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Satellite 2.0: is it time for satellite transformation?
Satellite was the television success story of the 1990s and remains a powerful force in Pay TV, with high PVR penetration and the arrival of multi-channel HDTV helping to maintain momentum. But the growing importance of on-demand services, the trend towards triple-play and quad-play bundles, the potential for true telephony/television convergence around IP, plus seamless service mobility across IP-centric networks, leaves satellite looking technologically disadvantaged for the first time since its launch.
Satellite operators competing against IPTV and advanced two-way cable know that at the very least, they must find a way to deliver content on-demand. The introduction of push-VOD over satellite spectrum, VOD file delivery over broadband into PVRs, and the emergence of online VOD portals owned and aggregated by satellite TV providers, are the first signs of the satellite fight back. Three-screen strategies (television, PC and mobile TV) could be followed by triple-play, as witnessed in the UK, where BSkyB acquired its own unbundled DSL network to enter the broadband/voice business.
In a world that is heading inexorably (if carefully) towards all-IP media content delivery, how will satellite providers maintain their relevance? How can they compete with IMS-backed television messaging, video session transfers between fixed and mobile, and location/device aware 'find me wherever I am' communications and entertainment services? When network PVR is a mass-market reality, and IPTV providers offer 14 day backwards facing EPGs, how will even the best PVR set-top box services compare? When sought-after wireless services (including 3G and WiFi hotspots) are bundled with television, can even an HDTV-heavy content line-up keep subscribers inhouse?
The challenge for satellite is clear. New services are required and new ways to deliver them - before IPTV rivals reach maturity and scale.
Satellite 2.0 is a new conference designed specifically to address the challenges facing satellite TV providers today. It will focus on the threats, opportunities, business models and technologies that can help this platform continue its growth over the next decade. Some of the questions Satellite 2.0 will seek to address are:
How much longer can great broadcast TV sustain subscriber growth?
Is compelling and exclusive content still enough to worry rivals?
Should satellite providers use the Internet as their on-demand delivery platform of choice?
Should satellite acquire broadband networks, seek telco partnerships, look for emerging alternative network technologies - wired or wireless?
Should satellite consolidate as a content owner/aggregator par excellence, and stay out of the converged communications business?
Telcos have had to undergo a great transformation. Is it now the turn of satellite?
Satellite 2.0 is organised by Junction, the company that produces the IPTV World Series of events (IPTV World Forum, IPTV World Forum Eastern Europe, IPTV World Forum Asia, IPTV World Forum Latin America, IPTV World Forum Middle East & North Africa).
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