With the rapid development of digital platforms such as online video, IPTV and mobile TV services, content consumption is changing almost every day and the pay-TV industry is aggressively pursuing these opportunities by adopting strategies to maximize subscription and advertising revenues. Certainly, “quality content” remains a great delineator, the vital driver for growth, with the relationship between content, carriage, customers and revenue remaining indivisible. Meanwhile, one of the biggest growth stories of the decade has been the development of sports TV, described only a few years ago as the ‘also ran’ of Asian television. However, the situation has been entirely changed. Cricket in India for instance now has a massive domestic fan base similar to football in Europe and baseball/basketball in the USA. Thus Lalit Modi, the Chairman & Commissioner of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise, is one of the headline speakers for the upcoming CASBAA Convention 2009 in Hong Kong on November 3-6. He recently shared with the Association how the IPL business model was developed, making cricket a money-spinner. “Cricket, being the only sport in India that the consumer wants to watch, automatically translates into higher revenues year on year. We still have a long way to go. Our market is still growing and recent values we have received for IPL and Champions League go to show we will continue to grow,” said Modi. “This all started when I partnered with ESPN in 1993 and found out quickly that it is Cricket and only Cricket will work in India. In 1996, I proposed to launch the IPL.” The icing on the cake came in 2008 when tenders were invited for the inaugural edition of the IPL hit the nail on the head a whopping US$2.14 billion generated TV rights for 10 years. As a predominantly entertainment medium, the IPL’s success in India (and around the world) has proved that sports can be packaged into a prime time family-viewing segment that caters to a wider audience – which is an advantage for advertising as well as the sponsoring community. Modi will detail more about the success of IPL at the Convention. Another keynote speaker at the Convention 2009 will be Jeffery Cole, the Director of the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communications, who believes that today’s advertisers are more interested in measurable consumer response than tantalizing CPMs. Coles’ advice is that television must shift fast to reach its targeted advertisers. Otherwise, Coles sees only a decline in ad revenue, putting more pressure on subscribers to carry a bigger share of the overall TV bill. If new money doesn’t come from somewhere, says Cole, quality content could disappear. However, according to Cole, targeted TV services are finally making some real strides. Software developers such as US-based Invidi Technologies now offer chips that can analyze the data piling up in digital set-tops to the point that individual viewers in households can be profiled in a matter of days. Another industry, heavyweight Tomoyuki Moriizumi, President and CEO of Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM) in Japan will also share his thoughts on our new digital world at the CASBAA Convention 2009. As seen by Mr. Moriizumi, the likes of DTT and mobile TV are bringing significant opportunities for his company, which is aggressively moving ahead with its transition to 100 percent digital services in 2010. J:COM has already launched a series of growth strategies to capture further market share. The first stage of this is the J:COM “Volume Strategy”, increasing its subscriber base through organic growth in tandem with mergers and acquisitions, while raising ARPU though digital migration. No less important is the aggressive acquisition of new high-quality content through the brand strength of items such as sports and entertainment. So it is that the CASBAA Convention 2009, themed “Extending your reach”, is the only industry event in Asia to unite leading visionaries and influencers from satellite, cable TV, broadband, content providers, online platforms, telecommunications, technology, advertising and regulatory bodies across Asia’s 14 markets and more than 320 million subscribers. The three-day CASBAA Convention programme will also cover presentations and CEO dialogues on critical topics such as reaping the dividends from digital broadcasting; the changing role of telecoms operators and advertising trends for broadcast, online and mobile programming platforms. Other featured speakers include David Haslingden, CEO, Fox International Channels and National Geographic Channels Worldwide; Kim Williams, CEO, FOXTEL, Australia; Ronnie Screwvala, CEO and Founder of UTV Software Communications, India; Eugenio Lopez III, Chairman and CEO of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, Philippines; Jean-Noël Tronc, Chairman and CEO, Canal Overseas, France; Mark Hollinger, COO, Discovery Communications, USA; Russell Wolff, EVP and MD, ESPN International, USA and Tony Worthington, Global Head of Telecoms, Media and Technology, Standard Chartered, UK. Convention 2009 panels will further examine the impact of the escalating cost of multi-billion dollar sports rights across the world; the impact of new technologies on media consumption; the co-operation between content providers and pay-TV operators and the next consumer digital experience. India and China always catch the industry’s attention because of their huge business opportunities as yet untapped. This year, the Convention will also take an in-depth look of potentials in both markets. Finally, it is more important than ever for the TV industry to absorb the implications of new trends and technologies while identifying opportunities to increase competitiveness and productivity. Mark your diaries for November 3rd-6th in Hong Kong. We look forward to seeing you at the CASBAA Convention 2009.
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