On the last day of last week's EBU Technical Assembly, the focus was on how to deliver programmes to the broadcasters' audiences. The magic single-word answer seemed to be 'hybrid '. Spectrum specialists and technology experts, on both radio and television, spoke of the hybrid revolution either underway in their areas or influencing them.
Hybrid means...
For spectrum policy and network technology, 'hybrid' may mean working together with broadband providers and network operators to provide the best of both worlds: broadcast delivery for services that everyone wants - and content-on-demand for the 'long tail' via broadband. For television, it will mean adding 'non-linear' consumption habits - especially for younger viewers. For radio, 'going hybrid' extends the audio-only experience into a 'radio plus multimedia' approach, allowing us to add visual elements such as slideshows, and adding niche Internet radio stations.
EBU Member experts on 'going hybrid'
YouTube version here
Goodbye
The Assembly finished with a session called 'goodby to broadcasting organisations?' This slightly provocative title was meant to encourage a lively discussion on the future of media. A most energetic speaker on this theme is Anthony Rose (tBone TV), also known as the 'father of the BBC iPlayer'. At the Assembly he argued the hybrid evolution will evolve the television into a platform to interact and interconnect with in ways many people do not imagine yet. You may want to call it 'beyond hybrid' or 'hybrid 2.0'.
The presentations of the Technical Assembly are available to EBU Members here.