Govt’s decision to digitize cable platforms in India is a huge opportunity: Ericsson

It looks like that Ericsson is transforming to become a ICT player from a telecom infrastructure company. Ericsson has identified new priority areas OSS/BSS, IP and Cloud, TV and Media, Manages services model etc. In these segments, TV and Media seems to hold more focus for Ericsson.

In an interaction with CIOL, Nishant Batra, Head of Engagement Practices, Ericsson India, spoke more about TV and Media space in India. Read on…

What opportunities and challenges do you see in the connected TV space in India?

We see a huge potential in the connected TV space in India for Ericsson. The TV & broadcast industry is undergoing dramatic changes with the transition to multi-platform, on-demand television and Ericsson is taking the lead in driving this transformation together with our partners. We have recently enabled Tata Sky to launch India's first commercial 4K video service- customers subscribing to this service can watch video up to four times the resolution of the standard high definition (HD) video currently available. We have also tied up with Tata Sky and Sun TV for the deployment of our video compression platform. Further the government’s decision to digitize the cable platforms across India also presents huge opportunity for players like us to offer next generation services.When we talk about challenges, bandwidth is a key challenge currently in enabling a seamless experience to consumers across different platforms.

What are the trends in TV and Entertainment space you are observing?

The TV and media industry is in the process of continuous evolution, driven by the rapid upswing of mobile broadband subscriptions and increasing demand for greater consumer experience. We have already seen a rise in demand and consumption of video content on mobile devices anytime, anywhere by consumers. This trend will continue in the future.  Our extensive research indicates that in just six years, there will be 9 billion people in the world contributing to more than 8 billion mobile broadband subscriptions and 1.5 billion homes with digital television – furthermore, IP will become the globally dominant media transmission method. These predictions foreshadow a new era of entertainment and connectivity — one that will deliver on the promise of more choices, better quality, and greater personalization for consumers and where content providers and operators will engage in new monetization models.

Geographically, where do you see these trends taking larger shape in India? Do you see tier-2, or tier-3 towns aligned with these trends?

On Demand, Second Screen and Over The Top (OTT) services are all expanding the way we experience TV. Of the more than 50 billion connected devices that we foresee going beyond the year 2020, 15 billion will be video-enabled – relying on mobile IP networks to relay video to their users.

By 2020 the TV industry will be worth USD 750 billion, up from USD 530 billion in 2013, and 50 % of media will be consumed on demand.

These global trends are being seen in India too. Mobile video consumption also continues to grow in India.The emerging trend of viewing videos on mobile devices hasled to consumers spending more time on their smartphonesthan watching TV. Indian smartphone users now spend191 minutes per day on smartphones compared with128 minutes in front of TVs. Around 65 percent of mobile broadband smartphone users in India prefer video streaming to downloading videos on handsets.

What is your play in broadcast and media services?

Ericsson’s Broadcast and Media services cover content acquisition, creation, management, exchange and delivery to consumers spanning across the entire media value chain.  By integrating our technology & services we help media service providers enhance their ARPUs by optimal utilization of resources, content or network. Our portfolio of managed services enables broadcasters to make significant operational and capital savings by assuming responsibility for technical platforms, while speeding time-to-market and minimizing business continuity risks.