David Crawford, MD of Arqiva, presented a discussion with the interesting title of ‘King Cnut; John Logie Baird; Ken Olsen; Netflix”, where he discussed the lessons that must be learned from other industries. “Where the money is made tomorrow won’t necessarily be the same as it is today,” he said.
King Cnut (a historic English king) famously tried to command the tide to stop. The tides of change are inexorable, said Crawford, but they almost always lead to opportunities. Baird, meanwhile, is credited as the inventor of the television: a device that has evolved over time. Companies are also constantly evolving: Crawford pointed to Netflix as a good example.
It is important to know what market we operate in. Blockbuster, a video rental company, failed in part because it tried to define itself as a retailer, when it was really in entertainment. Crawford said that, in the late 90s, Netflix began as a DVD-by-mail service, in much the same way that Blockbuster operated. The company offered itself for sale to Blockbuster twice, but was turned down. It then entered the streaming market in 2006/07. Blockbuster, focusing on the retail experience, missed this opportunity.
Media solutions over the next decade will be hybrid types, said Crawford. We are already seeing these appearing with Freeview Play, Sky Q and Now TV. People that Arqiva has talked to, say that IP margins today are significantly lower than DTH and DTT; however, the solution will be there.
An audience member asked if Arqiva’s hybrid investments are paying off, or if the company is “just treading water”. Crawford said that Arqiva has enjoyed annual revenue growth for the last five years. YouView now has over 2 million subscribers, and Freeview Play had a successful launch.
Another question concerned 5G – will it do all that is promised? The technology is very good for cities and built-up areas, because it is high frequency: powerful but with a short range. To cover London alone would need as many as half a million small cell sites. It is not a solution for everything.
A member of the 5G Innovation Centre, who was in the audience, cut in at this point. He said that 5G is not simply a short-range (millimetre wave) technology; it can, in fact, be used over long ranges as well.
