The Nextv Series Europe conference, organized by Dataxis, is a prominent industry event focusing on the latest trends, innovations, and strategies in the Pay TV, Telecom, and Over-The-Top (OTT) sectors. This conference brings together global leaders from TV and streaming services, digital players, technology providers, and the broader entertainment industry to discuss the future and address the universal challenges and solutions of the OTT sector.
Aleksa Radonjić, United Cloud’s Product Manager, captivated the audience at the 2024 Nextv Series Europe in London. Sharing the stage with industry giants, including Google, ITV, Media Press, ORF, and Media Distillery, Aleksa's panels buzzed about revolutionary AI applications in the OTT and media sectors. From anti-piracy measures using logo detection to advanced recommender systems, these technologies, which United Cloud is actively developing, are poised to transform the industry. This collaboration with leaders in the field underscores the importance of partnerships in driving innovation. By integrating insights from Google and ITV, United Cloud is refining its strategies to remain at the cutting edge of AI advancements, ensuring top-tier services and improved content accessibility in the SEE markets where United Group operates, serving a combined population of over 40 million people.
We took the opportunity to talk with Aleksa and explore United Cloud's AI initiatives and industry collaborations in more depth.
q1: WHAT ARE THE GLOBAL TRENDS IN MEDIA AND BROADCASTING SERVICES?
Globally, there is a significant push towards integrating AI across various aspects of broadcasting and OTT services. Key trends include using AI for content personalization through advanced recommender systems, enhancing video quality by removing noise and compression defects, and improving user engagement with better metadata and user feedback integration. We also see an increased focus on localization with AI-driven translations, dubbing, and lip-syncing to cater to diverse audiences. As we refine AI technologies, the ability to understand and predict user preferences will improve, leading to more targeted and engaging content delivery based on industry players' ability to bring super-quality data and internal data warehouse ecosystems to life. Integrating advanced AI models will streamline content creation and distribution processes, making them more efficient and cost-effective.
q2: WHere does united cloud stand in the local market compared to other panellists?
United Cloud holds a strong position in the SEE region, with more than 1.5m STBs deployed and more than 5 million users, leading in innovation and the implementation of new technologies. These achievements show the dedication of 350 United Cloud experts working on 13 product lines from 5 development centres, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the streaming industry through our leading platform, TV 2.0, globally known under the brand EON TV.
In the 'Embark on the AI Revolution' panel, we showcased our work on anti-piracy with logo detection and the skip intro/credits feature that ITV and we in United Cloud already implemented. Our work on the development of recommender systems is in line with global players' focus on this field as well. In the 'Harvesting the power of AI' panel, we highlighted our long-standing partnerships with Google for Android TV, our initiatives in developing advanced AI models, and our collaboration with Media Press for metadata services. These partnerships and initiatives demonstrate our commitment to leveraging the best available technologies through deep alliances.
q3: What will the future bring for the streaming industry?
The future of the streaming industry will be heavily influenced by AI-driven innovation. All industry leaders stressed the need to rethink our tech stack and architecture for the new era in the world of AI. We can expect more personalized and immersive viewing experiences with AI-enhancing content recommendations, quality, and accessibility. Emphasis on data quality and infrastructure will become even more critical, ensuring that insights derived from AI are accurate and actionable.
Moreover, the development of large action models capable of executing complex tasks autonomously is a major challenge that is still overlooked by the industry. In London, we were proud to see that United Cloud is working with the biggest global players in the OTT and Telco sectors to address this challenge. These futuristic LAM concepts learn from massive behavioural datasets and can perform real-time actions based on user flows, enriching the overall user experience. We believe they are a move towards more intelligent and responsive systems.
Lastly, we are rethinking our tech stacks and business strategies, aligning them with the latest AI solutions and trends. We are constantly preparing for the new era in the global OTT arena, aiming to stay at the forefront of telco and media innovation.
