Audiences are shifting towards digital platforms for media consumption, boosting streaming video subscription and advertising revenues – S&P Global predicts that revenues will pass the $100 billion mark by 2026, from just over $2 billion in 2010. Standard audience expectations for streaming are evolving as consumers look for high quality, lean-back experiences at accessible price points. Meanwhile, audiences want tailored viewing experiences with relevant advertising and recommendations for a more personalized feel.
Media companies are pivoting to meet audience demands while facing economic headwinds. Content owners need to experiment with new viewing experiences and different business models to secure digital revenues, delivering curated television experiences at compelling cost points for consumers across multiple viewing models including SVOD, AVOD, and FAST. Achieving this at scale while maximizing revenue and lowering operational costs is an incredibly complex task.
A tailored approach drives complexity
The streaming landscape has evolved beyond a one-size-fits-all model as streaming companies look to cater to audiences with diverse viewing preferences and varying budgets. Leading SVOD providers have introduced ad-supported tiers, while the free ad-supported TV (FAST) market is growing rapidly — Omdia forecasts that total FAST revenues will triple by 2027 and reach $12bn.
While the choice between ad-free premium viewing and cheaper ad-supported alternatives are table stakes for many top streaming providers, some providers may choose to offer more affordable mobile-only packages across markets in Asia and Africa to cater to regional consumption trends. However, delivering high quality content to viewers across different subscription types, viewing formats, and digital platforms causes huge complexity for media companies — and increased costs.
Technology foundations for streaming at scale
With rising content costs, increased competition for rights and licensing deals, and fast-shifting consumer habits, operating a streaming business at scale is complex enough – and that’s without even mentioning the technology required. The biggest live-streamed events regularly pull in millions of concurrent viewers, with audiences increasingly segmented across subscription types, devices, and geographies. While viewers across platforms and devices may be tuning in to the same core content or live event, every individual stream has to be tailored based on device, location, and bandwidth to ensure maximum quality and personalized ad experiences.
In a fragmented market, business leaders need flexible and scalable technology workflows that support all scenarios while delivering uninterrupted streams anywhere and everywhere. Only the most robust, proven streaming solutions can handle the complexities required to help content owners thrive in a fast-evolving streaming landscape.
Uplynk provides a simplified and scalable workflow to power your streaming business
We offer a trusted, flexible solution that reduces complexity and helps media companies bring services to market quickly and cost-efficiently – empowering brands to focus on their business differentiators, audience growth and content strategies. Uplynk provides the key foundation to stream the highest quality linear, live and on-demand video experiences to any global viewer, while harnessing any monetization strategy and scaling with minimal resource. Uplynk has handled hundreds of thousands of live events, and in 2022 alone generated 2.4 billion event views, 3.3 billion hours of streamed video, and 220 million hours of advertising.
