Innovations in screen technology, data collection, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and automated algorithms are driving rapid change in the way content is consumed, which will require operators and content creators to evolve their role in the ecosystem.
This according to Nokia’s latest projections, announced at IBC2017 Amsterdam.
Nokia unveiled a glimpse of the future of entertainment with the release of its “From Television to Any Vision” report, which forecasts how entertainment content will be discovered, accessed and enjoyed, resulting in a dramatically different consumer experience by 2025.
“Mainstream consumers are demanding ubiquitous access to content they care about across a range of screens and display devices – whether at home or on the go. As the explosion of video delivery options continues to feed that demand, we believe television as we know it today will be unrecognisable by 2025,” said Paul Larbey, head of Nokia’s IP Video business.
“We are seeing the changes already. The challenge for operators is helping it all evolve in a coherent and connected fashion that maximizes the power of the technologies driving innovation. Our role is to provide our partners with tools they can immediately implement to offer a seamless and personal experience to their ultimate consumer.”
These innovations are unfolding at an unprecedented pace, across areas like screen technology, data collection, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and automated algorithms. According to Larbey, harnessing the power of these influences to deliver focused and personalised experiences will require operators to rethink and adapt to changes in the ecosystem.
Larbey also said that a key element to making sure all of these new offerings can come together involves moving everything to the cloud, from the curation of content to its delivery.
Nokia’s Virtualised User Experience platform (UXP), which was also launched at IBC enables operators to build and render personalised consumer experience based on location, device type, moment in time and other data points and factors.
The Any Vision concept is built around the proposition that any show from anyone can be enjoyed on any surface at any time. A smartphone or tablet will serve as the anchor device, while aggregation of broadcast and IP-delivered content through advanced algorithms will recommend programming based on personal interest, social media engagement, daily schedule and other criteria.
Ultimately, this will enable consumers to access content in a highly personalised and customisable environment, unconstrained by linear programming and walled garden accounts.
“The popularity of smartphones, consumers’ shift towards streaming media consumption and the emergence of an “app economy” are driving rapid and wholesale change in the over $600 billion-plus Pay TV and VOD industry,” noted Paul Erickson, senior analyst at IHS Markit.
“What the industry will look like over the next five to ten years will be shaped largely by how and whether content distributors and aggregators act proactively to take advantage of these changes over the long run, as opposed to reactively responding in the present.”
