Daniel Riddell, VP – Operations, SmartOTT | Wild TV and speaker at CONNECTIONS Europe provides insights on new developments in smart home and entertainment services. Daniel will participate on the 1:15 pm Session, Multiscreen Services and TV Anywhere, on November 12.
The panel, moderated by Brett Sappington, Director, Research, Parks Associates, includes the following participants
Michael Lantz, CEO & Founder, Accedo
François Moreau de Saint Martin, CEO, Viaccess-Orca
Daniel Riddell, VP - Operations, SmartOTT | Wild TV
Lisa Skelton, Head of Marketing, Content Delivery, Ericsson
Bram Tijdhof, Senior Strategy Manager, Ziggo
1) What do you feel is the biggest obstacle to growth in entertainment services and/or smart home services?
I feel the biggest obstacle to growth currently facing entertainment services delivered via OTT technologies is the traditional way in which consumers view their connected TV's. There needs to be a shift in consumer mentality surrounding how programming is accessed and consumed in this new landscape.
2) What features should service providers focus on to convince consumers to sign up for new services?
Service providers always need to be mindful of their particular customers wants and how to best meet them. Within the entertainment services sector we have seen a customer who wants great content, at an affordable price, anytime...anywhere. Ultimately your offering has to create and maintain a relationship with that customer, without a personal connection you're likely not going to convert your prospective customer into a subscriber.
3) How is your company helping to excel growth in the connected home in Europe?
SmartOTT provides a range of in-home entertainment options. We are an emerging vertical within the OTT/ Smart TV space who specialize in the management of content catalogues and their distribution throughout the Smart TV space.
4) What is one key issue that people can’t stop talking about regarding entertainment or smart home services?
In two words, "Content Rights". There needs to be greater solidarity from a content creator perspective in this regard. Content creators are accustomed to the traditional "Exclusive" linear broadcast model. Exclusivity, more often than not, severely limits your audience potential in the OTT space. An exception to this would be the case where the content also owns a significant means of distribution (think "House of Cards", Netflix).
