If we look across today’s media landscape, there are three trends that consistently seem to generate huge amounts of interest. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data and Cloud – ‘ABC’ – are at the top of every executive’s agenda across every industry sector and organization size, from market stalwarts to innovative start-ups. The primary driver for this lies in the success and share price of early pioneers that have successfully utilized some or all these trends to both revolutionize existing industries or kick start new ones entirely.
Right from the start of the media value chain, content production has been enhanced through the evolution of cloud technology, ranging from innovative creative tools that utilize cloud-based applications, through to content encoding, packaging and distribution. At the other end of the media
value chain, we are gaining a better understanding of consumer behavior through the power of big data insights and increasingly AI based systems that start with recommendation and carry the journey on through marketing and subscriber retention.
We are, of course, in the formative years of the ABC journey, despite recent shifts in broadcast workflows and increased investment in IP-production and distribution environments. As my colleague Arnaud Caron, Head of Management, Orchestration and Cloud Portfolio, wrote in his recent blog: “We can see that IP is responding to the very-industry specific interfaces that we now have. But while TV (both broadcast and IP-based services) are merging into IT-centric infrastructures, these infrastructures are still adapting to the needs of TV/broadcast.” In other words, this change is an ongoing evolution and not an overnight journey. Yet the widespread use of open standards and strong competition amongst hyperscalers and related technologies suggests a very healthy future for the entire ecosystem.
AI is the most contemporary of the ABC’s and we are starting to see the emergence of several exciting projects which are delivering tangible benefits in quantitative areas such as smarter video compression, VFX and more efficient production methods. In terms of the consumer, we can see all three ABC’s being used to create new services offering new types of personalized user experiences. For example, last year 20th Century Fox began work on developing AI to analyze movie trailers. They examined footage of the trailers frame-by-frame, creating labels for different objects and events and then compared this data against other trailers in order to predict a user’s viewing habits and ratings.
ABC trends are increasingly being used to bring together disparate parts of the video value chain to provide a more seamless and immersive experience. New areas such as real-time game streaming, 360-degree video, AR/VR and interactivity moving from concept to viable services in months not years through the ability to build, test and scale made easier through ABC-based platforms. For pioneers, now is the time to test the water. From simple systems that reduce the cost and production activities to breakthrough services that entice new subscribers. The tools are ready, the will to explore is the next step.
On Thursday June 20 (10.45) at Suntec Singapore, I will be joining moderator Sushant Sharma, Managing Director QvestMedia, to discuss ‘Revolutionizing the Video Value Chain with ‘ABC’ alongside a panel including:
- Dr Randolph Nikutta, Head of New Media, Deutsche Telekom
- Gustavo Fuchs, General Manager – Cloud & Solutions (Asia), Microsoft
- Sudharshan Aravamudan, Sales Lead – Media, Google
- Dr Shay David, President & GM, Media & Telecom, Kaltura
Together, we will look at why AI, Big Data and Cloud have the potential to make profound impact in
enabling organizations to significantly improve efficiencies, get faster time to market and deliver deeper insights which enhance monetization opportunities. We will explore how to maximize the value across the video value chain – from content production, to distribution and user engagement. I hope to see you there!
