Sydney-based Ooyala Asia-Pacific chief Steve Davis (scroll to end) is an occasional M+AD contributor. Today, he looks at the top five video trends in an IP-based world: Video content producers around the globe are facing a market filled with both opportunities and uncertainties. The rise of viewing on connected devices, growing OTT services, and struggles by traditional players are being increasingly felt at the content creation end of the value chain.
Video content creators want to experiment with cutting-edge content, get it in front of viewers faster, and better respond to changing audience preferences and needs. As a result, many are evaluating the potential benefits IP-based technologies can provide throughout the content creation and delivery process.
The top five trends to watch in this emerging IP-based world are:
1. Users expect to interact with content
Those in the latest generation live in a world where it’s easy to interact, state opinions, and express views. They’re accustomed to a digital world that is clickable. Many also want to have an impact on the content creation process itself. In response, for example, Netflix is introducing new originals that allow viewers to choose what happens in the show’s plot.
As a result, advertising will become more content driven, with brands offering interesting content and experiences that draw consumers in and retain their attention. In return, those advertisers will receive an abundance of information about their audiences and achieve higher response rates among the consumers that they seek to target.
2. Global, IP-based video is the next big revenue pool for content makers
While OTT services such as Netflix have expanded worldwide, traditional content producers are following suit. For example, popular sports leagues such as the NFL and the NBA are producing short-form content for distribution partners around the world, addressing consumer and advertiser demand.
Though most content producers have long distributed content globally, new IP-based technologies make distribution and localisation easier than ever. As consumers look to online sources first for global content, international revenues will comprise an increasing share of producer revenues.
3. Live TV is not dying, but shifting to connected devices
Internet-based live content is experiencing a renaissance. The rise of Periscope, Facebook Live, and other live streaming apps has raised consumer appetite for live content on connected devices while a range of companies is also now offering online pay-TV services.
However, live, IP-based content reaches well beyond pay TV. For example, Twitter recently signed a deal to live stream the Wimbledon tennis tournament and the Comic-Con exhibition.
This shift in consumption to online sources for live content will continue into the future, and IP-based delivery allows people to watch live news, sports, and other programming with the same freedom that they watch video on-demand today.
4. Consumers will demand new, diverse types of content
While revenues have traditionally evolved around traditional TV and movies, consumer viewing is shifting and new types of content are capturing an increasing share of viewing.
For example, US-based late-night talk-show television programmes are producing short-form, scripted comedic segments in their live TV broadcasts and quickly releasing them on YouTube for consumers to watch again, comment on, and forward to friends.
Producers and distributors are also experimenting with content length, vertical screen formats, and monetisation models to take advantage of growing smartphone video consumption. User-generated formats are becoming more widely accepted as professional content by the industry, advertisers, and viewers.
Companies are also trying new approaches in advertising. Fox Networks Group, for example, recently announced its plans for six-second ads, with an emphasis on use in digital and on-demand platforms.
5. Artificial Intelligence will play a key role
Today’s video services are just scratching the surface in the use of AI and machine learning. While Netflix and others are leveraging it for search and recommendations, the scope of benefits can extend into content production and enhancement.
New AI tools can identify objects and people within videos to automatically create metadata without the need for human interaction, allowing easier use and discovery of user-generated content and identification of clips within a larger video file.
Looking ahead, AI technologies will be increasingly used to improve all aspects of video content and services.
Growing numbers of content producers are observing these trends and assessing their path forward as industry roles and goals change – yet this change doesn’t come easily.
Traditional TV and movie-oriented production equipment and processes don’t readily fit into an IP-based world, however content producers have billions of dollars invested in this equipment.
New systems, software, and processes for digital, IP-based systems also require either training costs or hiring of new personnel. While software systems can be adapted to minimise training, current employees will have to come up to speed or change roles in order to leverage new features and capabilities.
Despite these challenges, however, content creators realise that the future of storytelling is changing and IP-based production provides new options and opportunities to connect with audiences. Rather than ceding control over the viewer relationship to distribution partners, they can leverage new tools and features, such as AI and interactivity, to provide immersive experiences and build strong ties to their audiences.
Rather than being a technical hurdle that needs to be overcome, the adoption of IP-based processes will position them for future success.
- Sydney-based Steve Davis is the vice president and general manager of Asia-Pacific for online video technology company Ooyala (www.ooyala.com)
- Earlier M+AD article by Steve Davis
- And here
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