Samsung: Give Viewers Access to Video or They'll Find Another Way
The online video landscape is rapidly evolving. One panel at the recent Streaming Media West conference in Los Angeles asked publishers and broadcasters if they're going to ride the wave or get pulled underneath.
"Clearly, there's a sea change coming through, both in terms of user behavior, and threatening some existing business models," said Adam Sexton, general manager for Samsung Media Solution Center. "Hopefully, ultimately it'll all be a bigger pie when we get through this. From Samsung's perspective, the team I'm running is building services across TV, tablet, and mobile, and we're hearing from all of our customers that they want access to all of their content anytime, anyplace, anywhere, and that's easier said than done when you do have cable companies, set-top box-makers, satellite companies, different ecosystems that you need to appease."
Luckily, the video industry has the negative example of the music industry's online efforts to go by. Don't make the same mistakes, Sexton advised.
"I'm an ex-music company guy, and we saw what happened there. I think it's incumbent upon those of us who are in the business and who are licensing content and making deals to recognize that consumers are in charge now, and they are going to figure out ways to get access to their content. One of the lessons from the music business was clearly stonewalling and refusing to make it available doesn't end well," Sexton said with a laugh.
For more on the future of digital entertainment, watch the panel discussion below.
ROUND TABLE: The Future of Digital Entertainment in a Multiscreen World
This panel of leading service operators and content owners discusses how they solve some of the challenges in delivering the creator's intended entertainment experience across new devices and consumer use cases. The panel also shares their vision on where the future of digital entertainment is heading and key industry drivers that could enable the next-generation entertainment experience on mobile and tablet devices.
Moderator: John Couling, Senior VP, E-Media Business Group, Dolby
Speaker: Adam Sexton, GM, Samsung Media Solution Center America
Speaker: Jeff Shultz, VP, Business Development, CBS Interactive
Speaker: John Penney, EVP, Strategy & Business Development, Starz
Speaker: David Tochterman, Head of Digital Media, Innovative Artists
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