Media companies are increasingly turning to cloud technologies for video processing and distribution. Cloud-based solutions that offer the same capabilities as on-premises solutions but with less physical infrastructure are driving increased cloud adoption. Cloud adoption is increasing rapidly, with at least 57% of media companies that have already embraced cloud solutions, or are planning to do so soon.
There are many reasons that more media companies are migrating to the cloud. As cloud migration progresses, we've been able to explore what's driving operators to adopt cloud-based video streaming and delivery solutions.
Benefits of the Cloud for Video Broadcasters & Streaming Businesses
Fast Time-to-Market for New Streaming Services
Video streaming is IP-based, which is highly compatible with video processing and delivery in the cloud. You can quickly create new channels, launch services, and meet market demand on, on-the-fly.
Increased Scalability Enables Sustainable Business Growth
Cloud distribution of video services can scale for high-profile events that attract peak viewership. On-premises infrastructures have physical limitations, but the cloud is inherently scalable. You can handle fluctuating numbers of viewers, and create specific channels as needed, only paying for the resources you actually use.
Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) Provides New Revenue Streams
Targeted advertising thrives in the cloud. As advertisers are now looking to deliver more customized ads, video delivery workflows need to be able to dynamically collect consumer data, store content, leverage AI, and insert customized ad clips per user. Cloud-based DAI opens the door to automation and programmatic ad insertion.
Content Personalization Is Maturing
Delivering personalized video content, based on geographical and household demographics can lead to an improved user experience and increased viewing time. As with DAI, the cloud makes greater content personalization possible.
More Efficient Video Operations & Resiliency
With cloud distribution, the operational management of video services can be moved off-premises or outsourced altogether. By adopting cloud-based operations, companies focus on their content and applications rather than maintaining an aging infrastructure.
Service robustness is a critical factor for user experience, cost of ownership, and your brand, especially for a premium or live content. You need high availability for your service whenever it's on, no matter the number of simultaneous viewers. Your service needs to be able to reliably scale, and cloud-neutral platforms like Harmonic's VOS360 Media SaaS offer multi-cloud capabilities for six-nines availability, with full geo-redundancy. This cloud-based approach for video delivery also works incredibly well for disaster recovery services.
A Cloud Transformation Case Study with Shop LC
A Leading Live Auction Retailer Sets the Bar High for Live Streaming
Shop LC (Shop Low Cost), is a media company based in Austin, TX. It sells jewelry, collectibles, handbags, fashion accessories, and beauty essentials along with cooking, bedding, and bath products with live auction retail channels. Since originally forming in 2007, Shop LC has expanded from a traditional television shopping channel into a live online streaming service distributed over- the-top (OTT) in countries around the world.
Shop LC's Video Business Objectives
Shop LC wanted to focus on developing new distribution platforms and optimizing operations for all its sister channels. With video service expansion in mind, it aimed to reduce non-essential costs from maintaining and forecasting equipment for its desired service expansion. With these savings Shop LC wanted to grow the number of channels, expand into new global markets, and increase the numbers of viewers, including time on screen.
It also wanted to improve the user experience and simplify the sales process caused at the time by more than 90 seconds of video latency in some cases. You can imagine the challenges that prolonged latency can cause for a company that handles 24/7 live auctions, or the frustration for viewers calling to bid on a product that is already sold out.
Shop LC’s Video Service Requirements
There were several critical factors that Shop LC had to resolve to improve the total cost of ownership, achieve a seamless expansion into new markets and prepare for future growth.
- User experience & video quality: Shop LC is also considered a retail company, and it needs its products to display pristine HD video quality on every screen.
- Low latency: high latency was impacting sales and creating complexity in the live auction chain. Shop LC needed to reduce the end-to-end latency to avoid sales errors, reduce consumer complaints, and other accrued costs due to the impact of latency.
- Content customization: Shop LC uses 1-800 numbers for its live auctions to help track sales, handle purchases, and data collection. Being able to customize channels with localized 1-800 numbers offered significant advantages for Shop LC to reconcile revenue with the different service distribution platforms.
- Feature velocity: Shop LC had an expansion plan in place, with a desire to evolve its services more easily. It needed to be able to leverage any new and advanced features that would be available and relevant for its business, including VOD and free ad-supported TV channels.
- Scalability: live auctions see massive shifts in audience engagement and viewership and it needed a solution that could scale for the masses, on the fly.
- Robustness for live and 24/7 content delivery: the live experience requires maximum uptime, with zero impact for the viewer in any event.
Shop LC's Move to the Cloud
Shop LC replaced its on-premises video headend installation and moved its video services to the VOS360 media. The cloud-native platform offers the flexibility and agility Shop LC needs to scale its services and gain new capabilities for content customization.
Advanced graphics insertion enables Shop LC to handle the 1-800 numbers inserted into each stream, allowing a clearer attribution of revenue per distribution platform. Now Shop LC streams content to match the specific needs of each streaming video service it provides. It also has taken the first step into the free ad-supported TV market with content streamed over FAST and social media platforms.
The VOS360 media integrates its award-winning solution for low latency live video streaming. Shop LC was able to lower its video latency down to 7 seconds, without degrading video quality. Another advantage for Shop LC’s move to the cloud is the ability to deploy video disaster recovery-as-a-service (DRaaS) in case one of their studios becomes unreachable.
With video DRaaS, a backup system immediately takes over in the event of a main video source issue, to eliminate the risk of outages. A combination of live and backup systems operating in tandem means a reliable uptime and seamless experience for the viewer if ever an event occurs.
Three Ways Cloud Technology Drives Revenues for Video Services
- Sustainable service expansion: Cloud technology and software as a service (SaaS) can be instrumental in supporting service growth because you remove the barriers of physical infrastructure. Save on power, space, cooling, maintenance and upgrades for your video headend equipment by moving some, or all of your services to the private cloud or public cloud with a SaaS.
- Service launch & time to market: A cloud-based streaming platform can provide you the speed of software to quickly spin up a service. You can launch a pop-up channel for a live event, or test out a new service feature before deciding to bring it to market, with minimal investment. With a cloud-based video delivery solution, you can benefit from faster service launch capabilities because you have no hardware to order, configure, install, test, and maintain.
- Lower total cost of ownership: Reduce hardware and streamline video workflows thanks to cloud-based video platforms that give you total control with minimal physical infrastructures.
Give Your Video Business the Agility of the Cloud
Cloud-based platforms and SaaS for video services can support video service growth by reducing hardware-related costs, providing a scalable and reliable solution to handle live, and high-quality content delivery, with the agility of software. The cloud simply provides your video business with flexibility.
You can more easily adapt your service offering to change market demands and quickly update your services with more advanced features as the video industry evolves. You also gain robust customization capabilities to increase viewer engagement with your and reach new, global markets.
Contact Harmonic if you’d like to explore the opportunities around delivering high-quality video services with low latency, and high uptime, without the CAPEX and operational overhead.
Shop LC's move to the cloud
Shop LC replaced its on-premises video headend installation and moved its video services to the VOS360 media. The cloud-native platform offers the flexibility and agility Shop LC needs to scale its services and gain new capabilities for content customization.
Advanced graphics insertion enables Shop LC to handle the 1-800 numbers inserted into each stream, allowing a clearer attribution of revenue per distribution platform. Now Shop LC streams content to match the specific needs of each streaming video service it provides. It also has taken a first step into the free ad supported TV market with content streamed over FAST and social media platforms.
The VOS360 media integrates its award-winning solution for low latency live video streaming. Shop LC was able to lower its video latency down to 7 seconds, without degrading video quality. Another advantage for Shop LC’s move to the cloud is the ability to deploy video disaster recovery as-a-service (DRaaS) in case one of their studio becomes unreachable. With video DRaaS, a backup system immediately takes over in the event of a main video source issue, to eliminate the risk of outages. A combination of live and backup systems operating in tandem means a reliable uptime and seamless experience for the viewer if ever an event occurs.
Three ways cloud technology drives revenues for video services
Sustainable service expansion: Cloud technology and software as a service (SaaS) can be instrumental in supporting service growth because you remove the barriers of physical infrastructure. Save on power, space, cooling, maintenance and upgrades for your video headend equipment by moving some, or all of your services to the private cloud or public cloud with a SaaS.
Service launch & time to market: A cloud based streaming platform can provide you the speed of software to quickly spin up a service. You can launch a pop-up channel for a live event, or test out new service feature before deciding to bring it to market, with minimal investment. With a cloud-based video delivery solution you can benefit from faster service launch capabilities because you have no hardware to order, configure, install, test, and maintain.
Lower total cost of ownership: Reduce hardware and streamline video workflows thanks to cloud-based video platforms that give you total control with minimal physical infrastructures.
Give your video business the agility of the cloud
Cloud-based platforms and SaaS for video services can support video service growth by reducing hardware related costs, providing a scalable and reliable solution to handle live, and high-quality content delivery, with the agility of software. The cloud simply provides your video business with flexibility.
You can more easily adapt your service offering to changing market demands and quickly update your services with more advanced features as the video industry evolves. You also gain robust customization capabilities to increase viewer engagement with your and reach new, global markets.
Contact Harmonic if you’d like to explore the opportunities around delivering high quality video services with low latency, and high-uptime, without the CAPEX and operational overhead.