Reporting from the Future of Television
I’ve been working in OTT for over 15 years and started VOD Professional in 2011 with the aim of understanding how to build brilliant online video services. I conduct research and analysis, write reports and whitepapers, and help bring clients and vendors together. Catch me on our weekly debate show, OTT Question Time, or at our upcoming The Business of Future TV conference.
Featuring ITV, Sky, SVT, A+E Networks, Foxtel, Blockbuster, Nordic Entertainment Group, BeIN Media, BritBox and TVNZ, we’ve recently discussed topics including content recommendation, Disney+ SWOT analysis, the evolution of video UI / UX, OTT piracy & content protection, OTT pay models as well as India, Sweden, Australia and NZ specials.
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I stream and write about broadcasters, film studios, operators, service-providers and technology vendors: OTT products, solutions and strategies.
Whether we’re consciously aware of it or not, metadata makes the OTT world go round. Technical metadata powers the distribution of video files, integrates them with asset management systems, enforces digital rights and renders them perfectly on viewer’s screens. Editorial metadata, on the other hand, makes content discoverable in VOD catalogues; it tells us about movies and shows we might like to watch, who directs them, acts in them and can recommend other titles we...
Kasia Jablonska has been working in the digital entertainment sector for over 20 years now and her focus has largely been around selling content across multiple channels using a range of different business models. I caught up with her a couple of weeks ago and in this video interview, she told me about her work at Endemol Shine. Specifically, we discussed how she helped to monetise Endemol’s 60,000-hour back catalogue. When Jablonska joined the company, in...
Whilst many of the first OTT services (circa 2006/7) were built in-house, with existing staff and perhaps using repurposed broadcast systems, by the third VOD product development cycle (around 2012), broadcasters and streaming providers seemed to have shifted to deploying external vendor solutions. This was especially true of automated processes like encoding and asset management, and specialised tasks like scheduling, content recommendation and content distribution. The advantages in using expert third-parties (including economies of scale,...
The forced closure of performing arts venues due to the pandemic over the last year has been a catalyst for accelerated digital transformation. Ostmodern is hosting a special webinar at 10am (UK) on Wednesday 5th May 2021 – which I’m moderating – to delve into exactly what that’s meant, and what the future holds, for two world-class live performance institutions located here in the UK. Together with Emma Keith, Director, Digital Media at the National...
In the OTT world, content is king and one of the most popular content types of all is football. Best enjoyed live, football transcends pay models and is watched via AVOD, SVOD and TVOD (pay-per-view). It crosses national and international boundaries in terms of where the fans are. And as well as the actual matches, leagues and tournaments themselves, football comes with a whole array of surrounding content including interviews, press conferences, build-ups and analysis....
