Robb Smith

Every company founder has a story to tell, and in the case of the Connected TV Marketing Association, there’s quite a tale to tell. In ‘Beam Me Up, The Future of Smart TV - Battle for Control' (Ch 7), I share with readers the 7 year legal battle and fight to control the CTVMA during the global streaming wars. For those of you who don’t know, there were over a hundred people involved in our foundation, and many of whom are prominent, well known, leading industry figures in entertainment, business, broadcasting, advertising and finance, who will all receive special mentions in my upcoming book #StreamingWars 💣

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Here at #TheBridge we consult with content creators and leading broadcasters/ streamers on new and innovative commercial routes to funding for TV, film and programming budgets. Where once long form, linear TV led the way, now gaming first-models are leading IP development and funding can be found in brand partners and VC investment before some commissioning editors come on board a project. As the television industry shifts from B2B to D2C there are multiple routes to audiences for content creators. If you are wondering how to bridge this new world, enter The Bridge Report. 🌉 This resource will serve as a compass for navigating the current turbulent waters of commercial growth for TV producers. It's not just data – it's a narrative of proven models working with producers and funding, programmes and commissions and eastern and western content markets. The report will delve into topics such as where and how to find funding for production budgets and how to work in increasingly global markets. The Bridge Report will provide actionable insights that can help you steer your own success through these choppy changes! Please get in touch if you'd like to know more. 💻🤝 Remember, knowledge isn't power until it's applied. #co-development #co-production #co-operation #content #tvproduction #productionindustry #finance #tv

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Consoladation is where it is at...

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From the reform of the 1970s to the advent of streaming and prestige television, change has always been an inevitable part of the #film industry. At the same time, the change that is happening now seems more monumental than the previous ones. Legacy studios are closing, jobs are being lost, and the future seems uncertain for many in the industry. And yet, as much as the upheaval of these old systems seems frightening, there is another way to view the picture - change for the better. The future of the #filmindustry is becoming more democratized, and the power is shifting. As old systems created by the gatekeepers of #filmmaking falter and become obsolete - new systems and voices can pave the way forward. 

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The headlines on Ofcom's latest consumer research have focused on the demise of linear broadcast viewing by younger demographics, but another interesting finding is the strong growth in viewing of those same broadcasters' video-on-demand platforms (so-called BVoD). According to Barb Audiences data, overall viewing of BVoD services grew an impressive 29% in 2023 to 20 mins per person per day, raising the proportion of total broadcaster viewing coming from BVoD services to 13%, up from 10% in 2022. The BBC leads the way with 18% of its content now being viewed on iPlayer. And there was even a positive trend amongst the 16-24 yr age group who increased their viewing of BVoD services in 2023 by 9% to 12 mins per day. Overall, however, this positive streaming story does not compensate for the decline in linear broadcast viewing for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, or Channel 5; Sky bucked the trend with increased linear & streamed viewing.

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A recent Bectu survey paints a worrying picture for the future of the UK film and TV industry 🎬. https://lnkd.in/e44Cb4UP 👉 A staggering 38% of workers are planning to leave within 5 years, citing financial and mental health struggles as key factors 🤯. Here's a closer look at the findings: 🔴 The exodus is particularly pronounced among minority ethnic groups and those working in unscripted TV. 🔴 While unemployment has slightly decreased since February, over half the workforce remains out of work 📉. 🔴 Financial hardship and mental well-being concerns continue to plague the industry, despite a slight improvement since earlier this year 😔. Bectu is urging broadcasters and industry stakeholders to take immediate action to address these pressing issues 📢. Failure to do so could lead to a significant loss of talent, further decline in diversity, and long-term damage to the industry's reputation. I'm not going to lie, the last 18 months have been incredibly tough, and it's evident to me daily that mental health and morale are at an all-time low, to the point where many very talented professionals I know have already left for other industries, not utilising their polish skillsets and having taken a pay cut. Many are losing the will to keep trying to make it work in our industry. In my humble opinion, things are finally picking up, but I worry it won't be enough for some of my favourite, most skilled, and talented colleagues to stay in the industry with the current high cost of living. What are your thoughts? What can we do? Let me know in the comments below... Article discovered via Georgette Turner and Charlotte Wheeler - thank you! #Bectu #FilmAndTV #TalentExodus #Diversity #MentalHealth #FinancialStruggles

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“The UK recorded music industry grew for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, bringing in £1.43 billion. Streaming and physical music saw growth, and the independent sector also enjoyed an increased share of album sales and streams. This is all according to a new stats pack from BPI The BPI has published its annual ‘All About The Music’ report on the British record industry's performance in the previous calendar year. The topline stat is that revenues grew by 8.1% in 2023 to £1.43 billion. That’s the ninth consecutive year of growth. According to the record industry trade group’s stats pack, more than half of that (58%) came from subscription streaming, sync and public performance combined contributed 13.6%, vinyl sales 9.9%, ad-funded audio and video streams 9.5%, and CDs 6.8%. Physical media actually saw stronger percentage growth than streaming last year, with CDs, vinyl and other formats all up individually, and collectively up 12.8% on 2022 - vinyl seeing the biggest jump, up 18.6% year-on-year. Streaming overall saw revenues rise by 8.4%, with ad-funded streaming growing fastest at 12.4%. In terms of actual revenues, physical brought in £243.4 million, while streaming generated £962.1 million. In terms of what people were listening to, Miley Cyrus came out top with her song ‘Flowers’, which enjoyed ten consecutive weeks at number one in the UK singles chart. This run helped female artists to score a record tally of weeks at the top of the UK top 40 - 31 out of 52 weeks. Women appear in seven slots in the top ten for the full year, including Raye, Taylor Swift, Ellie Goulding and SZA.” #BPI #UK #Streaming #Artists #StreamingRoyalties #Royalties #RecordedMusic #StreamingServices #StreamingMedia #MusicStreams #MusicRoyalties #Songs #Recordings #MusicBusiness #Music #Musica #MusicIndustry #Musique #Musik #MusicBiz

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Max in the UK - how will this change the market "Warner Bros. Discovery is holding early talks with multiple platforms about the distribution of its Max service when it launches in the UK in 2026. Max is launching later in the UK market than in other European territories because its HBO content is currently the subject of an exclusive deal with Sky, which incorporates shows such as Game of Thrones and Succession into its Sky Atlantic channel." "According to the FT, which first reported on the story, WBD has also entered into discussions with other broadcasters that include Amazon Prime, Virgin Media and EE. It is also still in negotiations with Sky and it seems somewhat implausible that the Comcast unit would be frozen out given the 10 million subscribers it is able to offer. It may however lose its exclusivity. Sky viewers can currently watch the basic Discovery+ service, without TNT Sports free of charge." This will be a big change in the UK TV market, not just the immediate impact of bringing Max into play, but also knock-on effects, the push of Sky to commission more series of their own, as they contend with Max becoming a rival of theirs with content that used to be on their slate. What new alliances will come out of this? Perhaps new licensing alliances will come about as the market changes. Would Max also license out its content to other #SVODs in the UK? I doubt this very much, as it would undermine their strategy, but licensing some content to ITV which is more #AVOD, could that be on the table? I think that Max has to be very careful in how it handles their entrance into the market. The deal on Sky on #paytv Sky provides them with guaranteed revenue, and if they move away from Sky, that guarantee will go away. Of course in theory, they can cut Sky out and be more successful, but Sky's subscriber base is strong, and they are an internet provider too, making them more sticky. Max will have to contend with #churn on their own. They won't go it alone, but if they make the wrong bet, they could see their revenue go down. Stick or twist? #streamingmedia #streamingplatforms #ottplatforms #wbd #subscribergrowth #tvindustry #mediaindustry #churnrate #uk https://lnkd.in/e_KAX2Qa

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FREELY, MADLY, DEEPLY: BRITISH BROADCASTERS COLLABORATING (AT LONG LAST) It's interesting and resonant to see the launch of Freely today, the new #streaming service from Everyone TV backed by BBC, ITV, Channel 4 & Channel 5. It involves various of my former C4 colleagues including CEO Jonathan Thompson, Sarah Milton and James Tatam. For the first time viewers can switch between live and on-demand #TV from all the main UK #broadcasters simply and gratis. It offers features like pause and restart, and gives access to additional episodes for free (the clue's in the name). All that's required is a WiFi connection, no dish or aerial. The idea is to offer "a single, unified platform" centred on British TV. It has been billed as "the first time all four of Britain’s public service broadcasters have come together to launch a streaming proposition" - but that's not strictly true. 16 years ago 'Project Kangaroo' bounced onto the scene. It was the secret working title for a #VOD platform combining content from BBC Worldwide, ITV and C4. However Kangaroo fell at the fence of the UK Competition Commission (now Competition & Markets Authority) in 2009. That was arguably the nail in the coffin of UK TV. It was the moment we could have competed against Netflix (just a year old at the time) and the emerging international #streamers. It was perhaps the one time we coulda been contenders. “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender, I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.” (Elia Kazan’s classic 'On the Waterfront' has just been re-released in UK cinemas to mark its 70th anniversary.) The Competition Competition looked at the parochial UK situation instead of the Big Picture and in their folly probably killed (certainly severely wounded) the Little Screen in this country. It's still playing out now all these years later. BritBox was a pretty lame attempt to fill the Kangaroo void. ITV and BBC Studios founded this would-be global streaming service in 2017 as a joint venture to showcase British entertainment (original scripted and factual shows, co-pros, etc.) to international audiences. Last month we heard that ITV has sold its 50% stake in BritBox International to partner BBC Studios for £255M, probably a sign that the partners' imperatives had evolved in somewhat different directions. So it's arguable that Freely is 16 years too late. But I hope otherwise and wish them the best of British... #television #globalTV

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#MIPCOM2024 was special. Big gratitude to Partners who are with SWEET.TV GROUP for years and big gratitude to newly established Partnerships! Big gratitude to professional team of MIP Markets - MIPCOM, MIPJUNIOR, MIP CANCUN & MIP LONDON for delivering such top-tier event. Also I want to admit great result of 75+ successful meetings done by SWEET.TV GROUP team during 3 days. But still the biggest job to be done is ahead. Plenty of projects are to be introduced! The market landscape is transforming - new opportunities are rising, yesterday’s patterns are changing. #FAST and #AI-supported approaches are here and ready to be implemented. It is a game-changing point. Transformation is measured by weeks, not even months or years. All of us shall stay tuned and shall witness new chapters of this interesting story!

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Interesting piece on where the industry is now in the UK. The question we all have is where is it going? The years of plenty got everyone thinking (or hoping) it would / could continue indefinitely. The article is right to focus on the people though. Building Studio space is a clear commercial calculation, which is difficult to make because infrastructure takes ages and stable demand is short term. Hence all the “new Studios” that are really just a press release looking for finance. The people challenge however, that’s is where it’s at. Working in Film & TV demands and develops all sorts of incredible skills in people, not just technical, but soft as well. It requires leaders, collaborators, thinkers, problem solvers, dynamism, organisation, adaptability and effective management. But is the freelance nature of our business it’s great strength in the good times and it’s greatest weakness in the tough times? Is it a dichotomy that can never be reconciled cleanly?

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📺 The Battle for Your TV Screen: The OS Wars! TVREV's latest report dives deep into the high-stakes world of smart TV operating systems. As streaming becomes dominant, control over the TV's interface is the next frontier. The stakes are HIGH – controlling the OS means dictating viewer interaction, gatekeeping content, reaping variable kinds of ad revenues, and harnessing viewer data. The OS Wars are being fought globally by three main groups: 1. Home Electronics Manufacturers (Samsung, LG, VIZIO) 2. Internet Giants (Google, Amazon, Apple) 3. Independent & local TV OS Makers (ZEASN's whaleOS, Xperi's TiVO) According to the report, what makes a great TV OS? Some 🔑 factors: 🔹 Responsiveness & speed 🔹 Natural language voice search 🔹 Personalized content discovery 🔹 Integration with smart home features 🔹 Innovative ad formats 👑 One thing is for sure: the company that can best navigate the complex landscape of content, data, and user experience will have a major advantage in the living room of the future. Download The Report 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/ek8yTYAT #TVOSWars #StreamingWars #ConnectedTV #SmartTV #IPTV #Broadcast #Television

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Channel 4 boosts YouTube viewing As per the warning last week about broadcasters, particularly in the UK being lulled into a false sense of security of the prominence of public broadcaster channels in the media sphere, both in terms of #traditionaltv and #svod #streamingplatforms it appears one broadcaster has heeded this a while ago. "Channel 4 has trebled the number of full episode views by UK audiences in 2024....So far this year, social output from Channel 4 has amassed 1.8 billion UK views, a growth of 309% year on year. Channel 4 documentaries have been a key to growth, including 24 Hours in Police Custody drawing in record YouTube audiences." The really interesting thing here is that the increase in viewing is coming from #socialmedia (Tik-Tok & Instagram) and the biggest video platform in the world. This tells of a strategy to get content out there and boost relevance, rather than hoard it and put it all on its platform. "Elsewhere across social, Channel 4’s coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games generated 41 million views across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. More than 2.4 million livestreams and 2.1 million non-live streams were recorded on Channel 4’s YouTube streaming platform." This is an interesting move by a #publicservicebroadcaster to embrace this platform. On Youtube but even on the social platforms, its going to where the audiences are. It seems that it's going on a blend of releasing some content on public platforms, while also maintaining the credibility of its own More 4 SVOD platform. As they've done with the Paralympics, it'll be interesting to see what focus news has in Channel 4's plans going forward for #newsmedia. Will they put their news bulletins online? More long-form news content instead of the small clips. They already have some, especially the video podcasts, but it would be interesting to see if #newsbulletins get released to move more into that space. "Matt Risley, Managing Director, 4Studio, said: “Channel 4’s UK views across all social platforms and content have amassed a huge 1.8 billion this year, putting us firmly on track to double our social viewing by 2030. Our latest audience growth underlines how Channel 4 and 4Studio are leading the way in embracing social audiences at scale.”" The saying is go where your audience goes, and Channel 4 are doing that, going online. #television #tvindustry #tvcontent #mediaindustry #media #future #digitalmedia #psb #broadcasting https://lnkd.in/eK7pVMeP

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What a great week it's been catching up with old and new faces. There's been a lot of familiar chat recently about how conferences and networking events have become a bit stale, predictable and uninspiring... this week felt quite the opposite.   🎄 Kicking off with the fantastic Digital Leading Ladies aka #DLL and a (not premature…) Christmas lunch organised by the fantastic committee. An informal network born out of Whatsapp, keeping it real when it comes to advice, support, rants, ideas and laughs along the way. Good for the soul!   🤖 Into the inaugural FutureWeek AIMM conference talking all things AI. I had the pleasure of being on a panel with the awesome Lara Izlan (contrary to the title we did all think there's been great progress!) and whilst it was great learning more from the OGs in the space, it was insanely valuable having chats about the real projects we're all working on - sharing the oh too common challenges as well as the wins. I'm hugely excited about what we're doing in this space at Channel 4 Sales and the part we're playing to drive real benefits to our Sales teams and Customers.   📈 Lastly Videoweek Roadmap included a great panel of analysts on the future of Broadcast TV. Stats from Ampere Analysis supported the reality that: * there's been a huge increase in investment by UK broadcasters not only in in technology but also content * the high standards we set ourselves to technically deliver ad breaks is not to be underestimated when it comes to viewer experience (something the streamers are working towards in these early days) * the UK is in a unique position to have strong PSBs that play an increasingly important role in representing UK culture through content and creativity.   A lot going on, but also why this is such an interesting time to be working in TV/CTV/Streaming/enter-own-definition-at-your-peril...! Looking forward to FTV next month to do it all again! #DLL #CTV #FutureweekAIMM #AI #VWRoadmap24 #Video #Advertising #FutureofTVAdvertising #FTVAGlobal

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🔍 Mind the Viewing Shift: What It Means for UK TV 📺 Recent insights from the Barb Total Viewing Report reveal a crucial shift in UK viewing habits. For the first time, digital platforms like YouTube and TikTok are outperforming traditional broadcasters among key demographics, especially under 35s. A recent Guardian report echoes this trend, highlighting that the internet has overtaken TV as the UK’s most popular news source. The message is clear: the competition isn’t just broadcasters vs. streamers anymore—it’s broadcasters vs. the entire digital ecosystem. The question for UK broadcasters: Are you listening to the audience’s voice and adapting your strategies accordingly? As public broadcasters compete for relevance, embracing digital partnerships and content strategies will be essential to remain vital in the evolving landscape. Let’s connect and discuss how we can navigate this era of shifting consumption patterns. 🚀 #UKTV #MediaTrends #DigitalTransformation #Streaming #AudienceEngagement #Broadcasting #SocialMedia #BarbReport #TVStrategy #ContentCreation #jgtvdirector

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I know everyone in the industry has been feeling the pain of the last year or so, and this report shows how bad it's actually has been. TV producers’ body, Pact, has revealed it latest annual census of the UK television production sector that shows revenues fell by £392 million (8.4 per cent) to £3.61 billion in 2023. #pact #adobe #premierepro #adobepremierpro #videoeditig #video #videoeditor #postproduction #creativeediting #HETV #dramaediting #film #frreelance #videotutorial #tutorials #learnathome #training #traininganddevelopment #media #videoproduction #filmproduction #premiere101 #premierepro101 #trainingcourse #cpd #color #colour #grading #audiomixing #titles #sohoeditors #jobs

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