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CTV/OTT

CTV and Over-the-top (OTT) have changed how people watch television, and in some regions is on track to overtake broadcast, cable, and satellite. Look below for the latest news in OTT technology and programming, as well as insights and analysis into where the OTT market is headed.

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Features

The State of OTT and CTV Monetization 2025

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.

The State of Live Sports Streaming 2025

The sports media sector continues to undergo rapid change, with streaming aggregators attempting to reconsolidate for greater ef­ficiency but still falling short of traditional broadcast models in reach and revenue.

Streaming Year in Review 2025: Online Video Is Now an Advertising-Led Business

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.

Buyers' Guide: Hardware Transcoders

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.

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.

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.

Fireside Chat: IMAX's Vikram Arumilli and ESHAP's Evan Shapiro Talk Optimizing Streaming Content Delivery and User Experiences

In this fireside chat at Streaming Media Connect 2024, Media Universe Cartographer Evan Shapiro, spoke with IMAX SVP and GM Vikram Arumilli about IMAX's transition from a traditionally consumer-facing brand known for high-end cinematic experiences to a brand that also focuses on in-home and on-device entertainment.

Doing Interactive Streaming the Right Way: Ultra-Low Latency Streaming at Scale With HESP

In recent years, the High Efficiency Streaming Protocol, commonly known as HESP, has significantly enhanced the cost-effectiveness and performance of large-scale ultra-low latency streaming.

Columns

The Long and Short of It: Measuring YouTube on TV

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."

In Defense of (Click to) Cancel Culture

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.

Is This the End of the CDN As We Know It?

Recent news, like the shuttering of Edgio, signals to many the imminent death of traditional content delivery networks (CDNs). But does it really?

Designing Streaming Experiences for Seniors

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.

CTV/OTT Companies and Suppliers