go by time, or by subs, or by traffic. But these are not charities, the more flexible the approach, the higher the‘ unit’ price.
Greening: it used to be suggested that cloud provision was‘ obviously green’ versus on prem – there’ s not the replication in manufacturing or shipping. But the world has wised up and now recognises that data centres( aka the cloud) are huge demanders
You don’ t have to worry about your servers crashing when you have a big hit. But flexible capacity doesn’ t come cheap. of power and water. There is no such thing as a carbonfree lunch in the cloud. That said, the pressure on data centre providers to switch to renewables and new cooling solutions( because of the exponential growth spurred by AI), will have a beneficial knock-on effect on the carbon footprint of streaming. Even if that just means the growth of streaming from here on can be carbon neutral to where it is today.
AI. Speaking of AI: Cloud services are rushing to integrate AI and machine learning. This technology has the potential to improve the streaming experience by automating tasks like video tagging, content categorisation, and metadata generation. AI / ML algorithms can also give viewers more personalised content recommendations, improving engagement and audience targeting.
With 75 % of people watching videos and streams on their phones, cloud video streaming is integrating with 5G as well. With its ultra-low latency and high bandwidth, 5G enables seamless, high-quality video streaming for mobile users. This allows for real-time interactions and faster streaming with minimal buffering, making it ideal for watching live sports, concerts, and gaming.
Looking ahead, it is also possible that AR and VR streaming will offer more immersive viewing experience. Real-time interactive features such as live polls and gamification are also on the horizon, providing audiences with more dynamic ways to engage with content.
No surprise then that cloud streaming is seen as the future. Make your first step a well-considered checklist of what you need your chosen platform to do bot now and in the medium-term future. Like they say in tailoring, measure twice, cut once. Go shop around.
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Streaming is a one-way street of growth, right? A Simon and Kucher survey takes a closer look:
• 88 % of respondents say
they’ re streaming the same
as or more than last year.
The catch? There was a 2 %
point drop in those streaming
“ more”.
• Content-based
differentiation is becoming
increasingly relevant for
streaming providers.
• Live content, in particular,
is gaining traction with
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consumers spending around 20 % of streaming time watching live streams. Sports( 39 %) Concerts( 39 %) Breaking News( 35 %) Gaming( 20 %)
• Ad supported subscriptions also improve subscription uptake and reduce churn. They offer a lower-cost option for existing customers, while price-sensitive newcomers get a competitive deal. Today, over 30 % of Netflix and Disney + subscribers are on ad tiers – nearly double since 2024. Personalised adverts and visible ad break timers can further boost their appeal.
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• Gaming add-on packages are being tested as a potential retention tool. Streaming providers, big and small, are exploring ways to integrate online gaming into their subscriptions. 41 % of users are open to gaming integration, though only a small share would be willing to pay extra for it. Interest is highest in India( 57 %) and lowest in Sweden( 18 %).
• Annual subscriptions can help lower churn and build customer loyalty. The longer users stay subscribed to a provider, the easier they are to retain. Our study shows
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that 42 % of paying streamers with less than six months of usage plan to cancel within the next year – compared to just 19 % of those who’ ve been subscribed for over four years.
• Discounts play a key role here. On average, global streamers expect 29 % off on an annual plan compared to monthly – though this varies by market. But while users want discounts, they still prefer monthly pricing. Communicating monthly rates is, therefore, more effective than promoting annual prices.
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Next month, the industry gathers for IBC. At the centre of many new products, solutions and conversations will be Artificial Intelligence. There’ s been a lot of AI hype since last year but also a lot of real progress. There’ s also been a significant awakening across society that AI is here, is growing fast and isn’ t all upside, at least not at first. The first time many meet AI is when the app of their chosen search engine asks them if they want to dive deeper. Quite often doing so doesn’ t reveal much more info, and often some of what it does produce is wrong. Sometimes, the next time they encounter it is when their call centre job is cut and replaced by an AI chatbot. Given that AI is pattern recognition and learning on a hyper grand and sophisticated scale, you would think the perfect play pen for it would be in content discovery and recognition. All discovery now claims to be AI driven, has it made a significant improvement or is it ultimately just a flashy and overwrought means of delivering More Like This? Read the feature in the next issue.
EUROMEDIA 13