Q&A: Top Trends in Digital, Multiscreen TV for IBC 2012

As IBC 2012 gets underway in Amsterdam, VideoWorldInsider caught up with Kirk George, marketing director at video service assurance provider IneoQuest (News - Alert). We asked him about the top trends for video service providers as we head into the industry’s biggest event of the year, and unsurprisingly, found digital distribution and multiscreen strategies to be top of mind.

VideoWorldInsider: What are the top trends you see developing in Amsterdam this week that have importance for pay-TV operators going forward?

Kirk George: The main trends we see revolve around multiscreen, business intelligence and digital advertising. We see video service providers eager to enhance their understanding of their services and maximize customer experience. The only way to effectively do this is not only to monitor and collect incredible amounts of quality metrics, but also to report and dissect this information on an executive level. Business Intelligence solutions specifically designed for video quality are a huge growth area for us in the coming years.

Of course, the buzz is still all about multiscreen and TV everywhere. These services will only continue to expand. Providers are investing heavily in the infrastructure necessary for delivering these video services with a high quality customer experience. This is a great growth area for us, as an industry-first quality assurance vendor in this space and the fact that, with an established customer base, we truly have a deep understanding and wealth of knowledge.

One other thing that IneoQuest looks forward to at IBC is what the industry will be showcasing when it comes to MPEG DASH support.

VWI: How are the shifting trends affecting the revenue model on the advertising side?

KG: As the video ad industry matures, video ad verification services are in growing demand. Advertising agencies are becoming more sophisticated with respect to ad buying and cross-platform campaigns are driving improvements in analytics, transparency and performance metrics. This is leading to more choice and an engaged viewer who is interacting directly with the content and advertisers. According to Nielsen, the number of advertisers that say TV advertising has become more effective has tripled in the past two years. Billions of dollars are on the line as advertisers invest more in video and plan second screen advertising with synchronized ads. Quantifying and qualifying that ads ran correctly is becoming a business imperative and the importance of efficient quality ad verification is necessary to meet service level agreements (SLA) and compliance with US and Canadian audio loudness regulations.

VWI: In the wake of the first truly “digital Olympics,” which was a resounding, record-breaking success for NBCUniversal and TV Everywhere, what will the conversation settle on?

KG: It would really be interesting to hear about the 2012 Olympics Streaming experience. Streaming the Olympics was a groundbreaking event, so I am sure there are lots of great statistics about user behavior. We also expect there to be some significant discussion about the next frontiers of video streaming: what new monetization strategies are being considered, how will ad insertion (or localized ad insertion) be implemented, and how can the multiscreen experience truly incorporate social experiences (which it seems to be just on the cusp of implementation).

VWI: How is video infrastructure evolving and innovating now?

KG: One of the main innovation trends in the industry is streamlining video distribution workflow. There are a lot of players building out solutions to free up CDN bandwidth, provide efficient, low cost encoding, and push as many processes as possible to the network edge. Of course, transitioning to these models and putting the infrastructure in place to effectively manage these processes is essential. As video service providers, CDN operators and content providers continue to enhance, upgrade and shift their video delivery strategies, an effective, flexible, and scalable quality assurance solution should be a top priority.

VWI: When it comes to video service assurance specifically, what can we expect to be hot?

KG: With regards to Business Intelligence, customers want deep insight into many layers of video quality, performance and analytics. Customizable reporting and dashboards give video providers the ability to see the exact information when they want and exactly how they want to see it. Meawhile, program availability analytics improve network management and extended data storage allows for trending and forecasting of seasonal, cyclical and organizational service demands.

With the proper measurement, correlation and top down analysis, video service providers will be able to offer that differentiated service to their customer base and create advocates for their products and services.

At IBC, IneoQuest is launching a QoS and QoE probe for DVB-S & DVB-S2, called the Plurus DVA DVB-S/S2. This probe reports directly into the iVMS Video Management system, providing our customers with a robust monitoring probe for DVB-S and DVB-S2 video delivery.