CCW 2012

Huffington Post CTO John Pavley says that while consumers today use smartphones and tablets to access more recorded information than live content, that should change within six to 12 months. And, he adds, content providers and distributors should embrace the change, not only by making live content accessible but also embracing the “fifth column” — primarily the people who comment and chat online — by giving them an arena in which to interact.

Sinclair’s Mark Aitken says adoption in the the next 3-5 years of ATSC 3.0 is crucial to broadcast TV, giving it the ability “not only to meet the needs of delivering lots of bits to the home, but delivering lots of bits to portable devices. I don’t think it’s just about 4K; it’s about portability.” The new standard would “catapult broadcasting into the middle of the distribution” universe where it could compete with other TV media and provide a seamless service as viewers move in and out of their homes watching big-screen TVs, tablets and phones.

The group owner’s engineering VP, Del Parks, says that while strategy and tactics are continually evolving for how to best incorporate desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones, they are an extension of the station’s brand, “and because eyeballs are definitely there, we have to be there.”

The industry will continue to hamper its progress — and ability to keep up with rapidly growing number of content platforms — if it doesn’t adopt new standards, such as including uniform metadata on ads and updating its workflow.

More than ever, satellite services suffer interference from human error, the inability to track systems that aren’t performing and intentional jamming by unfriendly governments that don’t want particular content to reach their populations. And the wireless industry’s push to get satellite’s spectrum also is interrupting service, according to panelists at the Content and Communications World conference.

A panel at the Content and Communications World convention predict that within five or so years the TV industry will be equipped with the necessities — cameras, editing tools and graphics equipment, among them — to implement the use of 4K technologies.