Image credit: Rethink Research
A new report released by Rethink
Technology, has indicated how the drop in DTH (Direct to Home)
satellite TV subscribers “will accelerate and spread from North
America to Europe, and eventually to the Far East” [1]. Moreover,
it shows that when there is an increase in the number of subscribers,
there will be falls in the average revenue per user (ARPU) [1].
The firm's latest report entitled: “Who
benefits as Global DTH revenue set to shed $ billions – Forecast to
2024,” which is part of the Rethink TV forecast series, has some
very interesting predictions. For example, it forecasts that “the
decline in DTH will turn out to be terminal, and yet it all began
when cable TV began to churn around 2010, a story which spread to the
US satellite operators a few years later! [1]. As things stand at the
time of writing, the 'Great DTH Escape' is certainly revving up, and
it is beginning to spread to Europe. To that end, operators are being
left to scurry around, trying to mop up their departing consumers by
using the low ARPU OTT life rafts [1].
This scenario renders it unworkable to
sustain the current high average revenue per user at historical
levels. And to make matters even worse: “the wheels have just come
off for AT&T in the US, as DirecTV Now, its stand-alone OTT is
seen as an alternative to the main DTH service – both have now been
losing subs after initial gains and investors are starting to ask if
this is a permanent trend” [1].
A Dwindling Global Decline
While it has to be said that when certain operators are controlling the most wanted sports rights, and there are no competitive alternatives to match premium content - Direct to Home is still flourishing, and in certain regions of the world this viewing method is still providing an engine of growth for pay television; this is solely in developing markets, and this will not last for much longer, particularly in India.
While it has to be said that when certain operators are controlling the most wanted sports rights, and there are no competitive alternatives to match premium content - Direct to Home is still flourishing, and in certain regions of the world this viewing method is still providing an engine of growth for pay television; this is solely in developing markets, and this will not last for much longer, particularly in India.
Latin- America
Latin America with it artificially high
pay television ARPU appears less like India, and more like America.
Moreover, Rethink's report concludes that: “sustaining the average
revenue per user there, will be a thankless challenge” [1]. In
Latin America, because of the impact of the increasing middle class
which were involved in key markets until 2014, direct to home
witnessed a swift growth for pay television. But times are
a-changing, and over-the-top services are continuing to rocket up -
thus generating a direct threat, and creating a period of decline and
falling average revenue per user [1].
“The
exodus is gathering speed and starting to spread to Europe” [2]
Europe
The picture is more intermingled in
Europe: “the decline [is] well advanced for some operators such as
France’s Canal+, whose base will be halved by 2024 from 2018. Some
Eastern European markets have profiles more like developing
countries, most notably Cyfrowy Polsat in Poland, set to continue
gaining subs for at least the next few years” [1]. Yet towards the
end of the prediction, even these operators will run out of steam
[1].
Asia Pacific
Throughout the predicted period, Direct
to Home subscriber growth within the Asia pacific will be continuous.
However, around 2024, it is predicted to flatten out. Further,
Rethink anticipates that during the forecast period, a number of Asia
Pac operators which are currently experiencing subscription growth,
will reach a juncture, and this increase will decline [1].
Squaring Up
Globally speaking, when all the regions are tallied together, at the current time, there is still a rise in Direct To Home numbers. – However, it is predicted that during 2020, this will no longer be the case: there will be an accelerated decline as increasingly more Asia Pacific DTH operators pass their peak [1].
Globally speaking, when all the regions are tallied together, at the current time, there is still a rise in Direct To Home numbers. – However, it is predicted that during 2020, this will no longer be the case: there will be an accelerated decline as increasingly more Asia Pacific DTH operators pass their peak [1].
OONA - OTT With a
Difference
Reinventing TV
OONA OTT TV is one
of the global brands which is proving to be a winner, and gaining
worldwide recognition. - Its cutting-edge drive for innovation,
looking outside the box, and putting users in the driving seat, is
having an enormous impact on the industry.
Impressive
Beginnings
OONA's arrival on the digital
entertainment scene (as reported by Reuters), started in 2017, when
it formed a partnership with one of the world's foremost telcom
companies,Telkom Indonesia. This association resulted the launch of a
highly unique way to provide countless millions of viewers with a
winning interactive AVOD (ad-based video on demand) service, along
with a very flexible optional SVOD service which offers multiple
choices to suit everyone's pocket, such as just paying for one-off
live sports specials, or a weekend of fun filled premium content.
After this, various OTT TV platforms all over the world, started to
follow the OONA model by changing from their SVOD (subscription-based
video on demand) to AVOD, or by adding AVOD; and then emulated OONA
by adding live TV.
The OONA AVOD model, which is set to
empower billions of consumers across the world, so they can enjoy a
free, first-class entertainment experience on the go - any time, any
where, and at home via OONA app casting, has made the movers and
shakers of SVOD OTT streaming services sit up and take note - and
this can benefit viewers, be they in the US, Asia, or any where else
in the world.
Live TV
OONA introduced live TV when it
launched in Indonesia in 2018. Being a former sportsman himself,
Hochart understood the unbeatable excitement of real time TV, whether
it applies to sports or other types of live events. OONA showed many
in the industry the enormous advantages over recorded broadcasts. One
of these is reaching bigger audiences. - Something that is easy for
OONA due to the fact that users can watch OONA on mobile devices as
well as on their home TVs. Moreover, when compared to video
on-demand, live streaming tends to increase the the time that viewers
actually spend watching a broadcast. This extended average viewing
time can attract sponsors, drive higher ratings, and increase ad
revenues.
OONA has shown that there is a broad
range of the types of events which can be streamed and enjoyed by
viewers. Popular live events include:
- Sporting contests
- Tournaments
- Combat
- Motor sports
- Musical performances & concerts
- News broadcasts
- Government announcements
- Public presentations
- Award ceremonies
Rewarding Viewers With
a Virtual Currency
Another OONA advantage which came into
fruition in 2018, is the fact that OONA users get rewarded with a
virtual currency – tcoins, just for watching the content they love,
checking out personalised ads which can save them time and money;
sharing on social media, and interacting with OONAbot, the cool genie
in the app who is there to serve them, and give them the best
possible CX. Naturally, this is garnering a lot of attention from the
industry, particularly as the OONA platform is largely funded by
ads.
OONA viewers have hundreds of local and international channels to choose from, and when it comes to collecting tcoins,® these are stored in a personalised e-wallet, and can be redeemed for a huge range of quality branded goods and services, coupons, discounts, free meals and fun days out, telcom products, and exclusive prizes.
OONA viewers have hundreds of local and international channels to choose from, and when it comes to collecting tcoins,® these are stored in a personalised e-wallet, and can be redeemed for a huge range of quality branded goods and services, coupons, discounts, free meals and fun days out, telcom products, and exclusive prizes.
Christophe Hochart, Founder & CEO of OONA (centre)
OONA is currently set up to serve 185 million Indonesians, and is well on its way to being established in other parts of Asia, the US, Europe, Africa, South America and the Middle East. Headed by leading digital strategist and AI expert, Christophe Hochart, the platform's ethos has been the same ever since he founded it a few years ago: to put consumers first and give them loyalty rewards; give telcoms, studios and content holders an unbeatable deal, operate in a transparent way; and empower billions of people with free access to top entertainment, thereby bringing equality to all, and putting a stop to pirate TV.
On the Right Track
Leading market researchers and analysts, Frost & Sullivan (F&S), have published their latest detailed report, Global Online Video Advertising Market, Forecast to 2023. It shows that: “the target-ability, personalisation capabilities and interactivity offered by online video advertising solutions will drive the $30 billion market toward $120 billion by 2023” [3]. This is no surprise, given the explosion of OTT video, and the sophisticated personalisation of ads that have been refined by OTT platforms such as OONA Global TV, which offers a free AVOD option. Further, F&S's digital transformation industry analyst, Aravindh Vanchesan, stated that: “By the end of the forecast period, video ads [are expected to] account for more than 20% of all digital ad spending” [4]. In fact: “Mobile video ad spending, in particular, will account for 75% of digital video ad spend as advertisers, media companies, and publishers follow audiences away from traditional TV and desktop” [4].
Leading market researchers and analysts, Frost & Sullivan (F&S), have published their latest detailed report, Global Online Video Advertising Market, Forecast to 2023. It shows that: “the target-ability, personalisation capabilities and interactivity offered by online video advertising solutions will drive the $30 billion market toward $120 billion by 2023” [3]. This is no surprise, given the explosion of OTT video, and the sophisticated personalisation of ads that have been refined by OTT platforms such as OONA Global TV, which offers a free AVOD option. Further, F&S's digital transformation industry analyst, Aravindh Vanchesan, stated that: “By the end of the forecast period, video ads [are expected to] account for more than 20% of all digital ad spending” [4]. In fact: “Mobile video ad spending, in particular, will account for 75% of digital video ad spend as advertisers, media companies, and publishers follow audiences away from traditional TV and desktop” [4].
In addition to this, the research also
indicates that: rising user group of live/linear and VOD content,
including special events such as sports, has generated a huge market
for the delivery of seamless ads, with various elements like DAI
(dynamic ad insertion), which is uniform across platforms and
devices. Further, it is predicted that SSAI (cloud-powered
server-side ad insertion) will become the predominant tech, as it
conforms to rigorous user experience and monetisation demands [4].
OONA's Innovative Strategy to watch Ads
When OONA was first conceived, Christophe Hochart, looked outside the box for workable strategies within the growing advertising ecosystem. He focused on monitisation technology, and attaining valuable deep data, as well as a way to attract viewers to watch the ads they are interested in. Being an early supporter of AI and machine learning, one of the unique ideas he came up with, was to create a patented helpful personal assistant named OONAbot, to ensure that viewers can enjoy content personalisation through: accessing their favourite programs and live content, as well as the kind of helpful ads that interest them, and can save them time and money.
When OONA was first conceived, Christophe Hochart, looked outside the box for workable strategies within the growing advertising ecosystem. He focused on monitisation technology, and attaining valuable deep data, as well as a way to attract viewers to watch the ads they are interested in. Being an early supporter of AI and machine learning, one of the unique ideas he came up with, was to create a patented helpful personal assistant named OONAbot, to ensure that viewers can enjoy content personalisation through: accessing their favourite programs and live content, as well as the kind of helpful ads that interest them, and can save them time and money.
"Part of what
makes a publisher’s audience so valuable is their audience data"
[5]
In order to get the right personalised
ad fit for each viewer, OONAbot has regular conversations with users
so they enjoy relevant, compelling experiences. She continually finds
out more about them and their lifestyle, as well as the products and
services they use, and are interested in. The latter is vitally
important, as it seamlessly amalgamates relevant ad content into the
digital consumers' experience. - After all, there is no point in
showing ads that viewers will just cut off.
Image credit: TNW
In addition to this, OONA's leverage of
deep data generates contextually connected results for targeted
consumers based on their personal interests. - And this allows
advertisers to take a higher level of control over their campaigns.
It also has to be noted, that all the personal information that OONA
collects, is kept strictly confidential. Moreover, at the end of the
day: “shifting consumer expectations of ad experiences and personal
data usage will drive innovations in ad transactions and delivery”
[5].
Image credit: Deep Water Distribution
Rewards: A Fun Virtual Currency
In order to have success with OONA's
ads, Hochart also devised the ingenious system whereby viewers can
accrue loyalty rewards in the form of tcoins. - So in practice, he
has laid the groundwork for ensuring that the data the OONA platform
collects, is an effective asset. He notes that: “While there has
been an upsurge in data sources, and the means to collect it; for the
purpose of actually utilising it to propel the business, we focus on
first-class data management in order to achieve the unity,
timeliness, and wholeness of consumer data which will drive accurate
results. In addition to this, we continually work on applying new
patterns so we can integrate the information, and apply new
techniques such as machine learning, in order to achieve optimal
results. All the tools we utilise involve privacy-complaint
methodologies, therefore, consumers' personal data is always
safeguarded, and users can have total confidence in us.”
Options
OONA users are free to add the OONA+ Premium option to their free AVOD service at any time, whether it is for just a day, a week, month or year. Moreover, OONA's ad-based free service can work in excellent unison with another platform such as Disney+ which is extremely well priced, and can deliver a number of favourites only available via that platform. By just having two services like this, navigation and everything else is kept simple, and the cost is low. - And after all, entertainment is meant to be fun, not complex and expensive...
OONA users are free to add the OONA+ Premium option to their free AVOD service at any time, whether it is for just a day, a week, month or year. Moreover, OONA's ad-based free service can work in excellent unison with another platform such as Disney+ which is extremely well priced, and can deliver a number of favourites only available via that platform. By just having two services like this, navigation and everything else is kept simple, and the cost is low. - And after all, entertainment is meant to be fun, not complex and expensive...
References
[1]. Rethink Reports (2019). “Who benefits as Global DTH revenue set to shed $ billions.” https://rethinkresearch.biz/report/who-benefits-as-global-dth-revenue-set-to-shed-billions/ Accessed 28 May, 2019.
[1]. Rethink Reports (2019). “Who benefits as Global DTH revenue set to shed $ billions.” https://rethinkresearch.biz/report/who-benefits-as-global-dth-revenue-set-to-shed-billions/ Accessed 28 May, 2019.
[2]. O'Halloran, Joseph (2019). “Terminal
decline’ in DTH accelerates.”
[3]. Doty, Dasid (2019). “The Digital
Revolution Has Been Televised: In 2019 OTT Shows Content Incumbents
They Can Fight Back.” Forbes.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddoty/2019/04/25/the-digital-revolution-has-been-televised-in-2019-ott-shows-content-incumbents-they-can-fight-back/#ee12d081396d
Accessed 28 May 2019.
[4]. Rapid TV News (2019). “Mobile, OTT explosion drive demand for monetisation tech.” https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2019012954950/mobile-ott-explosion-drive-demand-for-monetisation-tech.html#ixzz5e5OqLrEM Accessed 28 May 2019.
[5]. SpotX (2019). “Predictions for OTT, traditional TV, online video, data activation, and transparency.”
[4]. Rapid TV News (2019). “Mobile, OTT explosion drive demand for monetisation tech.” https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2019012954950/mobile-ott-explosion-drive-demand-for-monetisation-tech.html#ixzz5e5OqLrEM Accessed 28 May 2019.
[5]. SpotX (2019). “Predictions for OTT, traditional TV, online video, data activation, and transparency.”
https://www.spotx.tv/resource/2019-video-advertising-trends/ Accessed 28 May 2019.
