BIT Experience 2017 looks at the future of the audiovisual industry.

The programme will open with an in-depth analysis by Maria Rua Aguete, executive director of media, service providers and platforms for the consultancy IHS Markit, of the current situation of the industry, its business trends and accurate data obtained from the entire value chain, from content development to multi-platform distribution. 

Paolo Vasile, CEO of Mediaset España, will then offer a session focusing on an exchange of impressions with professionals on the success of a management model that is unique among Spanish audiovisual companies. This model is characterised by having the highest percentage of in-house productions among Spanish operators, as a result of collaboration with external and investee producers. Vasile has been heading the team that worked on the most important developments at Telecinco, now Mediaset España, since 1999, making it one of the most profitable companies in Europe and the audiovisual sector leader in Spain, Today, it includes the TV channels Telecinco, Cuatro, Factoría de Ficción, Divinity, Energy, Be Mad and Boing and their respective web sites, the on-line content platform Mitele, the domestic video channel Mtmad, the film subsidiary Telecinco Cinema, the audiovisual news agency Atlas and the advertising agency Publiespaña, among other investee companies.

But what will be the impact of the new streaming and sVOD platforms on the ruling consolidated television operators? Elena Neira (La Otra Pantalla), Roger Casas Alatriste (El Cañonazo Transmedia), Pablo Romero (Tarkinia) and Luigi Ecuba (Discovery/Eurosport) will try to answer this question in a round table. These four renowned experts will share their experiences of the growth and transformation of the media, their cutting-edge creativity, the new frontiers for the different markets and the different domestic and international distribution platforms.

The audiovisual world is looking at new frontiers that stretch far beyond its traditional boundaries. One of the fields with great potential is electronic sports or eSports. A guru from this sector, Francisco Asensi, Digital Media Stretegist for Tarkinia,will take part in a plenary session to inform the audience about the realities of an emerging activity that is predicted to bring in some €678 million this year in Spain alone, rising to €905 million in 2018 and 1,127 billion in 2019. With regard to audience levels, it is estimated that around 7.1 million users are followers of eSports in our country, with the total number of gamers exceeding 25 million.

Sonia Got, Social Media Manager for Mediaset España, will take part in a plenary session on day 4th in which she will look at the growing importance of social networks as a highly efficient tool for bringing together dynamic audiences that are interested in being part of TV content. 

The second day of Bit Experience 2017 will start out with a talk by Emili Planas, CTO of Mediapro, Spain’s leading audiovisual services group, which invests heavily in adopting the latest technologies, such as Ultra High Definition, for its productions.

The current status of Ultra High Definition and new advanced functions such as High Dynamic Range (HDR), Higher Frame Rate (HFR) and Next Generation Audio (NGA) will be the topics analysed at a round table whose participants will be Pere Vila, Director of Technology, Innovation and Systems for the RTVE Corporation; Miguel Pingarrón, Director of Business Development for SES Astra in Iberia; Fernando Muro, Product Manager for Live in South and Eastern Europe for Sony Professional Solutions Europe; Guillermo Niño, Senior Director of European Operations and Broadcasting for Dolby Laboratories, and Jorge Rodríguez, Marketing Director for Hispasat.

The demand for 4K is growing worldwide, with television sales rising by 23 por ciento over 2016, and very good prospects up to 2020. The range of content is also increasing, with new channels and more productions offered in Ultra High Definition. What is the state of the art of 4K? Is HDR really a success? How should the digital world’s value chain operate so as to make 4K a resounding success? These are just some of the questions that will be tackled by this panel of experts, which includes representatives from TV, manufacturers and satellite operators.

Another of the hot topics for the sector is the impact of digital spectrum management. The countries of the Union will reassign the 700 MHz (694-790 MHz) frequency bands to wireless broadband services starting in 2020, reserving the 470-694 MHz band for radio broadcasts at least until 2030.  

What impact will this new division have on the production and broadcast industry? What interventions will there need to be? What role will it play in the future in communications and the development of alternative distribution platforms? These are some of the topics to be tackled in a round table by Luis Sahún (SES), Miguel Ángel García Argüelles (FENITEL), the consultant Eladio Gutiérrez and the lawyers Alejandro Touriño (Écija Abogados) and José Manuel Villar (Villar Arregui Abogados).

In addition, Mark Harrison, CEO of the international alliance of media and broadcasting companies, Digital Production Partnership (DPP), will take part in a plenary session of BIT Experience 2017. Everyone knows that changes in consumer behaviour are transforming the mass media market. But do we really understand the implications of these dramatic changes? In his presentation, which will surely lead to great debate, Harrison will give his view of how, rather than evolution, the media industry is facing disruption, due to the change in the way users consume content. This disruption will also mean a change in the way content is produced, managed and distributed.

The plenary sessions of BIT Experience 2017 will end on 5th with the director general of the Commercial Television Union (UTECA).

Workshops

BIT Experience has also scheduled some twenty workshops at which different aspects of audiovisual technology for a high-profile audience will be tackled from a highly practical point of view. The topics include the automatic cataloguing and subtitling of content; the new Ultra High Definition and High Range Dynamic (HDR) work flows; the distribution over the Internet of direct, low-demand channels; Internet transfer of large media files; new IP-based intercommunication technologies; direct production solutions using IP environments; the use of augmented reality in television; connected television using the HbbTV standard; the intake and reproduction of content with an open architecture; production of on-line and TV news broadcasts; and contribution over 3G and 4G mobile networks. 

In another workshop, Javier Lasa, multimedia and mobility director for the PRISA Group, will present the new audio and video multimedia platform, El País HD. Developed as a collaboration, this platform is designed to improve the production and distribution of audiovisual content so that it meets the audience’s needs as identified in real time.

Antonio Tablero, engineering director at Fox FNG Europe, will coordinate an workshop showing how to get the most out of the power of the world's biggest and fastest content delivery networks in order to provide an exceptional digital experience. 

Álvaro Llorente Gómez, from the E.T.S.I. Visual Telecommunications Application Group at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, will host another workshop, giving details on the first direct 4K and HDR production in Spain, which was made for the changing of the Royal Guard at the Royal Palace in Madrid and rebroadcast by Televisión Española. 

BIT Experience is sponsored by Aicox, Etiqmedia, Harmonic, SES and Sony (diamond); Akamai, Aspera, Cellnex, Hispasat, Intinor, Riedel, Rohde&Schwarz and TMediaT (gold); Ebantic, Tedial and VHD (silver).

Additional notes

IFEMA is the leading Trade Fair organiser in Spain, and one of the most important in Europe, with over three and a half decades of experience and a portfolio of 80 annual specialist Trade Fairs in the main economic and productive sectors. Among its top events is the biennial Show dedicated to audiovisual technology, BIT (held on even years), and the broadcasting and new media experts summit, BIT Experience (odd years).

PANORAMA AUDIOVISUAL is the benchmark publication for broadcasting, film and new media professionals. With over 529,000 unique users and 1.37 million pages visited each year, it offers independent, thorough and up-to-the-minute information, stealing a march on the news and the most innovative trends in the business. Since its inception in (2009) it has been a media partner of IFEMA at BIT and BIT Experience.

COMUNICARE DIGITALE is a leading association in Italy and Europe in the promotion and maximisation of the new digital broadcasting technologies such as UHD / 4K, HbbTV, DVB-T2, DTT, OTT, Connect TV, 3D, etc. It specialises in the organisation of specific awareness-raising activities and promotions, such as events, conferences, meetings, workshops, training courses, etc., thanks to its deep knowledge of the digital industry and the opportunities that exist in Europe.

For more information: 

Ana Uruñuela

IFEMA Press:

34 917225093

anau@ifema.es