Personalised, mobile TV coming to the UAE

The rise of TV on the internet has put older formats of cable and satellite TV under increasing pressure to keep up. Lee Hoagland / The National

DUBAI // Changes in how viewers source their favourite shows are forcing broadcast companies to think smarter as they attempt to retain a fickle audience in a world where choice has become king.
The rise of TV on the internet has put older formats of cable and satellite TV under increasing pressure to keep up. In fact, in future, distributing mobile and web content will no longer be considered an alternative, but the core business for media companies.
Speaking at the Cabsat conference at Dubai World Trade Centre, Vidya S Nath, a research director in digital media at Frost and Sullivan, said future content will be more personalised. "We are seeing broadcasters still experimenting with multi-screen content. As technology improves, we will see a lot more cloud-based solutions to provide more content choice."
At present, on demand and catch-up services are provided to customers looking for alternatives to traditional, scheduled TV.
By 2019, that is expected to change, according to the bosses of some of the region's largest media broadcast companies, who said viewing cloud-based shows could become the dominant force.
This should also become even more attractive to advertisers, who will be able to tailor adverts for particular types of viewer.
Dr Yaser Bishr, the chief strategy officer at Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, said: "It takes a long time to transform an organisation that is based on linear TV.
"We have launched a new mobile-only product in the US but we want to bring that into the Middle East on a smaller scale. The cost of mobile phones is still very high, so there is more of a challenge to provide more content on mobile platforms here."
Mukund Cairae, the chief executive of Mumbai-based Zee Entertainment, is not yet convinced about the demand for more personalised television.
"I'm not sure how long it will take to reach the utopia of unicasting, maybe five years, or 10," he said.
"I look back and wonder if television viewing was meant to be individualistic in nature.
"Conceptually, you watched content as a family on a black and white TV in the 1950s and community viewing is still strong in the Middle East today."
Demand for high-definition content means that satellite TV subscriptions still have a future, while online streaming services will offer lower-definition content.
Deepak Mathur, regional vice president at global satellite operator SES, said: "We have invested in technology that will allow people to receive their normal pay TV subscription into their home, but simultaneously broadcast that onto up to 24 devices.
"We are still seeing many subscribers to satellite TV."
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