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One of the biggest challenges facing D2C streamers is the plethora of devices used for streaming content. These devices have an impact on content production, content delivery, content monetization, and customer management.
In order to be sustainable OTT services must be energy-efficient. As with other production processes, just in time (JIT) principles need to be maximised to find new and fundamental efficiencies for OTT content delivery.
OTT is driving the next great rebundle. After years of D2C streaming, unbundling and fragmentation, we are now reaching a stage where we have so many D2C Apps that consumers are looking for simplicity and convenience again.
The criticality of service assurance in OTT services is evolving quickly as audiences grow and large broadcasters double-down on their streaming strategies.
The basic goal is for consumers of video services to be highly engaged. It is easy to say but hard to do. Yet it is at the core of being a D2C streamer. D2C requires a deep understanding of the end customer’s satisfaction. But rather than this understanding relating only to the content itself, at which Broadcasters have excelled for many decades, a D2C streaming service requires an understanding of satisfaction with the service – the quality of it, the ease of use, the style of use – which requires the right technology and a focused information-gathering approach. What should be done to achieve this all-important outcome?
Piracy is an ancient issue. In the media industry, piracy is the unlicensed use of content that is protected by copyright. While there are many benefits to OTT video, a downside is that its “over the top” nature where content travels via the internet (rather than a managed network), gives piracy more opportunity to thrive. OTT operators therefore need heightened awareness of how to manage the threat of piracy. But OTT also offers a promise: with the right legal framework, the available technical solutions could potentially bring video piracy to dramatically lower levels.
Part 1 of this series described how network-side QoE (Quality of Experience) measurement is fundamental to proactively assuring the quality of OTT services. At its core, the network-side can be an early warning system for QoS, which in turn correlates to actual QoE performance. This article considers the two types of network monitoring available to us, relative priorities for the points of measurement, and how the video platforms contributing to OTT services are evolving to support OTT quality at scale.
The features we love about OTT services – such as combined linear and on-demand content, multi-device viewing mobility, tailored viewing experiences, and in some cases better resolutions – are driving the general rapid uptake of OTT services.