European Innovation in Streaming: Infrastructure Sovereignty as a Competitive Edge

Streaming Media Europe: “Digital sovereignty” is at the top of Europe’s agenda. Why is it critical for streaming providers as well?

Alexander Leschinsky: Streaming often carries sensitive signals, from parliamentary debates to health briefings, so viewers and regulators want to know exactly where each byte resides and which courts have jurisdiction. The EU’s A Europe fit for the Digital Age agenda calls on providers to set their own standards and cut strategic dependencies, making sovereign infrastructure a selection criterion rather than a slogan. Streaming providers that can demonstrate full control over data location, availability, and compliance have a genuine competitive advantage when public bodies and regulated companies seek to work with providers that can prove exactly that.

SME: How do you translate that principle into practice at G&L Systemhaus?

Leschinsky: We operate in carrier-neutral data centres in Frankfurt and Du¨sseldorf. Live encoding, origin storage, analytics, and 24/7 monitoring can run entirely inside those facilities under German and European law and within full scope of GDPR. Because we control the hardware stack, we can audit every packet path and guarantee that no workflow relies on trans-Atlantic routing unless a customer explicitly requests it.

SME: Your new multilingual platform for the European Parliament is often cited as proof that sovereignty and scale can coexist. What were its goals?

Leschinsky: The Parliament wanted to stream plenary and committee sessions in up to 32 languages, meet stringent accessibility rules, and maintain broadcast-grade availability. Our modular architecture lets editors publish a fully captioned recording within minutes of the live feed. All master assets and logs remain in Europe, yet viewers enjoy start-up times on par with commercial entertainment services; evidence that performance does not have to be traded for control.

SME: Sovereignty does not always mean doing everything alone. How do you integrate outside services when clients need special features?

Leschinsky: We follow a layered model. The control layer, meaning master files, keys, user identities can remain in our data centres or in those of the customer. If a workflow requires elastic capacity, we can connect to cloud resources, for example the Akamai Connected Cloud. Customers keep ownership while gaining the flexibility of a larger ecosystem. Integration becomes a choice, not a dependency.

SME: Sustainability is another EU priority. How can partnering with G&L help media providers cut power consumption and clearly document a smaller carbon footprint?

Leschinsky: Encoding efficiency is low-hanging fruit. By deploying specialised video-processing units, we cut power consumption by up to a factor of three compared with pure CPU workflows, without sacrificing latency or quality. Combined with renewable-energy contracts and granular power-usage monitoring in our facilities, we help clients hit green-IT targets while keeping bills predictable. To turn this approach from non-binding marketing into verifiable action, we are preparing for an official certification according to the strict EMAS and ISO 14001 standard in 2026.

SME: From a buyer’s perspective, what makes working with a European streaming provider a competitive differentiator in 2025?

Leschinsky: A culture of accountability. Europe has the talent and infrastructure to play at the forefront. Accessibility mandates, energy goals, and privacy law are not after-thoughts for us; they shape architecture from day one. That results in systems with longer life cycles and partnerships built on responsibility rather than feature checklists.

SME: Looking ahead, what will accelerate European innovation?

Leschinsky: Recent global developments are acting as a wake-up call. The political climate in the United States, with its increasing focus on national interests and regulatory unpredictability, has pushed many European institutions to rethink their dependencies. Just consider that a single executive order, a single signature by the U.S. President, could cause the entire data transfer agreement currently in place between Europe and the United States to collapse like a house of cards. So, what we are seeing is a renewed understanding that Europe needs resilient, self-determined digital infrastructure. That momentum is driving innovation. The Digital Decade 2030 programme also plays a role here. It urges public buyers to demand full data-flow transparency and realistic exit strategies, reinforcing sovereignty and sustainability as default requirements. Providers who can deliver that, while remaining interoperable with the global ecosystem, will shape Europe’s next growth cycle.

Alexander Leschinsky
CEO and Co-Founder, G&L Systemhaus
Alexander Leschinsky is a distinguished figure in the world of streaming media. As a trusted consultant to major German broadcasters, he established the ‘Streaming Division’ at Geißendörfer Film- und Fernsehproduktion in 1999, and then co-founded G&L in 2005. Alexander’s extensive academic background, encompassing systematic musicology, phonetics, computer science, and electrical engineering, mirrors the multifaceted nature of the streaming business. This positions him to bridge the gap between client demands and technical viability, while also harmonizing standardization with transformative innovations. He is not only a respected professional but also a devoted family man and an enthusiastic choir tenor.