The Jeremy Tunstall Global Media Research Centre continued its seminar series this week with Jean Chalaby and Steve Plunkett

On Wednesday the 21st of March, Jean Chalaby, Professor, City, University of London, and Steve Plunkett, Chief Technology Officer, Ericson, gave the following talk.

 

Title: Value chain modularity and supplier strategy: the case of media delivery GVC in IP-based broadcasting

 

Abstract: This paper analyses the changes in the media delivery chain brought by the advent of Internet-protocol transport for video services, and in particular the transition from a classic broadcast configuration to the Internet-based transmission paths characteristic of the OTT space. First, it contrasts the configuration of the old and new value chains using a series of variables: local/global, closed/open, proprietary/standardized. It also argues that the rise of IP-based broadcasting has driven content aggregators to outsource tasks in the media delivery chain: as the new transmission paths use cross-sector technologies and facilities, IP connectivity reduces the specificity of their assets. This paper examines the role of suppliers and contends that their cross-sector and global strategies are driven by the need to find economies of scale and transfer knowledge from one sector to another.  Finally, it argues that codification and standardization are increasing the modularity of the value chain, thereby the number of suppliers able to enter the chain and, potentially, disrupt it.