Here\u2019s a wrap-up of just a few highlights and takeaways that were seen and heard on Day 2 at StreamTV Europe in Lisbon. A few things that caught our ear included conversations and panel sessions shed light on local originals that travel, shortening the time to content, the importance of metadata and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Local originals that travel<\/p>\n
A thread heard throughout the show so far has been the power and love of local content across EMEA. However, while market-distinct content from broadcasters and production houses resonates with domestic audiences, with the right topic, cast and story, strong content can travel across borders, and some in Europe are looking for ways to expand for broader impact \u2013 although it\u2019s not necessarily an easy task.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Subs and dubs\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sky Entertainment Group has operations and relationships with arms in multiple markets including UK and Italy. During a leaders\u2019 roundtable session, Caroline Cooper, COO of Sky Entertainment noted that traditionally, there\u2019s been subtitles for local content that\u2019s offered in different regions, as people also do like to learn about other cultures.<\/p>\n
She used the example of Sky Italia\u2019s Gomorrah, categorized as a very \u201cauthentic Italian\u201d show, that was a success, but where subtitles were crucial for initial viewing as it was distributed more broadly so that people in other places could understand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was one that actually worked really well in the UK,\u201d and other parts of the world.<\/p>\n
Marion Rathman, Group VP Content & Programming Network at Warner Bros. Discovery, meanwhile noted that for Germany, \u201cit\u2019s still crucial\u201d to have lip-synced dubbing, particularly on linear networks where audiences are quite a bit older \u2013 whereas younger people are used to subtitled content on mobile and YouTube.<\/p>\n
And while Cooper noted that in the UK, traditionally Sky Entertainment has had subtitles on its foreign-language content, with the advent of streaming services that allow users a lot more options and the ability to toggle between language dubs and subtitles, they\u2019re now experimenting with bringing dubbed versions to some Italian shows<\/p>\n
With the localization of content plenty of AI-powered dubbing providers have cropped up and she cited \u201csome quite cool AI tech\u201d that not only dubs but allows one to manipulate the characters\u2019 lips on-screen for a more seamless viewing experience and improves on historical criticisms of legacy UK dubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Currently the company\u2019s \u201chaving a crack at it\u201d and while results aren\u2019t back yet, if it works, \u201cit\u2019ll be on Sky.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The aim of introducing advanced dubbing is mainly about choice, per Cooper \u2013 where some prefer subtitles and others like dubbed content, and Sky wants to cater to both in the same way streamers do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
AI-powered dubbing is something Beta Film, an acquirer content and international distributor of premium scripted content, is \u201cmonitoring very, very closely,\u201d according to Andreas Khevenh\u00fcller, VP of International Sales & Acquisitions at\u00a0<\/strong>the company \u2013 but one where he said it comes down to a question of quality standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s because classic linear broadcasters are used to very high ones on the quality front, \u201cso not every AI dub or subtitled show is suitable to this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to find a way to cater to the streamers, FAST channels, or even online platforms where this is possible, but at the same time keeping our very high, demanding quality standards for certain players in the field,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Finding paths in commercially challenged environments<\/p>\n In terms of premium content that travels and Sky produces, Cooper noted that most shows need international financing and Sky has in-house capabilities where it can take on the risk before it shops a show, in a model that\u2019s been successful for the company. But for certain productions looks for partners to co-produce with when they think there\u2019s an obvious angle for a European or American broadcaster to get involved earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n One she\u2019s particularly excited for is an upcoming series called War, commissioned for two seasons and done in co-production with Warner Brother Discovery\u2019s HBO.<\/p>\n WBD\u2019s Rathman said she loves co-productions, as it\u2019s a more affordable way to have TV shows for channels, but acknowledged it\u2019s not always easy to find topics and casts for shows that can resonate and travel across multiple regions. She cited Euro Truckers as one success example, which was co-produced with UK, Netherlands, Italy and Germany \u2013 with casts chosen in each market and the costs were shared.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really makes sense and the show performs in all territories,\u201d Rathman said, adding you need to have people on the ground in each region that truly understand the culture.<\/p>\n On that front Jose Fragoso, Program Director, at public Portugal radio and TV broadcaster RTP\u00a0<\/strong>noted that beyond financing, talent experience including for artistic moments is vital for co-productions that are meant to deliver content that can cross borders.\u00a0<\/p>\n For Khevenh\u00fcller, from a content distribution perspective, \u201cwe believe authenticity drives universality,\u201d when it comes to local originals that make a global impact. Meaning another Gomorrah is out there \u2013 but it\u2019s a matter of finding the right territories where it\u2019s being produced, which is a bit tricky and like \u201chunting for\u2026the next truffle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sports and using a multi-platform distribution approach<\/p>\n Bringing local and live sports to wider audiences in new markets and across different platforms has been another topic of discussion, where platforms are eager to carry the premium content and leagues are finding new forms of distribution and engagement.<\/p>\n Multiple sessions throughout StreamTV Europe have indicated the future of sports is going to be a mix of live broadcasts and social engagement –\u00a0 where short-form content like highlights, clips and athlete-focused stories can help foster fandoms with younger generations that are already on those platforms.<\/p>\n And some are taking premium content to free streaming via FAST like German soccer (or football) league Bundesliga.<\/p>\n Taking Bundesliga football out of Germany, ramping up live sports on FAST with Samsung TV Plus<\/p>\n One discussion moderated by Wurl CEO Dave Bernath focused on Bundesliga International and the addition of live matches to free ad-supported streaming platform Samsung TV Plus.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are a few highlights of the session, the league\u2019s approach, and how smart TV maker and TVOS player Samsung sees sports impacting its own FAST service\u00a0<\/p>\n FAST gets into live sports action<\/p>\n According to Berangere Degni-Reze, Head of Samsung TV Plus in Europe, sports has become one of the top-performing genres on the service. Previously FAST was often seen as a good place for archive content, but now with over 180 sports channels launched in the region, 80% of them include live content.<\/p>\n Multiple partnerships, platforms<\/p>\n Henning Brinkmann, Head of EMEA Audiovisual Rights, Bundesliga International Gmbh, discussed seeing what kind of partnerships could happen in a number of countries around the world as he seeks to expand the German league outside of the country.<\/p>\n A renewal with Sky served as a partner that can bring both traditional linear and digital reach across the broadcaster\u2019s ecosystem, but the league still saw opportunity to grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among other avenues that came about include the live league matches every Friday evening on Samsung TV Plus, with the channel exclusively on that platform in the UK, alongside three YouTube Channels.<\/p>\n And like we\u2019ve heard in multiple conversations throughout the week, Bundesliga is leveraging a mix of traditional and new modes to engage \u2013 including working with content creators for watch parties and traditional partners like with BBC iPlayer. The league is also going into a new model with pay-per-view on Amazon<\/a> for Sunday night matches in the UK.\u00a0<\/p>\n So far so good, programming for 24\/7<\/p>\n Without sharing specific stats Brinkmann said he\u2019s very happy with the success of the channel so far, which ranks in the top 3 among sports channels on TV Plus and in the 25 across all available channels on the FAST platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since FAST only gets Friday evening live matches, the league needs to think about programming 24\/7 for the free streaming service with shoulder and archive content so it can understand what\u2019s resonating well.<\/p>\n Right now it\u2019s in the \u201cvalidation case\u201d stage, but \u201cearly results prove us right,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Metadata, the underappreciated element<\/p>\n As broadcasters, content owners and distributors work to build platforms and drive consumption (alongside monetization) one of the underappreciated but increasingly important elements is metadata.\u00a0<\/p>\n During a Tuesday session about broadcasters\u2019 transformation to digital platforms, Kasia Jablonska, Director of Digital and On-Demand for EMEA at BBC Studios, commented on building an enterprise-level data platform and working to not only collect data but turn it into actionable insights to ultimately help drive visibility of content and for partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n A \u201chuge element for us\u201d is also \u201cthe metadata,\u201d she said. But thinks it\u2019s one that\u2019s \u201chighly unappreciated\u201d in the sense of how it helps drive discovery and consumption of content.\u00a0<\/p>\n Particularly how certain types of tagging impacts how content shows up on the home screen if its curated versus algorithm-driven, and the key placements \u201cto ensure your content gets in front of the audiences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And enriched metadata can mean impacts for personalization when it comes to seemingly small things like a title card where changes in actor or mood shown can make an impact on whether or not it\u2019s surfaced or chosen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Pedro Landeiro, Deputy Director Digital Services, RTP also pointed to metadata and a current need for more\u00a0 \u2013 as historically broadcasting didn\u2019t need a ton when it came to traditional linear channels and EPGs. But in the shift to streaming and DTC platforms, it requires another level of metadata and granular insights into the content.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shortening the time to get to content<\/p>\n Shortening the time it takes users to get to content is one thing multiple stakeholders appear to be aiming for.<\/p>\n In a session discussing product roadmaps for CTV personalization, Akash Tyagi, Head of Product, Live TV and FAST at Roku zeroed in on this factor, saying the KPI the CTV platform wants to improve most by next year \u201cis time to content\u201d \u2013 and ensuring what\u2019s relevant is visible and upfront as quickly as possible for the viewer.<\/p>\n While content overload and choice fatigue is a real thing, sometimes viewers already know where they want to go when they power on the TV set. And in those cases, Sarah Milton, Chief Product Officer of UK public service broadcaster joint venture Everyone TV, said the \u201cUX just needs to get out of the way and let them go where they want to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n She also believes the industry needs to recognize the TV experience is as much a household one as it is individual. And looking ahead wants more human ways of describing content and to introduce more natural ways of search and discovery to help people get to the content they want to watch, which also helps shorten the time to content.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And here the importance of metadata comes back again. As Landeiro said one of RTP\u2019s biggest focuses is around AI and the company is already internally testing AI agents \u201cto get enriched metadata from video and audio to understand the content, to fully grasp what it\u2019s about.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWith that, I think we can transform the platform and make it thinner and more transparent and with less barriers,\u201d he said, which can also lead to and underpin user-facing AI agents that can have those types of two-way discussions about the content to the consumers\u2019 benefit.\u00a0<\/p>\n (Read here for our previous coverage on the so-called CTV \u201cconversation layer\u201d<\/a>, the rise in AI chatbot use<\/a> and how Gracenote\u2019s metadata is helping to ground LLM-based AI content search and discovery).<\/p>\n For Everyone TV\u2019s Milton, a big focus for 2026 is broadcasters remembering their content is still beloved and incredibly popular among UK audiences.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is not demand, it\u2019s discoverability,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd part of that is going where the audience is.\u201d issue isn\u2019t demand, it\u2019s discoverability,\u201d she said of UK broadcaster content.<\/p>\n \u00a0She advised those broadcasters in the industry to be bold, try collaborating with video platforms like YouTube, but not to rely on it \u2013 instead, position themselves as great partners, collaborators and \u201cbuild your own future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s a wrap-up of just a few highlights and takeaways that were seen and heard on Day 2…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894264,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5174],"tags":[11480,62886,8745,252417,252418,252420,2000,299,5187,252416,252419,252414,252413,252415,252411,252412,80878,53],"class_list":["post-894263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-eu","tag-artificial-intelligence-ai","tag-broadcast-television","tag-content","tag-content-discovery","tag-content-production","tag-dubbing","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-live-sports","tag-local-content","tag-metadata","tag-original-content","tag-sports-streaming","tag-streamtv-europe","tag-streamtv-europe-spotlight","tag-streamtv-insider-homepage","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116405195736307677","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894263","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894263"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894263\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}