Arqiva has appointed Phil Moses as Chief Financial Officer, taking over from Josh McHutchison who is leaving the company to return to Australia. Led by new CEO John Cresswell, Arqiva is refocusing its business to capitalise on growth opportunities presented by multi-platform TV delivery and communications network infrastructure build-out. Moses brings a wealth of relevant experience to Arqiva, having had financial responsibility both at group level and with a regulated network infrastructure-based business at BT. Most recently, he was CFO of BT’s Openreach business, an operation with a turnover approaching 5 billion pounds, responsible for managing the telecommunications access network in the U.K. Prior to that, he was Group Controller for BT for four years, having been promoted from Investor Relations Director in 2005. He will take up his new role on 13 June and will be responsible for Arqiva’s financial performance and development.
SES ASTRA, an SES company (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG), has won a first broadcaster for DTH services in Italy. Italian TV operator Promosat will use capacity on SES ASTRA’s 19.2 degrees East orbital position for the free-to-air transmission of its ABChannel to TV viewers in Italy. ABChannel provides popular entertainment, including feature films, TV series and documentaries. The channel will help to significantly increase the attractiveness of SES ASTRA’s 19.2 degrees East orbital position, which to date reaches more than 2 million households in Italy.
An analysis of Europe’s largest over-the-top (OTT) video markets by SNL Kagan finds the U.K. and France leading Europe’s emerging OTT deployments, invigorating both free and pay-TV competitive dynamics from which new business models are emerging. The analysis – focused on France, Germany, Italy, the U.K. and Spain – notes an increase in OTT service launches in recent months, driven by broadcaster-led catch-up services that are significantly impacting how content is distributed and viewed online. SNL Kagan’s key European OTT developments:
- Broadcaster-led catch-up services: Today’s fragmented hybrid broadcast broadband initiatives across Europe are being brought under a number of national-level umbrellas, as Project Canvas (YouView) in the U.K., MHP in Italy and HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) in Germany and France enable broadcasters to compete on content rather than technology while opening significant opportunities for experimentation with interactivity.
- Authenticated TV Everywhere: While broadband penetration in the U.K., Germany and France is high at around 70 percent, take-up of double and triple-play bundles is likewise strong and rates affordable, giving incumbent video providers a strong opportunity to influence the near-term shape of OTT in their markets.
- Consumer Electronics brands: Although nascent today, TV applications ecosystems created by consumer electronics manufacturers and deployed via “connected” or “smart” televisions, are likely to reshape the market significantly in the medium term.
- Significant market variations in OTT viability: Italy and Spain have more limited mass-market penetration of VOD, catch-up and PC TV services.
- In Spain, broadband is far outpacing multichannel take-up, setting the stage for widespread online video adoption. At the same time, high subscription prices are limiting pay-TV affordability, creating a gap which OTT is positioned to fill. Shown in graphic. However, despite these strong market fundamentals, widespread video piracy is likely to drag on legal OTT uptake near-term.
- In Italy, SNL Kagan finds the competitive environment is not conducive to upstart entrants building viable business models, however, incumbent players including Mediaset are well positioned to leverage hybrid DTT/OTT systems to make a big impact long-term.
