Finally, IP for Broadcast is Coming

  The state of American broadcasting stations was discussed at the Japan Commercial Broadcasters Association Digital Net Research Society.

  It seems that IP (Internet Protocol) was the keyword at the last National Broadcasting Association (NAB). Apparently "IP conversion for broadcasting systems” is finally coming.

 There are various levels to IP based broadcasting stations, including broadcasting systems, net distribution, and the sales / business / management model, but it has finally come the center of the broadcasting system.

  Up until now, a video signal format called SDI (Serial Digital Interface) has been used for the transmission of broadcasts, but this is being completely replaced by IP. The trend is towards the cloud, and an integration of broadcast and telecommunication. 

 This is similar to the  world of telecommunications, where in the past 20 years there has been a switch from telephone to the net, from switchboard to router, and from circuit switching to packets.

　

 Especially ABC in the US, is promoting a system conversion to IP and the cloud. During the transition period, capital investment is burdensome but subsequent costs are dramatically reduced. There is even the view that the total cost will be cut in half. If ABC succeeds it may be like an avalanche that spreads to each station.

 When the broadcast system is outsourced to the cloud by IP, broadcasting, distribution, VOD and social correspondence can be handled as one unit, thus the broadcasting station will cease to be a broadcasting station, and become a station capable of production and editing content. But the preparation and strategy for such a change is being questioned.

 Surely, one part of the strategy is to operate the system without outsourcing, so that hardware and software can be developed in synthesis with one another. But this is an option that will probably contribute to higher costs and security risks than depending on specialists in those areas.

 This wave will of course come to Japan. But this is a tsunami that does not even compare to the  communications and broadcast convergence 20 years ago, the net convergence of 10 years ago, or the arrival of the smart TV 5 years ago. How should Japanese broadcasting stations confront this wave?

  Actually, in Japan broadcasters who have seen the truth are deepening their research on this topic, and manufacturers are also preparing themselves for a more serious approach to sales. Even at "IPDC Forum", where I am a representative, this air is gradually seeping in.

  In the case of the convergence of communications and broadcast, the distribution of television programs on the Internet was an important factor. Now this is something we take for granted, but at one time this was considered a threat to broadcasting stations, and even discussing it was considered potentially damaging to their business model.

　This is to say nothing of the way IP conversion will rewrite the system. Even at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications roundtable meeting ten years ago, discussions were held with an "all IP era of broadcasting" in mind, but there was strong opposition from the television industry. Even from the perspective of industries involved in the expansion of the internet, it was a nuisance and a terrible prospect for the future.

  However, such changes in system technology are inevitable, and as the Internet was for the communications industry, the change will be rapid when it gets going. So let's keep an eye on the trends.