Canalys unveils new Digital Content Analysis service

Canalys today announced the launch of its Digital Content Analysis Worldwide service. The service focuses on the delivery of multimedia content to consumers, assessing the platforms, business models and strategies needed to succeed in this fast-changing market. It brings together the resources and expertise of two existing Canalys services, which have been providing intelligence across the digital entertainment and IPTV markets for several years. These services analysed the market from two very different perspectives, with one looking at consumer adoption of digital services, while the other considered the infrastructure requirements of service providers deploying IPTV solutions. The decision to develop a single service providing an holistic view across the content delivery ecosystem comes in response to both client demand and industry-wide developments. With ongoing convergence across the broadcast, online and telecoms markets, looking at issues in isolation is no longer viable.

“Consumers are spoilt for choice when it comes to accessing multimedia content,” said Adrian Drozd, Canalys senior analyst and head of the service. “Content is being delivered via a seemingly ever-increasing range of platforms, giving end users more choice than ever before and providing companies targeting the sector with new revenue opportunities,” Drozd continued. “But new opportunities also bring fresh challenges, with competition coming from many angles. Content providers need to consider which distribution platforms to focus their time and resources on to keep pace with more progressive rivals and steal a march on the industry laggards.”

With so many potential business models and routes to market to choose from, deciding which activities warrant investment and which should be put on the backburner can be a daunting task. Canalys’ new Digital Content Analysis Worldwide service considers the issues facing service providers, content owners and technology vendors targeting opportunities across the sector, offering continuous analysis and insight to aid business planning and highlight revenue-generating opportunities.

“By bringing together the knowledge we have across the fields of digital entertainment and IPTV we can provide clients with a view that spans the entire content delivery value chain – now all via a single advisory service,” explained Drozd.

The delicate balance between generating revenue from content-related services and ensuring that they remain attractive to consumers is a major challenge. “Piracy remains a significant problem – unless content is easy to access and available at a reasonable cost, many consumers will continue to use illegal means to obtain it,” said Drozd. “Therefore, the business models employed need to be appropriate for the type of content and the platform over which they are delivered. For example, while subscription-based services have served the pay-TV market well, such an approach may not necessarily translate into the online arena, where flexibility and immediacy are essential.”

The Digital Content Analysis Worldwide service offers insight into topical issues, such as broadcasters’ online video strategies, advertising-supported online content services, the impact of regulation and the net neutrality debate. It provides information on market sizing and key trends, and analysis of the market’s top service providers and vendors. Key deliverables of the service include a series of issue-led reports, market sizing databases, content service provider profiles and unlimited analyst enquiry, enabling clients to explore their specific areas of interest in greater depth. Quarterly trends presentations, results from ongoing consumer surveys, and fast analysis of major industry developments via timely ‘Pulse’ reports are also provided as part of the service.

About Canalys

Canalys specialises in delivering high quality market data, analysis and advice to the world’s leading technology vendors. It is recognised as a key provider of continuous advisory services and confidential custom projects for marketing managers and strategists within blue-chip IT, telecoms, navigation and consumer electronics companies. It has unrivalled expertise in routes to market for all kinds of high technology products and services in the consumer, SMB and large enterprise segments, and provides worldwide market data and trends analysis.

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