NAS News

FTA/PAY TV

Streaming subscriptions on the rise as TV ad revenue comes under pressure

'Like many Australians, Anthony Squadrito reaches for the television remote to unwind or catch up on his favourite shows, but that's where his use of the channel-changer ends.'

"When we first moved in, we didn't have an aerial, so we didn't want to go to Bunnings and buy an aerial. When we set up the TV we could just watch YouTube or Netflix which is a lot easier," he told The Business from his Sydney home.

'Instead, Anthony and his housemate use their phones to control what they watch, from subscription services like Netflix to live streaming the commercial networks — although he thinks some of the free-to-air networks have a way to go.'

"They're slowly getting there but everyone's aiming for Netflix I think," said Anthony, who works in the streaming space.

'Key points:

• More than half of Australian households have a video on demand subscription
• Advertising revenue from broadcaster video on demand surged 32 per cent last financial year
• Seven says it's on the hunt for new opportunities and looking at subscription streaming partnerships'

The complete article can be accessed here.

Free TV, TX Australia and Broadcast Australia complete trials of next generation broadcast technology using ENENSYS DVB-T2 Technology

"Rennes, France – 1st of July 2019 – ENENSYS Technologies has announced that Free TV, TX Australia and Broadcast Australia used its ENENSYS T2Gateway and Teamcast TwisterII modulator for the recent trials of DVB-T2 in Queensland, originating from the TX Australia managed Gold Coast transmission site at Mount Tamborine and the TXA Brisbane transmission site at Mount Coot-tha. The trials are now complete and preliminary results will be presented during the Media Entertainment Technology (SMPTE) conference in Sydney in July."

"The trial assessed the performance of DVB-T2 transmission modes in the Australian environment, utilising the UHF band for transmissions in both MFN and SFN configurations. DVB-T2 is being considered as a 2nd generation DTT technology to replace the current DVB-T standard currently used for Australian terrestrial television service delivery. When combined with new video compression technologies (HEVC), DVB-T2 enables broadcasters to deliver significant improvements in picture quality such as High Dynamic Range (HDR) picture quality."

"The Queensland tests followed trials in the Sydney area in 2018 and utilised an ENENSYS DVB-T2 Gateway to feed an existing UHF transmitter that had been upgraded to support DVB-T2 with a Teamcast TwisterII modulator."

Colin Prior, APAC Sales Manager at ENENSYS said, “We were very pleased to continue our involvement in these trials that will enable the Australian broadcasters to confirm the capabilities of DVB-T2 in their environment as well as ensure interoperability between equipment manufacturers”.

The complete article can be accessed by clicking here.

NRL may produce broadcasts in-house

"A report today suggests the NRL will consider bringing broadcast production of its matches in-house for the next television rights deal."

"The existing deal with Foxtel and Nine expires at the end of the 2022 season, as part of a $2 billion deal."

"But Nine-owned Sydney Morning Herald reports the NRL could produce the broadcast content itself and then look to sell off the properties to interested parties if it isn’t satisfied with the price broadcasters are willing to pay."

"However, the governing body is already planning for the next rights negotiations. The emergence of Foxtel-owned streaming service Kayo and a shift to fans consuming sport on mobile devices has fragmented the market."

"Such a model would potentially bring Seven and 10 into the mix, as well as Google, Facebook and Netflix. There is also the possibility that the NRL could sell off various properties – such as State of Origin, the World and club 9s tournaments, international matches and the All Stars fixture – in a bid to extract maximum value. That concept has also been floated before." Reference TV Tonight.

Australia's free-to-air broadcasters issue statement demanding the government step up and tackle the 'dominance' of Google and Facebook

"The peak industry body for Australia’s commercial free-to-air television networks, Free TV Australia, has demanded the government implement the recommendations of a recent ACCC inquiry into digital platforms – arguing it is now “time to act” on industry disruption."

"In a statement published to the organisation’s website, Free TV boss Bridget Fair argues that the government must move quickly to counteract the “growing dominance” of digital platforms like Facebook and Google."

“We are experiencing unprecedented disruption within the broadcast media industry because of the growing dominance of the largely unregulated digital platforms such as Google and Facebook,” Fair said in the statement.  The businesses insider article can be accessed here.

Hot but not bothered: Australia's TV industry turns up the stream

"Begun, the streaming wars have."

"As Apple TV+ and Disney+ prepare to fire of the first wave of their programming artillery - Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon in Morning Wars and the highly anticipated live action Star Wars series The Mandalorian - the key players on Australia's streaming battlefield are bracing themselves for a bloody fight."

"Into an already congested market - Netflix, Stan, Amazon, FetchTV, Foxtel's Go and Kayo platforms and others - come two more aggressive players from US media giants Apple and Disney and, in the US, two more are still to come, NBC Universal's Peacock and WarnerMedia's HBO Max, both launching in the US in 2020."

"At stake are not the hearts and minds of the nation, but rather access to their purses as the promised land of fracturing old studios and cheap streaming price points gives way to the reality that each new service comes cap in hand asking for another monthly fee."

"But Australian consumers are not concerned about stacking costs, nor will the market reach saturation point any time soon, according to research company Telsyte. "Our research is showing the opposite, that there is a huge propensity for Australians to take up multiple streaming subscriptions," Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi says."

"Historically the high range of a monthly entertainment spend in Australia has been Foxtel's premium package at $132 per month, Mr Fadaghi said, citing that as a potential budgetary ceiling. "It's not inconceivable that households would have three, four, five, maybe even more subscriptions going forward," he added." The complete article can be accessed here.

Free TV Broadcasters Exceed Local Content Quotas

"Free TV Australia today welcomed the release of the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s latest compliance report which highlights the huge commitment of commercial free-to-air broadcasters to great Australian content."

"Free TV Australia CEO, Bridget Fair said: “Commercial television broadcasters are proudly Australian, bringing viewers more local content than any other platform."

“These numbers show that in 2018 all Free TV members met their requirement to show 55% Australian content on their main channel in a canter, with some broadcasters reaching almost 80%.

“Free TV broadcasters delivered over 25,000 hours of Australian content across their main and additional channels. This includes around 1800 hours of first release adult drama, documentaries and children’s programming,” Ms Fair said.

“This has been made possible by a record investment by Free TV members in Australian content. In 2017/18, our members invested $1.63 billion in powerful Australian storytelling. Over 84% of total programming expenditure is now directed to Australian content, also a new record."  The free tv media release can be accessed here.

Security

CCTV Camera Market is Expected to register a 12.70% CAGR between 2017 and 2025

"The global market for CCTV camera is considered as an extremely competitive in nature, owing to the presence of a large number of players operating worldwide, states a new study by TMR. In the last few years, several new players have entered the market in order to attain a leading position in the market, thus supporting the overall growth. The key players in the market are focusing on enhancements and the development of new products, which is projected to ensure the development of the global CCTV camera market in the next few years. In addition to this, the increasing number of end use industries is another factor that is estimated to ensure the development of the overall market in the coming few years."

"As per the research study by TMR, the global market for CCTV camera is expected to reach a value of US$23.32 bn by 2025. The market is expected to register a 12.70% CAGR between 2017 and 2025. The CCTV camera market across North America and Asia Pacific are projected to witness high growth over the next few years. The rising number of security threats and the increasing number of terrorist attacks are the main factors that are projected to encourage the growth of the markets over the next few years. In terms of technology, the analog CCTV camera segment is predicted to observe a high growth in the next few years."  The complete article can be accessed here.

Tech

Telstra to switch off 3G network in June 2024

"Telstra has revealed it will shut down its 3G network in June 2024 as it works to free up infrastructure and bandwidth resources to ramp up its 4G and 5G presence."

“Today, as part of our program to continually upgrade our network to the latest technology and expand our 4G and 5G coverage, we’re announcing the eventual switch-off of our 3G technology,” said Telstra group executive, Networks and IT, Nikos Katinakis, in a statement published on 9 October. "This will not happen until June 2024 – more than four years away."

“In May this year we launched 5G with the release of the first 5G devices in Australia. As an early adopter and pioneer of 5G, we are on the cusp of the latest mobile technology worldwide.  The complete ARN article can be accessed here.

Hackers can hijack smart speakers using a laser pointer, researchers warn

"Hackers can hijack your smart speakers, unlock your doors and run up gas and electric bills at your home using laser pointers."

"The terrifying attack uses a laser to control the speaker – like an Amazon Echo or Google Home – instead of words."

"By changing a laser’s intensity to a certain frequency, researchers were able to trick the speaker into thinking it was hearing sound."

"The laser would be pointed at the speaker’s microphone and interpreted as an audio command." The entire article can be accessed here.

The Economy

I'm sure we have all been saturated with trade war news.  Those who would like to understand possible implications in more detail will find the following BBC quick guide to the US-China trade war and the China Briefing timeline of interest.

A quick guide to the US-China trade war

"The US and China are locked in a bitter trade battle.

Over the past year, the world's two largest economies have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars worth of one another's goods.

US President Donald Trump has long accused China of unfair trading practices and intellectual property theft.

In China, there is a perception that the US is trying to curb its rise.

Negotiations are ongoing but have proven difficult. The two sides remain far apart on issues including how to roll back tariffs and enforce a deal.

The uncertainty is hurting businesses and weighing on the global economy.
What tariffs have been imposed?

Mr Trump's tariffs policy aims to encourage consumers to buy American by making imported goods more expensive."  The BBC article can be viewed here.

The US-China Trade War: A Timeline

"This article is continually updated as new developments occur. It was last updated on November 11, 2019.

Last July, US President Donald Trump followed through on months of threats to impose sweeping tariffs on China for its alleged unfair trade practices.

So far, the US has slapped tariffs on US$550 billion worth of Chinese products. China, in turn, has set tariffs on US$185 billion worth of US goods.
Related services

Both sides have also threatened qualitative measures that affect US businesses operating in China.

With neither Trump nor China’s President Xi Jinping willing to back down, US-China trade tensions have erupted into a full-blown trade war.

Here, we present a timeline of the major events in the trade conflict and what led up to it. The timeline will be continually updated as events of note occur." The China Briefing timeline can be accessed here.

US and China 'getting close' to deal

"The United States and China are getting close to a trade agreement, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Thursday, citing what he called very constructive talks with Beijing about ending a 16-month trade war.

Kudlow said negotiators for the world's two largest economies were in close touch via telephone but he gave no further details on the timing of a possible deal.

"We're getting close," he told an event at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. "The mood music is pretty good, and that has not always been so in these things."

The United States and China have been locked in successive waves of tit-for-tat tariffs that have roiled financial markets and threaten to drag growth in the global economy to its lowest rate since the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

Markets are anxiously awaiting an agreement to end uncertainty that has slowed business investment around the globe. An agreement had appeared likely in May, but those prospects were dashed after US negotiators said China backed away from the text of a draft agreement.

Kudlow's comments could ease market concerns that flared again this week amid reports that the trade talks had hit a snag over how and when to reduce tariffs, and what level of agricultural purchases could be expected from China.

Markets also soured after U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he could impose substantial new tariffs on China if no deal was reached.

Kudlow told the audience he had just come from a meeting of the top Trump administration trade officials and was more optimistic.

He also opened the door to the possibility that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would not need to meet in person to clinch a deal.

Trump had hoped to sign the "phase one" agreement with China on the sidelines of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile this month, but that possibility disappeared when Chile withdrew from hosting the event." Reference news.com.au