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Media/Entertainment Video

Today's viewers expect to be able to watch movies and TV shows anytime, anywhere, and on any device, including set-top boxes, game consoles, phones, and tablets. Here you'll find Streaming Media's coverage of OTT, social video, and other media and entertainment video, as well as the business models (AVOD, SVOD, TVOD, HVOD) behind them.

Features

Q&A: Simon Crownshaw, Microsoft’s Worldwide Media and Entertainment Strategy Director, Talks Gen AI

In this expansive interview with Simon Crownshaw, Microsoft's worldwide media and entertainment strategy director, we discuss how Microsoft customers are leveraging generative AI in all stages of the streaming workflow and how they're using it in content delivery and to enhance user experiences in a range of use cases. Crownshaw also digs deep into how Microsoft is building asset management architecture and the critical role metadata plays in effective large-language models (LLMs), maximizing the value of available data.

The Generative AI Industrial Revolution

Generative AI may prove even more divisive to society than the Indus­trial Revolution. There are many questions well worth examining re­garding gen AI's impact on the streaming in­dustry, the media and entertainment world, and more. In this article, I'm going to focus on a few streaming use cases in the hope of pro­viding a broader perspective on the changes happening in our world now and those we can expect going forward.

Presenting the 2024 Streaming Media 100

Here we reveal the 2024 Streaming Media 100, our list of the top 100 companies in the streaming universe outside of Europe. This list complements the Streaming Media Europe 51, which recognizes Europe's key streaming innovators, exemplars, and disruptors.

Pay TV Gets Serious About Free Streaming

When it comes to free streaming, U.S. growth has been fueled by pure players like Pluto TV and Tubi and connected TV platforms like Roku and Samsung looking to feed cord-shavers and cord-cutters in need of a linear viewing experience. These companies have had a head start and a clear path to test and learn for years. However, in the past 18 months, pay TV players have decided that they too have a role to play in free streaming.

Spotlights

View From the Top: Bitcentral

Bitcentral, a trailblazer in media software solutions, presents ViewNexa®, a game-changing streaming platform designed to meet the evolving demands of the digital video era. Bitcentral's commitment to innovation is exemplified in ViewNexa, a solution that redefines how broadcasters, content creators, and publishers connect with their audiences.

View From the Top: Zixi | Navigating the Challenging Financial Landscape: The Strategic Importance of Total Cost of Ownership in Broadcasting and Streaming

The broadcast and streaming industry is currently navigating a challenging financial landscape, marked by economic uncertainties, intensified competition and shifting consumer behaviors. In this environment, understanding and optimizing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) has become more critical than ever. TCO is not just a financial metric; it's a strategic tool that helps organizations manage resources efficiently, maintain competitiveness and contribute to sustainability in a rapidly evolving market.

Eluvio CEO Michelle Munson Talks Latest Content Fabric Release with New AI and Security Features

In a post-IBC interview, Eluvio Co-Founder and CEO Michelle Munson and I discuss the Content Fabric's next-gen Casablanca release and the transformative impact of the Content Fabric technology on the media and entertainment industry and premium video on demand.

Boosting Streaming Profitability with IMAX StreamSmart

Streaming organizations must be able to accurately measure and swiftly assess the impact of workflow changes to validate their effectiveness. Therefore, they must have access to the right metrics that can reliably predict viewer perceptions of quality for achieving bitrate savings without compromising the viewing experience.

Columns

IBC 2024: Better Content Curation Through Conversation with Imaginario AI

One AI-driven solution that stood out at IBC 2024 as particularly smart and creative comes from a London-based company called Imaginario AI. I met with CEO and Co-Founder Jose M. Puga and got an up-close look at a content indexing and curation tool that uses multimodal AI models to "make video content searchable like text." Imaginario AI made a big enough splash at IBC this year to take home 1st prize in the "Manage" category of the IABM's BaM awards.

Dynamic Paywalls for Streaming Services

What would happen if we started to have dynamic paywalls for streaming ser­vices? Leveraging user data, machine learning, and generative AI could create offers based on con­sumption patterns. Some companies are dab­bling in this, but now we have the technology to really start developing it.

The Monetization Story of 2024 and Beyond

For the longest time, people I've interviewed have complained about how much of the video advertising budget went to social. Now the tide is turning.

Cue the Sunset: The Rise and Fall of Reality TV

Though Emily Nussbaum's Cue the Sun: The Invention of Reality TV reads more like a biography than like an obituary, the book lands as reality TV appears to be shrinking along with the scripted side of the business. More than one pundit has proclaimed its demise at the hands of TikTok, the "now everyone grows up on video" platform that reality TV prefigured.

Media/Entertainment Video Companies and Suppliers