Global and local broadcast giants light up Sydney at the Australian Broadcasting Digital Media Summit

The Australian media industry is going through a massive digital overhaul yet TV content and the TV screen will remain central to the media experience for some time yet, according to the latest report from Deloitte. 

According to Deloitte’s 14th annual Technology, Media & Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions, the total time spent watching online short-form videos will represent less than three percent of all video seen in the year globally. While the Deloitte recognises the rise of You Tube style entertainment as a future trend it does not see it as the main fundamental future of screen based entertainment. “We believe that short form’s success should be respected but kept in context. We think it is unlikely ever to be the predominant video format, as measured by hours watched or revenues, both globally and in Australia,” said Deloitte Australia national media lead partner Clare Harding.

These issues and ways to navigate the future paths of the media industry were  dissected at the Australian Broadcasting Digital Media Summit.

The founder of sports broadcasting trailblazer ESPN, Bill Rasmussen  featured  as a keynote at the Summit, held in Sydney in early March. Rasmussen, who founded the world’s first 24-hour sports channel in 1979 will discuss ways of fostering entrepreneurial capital and innovation. ESPN, now owned by Disney, is now worth over US$66 billion.

The annual media summit covered traditional broadcasting and new and emerging media trends.  Other international speakers included executives from UK’s Channel 4 and Starlight Runner with local featured executives from ABC, SBS, Nine, Ten, Freeview and ASTRA.

Starlight Runner Entertainment, CEO Jeff Gomez,  discussed the issues that the industry faces against the onslaught of dozens of devices and screens of all shapes and sizes. “We know the broadcast industry requires new techniques to reach an increasingly fragmented audience, including young consumers who are more engaged with interactive and social platforms than ever before,” Gomez says.  He covered the methodology of integrating multi-platform planning, development and production into traditional production models, discussing innovations in IP creative development and trans media sponsorship and branded content.

This year the event was presented in a brand new and interactive format, which included new breakout roundtable discussions on a range of topics. One of the most popular roundtables was “the arrival of Netflix in Australia - the OTT challenge for broadcasters”.

New IPTV provider Presto said that “time would tell” about whether the Australian market could sustain all the SVOD entrants and Netflix. “Consumers will try all the services, and towards the end of the year it will start to shake out, " said Presto CEO Shaun James.

James said that "one of the key things we have learnt from the overseas experience is that you build scale very, very quickly”  and noted that Netflix’s entry into Canada  resulted in 1 million subscribers in just 13 months.

“When these things pay off and the general public understands how to use them, what content is available, what devices they are on, they ramp up really, really quickly."

He added that there was still a lot of room for both pay TV  and newer IPTV models, "Deloitte estimated SVOD would reach 3 per cent of the subscription TV market, there will be a big difference in terms of the size of market," he said

The 13th Australian Broadcasting Digital Media Summit took place at the Australian Technology Park, Sydney on the 3-4 March 2015.