Connected TVs are taking over the living room
The big-screen TV in our homes is changing. It is now becoming an internet-only SmartTV – a Connected TV – with only streaming apps on board. YouTube has become the No.1 channel worldwide on Connected TVs (reported by Evan Shapiro, check source). As Evan Shapiro has reported, advertisers are now looking at Connected TVs as the “horizontal, premium advertizing space”, while looking at Mobile devices as the “vertical, incremental advertizing space”
This transition to Connected TVs not only increases streaming volumes, but it also puts pressure on streaming quality which demands higher-performance video delivery than before. It’s a double-whammy for streaming services, and makes video delivery quality a mission-critical activity. It also dramatically increases video delivery volumes with higher bit-rates, which increases costs in traditional CDN purchasing models.
What Does All This Mean?
Streaming capacity must grow to keep up with the demand for more streaming and for higher-quality streaming. But it’s not only about more capacity in the delivery networks. It’s about more efficient use of the capacity and the networks between the Broadcaster and the Viewer. It’s about having SLAs that guarantee quality to satisfy viewers. It’s about moving fast enough for your audience and your business rather than waiting for general industry capacity to become available.
Recognising the threat to Broadcasters, government regulators like Ofcom in the UK are conducting reviews of TV distribution strategies for the future. This move to streaming is a tectonic paradigm shift for Broadcasters whose businesses are caught between competition for eyeballs from Global Media, pressure from Telcos for the broadcast frequency, and expectations from consumers for more advanced viewing experiences.
The way ahead
For Broadcasters, there are some significant concerns ahead. To protect against adverse business impacts, Broadcasters must guarantee flawless content delivery to protect Viewer QoE. The global streaming pioneers invested heavily in new technology and business models to build their market-leading services, and they have best-in-class QoE. But Broadcasters can access the same types of technology and business models from today’s commercial managed services.
The 3-pronged approach we strongly suggest Broadcasters follow is:
- Lay strong foundations today: use new business models that provide economies of scale for broadcast-grade OTT video distribution.
- Retain control of distribution channels: design a video delivery pathway with suppliers that can guarantee flawless video playback to every viewer.
- Deep dive into edge network architectures: look at new ways to leverage an Edge network to deliver a super-fast and high-quality Application experience for your viewers.
To learn what MainStreaming has done for leading Streamers like DAZN, Sky and RAI, contact us here.
