Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

YouView in the News; PCMAG AND SEENIT

24/01/2018

YouView CEO Richard Halton on how the cloud and Alexa will change TV

Read the PCMag Article here here.

YouView's had a quiet but steady rise since its launch in 2012. Live in almost 3 million UK homes, the connected TV platform blended digital terrestrial TV with online catch up years before Freeview did, giving people a taste of the pay TV experience without needing a contract.

Well, in theory anyway; the majority of those 3m boxes are ones bundled with BT TV and TalkTalk TV packages, but if you wanted a contract free experience, there's nothing stopping you from getting a YouView box SIM free'.

Last week the company announced that updates to its various boxes would now be forked, with the likes of BT, TalkTalk and Plusnet taking a more hands-on role in terms of rolling out updates in tandem with the unbranded vanilla YouView hardware not unlike how Android updates are handled by Google and the various OEMs.

Before that, YouView announced that it was one of three worldwide TV platforms to collaborate with Amazon on Video Skills for its wildly popular voice assistant, Alexa and before that, the company had finished updating all set-top boxes to a new cloud-powered interface.

PC Mag UK caught up with YouView's CEO Richard Halton to see how the work with Amazon was progressing, ask how being able to talk to your TV might change things besides setting recordings, as well as expand on points he made in McMedia - new dogs learn old tricks?, republished here with permission.

We also talked about GDPR, what a cloud-powered UI means for us viewers and that age-old question when will Amazon Prime Video come to YouView?

One thing I wanted to ask you about off the bat is Alexa and your work with Amazon. It was announced a while ago and the potential for that to change everything is obviously massive. In your McMedia article, you talk about advertising and virtual partnerships. As well as Alexa letting people set recordings by essentially talking to their TV, will this help power things like recommendations?

Yes. If you start a step further back, and think about Alexa in the context of what YouView is, because I think that's probably relevant and it'll help you with your questions about what we put on the forums [about software updates across the YouView platform].

If you think about YouView as a connected TV platform and what it is, clearly from a consumer point of view, it's what you see on a TV screen, it's a user interface. But actually, with the next gen update, YouView's more powerfully a sort of back end. It's the cloud piece that's powerful and it's powerful for a couple of reasons. One is that we host the metadata that describes all of the content on the service, be that BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Netflix, BT, TalkTalk, Now TV that's an extraordinary repository of information about content in terms of titles, characters and so on.

That's been there since day one of YouView; it's now hosted in the cloud. That's powerful, because when you introduce new concepts like voice search, the first problem that most people have is, certainly with respect to TV, is Hang on, we don't have the metadata.' It's not easy to access. It's very hard to bring new interfaces into play.

So for us voice is a natural extension of what we do already, because it plays to our natural strengths, the fact that we have aggregated metadata sat behind everything.

From our point of view, how that then is populated on a UI, or any surface through voice, or whatever else is interesting, is constantly changing. But the infrastructure bit, the hard bit is done and up to date.

So this is really the icing on the cake, in terms of accessing content.

Yeah, and it sort of depends as to your view of how important voice is going to be. If you were at CES, you might have Google and Amazon fight a kind of media strategy where Google spent tens of millions of pounds on display advertising, just in Vegas, just over the five days of the show. The last display campaign we did for YouView was in the low single figure millions for a two month national campaign. And they managed to blow $30-40m in one week in one city!

It's a shame the power went out then

Exactly! So, they've clearly decided, this is an important battle between them and Amazon, they clearly believe that voice is important. Where we are on that, two or three years ago, I was quite negative about voice. It was something that I always thought was always a little bit over-hyped. It was actually when we played with the first Alexa device the whole team was like [snaps fingers] This is it. This is the game-changing moment.'

Whether that then becomes how five, ten or fifty percent of people control their TV experience is another thing, we'll have to wait and see.

If you're Google and Amazon, you're probably going to see this as the equivalent of the browser wars of the late 90s, you know there's going to be a Netscape, an AOL, a Yahoo, and it looks like they've decided that they're going to carve it up between the two of them. So strategically for us, it was important to go early with voice, because it does feel like a new frontier for control. Again, we've got the infrastructure that allows us to do it. And to your earlier point, actually it allows you to do some very cool things that are quite hard to do with a remote control and a shared screen, i.e. personalisation.

That's always been one of the problems facing broadcasters and content curators: Who is watching? You can have separate logins with Netflix, which is fine for a personal device, but TVs are generally not personal.

Sure. And logging in and out of profiles is sub-optimal. Who wants to log in to anything, even if it's just clicking a picture. And more often than not, there&
LINK: https://www.youview.com/2018/01/24/youview-news-pcmag-seenit/...
See more stories from youview

Most recent headlines

17/02/2025

How BBC Wales returned live to 1985

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

Film studio tax relief programme gets underway in England

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

Empowering progress from within

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 Lends 125 Million To Finance SES's Medium Earth Orbit Satellites

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

Nielsen's Business Resource Groups celebrate inclusion with BRinG It! Campaign

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

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 Expands Into Argentina and Uruguay With EQUAPHON

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 Adds to Sales and Marketing Teams

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 brings media-optimized SMB technology to NAB Show...

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 Report Ad Insertion Tops Streaming Challenges a...

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

Oberc Lights Michelin-Star Hotel Guide Promo with DoPchoi...

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 Supercharges Fan Experience with AI-Driven High...

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 is Now AgileTV

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 to Promote Latest-Generation Satellite Communicat...

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

DoPchoice Debuts Airglow Float - Inflatable Round Topligh...

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

Marshall to Debut RCP Plus Controller at 2025 NAB Show

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

Gray Media Names Blake Sebo GM of Stations in Anchorage, Alaska

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

DPA Microphones To Introduce CORE+ Technology at NAB Show

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

QuickLink To Unveil StudioPro-NDI, StudioPro-3 at 2025 NAB Show

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 For Final Production

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

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

Spotify's Partner Program Helps Creators Increase Revenue and Consumption of Video Podcasts

Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...

14/02/2025

Four Ways L3Harris Targeting and Sensor Systems are Defining the Future of Land Missions

The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...

14/02/2025

ISE 2025: 5 Reasons to Join Calrec at ISE

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

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

Tegna Inks Deal for Dallas Wings Broadcasts

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

Prime Video Makes Significant Upgrades to Its Apple TV App

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

Telos Alliance To Showcase Quasar V3.2 AoIP Software at NAB Show

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 Puget Bench for Creators

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

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

Paramount, Youtube TV Avoid Channel Blackout, Will Continue Negotiations

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

Stop-motion triumph

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 appoints Jim Akimchuk as CEO

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

Arena TV liquidators dismiss banks' defence as unsustainable'

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

YouTube TV Likely To Drop Paramount Channels Today

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

LG Opens Its First Virtual Production Studio

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

CIMM, TVB Release Local TV and Video Innovation Showcase

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

U.S. Senators Blast Weaponization of FCC' Against Broadcasters

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

The Apple TV App Comes to Android

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

Red Adds Nikon Z Mount To V-RAPTOR [X], KOMODO-X Camera Systems

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

Fox Sports Revs Up for Daytona 500 With New NASCAR Deal, Some New Tech

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

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 Season

2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...

14/02/2025

VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2.6 Million for Demining in Ukraine

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 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

110 Years of Love in Every Frame: A Technicolor Celebration of Romance

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

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 Features in Year 4

LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...