Geo-Blocking Attacked on All Sides

It is a given, that when a market is nascent, any kind of obstacle can be a serious barrier to wider adoption of the product or service.

Take OTT and VoD for example. Many people, for an insignificant monthly sum, subscribe to a live sports service. Last month, one of our VisiTechians was vacationing in Tenerife and decided to watch some UK Premier League Soccer. Except, he couldn’t. He was blocked due to his location.

This got our curiosity going, so we did some research on geo-blocking. One thing we learned was that almost a quarter (23%) of Internet users in Germany wanted to watch videos on the net, which turned out to be inaccessible due to geo-blocking. In Germany alone there are around 25 million Internet users, or nearly one in two, that watch video on the Internet.

Two thirds (66%) of the geo-blocked internet users wanted to watch movies, almost half of them (47%) music videos. An additional 10% tried to access entertainment programmes, 8% sports and 7% a series.

Don’t think this is a big deal? Well, actually, it is. With more than 500 million people in Europe, that is a BIG market being geo-blocked! Content owners are being deprived of satisfied users and, more importantly, substantial revenues.

There are a lot of issues in play here – mostly political and financial. It’s all about making content pay its way in each of the EU member states. And then there are the copyright laws….

Some would say that geo-blocking is a minefield built on quicksand. Others would say that the growing OTT/VOD market is being artificially and unnecessarily held back.

What would you say? Have you ever been geo-blocked? Let us know your thoughts.

The Countdown to ANGA COM 2015 Begins

With ANGA COM a little less than a month away, the 2015 show is already on par to be bigger and better. Currently, more than 440 exhibitors from 35 countries have rented floor space at the show, which already exceeds last year’s numbers.

The 2015 congress will feature a total of 24 expert panels with more than 130 speakers and moderators and will cover key topics including TV everywhere, video-on-demand, multiscreen, cloud TV, all over IP, broadband upgrades, FTTH, DOCSIS 3.1, Ultra HD, DVB-T2, connected home, RDK, Wi-Fi, CCAP, net neutrality, media policy, digitalization and competition law.

In addition, a newly designed lounge area located in the central foyer will provide attendees with meeting areas, snacks, refreshments and free Wi-Fi.

ANGA COM will take place on the Cologne Fairgrounds from June 9-11. Will we see you at this year’s show? Let us know in the comments below.

Internet + Television + Expo = INTX

Since NCTA’s move from The Cable Show to INTX, many have been left wondering, what exactly will this year’s show encompass?

As the IoT has taken off recently, there have been more opportunities to integrate apps into the overall cable video experience. As a result, NCTA has shifted the focus of the show to encompass the growing digital landscape throughout the industry as opposed to just cable. This year’s event will bring the two even closer together to cover the latest happenings in OTT, wireless integration and overall operations.

Here are a few things to expect at this year’s show:

  • The show floor, now called INTX marketplace will feature about 300 exhibitors. The area has been “reimagined,” and will feature “boulevards, plazas and circles” at various “intersections.”
  • In addition to keynote discussions among top industry executives, the annual Spring Technical Forum will dive deeper into tech than it has in previous years. The lineup consists of 43 technical papers that will be presented at eight different sessions.
  • NCTA will also sponsor a 24-hour hackathon, INTXHAK, which will challenge developers to create apps from scratch using the latest APIs, tools, data and content from a huge list of today’s leading tech, media and entertainment companies.

Will you be attending this year’s show? Let us know in the comments below.

The Continued Rise of the Streaming Media Device

Survey your friends and colleagues about their media viewing habits and you will likely find that they rely on video on demand and streaming media services for entertainment. To support this notion, Parks Associates recently announced that 26% of U.S. broadband households own a streaming media device and 34% own smart TVs.

As more streaming media service providers are adding 4K or free and premium services, we can expect to see the rate of adoption grow. The NPD Group expects 40% of U.S. homes to have a streaming media player by 2017.

That got us thinking – which streaming media devices were most popular in our homes in 2014? Here’s what we found:

How do you watch TV and movies? Let us know in our comments below or on Twitter.