Broadcasters of all sizes will have to follow the BBC's
example and invest in technology that will allow them to operate as
integrated content brands rather than just TV channels if they are
to survive, analysts have predicted.
Last week, Computer Weekly revealed that the BBC is planning to
spend £1.3bn on new technology in the next seven years, as it looks
to revolutionise the way it makes television and radio
programmes.
The new "enterprise-wide programming environment", based on a
Foundry Networks infrastructure, will improve the way the BBC
creates content and allow it to deliver content over various
channels, said John Varney, chief technical officer at the
corporation.
To build an environment where all BBC content can be created,
accessed and shared will involve massive investment in storage
technology.
"If all our radio and TV content was stored as IT data, we would be
creating 13Tbytes of data every week," Varney said. "We are
currently discussing these requirements with Hewlett-Packard, EMC
and Sagitta.
"The idea is to let the programme makers sit at a display and work
with the content until they are completely happy with it. When I am
talking to them it is not about how technology can save them money,
but how it can improve their content and allow that content to be
delivered across different platforms."
Widening the scope of services in this way will be key for
broadcasters, whose existing business models have been threatened
by the rapid development of the European digital TV market, said
Chris Tant, managing analyst at Datamonitor.
"As both traditional free-to-air and multichannel broadcasters face
mounting pressure on their core revenue streams, they will need to
exploit ever greater scope and scale in order to remain
competitive," he said.
"By moving beyond channel-focused business models to operate as
integrated content brands, they will benefit from more predictable
cash flow, improved brand strength, greater operational
efficiencies and the ability to cross-promote content and provide
bundled packages to advertisers."
The BBC's technology investment is being made in response to the
trend that has seen viewing behaviour becoming far less dependent
on channel schedules and more based on individual programmes, Tant
said.
"Broadcasters such as the BBC are now focusing on building audience
awareness and attracting and retaining viewers to their content
brand as opposed to individual channels."