ANGA COM 2016 opens with 450 exhibitors from 37 countries

ANGA COM 2016 has started with 450 exhibitors from 37 countries, reaching last year’s record level.

The number of visitor preregistrations is also at last year’s high level. In 2015, 17,000 visitors came to the Cologne fairgrounds, 50% from abroad.

“The booking level has exceeded our expectations. We are looking forward to three days of ANGA COM with a bursting exhibition hall and a total of 28 exciting congress panels,” commented Dr. Peter Charissé, managing director of ANGA COM.

“This year, we will combine broadband and media more top-class than ever. The visitors can expect a diverse and international mixture of business, technology, politics and regulation.”

The event opened with the traditional ‘elephants round’, where industry heavyweights shine their light on today’s topics, including the growing usage of VOD against linear television.

Anke Schäferkordt, Co-CEO RTL group, said that there is indeed a tendency among viewers to watch programming on-demand. However, 90% of older viewers still watch linear, while 30% of younger viewers tend to use catch-up TV.

In Germany, the broadcasting group mis well positioned for the on-demand market with the common RTL Now portal, which offers a mix of free, pay-per-view, and subscription VOD.

RTL remains active on social media, including Twitter and Facebook, but does not offer long form content on Youtube.

Schäferkordt said that investments in MCNs made RTL an important player on Youtube, both in the US and in Europe, where it is the biggest player on Youtube.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hannes Ametsreiter, CEO Vodafone Deutschalnd, said the network is preparing for the future, such as 8K super-HD broadcasts and the current explosion of additional screen usage, such as tablets and mobile.