How to manage CTV advertising’s shifting power dynamics

Are the mediation layers between publishers and advertisers in the CTV space dropping off with the increasing emergence of new ad exchanges and the like? And how can platforms adapt? Eventually A Castle's Andrew Baritz discusses the market's shifting tectonics and what platforms like Cineverse and C360 Technologies, Inc. are doing to bring buyers closer to publishers in this discussion with Ring Digital's Brian Ring at the latest Streaming Media Connect.

How Meta Transcodes Video in the Cloud

When it comes to transcoding video at an operation like what Meta offers, given scale and the complex array of different targets and scenarios, there's no simple answer to how Meta approaches cloud transcoding. But Meta Technical Program Manager Hassene Tmar guides viewers through the Meta video journey and decisions made around software, hardware, compression efficiency, codecs, and more in this conversation with Streaming Media 2025 Conference Chair Andy Beach at the latest Streaming Media Connect.

Single-Cloud vs. Multi-Cloud for Streaming Workflow Migration

Choosing between single-cloud and multi-cloud strategies is critical when migrating streaming workflows because each offers distinct trade-offs in control, scalability, and vendor dependence. LiveX's Corey Behnke, Cerberus Tech's Chris Clarke, and TV2 Denmark's Loke Dupont make the case for choosing (and limiting yourself to) a single cloud provider when crossing to the cloud side while emphasizing the importance of leveraging specific strengths and services offered by each provider in this clip from May's Streaming Media Connect.

How Norsk Factors Sustainability into Codec Deployment

A number of factors impact codec deployment strategies and decision-making for live streaming, and particularly for a company like Norsk that has been involved with the Greening of Streaming organization from its inception, sustainability and power consumption are key considerations. Norsk's Steve Strong explains how to encode both on-prem and in the cloud with sustainability front of mind while balancing that with cost and other ever-present concerns in this discussion with Streaming Media 2025 conference chair Andy Beach in this clip from the latest Streaming Media Connect.

Is VAST Past Its Prime in Streaming Adtech?

VAST (video ad serving template) is an XML-based standard developed by the IAB Tech Lab that defines how video players and ad servers communicate to deliver video ads. It is designed to allow for the consistent and dynamic delivery of video ads across different platforms and devices. But in the ever-shifting and fast-evolving world of adtech, has VAST grown long in the tooth? Ring Digital's Brian Ring, SVTA's David Hassoun, Eventually a Castle's Andrew Baritz, and IAB Tech Lab‘s Raymond Holton discuss the issue in this clip from May's Streaming Media Connect.

QUIC vs. Web Transport vs. Media Over QUIC

With emerging and still-developing streaming technologies and protocols like Media over QUIC (MoQ) and web transport, some basic definitions are in order to differentiate them from one another and to ensure that they aren't used interchangeably. Akamai's Will Law, an expert on all things QUIC, provides a cogent and crucial breakdown of QUIC and associated terminology in this discussion with Help Me Stream Research Foundation's Timothy Fore-Siglin from the latest Streaming Media Connect.

Interoperability and Media Over QUIC

Interoperability is always a critical issue with emerging streaming protocols, and—no different from any other protocol still in development—for Media over QUIC (MoQ), interop remains a work in progress. Help Me Stream Research Foundation's Tim Fore-Siglin, Akamai's Will Law, and nanocosmos' Oliver Lietz discuss the ongoing challenges and likely outcomes in this clip from May's Streaming Media Connect.

How to balance performance and QoE metrics for livestreams

When it comes to monitoring live streams, teams often divide metrics into technical categories related to streaming performance like bitrate and latency and buffering, and more subjective metrics related to quality of experience for end users. But according to Warner Bros.' Subhrendu Sarkar and NBCUniversal's Seb Emin, the two are really inseparable, as delivering satisfying experiences to viewers whether they're watching on 65" smart TVs or on a "mobile device on a train going through a tunnel" is always the end goal, and they explain how to strike that critical balance while always keeping QoE front of mind in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2025.

Analysis Paralysis: how to manage the streaming data deluge

When it comes to live stream monitoring and analytics, the problem is usually having too much data rather than not enough, along with identifying the key data points to pinpoint problems and optimize streams. NBCUniversal's Seb Emin and Warner Bros. Discovery's Subhrendu Sarkar explain how two major content providers keep analysis paralysis at bay in this discussion with Dillon Media Ventures' Rob Dillon at May's Streaming Media Connect.

Solving common challenges of streaming cloud migration

One of the common pitfalls of streaming cloud migration involves moving to cloud encoders when streaming to multiple endpoints. LiveX's Corey Behnke, Cerberus Tech's Chris Clarke, and TV2 Denmark's Loke Dupont discuss how to address and solve this and other issues that arise in the course of lift-and-shift migration when transitioning live streaming workflows from on-prem to cloud in this clip from May's Streaming Media Connect.

What drives streaming codec choices at Meta and Norsk

As debates over codec choices in the streaming world range from H.264 to AV1 and HEVC and beyond, what drives decision-making when it comes to codec choices for solution and service providers helping creators and customers get video online for live and VOD consumption? According to Meta's Hassene Tmar and Norsk's Steve Strong, key factors include software and hardware support and compatibility, bitrate reductions, latency constraints, and more, as the two explain in this discussion with Alchemy Creations' Andy Beach from May's Streaming Media Connect.

How does SGAI differ from SSAI and CSAI for live streaming monetisation?

As the buzz around server-guided ad insertion (SGAI) grows in the adtech and streaming worlds, what sets it apart from the more familiar server-side ad insertion (SSAI) and client-side ad insertion (CSAI), and what specifically can it do that SSAI and CSAI can't, particularly for live sports streams without period ad breaks? IAB Tech Lab's Katie Stroud, Paramount's  Jarred Wilichinsky, RealEyes Media's David Hassoun, and Google's Sourya Roy debate the differences and the potential of SGAI to enhance ad experiences in this clip from a panel at May's Streaming Media Connect.

How Biddable CTV Advertising Leverages AI and Boosts ROI

What are the key strategies, partnerships, and tech stack elements that make biddable advertising profitable in FAST and other ad-supported CTV platforms in 2025? Fremantle's Laura Florence, Future Today's Tim Ware, and Chris Pfaff Tech Media's Chris Pfaff break down how each of their companies approach biddable CTV sales in a conversation at the latest Streaming Media Connect 2025.

How Norsk approaches emerging streaming codecs and protocols

With its focus on helping customers build effective live-streaming workflows and meeting streamers where they are in terms of prevalent codecs and protocols—which, Norsk's Steve Strong acknowledged at the conference, usually still means H.264—how does it anticipate where users might be going when it comes to supporting new codecs like VVC, whatever the current or near-future playback challenges might be? Strong explains his company's considerations in conversation with Andy Beach in this clip from May's Streaming Media Connect.

Tech challenges of AI-driven streaming content localisation and captioning

The buzz around AI for subbing and dubbing and localising streaming content is that it makes it far easier than it's ever been before. But that doesn't mean it's without significant technical challenges-particularly for companies like Interra Systems who develop the enabling tech-as Interra Engineering Manager Sana Asfar explains as she enumerates the key challenges and how to overcome them in this conversation with IntelliVid's Steve Vonder Haar at Streaming Media Connect 2025.

Implementing a New Codec in 2025: Key Factors to Consider

Transitioning to new codecs in the streaming industry is never an undertaking to be taken lightly, and bandwidth savings, encoding efficiency, and quality enhancements must be carefully considered and balanced against the challenges of ensuring playback capability for the broadest range of viewers who may be operating a motley assortment of legacy devices. Radiant Media Player's Arnaud Leyder and United Cloud's Boban Kasalovic offer their own deployment decision trees for implementing new codecs in this excerpt from a panel discussion with Streaming Learning Center's Jan Ozer at Streaming Media Connect 2025.

The Long and Short of It: Measuring YouTube on TV

As YouTube makes short-form viewing in­creasingly commonplace, measurable, and monetized on CTV, and other channels inevita­bly rush to adopt and repeat the formula, time will tell when "YouTube is the new television" gives way to "Television is the new YouTube."

How Google and Vevo Leverage AI-Enabled Localisation for Saving Costs and Driving Revenue

The case for AI-based content localisation is typically made in terms of how it streamlines localisation initiatives and dramatically reduces costs, particularly for smaller publishers that might not be able to reach into other markets without it. In this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2025, execs from two larger operations, Google Cloud's Albert Lai and Vevo's Natasha Potashnik, share with IntelliVid's Steve Vonder Haar not only the cost savings opportunities but also how AI-enabled localisation can drive new revenue opportunities as well.

Pros and Cons of Programmatic Advertising

In this clip from their spirited debate moderated by TVREV's Alan Wolk at Streaming Media Connect 2025, Philo's Aulden Kaye Yi makes the case for monetizing CTV content through programmatic advertising and launching effective advertising campaigns through programmatic platforms, and goes point-counterpoint with Vevo's Melissa Sofo and Fremantle's Laura Florence over brand safety concerns, content-matching, and more.

AI Hallucinations and Training Your LLM Like a New Puppy

Generative AI hallucinations are real and cause for constant vigilance, but as media and AI strategist Andy Beach points out in this discussion with Ring Digital's Brian Ring at Streaming Media Connect, the large-language models that power Gen AI are only as good as their training, and they'll always try to give you what you want (just like a new puppy) rather than generating content that is accurate and ethically sound unless you train them properly in this early-days era of LLMs at work and in action.