Growth and monetisation

While OTT providers have grabbed the initial 10-15% of the UHD market the content delivery is currently limited to VOD and “Catch-up TV” because the live content is difficult to stream. Offering a competitive live 4K UHD or UHD Premium experience means streaming content at 15 to 40 Mbps, depending on the level of frame rate and HDR support. As a result, broadcaster operators currently have a significant network advantage over OTT vendors in the delivery of live events.

Alongside the challenge of growing a UHD offering however, operators must also continue to monetise HD, SD and even analogue content via the format and medium of their choice, or risk losing their core business. A conservative strategy for initiating UHD service offerings would be to first adopt 4K content that is not restricted by the MovieLabs specifications. This way, operators can extend their content offerings without cannibalising existing business.

Operators may also want to consider negotiating with content owners such as studios for the rights to distribute 4K content at lower resolutions and quality using less stringent security. The forensic watermarking and anti-piracy response capabilities required by MovieLabs can be safely implemented at any time without interfering with an operator’s existing content or distribution models.

An effective 4K strategy could maximise electronic sell-through and download-and-go options for an operator’s existing content as well. By implementing strategies and platform upgrades incrementally, operators can take an evolutionary approach to integrating 4K into their business model. This will allow them to grow their 4K UHD offering inline with consumer demand, while also carefully managing the required investment, impact on business models and the greater security and technical requirements.