HRTS eNews - 07/31/2009 (Plain Text Version)
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Kent SteffenHRTS Member - Vice President and General Manager of CSG Interactive
A Member Profile by Chris Davison, chris@lthmedia.com Kent Steffen is Vice President and General Manager of CSG Interactive. Kent began his career as a consultant and has since worked in many areas of the business, from finance to telecom to new media. I recently had a chance to interview Kent to discuss Hollywood, personalization, and the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem.
Q: Can you tell us about your background and what made you want to work in entertainment? how did you get involved with the HRTS?
A couple years back, we looked at the entertainment industry and saw similar trends emerging that were going to put the consumer in the driver’s seat – broadband technology everywhere, standards driven innovation to speed adoption, a strong but declining revenue base for entertainment companies and an insatiable consumer appetite to be informed and entertained. These were some of the key drivers that are helping to usher in an era of “intertainment” (information and entertainment). What we are trying to create with the Content Direct platform and partner ecosystem is a mechanism to allow both established entertainment brands with global reach, as well as new entrants, a way to interact directly with their consumers in ways that have not been possible previously. Content Direct’s sole purpose is to extend their brand and create incremental revenue streams.
We got involved with HRTS because the organization brings together all the major entertainment brands and has an expanding presence on how technology is being used to help evolve the entertainment industry.
Q: What is a typical day for you at CSG Interactive?
Q: The million dollar question: how can Hollywood monetize digital content?
Digital copy, cross-brand promotion/vouchers and exclusive digital content are an excellent starting point to build incremental revenue streams while starting to build trust in the brand. Over time, broadband ubiquity, the next generation of mobile devices, instant community participation and distribution interoperability will make the dream of having digital access to a growing catalog of core video and innovative companion assets a reality – a reality that will give Hollywood brands more control than they have ever had in relation to how they interact with their consumers and monetize their content.
Q: What are your thoughts on Hulu? TV Everywhere?
Q: Will Twitter-like interfaces and services stay with us going forward and if so, how might they help generate revenues and build brands?
Q: What do you think about the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem?
At the moment, the world of digital media delivery is like the Wild West. There are many different devices that consumers can watch content on, different options for obtaining or purchasing content and different ways to protect content. And we have to remember that buying and watching content online is a relatively new experience for most consumers. The lack of standards in our industry leads to a non-optimal consumer experience and is one of the central issues that DECE and CSG are working to resolve. For example, content purchased on one device may not be able to be viewed on another device, or content bought from one retailer may not be easily viewed on another retailer’s player. This makes consumer’s experience more difficult, less enjoyable and ultimately slows the adoption of online media by consumers. What’s amazing about the DECE is that it’s comprised of the majority of the big players in the digital media, including the Hollywood studios, major content distributors such as the big box players and technology providers like CSG. We’re all working together to develop industry standards and ultimately enable better ways to purchase, access and play digital entertainment.
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