APB PANELLISTS
2 EDITORIAL
Deregulate & liberalise to level the playing field
January-February 2017 ( volume 34 issue 1 )
EDITORIAL managing editor Shawn Liew , shawn @ editecintl . com contributing editor ( technology ) Karl K Rossiter , karl @ editecintl . com reporter Josephine Tan , josephine @ editecintl . com
As the old proverb goes “ The early bird catches the worm ” and with the Year of the Rooster upon us , it is perhaps timely for broadcasters to decide if they want to be in the forefront of IP technology or wait-and-see till the owl starts hooting .
After all , if broadcasters ’ traditional operations are offering diminishing revenues — as a recent IABM survey would seem to suggest — the logical approach points towards investing in new media activities .
The benefits offered by broadcast IP has been widely discussed in the past few years , and will only gain further momentum this year , as more broadcasters contemplate the best way to integrate IP into existing broadcast systems .
At BroadcastAsia2017 , in collaboration with show organiser Singapore Exhibition Services and systems integrator Ideal Systems , APB will be setting up a Broadcast IP Inter-Op Lab , offering broadcasters in Asia-Pacific a hands-on approach of working on an all-IP ecosystem . If you are visiting BroadcastAsia2017 , we strongly encourage you to join us on the journey to IP ( read more on page 8 ).
IP , alongside other technologies such as 4K / Ultra HD , HDR , cloud and perhaps to a lesser extent , VR , are key enablers in retaining eyeballs at a time when consumers are overwhelmed with a deluge of choices .
If Netflix was the big disruptor in 2016 , the new year is not likely to offer any respite for Asia ’ s broadcasters . Amazon Prime Video , already available in Singapore , is aiming to be available across South-east Asia by Q1 2017 . Others have gleefully jumped onto the video streaming bandwagon , with a number of regional VoD services launched in the past 12-24 months .
These new “ broadcasters ” are also joined by content aggregators such as YouTube , Facebook and Twitter who , in their own rights , are broadcasting content , often user-generated and of human interest . Without having to owe expensive pipelines and infrastructures , these companies hold a clear advantage .
In this constant battle with the aggregators and other new entrants to vie for viewers ’ attention , traditional broadcasters can still thrive by doing what they do best — producing compelling local content for their audiences whom they know better than their competitors .
However , questions are being raised as to why new entrants are not subjected to the same stringent regulations governing existing broadcasters ? The broadcast arena today is certainly not a level playing field .
Perhaps , a little help is needed . As Dr Ahmad Zaki Mohd Salleh , group GM , Engineering , Media Prima , suggested , regulators will have to rethink the rules and ensure a level playing ground .
He cited the example of Malaysia and Singapore , where the broadcast and media industries are heavily regulated . New policies , rules , regulations and strategies , Dr Zaki urged , must be adopted — and liberalisation of the industry must be allowed to take place , so that a richer and more sustainable eco-system can be built .
As we ponder the future of broadcasting , the APB team would like to wish all our readers who are celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year , Gong Xi Fa Cai … and may the crowing of the Rooster be the harbinger of peace and prosperity to come .
SHAWN LIEW MANAGING EDITOR
CORRESPONDENTS
■ India Shirish Nadkarni , shinads @ yahoo . co . uk
■ USA Mike Feazel , mfeazel @ gmail . com
PRODUCTION production editor Zuraini Ridzwan , zuraini @ editecintl . com junior sub-editor Genevieve Chan , genevieve @ editecintl . com senior multimedia designer Raymund Jaudian , raymund @ editecintl . com multimedia designer Waldomar Zuniga , waldomar @ editecintl . com ad / office administrator Irene Lok , irene @ editecintl . com accounts manager Tan Hui Min , huimin @ editecintl . com
MARKETING director - sales & marketing Jessie Tan , jessie @ editecintl . com manager - sales & marketing Lynn Chee , lynn @ editecintl . com
CIRCULATION & PROMOTIONS executive - circulation & promotions Jared Han , jared @ editecintl . com
PUBLISHING publisher / editorial director Andrew Yeo , andrew @ editecintl . com
MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES
■ China Yang Ou
BEIJING BUNCH EXHIBITION SERVICES LTD Room 501 / B1 , Thunis Development Building , No . 11 Huixin East Street , Chaoyang District , Beijing 100029 Tel : + 86-10-6482 3808-106 Fax : + 86-10-6482 3670 E-mail : yangou @ bbes . com . cn
■ Japan Mikio Tsuchiya
WORLD MEDIA SERVICES INC 3-35-1-302 , Hongodai , Sakae-Ku , Yokohama 247-0008 Tel / Fax : + 81-45-891-1852 E-mail : mikio . tsuchiya @ worldmedia . jp
■ USA & Canada Gary L Rhodes
SEDOR MEDIA INC 775 Park Avenue , Suite 255 , Huntington , NY 11743 , USA Tel : 1-631-274-9530 Fax : 1-631-667-2871 E-mail : sedorusa @ optonline . net
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