FITT Final Report

Future of Innovation in
Television Technology
Taskforce
Final Report and Recommendations May 2014
Objective
The Taskforce will determine
how the UKs track record
of innovation in television
technology can be leveraged
to deliver sustainable
economic growth.

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From the Chairman

Steering Group Recommendations
Whos Who
Sponsors and Supporters
Consumer Trends
Evolution of Devices and Applications
Computing for the Creative Industries
Data Management
Future Networks and Infrastructure
Summary of Recommendations
Glossary
From the Chairman
The UK television industry has always been enormously

creative and technologically innovative. But we are facing
unprecedented global challenges to our ability to compete,
let alone lead. The Future of Innovation in Television Technology
(FITT) Taskforce was convened to review the current state of the
industry, explore ways in which the government, industry and
education system could more effectively collaborate, and make
recommendations that, if implemented, would enormously
increase the UKs competitive edge in television technologies.
I would like to thank the Steering Group and Advisory Group
members for their hard work and insight (see page 14 for full
list), and the Digital TV Group for running what has been a
thorough review of our industrial challenges.
The FITT Taskforce was set up to understand our innovation

system; the point now is to change it.
Dr David Docherty
Chairman of the FITT Taskforce
Future of Innovation in Television Technology Taskforce
Steering Group
Recommendations
of innovation in television technology

and to make recommendations that
would strengthen the UKs audio-visual
industries. At the DTG Summit 2013,
the Minister posed four questions to the
Taskforce:
1. As demand for mobile broadband
challenges the amount of spectrum
in the market place, what is the best
way to ensure the most efficient and
effective use of this important resource?
2. Technological innovation will never
stop. So how can the TV industry come
up with options and solutions to make
transitions to new technologies as
smooth as possible, whilst at the same
time protecting the evolution of public
service content delivery?
3. How will consumers interact with new
technologies and content?
The innovation landscape for television in the UK has been entirely transformed over the
last ten years. Unless the UK responds in a coherent and effective way, it might become an
innovation backwater, with its flourishing TV content and software industries becoming subject
to technological constraints that undermine their business models.
1.1 Introduction
The UK has world-class businesses in TV
production, post-production and delivery,
set-top box design and development, app
creation, Big Data use, silicon architecture
and design, and games development
and publishing. If we are to create an
environment where our major companies
and corporations flourish and in which
shoals of small companies emerge
and thrive, then industry, government,
education and investors must create an
ecosystem where barriers to innovation
are effectively removed or minimised.
The UK has an extraordinary track record
for developing television and TV-like
services1. From Bairds early experiments,
to the launch of the BBC and on to
the first generation of the digital video
broadcasting standard which was initially
delivered on Skys digital satellite service
followed by DTT and, more recently,
Freeview and Freeview HD, the UK has
been at the forefront of successfully
deploying complex technologies in the
interest of consumers and licence fee
payers. For example, with red-button
technologies using the MHEG2 standard,
and new internet-delivered services, such
as YouView, Sky Go, NowTV, Freesat
Freetime and the expected Freeview
Connected services, UK companies have
successfully delivered UK variants of digital
services for UK consumers. The UK has
built up an international reputation for
successful implementation of all these

services, which should ensure the UK
is well placed to exploit this experience
internationally.
Future challenges for the television
ecosystem, although formidable, are not
insurmountable. First, with the impact of
globalisation, the major TV manufacturers
have moved most of their production and
R&D back to their home bases. Second,
the internet and IP delivery of content
is starting to reshape the TV industry
as some consumers watch catch-up
services delivered over their broadband
or wireless connections. Third, consumers
have become accustomed to a choice
between millions of programmes and
services delivered to a multiplicity of
devices. Fourth, global technology and
software giants, mainly based in the US,
are targeting television as a means of
expansion at the expense of the UK and
indigenous industries across the globe.
Fifth, computing power and storage
continue to expand exponentially. And
finally, education at all levels struggles
to keep pace with this rate of change to
produce the skilled talent necessary to
respond to it.
4. How do we maintain strong

competition between platforms so that
consumers have a range of options to
consume television services including
free-to-air digital?
He said that to achieve a stronger UK

audio-visual industry, the whole sector
[should] be bold in how it approaches
these issues and that partnerships
and dialogue after the report would
be essential: Organisations like the
DTG are absolutely critical to bring
the different parts of the sectors
together he added.
1.2 The Taskforce

People and Workstreams
Comprised of a Steering Group of
consumer specialists, senior content
executives, technology leaders, mobile
and network senior managers and leading
academics, the Taskforce responded
to these challenges by creating five
workstreams and setting the review
horizon at 2025 to enable long-term
thinking and reflection.
The streams were:

Consumer Trends
Evolution of Devices and Applications
Computing for the Creative Industries
Data Management
Future Networks and Infrastructure
Each workstream Advisory Group raised
issues with finding and developing the
right skills and talent to deliver successful
innovation. Although we did not create a
separate working group to review this, we
have included some recommendations.
The full findings and recommendations of
each stream are reported in detail in their
respective chapters in this report. First, we
present the Taskforces vision of the future,
followed by recommendations on how
UK television innovation can have the best
chance of thriving in this environment.
To begin with we focus on the driver of
successful innovation the consumer.
The internet and IP delivery of

content is starting to reshape the
TV industry as some consumers
watch catch-up services delivered
over their broadband or wireless
connections.
Recognising the need for an integrated

response to challenges like these,
Ed Vaizey MP, Minister for Culture,
Communications and the Creative
Industries, asked the Digital TV Group
(DTG) to support an industry-wide review
1 For the rest of this report, television will be used to encompass traditional linear services and other forms of television-like services
that appear on all kinds of screens, large and small, fixed and mobile. 2 Multimedia and Hypermedia Experts Group (MHEG).
1.3 From Couch Potatoes to TV

Surfers: Consumer Trends in
TV consumption
There are more screens - with over

55% penetration of tablets predicted
within the next couple of years.
Although viewing habits for linear

television today are almost the same as
they were in the late 1980s and 90s,
digital technology has transformed the
way we view content. We now take
for granted multi-channel line ups and
Electronic Programme Guides, together
with widescreen picture formats and
enhanced stereo sound, all displayed on
large flat screens with images delivered by
transmission masts, satellite dishes, over
the internet and cable. As Ofcom noted
in their 2013 Communications Market
Report: the average number of hours of
television watched by individuals in the UK
has risen over the past eight years from
3 hours 42 minutes a day in 2004 (3.7
hours) to 4 hours per day in 2012 (4.01
hours). And the TV set still dominates TV
viewing - 98.5% of TV was watched on a
TV set in 20133.
Mobile connectivity is improving via

cellular (3G and more recently 4G, with
5G on the horizon) and Wi-Fi, using
wired broadband.
Many have been predicting the demise

of this type of viewing for over a decade,
but it seems to maintain a tenacious hold
on consumer behaviour. However, we can
already see the signs of transformational
change:
Manufacturers are consistently

producing, smaller, smarter and more
powerful portable devices that have
become ubiquitous.
Battery life is improving.
For early adopters of new screen
technologies - weighted of course
towards younger generations - linear
TV is only part of their audio-visual
consumption. These consumers watch
online via Over The Top (OTT) services
(video services delivered over the open
internet) and expect to view TV content
anywhere, anytime. Such viewing will only
intensify over time, and in our projection
of long-term trends we anticipate a mixed
viewing economy, with continued live
and on-demand viewing in the home,
alongside increasing mobile consumption
of TV services. This will, of course, have
significant impact on business models,
how TV is paid for and by whom.
(See Figure 1):
Therefore, although the main set may

yet be the hub for other media and
the industry will continue to innovate
around interaction with linear TV - most
consumers will have a plethora of choice.
Channel surfers of the past will be very
different from the search-based viewers
of the future. As such, we predict a steady
increase in the use of Catch-up TV, where
the programme or event is watched some
hours or days after initial transmission.
More disruptively, we anticipate an
increase in the use of on-demand content,
at the expense of live and time-shifted
programmes. Such viewing may require an
application to be running on the device,
with rights management that meets the
requirements of the content provider. This
will create an important role for search
in TV applications, and perhaps even
applications that allow searching of vast
archives. The UK is world-class at content
and must become world-class at context.
content anytime, anywhere. And

depending on consumers willingness to
share data on their consumption this
will enable all kinds of producers and
broadcasters to track the vast amount
of individual data and present tailored
offerings and targeted advertising.
We return to this challenge in our
section on data.
However, there are even greater forces at

work stoking consumer demand. By 2025,
the internet and computing technology
will have transformed not only our
relationship with our TV screens, but also
with each other and the world around us.
Devices will be connected all of the time,
providing access to our own personalised
1.4 The New Convergence:

Evolution of Devices,
Applications and Big Data
Figure 1: Business Models Matrix
Not Live
VOD replaces TV
decline of the channel (but not brand)
Users
(Online only licence-fee)
Behaviour
Services
Business Models
+ smaller audiences + longer engagement

+ storage capacity
+ Bingeing & release of whole series simultaneously
Small, portable streaming devices
(connected device)+ better battery life
+ branded short form content

+ adverts and additional content
+ Wi-Fi only tablets
New TV measurement across X days and devices

+ better data
+ OTT subscription
+ Connected devices streaming to TV
Home
Main set dominates

+ social viewing
(Broadcast & Online licence-fee)

+ PPV
Connected devices dominate

+ personal experience
VOD complements TV
+ event e.g. sport subscriptions
+ Contextual ads
via connected sets
+ contextual ads
IP delivered linear TV
Overnight viewing remains standard
Audience
(Broadcast only licence-fee)
Schedule remains
important
Live
Content follows you around
Anywhere
Figure 2
Digital technologies have disrupted

entire industries through the seemingly
limitless capacity to squeeze more and
more traditionally discrete services into
one device; for example, the smartphone.
This has led to consumers owning
media production capabilities on an
unprecedented scale: every owner of
a smartphone can take photographs,
record audio and make movies. It is to
the evolution of such devices that we
now turn.
The long awaited convergence in

technology will not be between TV and
the internet, or broadcast and mobile,
but the meeting of Big Data, mass
market consumer electronic products and
consumer appetite for new applications
and services. Smart networks will develop
where devices are always connected both
in and out of the home, opening up the
possibility of hybrid and virtual services
where equipment cooperates by sharing
resources. The data gathered will feed Big
Data and the analytics that will optimise
and bring real value to applications.
This New Convergence is the policy
sweet spot where the support for
innovation should focus. UK companies
may not manufacture complete devices,
but they can certainly build on them to
provide new services and applications.
UK companies have a great deal of
knowledge and experience in these areas.
However, there are barriers to exporting
them, such as lack of skills and export
expertise, particularly in small companies.
The industry needs government
organisations, such as the Intellectual
Property Office (IPO) and UK Trade and
Investment (UKTI), to work with the
industry on licensing, IP development
and export advice that flow from the
New Convergence.
Big Data
Devices
Analytics mine for

correlations
& value.
Big Data source.

Analytics enable
new applications.
Innovation
New
business.
Consumer
Appetite
For new applications
& services.
Figure 3: UK Innovation Strengths in TV Technology Stack
3rd Party App and UI Design (iPlayer, Sky Go etc)
on Desig
Applicati
turing
Finished Consumer Goods Production
Manufac
Product and Application Design
Creative
Design
Silicon Firmware
Software
Design
Chip Fabrication
Manufac
Gate and System Design
Silicon D
turing
esign
Social viewing
via connected people
Live refers to all content as it is broadcast,
+1 or PVR and watched on the same day.
3 http://www.thinkbox.tv/98.5-of-tv-was-watched-on-a-tv-set-in-2013 [accessed 18 Feb 2014]
Figure 4: Data standards and value
In 2025 devices could be up
Wiki- Mozilla-
Mass targeting
Innovations in storage, processing

and networking inside and outside
the home.
Apps that enable consumption of
content on-demand - preferably by
using an application framework that
works across devices from different
manufacturers, and perhaps even
across diverse device classes. This would
ensure that a larger proportion of the
viewing public can be reached. This
framework should ensure easy search
and discovery of available content.
Synchronisation between second and
third screens and home networking.
S econd, that the UK has the skills

needed to engage effectively in this
space. YouView and Sky already hire
a significant number of the available
C++ engineers. The UK requires a large
increase in software engineers to enable
the TV industry to compete with banks
and global software companies such as
Google and Apple.
As we show in the next section, these
changes will only be possible with major
transformations in the computing power
and storage available to the creative
industries.
Synchronous [shared viewing on living room TV]
Remains key currency of advertising
In 2025 devices could be up to a thousand

times more powerful than today,
networks an order of magnitude faster
and storage media may offer a thousand
times more local and affordable storage.
In this complex but vibrant business
environment, we recommend that the
government develops a coherent industrial
and research strategy to support the UK
audio-visual industrys drive to lead the
field in the following areas:
Current model, enhanced with more

metadata
Two key considerations to support UK

success in exploiting and reaping the
potential rewards of Data Management
are:
First, that industry works constructively
to find ways to engage consumers
in the domain of data management
by working for a transparent and
meaningful way of explaining the
benefits of sharing their data with
service providers; and
Potentially targeting:
Content, UGC and Adverts
Max room for SME innovation
Platform led
Adsense
Used for content search and

discovery, and for social media
comments about programmes
Primarily focused on targeted

advertising steals value from TV
value chain
No universal infrastructure
Secondary focus on targeting

content
Led by Verticals (Sky, Virgin...)
Dominated by internet giants using

their own standards:
Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple
Value drifting this direction
Figure 5: Mapping the future: data privacy

Willing to share data
Available but Unhelpful
Open Access
Personal data shared freely by

consumers
Maximum amount of data can be

gathered about consumers
Regulation prevents
internal/external data sharing
without explicit consent
Data can be combined from multiple

sources Mobile, TV, Smart home,
Auto
Consumer trust is high, data

supply is secure
Sophisticated and integrated services

that save consumer time, money and
increase choice. Trust can be lost
easily
Tightly regulated
Constrained but reliable

business models. Revenues stable.
High revenue potential through

targeted ads and services
Privacy Paramount
Data Mining
Consumers are limited to what data

they can share
Consumers either by default or

choice share little data
Regulation limits creative

exploitation of that data
Businesses have less data to mine

and lose economies and insights
of large scale
Consumer loses benefits of Big Data

and Internet of Things
New business models are
constrained. Innovation is stifled.
Revenues minimised.
Consumer trust is low and people

may be generally suspicious of
connected/smart devices
Revenues at risk
Unwilling to share data
1. Focus our energies on the innovation

sweet spot of the New Convergence
- where Big Data meets devices on the
internet of things (IOT) and matches
consumer appetite. This should include
a cross-industry government review
of licencing and export potential.
We strongly welcome the governments
establishment of the Alan Turing
Institute which will focus on the
collection and analysis of Big Data.
We call on the TV industry to engage
actively with the new institute.
2. The DTG to convene a cross-industry
working party group with industry
measurement bodies, such as the
Broadcasters Audience Research Board,
and Open Data think tanks, such as
the Open Data Institute, to respond
to the challenges of Big Data in
television. This should include a
review of self-regulation.
3. Industry and academia to form a
Technology Advocacy Programme where
innovators can share newly developed
technologies and find applications (and
therefore potential sources of revenue)
through connecting with other inventors
and entrepreneurs. Very often innovation
comes when a technology from one
sphere crosses over into another. Such a
programme could bring together people
from all parts of the industry value chain
to ensure cross-pollination of ideas.
Proprietary data standards
Growing Innovation in Big Data

Intelligent use of big consumer data could
enable better targeted advertising and
increase revenues in the TV value chain.
(See Figure 4)
A major issue is whether open or
proprietary data standards dominate and
the extent to which consumers accept
that sharing their data provides value to
them, without infringing their privacy.
The industry should review its privacy
criteria and explore models of selfregulation to reassure viewers and
consumers. (See Figure 5)
Dominated by top broadcasters
Advertising/ targeting
Loosely regulated
The markets for CE devices and apps are

increasingly global, and whilst the UK
market on its own is vibrant, it is relatively
small. Therefore, the UK must take an
increasingly global view of technical
standards to ensure that its voice is
heard more effectively. The UKs audiovisual industry must continue to engage
with the development of European and
global standards where it can leverage
its significant long-term implementation
experience for the benefit of UK
consumers and create opportunities to
export this knowledge and technology for
UK plc. The UK must be seen to be good
collaborators in international standards
development.
HTML...
Targeted
Growing Innovation in Devices

and Apps
The UK currently holds a strong position
in the global components market: if you
have a mobile device in your pocket, it
probably has technology inside from [UK]
companies such as ARM, Imagination
Technologies and Wolfson. So there is
an opportunity to build on global mass
market hardware platforms (mobile
phones, tablets, games consoles etc.),
that may be manufactured elsewhere
but which enable new, valuable and
innovative applications to be developed
in the UK and which may be successfully
exported.
BARB 2.0
Personalised asynchronous [viewing on personal IP connected Devices]
to a thousand times more

powerful than today, networks
an order of magnitude faster
and storage media may offer a
thousand times more local and
affordable storage.
Recommendations
Open data standards
4. The EPSRC4 should fund research to

advance the science of integrated
circuits, pushing silicon beyond the
current 10 nanometre processing
boundary. And although an old
technology, magnetic storage should not
be ignored. For many applications the
read/write resilience of magnetic media
is very important and universities should
continue to focus research in this area.
The Taskforce welcomes the
investments in Quantum Hubs
(funded by the TSB5 and EPSRC) which
address the challenges of developing
quantum science through technology
to application. And it calls upon the
TV industry to work with the hubs to
find innovative solutions to the New
Convergence.
5. Computing platforms and operating
systems should be the focus of
government and industry initiatives and
funding. Initiatives in this area should
include work with European partners
and there must be greater coordination
of UK efforts in standardisation.
4 EPSRC - Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

5 TSB - Technology Strategy Board
1.5 In the Clouds - Computing for

the Creative Industries
The creative industries both TV and
gaming are on target to originate
content at increasingly higher definition,
including so called 4k and 8k formats
and higher frame rates, up to 60 frames
per second (fps) per eye for 3D or 120fps
for 2D. This creates major business
challenges for the UKs post-production
and gaming industries. Most technology
advances more than double the data
storage requirements and, in production

and post-production, data transfer times
will increase hugely, especially when digital
cinema is standardised.
Audio formatting is also evolving from
channel-based audio to object-based
coding independently positioning
objects anywhere within the sound field.
While this does not significantly increase
the final delivery data, the computational
complexity in production is increased.
High-end production and post-production,
especially visual effects, can generate up
to 40 terabytes per day and, once stored
in the common file formats used in the
industry, can take several days to transfer
across networks. The IT industry needs
to address seriously the specialist needs
of the production and post-production
industry. If the UK is to remain at the
forefront of content creation, it needs to
provide the resources - capable of easy
expansion - to embrace ever-increasing
data and network requirements.
With the increased use of motion capture
and CGI effects, there is an increasing
desire from the industry to see previsualisations and first-run effects on set.
This requires the computing capability
and the skills to be available during the
shooting of content to ensure that the
captured images will be effective.
Digital Television is currently going through
a process of agreeing standards for UltraHigh Definition (UHD). This is likely to
include larger sample grids moving from
1920 x 1080 to 3840 x 2160 or 7680 x
4320, increasing frame rates from 25 Hz
or interlaced 50 Hz to 50 Hz progressive
or 100 Hz, and increasing the dynamic
range requiring a move from 8-bits to 10
or 12-bits per pixel. The mobile industry is

also converging with media creation and
distribution, with recent devices capable
of 4k video capture and display.
Although capturing and processing
this content is possible today, the main
challenge for television is to accommodate
Live outside broadcast. A standard sport
broadcast programme makes heavy use
of slow-motion replays and on screen
graphics to analyse the game. Therefore,
not only does the live end-to-end chain
Games are no longer restricted

to dedicated platforms or PCs:
they can now be found on social
media platforms, mobile, tablet
and TV devices as well as simple
websites using a variety of different
operating systems and standards.
need to handle much higher data-rates

for UHD, but the tools for fast storage,
manipulation and playback need to be
available as well, to support a typical
outside broadcast environment.
Gaming has similar challenges; where
technologies like ray-tracing help create
the effect of visual realism at the cost
of significant computational complexity.
Fortunately, graphics processing units are
evolving quickly to meet these needs and
provide the creative community with tools
to push the boundaries.
The other challenge for gaming across
multiple platforms is around payment
and discoverability. Games are no longer
restricted to dedicated platforms or
PCs: they can now be found on social
media platforms, mobile, tablet and TV
devices as well as simple websites using
a variety of different operating systems
and standards. The most rapidly growing
sector of games is with Free to Play
apps but with over one million apps in the
iTunes store and almost the same number
on Android platforms, getting discovered
is extremely difficult. It is therefore
recommended that a cross-platform
promotion network be considered to
promote UK-developed applications.
A cross industry working group, including
TIGA, should be formed to discuss how
cross platform promotion might help
promote UK-developed games and
other applications.
Within the Apple ecosystem, the

mechanism for secure micro-payments
is extremely well implemented and has
made a success of the business model of
Free to Play games with monetisation
via micro-transactions. Although there
are many web-billing systems, there is
no equivalent trusted one-touch billing
system for TV apps, in part due to the
fragmentation of technical standards in
the connected TV market.
The greatest computing challenge for
the production and post-production
community is the handling of huge
peaks and troughs in demand for
computationally intensive rendering.
This requires a data centre with sufficient
energy, processing capability, connectivity
and storage to meet this demand but also
to provide the benefit of being a shared
resource across the UK creative industry.
Similar successful initiatives have been
implemented in Canada to support the
growing creative community there.
The Canadian productive and economic
method of working needs to be
introduced in the UK to support the
industry and to keep it competitive
and world-leading in this age of rapidly
advancing digital production. Moving
forward, it is recommended that a
Creative Cloud be provided in the
UK to meet current and future creative

demands. There is an opportunity for
this UK resource to be innovative, World
Class and further develop energy-efficient
processors and servers. Also new ways
need to be found to exploit existing
infrastructure and resources, such as
the UK academic networks and high
performance computing capability.
A UK Creative Cloud would need to
manage access and scheduling securely to
deliver a flexible and efficient pay-as-yougo service to the UK creative community.
A minimum 10 Gbps connection would
be required into central London to
handle uncompressed video assets. Any
data centre should have access to an
adequate source of low cost energy and
utilise natural cooling where possible
to minimise running cost. Optimising
processors to handle audio, video and
graphics would significantly improve the
efficiencies of the computing equipment.
Secure storage would provide a vital
disaster recovery service for the industry.
Recommendations
6. Industry work with the Technology
Strategy Board, E-Infrastructure
Leadership Council and the
Connected Digital Economy
Catapult to create a resource to
demonstrate UK leadership in
this area, whilst supporting the
needs of the creative industry.
We call upon the government to
create incentives to facilitate the
introduction of the UK Creative
Cloud and to continue to promote
the sector in the UK. With a likely
implementation cost of 5-10
million, we call on the government
to provide seed funding, and
for industry to match this with
contributions in kind and in cash.
7. An industry working-party group
consider the development of
a cross-platform promotion
network to promote UK-developed
applications.
To facilitate these changes in production

and consumption, the UK will require
robust and sustainable networks and
infrastructure; we will review these
challenges in the next section.
By 2025, consumers will expect to view

their own personalised content and data
around the home and on the move.
The amount of data and content being
delivered will have continued to increase,
as will the amount of content viewed on
mobile and handheld devices. There will
therefore be a need to strike a balance
between the requirements of terrestrial
broadcasters and mobile operators to
ensure the UK is well placed to meet these
requirements, and to exploit the roll out
of new technologies and services globally.
What does this mean for technology
development? The UK has been a leader
in the rollout of digital TV, and HD, but
these changes still take time. With Ultra
HD, further developments are required
to make this commercially viable for
broadcast on any platform. However,
as the next generation of High Efficiency
Video Coding (HEVC) is expected to be
widely supported in set-top boxes and
TVs that come on to the market in the
next three to four years, this will make
4k and, in the future, even higher
resolution broadcasts, feasible on the
satellite platform.
Superfast broadband is expected to be
available to 95% of homes by 2017
with a substantial take-up by the end of
the decade. This in itself should allow
broadband using multicast technology
to become a credible TV platform which
could support the delivery of UHD
content, either live or on-demand.
Were a second generation digital

terrestrial (T2) switchover to take place,
and for sufficient legacy products to reach
the end of their lives, it is reasonable to
expect HEVC encoding to be used for
broadcasting on the DTT platform too.
This will open up opportunities for more
HD, a greater number of services or the
introduction of some UHD services on
that platform.
These are exciting possibilities for
broadcasters but there is still, in the
short to medium term, an issue of how
to meet the rising demand for more and
more services to mobile devices while
at the same time balancing the needs
of the terrestrial broadcasters. The next
generation of cellular technology, known
as 5G, is unlikely to be rolled out until
after 2020. The full extent of changes
expected is still to be defined, but higher
data rates are undoubtedly going to be
available. Delivery of content over 5G
networks is an area where major changes
can be expected. Evolved Multimedia
Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS)
allows multimedia content to be sent
once and received by many end users,
and the technology is already available
on the current 4G networks.
These are exciting possibilities

for broadcasters but there is
still, in the short to medium
term, an issue of how to meet
the rising demand for more and
more services to mobile devices.
1.6 S
ustaining the Future Networks and Infrastructure
More spectrally efficient distribution

methods could significantly change
the way we receive and watch content
on mobile devices. Already the cost of
memory is falling while its storage capacity
increases. The availability of larger memory
chips due in part to the reducing cost of
storage would allow the most popular
on-demand content to be delivered to
devices prior to consumption. Of course,
off-peak network capacity would be
required to do this, but as we shall discuss
later, this may well be a part of the
solution to meet the overall growth
in demand.
Another aspect of mobile delivery is
Wi-Fi and, if more 5 GHz spectrum were
to be released, then within three years
802.11ac would help deliver higher
bandwidth capacity to Wi-Fi enabled
devices and encourage the adoption of
the 5 GHz licence-free band. Standardised
beam-forming would bring increased
spectrum efficiency to Wi-Fi, and multiuser MiMo would enable more efficient
usage of the airtime in hotspots and
other deployments that currently have
predominantly single antenna devices.
Wi-Fi will be well equipped to play
a full and valuable role in satisfying
consumer requirements and demand
through:
An increased licence exempt spectrum
allocation at 5 GHz.
The technological developments
of Passpoint to ensure seamless
changeover between networks.
Carrier Grade certification to provide
QoS (Quality of Service) and DSA
(Dynamic Spectrum Allocation)
rather than DFS (Dynamic Frequency
Selection).
Smart algorithms in devices to allocate
and select spectrum more efficiently
(with proprietary solutions initially
before some of these are available
in standardised form).
10
This of course points to a possible need

to redefine the meaning of licenceexempt spectrum, and may require
changes such as permitting devices access
to certain spectrum, based not only on
their technical characteristics, but also on
aspects such as whether they are carriergrade broadcast devices. Equally the
use of newer technologies for spectrum
allocation in Wi-Fi, such as Dynamic
Spectrum Allocation which is currently
under investigation for TV White Space,
may also, over time, make Wi-Fi an even
more efficient spectrum user.
These help to answer some of the above
points, but still there is the issue about
greater and greater volumes of content
and data being delivered, particularly
to mobile devices within the available
spectrum.
With Wi-Fi and mobile re-using the
spectrum, it is critically important to
enable this finite resource to be used
in the most efficient manner. Mobile
cell sizes will need to become smaller,
similar to the size of Wi-Fi cells, and
so the future will undoubtedly see the
fast growth of small cells. As per the
new cellular standards, and as broadly
agreed by industry, Wi-Fi and cellular
technologies will increasingly complement
each other and their networks will evolve
to become interconnected: users will not
have to worry about which technology
their device uses or how to gain access.
Their devices will make these choices
automatically, while the networks feed
applications with relevant data.
The delivery of on-demand and linear
video content to mobile devices is
expected to continue to be the most
significant driver of mobile data traffic
growth for the rest of this decade.
To meet forecast demand in the most
efficient way, from a spectrum-usage and
cost perspective, live TV and the most
popular on-demand TV/video content can
be delivered using multi-cast techniques.
In the most efficient scenario, users of
all four mobile network operators would
have access to a single set of services,

transmitted live or via a data carousel:
however, this would require more
advanced versions of eMBMS or DVB-T2
technology to deliver services in
a network-operator agnostic way.
If these broadcast/multi-cast techniques
were adopted for mobile networks, only a
proportion of existing base-stations would
need to be equipped, and would be
sufficient to provide the required coverage
to mobile devices due to the fact that
the power used for broadcasting can be
higher than that used for standard cellular
communications, requiring smaller cells.
This approach is known as a Low-Power,
Low-Tower (LPLT) network that could
co-exist with the current High Power High
Tower DTT network consisting of high
power main transmitters and lower power
relay and repeater transmitters. This could
be delivered in the various mobile bands
that are currently available and that may
be made available in the coming years.
The use of LPLT networks to deliver media
content to mobile devices could enable
spectrum currently unused in parts of the
UK to be allocated for this purpose. The
ideal spectrum for LPLT purposes would be
in bands already in use for mobile services
elsewhere in the world, because suitable
mobile handsets are in production and
available.
This use of lower power delivery (i.e.
similar power levels to those used by
mobile transmitters) may also have other
uses, such as the delivery of TV in some
coastal areas subject to an assessment of
the cost relative to other available options
such as additional relay and repeater
transmitters. This could have the benefit of
opening up additional frequencies for the
use of DTT that are currently unavailable
due to international restrictions because
of high power high tower transmitters in
nearby countries using them.
The adoption of such technologies for
mobile delivery and for static home
delivery begins to provide numerous
11
options for the future. With multiple

TV platforms, consumers will have even
more choice of what content to watch,
both live and on-demand, and how
they receive it. However, this also leaves
options for how to ensure other aspects
of PSB requirements are met. This mixed
economy in the UK should enable the best
technologies to meet specific needs in
each location.
Broadband, DTT, satellite and cable will
all be capable of delivering linear TV
services to the home in the next ten
years. However, for services to be made
over broadband free at the point of
consumption would require a suitable
commercial model, and potentially
funding arrangements to be in place
for those homes not already taking a
broadband service. Broadband TV already
has a role in delivering linear content
to homes, and this role is expected to
grow over the next decade, including,
potentially, in the delivery of some local
TV services. LPLT may also allow the
use of additional spectrum previously
unused in some locations. These could
all enhance the DTT, satellite and cable
networks currently in use. The intelligent
use of mobile spectrum, developments
in Wi-Fi and the increasing number of
Wi-Fi only mobile devices will act as a
way to moderate data demand on cellular
networks and will all work together to
help manage the finite spectrum resource.
Recommendations
8.
Engage industry, government and
the regulators in the Next
Generation of TV Planning
Programme under the guidance
of the TV Leaders Assembly. This
would create an evolving plan for
the next decade and beyond to
ensure a varied and competitive TV
platform landscape, both Pay and
Free. It would cover broadband
take-up and spectrum in the
near term, and, in the longer
term, solutions encompassing
all applicable technologies and
infrastructure to ensure universally
available public service content and
efficient use of spectrum.
Additionally, in order for some of these
developments to occur, government
needs to provide certainty around
future policy and investment in the
following ways:
12
How should the UK deliver TV in the

future using all of these technologies?
The UK needs to develop an ongoing
review process to ensure the most
efficient delivery mechanisms are used
to provide universally-available content.
In the short- to medium- term, this
needs to look at improving availability
and take up of superfast broadband,
spectrum replanning in the UHF band in
the event of 700MHz clearance, including
protection of broadcast services in the
470-694 MHz band, to ensure DTT can
deliver services in the most efficient
manner and a cost and benefit analysis of
any T2 switchover.
In the longer term, an economic study
and trials to understand how Low Power
Low Tower transmission may complement
the current High Power High Tower
terrestrial network and the roles that
multicast eMBMS and 5G can play. The
process should include DTT, broadband,
satellite, mobile, Wi-Fi and cable to ensure
that core services are available nationally.
Technologies currently being used for
TV White space should continue to be
explored, as should the use of dynamic
spectrum access as a fundamental feature
of future wireless communication. This
has the capability to be used in many
areas of the spectrum - not just in the
UHF bands - and, as has already been
discussed, such technologies will enhance
Wi-Fi use and will become an intrinsic part
of the delivery of the Internet of Things.
9. That the governments policy,

licensing and regulatory decisions
for the TV industry ensure fair and
effective competition between
cable, satellite, terrestrial and
broadband TV providers. Domestic
and international policy should
ensure the UK is well placed to take
advantage of changes and create
an environment to ensure that
economically sound investments
can be made by the industry in the
innovation and development of all
platforms, for the good of the UK
and TV consumers.
10. Public service content should be
available to all consumers across
all age and socio-economic groups
free at the point of consumption
by using the most appropriate
technologies, including a choice of
cable, satellite, broadband, mobile
and DTT.
Methods of delivering content to

mobile devices using multicast and
broadcast techniques aiming to raise
efficiency need to be encouraged and
further investigated. Currently available
technologies such as eMBMS go a long
way to achieving this, and the step change
expected in 5G at the end of the decade
should provide opportunities for further
innovations to enhance efficiency.
Some of these options are radical, but
the finite nature of available spectrum
means that we must find practical ways
to use this resource more efficiently.
Some major changes and developments
in infrastructure may be required but
equally they may lead to real benefits to
TV viewers. There are choices to be made
and questions that must still be answered,
and in making such choices the impact
and cost to TV viewers must be a primary
consideration. Additionally, there is an
opportunity, before capacity crunches
really begin to bite, whereby pilots and
further investigation could be carried out.
Activities should include the following:
1.7 Talent, Talent, Talent:

Education and Skills
We need to stimulate the talent pathways
from schools to post-graduates to ensure
that the UK can continue to innovate
in television technologies. The digital
industries are hungry for data specialists,
and are fighting with other industries
to employ them. Creative companies
need interdisciplinary graduates who
understand technology and creativity.
The two-year Brighton Fuse project,
funded by the Arts and Humanities
Research Council, showed clearly that
superfused companies, driven by arts and
humanities graduates working with digital
and technology specialists, are the fastest
growing businesses in the Brighton cluster.
Two or three decades ago most
broadcast engineers above a certain
age were trained within the BBC, ITV
and Independent Local Radio. Todays
environment is very different and there
is a mix of public and private provision.
Initiatives like the MediaCityUK University
Technical College (UTC) in Salford
are essential to train the professional
innovators of tomorrow.
We recognise the good work being
done by the BBC Academy and the Sky
Academy in fostering training for the
television industry. The Taskforce also
commends the work of the following
organisations in developing skills in
talented graduates and apprentices:
11. To ensure that sufficient licenced

and licence-exempt spectrum is
available to DTT, DSAT, Mobile and
Wi-Fi for the future developments
required to support delivery of TV
content to all, fixed and mobile.
Conclusion
Recommendations
12. The National Centre for
Universities and Business (NCUB)
to work with the sector skills
councils to conduct a deep dive
into the delivery of data scientists
for the content industries.
13. NCUB, universities, sector skills
councils and industry to work
together on the challenges
of producing interdisciplinary
graduates.
Creative Skillset
http://www.creativeskillset.org/
e-skills UK Apprenticeships
http://www.e-skills.com/apprenticeships
Enternships
https://www.enternships.com
e-Placements Scotland
http://www.e-placementscotland.com
Critically, we must encourage more
young, highly talented and highlynumerate women into TV research and
development. The industry has to work
harder with universities and schools to
increase its attractiveness to girls and
young women. We note and support
the National Centre for University and
Businesss Talent 2030 project, aimed
at increasing the number of girls
studying physics and women going into
engineering and technology businesses.
Innovating in television technology

is a global game. It requires highquality university research, joined-up
government policy, intense industry
commitment and collaboration and
well-structured education. If the
UK does not have these in place,
then companies particularly global
businesses will fund their innovation
elsewhere. Small entrepreneurial
companies will not have platforms
that enable them to service the UK
home market and then export their
IP and expertise.
Our recommendations based
on the workstream chapters are
specific and wide-ranging and we
look forward to further debate on
how they can be implemented.
13
Whos Who
Steering Group:
Dr David Docherty
Chairman, Digital TV Group and
CEO, National Centre for Universities
and Business
Laurie Patten
Strategy Director Television and Radio
Broadcast and Media
Arqiva
Ralph Rivera
Director, Future Media
BBC
Sophie Turner-Laing
Managing Director, Content
BSkyB
Howard Watson
Managing Director Architecture
and Global IT Platforms
BT
Richard Lindsay-Davies
Chief Executive Officer
Digital TV Group
Matthew Garrood
Digital Planning & Innovation Director
Everything Everywhere
Emma Scott
Managing Director
Freesat
Ilse Howling
Managing Director
Freeview
Professor Patrick Loughrey
Warden Goldsmiths College
(University of London)
Ben McOwen Wilson
Content Partnerships Director
YouTube Team
Google
Graham North
Commercial Director, Humax
Stephen Hearnden
Director of Technology
TechUK
Katherine Wen Simon
Director of TV Platforms
ITV
John Simmons
Media Platform Architect
Microsoft
Rob King
Vice President of Consumer Electronics
Samsung
Dr Mike Short
Vice President, Public Affairs
Telefonica Europe (O2)
Dominic Vallely
Strategy Director
Seren Partners
Professor Sir Keith Burnett

Vice-Chancellor
University of Sheffield
Mark Gurney
Head of Insight
Consumer Marketing
Sony Europe
Professor Dave Richardson

Deputy Director Optoelectronics Research
Centre (University of Southampton)
Richard Halton
YouView
Taskforce Administrator:
Bridie Asprey
Executive Assistant
Digital TV Group
Consumer Trends:
David Harding
Head of Communications
Digital TV Group
Vibeke Hansen
Technology Consultant
Arqiva
Laurie Patten
Strategy Director Television and Radio
Arqiva
Carmen Aitken
Head of Research, Future Media
BBC
Nick Brown
Boss Level
Paolo Panizzo
Insight Director
BSkyB
James Hamilton
Senior Planner for Audience
Research and Insight
Channel 4
Matt Hill
Head of Planning and Insight
Channel 5
Roger Darlington
Chair
DCMS Consumer Expert Group
Gianni Maestri
Head of Digital Entertainment
Analytics and Insight
Virgin Media
Fani Sazaklidou
Creative Director
YouView
Evolution of Devices and Applications:

George Robertson
Principal IP Engineer
Digital TV Group
Jem Davies
VP of Technology
Media Processing Division
ARM Fellow
Jem Davies
VP of Technology
Media Processing Division
ARM Fellow
Brandon Butterworth
Chief Scientist
BBC R&D
Chris Johns
Chief Engineer
Broadcast Strategy
BSkyB
Nick Brown
Boss Level / TIGA
Roderick Snell
Consultant
Rodrigue Troulliet
VP Technology & Operations EMEA
Disney
Jonathan Marshall
Head of Innovation and
New Product Development
Arqiva
Prinyar Boon
Director Eng and Support
Broadcast Systems
Dolby
Paul Caporn
Senior Technical Architect TV
and Mobile Platforms
BBC
Steve MacPherson
Chief Technology Officer
Framestore
Matt Wilson
Solutions Architect
Channel 4 Television
Matt Garrood
Director of Digital
Planning & Innovation
Everything Everywhere
Stuart Savage
Director EU Innovation
Digital TV R&D
LG Electronics
Maria Ingold
mireality
(VOD technical consultancy)
Giles Cottle
Head of Strategy
Freesat
Simon Parnall
Vice President
Technology
NDS (now part of Cisco)
Siew Yoon Tan

Technical Regulation Specialist
Ofcom (Observer)
Derek McAuley
Professor of Digital Economy
The University of Nottingham
Andy Holmes
Independent
14
Computing for the Creative Industries:

Simon Gauntlett
Technology Director
Digital TV Group
Chris Milsted
HPC Systems Architect
IBM
Paul Walland
Manager
IT Innovation Centre
Maria Hannon
LCC Arts
Nick Cannon
Director of Technology, Film
Moving Picture Company
Alex Micallef
EMEA Industry Business Development
NVidia
Darren Woolfson
Group Director of Technology
Pinewood
Tim Wright
VP Technology
Sony Pictures
Roy Trosh
Group Technical Director
The Mill
Roland Brown
Broadcast and Film VFX Consultant
&&& Technology Ltd.
Data Management:
Peter Sellar
Programme Manager
Digital TV Group
Fiona Clarke-Hackston
British Screen Advisory Council
Akihiro Tsuchiya
Managing Director
Streamhub
Radu Sora
Head of Development
Streamhub
Professor Jonathan Freeman BSc MPhil
PhD CPsychol MMRS
Managing Director
i2 media research ltd.
Richard Kirk
Head of Business Development Content
Discovery
Red Bee Media
Volkmar Prescher
Head of International Data Solutions
Rovi
Charles Dawes
Product Management Director
Rovi
Matthew Garbutt
Senior Manager, Content
Rovi
Future Networks and Infrastructure:

Peter Sellar
Programme Manager
Digital TV Group
Andrew Dumbreck
Consultant
Andrew Dumbreck Media Ltd
Dr Peter D. Couch
Head of Strategic Planning
Digital Platforms, Arqiva
Simon Mason
Head of New Technology
Arqiva
Garazi Goia
Acting Director, BBC Distribution
BBC
Nick Wells
Section Leader
Distribution Core Technologies
BBC
Graham Mills
TSO, End-to-End Process
BT
Nick Gregory
Business Development Director
BSkyB
Jane Humphreys
Head of Spectrum
DCMS
Ian ONeill
Head of TV
DCMS
Kate Macefield
Head of Broadcast
Digital UK
Khalid Hayat
Controller of Policy and Regulatory Affairs
ITV
Anirban Roy
Head of Regulatory Affairs
Group Strategy
Arqiva
Kim Chua
Senior Strategy Manager
Channel 4
Simon Rogers
R&D Director
Quantel
Ben Roeder
Chief Technology Officer
Soho Net
15
Sponsors and Supporters

The DTG is the industry association for digital
television in the UK, providing the foundation
for Freeview, Freesat and YouView and
supporting the development of Sky, Virgin
Media, BT, TalkTalk, Connect-TV and VuTV.
In collaboration with industry the DTG has
helped ensure a great consumer TV experience
by developing and publishing its technical
specification, the D-Book, which has been
deployed in over 100m terrestrial televisions,
set-top-boxes and recorders since the
introduction of digital TV in 1998.
BT is the major provider of telecommunications networks and services

in the UK. But we are also a major global communications company,
serving customers in more than 170 countries.
Central to digital TV in the UK for nearly two

decades, the DTG is currently embracing the
convergence of content and networks across
industries and focussing on the efficient delivery
of video to all screens - mobile, tablet and TV, in
all formats - standard, high and 4k definitions.
Its supporting the next generation of digital
TV and related technologies though its work
in the following areas:
Broadcast AV Connected AV Mobile AV
Spectrum Ultra HD.
www.dtg.org.uk
We provide services to large corporate and

public sector customers with operations across
the world in a wide range of sectors such
as banking and financial services, consumer
packaged goods, logistics, pharmaceuticals and
manufacturing.
We have embraced fierce competition in our
home markets and become an innovative and
dynamic company competing in the converged
markets of computing, IT and communications.
BTs strategy is to drive broadband-based
consumer services, become the Brand for
Business for UK SMEs, the wholesaler of choice
and the best network provider. We aim to be
a global leader through BT Global Services.
And all this whilst being a responsible and
sustainable business leader.
BT revealed its BT Sport channels in 2013
BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN which are
offered free with BT Broadband. They include
38 live and exclusive football matches from the
Barclays Premier League, including 18 first pick
matches, and up to 69 live rugby matches from
the Aviva Premiership where BT will be the sole
and exclusive broadcaster. And weve added
to our line-up the exclusive UK TV rights for
European Champions League football as
of 2015.
BT believes innovation is critical to the health

and future of the UK economy. Like many
other companies BT operates in a global market
place and innovation helps keep us ahead of
our competitors. Our open innovation model
gives us access to thinking from outside BT,
from small, start-up companies to some of the
best universities around the world. We have
teams working with customers, partners and
universities in the US, Asia, Europe and the
Middle East. They help us to maintain our view
of global developments in new technologies,
business propositions and market trends.
BT is pleased to support the FITT Taskforce.
The consumption of media and television
content has changed dramatically over the
last 10 years and the rollout of fibre based
broadband products will accelerate the pace
of change still further. The Taskforce plays an
important role in understanding these shifts
and ensuring the UK media industry can
leverage these developments and stay as a
global leader in producing great content.
i2 media research is a specialist insight and

innovation digital media research consultancy.
We are comprised of a small interdisciplinary
team of experts in how humans and technology
can work together for the benefit of
consumers and business.
For more on i2 media research,

please visit:
www.i2mediaresearch.com
To get in touch,
please email:
J.Freeman@gold.ac.uk
Founded by Professor Jonathan Freeman

in 2002 as a spin off from Psychology at
Goldsmiths, University of London, i2 media
is now in its 13th successful year of business.
i2 media has successfully completed more than
140 commissions, focused on both sides of (and
across) the digital divide: from late adopters, to
people with very specific access and usability
needs, to the earliest adopters of the latest
technology and service innovations.
i2 media research has conducted commissioned
research projects for commercial companies,
industry bodies, Government, regulators, the
European Commission and the third sector.
i2 media research is recognised as an
authoritative provider of independent, unbiased
and tailored insights and solutions based on
its ethically and methodologically rigorous
research.
i2 media research specialises in applying its
methodological skills spanning in-depth
16
in-situ research (qualitative, observational and

ethnographic), quantitative research, lab and
field based behavioural experiments, foresight
research, desk research and statistical analysis
to provide robust evidence based creative
solutions to the challenging business and
research objectives of our clients.
i2 media research has a deep and diverse
knowledge base gained from multiple
research projects focused on user experience
and monetisation of products and services
across: digital TV and 2nd screen apps, digital
radio, computer & video games, internet
services, internet quality of experience and
traffic management, smart devices and apps,
smart meters for home energy management,
augmented / virtual / synthetic reality, and
connected retail.
For over a decade we have supported European
and UK innovation, bridging the applied
academic and commercial worlds, to deliver...
+ the independence, rigour, ethics and depth of
an academic approach, and
+ the simple, practical, actionable outputs
needed by the commercial world
... the best of both worlds!
17
Consumer Trends
The main set dominates TV viewing
If identifying existing trends is not easy, then spotting emerging trends is even harder - being as
it is an inherently dynamic process involving guess work and luck. The consumer trends chapter
will bring to life this dynamic process to life, attempt to explain some existing trends and point
to what we think might be the future.
A new paradigm for audio-visual

consumption
Were told that we now live in an
age of disruption2 as more and more
of our physical world and our lives move
online and on screen3; challenging
incumbents and unbalancing traditional
hierarchies and business models. As more
media becomes digital, new entrants
will continue to interrupt the status
quo by capturing the value that was
previously held by incumbents and chasing
ownership of the consumer. Media
consumption and consumers themselves
have also become part of a new and much
bigger digital phenomenon - massive data
production, collection and manipulation4.
We found ourselves entering this new
paradigm as we started this report and
can expect that it will be fully realised
and have gone mainstream by 2025.
More and more physical things will have
become digital, including the relationships
between objects; people and other
people; people and objects; people and
time; and, people and places. Television
(more specifically, the home) presents an
interesting case study as it provides the
opportunity to explore all five of these
physical to digital transformations, but
that is not the focus of this chapter.
This chapter will explore existing and
emerging consumer trends in an attempt
to establish this new paradigm of audiovisual consumption; the business models
and personas will aim to provide some
illustrations of what the next stage of this
digitisation could bring and the services
that will evolve as a result.
18
1
2
3
4
The rise and rise of linear viewing
Twenty years ago [...] the

message from broadcast
executives was: never
overestimate the intelligence of
the audience. Now it is: never
underestimate the intelligence
of the audience.
The Dynamic Process

of Consumer Trends
Paul Lee, President, ABC Entertainment Group

speaking at RTS Cambridge 20131
Existing Trends
Its very hard to predict which trends will
be enduring but the best place to start
is to look at current trends and explore
where they are heading.
Ownership of tablets, smartphones, PCs
and laptops is at an all-time high and for
the most part, increasing. The accelerated
adoption of these devices, coupled with
their connectivity, means that there
are more screens whose utility is being
accelerated by the increasing portability
of these devices. This increased utility is
enabled by:
Faster and more reliable connections.
Smaller, more powerful devices.
Better battery life.
The net result is that there are more ways
of consuming audio-visual content than
ever before. We will explore the impact
of this change in this chapter, but first it
is worth reminding ourselves of what we
already know.
http://www.rts.org.uk/rts-cambridge-convention-2013-international-keynote-%E2%80%93-paul-lee [accessed Feb 06 2014]

http://www.cityam.com/article/1389140601/don-t-let-vegas-tech-giants-fool-you-we-re-age-disruption [accessed Jan 10 2014]
Often called the Internet of Things
Often called Big Data.
The options available to TV viewers over

the last few decades have transformed
due to developments including:
T he rise and rise of online content.
T he rise and fall of video recorders and
their replacement by PVRs.
T he widespread availability and
affordability of DVDs and their
evolution into online video services.
However, despite these developments and
the increased choices that are available to
them, TV viewers have voted with their
remote controls and have increased their
consumption of lean back linear TV. As
Ofcom noted in its 2013 Communications
Market Report, the average number of
hours of television watched by individuals
in the UK has risen over the past eight
years from 3 hours 42 minutes a day in
2004 (3.7 hours) to 4 hours per day in
2012 (4.01 hours). There are of course
good reasons for this, not least the
explosion in choice of high quality linear
content through the widespread take up
of multi-channel TV. However, despite
the increased availability, affordability and
ease of use of the devices and services
described in the rest of this report, the
desire of TV viewers to hand responsibility
for their evenings entertainment to a
trusted guide (brand, friend or other) is
not expected to disappear in the lifetime
of this report.
Research published in February 2014

by the marketing body for commercial
TV, Thinkbox, reinforces the above
by revealing that 98.5% of TV was
watched on a TV set in 2013. Non
main-set TV screens, including tablets,
smartphones and laptops accounted for
the remaining 1.5%, up from 1.2% in
2012. Thinkboxs report goes on to argue
that if all households had the ability to
digitally record TV programmes then they
would expect the level of playback and
recorded TV to settle at around 15-20%
of total linear viewing, with on-demand
TV increasing as a portion of the time
shifted total5.
The importance of social viewing of
content on the main set TV is further
reinforced by data that shows that the
average screen size is growing; 69% of
TVs sold in Q1 2013 were 26-inch or
bigger and sales of jumbo TVs (43-inch
or more) accounted for 15.8% of sales
in 2013, a 4.3% increase on 2012. Just
10.3% of TVs sold in Q1 2013 were
19-inch or less, compared to 40.3% of
the total in 20046.
Whilst connected devices are increasingly
being used on the move, and to
supplement TV content, the main set
remains attractive to consumers. The main
set is often the biggest screen in the home
which makes it perfect for sharing and
typically offers superior sound and picture
quality to other screens in the home7.
The trend towards buying bigger TV
screens clearly illustrates the importance
that consumers place on the quality of
experience when viewing content. Larger
screens are complemented by parallel
improvements in sound quality and higher
resolutions which suggest that watching
TV on the main set is likely to remain
popular8.
implications for how new services are

marketed.
Another economic reality for many is the
increase in the cost of housing and the
consequential rise of commuting, even
extreme commuting to find affordable
housing. A 2013 report from recruitment
firm Randstad9 revealed that the average
commute in Britain was 42 minutes and
between 2008 to 2013 the number
of extreme commuters (defined as
travelling more than 90 minutes each
way) increased by 50% from 6% to 9%
of the workforce. The principal reason for
commuting was said to be to reach an
area where you can afford to buy a house
that meets your standards10.
Dr Jamie Sexton argued in 2009 that
expanded travelling times (not just for
commuting but for leisure too) paved
the way for the iPod and other portable
media. The importance of portable media
grew in response to these factors and
an individuals desire to often isolate
their person from a public space without
disrupting it11. The success of Apples
iPod helped to normalise the personal
consumption of content digitally, and
following this streaming services have
started to redefine entertainment business
models, away from owning a copy of a
recording towards acquiring a licence to
listen or view something. Typically this is
cheaper than buying the physical product.
The earlier Randstad report would appear
to support this hypothesis by revealing
that the most popular activity whilst
commuting was to listen to music on
the radio (31.6%) or from a personal
music collection (25%). There appears
to be a whole market for complimentary
personal and portable entertainment quite
distinct from consumption that occurs in
the home.
Emerging Trends
The economic reality
1. More screens
Against this wider background of

economic uncertainty, Ofcom recorded
that household spend on communication
services fell in real terms from 122.42
in 2007 to 113.51 in 2012 and
household spend on television fell
by 0.50 since 2011, to 28.41. This
suggests that consumers are becoming
increasingly discriminating over their
communication spend, which has
Tablet ownership in Western Europe

is predicted to quadruple in the next
five years - from 12% in 2012 to 55%
in 201712 - which is approximately the
current level of UK smartphone ownership
(51%13). We can expect that both will be
much higher by 2025 - certainly enough
to constitute both devices having gone
mainstream.
5 http://www.thinkbox.tv/98.5-of-tv-was-watched-on-a-tv-set-in-2013 [accessed 18 Feb 2014]

6 Ofcom: The Communications Market Report 2013 1 August 2013
7 Parks Associates and iMediaShare:. Moving from Second Screen to First Screen, (date unknown. ) http://www.parksassociates.com/bento/shop/whitepapers/files/Parks%20Assoc%20
Moving%20from%20Second%20Screen%20to%20First%20Screen%20White%20Paper.pdf [accessed 20 Feb 2014]
8 Not to mention the multitude of important social and economic benefits delivered through a freely available and universal digital terrestrial television service on a TV in the home.
9 Randstad News Room, 16 May 2013. http://www.randstad.co.uk/about-randstad/news/savvy-super-commuters-spend-time-wisely/ [accessed 20 Feb 2014]
10 Ibid
11 Sexton, J. (2009) Untitled. In: Creeber, G. and Martin, R. eds. (2009) Digital Cultures.1st ed. New York: Open University Press, p.92-97
12 Forrester The European Tablet Landscape February 2013
13 Ofcom. The Communications Market Report 01 August 2013
19
Just as smartphones drove a boom in

digital music sales14, with increasing
storage capacity, processing power and/
or better Wi-Fi and mobile broadband
we could anticipate a similar boom for
television content. We are entering
a new era of content discovery and
consumption that offers greater choice,
both in terms of access and in terms of
price; turning audiences into consumers.
Just like the tipping point of digital music
when it entered the mainstream via the
mp3 player, we can expect the trinity of
content, technology and services to align
for television soon too.
The collision of internet and audio-visual
media has resulted in an explosion of
choice for consumers, combining the
unlimited options and capacity of the
internet with the curation and intimacy
of personal devices.
It remains unclear at the time of writing,
to what extent connected devices such as
tablets, will become a screen for viewing
in and of themselves, or if they will
become a companion screen to the main
TV set. The groups feeling is that their use
will be entirely dictated by circumstance,
so they might act as a companion to
the main television set in the home for
activities like social media15 but act as the
primary screen for content consumption
on the go.
The increased take up of tablets will
almost certainly support any further
increase in linear viewing. The ability to
easily access social media enhances the
experience of watching a programme by
allowing that experience to be shared with
others. As such, an increasing number of
programmes will become appointment
TV16. This will encompass not only genres
such as sport and current affairs but also
first showings in genres like talent shows,
drama and comedy. The use of multiple
screens and the ability to access social
media wherever you are also encourages
linear viewing. To put it crudely, if you
dont want to know whodunnit then
you either watch a programme live or
remove yourself from all social media until
you do.
20
2. Faster and more reliable

connections
The importance of Wi-Fi
As stated by Ofcom, Wi-Fi is already
playing a significant role in helping meet
some of the increase in use of mobile
data services indoors.17 A report by the
European Commission appears to support
this by saying, The volume of traffic that
is already being off-loaded, chiefly to
Wi-Fi in the home, already exceeds that of
the mobile network, and can be expected
to grow even faster as well.18 In the
same report, an estimate of 2016 data
traffic suggests that the cellular/Wi-Fi
traffic split will be 22.21% to 77.79%
respectively.19
The recent Communications Chamber
report from January 201420 goes further
to say that Wi-Fi offload is at its most
significant when providing indoor
coverage, but also has potential to play
an important role outside; particularly
in areas with high traffic. It is expected
that Wi-Fis utility and availability will only
increase during the lifetime of this report.
Mobile
The newest mobile communication
standard to be commercially available in
the UK is 4G (fourth generation) but the
most popular standard remains 3G and
many people also still rely on 2G21. The
next generation of mobile communication
standard (5G, currently projected to arrive
circa 2020) is expected to provide mobile
broadband speeds equivalent to those of
fixed line broadband connections today,
measured in gigabits.
By 2025, 5G will be commercially available
and offer consumers speeds of up to 1GB
per second23 (1000 times faster than 4G).
With speeds like this, and for those with
the money and inclination to use 5G, its
theoretically possible to do anything by
todays standards including downloading
an entire HD movie in one second!
Much more of our lives and media could
potentially move to the cloud as a result.
2G vs. 3G vs. 4G22

Technology
Max Download Speed
Key Benefits
1G
Analogue.
2G
0.2Mbit/s
Digital networks allowing SMS and basic

WAP sites.
2G EDGE
0.3Mbit/s
Improved speeds.
3G
0.3Mbit/s
Fast. Always on access to mobile web.
3G HSPA
7.2Mbit/s
Basic feature in all of todays

smartphones.
3G HSPA+
21Mbit/s
Faster. Available on higher-end

smartphone.
4G LTE
100Mbit/s
Faster access speeds and lower latency.
3G vs. 4G
Technology
Download a
game (20MB)
Streaming
Music
Streaming
SD Video
Streaming
HD Video
Uploading
an Image
3G*
3 minutes
10 second
buffer*
20 second
buffer*
1-5 minute
buffer*
25 seconds
4G**
25 seconds
1 second
buffer
1 second
buffer
30 second
buffer
1 second
*http://www.nokia.com/gb-en/4g [accessed 23 Jan 2014]

**Subject to possible disruption during playback
14 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9918670/Digital-beats-How-the-smartphone-powered-a-digital-music-boom.html [accessed Sep 11 2013]
15 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/advertising/platforms/mobile/10277356/The-rise-of-the-second-screen.html [accessed 20 Feb 2014]
16 Must watch at the time of scheduled broadcast.
17 Ofcom. The future use of spectrum sharing for mobile and wireless data services 09 August 2013
18 European Commission. Study on impact of traffic off-loading and related technological trends on the demand for wireless broadband spectrum. 2013
19 Ibid. Figure 2: Observed or predicted mobile data off-load.
20 Kenny, R., Foster, R., and, Suter, T. (January 2014) The value of Digital Terrestrial Television in an era of increasing demand for spectrum
21 Ofcom. The availability of communications services in the UK 16 May 2013
22 http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/3G-and-4G-Technology-Compared-Next-Generation-Mobile-Technology/ba-p/4774880 [accessed Jan 23 2014]
23 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2545831/South-Korea-launch-5G-service-fast-users-download-entire-film-just-ONE-SECOND.html [accessed Jan 28 2014]
3. Smaller, more powerful devices
4. Better battery life
Smaller and more powerful devices will be

commonplace, especially as smartphone
ownership reaches more of the population
and other devices become connected. Its
quite possible that youll be using them
for more than communication - running
a bath, controlling your thermostat and
quite probably your TV too24 25. Having
potentially overcome the two problems
of poor battery life and unreliable/slow
connectivity, the only limit is likely to be
processing power of connected devices.
Wireless charging spots for all our gadgets
may be as ubiquitous in 2025 as Wi-Fi
hotspots are today.
A survey of smartphone users in 2012

found that battery performance was the
single biggest complaint and the least
satisfying aspect of the smartphone
experience28. This dissatisfaction is more
acute for 4G mobile phone subscribers
as their devices take more time and
energy to look for network signals; but
this is expected to decline over time
as coverage of 3G and 4G become
comparable. However, it is expected
that 4G subscribers will use their devices
more extensively or energy-intensively for
activities such as texting, calling, surfing
and streaming TV or TV-like content.
Our devices will be much more in

tune with our natural rhythms - both
physical and behavioural; using our
bodies movements to charge batteries
and learn our behaviour and using our
location to offer contextual advertising
and applications. Your device could be a
proxy for your person - knowing exactly
who youre with, where you are (and
where youve been), what is around you
and maybe even what youre doing and
saying. It will not only replace some of
your physical things, such as your wallet,
but potentially some of your physical
activities too, such as opening your front
door.
Battery life has an obvious impact on a

consumers ability to perform a variety of
functions. Its influenced by a complex
interaction between the demand for
processing power and duration of any
given activity (or more likely, activities),
making consumption uniquely personal.
On the whole, we should expect that
battery life will improve29 for everyone and
the advent of wireless charging will bring
with it new and interesting applications.
5. More ways of consuming

audio-visual content
Digital is the great information leveller;
making data easy to send and receive
across and between a whole new range
and variety of devices. It has disrupted
entire industries through its seemingly
limitless capacity to squeeze more and
more traditionally discrete devices into
one device; meaning we can now adopt
new applications overnight, very cheaply.
It is the essence of the economic theory
of dematerialisation - doing more with
less. For example, if money went digital
tomorrow, its very likely you will start
to use your smartphone instead of your
wallet. R Buckminster Fuller called this
phenomena ephemeralisation and
defined it as the ability to do more and
more with less and less until eventually
you can do everything with nothing.
Fuller believed ephemeralisation would
lead to a rise in living standards despite
finite resources.
Take the smartphone (Figure 1, see page
22) revolution; its gone mainstream (with
51% of UK adults having adopted one30)
and furnished its owners with an address
book, calculator, GPS, e-reader, camera,
video camera, mp3 player, stopwatch,
radio the list goes on, and is growing31.
We can expect that there will be much

more peripheral activity around the
TV screen in the shape of Google
Chromecast26 and other similar
developments, as consumers want to link
the processing power and possibilities of
their connected devices to the main screen
in their homes27. It remains to be seen if
this demand will cross from the techsavvy early adopters to the mainstream
and whether the TV will act a hub for the
connected home. Question marks hover
over whether the smartphone or tablet
will replace the set-top-box as we know it.
24 http://www.t3.com/features/future-smartphones [accessed Jan 28 2014]

25 http://ibnlive.in.com/news/mobile-phones-10-years-from-now/383698-11.html [accessed Jan 28 2014]
26 https://www.google.com/intl/en-GB/chrome/devices/chromecast/ [accessed Jan 28 2014]
27 Mobile phones and tablets typically have a shorter replacement cycle, perhaps every two years as dictated by contracts, than televisions and often, set-top-boxes, too.
28 J.D. Power and Associates Reports. Smartphone Battery Life has Become a Significant Drain on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty https://pictures.dealer.com/
jdpower/166f0d180a0d02b7014443191870cdac.pdf [accessed Jan 27 2014]
29 Possible improvements include different materials like silicon or graphene batteries; better efficiency; faster charging; wireless charging, and; longer life. http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/09/theamazing-battery-technology-thatll-power-the-smartphones-of-the-future/ [accessed 20 Feb 2014]
30 Ofcom. The Communications Market Report 2013 01 August 2013
31 http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428579/a-surprisingly-long-list-of-everything-smartphones-replaced/ [Accessed Jan 31, 2014]
21
The Future
Figure 1: How over 40 gadgets converge into a tiny device in your pocket
Exploring the matrix in detail, we can see

that the polarity of live and not live has
produced the biggest spectrum of possible
new business models, ranging from videoon-demand replacing linear TV to the
schedule remaining supreme as a way to
discover, navigate and select content.
Just as we are now used to seeing

digitised text and audio, digital video
is now also mainstream. The emerging
digitisation of our personal lives,
relationships and behaviour is the next
logical step.
The five changes outlined previously
have the potential to revolutionise the
TV industry. The challenge and uncertainty
lie in the time it will take for them to reach
fruition. The speed of this will depend on
many things but one of the biggest factors
is likely to be the consumers willingness
to pay for content and the business
models that emerge in response to
these changes.
Figure 2 outlines different scenarios that
help us to tease out any future behaviour,
business models and services. The four
scenarios are painted using two axes: live
viewing versus not live and consumption
at home versus anywhere. The
fundamental tensions between these axes
lead to four contrasting quadrants, each
of which illustrates a different scenario for
the future.
(Image courtesy of: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2013/04/convergence/ [accessed 10 January 2013])
Conclusion
The smartphone, tablet and laptop are all
entrenched artefacts of consumer life but
the one thing they havent replaced is your
TV, or more accurately, the experience of
watching your TV. As we described earlier,
main set televisions and linear TV remain
strong and enduring, still accounting for
98.5% of all TV viewing. However, digital
technology means that we can consume
content on a multitude of screens and
the emerging trends described above
increasingly combine to mean we can
consume content anywhere we like.
This consumption however appears to
be additive and not substitutive for main
set TV consumption.
According to Gartner, there are now
1.4bn PCs in use worldwide, whilst mobile
phones sell more than 1.4bn units every
single year. It feels like it will be a matter
of time before the tablet or smartphone
replaces the PC as our personal
computer32. The smartphone has provided
us with a natural way to communicate
with those (other) smart objects33.
When connected to a network, this
allows new ways of interacting with
our televisions, for example using your
smartphones GPS to provide locationbased advertising or delivering content
22
from your pocket to your main screen as

you enter your home. This technology
might even help you locate your lost
remote control or dynamically change
the price tag on your TV in store to
reflect the current market rate.
This takes the study of consumer
behaviour from the cohorts, life stages
and other groups right down to the
individual. Behaviour is reduced to that
of a single person and one or more
objects; giving rich, complex and real-time
information. Through the use of live and
historical data on people, companies will
learn what we do and where weve been
and, by extension, what we enjoy.
Dennis Crowley, CEO of the locationbased social app Foursquare thinks
of consumers like a giant X - an X
that shrinks as technology gets better,
meaning you can locate them more
precisely. Eventually, he thinks this X could
become your exact location on a sofa,
or even your hand - all of which means
consumer behaviour will be recorded
and applied more naturally and more
personally34.
The full complexity of this new consumer
paradigm dictates that the biggest
challenge to going mainstream will
be to deliver a clear and demonstrable
32 DeGusta, M., MIT Technology Review Are Smart Phones Spreading Faster than Any Technology in Human History? 09 May 2012
33 http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/05/internet-of-things/all/ [Accessed Jan 27 2014]
34 http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/05/internet-of-things/all/ [Accessed Jan 27 2014]
35 http://www.kpcb.com/insights/2013-internet-trends [Accessed Jan 27 2014]
benefit - to as many people as possible

- with a reasonable assurance that this
data is secure and can be controlled by
consumers.
Importantly the experience of the TV

(again, in the traditional sense) has not
been replaced and we dont expect that it
will be. People will always want to come
together and enjoy stories and build
narratives; both on a household or cinema
scale and on a bigger, national or similarly
identity orientated scale.
Much of these new behaviours will

depend on the cost, maturity and
availability of the relevant networks plus
the capability and power of devices and
their associated battery life; as outlined in
the Evolution of Devices and Applications
chapter.
Finally, the Consumer Trends workstream
developed personas that focused on
the 5-10% of early adopters in the
technology market, on the basis that the
vast majority of consumers in 2025 will
be consuming TV content in a very similar
The personas informed the Future

Networks chapter. Some themes
that emerged were the fundamental
redefinition of the screen away from a
box to something that you wear, are
immersed in or is projected onto the
wall(s) of your home; new and sometimes
more personal means of discovering
content will become increasingly popular;
the processing power of your smartphone
has the potential to replace you set-topbox or to become a proxy for a person
and their preferences, and; the connected
home will revolutionise the role of the
television, from a means of consuming
content to a screen that is intelligent,
providing real-time information about
your environment, even rewarding your
behaviour with TV content.
Figure 2: Business Models Matrix
Not Live
According to KPCBs Internet Trends

(2013), technology cycles tend to last
about 10 years - with the next 10 years
being wearable/everything computing
as we leave the mobile internet cycle;
itself preceded by the desktop internet
cycle35. So, by 2025 we expect to have
fully realised the wearable/everything
computing cycle and be in a better
position to properly understand its impact.
The consumption of audio-visual content
has spread far beyond the TV (in a
traditional sense) and now encompasses
the delivery of audio-visual content to any
screen.
The distinction between in-home and out

of home leads to differences in behaviour,
ranging from the status quo of main sets
dominating TV viewing in groups, to
smaller more portable devices dominating
viewing, and consumption occurring on a
much more personal level.
way to today and were therefore of little

interest to us in terms of new technologies
and behaviours. The personas were
developed in two parts, the first one
looking ahead to 2017 to bring todays
technology to a logical conclusion, leaving
us with more freedom to develop radical
personas for 2025.
VOD replaces TV
decline of the channel (but not brand)
Users
(Online only licence-fee)
Behaviour
Services
Business Models
+ smaller audiences + longer engagement

+ storage capacity
+ Bingeing & release of whole series simultaneously
Small, portable streaming devices
(connected device)+ better battery life
+ branded short form content

+ adverts and additional content
+ Wi-Fi only tablets
New TV measurement across X days and devices

+ better data
+ OTT subscription
+ Connected devices streaming to TV
Home
Main set dominates

+ social viewing
(Broadcast & Online licence-fee)

+ PPV
Connected devices dominate

+ personal experience
Anywhere
VOD complements TV
+ event e.g. sport subscriptions
+ Contextual ads
via connected sets
+ contextual ads
IP delivered linear TV
Overnight viewing remains standard
Audience
(Broadcast only licence-fee)
Schedule remains
important
Live
Content follows you around

Social viewing
via connected people
Live refers to all content as it is broadcast,

+1 or PVR and watched on the same day.
23
Personas
2017
These personas focus on the outlying

consumers perhaps the 5-10% of
early adopters; giving a flavour of new
technologies and behaviours.
This group recognises that linear TV is
overwhelmingly the most popular means
of consuming television and expects that
it will continue to be so, with the vast
majority of consumers, during the lifetime
of this reports focus; now until 2025.
Paul
53
Male
Elizabeth
Age 57
Female
Paul pays for a premium sports package with his Azure

satellite and is interested in new technologies if it improves
his viewing experience he was the first in his peer group to
own a 4k TV when the price dropped below 1,000.
Elizabeth uses TrueView the next-generation manufacturer led

innovation for the free-to-air platform in the UK which features
100 tuners and 50TB of storage. In addition it delivers media
content to every screen in Elizabeths home with the option for
content to follow her around from room-to-room.
His thirst for sporting content means he is constantly

consuming content whether he is at home, or outside
the home; he connects to a nationwide network of Wi-Fi
hotspots provided free of charge and run by his TV platform.
His phone has the Azure app which, through audio
watermarking understands if Paul is watching the game live
on TV. If he is not, he will receive each goal for his favourite
football team as its happens.
The 2017 personas are a staging post

towards the 2025 personas. They imagine
a future that is in some way the logical
extension of current technologies.
The 2025 personas are more speculative.
2017
2025
Stan
Age 18
Male
Bill
Age 26
Male
Stan uses his TV to watch free-to-air through his PLAY

set-top-box that also streams games and lets him purchase
or rent films which can be streamed.
Bill uses his Cinema Face Virtual Retina Display (VRD) to

consume all of his media which he can connect to wirelessly.
Stan can connect his mobile phone to the PLAY set-top-box

over Wi-Fi and use it as a gaming controller or TV remote.
Purchased content can be downloaded and watched offline
using registered devices.
The VRD works by beaming lifelike images directly on to

his retina, so no screen is involved; making it a natural and
comfortable replacement for other screens.
It can also detect which way he is looking and where his head
is pointing; unlocking special features in games and from films
that accommodate this 360 perspective.
24
Jill
Age 36
Female
Tom
Age 44
Male
Jill uses the TV to keep the kids quiet whilst she prepares
breakfast and dinner for them.
Tom uses EYEROOM the social and immersive 360 viewing

technology.
In the evening her and her husband catch up on the box set
de jour using their FLICKS OTT subscription connecting to
the internet using Wi-Fi, their phones and a streaming device
plugged in to their non-connected TV.
EYEROOM takes your content from the screen and creates

a surround-video experience. The main screen remains the
primary focus but the consumer(s) is immersed into the world of
the content via peripheral vision.
Jills FLICKS subscription can also offer her content

categorised by being one of 6 human emotional needs
unwind, comfort, experience, escape, indulge or connect.
Setting up EYEROOM didnt require much more than buying the

projector everything else in his living room stayed the same.
She chooses content based on recommendations from friends

and sometimes strangers. She uses the TV-specific social
network Virtual Hand-Picked Selection (VHS) that offers
TV content similar to the old musical mix tape format, with
selections of content chosen by others.
VHS selections are encouraged to be short and complimentary
but some can require a lot more commitment; maybe a few
days of viewing. Viewers can then rate selections and share their
comments with others.
Laura
Age 48
Female
Frank
Age 61
Male
Laura has a new 24-month cable subscription to TuneR

which has a next-gen set-top-box with 10 tuners; allowing
her to record 10 shows simultaneously, beam live content
from the box to her tablet or smartphone or a combination
of the two.
Frank subscribes to an IP only pay-as-you-go service from UK

Sports. It is the Worlds first mobile-first TV platform, doing
away with a set-top-box delivering all of its content over
a 5G multicast before switching seamlessly to Wi-Fi in the
home. He pays 100 a month for his phone/TV contract and
streams content to his main set when hes home which can be
controlled via the TV or his mobiles touch screen.
Its perfect for her busy household with teenage children,

who can watch what they want where they want.
The next-gen box comes with catch-up capability and a
sophisticated recommendation algorithm that learns what
the family like and tailors their advertising and suggestions
accordingly.
Whilst the price is not prohibitive, he is in a minority of

consumers who take a completely personal approach to their
content consumption. He values it on his very long commute
(because he cant afford to live in the city).
Bill watches content using OTT services almost exclusively and
for all intents and purposes they have replaced his broadcast
experience; he pays for an online only television licence.
2025
Frank owns a short throw projector that replaces his traditional

rectangle TV with a cinema style TV wall he is able to stream
content over Wi-Fi.
He is part of a unique syndicate of beta users which can
purchase content according to a dynamic pricing, responding
to demand; much like the stock market. If an event is more in
demand it becomes more expensive before reaching a limit,
normally 9.99 this encourages his search, selection and
commitment earlier.
Maggie
Age 78
Female
Anisha
Age 86
Female
Maggie lives in a pioneering HealthyHome that uses

technology to promote her independence.
Anisha lives in a pioneering CAIRHOME that uses technology

to promote her independence, help her communicate with her
children and monitor her health.
She watches upwards of 5 hours of TV every day always

from the schedule.
Her entire house is connected and the TV can be used to
control certain aspects reached through a special button/
menu on the remote control.
Her entire house is connected and the TV can be used to control

certain aspects reached through a special button/menu on the
remote control. She can also use the TV to talk to her doctor
and children.
Her healthcare is gamified so that she earns rewards for
positive choices and behaviour. She can track her progress on
the TV. Anisha needs to perform a certain amount of activity
each day before she earns rewards.
25
Evolution of Devices
and Applications
Removable media
Formats such as SD card have seen their
capacity doubling every year for a decade
now. Should this continue, and there is
no reason to expect that it wont, in 2025
we will have small form factor removable
media devices in the 2PB (Petabyte, 1015
bytes) range.
Disk storage
In this, the final report of the Evolution of Devices and Applications workstream advisory group,
we will draw together our findings and recommendations arrived at over the entire course of
the taskforce.
In assessing how devices and applications will evolve, we looked for a model of how the raw
resources of technology are increasing with time. There are several laws to choose from that
seek to describe the growth of resources in data processing and storage, but the original is of
course Moores Law. The law is named after Intel co-founder Gordon E. Moore, whose 1965
paper observed the growth of transistor density and highlighted a trend that has continued for
more than half a century.
Moores Law
Moores Law is the observation that the
number of transistors on integrated
circuits doubles approximately every
two years. One often hears 18 months
quoted as the period for chip performance
doubling, due to other factors besides
transistor density. Moores Law, and other
similar laws, have consistently predicted
technology growth.
Processing power
It seems that the growth of computing
power has been outstripping Moores Law,
increasing faster than predicted. Current
processors are operating, depending
on cost and complexity, somewhere in
the range of 10,000 to 200,000 MIPs
(millions of instructions per second). Since
the 1990s we have seen a doubling of
processing power about every 12 months:
if we extrapolate this, then processors will
increase in computing power by a factor
of 1,000 over the next decade.
This level of processing power is
approaching that of a large mammals
brain, although we cannot assume that
this will herald the arrival of true artificial
intelligence. One thing is certain, however:
in 2025, low cost devices will contain a
processing ability well in excess of todays
desktop computers. One can expect a
performance gain of between 250 and
1,000 fold.
26
This is one area where one is likely to see

a step-change, with solid state storage
replacing magnetic disks. However,
the trend is that magnetic storage will
intersect with solid state in 2025, at a
value of 2PB.
We can draw two conclusions here:
Petabyte storage will be commonplace
in 2025.
Solid state storage (with capacity
doubling every year) is catching up
with magnetic disk (where capacity is
doubling roughly every 20 months).
Figure 1: Moores Law predicts the exponential growth of computing

(Courtesy of Ray Kurzweil)
Fixed line internet access

Similar trends have been found in fixed
line internet access speeds (twisted pair,
cable, fibre). The model predicts that in
2025 fixed line internet technologies will
be capable of transferring 2.5Gbits/s.
However, we feel that consumers are very
unlikely to be connected at such extremely
high speeds.
As the Future Networks advisory group
points out elsewhere in this report, BT
and Virgin Media are installing fibre optic
networks providing superfast broadband
at speeds in the 30-100Mbit/s range. The
governments stated intention is to extend
the availability of superfast broadband to
95% of homes by 2017.
These figures are based upon the
deployment of fibre to the cabinet
(FTTC) technology, where the fibre optic
connection is terminated in a street corner
cabinet, and the last leg of the connection
(perhaps tens or hundreds of metres) is
made using the traditional twisted pair.
To push speeds higher, and towards the
prediction of gigabit level connectivity,
then fibre to the home (FTTH) would
have to be deployed.
27
The future & Moores law

Some people are predicting an end
to Moores Law, somewhere between
2020-2025, and for a variety of reasons.
Bob Colwell, now the director of the
Microsystems Technology Office at the
Defence Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) and one time Intel
engineer, claims that when silicon chip
manufacture hits the 5nm scale Moores
Law will come to an end due to the
economics of industrial R&D1. He means
that although it may be possible to go
smaller, the cost of development will be
prohibitive even for a player of Intels size.
Theoretically, X-ray lithography and
Deep X-ray lithography could allow the
fabrication of 1nm scale semiconductors.
However, many people predict that
physical effects will render current
semiconductor technology unpredictable
and possibly unusable at this scale. In
science the Angstrom is a unit of length
(10-10m) often used as an approximation
for the atomic radius of many elements.
When you note that 1nm is equal to 10
Angstroms, you realise that transistors at
this scale will be composed of merely tens
of atoms. At this point we have crossed
the boundary from macroscopic physics
into an area known as the mesoscopic
regime, where the effects of quantum
mechanics will begin to have an effect
and classical devices at this scale will
struggle with loss of state.
Macroscopic objects will obey the laws
of classical mechanics; mesoscopic
objects are affected by fluctuations
around the average, and are subject
to quantum mechanics. It is clear that
the UK must be active in exploring this
regime, how quantum technologies
can help break the 5nm barrier, and
how methods of nanoscale technology
and quantum computing may bring
further miniaturisation and performance
improvements.
There is already a move in this

direction:
The UK government is investing 270M
in a multi-stakeholder Quantum
Technologies Programme aimed at
realising the potentially transformative
impact of Quantum Technologies across
business, government and society. This
national programme is being delivered
by The Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and
the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) in
partnership with other stakeholders.2
Part of this initiative is the formation
of a network of UK quantum hubs to
be funded by the EPSRC to the tune of
155m3. These hubs are expected to have
a high level of engagement with industry,
with IPR generation and technology
transfer stated as high priorities.
Future for magnetic storage?

While there is a trend towards solid state
data storage, magnetic storage hard disk
drive (HDD) technology still offers higher
capacities and read/write endurance
(if not mechanical endurance) at lower
cost. Physical effects, such as tunnel
magnetoresistance (TMR) and Spin Torque
Transfer (STT), are now being exploited to
develop a new type of magnetic storage,
called Magnetoresistive Random Access
Memory (MRAM).
Furthermore, the universities of Exeter,
Manchester, York and Queens in Belfast
are planning to work with Seagate (who
manufacture around 30% of the read/
write heads used globally) on assessing
the quantum mechanics of magnetic
storage. They believe that a study of the
dynamics of quantum states will lead to
a further miniaturisation of magnetic
HDD technology.
Multiple mobile access networks

It is clear that Wi-Fi speeds (where
connectivity is ultimately wired back to
the service provider) and mobile access
speeds will greatly increase. This is not a
question for this group, however, we are
in agreement that devices will become
much more adaptive when it comes to
wireless data. We believe that devices
will increasingly be able to switch from
one network type to another, with this
switching being hidden from the user.
28
1 http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-57600373-92/end-of-moores-law-its-not-just-about-physics/
2 http://www.epsrc.ac.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Calls/2014/QTCallDocument.pdf
3 http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2014/feb/quantum-hub.cfm
Applications & linear

The group feels that linear TV (the
notion of a live channel of content with
a particular identity that is known to, and
trusted by, the public) will continue to be a
dominant mode of TV consumption; there
will still be a desire to watch high quality
live content. TV channels in the UK excel
at first-run content that people want to
see and which they will set aside time to
watch when it is transmitted. Even when
the content is not live, sharing a cultural
experience with others by tuning in to
the same content, at the same time,
is a powerful phenomenon.
Catch-up TV, where the programme or
event is watched some hours or days
after initial transmission, allows more
people to share the viewing experience.
Beyond catch-up, we expect that there
will be an increase in the viewing of
on-demand content, at the expense of
live and time-shifted content. Viewing
this content may require an application
to be running on the viewing device,
with rights management that meets the
requirements of the content provider,
and this is no trivial task. An application
framework that works across devices from
various manufacturers, and perhaps even
across different device classes, is required
to ensure that a large proportion of the
viewing public can be reached.
Of course, there will be a place for
search in TV applications, and perhaps
even applications that allow searching
of vast archives. But, for viewers who
have become accustomed to the linear
TV model of the last 40 years, intelligent
mechanisms should be used to provide
guidance and suggestions.
The Evolution of Devices and Applications

Advisory Group makes the following
recommendations for broadcast, digital
media and the creative industries:
Education
The best way to stimulate innovation
in the UK is to reach people in their
early teens and introduce them to the
technologies of television, digital media
and the creative industries. Talented
people are vital to the success of any
enterprise, and enterprises will not
appear in the first place if young minds
have not been exposed to the possibilities
of technological innovation.
If one looks at broadcasting, most
engineers above a certain age were
trained within the BBC, ITV and
Independent Local Radio. Things have
changed, with nearly all of the centres
that provided this training now gone.
We support the establishment of the
MediaCityUK University Technical College
(UTC) in Salford. This is a collocation with
five BBC departments, parts of ITV, the
University of Salford and many creative,
digital and new media companies. A UTC
trains children from the age of 14; some
have suggested that this is too young.
There has also been some criticism that
the specialised nature of the colleges
encourages fragmentation of education
provision; however, at 17 or 18 years old it
is often too late to get children interested
in technology. We agree that youngsters
should be exposed to the possibilities
that are out there before making GCSE
and A-level subject choices that limit their
future options.
The expectation is that the UTC
will provide outstanding opportunities
for young people from the Greater
Manchester area to become highly
successful creative industries
entrepreneurs, helping to drive the
UKs future economic prosperity.4
We recommend that this model is
replicated across the UK, in Scotland,
Wales, Northern Ireland and the South:
the establishment of these colleges could
provide the seed for, or add to the growth
of, local clusters for the industry.
A very sobering message is contained
within the recent NCUB (National Centre
for Universities and Business) report
entitled Target 2030.5
The paper focuses on increasing the
number of female graduates working in
manufacturing, technology, engineering
and computing (MTEC). Fewer than one
4 Sir Rod Aldridge OBE, Chairman, The Aldridge Foundation

5 http://www.ncub.co.uk/reports/target-2030.html
6 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1109/11090203
7 http://www.ncub.co.uk/reports/the-brighton-fuse.html
in ten (9.5%) science and engineering

professionals in the UK labour force are
female.
The graduate recruiters, entrepreneurs
and management teams of 2030 are
at university today, and the people they
will be recruiting were born a few years
ago and will soon be entering the school
system. Assuming we launch the Target
2030 project for academic year 2014,
we will only have sixteen years to achieve
the targets.
One important policy implication is that
to influence the paths taken by young
people, of either gender, we will have to
work fast: things will have to begin to
change right now. The paper highlights
that simply increasing the number of
young women studying science and
engineering will not solve the problem;
50% of science and engineering
graduates leak into other disciplines and
MTEC companies do not appear to be
appealing career destinations for female
graduates.
It is clear that the industry has work to do
to attract women into engineering. In the
television industry the number of women
engineers is low and those working in
product R&D seem to be invisible. If
you visit an industry standards body or
consortium (e.g. MPEG, DVB, HbbTV, OIPF,
DTG) it is rare to find a woman sitting at
the table. Also, industry should work with
academia to ensure that the production
of numerate and technically literate
graduates also brings graduates with the
specific skills and talents needed.
We support the establishment of an
innovative new undergraduate degree
at UCL: the Bachelor in Arts and Sciences
(BASc)6. The group feels that such
interdisciplinary courses are necessary
to provide both the skills and mindset
needed in the industry. We also feel
individuals need both creative and
technical awareness to succeed in visual
technology industries.
Our findings resonate with those of the
Brighton Fuse, a two year research
project about a cluster of creative digital
and IT companies in Brighton and Hove7.
In their report they say:
The clear implication of these findings
is that we should move away from
thinking that the arts and humanities
are a luxury subsidised by the economic
growth generated by natural sciences and
engineering. The arts and humanities are
part of the engine of the UK economy,
not an optional aesthetic detail on the
upholstery.
29
The report explains that a fused business,

where artistic and design skills are
combined with technological expertise,
can grow at a much faster rate than a
traditionally structured business.
We also wish to cite the excellent work
of the BBC Academy. Their website states
that, We aim to share as much of our
training as possible with the wider UK
broadcasting industry for free.8
Industry & skills

Our strong view is that internships and
work experience in the industry are
good ways of helping individuals to get
the skills needed to innovate. Its not
all about training for the future - some
placement and internship students bring
new ideas and create or complete work
that benefits the company and which
would otherwise not be done. Interns and
placement students are not a drain on
a company, in fact, they add value. Many
organisations, outside the big companies,
are providing internships and placements.
We would like to commend the following
four initiatives that empower the creative
industries to develop skills and talent:
C
reative Skillset:
http://www.creativeskillset.org/
e -skills UK Apprenticeships:
http://www.e-skills.com/
apprenticeships/
E nternships:
https://www.enternships.com/
e -Placements Scotland:
http://www.e-placementscotland.com/
30
8 http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/page/about
Platforms
Applications
Devices
One example of how a powerful player

can help industry at large is the BBCs
development of the TV Abstraction
Layer, or TAL. The interactive application
space on TVs and set top boxes is acutely
fragmented, with literally hundreds of
variations of HTML, JavaScript and other
web technologies (in particular the APIs
used to control video presentation).
This means that service providers have
to author hundreds of variations of any
application if they wish it to run on all
devices. Using the TAL you only need to
implement the application once.
Looking at how applications currently

operate, we identified several bottlenecks
in ease of use and flexibility. Addressing
the following points will make any
application easier and more enjoyable
to use, as well as making it more
competitive:
In looking at the evolution of devices and

applications from 2014 until 2025 the
workstream members have found it very
difficult to foresee ways of encouraging
innovation of devices in the UK.
The BBC TAL initiative provides a common

platform for television applications, with
device to device variations abstracted and
hidden from the application. The TAL is
open source, meaning that developers
(and, indeed, manufacturers) can
contribute, providing support for new
standards as they are implemented in
the market. However, TAL is not a magic
bullet. The TV application eco-system
consists of a world of walled gardens,
one per manufacturer. Application authors
must still engage directly with each
manufacturer to get their application on
screen. We recommend that the industry
considers what it can do to address
this hurdle, perhaps providing a shared
marketplace. In addition, the development
process of loading applications on to
devices and debugging them varies by
manufacturer. Provision of standardised
mechanisms for developers to engage
with these devices should be explored.
The TAL, and other similar platforms, can
provide small enterprises with a significant
reduction in the effort needed to reach
many, many devices. We recommend
continued growth of the TAL to support
the evolution of standards, in particular
enabling multiple innovative solutions
for the same problem to co-exist, with a
single standard programming interface
exposed to applications.
Federated search for content.

Natural language searching.
A taxonomy for content that is more
natural and intuitive rather than the
perhaps rigid genres and format
descriptions that we have today.
Copyright exchange the Copyright
Hub is already starting to look at this
area9.
On this last point we recommend a
mechanism where applications can gain
access to third party content. For example,
a pay-per-view TV application from
broadcaster X is able to access and show
pay-per-view content from broadcaster Y:
a type of instant syndication, performed
through a central rights brokerage.
Broadcaster X may show that content,
assuming that the content rights
and contracts are suitably respected.
Broadcaster Y receives a micropayment,
or revenue split, for this from broadcaster
X or perhaps directly from the viewer.
This, along with federated search, will
help service providers (especially those in
traditional broadcast) to monetise the
content they have sitting in their archives.
In general we feel that innovation will be
better served if industry looks at the early
adopters of new technology, for example,
catch-up TV. We have heard many
statistics and anecdotes that play down
the significance of over-the-top (OTT)
TV services and time-shifted viewing.
These include comments that only 5%
of viewing hours are delivered via OTT
and that only 1% of people exclusively
watch time-shifted content10. This may
be true but habits are changing and the
expectations of the viewing public are
increasing. Since we are looking ahead to
2025, it is prudent to look at leading-edge
users of technology.
We now have a global market for devices

and their design: development and
manufacturing of mobile phones, smart
phones, tablets, games consoles, and
personal computers is happening outside
the UK.
It is very difficult to see how to alter
this situation: can we think of a way of
developing a market leading brand (like
Apple, for example) based here in the
UK? How could the UK government even
seed such a venture? That may sound
somewhat defeatist, but the reality is that
these brands are based elsewhere, with
manufacturing taking place in the Far
East.
There certainly are some amazing UK
brands further back down the supply
chain such as ARM (who need no
introduction) and Wolfson (who have
supplied audio ICs and components for
millions of devices including the iPhone).
Yet, the integration of all these
components into a compelling product is
not happening in the UK. Furthermore,
development of operating systems for
these devices is also happening elsewhere.
In the case of a system such as Googles
Android we can see that the OS steals
the show, sometimes overshadowing
the brand of the phone or the tablets
manufacturer.
The problems/opportunities as we see
them are:
Phones and smart phones launched in
the UK are global market devices.
TVs launched in the UK are
fundamentally global devices;
with software changes to meet
UK broadcast and service provider
requirements (e.g. Freesat, Sky,
Freeview, etc).
Tablets, games consoles and personal
computers in the UK market are global
devices.
9 http://www.copyrighthub.co.uk/
10 Source: TELESCOPE: A look at the nations changing viewing habits from TV Licensing.
The only place where we see bespoke UK

devices is the set top box and PVR market.
In this market devices are conceived for
the UK and are based upon a specific
service or platform proposition (e.g.
Freeview, YouView, Freesat, Sky, etc).
There is a great deal of UK software and
hardware development in this space.
The reason for this, of course, is the
desire to provide a particular user
experience (e.g. free HD TV, simple PVR
operation, catch-up TV) on an individual
platform; this leads to a technical
specification unique to that service
provider and unique to the UK.
Possible solutions
We have noted that the UK television
market, at all points in the value chain,
is extremely mature: more so than nearly
any other country. The UK TV industry
understands TV uniquely well, and we
feel that the UK has been too reticent
in this regard. UK companies should
be encouraged and aided in sending
a message to other markets.
In some ways, the UK TV industry is a
victim of its own success. The UK has
a history of launching new digital TV
services very early on: DTT launched in
the UK on 15 November 1998, soon after
digital satellite television (from BSkyB)
launched on 1 October 1998. UK DTT had
a standard for interactivity and digital
teletext from launch, and in May 2006
the Crystal Palace transmitter began
transmitting HDTV using the new DVB-T2
standard. All of the UK TV platforms
(including Freesat, Freeview, YouView,
Sky and Virgin Media) have sought to
embrace hybrid television. This is where
the broadcast is augmented with catchup TV and/or VOD delivered via domestic
broadband connections, using IP.
This has led to a vibrant and competitive
UK TV platform market place. However,
we feel that the lessons that the UK
has learned, as early adopters of new
technology, could have been shared more
widely. There is strong involvement of
the public service broadcasters in these
platforms: Freesat is owned equally and
jointly by ITV and the BBC; an equal
31
share of Freeview is held by Channel

4, ITV and the BBC; YouView is owned
in equal shares by all the public service
broadcasters.
One issue is that what was once a uniform
standard for access to public service
television (the Freeview DTT platform)
has become a series of TV platforms that,
technically, stand apart from each other.
There is no single, uniform, standard for
hybrid TV in the UK that is freely available
to all manufacturers.
Another issue is that, given previous
collaboration on TV standards such as EBU
and DVB, we feel that the UK should have
engaged more with the, now EBU driven,
HbbTV initiative. HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast
Broadband TV) is a standard for hybrid
TV published by ETSI and also available
directly from the HbbTV website11.
Innovation in applications would be
aided by the establishment of centres
providing a space where entrepreneurs
and small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
could meet with industry experts. The
development of TV applications would
benefit greatly from access to a collection
of TV platforms, along with various IP
and broadcast tools, in order to test
applications in a simulated network
environment.
Lots of small UK companies have great
ideas, but cannot afford access to the
European and world standards bodies
and industry consortia (e.g. ISO, DLNA,
ETSI, etc). Providing access to these
standards and to the meetings that draft
these standards, would help keep small
UK companies at the leading edge of the
global TV market.
The issue of innovation in devices could
be addressed through a technology
advocacy programme, where innovators
can share newly developed technologies,
find applications (and therefore potential
sources of revenue) through connecting
with other inventors and entrepreneurs
and where Intellectual Property (IPR)
issues can be transparently managed.
Big Data and convergence

The advisory group has concluded, after
the reflections of this work, that the long
awaited convergence in technology will
not be TV and the internet, or broadcast
and mobile, but actually the meeting of
Big Data and consumer electronics that
can make use of the products of Big Data.
In the USA 18% of cars are now
connected to the internet. This will
continue to spread and grow. There are
so many opportunities for Big Data here,
if position, speed, mechanical health data
can be collected at a central point and
correlated with other data.
The data collected from the Internet
of Things (IOT) will allow Big Data
applications across 3 areas:
Commercial/official use
Cars:
Parking management
Traffic management
Fuel management
Policing
Fuel distribution (retail)
It is now possible to collect data from

a range of sensors (e.g. smoke alarms,
proximity sensors, etc.) and use this.
Any functions such as sounders and
alarms could also be used as part of a
security system. The future value of
IOT technologies is huge and predicted
by Metcalfes Law.
Metcalfes Law: the value of a
telecommunications network is
proportional to the square of the number
of connected nodes in the network.
As more and more sensors, transducers,
and all manner of system elements
become addressable via IP, and
interconnected, the quality and statistical
value of the data collected will increase.
At the same time networks increase in
their ability to utilise the products of
Big Data analytics.
Connected life
Innovation & open data
As we have said, the convergence we

are going to see is the meeting of Big
Data analytics, and the optimisations and
new applications that will bring, with IP
connected mass market consumer devices
that can utilise the products of Big Data.
Finally, we agree with the think tank Policy

Exchange that public institutions in the UK
should adhere to an open data strategy.
Policy exchange highlights the possible
plight of an entrepreneur trying to build a
business based upon a data stream from,
for example, a local authority. Should that
data stream be interrupted, turned off, or
altered, then the business model will have
to change or may even collapse12.
The third element here is consumer

appetite for a new product or service.
The following diagram illustrates this, and
the intersection of these three elements
is where there is the biggest scope for
innovation:
We are pleased to note the announcement

in the March 2014 budget of the new
Alan Turing Institute which will be set up
to research Big Data13.
Media
C
ar security & SOS
function
S treaming of targeted

content
H
ome:
T argeted advertising

(e.g. new car if yours is
old or failing)
A
larms & security
L ighting & heating
control
H
ealth
Innovation sweet spot
M
oving media around
the home from device
to device
Big Data
Devices
Analytics mine for

correlations
& value.
Big Data source.

Analytics enable
new applications.
Innovation
Internet of Things (IOT) will bring

new applications and make devices
multi-purpose
New
business.
As devices become connected the

component parts will be addressable
via IP. For example, a smoke alarm:
Smoke alarm
Proximity sensor
Smoke sensor
Sounder
Consumer
Appetite
For new applications
& services.
Metcalfes Law: the value of a

telecommunications network
is proportional to the square of
the number of connected nodes
in the network.
32
11 http://www.hbbtv.org/pages/about_hbbtv/specification.php
12 http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/media-centre/blogs/category/item/why-we-need-a-more-strategic-approach-to-open-data
13 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26651179
33
Computing for the

Creative Industries
The UK creative industry is not only one of the most high-profile and valuable sectors to
the UK economy; it is also subject to the rapidly changing landscape of media consumption.
The increasing creative demands along with the technological advances within consumer
consumption devices presents huge challenges for the industry. To meet the ever increasing
expectations of the industry, faster and more powerful computing and networking facilities
are needed.
Digital Cinema utilizes a sampling

grid commonly known as 2k (2048
x 1080) or 4k (4096 x 2160). These
were standardised by the International
Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)
and originally provisioned to use a frame
rate of 24fps or 48fps for 2k images or
24fps for 4k images. Since 3D became
a popular addition, the system which
initially used the capability of 48fps
to send the information for each eye
timed sequentially in the digital cinema
delivery package (DCP), was updated
for The Hobbit to deliver 48fps per eye.
Each technology advance more than
doubles the data storage requirement.
Digital cinema uses a store and forward
system meaning realtime delivery is not
necessary and therefore bandwidth for
transmission does not need to double.
However, the file transfer time will be
significantly increased. This relates to
cinema distribution but in production and
post-production, the storage and transfer
time will sky rocket, especially when digital
cinema is standardised to 60fps per eye
for 3D or 120fps for 2D.
Audio formatting is also evolving from
channel based audio to object based
coding independently positioning
objects anywhere within the sound field.
Whilst this doesnt significantly increase
the final delivery data, the computational
complexity in production is increased.
High-end production and post-production,
especially visual effects, can generate
up to 40 terabytes per day. Once stored
in the common file formats used in the
industry, it can then take several days to
34
Fortunately, graphic processing units are

evolving quickly to meet these needs and
providing the creative community with
tools to push the boundaries.
transfer across networks. The IT industry

needs to address the specialist needs
of the production and post-production
industries. If the UK is to remain at the
forefront of content creation it needs
to provide the resources, which are
capable of easy expansion, to embrace
the ever increasing data and network
requirements.
With the increased use of motion capture
and CGI effects, there is an increasing
desire to see pre-visualisations and first
run effects on set. This requires the
computing capability and the skills to be
available during the shooting of content
to ensure the captured images will be
effective.
Digital television is currently going
through a process of agreeing standards
for Ultra-High Definition (UHD). This
is likely to include larger sample grids
moving from 1920 x 1080 to 3840 x 2160
or 7680 x 4320, increasing frame rates
from 25 Hz or interlaced 50 Hz to 50 Hz
progressive or 100 Hz and increasing the

dynamic range requiring a move from
8-bit to 10 or 12-bit per pixel. The mobile
industry is also converging with media
creation and distribution, with recent
devices capable of 4k video capture and
display.
Although capturing and processing
this content is possible today, the main
challenge for television is to accommodate
live outside broadcast. A standard sport
broadcast programme makes heavy use
of slow-motion replays and on screen
graphics to analyse the game. Therefore,
not only the live end-to-end chain
needs to handle much higher data-rates
for UHD, the tools for fast storage,
manipulation and playback need to be
available, typically supporting an outside
broadcast environment.
Gaming has similar challenges; where
technologies like ray-tracing help create
the effect of visual realism at the cost
of significant computational complexity.
The other challenges for gaming across

multiple platforms are payment and
discoverability. Games are no longer
restricted to dedicated platforms or
PCs: they can now be found on social
media platforms, mobile, tablet and TV
devices, as well as simple websites using
a variety of different operating systems
and standards. The fastest growing sector
of games is Free to Play apps, but with
over one million apps in the iTunes store
and almost the same number on the
Android platforms, getting discovered
is extremely difficult. It is therefore
recommended that a cross-platform
promotion network be considered to
promote UK developed applications.
A cross-industry working group, including
TIGA, should be formed to discuss how
this could be achieved.
Within the Apple ecosystem, the
mechanism for secure micro-payments
is extremely well implemented and has
made a success of the business model of
Free to Play games with monetisation
via micro-transactions. Although there
are many web billing systems, there is
no equivalent trusted one-touch billing
system for TV apps, in part due to the
fragmentation of technical standards in
the connected TV market. We therefore
recommend that government consider
supporting the creation of guidelines to
ensure that a secure and trusted billing
platform is created across all UK TV

platforms accessible by a simple web API.
The biggest computing challenge for
the production and post-production
community is handling the huge
peaks and troughs of demand for
computationally intensive rendering.
This requires a data centre with sufficient
energy, processing capability, connectivity
and storage to meet demand but one
that can also benefit from being a shared
resource across the UK creative industries.
Similar successful initiatives have been
created in Canada to support the growing
creative community there.
The Canadian productive and economic
method of working needs to be
implemented in the UK to keep the
industry competitive and world-leading
in this age of rapidly advancing digital
production. Moving forward, it is
recommended that a creative cloud
is provided in the UK to meet current
and future creative demands. There is
an opportunity for this UK resource to
be world class, innovative and further
develop energy efficient processors and
servers. Also, new ways need to be
found to exploit existing infrastructure
and resources such as the UK academic
networks and high performance
computing capability.
London to handle uncompressed video

assets. Any data centre would need to be
close to an abundant source of energy
and utilise natural cooling where possible
to minimise running costs. Optimising
processors to handle audio, video and
graphics would significantly improve the
efficiencies of the computing equipment.
Secure storage would provide a vital
disaster recovery service for the industry.
It is recommended that industry work
with the Technology Strategy Board and
the Connected Digital Economy Catapult,
to create a resource to demonstrate UK
leadership in this area, whilst supporting
the needs of the creative industry. We call
on the government to create incentives
to facilitate the introduction of the UK
Creative Cloud and continue to promote
the sector in the UK.
A UK creative cloud would need to

securely manage access and scheduling,
to deliver a flexible and efficient payas-you-go service to the UK creative
community. A minimum 10 Gbps
connection would be required into central
35
Television
Spatial resolution
In 1929, the BBC broadcast television
programmes began using the first Baird
30-line system. On 3 November 1936, the
BBC began alternating their transmissions
from Alexandra Palace between the Baird
240-line system and the Marconi 405line system, which later became the main
UK television service and continued to
be broadcast until 1985. In 1964 a new
625-line system was developed and this
introduced colour with PAL in 1967.
In 1982, the Comit Consultatif
International pour la Radio (CCIR) which
later became the ITU-R, published BT.601
which defined the formats for digital
video. It introduced the formal resolution
of 720 horizontal pixels by 576 vertical
pixels (640 by 480 for the NTSC countries)
all sampled at 13.5 MHz. This resolution is
currently referred to as Standard Definition
(SD).
In 1990, ITU-R published a new standard,
BT.709, for High Definition (HD). This
introduced the idea of a common image
format, which included resolutions of
1280 pixels by 720 lines and 1920 pixels
by 1080 lines. The 1080 line variant
included both interlace and progressive
scan options.
More recently, in 2012, ITU-R published
BT.2020 which includes two resolutions:
3840 pixels by 2160 lines and 7680
pixels by 4320 lines. These resolutions are
known as Ultra High Definition; UHD1 and
UHD2. They are often confusingly referred
to as 4k and 8k due to the approximate
number of horizontal pixels.
Scientific studies have shown that the

human visual acuity is limited to one
minute of Arc, which means the
resolution of images that can actually be
distinguished depends on this, the size
of the screen and the viewing distance.
The average UK home viewing distance
is 2.7m and average screen sizes are
currently around 40 inches.
BBC White Paper 921 tested this theory
and illustrated the resolution required
against screen sizes for the average
viewing distance.
Temporal resolution
Early Baird transmissions were scanned
at around 12.5 pictures per second.
The Marconi 405-line system introduced
interlacing where the two complimentary
fields are shown 50 times per second
creating fill frames 25 times per second.
This field and frame rate was continued
in Europe through PAL and into digital
standard definition. The high definition
standards introduced a progressive image
at 50 times per second at the lower 1280
by 720 resolution. The debate in quality
between 720p50 and 1080i25 was
argued but resulted in the vast majority of
HD content using the 1080i25 standard.
25 Hz progressing scan is also used in
HD for genres like drama and natural
history as it gives the best resolution for
slow moving content.
Temporal resolution is key to portrayal
of motion. Higher frame rates are
needed to provide a smooth motion for
moving objects. The juddering effect is
more apparent with larger displays,
higher spatial resolution and faster
moving objects.
Colour and bit-depth

ITU-R Rec 601 and ITU-R Rec 709 include
both 8-bit and 10-bit representation.
The latter is often used in the studio and
production environment to give a greater
granularity. ITU-R 2020 introduced 12-bit
video levels.
Data Rates
36
Video format
Uncompressed data rate
SD (720x576) I 25Hz 8-bit 4:2:2
165 Mb/s
HD (1280x720) p 50Hz 8-bit 4:2:2
737 Mb/s
HD (1920x1080) I 25Hz 8-bit 4:2:2
829 Mb/s
HD (1920x1080) I 25Hz 10-bit 4:2:2
1 Gb/s
UHD1 (3840x2160) p 50Hz 10-bit 4:2:2
8.3 Gb/s
UHD2 (7680x4230) p 50Hz 10-bit 4:2:2
33 Gb/s
1 http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/whp/whp-pdf-files/WHP092.pdf
Temporal resolution
Historically, cinema has used 24
frames per second for film capture and
projection. Due to the low frame rate,
careful rules and constraints ensure that
films suffer from motion judder.
Chrominance is usually half the resolution

of the luminance, referred to as 4:2:2.
Stereoscopic 3D
Stereoscopic 3D is achieved by presenting
two offset images separately to the left
and right eye of the viewer. These twodimensional images are then combined
in the brain to give the perception of 3D
depth.
In television, a popular compromise is to
anamorphically squeeze the images so
that they can fit into a standard video
frame. This way, they can pass through
the broadcast system transparently, as if
they were a simple HD image, which can
then be re-combined by a display into a
3D image. This is referred to as frame
compatible 3D.
There are alternative technical standards
for service compatible 3D: where a
2D image can be enhanced with 3D
information by sending a depth map or
difference image for the alternate eye
image. This mechanism is used in 3D Bluray releases using Multiview Coding (MVC)
which delivers a compatible H.264 AVC
HD stream along with 3D enhancement
information.
Cinema
Spatial resolution
Historically, film has had a significant
number of formats and aspect ratios.
The most popular have been 35mm and
70mm with aspect ratios including 1.33:1,
1.66:1, 1.85:1 (flat) and 2.39:1 (scope).
DCI D-Cinema formats are largely referred
to as 2k and 4k and consist of containers;
2048x1080 and 4096x2160. The active
image within the container is dependant
on the aspect ratio used, for example,
for 2k, 2.39:1 is 2048x858 and 1.85:1 is
1998x1080.
High frame rate has been proposed a

number of times and there are various
formats supported in the DCI D-Cinema
specifications:
60, 72, 96 and 120 frame/s for 2D
at 2k.
48 and 60 frame/s for 3D at 2k.
48 and 60 frame/s for 2D at 4k.
Stereoscopic 3D
3D is achieved by presenting two offset
images separately to the left and right
eye of the viewer. These two-dimensional
images are then combined in the brain
to give the perception of 3D depth.
The current D-Cinema standards define
images of 2048x1080 at 48 frame/s (24
frame/s per eye).
Audio
Current D-Cinema audio supports
24 bits per sample, either 48kHz or
96 kHz sampled, and up to 16 channels.
New developments include object coding
enhancements to allow a smoother
transition to be rendered in the specific
cinema space, for example, Dolby Atmos.
Colour and bit-depth

DCI D-Cinema defines 12 bits per colour
component with 10-bit only permitted for
2k at 48 frames per second (HFR). DCI P3
defines the colour gamut available.
Bitrate
250 Mb/s maximum image bit rate using
JPEG 2000 compression. HFR increased to
500 Mb/s.
Audio
Dolby Surround was introduced in 1982
to bring stereo to home video recording
formats. Pro-logic was introduced in 1987
which mixed four channels of sound into
an ordinary stereo soundtrack. Nicam
stereo was first broadcast by the BBC in
1986. From the launch of digital TV, stereo
was standard.
Dolby Digital was introduced into the
home with LaserDisc in 1995. This discrete
channel encoding was then adopted for
surround sound broadcasts.
NHK are experimenting with the Super
High Vision system which uses 22.2
channels of discrete audio.
An alternative to coding each channel
separately is to code the audio objects
separately. This allows for the sound field
to be appropriately re-created based
on the number of speakers available in
the room. Object coded audio has the
additional benefit of being able to easily
customise the environment. For example,
the commentary could be enhanced while
the background music is suppressed.
Alternatively, the football supporter could
choose which part of the stadium they
wanted to sit in, allowing the home team
to be the predominate voice with the
choice of biased or unbiased commentary.
Historically, cinema has used

24 frames per second for film
capture and projection. Due to
the low frame rate, careful rules
and constraints ensure that
films suffer from motion judder.
Background Information
37
Gaming
Most modern games use 3D modelling
and render graphics from a number
of triangular polygons. The amount of
these polygons is minimised to keep the
rendering time down and texture is then
added.
Refresh rates are critical for gaming and
it is not uncommon for HD resolutions at
60 frames per second to be required as a
minimum.
Ray tracing is a technique to create
photo-realistic graphics by tracing the
path of light through pixels in an image
plane and simulating what happens when
it encounters virtual objects. However,
due to the computational complexity,
it is currently more likely to be used for
content rendered ahead of time. However,
real-time rendering would make more
compelling games.
Platforms
There are many different platforms used
for gaming. These include dedicated
gaming consoles and high-end PCs, web
based games which require simply a web
browser and mobile device games.
Install size
Install size for a game varies significantly,
depending on the platform it is aimed at.
Webpages can be up to a few hundred
MB (but this needs a fast connection), it
is approximately 500 MB for iPhone, and
typically 10-15 GB for a PC game.
Connectivity
Latency is critical in gaming due to the
input response time. For web based
games, bandwidth is required for the
initial download but not for the game
play. Often a live connection is required
to prevent piracy.
Payments
The massive success of app stores such
as Apples App Store has been attributed
to numerous factors. Without getting
into a discussion of these factors, most
commentators would agree that the
ability for developers to engage in onetouch billing is key. Apples insistence
that, at the point of registration of their
products, consumers also register their
credit card has resulted in the creation of
a secure and trusted billing relationship
between Apple and the consumer (and by
extension between the developer and the
consumer), which breaks down barriers
to traditional online buying and indeed
encourages impulse buying. This is a
beneficial two-way relationship; customer
desire would seem to be evidenced by
the very success of the stores and the
fact that revenues and the numbers of
stores continue to grow exponentially.
The market capitalisation of Apple and
successful developers indicates their
profitability.
As part of this implementation, the role
and requirement for micro-payments
must also be considered. Micro-payments
comprise the basis of what is coming to
be the dominant business model in both
the app ecosystem (and by extension
the gaming sub-set), namely Free to Play
(F2P). In essence, F2P is giving a game or
app away for free and then monetising via
micro-transactions, for example, buying a
new gun in a game for 59p. Traditional
billing systems typically struggle with
transactions this small as the transaction
costs dwarf the actual purchase value.
Any viable one-touch billing solution
must take into account these
requirements as well.
To date, there is no trusted one-touch
billing system for TV apps. This is partly
due to the immaturity of the TV app
market but there are other factors such
as Skys dominance in the commercial
arena, the BBCs public-funded (noncommercial) nature and TV manufacturers
walled garden approaches to app market
development, as well as the simple fact
that to-date most Smart TVs are not
connected to the internet by their owners
(although it can be argued that this is a
chicken and egg situation and will resolve
itself once there is a reason for owners
to connect).
This would require:
Discoverability
With the rise of F2P, an already existing
app store problem has been exacerbated,
namely the conundrum for developers of
how to get their app found by consumers.
Even Apple App Store aficionados will
concede that finding a particular or
high quality app amongst a plethora of
similarly named and poorly rated apps is
practically impossible, and indeed all app
stores are blighted by this problem. To
date, there are only two proven methods
for an unknown developer to break into
the market; being featured as an App of
the Day or gaining some other highpublicity break e.g. a BBC/FT/TechCrunch
article, or engaging in some targeted and,
by extension costly, marketing spend. This
means that the market is heavily weighted
in favour of the incumbents (who can
afford the marketing spend) and a look
at any associated charts, for example,
Facebook (http://www.appdata.com/),
will show this.
T he development of said platform.

Web billing systems are relatively
commonplace these days and the
recent number of UK start-ups offering
smart billing solutions (for example,
https://gocardless.com/ ) shows that
low barriers to entry i.e. relatively cheap
(100K - 500K) development costs
are possible. In addition, the fact that
the solution proposed would only need
to encompass UK billing options limits
technological complexity.
P otentially mandating that all Smart TV
platforms in the UK (Sky, Samsung TV
apps, etc) must provide access to, and
billing via said platform (although not at
the exclusion of current methods).
In addition, the following would be
beneficial:
1. The integration of the billing platform
with existing suppliers billing platforms
i.e. the option when paying to Pay by
Sky, Pay by Samsung, etc.
Provision of a cross-promotion network

similar to something like Applifier
(http://www.applifier.com/ ). At TIGA
the board have discussed at length
about how to provide this to our
members (UK game developers) as
we feel that it would provide them
with a competitive global advantage.
The author will concede that there
are difficulties associated with any
implementation, the most obvious
being that it can rely on the largesse of
the larger developers. However, to-date
the biggest hurdle has simply been
the cost of setting up such a network.
Estimates range around the (100k 200K) margin but sadly this is simply
not available to TIGA.
2. The creation of a platform agnostic app

store. Again, solutions like this already
exist in the UK, for example http://
store.indiecity.com/, indeed the game
author himself has been involved in the
creation of a number of these (although
not Indie City).
Other benefits:
3. By building a platform-agnostic app
store we remove the imposition of the
30% tax that stores such as Apple
impose on developers (namely the cut
that Apple take). The provision of the
service at cost would keep developers
revenues within the UK.
4. Greater protection and peace of mind
for consumers. To give one example,
the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) recently
undertook an investigation into
consumer buying, particularly around
childrens apps, and whether they
breached consumer regulations.
Whilst the OFT has subsequently
indicated to TIGA that they are very
happy with UK developers efforts in
this space and conceded that a
majority of the problems rest with how
platforms such as Apple implement
their billing, an additional UK trusted
platform would obviously help to avoid
any future problems.
Finding a particular or high
quality app amongst a plethora
of similarly named and poorly rated
apps is practically impossible, and
indeed all app stores are blighted
by this problem.
38
39
ISAN
ISAN is a numbering system for the
identification of AV content developed
with ISO. It was published in 2002 as ISO
15706. It is a 24-bit hexadecimal number
or a 96-bit binary number.
The ISAN, a 96-bit number is comprised of
three segments: a root, an episode or part,
and a version. A root is assigned to a core
work. Subsequent film parts or television
episodes that relate to the root work can
have the same root, but different episode
or part components. If a core work does
not have associated parts or episodes,
then the episode segment is filled with
zeros. Works (and their episodes or parts)
that have been modified in some way
(for example, different audio or subtitle
tracks) can have different versions. ISANIA has also developed a recommended
practice for encoding the ISAN in a twodimensional barcode.
Connectivity
Data Management
JANET
Janet is a high speed computer network
providing collaborative services for UK
research and education. It is also linked to
Geant: the pan-European data network
for research and education.
TV Content
A Super Hi-Vision trial at the 2012

Olympics used these academic networks
to pass high quality images and sound
across the Atlantic and to Japan.
DVB URI and CRIDs for content

identification
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a
URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) which,
in addition to identifying a resource,
[provides] a means of locating the
resource by describing its primary access
mechanism (e.g. its network location).
Uniform Resource Names (URNs) are
intended to serve as persistent, locationindependent resource identifiers.
DVB defines a specific Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) format which provides a
general addressing mechanism intended
to access broadcast services from
interactive applications or services:
dvb://<original_network_id>.
[<transport_stream_id>][.<service_
id>[.<component_set>[$<d
vb_carousel_id>]][<dvb_event_
constraint>]][<path-absolute>]
dvb://<textual_service_
identifier>[.<component_set>[$<dvb_
carousel_id>]][<dvb_event_c
onstraint>][<path-absolute>]
This is used extensively in DVB Service

Information to provide linkages across
the broadcast services and components.
Content Reference Identifiers (CRIDs)
were standardised by the TV Anytime
Forum to unambiguously reference
content regardless of their location (such
as broadcast time, date and channel).
These CRIDs are used extensively in the
Freeview and Freesat platforms to enable
features of Digital TV Recorders (DTRs)
such as accurate recording (when the
programme moves time due to schedule
changes), series linking (to identify
several programmes as part of a series),
split events (where a programme is split
into two parts such as a film broken by
a new bulletin) and alternate instances
(programmes repeated on other channels
at other times to allow recorders to
intelligently manage recording schedule
conflicts).
A content identifier descriptor can indicate
the type of CRID that is carried. TVAnytime defines two types of CRID:
A
group CRID to group together
an arbitrary selection of content (for
example, a series).
An ISAN uniquely distinguishes one

audiovisual work from all other
audiovisual works. An ISAN is a centrally
registered and permanently assigned
reference number. The work it references
is identified by a metadata set. ISAN-IA
in Geneva and its appointed registration
agencies work together to prevent
duplicate assignments of ISANs with
the same metadata set. This descriptive
information includes the title, director,
type, duration and dozens of other
fields related to the work. This metadata
applies to all types of works, including
versions of feature films, documentaries,
television programmes, videos, games,
trailers, advertisements, and live
broadcasts. Additionally, these ISAN
codes are the unique identification of
specific versions or other content related
to an audiovisual work and will be used
in production and distribution systems,
broadcasting applications and electronic
program guides. Titles can change
when a work is distributed beyond its
country (or countries) of origin and the
title is translated into other languages.
As each ISAN is a unique number that is
permanently assigned to an audiovisual
work, it can identify that work across
national boundaries and language barriers.
As a unique identifier, the ISAN and its
related metadata set are useful in a wide
range of computerised applications,
particularly those which involve databases
or the exchange of information about
audiovisual works and related versions.
EIDR
EIDR is a global B2B registry for unique
identification of movie and TV content.
It provides international collaboration
among content owners, distributors
and operators, retailers and other key
stakeholders. It tracks all commercial
content down to the product and SKU
level including edits, clips, composites and
encodings. It is built on the International
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) standard and
is interoperable with existing IDs. It is an
industry-driven ID solution for the digital
supply chain.
Case study Canada

AA consortium of the major animation,
VFX and games studios in Vancouver
created the Vancouver Studio Group with
the aim of creating a shared data centre
to make Vancouver a more competitive
destination by reducing infrastructure
costs through combined economies
of scale. It took two years from the
discussions starting to the service going
live in early 2012.
The service ended up being delivered
through a private company using available
university campus capacity, leveraging the
local high speed academic network and
with support from the city of Vancouver,
the province of British Columbia and
BC Film (the equivalent of the UK Film
Council).
Scalar StudioCloud2 was founded on the
recognition that digital media companies
have specific and unique IT requirements.
The short-term and often unpredictable
project workload has traditionally meant
that studios have either had to spend
time, resources, and money managing
redundant infrastructure, or alternatively
simply turn certain projects down.
StudioCloud solves this problem by
offering access to cutting-edge technology
on a predictable, per-use cost model.
Currently the primary offering of
StudioCloud is servers-on-demand.
Studios can access thousands of servers in
our data centre, and connect via a secure,
dedicated switch. Studios sign up for a
contracted minimum number of servers
for a 12, 18, or 36 month term. If studios
ever find themselves with idle servers, they
have the option to sublease them to other
studios in the cloud, using our unique
exchange feature. Studios connect into
the cloud via an ultra-high speed network.
Scalar StudioCloud was designed to meet
guidelines set out by the Motion Picture
Association of America (MPAA) and
facilities are monitored and managed daily.
A
programme CRID to identify a
specific piece of content (for example,
a programme).
40
2 http://www.scalar.ca/studio-cloud/ Scalar StudioCloud is a community cloud designed for the digital media industry. Launched in Vancouver in February 2012, StudioCloud has now expanded to
the Toronto market.
41
Data Management
The diagram below illustrates the direction

we see the advertising market going over
time.
As illustrated in the diagram, there are
still two distinct methods that will be
used for data collection; the Adsense
version employed by vertical platforms
and HTML for want of a better name
- where the growth in horizontal data
collection will be taking place. The latter
is obviously more reliant on open source
data, allowing trend analysis and the
future collection of Big Data. While this
may not be quite as effective when it
comes to targeting, it will still have a
significant amount to offer.
42
The Data Management Advisory

Group and Steering Group previously
acknowledged that the use of open
standards for tracking content will
continue to be important to allow
the data analysis industry and related
advertising developments to continue.
This clearly continues to be the case
and the FITT Taskforce still strongly
supports the ongoing work by the Linked
Content Coalition and its Principles of
Identification. In addition, we continue
to support the recommendations of the
Copyright Licencing Steering Group1
(now reconstituted as the Copyright
Hub Partners Board) in encouraging the
interoperability between the EIDR and
ISAN international identification systems
and look to seeing more broadcasters
adopting these systems in the future.
1 http://www.clsg.info/uploads/Streamlining_Copyright_for_the_Digital_Age_September_2013.pdf
Currently, TV advertising makes up the

largest segment of advertising by value.
In 2013 TV was responsible for 40% of
advertising spend and it is not expected
to drop significantly in the near future,
maybe to only 39% by 2016. However,
digital advertising is growing; 4bn
was spent in 2010 in the UK and it is
expected to grow to 7bn in 2014. This
is a significant increase, and this growth
is expected to continue as methods of
targeting make this a more effective
method of advertising. In addition,
from a broadcast perspective there is
also more ability to target, such as the
technology now being deployed by BSkyB
for AdSmart. This use of targeted digital
advertising requires changes in areas of
the audio visual industry.
There are three sections of the industry
that collect data: hardware, from
manufacturers such as Apple and LG;
gateway providers such as Google and
Yahoo and platforms such as BBC and
Facebook. Another way to look at the
collection is through either vertically
integrated systems whereby the
consumer is within an environment that
is controlled by a provider, and allows
them to collect data; and the horizontal,
whereby what people are doing can be
viewed more publicly and use of content
may be tracked. Examples that can be
seen to cover both aspects are Facebook
The broadcast industry is still exploring

this area to allow targeting and this
domain is one in which the internet is
definitely leading. In comparison to the
internet, with the exception of AdSmart,
the precision with which different
consumers can be targeted in a broadcast
environment is relatively low. However,
as broadcast services increasingly
enhance their offering with on demand
services they are beginning to have the
opportunity to develop this potential
resource further through data analysis.
An example of an operator doing this is
Channel 4, who has now signed up some
10 million viewers through 4OD, allow it
to gather valuable viewer data.
Data standards and value

Open data standards
BARB 2.0
HTML...
Current model, enhanced with more

metadata
Wiki- Mozilla-
Remains key currency of advertising
Mass targeting
Previous Recommendation
The Future of Advertising
Dominated by top broadcasters
Advertising/ targeting
Potentially targeting:
Content, UGC and Adverts
Max room for SME innovation
Platform led
Adsense
Used for content search and

discovery, and for social media
comments about programmes
Primarily focused on targeted

advertising steals value from TV
value chain
No universal infrastructure
Secondary focus on targeting

content
Led by Verticals (Sky, Virgin...)
Dominated by internet giants using

their own standards:
Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple
Targeted
The availability and use of this data has

created challenges. How is industry
supposed to make use of this data? If we
understand how we might use it, can we
analyse it effectively to get the required
results? Additionally, what protections
are required to reassure consumers
that their data is appropriately used
and stored? To what extent should this
be consumers personal responsibility
when sharing data? To what extent is
the topic an area of policy that requires
more regulation? At what level should
regulation be set? Following the interim
update on November 2013, the Data
Management Advisory Group has focused
on two specific areas around skills, and
privacy and regulation. This work has also
been undertaken to further clarify and

understand the direction of travel in the
advertising industry. Key trends indicate a
move from a mass synchronous method
to a targeted asynchronous system,
whereby the value of impressions is
increased due to their expected
impact. However, as mentioned later,
the development of data science is
growing in many industries, and as such
many of the issues and possible solutions
could also be applied elsewhere.
In order to achieve this, what can content

providers and the games industries do?
Already this is being addressed with
regards to content, it is being offered
in different formats for multi-platform
consumption. Also traditional broadcast
needs to innovate in the way it collects
data. This could enhance the current
information gathered around viewing
numbers to include such information as
how the content integrates into social
media. In addition, attention to the
screen, reactions to content, the amount
of advertising actually watched and other
aspects of habits could be gathered.
However, this could ultimately lead to the
possibility of people finding TV watching
Personalised asynchronous [viewing on personal IP connected Devices]
This has incentivised platforms and

companies to develop numerous ways
of collecting data. For vertical platforms,
such as Facebook, Apple, Sky, etc. there
is the ability to collect large amounts of
personal data on peoples habits and
through their use of their services. In
many cases consumers agree to the use
of their data by approving, often unread,
terms and conditions. With horizontal
platforms, such as the BBC, or third parties
tracking content usage, the ability to
attribute this data to people is far more
difficult. However, collection still allows
analysis that develops an understanding
of trends and behaviours; this can often
be supported by following social media
around the content.
Synchronous [shared viewing on living room TV]
Data is becoming more and more important. Consumers are becoming more and more
connected. This is producing colossal amounts of data and certain aspects of this data have
substantial potential value to the people analysing and exploiting it, and to the economy
in general.
or Twitter. Within these platforms the

provider has the ability to collect a large
amount of data regarding a users habits
and behaviours which can be used in
order to understand how best to target an
advert to them. At the same time, external
third parties, while not having access to
a users specific personal data, can begin
to gauge what is popular, and possibly
the kinds of people who are making it
so by analysing what is trending or what
is liked or commented upon. Either way
this provides useful data to allow targeted
advertising, but one will allow specific
personal targeting (vertical) while the
other (horizontal) leads to understanding
how to target specific groups. Equally,
these vertical platforms have an advantage
as they do not share their personal data.
However, the trending information is in
itself still valuable.
As the industry moves towards this, what

will data actually provide? Firstly, it would
provide greater targeted advertising
which would be more relevant to viewers
and can be more sensitive to the time
of delivery, and specific to the content.
Secondly, it creates a more effective
and more valuable communication
channel that has a greater impact on the
targeted viewers. However, if data is to be
gathered, there needs to be something
that viewers get in return.
This can come in a number of different

ways; firstly it can allow services such as
recommendations to be more relevant
to viewers, saving them time if looking
for content. This again is useful for the
provider as it can be used to better target
advertising. Secondly, other rewards could
be provided such as loyalty schemes
whereby the provision of information is
rewarded with the provision of higher
premium content.
Proprietary data standards

Value drifting this direction
43
them, not the other way around. The

risks to privacy from this do need to be
understood, not just from an information
sharing perspective but also considering
risks surrounding hacking of connected
devices by third parties.
The innovations required to achieve this
would ideally be coordinated. This would
allow for maximum impact and would
also enable cross-industry collaboration
to develop these methods. The advantage
of a collaborative approach would be
retaining consumers trust. By and large
broadcasters enjoy a very high level of
trust from their viewers. This should
be maintained and could be used to
an advantage. However, in order to
preserve consumers trust clarity as to
how and what data is collected, why it is
collected and who will use it is required.
Communicating this information clearly
can be hard, lengthy and complex.
Terms and conditions can often be
overwhelming with many users never
reading them. However, with the reach,
impact and trust large broadcasters
currently enjoy, such clarity should
be pursued.
Privacy and regulation

As mentioned previously, there are a
number of aspects surrounding privacy
and regulation that need to be addressed.
From an industry perspective, the ability
to collect, track, analyse and exploit data
freely would be useful. It would create
many chances to target advertising, along
with opening up far more opportunities
to trade data as a commodity. These
opportunities exist today, but are limited
by regulation. The laws around data
privacy are complex, often open to
interpretation and in many circumstances
not understood and cited as reasons
for not allowing access to data. This
complexity and lack of understanding
goes two ways though as, within more
vertical markets such as when using apps
on smart phones or signing up to services
on products, people very rarely read the
full terms and conditions, and may be
unaware of what data they are actually
sharing. In addition, with the ability to
track peoples location, many apps only
provide full functionality with this tracking
activated (and this is not just for mapping
applications).
These two issues around privacy and

regulation could, in the long term, cause
problems. Firstly, lack of understanding
may place smaller, independent data
tracking services at a disadvantage
compared with other integrated data
analysis companies providing linked
services. Their ability to collect data could
be inhibited due to other parties lack of
understanding of regulations, causing
them not to share anything and cite data
privacy as the reason. Secondly, as people
are currently unaware of the extent of
the data tracking they are signing up to
there is always a risk that, as the level of
intrusion comes to light, there may be a
backlash. This might result in consumers
becoming more guarded with their data.
The diagram below illustrates scenarios for
how regulation and consumer behaviour
might impact the availability of personal
data in future.
Currently, within the UK, we are sitting
somewhere low down in the top right
quadrant. However, lack of understanding
probably leads to some organisations
acting more as if we are in the top left
quadrant. Complexity in privacy laws
allows more of the work in the bottom
right quadrant to take place.
Mapping the future: data privacy
The ideal scenario puts consumers and

industry in the Open Access quadrant
and, with trust, and the ability to provide
consumers positive upsides to sharing their
data, this opens up the potential for new
revenue streams for industry through more
sophisticated ads and services. However,
there could be negative consequences of
unauthorised data mining.
Negative Change of Trust and Regulation

Open Access
Open Access

consumers


consumers

Regulation prevents

Auto
Regulation prevents

Auto

supply is secure

easily

supply is secure

easily
Data Mining

they can share



of large scale

Revenues minimised.

Revenues at risk
Tightly regulated
Privacy Paramount


Privacy Paramount
Data Mining

they can share



of large scale

Revenues minimised.
Loosely regulated

Loosely regulated

Tightly regulated
The diagram below points to the likely

direction of travel in peoples behaviour if
reduced trust and lack of knowledge lead
to greater anxiety in the future.
Another aspect of the ability to access

data is that it can be used for the benefit
of society as a whole. This is already
being looked at in the health industry,
where new data is now beginning to be
collected. While there are many questions
being asked around how this data may
be used and there is some disquiet within
the media around how this data may be
shared, it must be seen as an opportunity
to gain understanding of society that
could benefit everyone in health provision.
Other aspects of social benefits will
also be possible, but although people
may see these positive aspects of data
collection and this may encourage them
to be more open, conversely, if this data
is not guarded correctly or is exploited
in other ways outside of peoples initial
expectations, this will erode trust and
could make people less likely to allow
44
access to such data. The recent NSA

revelations show what sort of backlash
can be caused when governments access
and use data without peoples agreement.

Revenues at risk
45
Firstly, there is an exercise to promote

these roles in the UK. People are probably
unaware of the opportunities in the
creative industries for using deep analytical
skills. If careers advice were to include
data analysis in other industries outside of
the traditional financial risk management
or pharmaceutical clinical trial analysis
more people may be encouraged to
train in these skills. Additionally, the
multi-disciplinary skills required for a
data scientist role are hard to acquire as
they include numerical skills alongside a
behavioural understanding. Further to
this, the UK education system tends to
specialise in certain areas and finding
subjects covering, what can be perceived
as very differing spheres, can be difficult.
It is hard to quickly change the education
curriculum to enable skills to develop
within short periods of time, especially
at secondary level. However, as can be
seen by the fact that the UK is the first
G20 country to make computer science
compulsory in the national curriculum
this year, changes can be made. Also
with the right advice, A-Levels can be
taken in the subjects allowing universities
to develop appropriate courses. Again,
universities are going to be unable to
create bespoke courses at short notice to
produce graduates or post graduates to fill
ever changing data scientist role profiles,
but with input and assistance from within
the industries the current problem can be
addressed over time.
The role of a data scientist requires

a number of skills. The traditional
data analysis skills that have been
employed in the past have to
be mixed with more advanced
mathematical skills to create
complex algorithms to analyse the
enormous volumes of data now
being generated.
Skills
As we have discussed, data is becoming
ubiquitous, and is relevant to a swathe
of industries in the UK. FITT is primarily
looking towards the audio visual industry
but within the entertainment sector the
games industry also generates a rich
seam of exploitable data. Extending the
understanding of data has implications for
improving health services, social care and
many other areas.
Through approaching a number of
organisations, the workstream has sought
to establish whether the resources are
available in the workforce to understand
all of this data. Strong anecdotal evidence
points to a lack of data scientists being
available, especially to the creative
industries. Data analysts have been around
in insurance, marketing and politics
for many years, but within the creative
industries this is a new and fast-emerging
role.
The role of a data scientist requires a
number of skills. The traditional data
analysis skills that have been employed
in the past have to be mixed with more
advanced mathematical skills to create
46
complex algorithms to analyse the

enormous volumes of data now being
generated. In addition, they also need to
understand, from the large amounts of
data, what is not useful. The social science
skills that come from understanding
behavioural psychology are also incredibly
important. In addition, the emerging
need to analyse dynamic data in real time
requires a specific skill set. The available
pool of people to carry out such analytics
is small compared with demand and so
the general message from the industry
is that many of these people are drawn
to positions in the City, which can meet
the high salary expectations that come
with a skills shortage. This in turn may
create a shortage in other industries. Such
shortage was quoted in the McKinsey
report: Big Data analytics, and the
future of marketing sales. It must also
be understood that because the majority
of companies/platforms which carry
out this data analysis such as Google,
Twitter, Apple etc. are not UK based, a
SWOT analysis would have to capture
these as a threat. Therefore some level of
government support to counteract this
may be required.
There is an understanding that there is

an untapped resource of talent overseas,
especially in Asia. However, currently the
role of data scientist is not deemed to
be a skills gap. This means many of the
obstacles of bringing talent from overseas
are present. If data scientists could be
added to the shortage occupation list
this could help in addressing the current
shortfall.
This does not address the long term issues
though and the ideal solution for the UK
would be to find processes and schemes
to help develop and nurture the talents
required to fill these roles within the UK.
It has to be acknowledged that this is a
new, emerging and continually developing
area within the creative industries, which
relates in its broadest form to a shortage
in other social or health industries.
The requirements for data scientists are
changing, and will continue to do so
in the future. Universities are aware of
the need for these new graduate skills,
however, with the rate of change of skill
required, it is hard to for education to
accommodate and keep up, but some
things can be done to change this.
Recommendations
The National Centre for University
and Business (NCUB) to create a
steering group bringing together
the creative industries, with
maths, computer science and
statistics departments of member
universities in order to ensure
higher education is producing the
data scientists of the future to
develop this leading sector in the
UK.
Industry and government develop
models that provide open and
clear information regarding data
gathering that will garner public
trust and support. Developing and
ensuring this trust will encourage
consumers to provide such data,
with the understanding that
security and privacy is assured,
while their experience will be
enhanced and society can benefit.
In order to maximise these benefits
of data, regulation needs to allow
such collection, while ensuring
privacy and personal information
is protected along with ensuring
consumer understanding of their
rights.
Setting up formal links between industry

and higher education to address this
issue is vital and would benefit both
commercial organisations and universities
alike. However, if the knowledge and
requirements from industry were fed
into higher education institutions in a
collaborative way, the UK economy would
benefit from the results through increased
competitiveness. The National Centre
for Universities and Business (NCUB)
is an organisation set up to provide a
framework to allow such collaboration.
As such, and through approaching the
CEO and Chair of FITT, an offer to create a
steering board to bring together members
of the creative industries and universities
with aspirations to provide the data
scientists of the future, has been made.
The possibilities of opening up this board
to other areas, including health and social
care are also under discussion, with the
intention of the UK becoming a leader in
producing the data scientists of the future.
47
Future Networks
and Infrastructure
Over the next ten years the

amount of content and data being
delivered to consumers on mobile
devices is expected to increase
substantially and TV content will
become more ubiquitous inside
and outside the home.
Broadcasting via DTT, cable and satellite to large screens in the home is still the primary method
for live television viewing in the UK; and we expect this to continue to be so for the next
decade. Historically, the UK has often led the large-scale adoption of new TV technologies. With
the right strategy employed through to 2025, the UK can again be at the forefront of the next
wave which utilises existing broadcast networks more intensively combined with mobile and
broadband technologies used in innovative new ways.
With the fibre broadband network already
capable of delivering multicast TV to over
half of UK homes today, and its planned
expansion to over 95% of the population
by 2020, a fourth TV broadcast network
should emerge over time - possibly by
2025. This will depend on consumers
willingness to acquire connected TVs and
pay the associated broadband costs to use
the broadband-delivered services on offer.
However, with the enormous growth
in wireless (e.g. mobile devices using
Wi-Fi and cellular networks) the methods
of consumption and behaviours are
changing. We dont expect these devices
to replace large screen viewing, but they
will complement TV viewing on the main
set, as companion screens at home and
delivering services when away from home.
48
Over the next ten years the amount of

content and data being delivered to
consumers on mobile devices is expected
to increase substantially and TV content
will become more ubiquitous inside and
outside the home, in the office and while
travelling on all modes of transport. As
they have continuously done over the past
decades, the networks and infrastructure
in the UK must develop to support these
changes and evolving requirements over
the next ten years and beyond, even if
new business models are needed.
Even within these timescales some

assumptions can be made:
Consumers will still be watching large
static screens at home to view TV,
including live, event driven content
and on demand content.
The methods and technology to deliver
TV content will have developed, with
more choice in the way this is done, to
reach screens at home and to mobile
devices within and outside the home.
Many more people will be connected
constantly, with the expectation of
continuous access to their chosen
content as they move between their
TVs at home, their smartphones and
other devices at home, work or outand-about.
Increasing demands for more spectrum
to meet data growth will lead to
innovative new ways to share access to
spectrum such as Dynamic Spectrum
Access (DSA).
The Future Networks advisory group
and the associated sub groups have
been investigating how to support the
TV consumers of the future and how
to deliver on their expectations. For
network operators, there is a need for
mobile networks to deliver more and
more data to and from their customers
within the limited spectrum available.
Wi-Fi offloading is increasing, with

the current 2.4 GHz band expected to
be near saturation by 2015 and DTT
continues to be a fundamental part
of the UK TV landscape, again with
limited spectrum available. However, a
major strength of the UK Free-to-Air TV
market is its competitive nature. This
has encouraged considerable innovation
over the years, including: the creation of
the UK DTT platform, providing larger
numbers of channels across the UK on
terrestrial TV; the development of HD
TV services, largely led by satellite; and
the recent developments in IP delivered
services and hybrid TV. Already around
the corner is the delivery of Ultra High
Definition (UHD) services, enhancing
the viewing experience even more with
higher resolution, greater colour depth,
and many other enhancements. These
all require far more capacity and new
improved compression technologies to
be delivered to the viewer and consumers
expectations are that they will be able
to enjoy HD and UHD versions of their
chosen TV content on a range of different
devices and locations. As outlined later
in this chapter, the creation of an action
plan to deliver the next generation of TV
looking initially at: opportunities for UHF
re-planning; longer term investigations
into the most spectrally efficient ways of
delivering DTT; and the adoption of all
the technologies available (satellite, cable,
broadband, DTT, Wi-Fi) to continue to

deliver public service content universally,
will help to achieve this. A further aspect
that the action plan must cover is the
required regulatory framework to support
such developments; ensuring fair access
to key content across all broadcast and
mobile platforms and giving consumers
real choice in an open, competitive
market. The technologies required to
deliver TV to mobile devices in both the
short and longer term must be a priority.
The UK can and should be at the forefront
of these developments and their early
roll-out to the market and to consumers
using both fixed and mobile devices.
However, in order to understand how to
achieve this we need to take a look at the
main methods of content delivery we have
been investigating; Wi-Fi, broadband,
mobile, and the well-established methods
of broadcast over DTT, cable and satellite.
We will initially look at these individually,
but in order to understand how to deliver
to multiple platforms in multiple ways we
need to bring these different technologies
together. Put simply, no single network
technology will deliver everything,
or meet all of the challenges ahead,
whilst ensuring the consumer has access
to a wide range of both free and paid
for content.
49
Broadband
Regulation of Broadband Services
Broadband Market Structure
The broadband market has been regulated

by Ofcom to intensify competition
whilst also enabling substantial private
investment in new infrastructure. This
private investment has been supported by
public sector funding for both universal
basic broadband and by increasing the
reach of superfast broadband; a regime
that has benefited consumers and related
industry sectors that can leverage the UKs
advanced network infrastructure. Three
interventions illustrate how the regulatory
regime has contributed to the success of
broadband in the UK:
The UK broadband market is evolving

rapidly with 83% of UK homes now
taking a broadband service. It plays an
increasingly important part in consumers
consumption and enjoyment of non-linear
TV content. This can be viewed from three
different perspectives:
Retailers: Broadband providers have
consolidated rapidly and most consumers
now buy broadband from one of four
large operators (BT, Sky, Virgin Media
and TalkTalk) or a third-partys re-branded
variant e.g. Tesco broadband. Intense
competition is driving lower prices, faster
speeds and better quality of service.
Openreach operates an open wholesale
platform to support broadband from
numerous providers.
Propositions: Consumers new to
broadband and those switching suppliers
increasingly take a bundle of services
(broadband, phone calls, pay-tv and/or
mobile), known as triple-play or quadplay. These bundles can offer better
value and the convenience of dealing
with one provider. The pay-tv part of
these propositions is delivered over one
or two of four different TV platforms,
(cable, satellite, terrestrial and broadband)
depending on the broadband provider.
Devices and Content: Broadband is
no longer seen as a service consumed
primarily through a PC. Tablets,
smartphones and to a lesser extent,
connected TVs are the main drivers of
growth in content consumption over
broadband. Catch-up services (for
example, BBC iPlayer), on-demand (for
example, Netflix), YouTube-type content,
and to some extent live TV are taking an
increasing share of TV viewing, using IP
delivery over broadband.
The resulting market structure means that
broadband, phone calls and pay-tv are
increasingly becoming connected markets
from a delivery technology perspective.
Any changes to the underlying TV
platforms; the channels they offer and
any restrictions to their choice of content
will affect their relative attractiveness
to consumers. This could have a wider
impact on competition between providers
of fixed and mobile phone and broadband
services. UK consumers interests will be
best served where they can enjoy a vibrant
set of service bundles, competitively
priced from a choice of retailers over their
preferred broadcast and mobile networks.
A competitive home market would
also underpin the UKs wider success in
related global industries such as content
production.
50
Local Loop Unbundling: The creation

of Openreach; the BT subsidiary
that operates its local network, has
underpinned an open and competitive
broadband market. All broadband
providers have equivalent access to BTs
local network. They can install their own
equipment in BT exchanges or use BTs
network and equipment on transparent
wholesale terms.
Fibre Roll-Out: Creating conditions that
enable BT, Virgin Media and potentially
others to invest in upgrading their
networks (using fibre optic technology
to increase broadband capacity and raise
speeds into the 30-100Mbit/s range), has
allowed the UK to be amongst the leaders
of European countries in the reach and
take-up of superfast broadband. Over
3bn of private sector funding has been
committed, with superfast broadband
available to over 70% of UK homes
during 2014. Initial take-up averages
around 20% of homes passed.
Extending Reach: The Governments
decision to provide 530m of funding,
with investments from local authorities
and network operators, is enabling the
build-out of superfast broadband to 90%
of UK homes with a minimum of 2 Mbit/s
to the remaining 10%. Its stated intention
is to further extend the availability of
superfast broadband to 95% of homes
by 2017.
This regulatory environment and the
associated investment in UK broadband
will provide the infrastructure needed
to support innovative new services and
make them available to the majority of UK
consumers. It will provide opportunities
for broadcasters and content providers
to develop and enhance their offerings
across all TV distribution platforms. The
latest generation of TVs and set-top boxes
on satellite, cable and terrestrial networks
have broadband interfaces that support
an integrated selection of on-demand,
catch-up and some live services; providing
more consumer choice, convenience and
scope for future innovation.
From a broadcasters perspective, the

availability of superfast broadband to
deliver high-quality TV services is positive
but alone is not sufficient to enable
them to become a credible alternative to
satellite and terrestrial broadcast networks
in the near future. Broadband services
usually require consumers to commit to a
minimum monthly payment, including line
rental, of 20 or more. Even if there were
access to a full range of content, take-up
is therefore unlikely to rise above 85-90%
by the end of the decade. However, as
the uptake of on demand services such as
iPlayer, ITV player, 4OD, Demand 5, Now
TV and Sky Go continues to grow along
with the increasing use of live streaming
services, accessed not just through PCs but
more and more through large screen TVs,
tablets and smartphones, and the health
and social benefits of being connected
develop over time, broadband take-up
will increase further in the longer term.
This will enhance its viability as a potential
additional broadcast method across
the UK. However, it may not have been
universally adopted by 2025.
Broadband Technology
Broadband is provided to most UK homes
using advanced electronics to carry data
downstream and upstream over the
same copper pair originally designed for
basic phone calls. Ever higher broadband
speeds have been met in part through
improvements in broadband technology.
However, the laws of physics place an
upper bound on what can be achieved
over copper pairs from the local exchange,
primarily because high-frequency electrical
signals are greatly attenuated over long
lengths of copper cable. Within the UK,
broadband uses ADSL (up to 8Mbit/s
downstream and 448kbps upstream) and
ADSL2+ (up to 24Mbit/s downstream
and up to 1 Mbit/s upstream) based in
local exchanges. Broadband provided
over traditional cable TV networks using
cable modems also encounters significant
capacity constraints, particularly during
periods of peak usage, for example,
Sunday evenings.
To deliver superfast broadband with
speeds of 40-80Mbit/s downstream and
up to 15-20Mbit/s upstream, copper
pairs from the local exchange to the
nearest street-side cabinet have to be
replaced with fibre optic technology.
The existing copper pair is used for the
connection from the street-side cabinet
to the home but because this is a much
shorter distance the bit rate can be that
much higher. With typical distances from
the cabinet to the home being around
400m this allows the 40-80Mbit/s to be
achieved. However, in rural, and some
urban areas, the distance from the cabinet
to the home can be significantly longer,
and this in turn limits the speeds available
in those areas. There is a further technical
solution currently being trialled, known as
G.fast, which takes fibre optic technology
out to the final distribution point, often
a pole serving a dozen or so homes.
Fibre optics to street-side distribution
points also enable cable TV networks
to offer much faster broadband speeds
and greater capacity to meet peaks in
demand.
To increase broadband speeds much
further, fibre would need to be connected
directly to the home (FTTH). This requires
substantial civil engineering work such as
digging up streets and driveways and is
much more costly. It would offer speeds
of 300Mbit/s or more, but it is unclear
whether there would be consumer
demand for the additional speed given
its considerably higher cost for residential
densities that are typical in the UK. Fibre
can currently be provided as part of new
home builds but the timescales to deliver
such connectivity to older properties is

more likely to be in the 20 30 year
period than the ten year period we are
investigating.
BT is investing more than 3bn to deploy
fibre broadband. Its open access fibre
network already passes more than 18
million UK homes and businesses. UK fibre
broadband is currently available to 73%
of the population when all networks are
taken into account.
Investments in telecoms infrastructure
typically have long pay-back periods. Ten
years or longer is not unusual for local
access investments. The economics of
broadband networks, whether provided
over telecoms or cable TV infrastructure,
mean that its not profitable to provide
superfast broadband to rural or suburban
areas with low population density or low
take-up rates. However, there are other
technologies available to deliver faster
broadband services in these areas, at a
lower cost than fixed networks, such
as terrestrial radio link or satellite. With
public funding to fill the gap between
full investment costs and the subsequent
customer revenues, especially for the
proportion of homes - less than 5%- that
are commercially uneconomic to provide
fixed network solutions, this could,
in time, provide universal broadband
connectivity.
Encoding Technology
The technical feasibility of delivering TV
services over broadband depends not only
on the available line speed (broadband
bit-rate) but also, as with all broadcast
networks, on the capabilities of the
encoders/decoders that compress TV
pictures and sound into a digital signal
ready to broadcast. Todays technology
enables a standard definition TV service
to be delivered on demand using less
than 2 Mbit/s of broadband capacity. To
carry a live TV broadcast around 3 Mbit/s
is required for standard definition (SD)
and around 9 Mbit/s for high definition
(HD) TV. Most broadband customers can
therefore receive SD TV live and ondemand over their broadband service, but
many would need superfast broadband
to receive live HD or multiple SD services,
alongside capacity for internet access.
Technical developments are improving the
efficiency of TV encoding for distribution
over broadband and other broadcast
networks. The latest broadcast standard,
known as High Efficiency Video Coding
(HEVC), is expected to be widely available
in consumer products by 2016. It enables
an improvement of 50% or more in the
51
bit-rate required for SD or HD. This could

provide more TV services over a given
broadcast bandwidth or broadband
bit-rate. As an alternative this could also
allow Ultra High Definition (UHD) services
to be provided more efficiently - for
broadband a superfast bit-rate of around
30 Mbit/s would be required - together
with a new generation of set-top boxes.
To deliver TV reliably over broadband,
and equally over other wireless networks
to a variety of differing devices, adaptive
coding technology and other techniques
enable the consumer to get the best
possible viewing experience that can be
supported by their broadband network
at the time. As broadband is intrinsically
a two-way network, the server and the
display device can negotiate the optimum
bit-rate and picture quality that can be
supported over the available bandwidth.
Where any data packets are lost, the
display device can request retransmission
of those packets so that there are no
visible impairments to the TV picture.
Local and Regional Services over

Broadband
Local TV services are being rolled out
to many communities across the UK.
Broadband TV can play a valuable part
in making these services available to
virtually all homes in the community.
There are parts of the UK where the
terrestrial TV network provides services
from an adjacent region. For example,
some homes on the English side of the
Bristol Channel receive TV services from a
Welsh transmitter. Broadband TV could,
when integrated into the TV guide, offer
the preferred regional programming if its
not available from the terrestrial network
serving that location.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is important to allow an acceptable
TV viewing experience on mobile devices
both within and, increasingly, outside
the home. The recent Wik-Aegis report
for the European Commission used The
Cloud Wi-Fi network in the UK as a
case study and noted that: The Cloud
places a strong emphasis on providing
high capacity for video streamingsince
the mobile networks are not considered
capable of delivering video with sufficient
quality.1 Wi-Fi also plays a key role in
distributing high definition audio-visual
content around the home. That same
Wik-Aegis report describes a company
that is marketing a product which it
claims it capable of distributing up to
eight simultaneous high definition video
streams around the home.
It is also important to consider the very
rapid growth and widespread adoption
of Wi-Fi enabled devices, which is
outpacing the growth of cellular devices.
The Wi-Fi industry is shipping over one
billion chipsets annually, increasing to a
projected 2 billion within a few years.
Wi-Fi is embedded in almost all laptops,
tablets and smartphones manufactured in
the world today. As part of the increased
take-up of tablets it is important to note
their ability to provide a new screen
for viewing audio-visual content both
inside, as a complement to the main TV
set, and outside the home. The majority
of tablets that are sold are Wi-Fi only
and in their 2013 Communications
Market Report Ofcom note that only
20% of tablet owners have a mobile
subscription enabling 3G connectivity.2
The consequence of this is that Wi-Fi is a
fundamental technology that is used to
provide TV content to mobile devices.
With the continuing rise in mobile data
usage and demand, most operators are
focused on modernising and updating
their network infrastructure. In order
to meet the rising demand, there
are essentially three ways in which
the capacity can be increased: new
technology and standards (including

better compression) that increase the
spectral efficiency; the use of more
bandwidth and; the efficient re-use of
the spectrum, including the introduction
of additional infrastructure. It should
be noted that spectral efficiency with
all wireless technologies is very close to
the theoretical maximum as laid out in
Shannons theory. Therefore the argument
for more spectrum is getting stronger.
The Wik-Aegis report noted that only
29% of mobile data is carried over cellular
networks, stating that the volume of
traffic that is already being off-loaded,
chiefly to Wi-Fi in the home, already
exceeds that of the mobile network, and
can be expected to grow even faster.3
TV and video content has

become the major source of
growth in data use on mobile
devices. These trends are resulting
in explosive growth in demand
for data over mobile networks.
Consumers and enterprises use Wi-Fi

for low power wireless broadband access
at the edge of wired networks. Service
providers are increasingly deploying Wi-Fi
networks. Furthermore, Wi-Fi technology
is likely to be part of the machine-tomachine architecture of the Internet
of Things that is expected to reach 50
billion connected devices by 2020.
Meanwhile, the industry is responding
to this growth by developing better
protocols. A variety of traffic optimising
technologies is available today and
these are evolving at a staggering rate.
Smartphone browser applications use
data-saving technologies and video
streaming applications save bandwidth
by various means, such as monitoring the
angle and distance of the viewers face
to lower the bitrate of the video stream
without the user noticing.
There is certainly a requirement for
additional capacity to be made available
for Wi-Fi, otherwise the infrastructure will
be unable to meet the growing demand.
However, this in conjunction with
developing new more efficient ways of
using the spectrum, will ensure a reliable
delivery technology of AV content to
mobile devices for the coming decade.
Mobile Cellular
Mobile Market Trends
Smartphones and tablets now have the
capabilities to enable users to consume a
full range of TV and media content, and
in future we may expect theyll want to
do so without limitations relating to cost,
service quality and choice of content.
There are substantial barriers to fully meet
that vision but the UK has an opportunity
now to put in place a forward-looking
strategy to meet those expectations.
The four mobile network operators in the
UK each have third generation networks
providing wide coverage. These operators
are now rolling-out fourth generation
networks using LTE technology to provide
faster data services. Their 4G networks
provide data speeds typically five times
faster than users experience on 3G.
Alongside these network investments,
mobile devices, especially smartphones
and tablets, are developing rapidly with
larger and higher resolution screens,
more powerful processors, many new
apps and richer content.
Broadcasters themselves are offering
increasingly sophisticated apps, for use
on smartphones and tablets, providing
access to live, on-demand or catchup services. Other content providers
such as Netflix are offering on-demand
services and YouTubes popular content
52
2 Ofcom. The Communications Market Report 2013. 01 August 2013 (http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/cmr/cmr13/2013_UK_CMR.pdf)
proposition is evolving too. SkyGo and

BBC iPlayer are two distinctive examples of
UK services from pay-tv and public service
broadcasters that are on mobile devices.
The breadth of content and the range
of features from broadcasters provide
an increasingly attractive complement to
linear TV viewing.
Increasing numbers of mobile network
customers are opting for contracts
that include a subsidised handset and
large bundles of calls, texts and mobile
data. Within some of these bundles an
unlimited number of calls and texts are
included and sometimes the amount of
mobile data is unlimited too.
As stated previously, a high proportion of
smartphone and tablet usage is within the
home or at other locations where Wi-Fi is
available. Users usually connect through
Wi-Fi where they can, to reduce network
charges and to benefit from a faster
network connection. TV and video content
has become the major source of growth
in data use on mobile devices. These
trends are resulting in explosive growth in
demand for data over mobile networks.
Accelerated investment in capacity will
be needed to satisfy this demand, in
conjunction with the previously mentioned
Wi-Fi development.
Earlier trials of mobile TV, although
technically successful in delivering content
that users enjoyed, did not result in
53
ongoing commercial services. However,

since then the capabilities of handsets,
the range of available content and the
business models needed to support
investment in mobile networks for media
content have moved on, and together
they may provide opportunities for a
new approach to complement existing
TV services.
Regulation of Mobile Services

The combined effects of market
competition, regulatory intervention and
greater usage, especially of mobile data,
put added financial pressure on operators
throughout Europe. This is likely to result
in greater sharing of network capacity
and infrastructure investments or further
consolidation across the industry.
Mobile Technology
There are two distinct phases in the
development of mobile technology
considered here:
O
ver the next 2-3 years we will see the
build-out of 4G networks. The full scale
and impact of the current high rates of
growth in data traffic, primarily driven
by TV and video content, will become
more visible as the take up of this
technology grows.
B
y the end of the decade, the next
generation of mobile standards (5G)
are likely to be decided. Some of the
decisions made in selecting the best
technology for previous generations of
the mobile standards will need to be
carefully reconsidered, as the scale and
nature of the way end-users consume
services has changed.
The LTE technology used in 4G networks is
primarily aimed at two-way transactions
messaging and browsing internet content.
The rich media content users are now
consuming in ever larger quantities is
predominantly one-way traffic after the
content has been selected. Many users
are looking at the same content, although
54
not at the same time unless its a live

broadcast. The Pareto effect means that
a small sub-set of all available content
accounts for a very large proportion of
total traffic, opening up different ways
to deliver that content more efficiently
and providing a reliable service at times
of peak demand. As the cost of storage
in mobile devices comes down during the
second half of the decade, the feasibility
of up to 1TB of device storage would
mean that all of the popular TV and video
content could be multi-cast and stored
locally ready to provide an on-demand
experience for the user without using any
incremental network capacity.
The 4G standard incorporates a broadcast
mode, known as eMBMS that could be
used to multi-cast live TV or a carousel
of the most popular content to users.
eMBMS is not as efficient in its use of
spectrum as existing broadcast standards
and their future enhancements. Its also
structured only to support users of one
network so broadcast or carousel content
would need to be duplicated four times,
once on each UK network. However, this
is an important innovation that could
be used to deliver video content more
efficiently and help reduce the growth
rate of demand for mobile data in
advance of any more efficient methods
that may be developed as part of 5G
innovations.
An attribute of current mobile networks,
linked to the two-way nature of mobile
services, is that many more base-stations
are used to provide both good coverage
and greater capacity through re-use of
frequencies. Additional capacity can be
provided either by allocating additional
spectrum or by providing more basestations with lower power and smaller
footprints. This contrasts with the
network design for terrestrial TV where
fewer than 100 main transmitters cover
most of the UK, with in-fill repeaters used
to provide additional coverage such as
in difficult terrain. This contrast will be
discussed later when looking to the ten
year horizon.
Broadcast
Broadcast Regulation
TV market structure
As with all major infrastructure based

industries there is a need for regulation.
This is also true with DTT, not least due to
the requirements placed on PSBs around
content, regionality, accessibility and
universality. The PSBs have these same
requirements no matter which broadcast
platform they are on. The regionality
requirements are delivered in different
ways on different platforms on DTT,
where required, regionalised transmission
infrastructure delivers different regional
signals to different parts of the UK. In
contrast, on satellite all regional variations
must be broadcast nationally, which
means nationwide transponder capacity
is required for all regions, but can also
mean regional services are made available
in areas they are not from DTT. Equally,
with the far lower distribution costs on
satellite than on DTT this is economically
acceptable. There are, of course, good
reasons for these requirements and
no-one can argue with the benefits that
can clearly be seen in the UK:
The strength of the UK TV market lies

in the choice of available platforms.
This has driven innovation which is to
the benefit of consumers. In past years
that has settled down to provide two
Free-to-Air platforms Freeview and
Freesat and two pay platforms Sky
and Virgin Media and, while it has
been around for a while, in recent years
the growth of IP TV services has been
introduced into that mix. Over the next
decade it is likely that structure will
continue with increasing numbers of
HD TV services and emerging Ultra High
Definition (UHD) services.
To provide the best outcome for
consumers it is necessary for all platforms
to offer consumers a broad range of
content choice. On DTT this is evident in
the suite of PSB channels found on the
three PSB multiplexes and the range of
commercial channels that are offered
by the three commercial multiplexes.
Meanwhile satellite carries both freeto-air and an additional large number
of premium channels funded through
subscription or pay-per-view to the
Sky platform. The range of content
on DTT illustrates how the platform is
an ecosystem that relies on all of the
constituent elements. This is also true
when looking at the economic model
of the platform. The costs of running the
DTT network are shared between the six
multiplexes, and without all six the costs
of running that network would impact
the funding available for programming.
With full access to content and rights
across existing broadcast platforms and to
new entrants over broadband and mobile
platforms, consumers will have a choice
of competitive services.
A thriving and innovative content sector

(which also underpins the UK film
industry), with content being provided
by PSBs, commercial broadcasters and
independent producers.
Competing FTA commercial and public
sector broadcasters.
A healthy mixed economy of terrestrial,
satellite and cable networks in addition
to the newly emerging IP TV.
Consumers having the choice of
a variety of pay TV offerings while
being assured that they will receive
a different, but equally compelling,
universal Free-to-Air proposition.
In part this has been down to the
ability of the industry to make long
term investments in the knowledge that
the regulatory environment is stable.
If regulation is to change in the future,
this long term certainty at a strategic level
must be maintained. This would enable
commercial investments and market
forces to shape the future developments
of TV platforms in a way that will benefit
the consumer. An element of public
funding will continue to be a requirement
to provide universal public service
broadcasting, but allowing long term
investment for development through a
level of commercial certainty will also
allow the industry to flourish.
55
Within ten years we expect not

only the first and second round
of local TV services to have
been launched, but also, if the
concept is proven, further local
TV licences to be awarded.
Broadcast Spectrum
Spectrum is the essential ingredient to
allow terrestrial and satellite broadcasting
and it is a highly regulated resource.
Over the next ten years the domestic and
international decisions that are taken on
spectrum will determine whether the
vibrant, competitive TV sector in the UK
will be allowed to continue. With this in
mind, continued, deeper involvement
(and possibly more widespread
industry engagement) in international
spectrum coordination and supporting
developments should be encouraged.
Related to this is the renewal of the
BBC charter. The current charter runs
until 31 December 2016 and the terms
of the next BBC charter will shape the
entire UK television sector. In addition,
there are decisions that will be made
at the World Radio Communications
Conference 2015 (WRC-15) that will have
a far reaching effect on the future of DTT.
Specifically, this is around the allocation
of the 700MHz band (694 790 MHz)
as co-primary for mobile which, if the
various technical conditions are ratified at
WRC-15, would mean there would be a
strong possibility of there being a re-plan
of the UHF spectrum. Such a change could
present challenges for the DTT industry,
specifically around managing to continue
to provide the current level of channels
and content within the remaining
spectrum, and also with a number of
current DTT aerial installations in use in
the UK not supporting these frequencies.
However, were there to also be changes to
the allocation of the 470 694 MHZ band
(for co-primary status for mobile services
alongside broadcasting) the message
that this would send could point to the
future displacement of DTT from this band
in favour of mobile services. If this was
to occur, DTT in its current form would
become unsustainable without significant
56
innovation, allowing the current range

of services to exist in less bandwidth.
This could have an adverse impact on
consumers.
It should be noted that, as stated by
Ed Vaizey in May 2013, the vision within
DCMS is that of a continuing DTT
platform within the timescales that we
are investigating up to 2025. Additionally,
Ofcom have been clear that they will
seek to ensure that the DTT platform
can access the 600MHz band assuming
change of use at 700 MHz takes place,
in order to secure the ongoing delivery
of benefits provided by DTT.4 Related
to this HM Treasury was very clear last
summer that The Government will
continue to look ahead to ensure the UKs
digital infrastructure is prepared for the
future of the digital economy, through
new investment in spectrum clearance,
ensuring commercially owned spectrum
is efficiently used by moving some existing
spectrum users to create space for new
ones.5
One of the strengths of the way that
DTT uses spectrum is its ability to share
that spectrum with others. This has given
Programme Making and Special Events
(PMSE) the potential to coexist alongside
DTT for many years and recently enabled
local TV services to launch. For PMSE in
particular for the wireless microphones
that interleaves with DTT in its spectrum,
there is a risk that, were less spectrum
available for DTT and services were
therefore more closely packed, there
would be less space available for PMSE
use. This could, however, be militated
against to a certain degree were analogue
systems replaced with digital ones along
with using some of the new bands being
proposed. Additional services are expected
to be introduced in this spectrum over
the next decade using new Dynamic
4 UHF Strategy Statement (http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/uhf-strategy/statement/UHF_statement.pdf)

5 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209279/PU1524_IUK_new_template.pdf
Spectrum Access techniques. Within the

DTT spectrum this is expected to take the
form of devices using TV White Space,
with a trial currently running within
the UK through Ofcom to look at how
these may be utilised in the future, while
ensuring minimal disruption to terrestrial
TV viewers. However, these innovative
ways of using scarce spectrum, such as
Dynamic Spectrum Access technologies,
most certainly point to how co-existence
will develop in the future. The impact of
the introduction of mobile services in the
800MHz band has so far been less than
expected and, while additional mitigation
techniques may be required were the
same to happen with the 700MHz band,
again, this shows how technologies may
co-exist.
Satellite spectrum does not currently
have the same constraints upon it as
DTT. Currently the satellites delivering
content for the UK TV market have 4GHz
of spectrum delivering hundreds of SD
and HD services. However, if 4k and
future UHD services are to be broadcast
in the future, more capacity may still be
required were it to continue to deliver
the range of content it currently does.
The capacity required to deliver a UHD
service is substantially greater than that
required for an HD service. However, by
using the encoding technology such as the
previously mentioned HEVC standard, it
may be possible to carry two UHD services
on a single transponder that would
currently carry five HD services. In order
to achieve this there is still spare capacity
available and the possibility of expanding
into an additional 1GHz of capacity in
the Ka band, however, such an expansion
would require considerable investment.
Broadcast Technology
Local and regional TV services
Ongoing technology changes have been

a characteristic of the TV industry and
with the completion of Digital Switchover
all the TV platforms, terrestrial, satellite,
cable and IP are now fully digital. The
pace of technical change is expected to
continue into the future and will be driven
by the increasing demands of consumers.
High definition television services are
available on all television platforms and
are increasingly becoming more central
to broadcasters channel offerings and
consumers content consumption.
Similarly, all televisions and set-top boxes
in the UK that have been approved
as DVB-T2 compliant since April 2011
are also IP enabled, allowing them, in
principle, to be connected to broadband
and, subject to rights availability, enables
content providers to complement the core
broadcast services with additional
IP services.
Local TV services as previously mentioned,

and the national streams that run
alongside them, have begun to be
rolled out across the country and while
this is a piece of public policy that was
initially driven by government, it has now
been embraced by industry and local
communities. Within ten years we expect
not only the first and second round of
local TV services to have been launched,
but also, if the concept is proven, further
local TV licences to be awarded.
Currently, on both DTT and satellite,

there is a mixed economy of SD and HD
broadcasts, using DVB-T and T2 and
DVB-S and S2 technologies respectively.
The two satellite platforms - Sky and
Freesat, however, no longer supply
SD-only products. Despite this there will
continue to be a large number of DVB-S
transponders in use for the foreseeable
future, due to available capacity and
the need to continue to support legacy
receivers. On DTT, the number of
DVB-T2 multiplexes is increasing from
one to three, however, there are still five
DVB-T multiplexes providing up to 99%
coverage. The increase in the amount of
HD content provides an opportunity to
encourage consumers to adopt DVB-T2
technology, something that may become
important if a spectrum re-plan were
to take place. In this event, in order to
ensure that the DTT platform remains
competitive, choices will have to be made
to ensure the wide range of content
currently available continues to be so.
This includes whether a switch to DVB-T2
should coincide with such changes. Costs
and benefits of such a move will need to
be understood along with the possible
disruption to viewers. In making such
a change, these points will need to be
considered by DTT operators and policy
makers. However, the opportunities
that come out of a platform that is fully
capable of being IP connected must also
be considered, including the social and
health information provision opportunities
that could be exploited.
2025 and beyond

When looking ahead to 2025 there are
some major themes and questions that
become apparent:
What will be the developments in
technology we can already foresee?
Consumers will expect content and
data around the home and on the
move with a choice of access to both
free and pay content and platforms.
If full access and rights agreements
are in place, the amount of data and
content being delivered will continue to
increase as will the amount viewed on
mobile or handheld devices.
Spectrum is a finite resource with rising
demand. In order to manage this, more
efficient ways of using the spectrum
must be implemented.
Taking technology developments, the UK
has been a leader in the rollout of digital
TV and HD but these changes still take
time. With UHD, further developments
are required to make this commercially
viable for broadcast on any platform.
However, HEVC encoding, as previously
stated, is expected to be widely supported
in set-top boxes and TVs that enter the
market in the next three to four years,
making 4k and future UHD broadcasts a
possibility on the satellite platform within
these timescales. Superfast broadband is
expected to be available to 95% of homes
by 2017, with a substantial take-up by
the end of the decade. Depending on the
take-up of connected TVs and their use by
consumers to access IP content, this may
allow broadband to become the fourth
commercially viable TV platform using
multicast technology, and could support
the delivery of UHD content, either live or
on-demand. Were a DVB-T2 switchover to
have taken place, and with the timescales
57
Looking at mobile, the next generation

of cellular technology, known as 5G will
be rolled out after 2020. The full extent
of change expected is still to be defined
but higher data rates are undoubtedly
going to be achieved. Major changes in
how delivery of content over 5G networks
will be achieved can be expected. As
has already been stated, a broadcast
method of delivery, eMBMS, is already
available on the current 4G networks. If
a more spectrally efficient method were
to be developed this could significantly
change the way we receive and watch
content on mobile devices. Already the
cost of memory is falling while the storage
capacity increases. This availability of
larger memory chips would allow the
most popular on-demand content to be
delivered to devices prior to consumption.
Of course network capacity would be
required to do this, but as we shall
discuss later, this may well be a part of
the solution to meet the overall growth
in demand.
Another aspect of mobile delivery is
Wi-Fi. If more 5GHz spectrum were to be
released, then within three years 802.11ac
will help deliver higher bandwidth capacity
to Wi-Fi enabled devices and encourage
the adoption of this 5 GHz licence-free
band. Standardised beamforming would
bring increased spectrum efficiency to
Wi-Fi, and Multi user MiMo would enable
more efficient usage of the airtime in
hotspots and other deployments that have
predominantly single antenna devices.
58
Wi-Fi will be well equipped to play a full

and valuable role in satisfying consumer
requirements and demand through:
An increased licence exempt spectrum
allocation at 5GHz.
The technological developments
of Passpoint to ensure seamless
changeover between networks.
Carrier Grade certification to provide
QoS and DSA (rather than DFS).
Smart algorithms in devices to allocate
and select spectrum more efficiently
(and proprietary solutions before some
of them are available.
This of course points to a possible need
to redefine the meaning of licence
exempt spectrum, and may require
changes such as permitting devices access
to certain spectrum based not only on
their technical characteristics but also on
aspects such as whether they are carrier
grade broadcast devices. Equally, the
use of newer technologies for spectrum
allocation in Wi-Fi, such as Dynamic
Spectrum Allocation which is currently
under investigation for TV White Space
may also, over time, make Wi-Fi an even
more efficient spectrum user.
These help to answer some of the above
points, but still there is the issue about
greater and greater volumes of content
and data being delivered, particularly
to mobile devices, within the available
spectrum.
Looking at mobile, the

next generation of cellular
technology, known as 5G will
be rolled out after 2020. The
full extent of change expected
is still to be defined but higher
data rates are undoubtedly
going to be achieved.
for legacy products to reach end of life,

it is reasonable to expect HEVC encoding
to be used for broadcasting on the DTT
platform too, opening up opportunities
for more HD, a greater number of services
or the introduction of some UHD services
here too.
With Wi-Fi and mobile re-using the

spectrum its important to enable this
finite resource to be used in the most
efficient manner. Mobile cell sizes will
need to become smaller, similar to
the Wi-Fi cells size, and so the future
will undoubtedly see the fast growth
of small cells. As per the new cellular
standards and as broadly agreed by
industry, Wi-Fi and cellular technologies
will increasingly complement each other
and their networks will evolve to become
interconnected; users wont have to worry
about which technology their device uses
or how to gain access. Their devices will
make these choices automatically, while
the networks feed applications with
relevant data.
The delivery of on-demand and linear
video content to mobile devices is
expected to continue to be the most
significant driver of mobile data traffic
growth for the rest of this decade.
To meet forecast demand in the most
efficient way, from a spectrum-usage and
a cost perspective, live TV and the most
popular on-demand TV/video content can
be delivered using multi-cast techniques.
In the most efficient scenario, users of
all four mobile network operators would
have access to a single set of services,
transmitted live or via a data carousel.
However, this would require more

advanced versions of eMBMS or DVB-T2
technology to deliver services in a network
operator agnostic way. If these broadcast/
multi-cast techniques were adopted for
mobile networks, only a proportion of
existing base-stations would need to
be equipped, sufficient to provide the
required coverage to mobile devices
due to the fact that the power used for
broadcasting can be higher than that used
for standard cellular communications,
requiring smaller cells. This approach
is known as a Low-Power, Low-Tower
(LPLT) network that could co-exist with
the current DTT High Power High Tower
network. This could be delivered in the
various mobile bands that are currently
available and that may be made available
in the coming years. The use of LPLT
networks to deliver media content to
mobile devices could enable spectrum
currently unused in parts of the UK to
be allocated for this purpose. The ideal
spectrum for LPLT purposes would be in
bands already in use for mobile services
elsewhere in the world, as suitable mobile
handsets are in production and available.
59
Conclusions
The adoption of such technologies for

mobile delivery and for static home
delivery begins to provide numerous
options for the future. With multiple
TV platforms, and full access to content
and rights, consumers will have even
more choice of what content to watch,
both live and on-demand, and how
they receive it. However, this also leaves
options on how to ensure other aspects
of PSB requirements are met. This mixed
economy in the UK should enable the best
technologies to meet specific needs in
each location.
60
Broadband, DTT, satellite and cable will

all be capable of delivering linear TV
services to the home in the next ten
years. However, for services to be made
over broadband free at the point of
consumption would require a suitable
commercial model and potentially funding
arrangements to be in place for those
homes not already taking a broadband
service. Broadband TV already has a role
in delivering linear content to homes
and this role is expected to grow over
the next decade, including potentially
in the delivery of some local TV services.
LPLT may also allow the use of additional
spectrum previously unused in some
locations. These could all enhance the
DTT, satellite and cable networks currently
in use. The intelligent use of mobile
spectrum as stated above, developments
in Wi-Fi and the increasing number of
Wi-Fi only mobile devices will act as a
way to moderate data demand on cellular
networks, and will all work together to
manage the finite spectrum resource.
Broadband TV already has a role

in delivering linear content to
homes and this role is expected
to grow over the next decade.
This use of lower power delivery (i.e.

similar power levels to those used by
mobile transmitters) may also have other
uses, such as the delivery of TV in some
coastal areas, subject to an assessment of
the cost relative to other available options.
This could have the benefit of opening
up additional frequencies for the use of
DTT that are currently unavailable due to
international restrictions because of high
power high tower transmitters in nearby
countries using them.
How to deliver TV in the future using

all of these technologies is the main
question, and development of an
ongoing action plan to use the most
efficient delivery mechanisms to ensure
universally available content will go a
long way to achieve this. In the short
to medium term this needs to look at
improving availability and take-up of
superfast broadband, spectrum
re-planning in the UHF band in the
event of 700MHz clearance, including
protection of broadcast services in
the 470-694 MHz band, to ensure
DTT can deliver services in the most
efficient manner, and costs and benefits
analysis of any DVB-T2 switchover.
To be ready to meet the longer term
market needs, further evaluation is
now needed to understand how Low
Power Low Tower transmission could
reinforce the current High Power High
Tower network; to deliver TV and media
content much more efficiently to over
mobile networks and to make more
intensive use spectrum allocated to DTT
broadcasting. This evaluation would
look at using available technologies
where appropriate; encompassing
DTT, broadband, satellite, mobile,
Wi-Fi and cable to ensure core services
are available nationally. Technologies
currently being used for TV White
space should continue to be explored
and dynamic spectrum access should
become a fundamental feature of future
wireless communication. This has the
capability to be used in many areas of
the spectrum, not just in the UHF bands,
and has already been discussed such
technologies will enhance Wi-Fi use
and will become an intrinsic part of the
delivery of the internet of things.
For the DTT platform, in order for the

industry to consider how these changes
may take place and any longer term
developments, long term stability
and certainty of access to spectrum
is required to allow consideration of
possible investments. However, with
innovation ensuring spectral efficiency,
and continued developments for
hybrid delivery, there should be every
expectation of a continuing strong, freeto-air DTT platform long into the decade
past the 2025 horizon of this report.
Methods of delivering content to mobile
devices using multicast and broadcast
techniques will raise efficiency and
these need to be encouraged and
further investigated. Currently available
technologies such as eMBMS go a long
way to achieve this, and the step change
expected in 5G at the end of the decade
should provide opportunities for further
innovations to enhance efficiency.
Some of these options are radical, but
the finite spectrum available means
that we must find practical ways to use
this resource. Some major changes and
developments in infrastructure may be
required but equally they may lead to
real benefits to TV viewers. There are
choices to be made and questions that
must still be answered, and making
such choices the impact and cost to TV
viewers must be a primary consideration.
Additionally, there is an opportunity,
before capacity crunches really begin
to bite, whereby pilots and further
investigation could be carried out.
This should include:

Engage industry, government and the
regulators in the Next Generation
of TV Planning Programme under
the guidance of the TV Leaders
Assembly. This would create an
evolving plan for the next decade
and beyond to ensure a varied and
competitive TV platform landscape,
both Pay and Free. It would cover
broadband take-up and spectrum
in the near term, and, in the longer
term, solutions encompassing
all applicable technologies and
infrastructure, to ensure universally
available public service content and
efficient use of spectrum.
Additionally, in order for some of these
developments to occur government
needs to provide certainty around future
policy and investment in the following
ways:
That the governments policy,
licensing and regulatory decisions
for the TV industry ensure fair and
effective competition between cable,
satellite, terrestrial and broadband TV
providers. Domestic and international
policy should ensure the UK is well
placed to take advantage of changes
and create an environment to ensure
that economically sound investments
can be made by the industry in the
innovation and development of all
platforms for the good of the UK and
TV consumers.
Public service content should be
available to all consumers across all
age and socio-economic groups free
at the point of consumption by using
the most appropriate technologies,
including a choice of cable, satellite,
broadband, mobile and DTT.
To ensure that sufficient licenced and
licence-exempt spectrum is available
to DTT, DSAT, Mobile and Wi-Fi for
the future developments required to
support delivery of TV content to all
fixed and mobile devices.
61
Summary of
Recommendations
1
2
3
4
F ocus our energies on the innovation sweet spot of the New Convergence
- where Big Data meets devices on the internet of things (IOT) and matches
consumer appetite. This should include a cross-industry government review
of licencing and export potential. We strongly welcome the governments
establishment of the Alan Turing Institute which will focus on the collection
and analysis of Big Data. We call on the TV industry to engage actively with
the new institute.
The DTG to convene a cross-industry working party group with industry
measurement bodies, such as the Broadcasters Audience Research Board,
and Open Data think tanks, such as the Open Data Institute, to respond to
the challenges of Big Data in television. This should include a review of selfregulation.
Industry and academia to form a Technology Advocacy Programme where
innovators can share newly developed technologies and find applications
(and therefore potential sources of revenue) through connecting with other
inventors and entrepreneurs. Very often innovation comes when a technology
from one sphere crosses over into another. Such a programme could bring
together people from all parts of the industry value chain to ensure crosspollination of ideas.
T he EPSRC should fund research to advance the science of integrated circuits,
pushing silicon beyond the current 10 nanometre processing boundary.
And although an old technology, magnetic storage should not be ignored.
For many applications the read/write resilience of magnetic media is very
important and universities should continue to focus research in this area.
T he Taskforce welcomes the investments in Quantum Hubs (funded by the
TSB and EPSRC) which address the challenges of developing quantum science
through technology to application. And it calls upon the TV industry to work
with the hubs to find innovative solutions to the New Convergence.
5
6
62
7
8
omputing platforms and operating systems should be the focus of

C
government and industry initiatives and funding. Initiatives in this area should
include work with European partners and there must be greater coordination
of UK efforts in standardisation.
Industry work with the Technology Strategy Board, E-Infrastructure Leadership
Council and the Connected Digital Economy Catapult to create a resource
to demonstrate UK leadership in this area, whilst supporting the needs of
the creative industry. We call upon the government to create incentives
to facilitate the introduction of the UK Creative Cloud and to continue to
promote the sector in the UK. With a likely implementation cost of 5-10
million, we call on the government to provide seed funding, and for industry
to match this with contributions in kind and in cash.
9
10
11
12
13
An industry working-party group consider the development of a

cross-platform promotion network to promote UK-developed applications.
Engage industry, government and the regulators in the Next Generation of

TV Planning Programme under the guidance of the TV Leaders Assembly.
This would create an evolving plan for the next decade and beyond to ensure
a varied and competitive TV platform landscape, both Pay and Free. It would
cover broadband take-up and spectrum in the near term, and, in the longer
term, solutions encompassing all applicable technologies and infrastructure
to ensure universally available public service content and efficient use of
spectrum.
That the governments policy, licensing and regulatory decisions for the
TV industry ensure fair and effective competition between cable, satellite,
terrestrial and broadband TV providers. Domestic and international policy
should ensure the UK is well placed to take advantage of changes and create
an environment to ensure that economically sound investments can be made
by the industry in the innovation and development of all platforms, for the
good of the UK and TV consumers.
Public service content should be available to all consumers across all age and
socio-economic groups free at the point of consumption by using the most
appropriate technologies, including a choice of cable, satellite, broadband,
mobile and DTT.
Ensure that sufficient licenced and licence-exempt spectrum is available to
DTT, DSAT, Mobile and Wi-Fi for the future developments required to support
delivery of TV content to all, fixed and mobile.
T he National Centre for Universities and Business (NCUB) to work with the
sector skills councils to conduct a deep dive into the delivery of data scientists
for the content industries.
CUB, universities, sector skills councils and industry to work together on the
N
challenges of producing interdisciplinary graduates.
63
Glossary
64
Term/Abbreviation
Definition/Explanation
4G
4G is the fourth generation mobile telecommunications technology, preceded by 3G. Two 4G candidate systems are
commercially deployed - the Mobile WiMAX solution (first used in S. Korea in 2006) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) first
used in Scandinavia in 2009. The UK uses LTE.
4k
Term for video content defined by Digital Cinema as 4096x2160 but occasionally marketed as 3840 x 2160 TV content
8k
Term for video content with a resolution of 7680 x 4320
Application/App
An application is software designed to help the user to perform a particular task. Typical examples are EPG/user
interface, content sharing, storage, media players and database applications.
Application Programming
Interface (API)
An application programming interface (API) is an interface implemented by a software component to enable

interaction with other software, much in the same way that a user interface facilitates interaction between humans and
computers.
Bitrate
The number of bits per second that can be transmitted along a digital network.
C++
General purpose computer programming language
CE
Consumer Electronics
Connected TV/CTV
A system where services are delivered via both Traditional Broadcast and over IP. Both delivery channels may be used
simultaneously to deliver a complete service for example, a Traditional Broadcast service may link to further related
content and applications that are delivered via IP.
DFS
Dynamic Frequency Selection, a method of frequency allocation in Wi-Fi networks to avoid interference.
Digital Switchover (DSO)
Digital switchover is the name given to the process by which analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom was
replaced with digital terrestrial television. In some countries this is referred to as the analogue switch off.
DSat
Digital Satellite
DSA
Dynamic Spectrum Access, a method of allowing available spectrum to be allocated for use in different geographical
areas and timeframes.
DTT
Digital terrestrial television
DTV
Digital television
DVB
The Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB) is an industry-led consortium designing open interoperable technical
standards for the global delivery of digital media and broadcast services.
Electronic Programme
Guide (EPG)
Provides users with continuously updated scheduling information for current and up-coming programming
Frame rate
Frame rate is the rate at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images.
Free to air (FTA)
A service which is free of charge at the point of consumption.
HbbTV
Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV. Consortium aimed at harmonising the broadcast and broadband delivery of
entertainment through connected devices.
HTML
HyperText Markup Language. A language for defining web pages.
IP
Internet Protocol has the task of delivering protocol datagrams (packets) from the source host to the destination host
solely based on their addresses.
LTE
Long Term Evolution, is a standard for wireless communication of high speed for mobile phones and data terminals.
Also known as 4G
Metadata
Data associated with content (audio or video asset)
MHEG
MHEG-5, or ISO/IEC 13522-5, is part of a set of international standards relating to the presentation of multimedia
information, standardised by the Multimedia and Hypermedia Experts Group (MHEG). It is most commonly used as a
language to describe interactive television services.
MPEG
Moving Pictures Experts Group. This group has produced a series of universal standards for compression of digital
video for digital TV, DVDs and PVRs.
Multicast
Multicast addressing is a network technology for the IP delivery of information to a group of destinations
simultaneously.
Over the top (OTT)
Unicast delivery over a network which is not managed (i.e. across the internet)
Passpoint
A method for accessing networks via hotspots by WiFi
Pay Per View (PPV)
A service in which a customer pays to receive one or more specific content items.
PSB
Public Service Broadcaster
QoS
Quality of Service
Unicast
Delivery of content over IP to a single destination. A new unicast connection is established for each viewing session
VoD
Video on demand, accessing content over IP networks when requested
Objective
The Taskforce will determine
how the UKs track record
of innovation in television
technology can be leveraged
to deliver sustainable
economic growth.
89 Albert Embankment London SE1 7TP

www.dtg.org.uk/FITTtaskforce
+44 (0)20 7840 6500 office@dtg.org.uk

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Future of Innovation in

From the Chairman

From the Chairman

The UK television industry has always been enormously

The FITT Taskforce was set up to understand our innovation

Future of Innovation in Television Technology Taskforce

of innovation in television technology

successful implementation of all these

4. How do we maintain strong

He said that to achieve a stronger UK

1.2 The Taskforce

The streams were:

The internet and IP delivery of

Recognising the need for an integrated

Future of Innovation in Television Technology Taskforce

1.3 From Couch Potatoes to TV

There are more screens - with over

Although viewing habits for linear

 Mobile connectivity is improving via

Many have been predicting the demise

Manufacturers are consistently

Therefore, although the main set may

content anytime, anywhere. And

However, there are even greater forces at

1.4 The New Convergence:

Figure 1: Business Models Matrix

+ smaller audiences + longer engagement

+ branded short form content

+ Wi-Fi only tablets

New TV measurement across X days and devices

Main set dominates

(Broadcast & Online licence-fee)

Connected devices dominate

Content follows you around

Digital technologies have disrupted

The long awaited convergence in

Analytics mine for

Big Data source.

Figure 3: UK Innovation Strengths in TV Technology Stack

3rd Party App and UI Design (iPlayer, Sky Go etc)

Finished Consumer Goods Production

Product and Application Design

Gate and System Design

3 http://www.thinkbox.tv/98.5-of-tv-was-watched-on-a-tv-set-in-2013 [accessed 18 Feb 2014]

Future of Innovation in Television Technology Taskforce

Figure 4: Data standards and value

In 2025 devices could be up

Innovations in storage, processing

S econd, that the UK has the skills

Synchronous [shared viewing on living room TV]

Remains key currency of advertising

In 2025 devices could be up to a thousand

Current model, enhanced with more

Two key considerations to support UK

Used for content search and

Primarily focused on targeted

Secondary focus on targeting

Led by Verticals (Sky, Virgin...)

Dominated by internet giants using

Value drifting this direction

Figure 5: Mapping the future: data privacy

Personal data shared freely by

Maximum amount of data can be

Data can be combined from multiple

4. How do we maintain strong

1.2 The Taskforce

1.3 From Couch Potatoes to TV

There are more screens - with over

Mobile connectivity is improving via

Manufacturers are consistently

1.4 The New Convergence:

Innovations in storage, processing

S econd, that the UK has the skills

1. Focus our energies on the innovation

4. The EPSRC4 should fund research to

1.5 In the Clouds - Computing for

9. That the governments policy,

1.7 Talent, Talent, Talent:

11. To ensure that sufficient licenced