INDUSTRY WATCH
entrance into the streaming market later this
year might be the biggest indication yet that
the landscape has shifted dramatically. during a live stream but amplify it to an
entire channel dependant on real-time
engagement to drive sales.
Taking ownership of the content delivery
network offers significant efficiencies and
reductions in operational expenditure. It
also allows content owners to establish or
strengthen a foothold in different markets
through direct relationships with consumers.
This is particularly true for mobile-first or
mobile-only countries in Africa and Asia,
where content consumption is almost
entirely through portable devices. So how does a brand ensure
they meet the needs and
expectations of streamers on a
global scale?
Media CIOs understand IT’s pivotal role in
content delivery. The benchmark for content
libraries and user interfaces has been set but
has also become standardised. Focus has
now returned to the backend and ensuring
quality and reliable playback. Buffering, poor
picture quality, or content that simply won’t
load are unforgivable experiences on a cut-
throat consumer battleground.
Technical teams are acutely aware that for
any platform to emerge as a global content
champion, the ability to track consumer
behaviour, take advantage of cutting-edge
tools and ensure content can be targeted at
any number of different devices is important.
The make or break factor for success,
however, is a content delivery infrastructure
that can stream content, without fail, to any
device, in any market.
Achieving low-latency: What’s
the cache?
Firstly, content distribution needs to be
optimised by putting streaming servers
exactly where they are needed to give the
best user experience and lowest possible
latency. These servers need to be configured
to meet the needs of the specific audience.
The UK’s requirements are very different to
mobile-first markets like India, so ‘off-the-
shelf’ solutions won’t suffice.
For content services to perform seamlessly
and deliver content reliably, they must
also be able to handle massive amounts
of data. “A video content platform with an
intelligent cache allows content providers
to offload traffic that would have previously
hit the back-end. The result is reduced
latency and the elimination of the dreaded
buffering wheel.
Caching was once only discussed in relation
to web domains, where it’s used for site
acceleration. However, caching has moved
into the video streaming space as a means
of delivering content fast, on-demand and
at scale.
A well configured CDN with intelligent
caching rules in place not only handles the
But how important is ultra-low latency
content to a brand really? Beyond
reputational damage, it can be the key to
survival in the digital age.
This is increasingly the case for live
streaming content in genres where real-
time user engagement is critical to revenue.
Live shopping, gambling or auction-type
programmes are moving to OTT platforms.
A drop-off from frustrated viewers, roughly
three-quarters of whom won’t return to
a service that’s faced multiple buffering
issues, could be enough to send a business
under. Think of a YouTuber whose revenue
is dependent on them holding viewers
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Lars Larsson, CEO at Varnish Software
‘day-to-day’ demand – if there even is
such a thing anymore – but crucially,
those unexpected peaks in activity. It’s no
surprise that so many people streamed
Stranger Things season three on launch
day, but predicting the success of a show
isn’t always so easy in a social media age
where content can ‘go viral’ overnight and
gain momentum through word of mouth.
A prime example is BBC America’s Killing
Eve, which was released in the UK in one
fell swoop and became a hit once word
spread. Villanelle might be a deadly
assassin in the show, but even she is no
match for the ‘spinning wheel of death’.
Having a flexible infrastructure that’s
designed to cope with these peaks and
troughs in demand is vital in today’s
media landscape.
The next challenge – the
same solution
Achieving reliable, ultra-low latency should
be the goal for all content owners, but the
media industry is constantly changing.
Technical officers know that getting the
delivery network right will pay dividends for
the next wave in streaming advancements.
As the industry approaches another IBC
in Amsterdam, talk is centring on how to
maintain optimised distribution when
providing better personalisation and
moving to 4K and 8K streaming in future.
This level of picture quality is already
being touted by TV manufacturers, and
just as with 1080p HD before it, it’s not
long before it will be customary on mobile
devices either. If consumers want it, OTT
platforms have to be able to provide it.
The battle for eyeballs is more contested
than the climax of Avengers Endgame;
there will only be more brands moving
into streaming in future. Whether it’s an
all-encompassing content library, superior
picture quality or personalised content
that allows a victorious brand to emerge,
the fact remains that if a platform
can’t deliver content reliably with as
low latency as possible, consumers will
disappear quicker than Thanos can snap
his fingers. n
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