Is Tata Communications heralding a new era in the broadcasting industry?

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Is Tata Communications heralding a new era in the broadcasting industry? While Indians are caught up in the Net Neutrality debate, the telecommunication service providers are still focused on delivering new innovations and new multi-media technologies to content-hungry Indian audiences.
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So when today, Tata Communications has launched Media ecosystem, a new ecosystem combining traditional video contribution services with IP-based connectivity to create a highly innovative global media platform, we weren’t surprised. This new ecosystem they claim would help broadcasters enable seamless global transport and management of content as a cloud-based managed service and support global media distribution requirements, OTT and mobility applications.

We got into a candid conversation with Mehul Kapadia, managing director, F1 Business at Tata Communications to understand the product and to get his views the future of broadcasting industry in India, and here is what he had to share.

On Media Ecosystem
Today, the biggest challenge broadcasters face is: how do we deliver exceptional experiences to the consumers at a time when technology platforms are evolving rapidly, new business models are emerging, and more competition is arising from multiple sectors? Tata Communications’ Media Ecosystem is just an answer to this problem. To come up with this offering, we put together all the strengths we have in terms of fibre technology, video connect and other product offerings, and then added a layer of managed services in terms of Cloud services to enable great viewing experiences.

Media Ecosystem lets broadcasters source content and bring it to the Indian sub-continent by optimizing it for different distribution systems that Indians use it. This platforms enables both, content developers through to the owners, with the ability to experiment with new formats, launch new services and channels at the touch of a button.
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On the future of Indian broadcasting industry
I think it is all about being seamless and personalized. If you are watching a live sporting action today, it is not just about what you see on the television. You want to experience more that what you can view on your screens. For instance: You are watching F1 racing where a driver has just overtaken the other driver, but live broadcast hasn’t captured it, you can quickly look up at your second screen like tablet while your standard viewing experience is going on. Now, how do you even sync it up, how do you bring that ability into the viewer’s experience? That is what broadcasters have to think through.

Plus, in future, broadcasters could also look at how they can integrate some of this into a way social media is presented – they can be immersed in media at the same time along with their friends and enjoy a joined viewing experience rather than a single viewing experience. You may ask, if such seamless experiences are available today and our answer would be no.

Simply put, if you ask me what the future of broadcasting is going to be all about? I would say, it is going to be all about immersive experiences...experiences that happen at my time when I want it apart from obviously what is happening live. Even the live content...how it can happen in a way that I could consume it. For instance: When Usain Bolt is running in Olympics, I have to be at some other place, so how do I get immersive experience on it without actually being there? This is what the broadcasting industry is headed towards and that is what broadcasters should be focused on delivering to the consumers

On net neutrality
But do these seamless experiences make sense at a time when net neutrality in India is under question? Well, Mehul Kapadia preferred not to comment on the same. And we really can’t blame him, as the issue is quite a sensitive one—especially for the telecommunication service providers and broadcasting industry.
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About Tata Communications
Tata Communications delivers world-class connectivity backed by the company’s leading global fibre network. Today, over 24% of the world’s Internet routes travel over Tata Communications’ network and the company is the only Tier-1 provider that is in the top five by routes in five continents.