Traditional broadcasters need to step up, survey suggests

Singapore - Cable and pay TV operators around APAC see internet and content substitution and saturation in mature markets as some of the major threats to their businesses, a survey by Fusion Consulting and ContentAsia revealed.

According to the survey, other threats include arrival of new players, existing competition and unauthorised viewing.

"Traditional TV broadcasters in mature markets such as TVB or Mediacorp, must decide how best to compete with new content and delivery formats such as interactive television, internet protocol television (IPTV) and mobile," Pete Read, director at Fusion Consulting, Singapore, said.

In response to the survey, Florence Lian, SVP Corporate Communications and Marketing, MediaCorp said, "MediaCorp believes that the new television experience goes beyond the television screen. And that is why we have been actively pursuing and launching new delivery platforms like the use of Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) technology for TVMOBILE and IPTV palatform MOBTV."

"Our prime-time dramas are available via streaming on SingTel mioTV mobile. We have also just launched a DVB-H trial with the three telcos in Singapore. Through these platforms, we are able to increase the touch points we have with our viewers, in spite of people's busier lifestyles," Lian added.

The survey puts the five opportunities for this industry as technology advancements, industry development, subscriber base growth, interactive content delivery and new services.