'TV Everywhere' Has Different Meanings in Europe and the U.S.
One common, even popular expression; two completely different meanings: When online video professionals in Europe and the United States talk about TV Everywhere, they're talking about different ideas.
This dichotomy was brought home at the recent Streaming Media Europe conference by Matthew Huntington, then with digital television solution provider Nagra Kudelski, who explained the two meaning to attendees.
"In Europe, when we talk about TV Everywhere, generally what we're talking about is satellite and cable operators enabling the majority of their bouquet of channels to be accessed on a wide variety of devices -- tablets, phones, et cetera -- whereas in the U.S. it has a slightly different meaning, where the cable operators in particular are trying to control people's access to over-the-top services," Huntington said. "So, effectively restricting access to over-the-top services to only people who have a valid cable subscription."
In Europe, the expression really does mean TV everywhere; in the U.S., it means some video in more places if the viewer has a subscription.
"If you wanted to watch NBC's Olympic coverage on your iPad, you had to be a cable or satellite subscriber to do that," Huntington continued. "If you had cut the cord, then you wouldn't have been able to watch that service. TV Everywhere is really referring to an authentication mechanism to authenticate that you've got access to it. So a very different vibe to that meaning between Europe and the U.S."
For the full panel discussion, which looked at electronic sell-through, watch the video below.
Establishing a Common Platform for Electronic Sell-Through
Moderator: Troy Dreier, Senior Associate Editor, StreamingMedia.com and OnlineVideo.net
Andrew Glasspool, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Farncombe
Susanne Guth-Orlowski, VP Business Development & Sales, CastLabs
Matthew Huntington, Nagra Kudelski
This session will examine the challenges of establishing and rolling out a common platform for electronic sell-through, enabling consumers to purchase and access video content via any device or network. It will examine various models proposed by industry players, including pay-TV operator ‘TV Everywhere’ initiatives, connected device manufacturer portals (e.g. Apple’s iTunes), and proposed industry standards such as the studio-led Ultraviolet platform. Among the issues to be addressed are: the role of the pay-TV operators; the pros and cons of a centralised approach; the use of digital rights lockers; the need to protect premium video content on retail devices; and the impact of Europe’s fragmented regulatory environment and video release windows.
Companies and Suppliers Mentioned