he says “the community and the economy is so well-wired and attuned to receiving content in many different ways.”

“I was on the MRT (subway in Singapore) and there were at least half a dozen people around me with tablets or smartphones. These new devices, new schedule for watching TV, new types of programming that didn’t exist a few years ago – we all know in the TV business that things are changing, and changing rapidly.”

The report, Digital, Legal and Anywhere – TV in Singapore Today, examines the varied and abundant audio-visual content available through non-traditional media platforms and delivery mechanisms in Singapore that Medeiros spoke about.

Compiled by Olswang, the report took six months to complete. Elle Todd, Partner, Olswang, who fronted the research, says, “We were trying to explore one central question: ‘Are consumers really forced to turn to pirate offerings because there are insufficient legitimate offerings in Singapore today?’ So the study really was to look at what the industry is doing and whether it is giving consumers what they want.”

To cover as much ground as possible, the technology and media law firm spoke to over 40 key leaders in the industry; spanning content owners, technology providers, security systems providers, international and local providers and pay-TV platforms.

In the course of researching the report, Olswang found that it is no longer accurate to say that Singaporean consumers do not have access to legitimate digital offerings. It found that multi-screen and multi-platform offerings of legitimate content are rapidly multiplying in the city-state. In 2006, there were less than five digital TV services available but by 2012, the number had grown to nearly 40.

“This chart shows that new media TV offerings available in Singapore has well over doubled in the last four years,” explains Todd. “In some ways, this increase isn’t really a surprise because consumers have had more and more devices over that time and broadband speeds have improved as well. What this does show is that industry is responding to that upward trajectory quite clearly and in a pretty steady progression rate that will continue.”

Today, the non-traditional TV offerings are diverse, which the report has divided into four categories:

1. Stand-Alone Content Offerings (i.e. CNN International; TV5Monde)

2. OTT Offerings (i.e. MediaCorp Toggle; Apple iTunes)

3. Content provider branded Platform Offerings (i.e. HBO On Demand; FOX On Demand)

4. Platform provider branded Platform Offerings (i.e. StarHub TV Anywhere; SingTel mioTV)

5. Contingent Content Offerings (i.e. ESPN Player; FOX Movies Play)

The vast majority of offerings, the report states, come from established content providers such as HBO Asia, FOX International Channels and Cartoon Network; pay- TV platforms such as StarHub and SingTel’s mio TV; as well as new OTT platforms such as MediaCorp’s recently launched Toggle and Viki.com, while options not connected with existing players are still few. Some content providers have opted to provide multiple models using a combination of Stand-Alone Content Offerings, Contingent Content Offerings and Platform Offerings.

A key problem however, according to the report, appeared to be consumer-awareness of the availability and quality of the offerings, which were far more prolific and advanced than many were aware. The online directory, found at FindDigitalTv.com, was thus created with the aim of being a solution to this problem. With this function, users will be able to search for digital content by genre, device or just search for digital content that is free.

“The website came about because Elle and her team were talking about how it makes no sense to do a paper report. ‘Let’s do something that hopefully people can start to use and actually will meet the need.’ So that’s how the concept for the portal came about,” says Medeiros.

At press time, Medeiros says the response from both industry stakeholders and consumers have been encouraging. “Several hundred people look at the site every week, a level of interest that has not slackened since we started in November.”

The long-term plan for FindDigitalTV.com, Medeiros adds, is to launch it in new markets. “We expect to introduce FindDigitalTV.com in two more Asian markets before the end of this year, and we have begun amassing the necessary information. The first step will be to decide exactly which two markets to target next, and for that purpose we are now in the process of evaluating input from our industry stakeholders to decide where to direct our energies.”

“We hope that Singaporean consumers will be pleasantly surprised at the variety and richness of legitimate services that are now available,” says Todd. “The devices have also greatly improved – a lot of things are now offered on multiple, different devices.” Furthermore, 44% of the offerings covered in the report and which appear in the directory are available free of charge. Todd adds that another surprising finding is that programme windows have become a lot shorter.

But the report also noted that while Singapore offers great opportunities as a market for such new media services, this growth and response to consumer demand comes with its own set of challenges.

One challenge is the prevalence of video piracy in Singapore. Although Singapore has a small population, it has the highest per capita incidence of peer-to-peer infringement of English-language TV shows in the Asia- Pacific region, the report states.

“The cyber lockers, the live-streaming sites, the peer-topeer bit torrent networks – all of that combine to create a competitive environment for the pay-TV industry, which is extremely challenging,” says Medeiros. He adds that such piracy makes it difficult for new content players to enter the market, and for existing players to justify investments in additional platforms.

Najwa Abu Bakar, Director, New Business & Revenue, HBO Asia, agrees. She says in the report, “To date, there have been no proven profitable business models given the high levels of infrastructure and content investments that need to be made. We believe there will be a relatively long gestation period in Asia before you see quantitative returns as there are also challenges in Asia such as piracy and the lack of willingness to pay for content offered online.”

Another nagging issue, is what CASBAA calls, the regulatory “tilted playing field”, where local consumers tend to prefer unregulated new media TV offerings to the regulated traditional options. In Singapore, domestic providers need to comply with various censorship rules which mean that even when consumers can obtain the same content at the same time from Singapore-based providers, they are choosing to access full uncut versions through other sources.

To this, Medeiros believes that this issue of regulation will continue to pose a problem to content providers. For now, he says, “The big picture question for Asia as a whole is: ‘What can Asian governments do to create a more unified, more substantial market that will actually be attractive and make investments easier?’ If the Asian governments could all get together and agree on minimum censorship requirements; that would be a huge boon to the industry.”