SE P T E M B E R/ OC T O B E R 2 0 1 2 V I D E O • A G E 26 It is the first case ofmutual confusion: The organizers of the newly created UbiQ market, officially described as a “Digital Entertainment Showcase,” were confused about VideoAge’s June review article that reported on the market’s digital rights discussions. Subsequently, VideoAge’s reporters who attended the market were confused about the purpose and goal of the market, which was held in Paris, from June 18-19, 2012. In an e-mail to VideoAge, Mira Emmerling, VP of Marketing and Operations at UbiQ Events, wrote: “We do not understand the issue mentioned in the article regarding digital rights because it [was] not at all an angle of our event. What the French individual [a market attendee who was interviewed] has mentioned about Digital Terrestrial Television, is irrelevant to UbiQ because UbiQ is addressing digital in a broad sense — UbiQ is not at all about television broadcasting. Therefore, we do not understand how this comment about DTT relates to UbiQ.” In the report published online at the conclusion of the market on June 20, VideoAge quoted the official literature indicating that the event’s mission was to “spotlight the best of digital entertainment — content creation, business case studies and winning strategies to engage with audiences and maximizeROI across all digital platforms — Internet, mobile, IPTV, connected TV, tablets and social media.” The report went on to say that “digital” was certainly the buzzword at the market, the key that opened all conversations. Though it was pointed out that one thing that was not completely clear was the difference between the definition of “digital rights” (since everything nowadays is digital, including terrestrial television) and Internet rights. The “French attendee,” Stephane Hua of Numericable, explained that “Digital” is a typical American word, not used in France, to indicate Internet (i.e., IPTV) rights. According to Hua, content rights should be classified according to the media that is acquiring them: Terrestrial rights, Mobile rights, Satellite rights, etc. Another participant, Marco Ferrari of Zodiak Active, pointed out that in terms of digital sales, pay-TV rights are clear but FTA rights tend to become confusing. In the general views noted from informal chats with a few other attendees, UbiQ clearly reflected VideoAge’s definition of “digital rights” as “UbiQuitous,” in its (well-appreciated by the organizers) front cover preview story of the June/July Issue distributed at UbiQ’s venue, the Palais Brongniart building, the former Stock Exchange. Therefore, for the organizers to rebuke that “UbiQ is not at all about television broadcasting,” is… well, confusing, not the least in terms of content, since the organizers promoted the presence of all the major studios, such as the BBC, Canal Plus, Disney, Endemol, FremantleMedia, Viacom and Zodiak. At one of UbiQ’s many conferences, BBC representative Gary Woolf created something of a stir with his comments that the business relies on TV-first window deals, but opportunities could be created “in the digital space without needing that elusive TV platform. It’s not the most sensible route financially, but if you can’t get your content on TV, you can still reach a massive audience and actually TV will come around to your way of thinking,” he said. Some observers interpreted that to mean that many Internet programs came about simply because the broadcast networks were not interested in airing the shows. Then there was the issue of market attendance. VideoAge reported: “Nearly 300 cumulative participants came out for the event. And in terms of company presence, all the key players were there.” To this UbiQ’s Emmerling replied: “There were more than 700 people registered from 30-plus countries to UbiQ, meaning that there is a fluctuation in the number of people onsite throughout the two days.” There was even confusion about the various figures that VideoAge took from UbiQ’s official literature.We reported that the conference portion actually saved the show. Plenty of seminars — a total of 21 keynotes, case studies and showcases — helped counteract the sparsely populated exhibition floor, which was still useful, even if only tomeet executives in between conferences. On the podiums, 74 conference panelists represented 10 countries with the largest contingent from the U.S., U.K. and France. Yet, according to Emmerling, “There were a total of 3 keynote speakers, 74 speakers/sessions total (including the masterclass) which included high-level speakers (that could have qualified as keynote speakers) — however, there were not 21 keynotes.” Finally, it was reported that, in terms of press, there was a large French presence followed by the U.S. (with VideoAge and The Hollywood Reporter) and Canada. To which Emmerling replied: “In terms of press, C21 Media, Kate Bulkley (representing Broadcast), The Herald Sun (Australia), TBI and Digital TV Europe (U.K.), Develop andMCV, amongst many others, were present at the event.” Prior to the event, VideoAgeconducted a full Q&A with UbiQ’s founder and CEO Gwenael Flatres, a former head of Digital Business Development at MIP-TV and MIPCOM. New Digital Market Generates Confusion U b i Q R e p o r t The exhibition hall The conference theater The publications on display Stephane Hua of France’s Numericable Zodiak Active’s Marco Ferrari
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