InterBEE REVIEW2016

59/71

91This was a discussion on the current state of operators deploying channels through CS and CATV, and the new endeavors that they will be moving toward in the future. The panelists here consisted of Mr. Jun Ishizawa of FOX Network, Mr. Takayuki Kimura of Kids Station, and Mr. Hisashi Fujii who is responsible for channels such as Animax and AXN at Sony Pictures. The role of moderator was played by Mr. Yasuji Eguchi of the Yasuji Eguchi Office.First of all, Mr. Eguchi explained the main ideas of this session. Multi-channel broadcasting is now approaching the greatest time of reform since its appearance, and initiatives to examine the desired state of new paid multi-channel broadcasting have been carried out under the framework of the IPDC Forum. This session’s content included explanations of the ideas that have emerged as a result of those initiatives. Mr. Eguchi also noted that the views to be expressed were only the individual opinions of the panelists, and did not repre-sent the opinions of their respective affiliated companies.Mr. Ishizawa began by stating that rather than seeing a desolate situation for the entertainment industry, he believes that the increase in the number of screens for entertainment is instead a highly promis-ing opportunity. In response, Mr. Fujii noted the concept of “Curation TV”. This is a system by which the enormous volume of content trans-mitted by multi-channel broadcasts would be separated into program-ming “modules”, which could then be rearranged into structures recommended for customers according to their individual preferences and attributes. It is a concept by which channels would be truly “curated” to offer organized programming that would be more appeal-ing to viewers than stand-alone broadcasts.Next, Mr. Kimura explained another idea. He suggested that even if broadcasting operators were, for example, to face a declining trend, it could be possible to discover roles for broadcasting to play by coordinat-ing with the business types that have a “main” position at the time. He then described a plan for a “TV Code Platform” where broadcast opera-tors would issue codes to prove that certain programs were watched by viewers. Since the video game industry is currently flourishing, one possible application would be to coordinate with video game businesses to issue special items for use in games to people who have watched specific programs. It is conceivable that the use of such mechanisms could even bring about an increase the number of channel subscribers.With Ms. Keiko Murakami from NHK’s Broadcasting Culture Research Institute acting as moderator, members Mr. Hiroshi Saito, a central figure in the Multiscreen Broadcasting Study Group (nicknamed “Maruken”) at Mainichi Broadcasting System, Ms. Yukiko Chinone, involved in experiments on simultaneous broadcasting delivery at Tokyo Metropolitan Television Broadcasting, and Mr. Jiro Nishida from Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, an operator of the cross-stations organization, “Terebi no Mirai wo Kangaeru Kai”, were joined inexplicably by Mr. Akihiro Nishino of comedy duo “King Kong” to hold a most intriguing discussion.This segment was being delivered live as a special event on LINE LIVE by Mr. Nishida and Mr. Nishino. It opened with Ms. Murakami introducing Mr. Saito and Ms. Chinone, giving a brief presentation explaining Mr. Saito’s affilia-tion with Maruken and Ms. Chinone’s involvement with simultaneous broad-casting delivery through the MX Casting application. This was followed by Mr. Nishida and Mr. Nishino, who had been filming the event site, making their appearance and taking their seats. The LINE LIVE images of the event were also shown on screen, giving a somewhat unusual look to the discussion.Mr. Nishida spoke about the connection between “Terebi no Mirai wo Kangaeru Kai” which he organized and Mr. Nishino. He explained that Mr. Nishino’s “Pineapple Candy Project” which had been started only on a casual basis, expanded through the activities of the “Kangaeru Kai” and its partici-pation by directors of individual local stations, and asked if perhaps it was due time for the project to surpass the boundaries of television stations and become a jointly-coordinated project.Ms. Murakami then introduced and described a diagram indicating the proportion of in-house production by local stations. At a certain Osaka-based station, in-house production per 10,000 minutes of total broadcasting time amounted to 300 minutes in the Internet-based category and 2,500 minutes in the local category, with this becoming drastically lower for smaller stations. The sense of the danger faced by local stations grows even more if issues such as simultaneous television delivery on the Internet, as reported by Asahi Shimbun in October, are considered. Mr. Saito then described a new project by Maruken intended to address this issue. He explained that a mechanism currently in development would allow viewers to watch programs being delivered simultaneously with broadcasts on the upper part of a smartphone screen, while various types of information or advertisements would be trans-mitted as necessary by television stations on the lower part of the screen.After examining examples like this, Mr. Nishino was asked to offer his suggestions to local stations. From his own experiences in crowdfunding to produce a picture book, he stated that if the assembled cooperation of several thousand fans can be obtained, it is entirely possible to recover expenses. He proposed that for broadcasting as well, it would be beneficial to have customers participate in projects from their initial stages.In response to Mr. Nishino’s suggestion, Ms. Chinone stated that MX Casting can not only provide simultaneous video delivery, but also can trans-mit programs across the country independently by live distribution. When she proposed that Mr. Nishino give this an attempt, he responded that he also would like to work together to build television content from the ground up.With the unexpected inclusion of LINE LIVE elements, this session became the scene of many highly evocative and interesting state-ments. Clues to the future of local stations may be revealed in times to come by such ways of thinking that go beyond traditional scenarios.“Considering the Future of Television from the Local”Akihiro Nishino from comedy duo “King Kong” speaks about new ways of building relationships with fans?!4:10 PM-5:00 PM, Thursday, November 17th “New Development of Multi-channel Broadcasting Operators”Discussions on proposals in search of new goals for multi-channel broadcasting as it approaches a time of reform10:30 AM -11:20 AM, Friday, November 18th