This report delves into one of the major long-term drivers of change in the media industry, identified by IABM in its Special Report published in September 2020: viewing technology only as an enabler. The research puts the spotlight on this specific structural driver of industry change, analyzing the ultimate business, technical and creative values that technology is enabling as well as one of the rising operating models behind them: the cloud model. Our main objective is decoding these topics to shed more light on the economics underpinning media factories.

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This is a collection of presentations that the IABM Insight & Analysis team delivered at at BaM LIVE!™ June 2021. The presentation cover the topics listed below.

• Americas Regional Trends
• Digital Transformation in Media: The Stats
• Decentralized Production Models: Effects on Media Tech Investment
• Media Convergence: Current & Futuristic Perspectives

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Large streaming providers have deployed a dual growth strategy of reaching new audiences via Direct to Consumer (DTC) offerings sold to individual consumers and reaching these audiences seamlessly via sell-through on cable/telco and aggregation platforms. They can successfully execute this strategy through a substantial investment in homegrown solutions and custom integrations into telco/cable/aggregator platforms. Moreover, their investment is justifiable in the context of the extensive content library they own and the enormous global reach of services they can deliver.  More niche content owners are now faced with the challenge of executing a similar strategy with a vastly reduced budget – but how can they achieve this and remain competitive in the market?  Do they follow the same strategy as the industry leading streamers?  Also, what does their streaming platform need to deliver in terms of consumer experience and how can they engage sports and event fans on the scale they need? 

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Since the advent of social media, most people have begun to appreciate how much - or how little - it is possible to say when writing with a very limited number of characters. If you work writing synopses for Media and Entertainment metadata - the likelihood is you knew that already. The movie synopsis turns short-form writing into a fine art. The standard length for a linear EPG (Electronic Program Guide) is 180 characters - not much longer than a single Tweet. Streaming platforms might give you 250 characters to work with. This is all the real estate that you have to sell this media to your audience and convince them to watch - a single sentence, two at most - and perhaps a couple of seconds before they make their decision or flip the channel. This is why you really need to make your synopses count!

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The pandemic has pushed the world to digitalise almost all industries – from the use of digital video solutions replicating a retail purchase, to remote production within the entertainment sector. In this blog Dhaval Ponda, Global Head, Media and Entertainment Services, Tata Communications, discusses the changing landscape of the sports and entertainment industry and the tech-enabled exciting times that lie ahead.

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Download your free copy of this eBook to learn:

• How to select the right DRM for your needs
• Why app security should be a part of your approach
• How watermarking complements other anti-piracy techniques

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We Surveyed Over 100 Successful TV Operators – Get Their Advice for Newcomers This eBook outlines the major do’s and don’ts highlighted by the results our survey. Download a copy to gain valuables insights about:

• How to avoid major pitfalls
• Choosing the right playback device
• Building vs. outsourcing your platform build

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Calculations of current and projected losses due to online video piracy keep going up. While pirate business models vary widely, the most successful ones revolve around websites that aggregate stolen video into legitimate-looking service offerings of on-demand and live content, mimicking a legal OTT or IPTV service provider. In this article we cover common forms of piracy and how professional video pirates find success. We also look at the crowded pool of amateur thieves that engage in illegal viewing through credential sharing and other means. It has never been more important to not only understand the global trends of online video theft, but to determine the risks your content is facing and, most important of all, what can be done about it.

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The media landscape looks vastly different than it did only five years ago. “Media” is no longer solely the realm of production studios and television stations. Social networks, gaming sites, and user-generated content platforms are media companies. Internet service providers and technology giants are also foraying into the music and video space. E-learning services, faith groups, local newspapers and even fitness companies now use video more than ever to reach wider audiences. At the same time, consumers’ idea of media has drastically changed. In a recent Lumen survey, nearly 90% of European consumers considered “television” as any video they watched on their devices. 65% of them already subscribed to two or more streaming services. As video and technology merge, the face of media is changing; development teams are agile, software and cloud computing have replaced hardware-based workflows, and black-box technologies have fallen out of favor. Media companies need solutions that are adapted to new challenges and new ways of working.

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Encoding an OTT (over-the-top) ladder can be a demanding job. To satisfy the needs of viewers on a variety of screen sizes and resolutions, like 4K TVs and smartphones, you will inevitably end up with an encoding ladder that has many rungs. For every rung, or every step on the ladder, typical encoding scenarios will require an encoding instance.

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