In the “streaming wars” era, retaining subscribers has emerged as the ultimate battleground. As streaming companies navigate through a maze of subscription models, the challenge – or battle plan as it were – is not just to attract viewers but to retain them amidst fierce market competition and tightening consumer budgets. It’s no wonder recent research by Parks Associates revealed that the average annualized subscriber churn rate stands at 47%.
In the face of these challenges, media companies are redefining the playbook on subscriber engagement, leveraging a mix of cutting-edge technologies to forge deeper, more enduring connections with their audiences.
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The OTT industry has undergone some major changes over the past few years. Market growth slowed somewhat compared to previous years and video providers have broadened their monetization strategies and shifted focus from subscriber growth to profitability. Despite this, the OTT video industry remains buoyant; according to analysis by Statista, the industry is projected to show an annual growth rate of 6.30% between 2024 and 2029, to reach US$429.40bn by 2029. This change of focus towards profitability is driving service providers to provide a better experience for viewers and optimize their services. However, there is a need to balance this drive for profitability with the industry-wide need to transition towards a sustainable video ecosystem.
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In the television world, generating new revenue can be a significant battle. Broadcasters and video service providers face growing competition for eyeballs, changing viewer demands, cost pressures, and an array of regulations, amongst other challenges. As the television industry evolves, broadcasters and service providers need to find new ways to attract viewers, engage audiences, and increase revenue.
This article will highlight some of the key challenges that broadcasters and video service providers face when monetizing content and offer innovative solutions for generating new TV revenue, including personalized FAST channels, targeted TV advertising, tailored content packages, and shoppable TV.
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Sourcing – In or Out? It is a long cyclic debate within any business – whether it’s better to build or buy. Such discussions revolve around business investments, where any spending must be weighted alongside the value of IPR ownership.
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With the global economic headwinds pressuring all industries, media companies are strategizing about expanding their content’s reach, tapping new audiences, and driving more revenue streams.
Delivering super high-quality live video content swiftly, reliably, and on a large scale is non-negotiable. As media companies pivot to reach audiences across markets, they need the right network backbone to remain agile. However, many media organizations still rely on generic transport workflows for their premium content, missing out on the advantages of new, software-defined transport networks explicitly tailored for media.
Innovation in software-defined transport networks that are media-centric in nature renders these networks ready to meet the stringent quality, synchronization, and reliability requirements of the media industry. When it comes to valuable live content, media companies can’t compromise for anything less.
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Broadcasters and telecommunications companies are facing a seismic shift. The traditional powerhouses of Pay-TV services and over-the-air broadcast television are witnessing a change in viewing as consumers increasingly gravitate towards subscription and ad-supported streaming video. This progressively changes the balance of the importance between traditional and streaming services, even from the same provider. The shift demands a re-evaluation of media supply chains and infrastructures, leading many broadcasters to contemplate a move to the cloud.
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In the early days of streaming, subscription costs were low, and viewers were spoilt for choice by series after endless series of top-quality content – think House of Cards, Orange is the New Black and Stranger Things to name just a few. It was this promise of low costs and a seemingly never-ending stream of top-quality content that helped to entice consumers away from cable TV. The steady growth in subscriber numbers allowed for an unprecedented number of new shows to be ordered, which in turn helped to bolster growth. Many dubbed this the era of Peak TV. Streaming services reached record breaking subscriber numbers in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Netflix reportedly added an extraordinary 36 million subscribers in that period which led it to pass the 200 million mark for the first time.
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The rise of the mega streamer has brought the broadcast media industry into a period of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. The acronym VUCA first described the complex and challenging geopolitical situation in 1987 following the Cold War, and now aptly defines the current media landscape. It’s an environment characterized by volatility in that challenges are unexpected and sometimes incomprehensible; by uncertainty in that change may happen, or not; by complexity in that it is influenced by numerous variables; and by ambiguity in that causal relationships can be difficult or impossible to define.
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The media industry has undergone a tectonic shift in its operations, driven by the rapid evolution of digital technology and an increasing slew of viewing platforms. To address the evolving need to serve more audiences across more devices, media companies have increasingly relied on custom scripts to shoehorn highly complex packaging and distribution requirements into platforms that weren’t originally designed for such purposes.
There is a smarter, more efficient approach to ensuring your media operations pivot quickly with your audiences’ demands: no-code/low code media supply chain platforms. These offer a compelling alternative to traditional custom scripting, delivering improved productivity, agility, and scalability in content management and distribution.
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Josh Arensberg was elected Chair of the IABM Members’ Board in July this year. We asked him to share his vision for where he sees IABM – and our industry – heading.
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