Five Key Takeaways from the DPP European Broadcaster Summit 2024

By Gabija Jonsson, Head of Communications, Red Bee Media

Red Bee Media was the Headline Sponsor of the DPP European Broadcaster Summit 2024 for the third consecutive year. Our leadership team’s representatives were thrilled to meet our existing and potential customers at the Summit, which addressed five key industry topic areas – Cloud Production, AI, Metadata & Asset Management, Hybrid Cloud Architecture and IP Infrastructure. We summarised five key takeaways from those sessions, where broadcasters and industry suppliers discussed the media industry’s future and challenges.

• SDI is still a relevant player in the broadcasting industry. The shift from traditional serial digital interface (SDI) to Internet Protocol (IP) technology has been a discussion in the broadcasting industry for a long time. With the emergence of Internet Protocol (IP) topologies onto the production and distribution scene over the past few years, many have predicted traditional serial digital interface (SDI) infrastructure fading away from the industry, indicating the platform’s limitations and restrictions not being sufficient to satisfy today’s television’s requirements. However, while the migration to the IP is taking off in many parts of Europe, SDI is still heavily relied upon by many European broadcasters. This is mainly due to the fact that SDI has been a reliable technology for many years, and as it is still delivering, the broadcasters want to utilise the technology they have already invested in. While IP infrastructure is undoubtedly the future of the industry offering more agility, flexibility and technological capabilities, IP is still going to be relevant for some years to come, especially for point-to-point or project-by-project connections.
• Tracking the costs: Capital expenditures (CapEx) vs operating expenses (OpEx). CapEx and OpEx expenses are different ways for broadcasters to classify costs. If a broadcasting company is investing in its future aiming to be most efficient with its long-term capital, investing in CapEx is a valid choice. CapEx model allows extending the useful life of assets which is more cost-efficient in the long term. Alternatively, if a broadcaster runs a managed services model and wants to preserve capital and maintain flexibility, it might be better off aiming for OpEx instead.
• European broadcasters are under cost-saving pressure. The costs of investing in new technology are growing, therefore cost optimisation is possible if broadcasters change operating models that meet the business needs. Throughout the conference, broadcasters indicated outsourcing as a cost-efficient way to minimize costs and save money. Nevertheless, outsourcing requires a mutual dialogue for a transparent and honest partnership breaking out from the traditional supplier versus customer approach.

• AI is still one of the hottest media and entertainment industry topics. Many broadcasters have started deploying AI for broadcast programming as the analytics and data provided enable them to gain insights into levels of viewer engagement and make more accurate decisions about scheduling and airing content. Improved operational efficiency results in increased viewership time, increased engagement, and higher revenue for the broadcasters. AI is also expected to expand in making TV content more accessible to all AI voice recognition can be used to produce live captioning as it automatically translates audio recordings into text. AI-driven content localisation is also helping European media companies to reach offshore audiences faster by removing language barriers as the local content becomes accessible to viewers overseas. Some broadcasters admitted that further adoption of AI is still delayed due to some legal obstacles. There is a need for commercial models to ensure a fair and equitable transfer of risk if they are going to be sustainable and investable. We need to be mindful that technology and the products we create continue to support the progress and the senior leaders of the broadcasting industry should continue to share best practices and identify common synergies.
• Streaming services will continue to see a decline in 2024. As consumers implemented more savings in their households, about a quarter of streaming service subscribers cancelled at least three of their subscriptions over the past two years in one of the leading countries in streaming, the USA. Many streaming companies in Europe have been affected by financial difficulties and net loss in 2023. Different to other parts of the world, the market for streaming in Europe is extremely fragmented as there are many local and even regional streaming service providers. These companies are competing against world-known global players such as Disney Plus, MAX, HBO and Netflix. Territorial and cultural content diversity across the European Union is going to be encouraged further on. Last year the European Parliament voted to continue the EU’s rules on geo-blocking. Maintaining geo-blocking is seen as one of the major tools for guaranteeing cultural diversity in the region.