Instant Replay: Streaming Media Connect November 2023

Streaming Media presented its 12th Connect virtual conference November 13 - 16, with media industry cartographer Evan Shapiro as host and MC. Shapiro kicked off the event with a dynamic keynote, digging deep into the Q3 earnings call data to hold the spin doctors accountable and giving an unvarnished view of the industry. Other highlights included The Future of Streaming with Shobana Radhakrishnan, Senior Director of Engineering at Google TV, and several panels covering topics such as Cloud Workflows for Streaming and CTV, Optimizing Live Streams at Scale, How Codec Patent Pools Will Impact Streaming in 2024, Making Live Streaming and VOD More Accessible, Live Streaming Technology Trends, and more.

UX Evolution in Live Sports Streams

On a panel at the recent NAB NY show, Rick Allen from ViewLift, Scott Morris from Agilis Quantum, and Lawrence Chan of LiveLike discussed the state of UI and UX for live sports and engagement, with a focus on the importance of low latency and reliability in streaming services, the need for high-quality streams, dynamic content, and personalised experiences for fans.

The Future of CDN Technology: Unlocking the Next Frontier in Video Streaming

The video streaming market is booming, and as video streaming consumption continues to soar, content delivery network (CDN) technology needs to evolve rapidly to keep up. Damien Sterkers of Broadpeak discusses the current challenges with streaming and what measures to take to face them.

How Premium and Freemium OTT Content Strategies Differ

When it comes to leveraging and building an audience for premium OTT content, how do strategies differ for premium ad-supported content and subscription-based content? Roku VP Jenn Vaux and ESHAP's Evan Shapiro discuss how and why these strategic approaches differ in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2023.

How OTT and FAST Market Consolidation Will Spark a New Wave of Alternative Monetization Strategies

Vijay Sajja of Evergent explains how OTT and FAST market consolidation will spark a new wave of alternative monetization strategies.

How to Get Up-to-Speed in the European FAST Market

Free ad-supported television (FAST) has been a rapidly rising element of the streaming industry since the beginning of the pandemic. But while the FAST sector has soared in the US, it faces distinct challenges in Europe and international markets that have prevented it from reaching equal viewership heights enjoyed in the US. This article outlines ways to get up-to-speed in the European FAST market.

The 2023 Streaming Media Innovation Award Winners

The 15th annual Streaming Media Europe Innovation Awards competition—formerly known as the Readers' Choice Awards—returns with 13 categories. With nearly 10,000 votes, who are the finalists? And who are this year's winners?

Practical Approaches to Sustainable Streaming

In this article I'll expand on prior sustainability approaches, detail reasons to consider additional areas of power-consumption optimisation, and invite diverse stakeholders across streaming workflows to engage with Streaming Media magazine, GoS, and like-minded stakeholders in a mid- to late-2023 initiative around the LESS Accord, with an overall goal of readers recommending measurable best practices for consideration by September 2023.

Is Your Streaming Service Fit for Whatever Comes Your Way?

How certain are you of what's next for the streaming industry? Kjeld Beijer, Head of Marketing at 24i, discusses the recent and largely unpredicted significant industry changes and outlines ways to get ahead of the curve by improving UX, business models, content discovery, and integrations.

Why Ad Monitoring on Real Devices Is Essential for OTT Performance

Yoann Hinard, COO at Witbe, outlines why ad monitoring on real devices is essential for OTT performance

The Role of Content in SVOD Growth

While recent slumps in subscription-driven OTT have convinced many observers that great content and plenty of it simply aren't enough, what can content providers do to reverse that trend by following the numbers and understanding their audiences better? Hub Entertainment Research's Jon Giegengack has the numbers and some strong recommendations in this clip from his presentation at Streaming Media Connect 2023.

Scripps Networks’ Senior Director of Product Yazmin Wickham Talks Viewer-Centered OTT UX Design

Recently I caught up with Scripps Networks Senior Director of Product Yazmin Wickham to get a better sense of the role a Director of Product plays in developing and managing UX at a diversified media company in the OTT and CTV universe. I learned how Scripps approaches the viewer experience, both in AVOD and SVOD models, and attempts to deliver as consistent an experience as possible across a wide array of platform, and the challenges and advantages of maintaining a unified (or nearly unified) text stack across the board.

OTT, the Rising Star for Cable Television Companies and Local Sports Leagues

Alexey Zaberezhniy, Video Solutions System Analyst at Oxagile, discusses why OTT is the future for cable TV providers and local sports communities.

Linear vs. CTV: Finding the Win-Win for Marketers

While the death of linear TV has been announced many times over the years, a large portion of viewing audiences are still watching linear programming. Edward Wale of LG Ad Solutions discusses why marketers should look at creating campaigns that incorporate both to expand their reach and maximise spending.

Server-Side vs. Client-Side Ad Insertion: Which Side Are You On?

There are two broad categories of CTV ad insertion: Server-side (SSAI) and Content-side. We've had the SSAI vs. CSAI debate many times before, with SSAI often coming out on top in recent years, but the uptick in FAST viewing is changing the conversation for many stakeholders in the current media landscape. Effective ad delivery is far from a one-side-fits-all proposition these days.

Warner Bros. Discovery SVP Renard T. Jenkins Talks About Managing WBD's Massive Production Pipeline

Figuring out how Warner Bros. Discovery can pick the best technology to manage its massive production pipeline is what Renard T. Jenkins and his team do. Jenkins and I spoke on Zoom in late March about how those choices have changed in the past few years, his thoughts on machine learning (ML)/artificial intelligence (AI), and the unique demands of leading technology teams.

The State of Live Streaming 2023

2022 was the year in which sports, the appointment-to-view genre with massive audiences and revenues, moved to the centre of major streaming provider strategies.

The State of Media & Entertainment 2023

While we're still seeing significant growth in the media & entertainment streaming market at the start of 2023, its pace has slowed compared to the first year of the pandemic. All of the entertainment streaming platforms are looking at a range of different services and approaches for their business models in order to continue to drive growth in subscriber numbers and justify the significant spend on developing content and expanding market share.

The State of OTT 2023

Netflix may have pioneered online pay TV on-demand with a model that every other SVOD chased. From April 2022, a pivot was required of every player, Netflix included.

Streamticker: The Biggest Streaming Media Mergers & Acquisitions of 2022

A look at the streaming industry's most notable mergers and acquisitions of 2022, from WarnerBros-Discovery to Microsoft/Activision to Limelight/Edgecast to Dolby/Millicast to Telestream/Encoding.com and more