What does New Radio and Television’s further move mean for telecom operators?

In July, the Internet TV industry has been in turmoil again. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has held talks with seven licensees twice, further emphasizing various measures to regulate the industry market. Among them, clear regulations were given on the cooperation between telecom operators and licensees in Internet TV. Licensees were required to immediately stop cooperation with telecom operators that did not meet the requirements (including disguised live broadcast services).

For telecom operators, this move does not touch their bottom line.

Telecom operators have benefited from OTT

The Internet TV industry has developed on the basis of the integration of three networks and broadband strategy. In the development of Internet TV, telecom operators have obvious advantages. First, network transmission is an indispensable part, which is the advantage of telecom operators. Second, telecom operators have abundant user channels and user resources.

In recent years, telecom operators have vigorously developed broadband services. Many urban households have network configurations of more than 4 megabits. Many households in developed areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Jiangsu have network configurations of 10 megabits or even higher. High bandwidth provides a physical basis for users to watch high-definition videos on TV. China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile (4G) and telecom operators have cooperated with Internet licensees to provide users with a new TV experience with high-definition quality. As part of the promotion of broadband services, the telecom sector has gained new users and new profit models. It is undeniable that OTT services have increased the utilization rate of bandwidth resources, increased the value-added space of broadband, and developed and promoted the channel construction of operators.

Content integration is not a strong point for telecom operators

For telecom operators that have already launched IPTV and OTTTV, independent content aggregation and content integration are not their strong points. In addition to policy constraints, TV broadcast control and content operation are themselves non-telecom professional operation systems. So far, there are not many successful content programs dominated by telecom in terms of user content experience. Therefore, handing over content operation and content integration broadcast control to content integration service providers (license holders) is a strong combination.

For telecom operators, it means optimizing and upgrading network resources and ensuring transmission, which not only improves the monetization of broadband resources but also enhances brand reputation and user satisfaction. This is an inevitable choice. At the same time, for licensees, how to integrate rich content including broadcast control and integrated services with operators to provide perfect user experience for user families should be the responsibility and important fulcrum of licensees.

According to analysis by industry observers, the recent series of regulatory actions by New Radio, Film and Television have both regulated and guaranteed the development of the two major operating and development entities of Internet TV, telecom operators and licensees. The radio, film and television system and the industry and information technology system are not in a competitive relationship, and it is not a zero-sum game. As long as each can play to its strengths and have its own profit margins and service spaces, Internet TV will certainly continue to develop greatly.

Of course, commercial websites and copycat boxes are not included.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.