December can only mean one thing – a trip to Bristol for the Media and Entertainment Mixer Big Wrap Up of course! For a relatively new event, it is impressive how quickly it has grown. And while it has also been taken on the road, I’m always glad to see it back in Bristol – not least because it is a lot easier to get to from Wales than when it’s in London!
One of the things I love about BMEM is the fact that it is not death by PowerPoint but instead it’s filled with some really interesting and insightful discussions, with lots of breaks to head to the bar, and of course pizza. The Big Wrap Up looks at some of the big topics of the year and brings together experts to delve into them. While Tommy Flanagan of Faultline, and co-organiser did admit there needs to be more work done on panel diversity, the discussions were certainly interesting. Here are my key takeaways:
Helen Weedon
Managing Director, Radical Moves Ltd
DTT will Transition to IP but unclear who will pay
Tommy set the scene by reminding us that the UK licences for Freeview are set to expire in 2034 and asked if that is enough time to make the switch over.
The panellists (Roberto Sánchez-Arévalo Díaz of Nokia, Matt Stagg of MTech Sport Media and Entertainment, and Xavier Leclerq at Broadpeak) more or less agreed that it is feasible, the technology is ready, and many households are already pure IP, with more heading that way. Matt got a laugh when he suggested we “just do nothing, let it happen,” but actually he made a valid point which was later backed up in the discussion. His argument is that we are anyway seeing a shift that way with consumer viewing behaviour and really the only generation still clinging to DTT is the older generation, so to put it nicely, it is only a matter of time before the transition happens of its own accord.
However, the biggest challenge remains the infrastructure. While we have a good broadband connection, living in Wales does make me appreciate that it is not the same everywhere. The more rural the location, the more challenging it is to be served with good connectivity. While people in more populated areas can even fall back on mobile connectivity when their broadband is disrupted, that is simply not the case for many rural areas where mobile coverage can be unreliable or even non-existent. So, this raises an important question highlighted by the panel – “who pays”? This was a question that no-one could fully agree on though Roberto did highlight that in the long-term making the transition would pay for itself as IPTV distribution is cheaper. Xavier also agreed, citing the huge costs involved in distribution. Matt posed the question as to whether the current licence fee money could be redirected to fund the infrastructure required, but with two elections before ‘switch off’, he did caution it might be “kicked down the road”.
Live Sports remains relevant but maybe not as we know it
Laurence Boyd of E1 Series, Simon Brydon of Synamedia, and Andrew Van de Burgt at The Race Media joint Tommy to discuss live sports streaming – the power shift has started. It is clear that the way in which live sports is consumed has changed dramatically over the years and both content providers and the sports bodies themselves are having to adapt to keep up with those shifting habits.
One trend we are seeing is the emergence of new sports and new formats. The E1 Series is a great example of that. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, it is the world’s first all-electric racing boat Championship, featuring teams owned by some of the biggest sport and entertainment stars. Think Will Smith, Rafael Nadal, and Sergio Perez! Laurence claimed that being new and trying to grow awareness means it is important to make it easy for fans to access race videos and content easily, and for free. He also discussed how they make all content available to partners and encourage them to share clips as widely as possible, something very different to the more traditional sports where even partners have very restrictive requirements on what they can share, and when.
The discussion turned to monetisation and it was very clear that data is extremely valuable here. Andrew mentioned that user data provides huge value to partners, as well as providing them with useful insights around user behaviour, which helps them plan the best times to post highlights, for example. Interestingly, Laurence explained that for E1 the broadcasts serve as a shop window for the partners, teams, and cities involved. Rather than serving ads, they aim to integrate those partners and visibility into the broadcasts themselves.
Another really important element for live sport is quality and availability. As Simon highlighted, everyone needs everything on every platform, and everywhere. Being able to deliver live concurrent streams at scale with immaculate quality is an absolute must. Cloud streaming is making this possible even for the smallest providers.
All sports are having to adapt to engage younger audiences. For many younger viewers, they are less likely to sit and watch an entire race or match, and much more likely to consume short form highlights that need to be more readily available. Andrew suggested that perhaps Apple will even force a change of approach for F1. Simon said that even 10 years ago rights to highlights for cricket fetched more than the live linear rights. E1 is also looking to XR experiences to engage with younger viewers, something it has been experimenting with as part of the XR Sports Alliance founded by Accedo, HBS, and Qualcomm.
AI is gaining ground, but we need to find the value
In terms of use cases, there seem to be many potential areas within the industry, but as Tommy pointed out most are less exciting but extremely valuable. Phil discussed the potential for classification and how AI has got especially good at understanding what is within the media to enable both quick and easy addition of metadata, as well as being able to determine suitability and appropriateness of content to good effect. For Josh, it is about turning media assets into something you can more easily leverage and monetise thanks to AI and better discoverability. Again, Jacob highlighted the use of AI for scene analysis and the ability to extract highly relevant metadata. He also touched on other potential use cases including being able to serve contextual ads or create highlights more efficiently. For Jacob there is lots of potential but it “comes down to what is important to the customer at that time.”
When asked how to ensure AI will be used for focused and targeted use cases, the consensus was that clear definitions and human-in-the-loop are vital. Jacob mentioned the need for a workflow and context. He urged people to be specific, ensure they are serving their goals and outcome and make sure to have guardrails in place. Josh agreed that how good the AI is depends on how clearly defined and rich the data is. Maria also urged good data to prevent hallucinations and the importance of giving AI a framework to work within. Phil also agreed with the need for more data points and he said it is important to ensure consistency and predictability.
One thing they all agreed on is that AI is here to stay and there is still a lot more potential to be explored.
Recognising excellence
Well done to the BMEM team for recognising some of the movers and shakers in the industry. We had people from both Accedo and Bitmovin in the shortlist and while they didn’t win, it was fantastic to see their efforts recognised. A huge well done to all the winners. Check out the Media and Entertainment Mixer on LinkedIn to see the winners and find out when the next event is taking place!
All that remains is for me to wish everyone a fantastic Christmas and a very happy new year! See you in 2026!
