Next gen NBN will transform video content consumption in Singapore

News recently of Singapore's ultra-high speed Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) achieving 83 per cent nationwide deployment was an exciting development in this countries evolution. Having the correct infrastructure in place provides people with greater access to the internet and ultimately a much broader range of video content.

However it’s fair to say that online video consumption in Singapore is probably not yet as advanced as other markets globally. A recent comScore report found that the average Internet user in Singapore spent 10.5 hours per month watching video content and that 87% of Singapore’s Internet population viewed an internet video.

These numbers are impressive but still highlight a substantial gap when compared to other markets such as the US where household broadband penetration is 77.8%, and the average Internet user spends 16.8 hours watching video online every month.

There are multiple reasons why Americans spend over a third longer watching video online when compared to Singaporeans but one big one has to be the level and depth of video content available to US internet consumers.

Video is now mainstream across most publisher and broadcaster websites whilst the growth of video specific websites, whether free-to-view like YouTube or pay to view like Hulu means the US consumers have a huge volume of both user-generated and professionally produced video content available to them.

One could draw on the comparison between the time spent on Google sites viewing video every month by Americans which accounts for about a third of their time versus Singaporeans who spend two thirds of their time watching Google sites. Is the content on Google sites better in Singapore or is the choice more restricted?

Singapore is perfectly placed to take advantage of the boom in video content but so far the broadcasters have been slow to react to the internet and a lot of content remains exclusive to TV. However as we have seen in other markets, commercial online video operators with great content will soon start attracting more users to their services, diverting audiences, advertising and subscriptions dollars away from broadcasters.

At CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) held in Las Vegas this month, all the focus was on Smart TV’s - or connected TV’s as they are sometimes know - which bring the world of online to television sets. This is interesting because it won’t be long before you will be able to watch what you want when you want through your TV set rather then watch what is available – all of which is provided through the internet connected to your television.

Imagine searching for video content that you want to watch or subscribing to specific channels that suit your needs rather then to channel packages that only partly fulfil your needs. This is why the Next Generation Broadband Network and the online video providers are so important because together they will fundamentally change the way we interact with video content. 

Tim Holland, Managing Director, Perform Media Services Ltd.