The Streaming Media 100: The One Hundred Companies that Matter Most in Online Video in 2013
The Streaming Media 100 list is only 3 years old, but it’s already undergone significant changes. Between the first and second installments (2011 and 2012, respectively), we decided to narrow the focus to exclude broadcasters that had made the move into online video, and instead consider only companies for whom, as I wrote in the introduction to last year’s list, “online video is in their DNA.”
This year, we’ve narrowed our purview even further, for the simple reason that the industry has grown so much in the last 12 months that we found it difficult to narrow the list down to 100 companies. The solution was an obvious one: focus exclusively on the technology companies that enable content creators and publishers to innovate and build their audiences. So you won’t find any content companies on the list -- they deserve their own list, and we’re looking at how best to honor them in 2014.
Beyond that delineation, though, the process for choosing the 100 remains the same: We began with a list of more than 250 companies, then asked Streaming Media’s editorial and publishing staff to rank each one on a scale of 1 (doesn’t belong on the list at all) to 5 (absolutely must be on the list if the list is to have any credibility). After the votes were cast, only three companies averaged a perfect 5, and every company in the final 100 averaged at least a 2.5. To give you a sense of the spread, all of the companies in the top 50 scored at least a 3.3.
CLICK HERE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE STREAMING MEDIA 100 LIST
While there were 17 companies that made the 2012 list that didn’t make the cut in 2013 -- mostly content players, though some technology providers fell away -- the narrowed purview actually resulted in a stronger showing by companies that live in the center of Streaming Media’s editorial coverage and audience interest: encoding/transcoding and content delivery. So if you said that this year’s list is a “geekier” bunch than previous years’, you’d be right. Considering that the hottest topics of the last 12 months have been MPEG-DASH and HEVC/H.265, the results should come as no surprise.
In the end, and if you’ll indulge the mixed metaphor, the rising tide of increased consumer adoption of streaming video, particularly over-the-top, has lifted all the boats behind the scenes. When that family in their living room, or that commuter on the train, or that student in the dormitory, picks streaming content over broadcast or cable, the companies listed here make the experience easy and fun. When creators and publishers need their content delivered at the highest possible quality for the lowest possible cost, the companies listed here get the job done. And when stakeholders in the enterprise, education, and government verticals find themselves turning to online video to deliver and view the content they need, the companies listed here lower the barriers.
Congratulations to all, and thanks to the Streaming Media staff and contributors who joined me in taking on the daunting task of evaluating more than 250 possible entrants:
Jose Castillo
Troy Dreier
Jan Ozer
Dan Rayburn
Dom Robinson
Joel Unickow
CLICK HERE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE STREAMING MEDIA 100 LIST
You can see many of these companies and their products and services in person at Streaming Media West in Los Angeles next month, Streaming Media East in New York in May, and Streaming Forum in London in June.
The October/November issue of Streaming Media magazine also includes sponsored articles written by some of the companies who landed in the Streaming Media 100 list. You can find our publisher's introduction to that section here; participation in that section (or advertising of any kind) was in no way a criteria for inclusion in the Streaming Media 100.
Related Articles
Presenting our 2017 list of the 100 companies doing the most interesting and innovative work in streaming video. We're shining a spotlight on the companies that enable the creation and delivery of today's video revolution.
17 Oct 2017
The list that sets the standard is back. Streaming Media presents its authoritative list of the most important companies in the online video industry, the ones leading us into the future. Our fast-changing industry is reflected in a list with plenty of new names.
17 Oct 2017
It's that time of the year again: Here's Streaming Media's annual list of the biggest players in the online video industry. These are the 100 companies dominating the present and charting the future.
10 Oct 2016
Discover our 2016 list of the 100 companies doing the most interesting and innovative work in streaming video. We're shining a spotlight on the companies that enable the creation and delivery of today's video revolution.
10 Oct 2016
Discover our 2015 list of the 100 companies doing the most interesting and innovative work in streaming video. Now in its fifth year, the list shows a new maturity, a sign of an industry coming into its own.
05 Oct 2015
The list the online video industry waits for is here: It's Streaming Media's annual list of the biggest players around. These are the 100 companies charting the future during a time of transaction.
05 Oct 2015
Read our 2014 list of the 100 companies doing the most interesting and innovative work in streaming video. Now in its fourth year, the list has become a benchmark for the industry.
06 Oct 2014
The wait is over: Here's our annual list of the biggest players in the online video industry. Not only are all 100 doing fantastic work today, but they're also blazing a trail by showing us what's possible for tomorrow.
06 Oct 2014
Read our 2013 list of the 100 companies doing the most interesting and innovative work in streaming video. Now in its third year, the list is more competitive than ever.
03 Oct 2013
Old vets join new kids on the block in our list of the 100 most important companies in online video.
05 Oct 2012
It's the first annual Streaming Media 100, Streaming Media magazine's editors' picks for the 100 companies that have the greatest impact on the streaming media industry.
11 Oct 2011