Conversation about monetization is so nuanced that after a decade of writing on this topic, I am still looking for meaning where there may be little to find. Essentially, what I've come to understand is that advertising is like the stock market: Certain aspects of advertising deals are not transparent now and may never become fully transparent. What is clear, according to research from Statista, is that 64% of revenue growth in the U.S. in OTT is coming from advertising.
28 Mar 2025
Old Hollywood got Wall Street's memo: "Do whatever it takes to do what Netflix is doing." And finally, the studios have begun making money from streaming. With the exception of NBCUniversal, the biggest legacy media companies all reported a profit from their direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses in Q3 2024. They got there by variously writing down or shedding cable assets, slashing jobs, hiking prices, policing password-sharing, improving bundled offerings, and putting the full focus of their business strategy into online.
28 Mar 2025
Although software transcoding is acceptable for transcoding most VOD streams and even low-volume live programming, most high-volume live applications need hardware for efficient transcoding, both to save you money and to save the planet. This buyers' guide will cover: What hardware transcoders are, what you need to bring to the table to identify the best hardware transcoder, factors to consider when choosing one, choosing a hardware transcoder for cloud workflows, and choosing a hardware transcoder for on-prem workflows.
28 Mar 2025
The 2024 edition of Streamticker, recapping the streaming industry's most momentous mergers and acquisitions of 2023, kicked off with Disney's gobbling up the last extant portions of Hulu, as Comcast ceded its remaining 33% stake. But if the late-2023 deal marked only the quiet conclusion of an already-silent partnership, the much noisier news of Jan. 6, 2025, found Disney absorbing sports-centric streamer Fubo and merging it with Hulu Live + TV. Here we'll review this and other done (or more nearly done) M&A deals that reshuffled the streaming industry in 2024.
28 Mar 2025
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.
15 Oct 2024
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.
15 Oct 2024
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.
15 Oct 2024
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.
30 Sep 2024
As YouTube makes short-form viewing increasingly commonplace, measurable, and monetized on CTV, and other channels inevitably rush to adopt and repeat the formula, time will tell when "YouTube is the new television" gives way to "Television is the new YouTube."
21 Mar 2025
For all its promise, and despite officially going into effect in mid-January, the Fededral Trade Commission's Click to Cancel rule for streamlining streaming and other cancellations remains largely in limbo, due in part to its all-deliberate-speed effective compliance date of May 14 and also because of legal and political challenges from the Chamber of Commerce and others.
03 Feb 2025
As I celebrate my one-year anniversary of relocating to my hometown of St. Louis to care for my 84-year-old mother, I'm looking at 2025 as a year of improved UI and UX for seniors, particularly those with memory issues.
21 Jan 2025
The streaming business model must change. Services that rely solely on subscriptions are going to plateau. They will have to continually return to their subscriber base and "milk" them for additional revenue via fee hikes. But by taking the plunge and embracing advertising as the primary part of creating and supporting quality television, streaming services will meet the ultimate need of their viewers: getting to see the content they want.
21 Jan 2025