Why it matters: Operators, ad-providers and content creators are accelerating their efforts to establish blockchain as a secure, authenticated, multi-user system for distribution and payments.
Close
Editor's Note: Welcome to NewBay's inaugural edition of Need to Know, where we explain complex topics and how they apply to each industry we serve, on our websites and in our magazines. Keep coming back for future topics, to include 5G, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and more.
Blockchain enthusiasts expect 2018 to be a breakthrough year in media and advertising, despite offering differing definitions of what, precisely, blockchain is.
Digital distribution and advertising payments are expected to be the runaway applications for the new secure technology, and fervent promoters use an almost-identical mantra about the evolution process en route to widespread adoption of blockchain in the media sector: "Its where the Internet was in the late 90s."
Blockchain technology, a complex topic simply explained, is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value, according to Don & Alex Tapscott, authors of Blockchain Revolution.
Find out more about blockchain.
But if theres a 20-year timeframe until maturity, whats fueling todays blockchain frenzy? In part, the intense focus and confusion stems from the unfathomable huge price swings at Bitcoin, which uses blockchain as its underlying technology.
Steve Goeringer, principal security architect at Cable TV Laboratories who has followed blockchain development and written a seminal paper for CableLabs on the topic, acknowledges that the Cable industrys interest in blockchain and similar solutions seems to be increasing even as cryptocurrencies continue to run into a variety of challenges."
Beyond the Bitcoin curiosity, Goeringer told Broadcasting & Cable, the growing interest in blockchain comes "because some use cases are becoming clearly attractive."
"Two examples are managing and providing transparency for user privacy and Internet of Things security management and orchestration," he said, citing projects that are high on many operators agenda. But he acknowledged that the visible Bitcoin price (which has fluctuated from more than $19,000 on Jan. 1 to less than $7,000 in early February) has made "established companies very mindful of risks and so their blockchain activities will be pursued quietly.
Details about cable's blockchain agenda have been emerging slowly. Last summer, Comcast's Advanced Advertising Group said it would launch a Blockchain Insights Platform in 2018. Comcast hasn't revealed a lot of details about what's to come, but Marcien Jenckes, president of advertising at Comcast Cable, said in a CES panel in January that the partnership will pave the way for multiple parties tap into pools of different data that can help to garner key insights that can help target ads to the right audience. Comcast is also working on a way to use blockchain techniques in the connected home in a way that safely provides customers a way to grant and revoke access to their IoT devices and smart home applications.
CableLabs and others have acknowledged several blockchain-facing explorations are underway. Programmers appear to be less involved in blockchain planning now, according to sources.
The advertising technology sector and the video streaming category have been abuzz with blockchain plans.
Many analysts point to the ad-tech values, especially cutting out the estimated 75% of ad spending which is lost through fraud or goes to duplicative middlemen. Hence, the ad-tech industrys deep dive into blockchain solutions.
Barbara Bellafiore, principal consultant at Bell Communications, a Connecticut firm that advises media, ecommerce and technology clients about use of this evolving technology, compares todays blockchain situation to the "walled gardens" in the early phases of the online industry (think of services like Prodigy or the original America Online).
"In order to make blockchain work in media, we have to figure out how to connect everyone," Bellafiore explains. "The idea of putting a central control over it all is antithetical to the concept," she adds, citing the migration from walled gardens to openly accessible Web sites in the late 1990s.
Seth Shapiro, head of strategy at VideoCoin, insists that despite all the hype, blockchain really does present significant ways to make the entertainment industry more efficient, transparent, and profitable."
"It will also open up creative opportunities we're just beginning to see. We will see a small group of blockchain companies emerge and rewrite the rules," Shapiro adds, comparing it to the situation when Netflix, Amazon and Apple faced off against "networks, studios and MVPDs [who] generally disbelieved that the Internet and broadband represented a threat to the status quo."
At a blockchain session during last months State of the Net conference in Washington, Mercina Tillemann-Dick, chief operating officer of the Global Blockchain Business Council, said she expects that, "Over the next decade, blockchain will fundamentally alter many of the systems that power everyday life." She said that companies worldwide "are very excited about it, but they want regulatory clarity."
For now, though, she and other panelists emphasized that "the biggest thing inhibiting progress is the lack of information."
Need to Know More?Have a burning question about blockchain or maybe request for a different topic you'd like to see us tackle? Email us at needtoknow@nbmedia.com and we'll put our top minds on it!
More from NewBay on blockchain:
Blockchain and Television [TV Technology]
Blockchain and Retail [TWICE]
Blockchain and Video Production [Crea
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
Why it matters: Operators, ad-providers and content creators are accelerating their efforts to establish blockchain as a secure, authenticated, multi-user system for distribution and payments. 
