Essence of contents, wavering viewers, and broadcasting platforms

Technology is assuredly redefining the way viewers devour the content. There are gargantuan of platforms for delivery of contents, and also there is a large pool of content creators. But the pull factor for the viewers is original content, local/regional content, innovative and appealing content, music and live events/sports, and more. Regional content is an area of increased focus, be it general entertainment, festivals, movies, music, sports, or talk shows. The DTH, cable TV, digital terrestrial TV, OTT, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Weibo, and WeChat, all continue to be key distribution platforms. Technology has raised the quality of the at-home viewing experience. User-generated content (UGC) continues to boom and enrich various platforms. These days, AI automatically creates video highlights packages that can be sent out to audiences directly or passed on to content partners within just a few minutes. The viewers vacillate in search of the desired content from one platform to another.

Colossus artists, like Jasdev Singh, become the kings of broadcasting. Such presenters create their own niche among the ocean of content creators in the broadcasting world. For incredible content creation, a well-researched and rehearsed program and the selection of words, the mastery over pauses, bodily expressions, effects and graphics, baritone voice, and flawless flow and use of animation and AI, and the like, make the content fascinating. The appealing and unique contents have big market across all platforms, which have opened up new avenues for upcoming content creators and are also lucrative for established producers and broadcasters across diverse platforms.

The seminal benefit of digitization is greater control over channel performance. DTT has various standards like DVB-T2, ATSC 3.0, and more. They have very flexible parameters for desired specifications. Small operators may use 1.7 MHz spectrum, while big operators may adopt 6 MHz, 7 MHz or 8 MHz. The data capacity may be achieved from 5 Mbps to 50 Mbps. So large number of TV, radio, or ancillary data can be relayed. Vivid features are feasible – from targeted advertising to thematic programs to interactive contents for fixed, portable, and mobile TV/radio. Similarly, in radio the FM may transform into DRM, HD-radio, DAB, and the like, which will be a boon for audiences, as it will have more than the sound.

Other attributes of DTT include e-governance, thematic contents, e-commerce and application services, mobile TV, interactive services, EPG, video-on-demand, SMS voting, e-education, emergency, and disaster information, and the like. T-government services for healthcare, public administration, local public services, and more, are other important milestones of DTT. The attractive aspect for digital TV systems is the ability to offer the viewer and listener more services, greater variety, and higher technical quality. Better spectral utilization and high energy efficiency are other big regulatory and economic motives for DTT.

With the increased events happening, the broadcasters have to adapt to different technologies and leverage untapped content opportunities. Cognitive computing is the next revolution in sports technology. Cognitive is now pervasive from driving the fan experience to providing efficiency for digital editors to IT operations. The IT professionals and AI may come up with more interesting apps for the viewers. The 4K/8K picture quality and higher frame rates for crystal clear picture, with more satisfying, ultra-slow-motion footage, that viewing audiences love, is the target of broadcasters.

In near future, it is inevitable that screens and platforms will not matter from the viewer’s measurement perspective. Advertisers, content producers, and platforms will chase the viewer as they flit from one content to another. To effectively recognize, reach, and retain customers, broadcasters now require a complex customer data cocktail that enables knowledge of who is watching what, and the analytics and apps in digital platforms may provide it. The essence of the above mantra is that technology and contents will change the landscape of broadcasting. The wavering viewers may become stable or more dynamic, but viewers’ autonomy will grow as they gain more control and options over how and when they absorb content.