Will Live Linear Streaming Replace Traditional Broadcast TV?
Some common complications that can emerge when managing linear TV programming can be lessened through the advantages offered by streaming linear content via unicasting. Jean Macher, Business Development Director - SaaS Solutions at Harmonic, highlights the situations where streaming linear programming offers key advantages over traditional broadcast linear programming.
Citing sports programming as a major example, Macher says, “What if there is overtime? What do I do if there is a rain delay?” He notes that traditional linear broadcasters have often had to scramble to adjust regularly scheduled programming to accommodate the shifting of sports event time slots to continue showing games that have exceeded their expected lengths. These circumstances are much easier to manage within streaming environments.
“Instead of deciding for millions of viewers,” Macher says, “You can ask every single viewer: do you want to see the overtime, or do you want to change to the program that was scheduled to start? Linear channels don’t necessarily translate when you go to a unicast world, where everybody gets their own copy.” He also believes that more games will be offered as standalone events unattached to a linear channel. While the big broadcast networks remain rooted in their traditional ways of doing things, Macher says that digital first platforms will be able to offer increasing live programming flexibility on their apps.
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