Interview with Tobias Fröhlich

What challenges do you foresee in sports broadcasting as viewer habits shift, and how is Qvest addressing them?

The broadcasting industry in general is experiencing fragmentation and rising costs. Over the past 10 years, broadcast margins have significantly decreased, dropping from 25% to 12%. This decline is largely due to increased competition from global streaming services. Additionally, audiences are becoming more fragmented across various digital platforms, further complicating the landscape for traditional broadcasters.

Users want to watch sports content across various platforms like mobile devices, desktop computers and smart TVs. Social media and streaming options especially on mobile devices are heavily impacting users‘ video consumption behavior and require a stronger orientation to D2C solutions. People are consuming content throughout the day, for example, watching short clips at the bus stop in the morning and longer live sport content on the couch in the evening. This requires different use cases.

Additionally, viewers are seeking personalized content. TikTok has set the benchmark in this regard, putting pressure on broadcasters to find solutions for delivering personalized content, which increases the cost burden.

TV network value chains are heavily attacked by big tech and new competitors which are shifting ad revenues to targeting and programmatic platforms. In this rapidly evolving landscape of digital business, companies must stay agile, scalable, and customer-centric to remain competitive.

With a global team of proven experts in their respective fields, Qvest provides cutting-edge strategies and solutions needed to stay at the forefront of technological advancements.

Qvest delivers cutting-edge, AI-driven OTT solutions and services that cater to the evolving needs of customers, ensuring they achieve their goals with enhanced efficiency, engagement, and personalization.

Qvest unlocks new audience potential by driving more viewer engagement and content consumption through offering relevant content and improving discoverability. By providing tailored content experiences and enabling personalized transactions, broadcasters can capitalize on their audiences more effectively. Furthermore, leveraging Generative AI offers a cost-effective approach to content adaptation, enhancing the overall strategy for reaching new and diverse audiences.

How does Qvest support broadcasters in managing and distributing sports content across multiple platforms with Composable OTT?

Every year, 30 billion minutes of video content are produced, with an annual growth rate of 20%. In the last four years, the amount of processed content has doubled, reflecting the rapid expansion of video production. Qvest offers efficient content processing and accelerating value.

Qvest is committed to deliver superior OTT platforms for TV networks, TV platforms, and VoD providers. Creating innovative TV experiences that captivate audiences across all devices and platforms.

With Composable OTT Qvest answers the question: “How can I build a robust OTT platform that continues to amaze my user base for years to come?” It is a Flexible, Modular Approach to Digital Transformation.

Composable OTT is a modular, cloud-native architectural approach that allows you to build a highly customizable and scalable streaming platform. By integrating best-of-breed components (such as video players, search engines, and recommendation systems), businesses can swiftly adapt to new trends, launch features faster, and deliver personalized user experiences – all without vendor lock-in.

The result is a dynamic and adaptable system tailored to specific needs, ensuring rapid development, seamless updates, and superior performance. Our team is dedicated to implementing this innovative platform, enhancing user engagement, and driving revenue growth for our clients.

Composable OTT utilizes independent, interchangeable components that can be seamlessly integrated, swapped, or upgraded as needed. This approach allows businesses to customize their technology stack precisely to their specific needs, fostering innovation and agility.

Start today, lean and agile. Embrace composable commerce to drive agility, innovation, and scalability. This long-term approach ensures long-term competitiveness and growth. Gradual implementation is key to success in composable OTT.

Can you elaborate on the AI-powered features of TVXRAY and how they enhance the live sports viewing experience and what advancements has Qvest made in personalization technology for sports content delivery?

The top four customer needs in today’s content landscape are quality, relevance, brevity, and immersive experiences. Viewers expect high-quality content that is both engaging and relevant to their interests. Additionally, shorter content is increasingly in demand for quick consumption, while immersive experiences provide a deeper, more interactive way to engage with the content.

TVXRAY is the all-screen OTT upgrade which brings significant business value. 85% more engagement and 35% longer consumptions lead to additional opportunities for monetization through advertising and upselling. Furthermore, the solution attracts a digital-first audience by offering a Gen Z-oriented experience, which caters to the preferences of younger viewers.

TVXRAY offers a range of advanced features designed to enhance the personalized sports viewing experience. The platform delivers synchronized live sports data directly on the first screen, enhancing real-time engagement.

AI-powered personalized highlights and alerts ensure viewers never miss key moments, based on user-defined personal relevance settings. With the promise of never missing highlights across the entire platform, the interactive timeline features auto-clips and orientation that enhance user engagement. The timeline structure is tailored to adapt to each sport, providing a play-by-play highlight list for seamless navigation. Additionally, the personalized experience is enriched by AI-powered auto-highlight alerts, ensuring viewers receive notifications about key moments that matter most to them.

Additionally, the in-player electronic program guide (EPG) enables seamless channel switching and catch-up on any highlight, providing a more dynamic and tailored viewing experience.

TVXRAY SaaS solution offers seamless integration through its SDK, which easily integrates into OTT platforms. It provides engagement overlays for Connected TVs, set-top boxes (STBs), mobile devices, and web platforms, enhancing the user experience across multiple devices.

In what ways is Qvest helping broadcasters monetize their sports content more effectively?

Increasing engagement directly correlates with an increase in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). By enhancing viewer interaction and involvement with content, businesses can foster a more loyal audience, ultimately driving higher revenue per user.

With TVXRAY shopping and transaction opportunities are significant, with 25% of consumers making unplanned purchases driven by display affirmation. In the realm of advertising and sponsoring, TV advertising boasts a remarkably high return on investment, averaging 4.9 for every €1 spent. Additionally, a striking 84% of sports viewers express interest in placing bets directly on their TVs while watching a game. Furthermore, cross-selling and upselling are effective strategies, as 23% of connected TV (CTV) viewers report making a purchase after seeing an advertisement.

Building new revenue streams through enhanced customer engagement can unlock innovative monetization opportunities, fostering deeper relationships with users while driving sustainable business growth.

With Qvest, broadcasters can build new forms of entertainment and audience engagement. Qvest provides added value by helping broadcasters create innovative content experiences, while also generating new revenue streams to drive growth and sustainability.

What GenAI solutions does Qvest offer for efficient media asset management and content automation in sports broadcasting?

Qvests AI-powered managed content workflow services automate, edit, modify, and process content assets with GenAI to lower costs by 90% and increase revenue streams by expanding reach and attracting more viewers by 10%+.

To enhance recommendation and discovery, we need a strong metadata strategy that includes a consistent taxonomy to reduce human errors, such as spelling mistakes. Consolidating tags from various sources, like genres and descriptions, will create a unified framework. Additionally, leveraging audio-to-text analysis for keywords and synopses will enrich our metadata, improving content discoverability and user experience.

Enhancing Personalization in Video Content

Personalization is crucial for engaging audiences in today’s digital landscape. By analyzing videos through descriptive tags like story and mood, as well as technical elements like cutting sequences and sound, we can better understand our content.

Introducing affinity tagging for target groups will allow us to tailor offerings more effectively, while adjusting synopses and preview images to match these affinities will enhance user engagement. Prioritizing these strategies will foster deeper connections with our audience and strengthen our brand.

Qvest offers solutions in the field of:

• Highlight clips: Boost social media engagement and enhance zapping experiences.
• Content editing: Ensure accessibility compliance to expand audience and improve satisfaction.
• Localization: Create translated content to increase viewership with additional users, including live.
• Metadata extraction: Enhance personalization use cases.

Multilanguage and dialect support is crucial for unlocking the potential of new target groups. For instance, in Germany, offering four additional languages can expand our reach by 9%, equating to approximately 6.2 million users who are currently underserved. This growth opportunity highlights the importance of catering to populations in households that prefer languages other than the primary national language. By embracing linguistic diversity, we can engage with these communities more effectively and enhance our overall user experience.

This comprehensive solution, offered as a managed service, streamlines the entire process, making it both scalable and efficient while significantly reducing the need for manual effort. By delivering culturally resonant content, you can enhance viewer engagement and satisfaction, leading to higher retention rates and a broader audience base. Highlight clips can be quickly delivered to social media to create engaging zapping experiences. Ensuring accessibility not only meets regulatory requirements but also broadens your audience. Automated metadata extraction supports increased use cases and enhances your personalization efforts.

Embracing innovation is key to unlocking the potential of GenAI and developing the necessary skills to fully leverage its capabilities. To stay competitive, businesses must move faster than the traditional “fast follower” approach, as GenAI is rapidly transforming industries. In the sports media and entertainment sector, the market is projected to grow 7.3 times over the next 3 to 5 years, with AI playing a critical role in driving this growth and shaping the future of the industry.

Qvest collaborates with globally renowned companies to accelerate the adoption of Generative AI in the media and entertainment industry.

How does TV Buddy enhance viewer engagement during live sports events?

Qvests TV Buddy creates a new dimension of fan interaction: A messenger interface powered by Conversational AI serves as the all-knowing buddy sitting in front of each user’s mobile or stationary device, instantly answering any individual questions about live events or shows. Attention remains where it should be: on the own platform.

This is how TV Buddy works for users.

The TV Buddy is more than just a knowledge database; it’s an entirely new entertainment tool that provides concise and entertaining answers to individual questions. It even learns about each user through simultaneous analysis of user data, continually adapting its responses and suggestions to their preferences. At the same time, TV Buddy can cater to each user’s knowledge level individually. The following forms of dialog are possible:

• Written via chat
• Through audio via voice message – if desired, TV Buddy can even respond in the AI-generated voice of the host or favorite athlete (voice cloning)
• TV Buddy is fluent in the 50 most widely spoken languages

Furthermore, TV Buddy can adopt various biographical traits and characteristics to make the dialog even more lively and entertaining. This allows fans to decide whether they want to engage with the grumpy hardcore fan, the strategist and analyst, or a football expert who not only provides sports knowledge but also delivers information about player spouses, ages and number of children, or the latest gossip.

All these features make TV Buddy an innovative combination of a knowledge database and entertainment. And it ensures that the friendship between the learning AI and users grows because TV Buddy turns sports events into a truly personal experience.

Can you share any new development still cooking that will be available in the near future?

Qvest creates solutions for future-ready OTT platforms for innovative TV experiences that captivate audiences across all devices, and platforms. Take advantage of transformation by focusing on rapid innovation and reducing time-to-market. Emphasize personalization and enhancing the customer experience to meet individual needs more effectively. Additionally, prioritize scalability and global expansion to ensure long-term growth and success in an increasingly interconnected market.

Choose Your Ideal Composable OTT Solution: From Starter to Enterprise

Whether you’re just starting out or are a leader in the OTT space, our Composable OTT solutions are tailored to your unique needs. From a small/starter package leveraging key partnerships to an XL/Enterprise solution featuring AI-augmented workflows and high-end data stacks, we offer scalable, flexible options that grow with your business. Explore our range of setups designed to deliver seamless, personalized user experiences across all devices, with the agility to adapt and innovate as your platform evolves.

Unlocking the potential of new audiences requires driving higher viewer engagement and content consumption through relevant, easily discoverable content. By offering tailored content experiences and personalized transactions, businesses can capitalize on these audiences more effectively. Leveraging Generative AI enables cost-effective content adaptation, allowing for the creation of personalized and scalable experiences that resonate with diverse audience segments.

Qvest offers added value by providing innovative solutions that enable broadcasters to generate new revenue streams and strengthen viewer engagement.

• Focusing on Gen AI Workflows with next-generation AI technologies and engagement tools to create personalized and interactive experiences.
• Using generative AI, we adapt content to ensure it resonates with all viewers across the broadcast area.
• TVXRAY – new clients we are already integrating with as well as new Leagues. In the last month, we worked on stability and quality of the product.
• Our focus on innovation is clear through: Cost-Effective Scalability: Future-proof solutions that expand across all CTV devices.