OTT has effectively disrupted the conventional TV medium

Tata Elxsi is among the world's leading providers of design, innovation and technology services for diverse set of industries including broadcast, consumer electronics, communications, telecom, healthcare, transportation amongst others. TelecomLive spoke with Ajay Meher on “Transforming Media and Future Technologies”. Here are the excerpts.

What impact OTT space has made in the broadcasting industry in India?

The OTT sector has brought about a substantial transformation within the Indian broadcasting industry, effectively disrupting the conventional television medium. Indian audiences now enjoy a content spectrum that rivals international stand ards, encompassing original series, films, documentaries and web shows. Here's how it has evolved over the last few years:

1. Competitive market: The influx of OTT platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Jio Cinema, Disney+ Hotstar and more in India has intensified the competition in the broadcast space, which is further driving innovation in content creation and delivery. The viewers have the benefit as platforms strive to outdo each other, including traditional broadcasting services to stay ahead in the competition.
2. Elimination of entry barrier: Contrary to the traditional broadcast, OTT can reach to end consumers directly. Due to that all stake holders of a broadcasters are now in the game of OTT. May it be content creators, broadcasters or operator.
3. Ever-changing consumer preferences: Today, viewers are not in the appointmentbased viewing, and they prefer on-demand. OTT brings those preferences well. The continuously changing preferences of consumers have spiked the demand for innovative and compelling content.
4. Content diversity: Similarly, the OTT industry has created a space for diverse content both globally and regionally be it series, web shows, documentaries, or movies. The broad spectrum of audience preferences has prioritized tailored content delivery.
5. Collection of consumer data: OTT platforms, compared to broadcast, will have ability to collect consumers and consumption data. That will help in building consumers preferences. This goldmine of data is further helping broadcasters and content creators to make informed business decisions. Furthermore, the convenience of on-demand content access has eliminated necessity to conform to traditional broadcast schedules, offering viewers greater flexibility in their viewing experiences. The majority of OTT platforms harness advanced technologies rooted in AI and ML, leveraging data analytics and recommendation algorithms to offer individualized content.

How the new age technologies like AI and ML is helping the broadcasting industry in digital transformation?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are some of the key technologies driving the digital transformation in the broadcasting industry. For one, broadcasting companies leverage AI and ML for predictive analytics to get a better idea of audience behavior for content planning, scheduling, ad targeting and more. The broadcasting industry with OTT platforms generates huge amounts of metadata, where AI and ML are leveraged to categorize, search and retrieve content efficiently. The same can be applied for content moderation where AI and ML are applied to automatically detect and filter inappropriate or harmful content for a safer viewing experience. Here are some of the ways in which AI and ML are helping the broadcasting industry -

• Content recommendation and personalization : One of the key areas of AI and ML algorithms we see daily is content recommendation and personalization. These algorithms analyze user preferences and behavior to provide personalized content recommendations that enhance user engagement and retention.
• Real-time video analysis: AI algorithms are deployed to gain real-time analysis to monitor and enhance the live streaming quality. While optimizing the bandwidth usage, it also helps in detecting and mitigating issues like buffering or signal interruptions, ensuring a smoother viewing experience.
• Seamless translation and localization of content: One of the unique factors of the modern broadcasting industry is the availability of a wide range of content from diverse cultures, countries and languages. AI-driven language dubbing and subtitles services are used to make content accessible to global audience.
• AI based innovative advertisement: AI and ML bring context to contents to drive more contextual advertisement, which is much more personal and also innovative. The new age advert like Shoppable video, Virtual product placement etc is driving better yields.
• Enhancing audience engagement: Apart from personalization, audience engagement is also in high demand on OTT platforms and broadcasting industry at large. AI-driven virtual assistants and chatbots are provided to engage with the audience to interact, answer queries, provide information about programs, and so on.
• Predictive maintenance: AI and ML can be employed for predictive maintenance of broadcasting equipment to prevent downtime by identifying and addressing equipment issues before they lead to service disruptions.

How does technology like AI are enabling in creating interactive and personalized content experiences that forge deeper connections?

Content personalization holds immense importance, particularly in the context of captivating and sustaining audience engagement. In the present landscape, the sheer volume of available information poses a formidable challenge for broadcasters, content creators, marketers and enterprises seeking to effectively connect with and retain their desired audience.

AI technologies offer a clear solution, evident in the customization of user interfaces tailored to individual behaviors and preferences. Likewise, AI assumes a pivotal role in content recommendations through predictive analysis, intelligently anticipating user preferences and inclinations.

This leads us to the realm of generative AI, which encompasses a category of algorithms and models that grant machines the capability to independently produce and generate content. Generative AI tools possess remarkable adaptability when it comes to content personalization, delivering advantages across diverse sectors, including the broadcasting industry. Generative AI has the capacity to scrutinize user behavior, historical data and contextual cues, allowing it to anticipate user preferences and offer real-time personalized experiences.

The Gen AI creating video-on-the-go drive better engagement. The advantage of these technologies lies in their ability to generate tailored recommendations, individualized content and user-specific advertisements, ultimately fostering elevated user engagement and satisfaction, leading to improved conversion rates and enhanced customer retention.

What are your products and solutions?

Some of our products for the media and communication industry include:

• QoEtient: Tata Elxsi's QoEtient is a Quality of Experience & functional test automation tool. This pioneering technology assists video service providers and OTT players in proactively monitoring viewing performance and conducting player/playback testing, contributing to enhanced streaming video quality.
• TE Play OTT Services for Operators: It helps in deployment, personalization and monetization. This includes content security using CAS/ multi-DRM, UI composer for layout customization, automated media workflows, and more. It offers a single vendor solution for all OTT components enabling faster deployment along with a scalable and microservice architecture.
• uLike: It brings the content personalization and recommendation engine, which truly depends on AI, ML, Gen AI etc.
• Android TV Hybrid STB: It comes with a localized app specific to the country, multilingual voice control, and culturally adept features.
• RDK-B: It offers multiple WAN interfaces, community Wi-Fi, and more. The RDK solution can help in monitoring device health markers, enable measures to improve user experience and provide differentiated services for subnetworks.
• iCX: It is a secure, scalable, and distributed solution for enhancing customer experience and improving operational efficiency.
• Innovative Advert solution: It offers AI driven contextual advertisement solution, which brings better yields for a broadcaster and streaming service provider.

What are the future trends in the media and broadcasting industry?

We've seen a rapid shift from traditional cable operations to on-demand streaming, available on multiple devices. Here are some of the future trends we can see in the coming years –

• Dominance of OTT and CTV
• Livestreaming
• Expansion of Immersive Experiences
• Rise of Retail Media
• User-Generated Content
• Data-Driven Insights

Spokesperson: Ajay Meher - Global Practice Head for Media & New Media, Tata Elxsi