interview

Who are you? Which regions are you covering?

Hi, my name is Marko Lukšič, and I’m the VP Sales for Key Accounts at Beenius covering Europe and Key Account in Mongolia.  

What are the industry specifics in EUROPE?

Europe is a very developed and mature market. The main trend in the region is the consolidation of markets. And it is evolving new technologies such as 5G, 8K, and Android technology, which change content consumption. Increased live sports events and increased OTT consumption are challenging current operators to adapt their strategies accordingly. Covid-19 changed our lives in 2020 and 2021 and caused high content consumption, especially through SVOD and TVOD, since customers have more time to view different shows. 

Marko Luksic interview

All these trends attracted new entrants or competitors to address the European market with SVOD services like Netflix, or local players with new on-demand content offered not only on STB or TV but also on other mobile devices directly to end customers bypassing traditional operators. All these players are bringing a lot of new content, mainly with over-the-air technology. 

How 2021 will evolve in the industry? 

In 2021, a lot of investment is announced in new content delivery technology and new acquisitions and launches of 5G networks and the latest technology, which improve content consumption quality. People are still staying mainly at home, working from home, increasingly consuming TV and content from home much more than in the past. On another site, business is executed remotely, and such brings specifics to the market. A thriving amount of 4K available content is increasing, and 8K is mentioned more and more often. 

What will be the growth points of TV subscribers in 2021 for operators in EUROPE? What kind of role the Beenius’ products can play in that?

The main growth points will be increased OTT and OnDemand consumptions of existing and new content, new revenue streams as an advertisement, or new applications offered with Android TV solution. Consolidations and upgrades of current setups to support new technology and addressed challenges are in place. Beenius will support these processes for operators with the latest platform, new services, functionalities, and improved architecture. 

What is the development dilemma of operators in EUROPE in 2021? How could we help them with our products?

In my opinion, the main challenge is migration from traditional IPTV to OTT and from linear to On Demand content distribution.  As well as how to compete with global content provides offering content and services and directly to end customers with new attractive content.  

How did Covid –19 affect the industry?

Covid-19 has significant effects on human life and industry.  On one side, there are adverse effects as reduced business socializing as canceled event IBC2020, limited mobility, and restricted working conditions causing less interaction also on the business level. On the other side changed living conditions caused increased consumption of all kinds of content and virtual interactivity. In this situation, focus on new technology and cloud services become more and more critical. On the other site are operators faced with strong competition, forcing them to reevaluate the current business case for the content offering. 

Are you bringing something new to the market in 2021?

Beenius is a pioneer on Android TV, and we do continue with this trend. In 2021 we are bringing on the market a new Android TV application for Android STBs and completely new mobile applications for iOS, Android phones, and web applications for PCs. As well, Beenius continues to evolve advertising possibilities for interactive television. We also start to offer managed solutions hosted in the AWS cloud. We believe that we are stronger with our partners and strengthen existing partnerships and create new ones. 

Anything you would add to share?

Any crisis is also an opportunity, and Beenius is more than glad to help operators to overachieve their goals in this situation. 2020 gave us time for reflection, which was used in many ways. I’m confident the future is bright, and many opportunities are just in front of us. We are also preparing some novelties, which we will reveal later to keep some mystery. 

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