For an informed view on connected entertainment in the UK & Ireland, visit Cue Entertainment
The Digital Agenda was released this week and it promises that by 2020 all of us will have access to a minimum of 30 Mbps broadband, with at least 50% of the population signed up to 100 Mbps services. In addition, every household will have broadband by 2013 and all public services will be web based by 2015. Unfortunately, it was published not by the Con-Lib Dem coalition, but by EU Digital Affairs Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
Here in the UK, even the “Universal Service Commitment” to a minimum of 2 Mbps has yet to be confirmed by new Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey. He’ll work with Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt as broadband minister responsible for the digital economy and telecommunications, including the rollout of broadband across the UK. His portfolio embraces Arts, Media, Museums and Galleries, Telecoms and Broadband, Digital Switchover, Creative Industries and Libraries.
As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), Vaizey also will report to Business Secretary Vince Cable. This multi-tasking minister is obviously doing his best to single-handedly achieve the £700 million budget cuts already imposed on the BIS. Vaizey was vocal in his support for the videogame sector while in opposition, claiming that the Labourgovernment showed a “complete lack of support” for an industry that had fallen from third to fifth place in the world rankings. Let’s hope he will find the time in his busy diary to spend a moment or two addressing that and the many other issues faced by the home entertainment business.
One of his first actions at the DCMS is likely to be approval for “top-slicing” the licence fee in order to pay for better broadband. Former Lib-Dem spokesman for Culture, Media and Sport Don Foster told the Broadcast and Beyond conference on Wednesday that the coalition would ensure that “The BBC is going to have to cough up for the broadband roll-out.” So that’s the funding for superfast broadband secured.
Back in Brussels, cuts are not on the digital agenda. Kroes said that there is a need for a single digital market across Europe to enable wider access to legal online content by simplifying copyright clearance, management and cross-border licensing.
“The EU has invested 40% less in technology than the US while a third of Europeans have never used the web,” she said, as she urged EU member states to increase their investment in digital R&D to around £10 billion per year. Presumably, it’s that or higher subsidies for Greek feta. There was good and bad news for Project Canvas this week as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) finally announced that the agreement falls outside its jurisdiction on the basis that “None of the partners is contributing a pre-existing business to the joint-venture.”
The seven project partners – Arqiva, the BBC, BT, Channel 4, Five, ITV and TalkTalk – have been waiting a long time for approval and the announcement should have brought a collective smile to their faces. Director Richard Halton welcomed the OFT’s decision. “Project Canvas aims to create an open platform that delivers a connected future for free-to-air TV and a competitive market for internet-connected TV services in the UK,” he said. “The Project Canvas partners are committed to achieving that aim.”
The bad news that others have the same aim and might be closer to the target came from the Android developers conference in San Francisco on Thursday, at the slightly shaky launch of Google TV. Untrammelled by regulatory authorities, Sony, Intel, Logitech, Adobe, Rovi and, of course, Google are among the big names that have agreed to provide an integrated web and TV system for consumers, which will be available from autumn this year in the US and globally shortly thereafter.
If Google’s ambitious scheme to combine “the power of the web” with “the television viewing experience” goes ahead as planned, Project Canvas could be sidelined before it has even begun. Logitech will offer the important set-top box and remote control that brings Google TV to existing TVs – the gap that Project Canvas hoped to fill.
It needs only the integration of Freeview and Freesat into the UK version of its “companion box” in order for Logitech to compete head-on with the as-yet unspecified Canvas box. Sony is slated to supply Google TV enabled HDTV screens and Blu-ray players with an integrated Android operating system. Best Buy has been allocated the role of “launch partner” for Google TV, no doubt due to its track record with Roxio CinemaNow and its ongoing employee training in digital delivery. Users expecting the now-familiar web search interface will find that Google proposes a totally different way to interact with online content.
Rovi EVP of Product Management and Marketing Corey Ferengul says integration with the increasingly popular Android mobile phone platform is important in changing public attitudes. “You can’t just put an app in the TV and do nothing else,” he says, “Google TV is designed for the primary screen in the house and this opens up a new market for app developers to link mobile handsets, Blu-ray players and HDTVs.”
Rights issues are certain to be a major issue when Google TV becomes available since content will be displayed from wherever it is found on websites around the world. There is no such thing as region control on the open internet although the blunt instrument of IP blocking can restrict access for some users on a country-by-country basis. Google’s attitude to this is straightforward – they don’t see it as their job to restrict access and Google TV is just the web on another platform.
“It is going to cause the industry to think hard about rights issues,” says Ferengul, “and that’s going to lead to a dramatic change.” Rovi is naturally keen to promote its customisable TotalGuide search and recommendation package for Google TV, which Ferengul says will allow operators such as Sky and Virgin to retain the differentiation that gives them their identity.
BSkyB Group Commercial Director Stephen Nuttall said as much at this year’s IPTV World event: “An identical interface is not good for innovation and Project Canvas will deter other entrants to the market.” Ferengul points out that the Project Canvas box will not be compatible with Google TV, nor will it have the advantage of a link to the Android platform.
“The partners are investing a lot in Project Canvas,” he says, “The arrival of Google TV means that it might never see the light of day.” Others have tried to bring the open internet into the living room but none have pulled together so many loose ends. Google paid millions for the rights to the video coding system in order to give it away to users via a royalty-free licence.
The open source web interface is based on Google’s Chrome browser and anyone can develop apps for the system, using Adobe Flash if required. Phones with the Android smartphone operating system now occupy second place in the US, behind Blackberry but well ahead of Apple. Above all, the Google brand has immediate consumer recognition.
The Project Canvas partners will need to take a close look at their forecasts during the week ahead. All that’s needed to make Google TV a UK success is broadband to every home in the country.
Step forward Neelie Kroes.
Here in the UK, even the “Universal Service Commitment” to a minimum of 2 Mbps has yet to be confirmed by new Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries Ed Vaizey. He’ll work with Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt as broadband minister responsible for the digital economy and telecommunications, including the rollout of broadband across the UK. His portfolio embraces Arts, Media, Museums and Galleries, Telecoms and Broadband, Digital Switchover, Creative Industries and Libraries.
As Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), Vaizey also will report to Business Secretary Vince Cable. This multi-tasking minister is obviously doing his best to single-handedly achieve the £700 million budget cuts already imposed on the BIS. Vaizey was vocal in his support for the videogame sector while in opposition, claiming that the Labourgovernment showed a “complete lack of support” for an industry that had fallen from third to fifth place in the world rankings. Let’s hope he will find the time in his busy diary to spend a moment or two addressing that and the many other issues faced by the home entertainment business.
One of his first actions at the DCMS is likely to be approval for “top-slicing” the licence fee in order to pay for better broadband. Former Lib-Dem spokesman for Culture, Media and Sport Don Foster told the Broadcast and Beyond conference on Wednesday that the coalition would ensure that “The BBC is going to have to cough up for the broadband roll-out.” So that’s the funding for superfast broadband secured.
Back in Brussels, cuts are not on the digital agenda. Kroes said that there is a need for a single digital market across Europe to enable wider access to legal online content by simplifying copyright clearance, management and cross-border licensing.
“The EU has invested 40% less in technology than the US while a third of Europeans have never used the web,” she said, as she urged EU member states to increase their investment in digital R&D to around £10 billion per year. Presumably, it’s that or higher subsidies for Greek feta. There was good and bad news for Project Canvas this week as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) finally announced that the agreement falls outside its jurisdiction on the basis that “None of the partners is contributing a pre-existing business to the joint-venture.”
The seven project partners – Arqiva, the BBC, BT, Channel 4, Five, ITV and TalkTalk – have been waiting a long time for approval and the announcement should have brought a collective smile to their faces. Director Richard Halton welcomed the OFT’s decision. “Project Canvas aims to create an open platform that delivers a connected future for free-to-air TV and a competitive market for internet-connected TV services in the UK,” he said. “The Project Canvas partners are committed to achieving that aim.”
The bad news that others have the same aim and might be closer to the target came from the Android developers conference in San Francisco on Thursday, at the slightly shaky launch of Google TV. Untrammelled by regulatory authorities, Sony, Intel, Logitech, Adobe, Rovi and, of course, Google are among the big names that have agreed to provide an integrated web and TV system for consumers, which will be available from autumn this year in the US and globally shortly thereafter.
If Google’s ambitious scheme to combine “the power of the web” with “the television viewing experience” goes ahead as planned, Project Canvas could be sidelined before it has even begun. Logitech will offer the important set-top box and remote control that brings Google TV to existing TVs – the gap that Project Canvas hoped to fill.
It needs only the integration of Freeview and Freesat into the UK version of its “companion box” in order for Logitech to compete head-on with the as-yet unspecified Canvas box. Sony is slated to supply Google TV enabled HDTV screens and Blu-ray players with an integrated Android operating system. Best Buy has been allocated the role of “launch partner” for Google TV, no doubt due to its track record with Roxio CinemaNow and its ongoing employee training in digital delivery. Users expecting the now-familiar web search interface will find that Google proposes a totally different way to interact with online content.
Rovi EVP of Product Management and Marketing Corey Ferengul says integration with the increasingly popular Android mobile phone platform is important in changing public attitudes. “You can’t just put an app in the TV and do nothing else,” he says, “Google TV is designed for the primary screen in the house and this opens up a new market for app developers to link mobile handsets, Blu-ray players and HDTVs.”
Rights issues are certain to be a major issue when Google TV becomes available since content will be displayed from wherever it is found on websites around the world. There is no such thing as region control on the open internet although the blunt instrument of IP blocking can restrict access for some users on a country-by-country basis. Google’s attitude to this is straightforward – they don’t see it as their job to restrict access and Google TV is just the web on another platform.
“It is going to cause the industry to think hard about rights issues,” says Ferengul, “and that’s going to lead to a dramatic change.” Rovi is naturally keen to promote its customisable TotalGuide search and recommendation package for Google TV, which Ferengul says will allow operators such as Sky and Virgin to retain the differentiation that gives them their identity.
BSkyB Group Commercial Director Stephen Nuttall said as much at this year’s IPTV World event: “An identical interface is not good for innovation and Project Canvas will deter other entrants to the market.” Ferengul points out that the Project Canvas box will not be compatible with Google TV, nor will it have the advantage of a link to the Android platform.
“The partners are investing a lot in Project Canvas,” he says, “The arrival of Google TV means that it might never see the light of day.” Others have tried to bring the open internet into the living room but none have pulled together so many loose ends. Google paid millions for the rights to the video coding system in order to give it away to users via a royalty-free licence.
The open source web interface is based on Google’s Chrome browser and anyone can develop apps for the system, using Adobe Flash if required. Phones with the Android smartphone operating system now occupy second place in the US, behind Blackberry but well ahead of Apple. Above all, the Google brand has immediate consumer recognition.
The Project Canvas partners will need to take a close look at their forecasts during the week ahead. All that’s needed to make Google TV a UK success is broadband to every home in the country.
Step forward Neelie Kroes.
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