One of the fundamental issues for digital television is content, which has become a pole of development. We present the experience of Argentina that can serve as an example for Colombia
By:
Luis Fernando Gutierrez Cano
Luis Jorge Orcasitas Pacheco
Undoubtedly, one of the aspects that generates the most concern in the new digital ecosystem of television in Colombia and other countries is the generation of new content. Recent research, carried out in different European countries that have already carried out the analog blackout, concludes that digital programming works as a faithful replica of its analog predecessors.
That means that, despite the technological advances experienced by the medium with digitalization, there is still no total clarity on how to take advantage of the extensive facilities offered by digital terrestrial television, especially to offer users innovative content, which makes a difference compared to analog.
Given these circumstances, many theorists and experts in television have proclaimed on various fronts, a possible and near end of the medium. This is a half-truth, because, despite these apocalyptic omens about the future of television, from digitalization, paradoxically, the public continues to access the medium and consume content on a regular basis.
The Cultural Consumption Survey carried out by DANE since 2007, in its 2014 results in the population of children from 5 to 11 years old in municipal capitals, shows that about 97% continue to consume television products and, in the population of 12 years and older, the percentage reaches 94.5%, that means, roughly, that the doses of television content have not decreased, on the contrary, it shows a stable and even increasing trend.
This trend, which is almost universal, distorts, to a certain extent, those approaches that presaged the early end of television, in the face of a strong competitor such as the Internet; however, what can be seen in the current television situation is that television, in a certain way, conveniently "joined" the Internet to bring its contents online, since, it is also undoubted, many users are dedicating more and more hours to surf the net.
The results of the alliance of television with the Internet are papable, demonstrated mainly by the high percentage of video traffic on the network, which in some countries occupies a little more than 40%. For example, new generations watch much more television on the Internet than they see on a traditional TV receiver. This shows that the ways of accessing television content have varied with digitalization, with the multiplication of mediation devices with Digital Video Recorder functionalities or with the possibility of receiving content on all types of screens and mobility (Prado, 2010).
So, some of the important issues, ad portas of the establishment of DTT in Colombia, are the types of content that will be offered to users (many of them called "digital natives"). Questions arise such as: who will be in the technical and creative capacity to offer these contents and what will be the innovative and differentiating contribution of these contents?
These concerns are latent in the different agents that are part of the Colombian television ecosystem. Already the two private channels have begun to take small steps in that direction, from a certain experimentation, somewhat intuitive, so to speak, in terms of themes to offer to the "new" users of television in Colombia; also some cable operators are doing some tests in that sense, looking above all, a plus for their own content.
Obviously, due to their business objectives, both private channels and those of subscription television have at their disposal an optimal technical capacity and economic power to face these first steps in the creation of new content in a digital ecosystem.
Public TV content
The concern then falls on public television, that is, national, regional and local channels, whose mission, unlike private television and subscription television, is totally different and whose objectives are not aimed at profit, but at seeking pluralism and accommodating different citizen, religious, political and regional visions, with special emphasis and, decidedly, in with the educational and cultural.
In this sense, in Colombia there are still no explicit clear policies around the development of content for digital television, neither from the national, the regional nor the local. Nor is it absolutely defined, who will make the approach of these contents; that is, there is an important way to go, and that must face accelerated steps, taking into account that there are already less than three years left for digital ignition in the country.
However, it cannot be ignored that the National Television Authority, ATNV, especially from the 5 board members and the Ministry of ICT, have already begun to address the issue with foundation and already, since 2014-2015, some approaches have begun to be outlined regarding this important phase of DTT, such as the generation of content from the public.
Also the Colombian academy, from the different academic processes, research and production of the different television phenomena, has gradually been developing various approaches, in order to enrich the discussion in the face of proposals for the generation of new content in the uncertain digital environment that is coming.
Examples to follow
In this reflective and proactive contribution that we continuously make from the academy, a close experience that occurred in recent years in Argentina is rescued and we consider that public television in Colombia can be successfully replicated in the face of key issues in the developments of Digital Television.
Aspects that in no way can be addressed in isolation, but within a totally convergent digital context and that countries such as Argentina have implemented from clear public policies, aimed at generating equal opportunities and the reduction of technological asymmetries. These are the three fundamental aspects of a "new" television according to a model that has already been applied in the south of the continent:
- Content production: The realization of national content, promoting cultural, sports, artistic, educational and children's programs.
- National production and employment generation: From the impulse of the production of the equipment required for the transmission and reception of digital signals.
- Scientific development and training of human resources: From the training of personnel in technical and scientific aspects.
Possible difficulties
For a good development of these three aspects, however, it will be necessary to take into account the almost oligopolistic character of open television in Colombia, with powerful national private channels such as RCN and Caracol, belonging to the main economic groups, and the other is the wide penetration of the pay television system that is gaining more and more strength in the country.
Nor can it be ignored that historically, the production and distribution of content on national television has been concentrated in Bogotá, in a centralist manner and with a high penetration of the contents broadcast by private channels. There is another great challenge, consisting of designing new ways to distribute the new signals available, within the framework of a concentrated commercial television system and with a public television that has traditionally been characterized by being highly politicized and without a really clear content standard.
Technological audiovisual poles
An alternative to the problems of innovative content that makes a difference in the digital television ecosystem is to apply or replicate what happened in Argentina, and has to do with the creation of what the Argentine State defined as the Subprogram Poles of Research and Improvement of Digital Audiovisual Technologies, for the development of content for open digital television.
According to the Advisory Council of the Argentine Digital Terrestrial Television System, under the Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investments and Services, for the development of content for open digital television, what is sought is to install and strengthen the capacities for the production of content for Digital TV, promoting equal opportunities and the reduction of inequalities between the regions.
This program is applied in Argentina from the division of the country into regions or PAT (Technological Audiovisual Poles), integrated by various provinces according to geographical proximity, productive potentialities and sociocultural affinities. From there, a federal system is built, led by the national universities and a National Interuniversity Council that channel all the actors of the audiovisual sector of each community and give way to the creation of audiovisual nodes, these nodes, are local productive systems integrated by cooperatives, productive organizations of the audiovisual sector, SMEs, independent producers, television stations and public bodies (Audiovisual and technological poles, 2010, p. 11)
It should be noted that what this structure aims to do is an interaction between nodes, universities and local audiovisual agents, with the purpose of developing television production in the different regions of Argentina, within a totally digital context.
For the Colombian case
If in Colombia it is intended that from the public, digital television is constituted in an inclusive technological tool and transmitter of knowledge, it is very feasible that the application, of the Argentine example, from the concertation, achieves the articulation of the different governmental entities, the ANTV, the universities and regional and local audiovisual actors, and thus promote and implement studies and reflections to the model of Poles of Research and Improvement of Technologies Digital Audiovisuals, to apply it throughout the Colombian territory, grouping them by regions, which have as their epicenter the current regional channels, articulating them through universities and with the participation of the community as a fundamental element of the audiovisual sector.
What this model proposes, as an axis of action, is to turn universities as links with civil society and other social institutions, not exclusively to produce but for interested agents to provide their opinions on what types of content and topics need to be addressed.
In Colombia, this division would decentralize television production, making it a more inclusive medium from the regions and with greater effectiveness in the transmission of knowledge, with the aim of seeking greater diversity of production and plurality of voices. It could be given as follows, according to geographical proximity and cultural affinity:
- Caribbean region and San Andrés, with the departments of Atlántico, Bolívar, Cesar, Córdoba, La Guajira, Magdalena San Andrés Islas and Sucre.
- Santanderes Region, with the departments of Arauca, Boyacá, Casanare, Santander and Norte de Santander.
- Bogotá Cundinamarca Region, with Bogotá Capital District and municipalities of Cundinamarca.
- Antioquia Region and Eje Cafetero, with the departments of Antioquia, Caldas, Quindío and Risaralda.
- Western Region, with the departments of Cauca, Chocó, Nariño and Valle del Cauca.
- South West Region, with the departments of Caquetá, Huila, Putumayo and Tolima.
- Llanos-Amazonas Region, with the departments of Amazonas, Meta, Guainía, Vaupés and Vichada.
From this geographical structure, the academic centers that can serve as liaisons with the other agents of television in the regions are selected.
Articulation
In this sense, the Argentine experience indicates that the technological audiovisual poles in Colombia could also be oriented in four articulated action plans that, in one way or another, would enhance the production of content in Digital Television from the public:
- Research and development plan: which would start from a diagnosis of the capacities installed in each pole, the existing human resources and the needs that can be identified.
- Training plan: aimed at solving those issues that are detected as deficiencies in the research and development plan.
- Technical plan: involves the updating, both human and technological, in the components of these audiovisual poles.
- Pilot plan: directly related to the production of content and involves the concretion of specific production hours, from locally generated projects, which are raised for evaluation in order to decide what can be produced.
Undoubtedly, this scheme could result in the staging of diversity of topics, formats and approaches in different localities of the Colombian geography and with many professionals and academics working on the construction of a decentralized and national public television service, with novel, formative and diversified content.
We believe that everything is a matter of political and institutional will, in an attempt to meet the immense expectations of a truly inclusive television service for all in Colombia. We trust that DTT agents in Colombia, especially from the public, will establish priorities and specific objectives, to configure work models focused on the production of content and in this way, not to miss the immense possibilities of digital television for the benefit of the millions of Colombian users .
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