 BRAZIL | ABTA 2012 |
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| Key Players in a Booming Market |
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ABTA 2012 is underway in the midst of a thriving industry with great commercial opportunities. Anatel's president said it best: "As of this moment, there's no stopping pay TV in Brazil."
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By SEBASTIÁN TORTEROLA, from São Paulo, Brazil
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Alexandre Annenberg, president of ABTA, and Paulo Bernardo, Secretary of Communications in Brazil; part of welcoming committee at the event.
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True to its reputation of being "the largest pay TV market in Latin America," the ABTA Expo and Conference 2012 started on a high note: a larger venue at the convention center, a higher attendance, modern and flashy stands, and a noticeable enthusiasm and desire to conduct business deals. Clearly, it's time to take advantage of Brazil's booming pay TV industry, and ride this wave into further growth and profit.
This is what most speakers in the event's welcoming committee spoke about, as they veered away from the usually political topics and focused on promoting further discussion between key players in the pay TV industry trying to adapt to its new regulatory framework.
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It's clear excellent business prospects notably reduce the risks and uncertainty raised by the new pay TV law. "Times of uncertainty in the pay TV industry are over. I'm pleased to see how the Ministry of Communications is working efficiently with the Anatel [National Telecommunications Agency], and hope the same thing happens with Ancine [National Film Agency]. Both organizations now have a much better understanding of how a private operator works, and are trying to promote further dialog," said Alexandre Annenberg, president of ABTA.
In regard to the minimum national production quotas, the executive stated it's an imposition that "must not rise over" the market's demand for said content; which also applies to "qualified content" channels that the law states must be part of the cable packages: their addition should not affect the content's quality.
REGULATORS
The inauguration also featured the presidents of all the organizations involved. "The new law provides opportunities for everyone. With Brazil's new place in the international arena and a stronger economy; we are interested not only in economic development, but also promoting its culture: the country must be able to present its own image," said Manoel Rangel, president of Ancine.
On a more practical level, João Rezende, president of Anatel, confirmed that since the law was passed, the organization "went into emergency-mode," granting licenses "as fast as the market demands them;" something that's fundamental and necessary to accelerate pay TV's growth. "We've already done 80 adaptations to the Conditioned Access Service [SeAC], and expect to reach 250 by the end of the year. As of this moment, there's no stopping pay TV in Brazil."
The Brazilian Secretary of Communications, Paulo Bernardo, agreed with the previous statement: "I'm thinking about having a cup of coffee with João Rezende and Anatel's team to tell them we must provide grants faster," he said, generating a round of applause from the crowd.
The executive spoke about convergence and digital development, and shared some numbers: while in 2012, 27% of Brazilian households had internet access; now the number is 38% and it's expected to reach 70% by 2014. All this, in a country where citizens log on to the internet an average of 27 hours a month.
Lastly, he said discussing the issue of the national content quotas is healthy, but above all, one must bear in mind that "Brazil has all the potential to export excellent content all over the world."
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Where Everything Grows
