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BROADBAND APPS "Tablets aren't replacing the big screen, but they're powerful as second screens," Fernandes explains. "People use tablets paired with a TV for content discovery and for interactive features. Tablets have played a signifcant role in changing usage habits." He adds, "Broadband providers should be monetizing their networks more than they are today. IPTV operators with dedicated networks are trying to do multiscreen, but efectively they're bolting it onto existing legacy applications." Multiscreen services that are cumbersome drive viewers to overthe-top services such as Netfix, Hulu and Amazon, which are difcult for network operators to monetize. When operators use systems designed for multiscreen from the ground up, they can deliver user-friendly, high-quality video content over the Internet and retain their customers. Tese systems take advantage of advanced codecs, 120 HTTP, adaptive bit-rate streaming and content delivery networks. MobiTV encourages operators to monetize their networks by delivering premium video services via the Internet. "Content is still king," Fernandes points out, and pay-TV providers, who spend billions of dollars each year on content, still have by far the most content to ofer – and will have for the foreseeable future. Tis year, MobiTV announced personalized recommendation services and integrated advertising that enables contextual and second-screen interactions in multiuser environments. "Tose are just examples of what the underlying technology can do," Fernandes explains. Te traditional set-top box experience, he says, is "a very generic experience and a one-way street" – a viewer selects a channel, but the service provider does not know who is making the selection. Because MobiTV identifes users independent of devices, through traditional logins | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | or other means, a service provider can tailor an entire experience to a particular user's likes and dislikes. Says Fernandes, "We believe this experience will be social, interactive and integrated with services beyond video. … Tis reasoning is based on general industry trends, on what we're seeing of the usage of our systems, on focus groups and on other research. … Clearly, people are spending more time on social networks and engaging with other people through them, and that extends to the TV experience." WHY SO MANY WEBSITES? Typically, in a TV Everywhere experience today, a user must visit a content provider's website and authenticate himself or herself as a subscriber of a particular pay-TV service. MobiTV hopes to change that. "Why should I have to go to all these websites?" Fernandes asks. "It should be an integrated experience. Te authentication should all happen in the back end. Tat means content providers would have to [agree] – but we think that will change over time because content providers want better audience measurements from multiscreen. … What we're doing to overcome the challenge is to create an interactive experience on the second-screen device so the user will not just look at the ads but also interact with them." When they can identify users and serve contextualized ads, advertisers should be willing to pay much higher prices than they pay for generic ads, Fernandes says. (MobiTV has partnerships with online advertising agencies but does not buy or sell advertising.) Online video advertising can involve more than just traditional ad spots, Fernandes says. For example, an advertiser can creat hot spots on screens that drive users to its brand's Facebook page or make other use of social media. Product placement also works well in online content. "Imagine putting a box around a Coke logo and an icon on a tablet saying 'Click here to learn more,'" Fernandes says. "It's a really powerful mechanism." NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013