CONNECTED VISION
A billion UHD televisions worldwide
There are nearly a billion ultra-high-definition television sets in use worldwide, although there is still a limited supply of programming that is produced in UHD or 4K. About 65% of the 200 million or so televisions shipped in 2023 were 4K models. Around 130 million 4K sets have been shipped over each of the last four years worldwide. There is little choice but to buy a 4K model if you want to buy a big screen television.
The numbers come from Omdia Research to be presented at IBC in Amsterdam. They show that the cumulative shipment of 984 million UHD television sets. 273 million, or over a quarter of them, are in China. That is followed by North America with 241 million and Western Europe with 157 million.
So why then is there a limited supply of 4K programming? If you want to watch an original production on an online service, the chances are it is available in 4K. But it you are looking for 4K broadcast services the choice is more limited, apart from some pay television channels that have committed to the format.
It is hardly surprising that people are watching relatively less broadcast television. Broadcasters seem to be in denial about this, apparently unaware that their programmes do not look so good on increasingly large living room screens.
Of course there is the question of cost. It is more expensive to produce programmes at higher resolution, but they will have greater value in the archive.
The total value of online video now exceeds that for traditional television.
Omdia forecasts total global media and entertainment revenue for 2024 of a trillion dollars, which is up by 7.2%. Of this, online video will take $392 billion, with about 60% in advertising. Traditional television will take $327 billion, with about 40% from advertising. Games will take $220 billion, with the rest from music and cinema, with $44 billion and $36 billion respectively.
Verizon to acquire Frontier for $20 billion
Verizon Communications is to acquire Frontier Communications for $20 billion in cash. Gaining the largest pure-play fibre internet provider in the United States will expand the fibre footprint of Verizon across the country, adding 2.2 million subscribers to around 7.4 million Verizon Fios connections, with fibre networks passing over 25 million premises. The deal marks a further turn in the history of Frontier.
Hans Vestberg, the chief executive of Verizon, said: “The acquisition of Frontier is a strategic fit. It will build on Verizon’s two decades of leadership at the forefront of fibre and is an opportunity to become more competitive in more markets throughout the United States, enhancing our ability to deliver premium offerings to millions more customers across a combined fibre network.”
Nick Jeffery, the chief executive of Frontier, added: “Today’s announcement is recognition of our progress building a best-in-class fibre network and delivering reliable, high-speed broadband to millions of customers across the country. It’s also a vote of confidence for the future of fibre.”
Verizon is one of the original fibre players, celebrating 20 years of its Fios network. The acquisition is expected to close in around 18 months, subject to regulatory approval.
Verizon Fios internet had 7.05 million consumer subscribers at the middle of 2024. It had 2.82 million Fios video subscribers, but that number was down on 3.09 million a year before and a peak of 5.86 million in 2016.
Over the last four years,Frontier has invested over $4 billion upgrading and expanding its fibre network, and now derives more than half its revenue from fibre products. The 2.2 million Frontier fibre subscribers across 25 states will join Verizon’s approximately 7.4 million Fios connections in 9 states and Washington, DC.
In 2009, Verizon sold 4.8 million legacy access lines to Frontier for stock valued at $8.6 billion, tripling the customer base of Frontier. In 2016, Verizon sold its internet, television and landline business in Florida, Texas, and California to Frontier for $10.5 billion, in a deal that further doubled the size of Frontier. In April 2020, Frontier filed for bankruptcy protection, emerging from a restructuring plan a year later, wiping out equity holders and eliminating $11 billion in debt before going public again.
www.verizon.com
www.frontier.com
5G Broadcast receiver profile for Europe
A receiver profile for 5G Broadcast in Europe has been published, preparing the way for the roll-out of services and the introduction of smartphones with the capability to receive broadcast television services. It is the work of the European 5G Broadcast handset taskforce, representing members of the European Broadcasting Union, Broadcast Networks Europe representing terrestrial transmitter operators, and technology company Qualcomm.
5G Broadcast has been ready for commercial rollout since early 2023. Standardisation has been largely completed, trial operations by the leading broadcasters in Europe have been underway for several years, and the first smartphone prototypes including essential features of 5G Broadcast have already been developed and demonstrated at the Olympic Games in Paris. A demonstration service is also due to be launched in five main urban areas in Italy in 2025.
A working group, including France Télévisions and TDF from France, RAI and EITowers from Italy, Media Broadcast from Germany, and ORS from Austria, has established a common receiver profile for 5G Broadcast in Europe with the support of Qualcomm.
The draft receiver profile has been published by 5G-MAG, the industry association which, among other tasks, oversees the development and maintenance of the 5G Broadcast specification. The aim is to add this profile to the next version of the ETSI specification to clearly communicate the European requirements for a profile that will ensure harmonization across Europe to allow and encourage chipset and CE manufactures to incorporate the profile in their development roadmaps.
The proposed profile assumes operation in the 606-698MHz band. It requires support for a number of delivery protocols, including DASH, HLS, and MPEG-2 Transport Stream, with audio codecs including HE-AAC, AC-3, and AAC, and video codes including H.264, H.265, and H.266. It requires support for a free-to-air mode.
“The definition of the European profile gives a clear indication to all Chipset and CE manufacturers on the market needs in Europe,” said Antonio Arcidiacono, the chief technology officer of the EBU.
Lars Backlund of Broadcast Networks Europe said: “BNE supports 5G Broadcast as part of our innovation roadmap. In addition to spectrum security and along with roll out and investments in 5G Broadcast transmission infrastructure, the broadcast network operators also support the development of a viable handset ecosystem. Having a common receiver profile across Europe is a necessary element to achieve this goal.”
BNE members operate in 21 European countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Qualcomm, which makes chips for smartphones and other devices, has been a keen supporter of 5G Broadcast. Lorenzo Casaccia, who is responsible for technical standards at Qualcomm Europe, said: “The collaboration among Europe’s major broadcasters and broadcast network operators to harmonize 5G Broadcast receiver requirements marks a pivotal advancement for 5G Broadcast ecosystem. This unified effort will be an invaluable resource for developers, receiver manufacturers and infrastructure vendors, propelling the commercial deployment of 5G Broadcast technology worldwide.”