Worldwide spending on telecommunications and pay TV services will be nearly $1.6 trillion in 2022, representing a year-over-year increase of 1.9%, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Telecom Services Tracker.

Parks Associates’ recent consumer research finds that 83% of US internet households now subscribe to at least one OTT service, while 45% still subscribe to the traditional linear pay-TV service model. The firm’s new whitepaper, Engaging Next-Gen Video Viewers: Leveraging AI and ML, developed in partnership with FPT Software, addresses the increased use of video services, content preferences, discovery challenges, and the role of bundles.

More and more people are leaving cable and satellite television (TV) offerings behind and fully embracing streaming alternatives for their daily entertainment. However, the powerful legacy that TV left is undeniably shaping the future of streaming services. In fact, multiple streaming providers are turning their platforms into hybrid services that combine classic streaming with some characteristic aspects of traditional TV.

Cyberthreats and IT governance are top risk areas for internal auditors to address in their audit plans for 2023, according to Gartner, Inc. The Gartner 2023 Audit Plan Hot Spots Report identifies the top 12 risk focus areas for Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) to help them identify risks to their organizations and plan audit coverage for the coming year.

An exciting and fast-moving Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) market is on the horizon that will bring novel content types and usage scenarios. To support that, networks and connectivity technologies grow in pure bandwidth capabilities and Mixed Reality (XR)-friendly capabilities like latency, network handoff, and slicing. According to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, 30% of total augmented reality shipments, and 23% of VR shipments will include cellular connectivity by 2027.

Omdia’s latest Display long-term demand forecast tracker indicates that area demand for displays in 2023 will grow by 6.2% year-on-year (YoY). With softened inflation and slowing interest rate hikes, plummeting demand has bottomed out, thereby making way for a rebound to normalization in demand by the second half of 2023.

The workload driving the largest share of enterprise IT infrastructure spending in the first half of 2022 (1H22) was Structured Databases/Data Management, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Semiannual Enterprise Infrastructure Tracker: Workloads.

CIOs and IT leaders must take action to accelerate time to value and drive top- and bottom-line financial impacts from digital investments, according to Gartner, Inc.’s annual global survey of CIOs and technology executives.

FOMO. Analysis paralysis. Content, content everywhere, but not a choice to pick. While we may truly be living in a golden age of exceptional content, the sheer volume of offerings spread out among a dizzying array of providers has created a new universally shared experience: selection frustration.

It is an emotion that is playing itself out on both the supply and demand side of the equation, according to Chris Ambrozic, vice president and general manager, Discovery for TiVo, a division of Xperi Inc.

The last two years accelerated Information Technology (IT) trends that were already underway: rapid increase in the adoption of cloud, multi-cloud, and internet of things (IoT); a smarter edge for use cases such as modern retail, healthcare, and manufacturing; and a distributed workforce, where employees can be anywhere. Software-defined (SD) WAN technology eliminates the traditional WAN connectivity challenges associated with distributed enterprise applications and IoT devices that held back this acceleration.

Despite the popular belief that organizations derive value from artificial intelligence (AI) at the expense of the individuals they employ, and that AI-powered automation can lead to the displacement of workers, 60% of employees view AI as a coworker and not a job threat. Furthermore, organizations with employees who derive value from AI are 5.9 times as likely to see significant financial benefits from it than organizations where employees do not get value from AI, according to a report from MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) being released today.

The growing popularity of Connected TV (CTV) among consumers has created a significant challenge for linear content marketers striving to maximize viewership -- and financial performance -- of high-priority programming. It is prompting senior executives in the content distribution industry to explore, develop and deploy new strategies that capture the attention of targeted consumers -- regardless of the platforms used to enjoy digital entertainment.

As a result, significant strategic attention is being focused on specific initiatives to leverage CTV’s reach by utilizing emerging technologies -- including machine learning -- to better target appropriate audiences, according to Laura Stinnett, VP of Advanced TV Advertising at TiVo, in a podcast interview for journalists.

It is not only possible to simultaneously support the production and distribution of standard dynamic range (SDR) and high dynamic range (HDR) without compromising the integrity of live- and post-production content, but provable using technologies and production techniques available in the market.

This is the central conclusion of a white paper entitled "HDR Production – Tone Mapping Techniques and Related Round-trip Performances for Both SDR and HDR Sources Mastering," presented at the 2022 SMPTE Media Technology Summit by David Touzé, System Architect for Research and Engineering at InterDigital. He offers objective metrics that prove how the conversion from SDR to HDR and back to SDR can be executed while preserving the integrity of the original formats.

No stranger to addressing the challenges associated with managing video traffic, most of the major news brands serving tier-1 media markets in the broadcast sector have made the switch away from RF technologies to adopt IPTV. There is, however, a significant opportunity for broadcasters in smaller media markets to follow suit to take advantage of the technical benefits and cost reduction associated with making the shift.

Worldwide end-user spending on public cloud services is forecast to grow 20.7% to total $591.8 billion in 2023, up from $490.3 billion in 2022, according to the latest forecast from Gartner, Inc. This is higher than the 18.8% growth forecast for 2022.

Parks Associates’ latest consumer research reports over one-third of smart home device owners experienced technical difficulties in 2022. The firm’s new whitepaper, Self-Service Support: Improving Home Automation, developed in partnership with RouteThis, addresses support needs across the connected home at the network and device level and strategies to address technical issues.

5G commercialization remains front of mind for telecom operators, as they continue to lay out substantial capital reservices to build out 5G network infrastructure. However, according to global technology intelligence firm ABI Research, telcos have been unable to tap into the true value of 5G as their underlying networks lack ‘consumability’.

Interest in deploying high dynamic range (HDR) technologies is growing among network service providers and pay-TV operators in Europe as new HDR-capable TVs and devices enter the market, raising expectations of consumers throughout the region to receive content that takes advantage of this compelling advanced viewing experience.

This was the central conclusion of a recent media and industry analyst roundtable hosted by Advanced HDR by Technicolor that explored the state of the content creation, distribution and consumption ecosystem and shared perspectives on the adoption and integration of HDR technology across Europe.

Global revenue for games could grow by more than 50% over the next five years, according to new research by Bain & Company. Research shows that industry growth is being accelerated by heavy engagement of younger gamers (ages 13 to 17) who spend about 40% more time in video game environments than with any other form of media.

Three factors influencing growth in security spending are the increase in remote and hybrid work, the transition from virtual private networks (VPNs) to zero trust network access (ZTNA) and the shift to cloud-based delivery models, according to Gartner, Inc.