FRAGMENTATION – THE LEGACY OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

We have heard in the press that there is a French JV that is going to make a “Canvas” like OTT Service for France.   We have heard that the CE manufacturers are establishing deals with OTT providers to supply content for their Internet Portals…So we have Transmission Fragmentation, we also have Interactive Value Added Services Fragmentation and now we have added complete Content Distribution Fragmentation…I forgot to mention Standards Fragmentation with Analogue, Mpeg2 and Mpeg4, MHEG5 and MHP and HbbTV and, and, and!  How disorganized and completely messed up can an industry get.  In and amongst all of this it has become quite apparent – Finally – to my colleagues in the USA that there is a misunderstanding of the word UNION in Europe.

There were early signs of the impending doom for the TV market when the European Union couldn’t organize  themselves a Single Currency and/or Single Tax regime and,  and,  and…not to mention the LISBON TREATY which was negated and then voted for by Ireland, blocked by others, stonewalled and then circumnavigated.  There will be many, many years before my wallet carries only Euros for my EMEA travels and my TV or Laptop can watch any flavour/nationality of TV in no matter what country I reside or travel to.   The European Commission is a powerless beast that has no vision or control of what the TV Landscape is or should be.   I still feel they need to intervene but if they do, like they have before,  the BIG COMPANIES will lobby them into doing what the DVB has been lobbied into doing – and that is providing a “Toolbox” approach…which means NO Standards – Just a lot of choices to do the same job…i.e. Fragmentation