One company in that sector that is definitely working toward capitalising on the opportunity presented by 5G is ViacomCBS. The mass media powerhouse recently called on mobile networks, tech vendors, brands, and agencies to join forces around ViacomCBS’ brands to unleash the full potential of 5G. This call was made with the release of a white paper outlining the eight areas where ViacomCBS believes 5G will have the biggest impact on the entertainment industry.

“We are extremely excited to see the development of 5G because we believe it opens a lot of new areas for the industry,” says Olivier Jollet, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, Streaming and Head of Mobile at ViacomCBS Networks International. “The purpose of the white paper is just to go a bit deeper into what those opportunities could look like.

“We believe, and its something which is part of the DNA of ViacomCBS, in strong partnership. Weve been working for years with mobile operators, mainly on more traditional business. We’ve been doing a lot of great initiatives in streaming through Pluto TV, our leading free television service, and our new service, Paramount+. We strongly believe that 5G and the partnership with mobile operators is a new piece of this ecosystem that we want to build at ViacomCBS.”

With the release of the white paper, ViacomCBS has placed emphasis on its desire to collaborate with businesses across the industry to create 5G experiences.

Last year at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), ViacomCBS worked with a number of broadcasters and VodafoneZiggo, Vodafone’s joint venture with Liberty Global in the Netherlands, to broadcast a stream of an MTV Push live artist from a boat over 5G.

The production was fully autonomous and COVID safety was ensured as there was no crew ‘on the ground’ operating cameras or associated production equipment.

“We were using a dedicated bandwidth slice, so we could guarantee the reliability of that live signal, which is something that you havent been able to really do over 4G so far. And then we were able to connect in that autonomous activity. We had an AI camera array – so the AI was doing the visual product – and we had a drone that was connected over 5G providing additional shots. We also had lighting that was controlled over 5G remotely and vision mixing that was occurring back in London,” explains Brendan Yam, Senior Vice President and General Manager of ViacomCBS Digital Studios International.

“By having 5G to do this, we were able to create a state-of-the-art production in a COVID safe way, and it really shows how this foundational technology can be a platform for creativity for the brands and the IP that we have.”

For marketers, these developments in 5G open the door to creating truly immersive experiences that can engage consumers and, in turn, result in higher conversion rates.

Brands will have the opportunity to make use of technologies – like VR, AR, and MR – to bridge the gap between physical in-store experiences and digital ones, showing off what their products can do without the consumer having to directly interact with those products.

And ViacomCBS feels it has a role to play in ensuring that the content that sits alongside those advertising experiences is just as engaging.

“One of the things that we’ve seen recently is that mobile-first brand strategies have been incredibly effective and powerful at activating fans and communities. And brands are always looking for ways to get more immersive and engaged with their target consumers, and 5G really does do that. So, you can imagine a consumer being able to very easily doing a 360-showroom of a project using AR or a virtual makeup tutorial,” says Yam.

“Where we come in to play, in particular, is that advertising is going to sit around 5G-enabled content. Those users are making a seamless transition between a 5G content experience and a 5G advertising experience. I saw a stat recently that over 90 per cent of marketers are expecting 5G to have a significant impact on their opportunities in the next three or four years.”

Jollet adds, “When you are a marketer, you want to have the best possible way of presenting the product. With 5G – with VR, AR – you can discover the product in a different way. You can experience something new that you never experienced before. Obviously, we don’t know where the journey is going to go, but clearly there are options. If it’s executed in the right way, it can transform the whole industry. It can transform the way you do advertising, the way you are featuring products, so there are tremendous new opportunities.”

Jollet also believes there is an opportunity for brands to change the way they sponsor events to create immersive experiences while people are watching TV shows or live sport.

Of course, thanks to COVID, there has been a huge growth in streaming – whether live or otherwise – in the past year. However, Yam sees it as still being in its “infancy in terms of what is possible” because he expects 5G to do for live and interactive programming what 4G did in facilitating the shift of social from desktop to mobile.

“Once we get the reliability that youve got with 5G and those high bandwidths, it really will lead to an explosion of people being able to actually have these very high-quality video stream productions,” says Yam.

“Live content is more engaging. That’s one of the reasons why social networks and other providers have been prioritising live streams, because consumers want to be there in the moment when something is happening. And, so, it prioritises the discovery of those live streams, which then prioritises producers and creators to want to create those. And there really is a truly virtuous circle. So, the more content weve got then the more the audience will want to consume it.”

ViacomCBS knows that it’s all well and good talking up the potential of 5G-powered experiences but, as mentioned earlier, knows that none of this can become a reality without industry collaboration and adoption of 5G by consumers.

“Were in the phase where the mobile operators are facing the first challenge, which is selling 5G contracts and 5G phones. At ViacomCBS, as a leading entertainment company, we can help them by creating the right stories, the right products, to really enhance and showcase the capacity of 5G. The second phase, which will start quite quickly, is then we have all these users with 5G contracts, so you need to build new products and new innovations to make the case for that contract,” says Jollet.

“Right now, you dont have that much product available on the market – whether we talk about VR content, AR content, or interactive experiences with live events. There is not that much in place, and that’s where we want to partner and collaborate to say, ‘okay, lets make sure that we are creating an offer, which helps to speed up the adoption of 5G and creates the right experience for the end users’.”

The white paper released by ViacomCBS, entitled ‘Unleash 5G’s Full Potential through Entertainment’, places emphasis on the idea of creating experiences that make the user ‘see, feel, and engage’. This is based on the feeling that “if consumers can’t see that there’s something different there and they can’t feel that they’re part of a participatory experience, where they can’t have a way to control or interact with that program and make something happen, then it’ll fall flat,” according to Yam.

Nonetheless, despite the white paper and ViacomCBS’ calls for collaboration, the mass media behemoth understands that its desire to create more of these experiences isn’t something that’s going to be fulfilled overnight.

“We understand that this is going to roll out over time. What were really excited about is working together with the industry to take advantage of the faster connectivity, the lower latency, as well as the mass connectivity that you can do by having a lot of devices in a smaller area. When you bring all these together, and you can deploy them across these productions, we can really create thrilling new experiences for consumers – that ‘see, feel, and engage’,” concludes Yam.

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“Our doors are open for 5G focused collaborative partnerships and tech innovation,” said Olivier Jollet, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, Streaming and Head of Mobile, ViacomCBS Networks International. “Through world’s most iconic consumer brands, including MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and so many others with cross platform, global appeal, we can offer scale to cut through in a crowded entertainment market combined with unrivalled production, distribution, advertising and multi-format experience. Now is the time to partner with us in developing and leveraging the full potential of 5G to come.”

The paper, entitled ‘Unleash 5G’s Full Potential through Entertainment’, lists live streaming, immersive media, responsive content, immersive marketing & brand collaboration, talent & fan engagement, marquee events, remote production, and dedicated production bandwidth as the key areas VCNI sees the 5G changing the way we create, consume, and share content.

In particular, VCNI believes that live sports, gaming, and music will see the biggest benefits with edge computing and real-time mass device connectivity unlocking immersive formats like virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality.

“Initial 5G launches have brought high-speed streaming to consumers over the last year, but we need to prepare for the real 5G revolution in terms of capabilities that will dramatically impact, disrupt and transform the entire media & entertainment content creation and distribution chain in the next three to five years,” said Brendan Yam, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ViacomCBS Digital Studios International.

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The interactive app will enable users to see ‘holographic’ video of Attenborough alongside plants and animals in their surroundings. It will be created by a consortium, led by Factory 42, made up of BBC Studios, EE, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Talesmith, and Dimension Studios.

“Innovation has always been at the heart BBC Studios Natural History Unit,” said Mike Gunton, Creative Director at BBC Studios. “We believe that the App inspired by The Green Planet has the potential to reach millions to showcase the beauty and fragility of our natural world and inspire positive change around biodiversity and habitat protection for the benefit of all species.”

Factory 42 will co-produce the project with BBC Studios in association with Talesmith, while EE will offer up its 5G network and edge computing, and Dimension will provide volumetric capture video technology for the app’s holographic images.

The consortium is one of nine projects to win £2.2m in funding as part of a government initiative to showcase the potential of 5G.

“This cutting-edge app, fronted by broadcasting legend Sir David Attenborough, is set to be an inspiring example of how new technology can reconnect us with the natural world whilst demonstrating the power of 5G to a huge new audience,” said Matt Warman, Minister for Digital Infrastructure.

Other projects to receive funding include O2’s Project Vista, which will explore the use of multi-angle replays via smartphones during sporting events; the Eden Universe, where Cornwall’s Eden Project will look to utilise 5G to deliver a virtual visitor experience; and the use of 5G at Stadium MK, home of MK Dons FC, to power autonomous taxis, drones, and robots.

“5G is about so much more than faster mobile internet speeds so we’re investing millions to help some of Britain’s brightest innovators explore the huge potential of the technology to improve and enrich our lives,” added Warman.

“The projects we’ve selected will demonstrate how the blistering speeds of 5G can put some rocket fuel in our economy and help businesses bounce back from the pandemic.”

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DAZN will launch its first 5G payment plan integration, enabling customers with 5G-enabled handsets to enjoy higher quality streams, with faster download speeds and latency, from 11 December.

Customers of KDDI’s AU mobile carrier will also receive three months access to DAZN viva the Data Max 5G plan.

“Millions of fans across Japan have already changed the way they watch live sport via DAZN. More accessible, more flexible and more affordable than before. The possibilities of 5G and our partnership with KDDI, kick starts some incredible opportunities for us to take that sports-viewing experience to the next level,” said Ben King, Chief Subscription Officer at DAZN.

“We look forward to working closely with KDDI to explore opportunities that 5G presents to create more interactive and more engaging viewing experiences including real-time data, community, gamification, augmented and virtual reality.”

The agreement between DAZN and KDDI is an extension to the pair’s existing relationship, having launched direct carrier billing for AU customers back in February.

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The 5G mobile private network within Cambridge University’s Science Park – which will go live in January 2021 – will enable businesses to undertake research and application in areas such as autonomous vehicles, clean energy, and remote surgery.

“Huawei’s success is built on a relentless drive for innovation and we are able to keep pushing the boundaries of technology when we partner with those who share this ambition,” said Victor Zhang, Huawei Vice President. “The Cambridge ecosystem is recognised as a global leader in technology and we are excited to work with the talent and vision in this eco-system. We hope to enable Cambridge Wireless members to reach new heights by allowing them access to our state-of-the-art equipment and markets including China and beyond. Our commitment to the UK and industry remains as strong as ever and we will continue to offer our expertise and technology to our partners to promote connections and innovation.”

The three-year partnership between Huawei and CW will also involve digital training, business support, and joint events.

“We are constantly working to provide value to CW members,” said Simon Mead, CEO of CW. “As home to one of the world’s most advanced R&D ecosystems, Cambridge is perfectly positioned for the rollout of next-generation wireless technology and we’re delighted to be driving this initiative with our partners. We hope to bring something unique to the Science Park to accelerate use cases and development of this technology. We invite ambitious businesses to get involved and through this exciting 3-year partnership with Huawei, we will support their 5G innovation journey.”

The post Huawei links up with Cambridge Wireless on private 5G testbed appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

The Match Day Experience offering features a ‘Watch Together’ service, which enables fans to watch, see, and chat with three other friends in split-screen alongside a BT Sport broadcast; a 360 service, providing users with the chance to see the action from angles they don’t usually get to see in a broadcast; ‘Match Day Live’, which gives customers access to pre-game information and in-game stats in AR; ‘Stadium Experience’, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at sporting stadiums through AR; and a ‘Manager Mode’, which gives fans real-time stats augmented onto the pitch.

“We continually look for ways to offer customers new and innovative services, allowing them to make the most from their smartphone. Our new Match Day Experience features will provide an amazing array of ways to enhance their sports viewing – over the UK’s number one network for 5G,” said Marc Allera, Chief Executive of BT’s consumer division.

“They can now watch the action live with their mates thanks to integrated video chat. Get closer to the game with the best ever 360° views, and view real-time stats and graphics projected on the pitch and around each player with Manager Mode. What’s more – only with us can they also get up-close and personal, with advanced Match Day Live AR features – ensuring that when they’re out and about, they can always get the best seats in the house.”

EE customers who take out the Full Works Plan for iPhone between 16 October 2020 and 15 January 2021 will get 24 months access to the BT Sport app and access to the Match Day Experience.

Fans will be able to take advantage of the new experience on their iPhone 12s from 24 October when West Ham United face off with Manchester City in the Premier League and Exeter Chiefs battle with Wasps in the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final.

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Earlier this year, Chinese firm TCL said it would no longer be making Blackberry handsets after 31 August 2020, as it had come to the end of its agreement with Blackberry. TCL has been manufacturing Blackberry devices for the past four years, following Blackberry’s decision to stop manufacturing them for itself.

Now, OnwardMobility has the right to develop, engineer, and bring to market a Blackberry 5G mobile device. OnwardMobility will carry out product planning and market development, while FIH Mobile will design and manufacture the device.

“This is an incredible opportunity for OnwardMobility to bring next-generation 5G devices to market with the backing of BlackBerry and FIH Mobile,” said Peter Franklin, CEO of OnwardMobility.

The 5G device, which will feature a physical keyboard, is expected to arrive in the first half of 2021 in Europe and North America.

“BlackBerry is thrilled OnwardMobility will deliver a BlackBerry 5G smartphone device with physical keyboard leveraging our high standards of trust and security synonymous with our brand,” added John Chen, Executive Chairman and CEO of Blackberry. “We are excited that customers will experience the enterprise and government level security and mobile productivity the new BlackBerry 5G smartphone will offer.”

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EE 

Film and fashion fans on the red carpet will be able to watch the spectacle unfold as Maya makes her entrance at the awards ceremony. The dress will transform before their eyes as she makes her was along the red carpet, while spectators outside the Royal Albert Hall will see the dress come to life digitally via Samsung Galaxy Fold 5G smartphones, situated along the red carpet to capture the AR transformation as it happens. There will also be a live stream on @ee’s Twitter feed from 4pm on the day.

The AR dress was designed by London-based fashion designer Richard Malone in collaboration with EE. Made from ethically-sourced fabric, including recycled, regenerative ocean waste, recycled wool and wadding from ex-factory waste, the dress is hand-sewn, with over 100,000 stitches and took over 250 hours to complete. Made up of six layers in total, the dress contains over 12 body-length wires, totalling over 18 metres in length, and 18 sensor bulbs which, on the night, will transform to create the world’s first 5G-powered AR dress.

Film and fashion fans at home who want to be a part of the world first can tune into EE’s official live stream by visiting @ee’s Twitter from 4:00pm on Sunday 2nd February to watch the unmissable moment unfold at the Royal Albert Hall. Live updates will also be available across @ee’s Instagram and Facebook channels.

“This year, we will open the red carpet of the EE BAFTAs using our award-winning network and its unique capabilities to turn red carpet fashion on its head, as we bring together physical and digital fashion to create the world’s first 5G powered AR dress,” said Pete Jeavons, director of marketing communications at BT and EE. “In a never-before seen moment in film awards history, we will be using our network to show how the seemingly impossible can be made possible through 5G technology, giving fans a taster of the future of fashion.”

The EE British Academy Film Awards red carpet will be broadcast live on BAFTA’s official Facebook, Twitter and YouTube feeds from 5pm to 6.30pm on Sunday 2 February. For film fans who live in the UK, the awards ceremony will also be aired as-live on BBC One and BBC One HD from 9pm to 11pm, with the opportunity to watch online or on catch-up via BBC iPlayer.

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The key areas of focus in this year’s report include 5G; biometric technology; streaming services; disruption in the brand landscape;and the transformation of advertising. The report highlights these trends as areas that are likely to drive the future of the media industry not just in 2020, but for the next decade ahead.

The report, which forms the backbone to Mindshare’s wider Futures programme, is a mixed methodology, consumer-facing study that aims to get to the heart of key sectors of society. The research took place over the course of four months, involving multiple quantitative surveys spanning 5,000 UK consumers aged 16+, as well as detailed qualitative consumer research, both online and face-to-face.

The five key trends expected to shape 2020 are:

5G
Here, the report finds people are a little underwhelmed by 5G. Awareness of it is widespread but beyond this, knowledge is lacking, and the only message people seem to be getting is that it will be faster. In fact, 54 per cent of respondents felt that 5G is just the next 4G. Mindshare believes this will change, however, as people learn more, the networks and devices filter through and people start to think about how it will affect not only the things they currently do but consider the possibilities yet to come.

Body Talks
We now use voice assistants that can recognise our tone of voice, wearables that record our health data, facial recognition technology that determines our mood, and as tech that analyses our fingerprints and DNA. The report finds that people have complex and mixed feelings about the use of this type of data – only 7 per cent of respondents were comfortable with brands having access to their DNA data (that many? – Ed).

‘Ad Break’
The report finds that people feel bombarded and overwhelmed by too many irrelevant, intrusive and overtly sales-driven ads. 78 per cent of respondents said that advertising these days is “just trying to flog me stuff.”

With so many consumers feeling alienated, says Mindshare, change is essential for the discipline to flourish, and for trust to be rebuilt. Signs of reinvention are being seen though as the marketing world expands the boundaries of what people have traditionally thought of as “advertising” – reinventing how it uses people’s data, creating new brand touchpoints and content opportunities, and developing evolving ad formats, to fix the Ad Break.

Brand New World
Disruption is rife, and people’s expectations are changing, forcing brands to arm themselves in new and different ways – a Brand New World. The digital world and a changing retail landscape have revolutionised how brands learn about and engage with their customers, causing people to re-think their relationships with them. But brands still have a lot to offer and in the coming years they’ll be exploring new and different ways to deliver what really matters to people. The report holds some cheer for smaller brands, with 60 per cent of respondents saying they believe a lot of unknown brands are just as good, if not better than many established brands.

Living the Stream
Streaming is here to stay, but it seems like the supply of media will soon exceed the demand, as new companies are launching and consolidating, out to monopolise people’s free time. As a result of this growing arms race, we will be left with more choice of content than ever, but will this be too much for people to handle?

64 per cent of respondents said that with so many new streaming services mean it will get too expensive to access everything they want to watch, but 55 per cent said they don’t mind seeing commercials on streaming services if it means they get access to free content they enjoy.

“Our trends for 2020 are more all-encompassing in terms of subject matter compared to previous years,” said Sophie Harding, trends and insights director at Mindshare UK. “With all that is going on in the world, our research reflects that there are much broader cultural points of influence to factor in. People are taking stock and thinking about the bigger picture. Technology, brands and marketing are being questioned and re-evaluated along with a whole host of other areas of life. This year’s findings go right back to fundamentals – how people feel about connectivity and data, their relationship with brands and what they really want from ‘advertising’ and entertainment.”

You can view the full report here.

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With the introduction of its consumer 5G service in these cities, AT&T now offers both low-band and high-band 5G. Low-band 5G is aimed at mobile customers, while high-band 5G – or 5G+ – is for businesses to use in high-traffic areas such as arenas, stadiums, and campuses.  AT&T currently offers 5G+ in 23 cities across the US.

AT&T is aiming to expand its 5G service out to Boston; Bridgeport, Connecticut; Buffalo, New York; Las Vegas; Louisville, Kentucky; New York City; and other markets in the first half of 2020

“We believe 5G technology will be game-changing, and we continue to help drive this next wave of innovation,” said Scott Mair, president of AT&T technology operations. “We were the first in the US to offer commercial mobile 5G, and this is the next step as we build to nationwide service in the first half of 2020.”

Of course, in order to use 5G, most people will need to purchase a new smartphone with the 5G capability. To address this, AT&T has begun sales of the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G across the US. People who buy the device on a qualifying device instalment plan, unlimited plan, and trade in could see the price of the device drop as low as $350.

“With the launch of AT&T 5G for consumers, we’re bringing our customers new and innovative ways to connect with each other, their entertainment and their communities,” said Kevin Petersen, senior vice president at AT&T mobility. “Today’s launch sets the stage for the development of new and immersive experiences as we prepare to deliver AT&T 5G nationwide in the coming months.”

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