Feature: The High Definition Challenge - April 2006  

Sports consulting and research company ArkSports Limited produced Sport and Technology: The Conference 2006, in association with title sponsor BT Media and Broadcast, the digital and broadcast solutions provider, on 23 February 2006 at BT Centre in London. The one-day conference (see www.sportandtechnologyconference.com) brought together key rights holders and decision makers within the sports industry to debate the issues surrounding sport and digital media and broadcasting. The following, written by Louise Williams, PhD student at the Centre for Sport and Dance Studies, Liverpool John Moores University, is an extract from the Conference’s post-event paper.

Session moderator Julian Clover, managing editor, Broadband TV News, opened the final panel discussion of Sport and Technology: The Conference 2006, by establishing with Andy Quested from BBC HD, what the BBC’s high definition (HD) plans were in terms of production and subsequent integration of sport. With the BBC having been involved in HD for over 20 years with sister broadcaster NHK, Quested explained that: “The digital route has proved better for delivering more content and more diverse ways of delivering that content, HD is just one of those ways.” In specific relation to programming, Quested suggested that “programmes with longer shelf life are far more important to get into HD earlier, programmes that will be repeated or that will be used again, are very important to have in your library when you go HD.” In direct relation to sport, Quested explained that “people will look to us to deliver the national events that they all expect us to do now, it’s important we are there and we are there at the quality of all our competitors on all of our platforms.”
Clover posed the question to Quested of production values in relation to Sky and the consequent consumer expectations of the BBC to do the same. Quested explained that if they produced all programmes in HD before anyone could see them, questions would arise in relation to what was being done with the licence fee, however as Quested continued: “similarly, when programmes like that are starting to be produced, people could turn round and say, why isn’t the licence fee giving me HD?” Quested subsequently pointed out that the audience for HD in his opinion would not be premium, but would be a rich audience who are “impassioned by technology” yet will not have HD for “one, two, or even three years.”

High Definition World Cup?

Turning attention to the upcoming FIFA World Cup later this year, Clover asked whether the UK public would be able to watch the World Cup in HD on the BBC. Quested responded: “I would like to say absolutely every platform will have full coverage, but I can’t.” In rationale, Quested raised the issue of distribution, suggesting that “We have to think about everybody and their experience of watching the World Cup.”
Quested continued: “To guarantee to see the world cup in HD, if we were going to do it, you would have to be a Sky subscriber, because they are the people who will have the boxes first, they are the people who will have the monopoly on how those boxes are installed.”
Discussion continued in relation to technological and costing issues of HD with Quested commenting on possible associated problems of HDTV. Quested explained that: “There is not enough spectrum on free view to do High Definition full stop while we are still transmitting the analogue signal. When analogue is switched off, we need to lobby for that spectrum as it will be in demand, some has to come back to the broadcaster.” Quested further illustrated problematic difficulties with live HD sport in relation to the compression that makes HD possible and the need for extra space. Quested continued to outline the BBC’s plans post world cup for a HD trial, with a full evaluation of a BBC HD service being performed to establish what the viewing public want from HD from the BBC.

Demand for coverage of HD sports?

Clover turned his attention next to Grant Parkinson of BT Media and Broadcast, enquiring whether the BT order book was full of broadcasters wanting to cover HD sports, for which Parkinson explained: “I wish it was, it’s been the opposite in fact, we have been in ‘sit and watch’ mode basically, we are driven by the requirements of the broadcasters and although it’s been a topic for years now, it’s not really moved that far forward, that far in terms of service providers such as BT.”
Despite recent involvement with Sky in trials from UK sport venues, Parkinson referred to the demand as “fragmented” with the “odd requirement for individual and specific events” over the past couple of years. With all premier league football grounds in the UK and other venues including rugby league, cricket, horse racing and football being fibered over 10 years ago (capable of handling HD subject to end kit), Clover enquired as to how ready Parkinson thought BT was to deliver HD. Parkinson explained that “our networks have enough capacity to cover HD generally speaking but the issue for us is the kit that goes onto the end of those networks.” Parkinson continued, “We can switch it on – on demand but it depends how much demand there is. We would need to purchase more kit if long term contracts came in.”

Anticipation for HD?

Casimir Knight, managing director of Chelsea Digital Media, the digital arm of English Premier League soccer club Chelsea, reiterated the general trend in discussion that HDTV is very much in “wait and see mode”. With regards benefiting consumers, Knight suggested that “it is an exciting prospect, sport can be a real driver for this technology, the end product will be more exciting and will be better for fans.” On the flip side, Knight echoed previous concerns and limitations in rolling out HDTV, stating that “there are a number of things that can slow it down whether it’s the platforms are ready for it, there is sufficient budget to drive it and indeed home consumption.”

Clover then questioned Knight as to whether levels of anticipation for HD were higher in comparison to those associated with the launch of digital, for which Knight answered: “To be honest I don’t think there probably is, we need to work with partners (i.e. technology, broadcast) and to a certain extent you can have second mirror advantage, and wait and see how the landscape develops.” Knight informed the panel that Chelsea TV has no imminent plans to go HD, but outlined two key areas of interest being, “what we do on the TV platform” and “whether with delayed rights there is interesting broadband products you could create and distribute.”

End value

Clover developed the panel to question Tom Frederikse of Clintons Solicitors in relation to where the value will end up, with the suggestion that too much value will end up with the broadcaster not the rights holders. Frederikse pointed out that: “The most interesting thing for me with HDTV is that it straddles both worlds, it’s got issues for conventional broadcasting and also for digital or new media and it impacts perhaps both of these things, we’ll see in time.” Frederikse continued to suggest that: “The key thing is that it requires a change at every level from the user up to the content provider, everybody has to up grade or change or adapt in someway, it’s a huge question of investment, we are all having a blinking game right now.”
However, Frederikse suggested that the US “probably has a healthier market on what is going on in HDTV right now.” Throughout the panel, the general consensus was that sport has to be the driver of the HD technology, which Frederikse further supported, by stating that: “The standard content industry doesn’t know what to do with HD yet, sport has got to be the driver, it has to be where all the value comes and it has obvious advantages for sport.” With regards legal issues in relation to HD, Frederikse pointed out that: “There are no specific issues for conventional broadcast – rights clearance may have a more difficult process because you can see more of the screen.”

Manufacturers will reap the benefits

As the discussion drew to a close, Clover asked the panel whether HD was going to be a “must have” technology. Frederikse responded first by posing the question of “is it must have, and is it must have at a premium?” Quested continued the discussion by suggesting that, “it’s a waiting game, but it is a game where everybody is waiting and unlike the usual gradual increase there is going to be a mass flood of requirement, of delivery, of people with HD sets wanting more and more HD content.” This led onto the discussion of the manufacturing sector, which Quested highlighted “can only gain from HDTV, they make the sets, they will sell the sets, they are supplying HD sets to everybody and guess what, they also make the stuff we have to use to distribute and make the content.”

Summary

All panellists raised the point that sport has to be the driver in HD technology and Parkinson raised the issue that “similar from when we going from 4x3 to 16x9 widescreen, I think there needs to be a period of consumer education before they are ready to take this on board.” Quested finalised with reference to delivering HD through broadband downloads, explaining that it is “one of the most exciting ways of delivering HD in the future, unfortunately not live, but HD is getting close to real time, the live bit is the issue.”

To purchase the post-ever paper and panel videos from Sport and Technology: The Conference 2006, click below:

http://www.sportandtechnologyconference.com/index.php?pageId=0048

This article was seen first by people who receive the monthly newsletter, join them.