• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • TV/Radio Deals
  • Film partnerships
  • New appointments
  • Production
  • TV Channels
Strategies to win the OTT race

Strategies to win the OTT race

December 14, 2020
Saudi film ‘Hajeer’ to world premiere at Dakhla Film Festival in Morocco

Saudi film ‘Hajeer’ to world premiere at Dakhla Film Festival in Morocco

June 17, 2025
Ad 1 Ad 3
BeIN Media Group secures exclusive Premier League rights across MENA until 2028

BeIN Media Group secures exclusive Premier League rights across MENA until 2028

June 17, 2025
STC Bahrain and Huawei partner to drive AI and 5G-Advanced innovation

STC Bahrain and Huawei partner to drive AI and 5G-Advanced innovation

June 17, 2025
Fozi Mozi family returns to MBC and Shahid with new theatrical show

Fozi Mozi family returns to MBC and Shahid with new theatrical show

June 17, 2025
ABS appoints Hussein Oteifa as MENA Managing Director

ABS appoints Hussein Oteifa as MENA Managing Director

June 17, 2025
Canal+ to be exclusive distributor for beIN Sports in France

Thmanyah wins exclusive Mideast rights to Saudi football leagues

June 17, 2025
Tuned Global expands Social Radio with real-time tipping

Tuned Global expands Social Radio with real-time tipping

June 17, 2025
Amazon MGM Studios and Avid extend cloud production deal

Amazon MGM Studios and Avid extend cloud production deal

June 17, 2025
View Master launches Greece’s first 4K UHD OB truck featuring Grass Valley technology

View Master launches Greece’s first 4K UHD OB truck featuring Grass Valley technology

June 16, 2025
Grass Valley scales up with software and IP workflows

Grass Valley scales up with software and IP workflows

June 16, 2025
Thales unveils advanced dual-use radar system

Thales unveils advanced dual-use radar system

June 16, 2025
Sarah Goher’s debut film ‘Happy Birthday’ wins top awards at Tribeca Film Festival

Sarah Goher’s debut film ‘Happy Birthday’ wins top awards at Tribeca Film Festival

June 16, 2025
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Magazine Archive
  • Directory
  • Contact
Wednesday, June 18, 2025
BroadcastPro ME
  • News
    • All
    • Analyst Reports
    • AV
    • Cinema Theatres
    • Esports
    • Film partnerships
    • International News
    • Mergers/Acquisitions
    • New appointments
    • OTT/Video Streaming
    • Podcasting
    • Production
    • Satellite/Broadcasting
    • Satellite/Comms
    • TV/Radio Deals
    Saudi film ‘Hajeer’ to world premiere at Dakhla Film Festival in Morocco

    Saudi film ‘Hajeer’ to world premiere at Dakhla Film Festival in Morocco

    BeIN Media Group secures exclusive Premier League rights across MENA until 2028

    BeIN Media Group secures exclusive Premier League rights across MENA until 2028

    STC Bahrain and Huawei partner to drive AI and 5G-Advanced innovation

    STC Bahrain and Huawei partner to drive AI and 5G-Advanced innovation

    Fozi Mozi family returns to MBC and Shahid with new theatrical show

    Fozi Mozi family returns to MBC and Shahid with new theatrical show

    ABS appoints Hussein Oteifa as MENA Managing Director

    ABS appoints Hussein Oteifa as MENA Managing Director

    Canal+ to be exclusive distributor for beIN Sports in France

    Thmanyah wins exclusive Mideast rights to Saudi football leagues

    Tuned Global expands Social Radio with real-time tipping

    Tuned Global expands Social Radio with real-time tipping

    Amazon MGM Studios and Avid extend cloud production deal

    Amazon MGM Studios and Avid extend cloud production deal

    View Master launches Greece’s first 4K UHD OB truck featuring Grass Valley technology

    View Master launches Greece’s first 4K UHD OB truck featuring Grass Valley technology

    Thales unveils advanced dual-use radar system

    Thales unveils advanced dual-use radar system

    Trending Tags

    • broadcast
    • MENA broadcast
    • ConnecTech2019
  • Tech Features
    • All
    • CASE STUDIES
    • New Media
    • REVIEWS
    • TV/Radio Deals
    • Updates from FOMEX
    • Virtual Production Series
    Playing to win

    Playing to win

    The expanding role of AI in broadcast

    The expanding role of AI in broadcast

    The power of podcasts and audio streaming in MENA

    The power of podcasts and audio streaming in MENA

    Tech strategies for an evolving modern MENA media ecosystem

    Tech strategies for an evolving modern MENA media ecosystem

    SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part II

    SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part IV

    SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part I

    SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part III

    SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part II

    SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part II

    SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part I

    SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part I

    Transforming the entertainment experience with tech

    Transforming the entertainment experience with tech

    Media leaders embrace digital transformation

    Media leaders embrace digital transformation

    Trending Tags

    • Videos
      FOR-A’s award-winning HVS-Q12: A quantum leap in switcher design

      FOR-A’s award-winning HVS-Q12: A quantum leap in switcher design

      Ignacio Gonzalez-Nuñez on Eutelsat’s new offering and market leadership

      Ignacio Gonzalez-Nuñez on Eutelsat’s new offering and market leadership

      Francesco Cataldo on iKO Media Group’s CABSAT showcase and broadcast trends

      Francesco Cataldo on iKO Media Group’s CABSAT showcase and broadcast trends

      Deepraj Sandhar on Ross Video’s Middle East growth and broadcast tech trends

      Deepraj Sandhar on Ross Video’s Middle East growth and broadcast tech trends

      Reema Omari

      Reema Omari on Universal Satcom’s growth and connectivity solutions

      Mustafa Afifi

      Mustafa Afifi of Rivada Space on Outernet’s impact in the Middle East

      Don

      ST Engineering iDirect CEO Don Claussen on Mideast ties and satellite strategy

      KSASummit

      Transforming Arabic Content: Studios, Producers and Regional Impact

      Bringing Real-Time Audience Insights to Linear Broadcast TV – A First and Exclusive

      Bringing Real-Time Audience Insights to Linear Broadcast TV – A First and Exclusive

    • Opinion
      Bridging the Latency Gap with Broadcast in a Streaming World

      Bridging the Latency Gap with Broadcast in a Streaming World

      YouTube in Ramadan: The silent giant

      YouTube in Ramadan: The silent giant

      Evision’s transformation proves that business acumen and passion drive success

      Sport’s Growing Grip on MENA Media

      MEASA’s media and communications innovations set new benchmarks beyond regional boundaries

      MEASA’s media and communications innovations set new benchmarks beyond regional boundaries

      Integrate ME 2023 brings its inaugural edition to successful conclusion

      Empowering the next generation of content creation and live broadcasting with AV PRO

      Decoding the Ramadan Drama Phenomenon: What Makes a Winner?

      Decoding the Ramadan Drama Phenomenon: What Makes a Winner?

      Reviving cultural identity through native storytelling in Abu Dhabi

      Reviving cultural identity through native storytelling in Abu Dhabi

      Why it’s game on for broadcasters of live sport

      Why it’s game on for broadcasters of live sport

      Evision’s transformation proves that business acumen and passion drive success

      Saudi Arabia emerges as the epicentre of Media & Entertainment in 2025

      Film and Beyond: Leapfrogging into the global screen industry

      Film and Beyond: Leapfrogging into the global screen industry

    • Interviews
      • All
      • Lounge
      Grass Valley scales up with software and IP workflows

      Grass Valley scales up with software and IP workflows

      Breaking barriers, building futures: The new face of IABM

      Breaking barriers, building futures: The new face of IABM

      New Leadership, Same Strategy, Sharpened Focus

      New Leadership, Same Strategy, Sharpened Focus

      Creating Captain Shedeed: A superhero with Arab roots

      Creating Captain Shedeed: A superhero with Arab roots

      UAE Pro League flips the field

      UAE Pro League flips the field

      Bringing the wild to the Middle East

      Bringing the wild to the Middle East

      Shades of success

      Shades of success

      Navigating the news wave

      Navigating the news wave

      From archive to asset

      From archive to asset

      Clarity in motion

      Clarity in motion

    • Products
    • Magazine Archive
      • BroadcastPro ME Magazine
      • PRO Directory
    • Events
      • News from Events
      • Upcoming Events
      DICM

      DICM

      IBC Show

      IBC 2025

      MPTS

      CABSAT2025

      CABSAT2025

      NAB Show

    No Result
    View All Result
    BroadcastPro ME
    • News
      • All
      • Analyst Reports
      • AV
      • Cinema Theatres
      • Esports
      • Film partnerships
      • International News
      • Mergers/Acquisitions
      • New appointments
      • OTT/Video Streaming
      • Podcasting
      • Production
      • Satellite/Broadcasting
      • Satellite/Comms
      • TV/Radio Deals
      Saudi film ‘Hajeer’ to world premiere at Dakhla Film Festival in Morocco

      Saudi film ‘Hajeer’ to world premiere at Dakhla Film Festival in Morocco

      BeIN Media Group secures exclusive Premier League rights across MENA until 2028

      BeIN Media Group secures exclusive Premier League rights across MENA until 2028

      STC Bahrain and Huawei partner to drive AI and 5G-Advanced innovation

      STC Bahrain and Huawei partner to drive AI and 5G-Advanced innovation

      Fozi Mozi family returns to MBC and Shahid with new theatrical show

      Fozi Mozi family returns to MBC and Shahid with new theatrical show

      ABS appoints Hussein Oteifa as MENA Managing Director

      ABS appoints Hussein Oteifa as MENA Managing Director

      Canal+ to be exclusive distributor for beIN Sports in France

      Thmanyah wins exclusive Mideast rights to Saudi football leagues

      Tuned Global expands Social Radio with real-time tipping

      Tuned Global expands Social Radio with real-time tipping

      Amazon MGM Studios and Avid extend cloud production deal

      Amazon MGM Studios and Avid extend cloud production deal

      View Master launches Greece’s first 4K UHD OB truck featuring Grass Valley technology

      View Master launches Greece’s first 4K UHD OB truck featuring Grass Valley technology

      Thales unveils advanced dual-use radar system

      Thales unveils advanced dual-use radar system

      Trending Tags

      • broadcast
      • MENA broadcast
      • ConnecTech2019
    • Tech Features
      • All
      • CASE STUDIES
      • New Media
      • REVIEWS
      • TV/Radio Deals
      • Updates from FOMEX
      • Virtual Production Series
      Playing to win

      Playing to win

      The expanding role of AI in broadcast

      The expanding role of AI in broadcast

      The power of podcasts and audio streaming in MENA

      The power of podcasts and audio streaming in MENA

      Tech strategies for an evolving modern MENA media ecosystem

      Tech strategies for an evolving modern MENA media ecosystem

      SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part II

      SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part IV

      SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part I

      SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part III

      SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part II

      SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part II

      SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part I

      SMF and FOMEX bring top industry leaders together in Riyadh – Part I

      Transforming the entertainment experience with tech

      Transforming the entertainment experience with tech

      Media leaders embrace digital transformation

      Media leaders embrace digital transformation

      Trending Tags

      • Videos
        FOR-A’s award-winning HVS-Q12: A quantum leap in switcher design

        FOR-A’s award-winning HVS-Q12: A quantum leap in switcher design

        Ignacio Gonzalez-Nuñez on Eutelsat’s new offering and market leadership

        Ignacio Gonzalez-Nuñez on Eutelsat’s new offering and market leadership

        Francesco Cataldo on iKO Media Group’s CABSAT showcase and broadcast trends

        Francesco Cataldo on iKO Media Group’s CABSAT showcase and broadcast trends

        Deepraj Sandhar on Ross Video’s Middle East growth and broadcast tech trends

        Deepraj Sandhar on Ross Video’s Middle East growth and broadcast tech trends

        Reema Omari

        Reema Omari on Universal Satcom’s growth and connectivity solutions

        Mustafa Afifi

        Mustafa Afifi of Rivada Space on Outernet’s impact in the Middle East

        Don

        ST Engineering iDirect CEO Don Claussen on Mideast ties and satellite strategy

        KSASummit

        Transforming Arabic Content: Studios, Producers and Regional Impact

        Bringing Real-Time Audience Insights to Linear Broadcast TV – A First and Exclusive

        Bringing Real-Time Audience Insights to Linear Broadcast TV – A First and Exclusive

      • Opinion
        Bridging the Latency Gap with Broadcast in a Streaming World

        Bridging the Latency Gap with Broadcast in a Streaming World

        YouTube in Ramadan: The silent giant

        YouTube in Ramadan: The silent giant

        Evision’s transformation proves that business acumen and passion drive success

        Sport’s Growing Grip on MENA Media

        MEASA’s media and communications innovations set new benchmarks beyond regional boundaries

        MEASA’s media and communications innovations set new benchmarks beyond regional boundaries

        Integrate ME 2023 brings its inaugural edition to successful conclusion

        Empowering the next generation of content creation and live broadcasting with AV PRO

        Decoding the Ramadan Drama Phenomenon: What Makes a Winner?

        Decoding the Ramadan Drama Phenomenon: What Makes a Winner?

        Reviving cultural identity through native storytelling in Abu Dhabi

        Reviving cultural identity through native storytelling in Abu Dhabi

        Why it’s game on for broadcasters of live sport

        Why it’s game on for broadcasters of live sport

        Evision’s transformation proves that business acumen and passion drive success

        Saudi Arabia emerges as the epicentre of Media & Entertainment in 2025

        Film and Beyond: Leapfrogging into the global screen industry

        Film and Beyond: Leapfrogging into the global screen industry

      • Interviews
        • All
        • Lounge
        Grass Valley scales up with software and IP workflows

        Grass Valley scales up with software and IP workflows

        Breaking barriers, building futures: The new face of IABM

        Breaking barriers, building futures: The new face of IABM

        New Leadership, Same Strategy, Sharpened Focus

        New Leadership, Same Strategy, Sharpened Focus

        Creating Captain Shedeed: A superhero with Arab roots

        Creating Captain Shedeed: A superhero with Arab roots

        UAE Pro League flips the field

        UAE Pro League flips the field

        Bringing the wild to the Middle East

        Bringing the wild to the Middle East

        Shades of success

        Shades of success

        Navigating the news wave

        Navigating the news wave

        From archive to asset

        From archive to asset

        Clarity in motion

        Clarity in motion

      • Products
      • Magazine Archive
        • BroadcastPro ME Magazine
        • PRO Directory
      • Events
        • News from Events
        • Upcoming Events
        DICM

        DICM

        IBC Show

        IBC 2025

        MPTS

        CABSAT2025

        CABSAT2025

        NAB Show

      No Result
      View All Result
      BroadcastPro ME
      No Result
      View All Result
      AMT Ad ibc Ad Rossvideo Ad
      Home News OTT/Video Streaming

      Strategies to win the OTT race

      Vijaya Cherian by Vijaya Cherian
      December 14, 2020
      in OTT/Video Streaming, Tech Features
      Strategies to win the OTT race
      ShareTweetPostEmail

      With a plethora of streaming services vying for eyeballs, panellists at the MENA OTT Conference debated on some core issues that could potentially make or break a streaming service.

      It is public knowledge that Covid-19 accelerated the adoption of streaming services in the last year amongst end-users, thrusting OTT players overnight into the limelight with massive changes in the ecosystem to boot, taking both streamers and solution providers by surprise.

      As a result, there have been some interesting developments within streaming as everyone in the chain tries to identify the secret formula to winning the OTT race. John-Paul McKerlie, Chief Commercial Officer at Intigral; Remi Beaudouin, Chief Strategy Officer at ATEME; and Tim Pearson, Senior Product Marketing Director at Nagra explored with moderator Christophe Firth, Senior Principal at Kearney, the current status quo, new trends and evolving strategies in the OTT space. These included debates on AVOD versus SVOD, traditional licensing models, the personalisation and recommendation dilemma, piracy, pricing and the evolving role of set-top boxes.

      JP McKerlie from Intigral, which has two OTT products including Jawwy TV, an SVOD-based service at present, and Dawri Plus, an AVOD sports streaming service, summed up the situation perfectly, when he stated that “we are perpetually in start-up mode in this industry”.

      Tim Pearson is Senior Product Marketing Director at Nagra.

      “It tends to shift quite rapidly with the expectations moving a lot faster than the innovation, and so you are constantly trying to catch up.”

      Adding to this already-charged atmosphere is the entry of sports, a high-value player, which will disrupt the OTT space even further, noted Tim Pearson.

      “OTT gives sports federations the opportunity to offer a whole raft of content that they didn’t previously have a route to market. These services give them a fresh avenue to engage with their fans. We will start to see a broader offering as part of that fan engagement throughout the year.”

      A parallel effect of that would be “how sports is licensed so the regular fan base has access to content throughout the year through the tools that OTT delivers”, he added.

      AVOD versus SVOD

      With the panellists all establish

      ing that OTT brought new opportunities for content and rights owners, moderator Christophe Firth channelled the discussion to the AVOD versus SVOD debate.

      Remi Beaudouin from ATEME expressed confidence that there will be space for AVOD again although it has been impacted due to Covid-19.

       

      He presented two scenarios that will drive AVOD. Firstly, those who entered the market late will find it challenging to penetrate the SVOD market and will rely on AVOD.

      “This is a nice way to counter the over the presence of SVOD,” he pointed out.

      Secondly, he believes that when hundreds of SVOD services become available, end-users who can’t invest in all will turn to AVOD.

      “The content on one platform may well be on another platform in another country so financially, they won’t be able to stack so many platforms.”

      JP McKerlie questioned if the value of one’s assets will be negatively impacted if they are distributed through an advertising platform.

      McKerlie, however, commented that it all depends on how the platform is skewed.

      Citing Intigral’s business model, he pointed out that the company currently has two products, an AVOD-based service that they are planning to move to an SVOD model like Jawwy TV.

      “A lot of it alludes back to whether you have a prime asset that you believe will be enough to pull an advertising revenue stream towards it. Sports entities and sports properties can if they are in that tier 1 space with a high-demand audience. So, if you know you can generate the eyeballs, you need to build an ecosystem to support the advertising around it.”

      Also responding to Beaudouin’s comment about stacking, McKerlie said Intigral recognised the consumers’ challenge in investing in multiple platforms early on, which is why it adopted a super aggregator approach.

      “Intigral has aggregated those aggregators. We have signed deals with B2B partners like StarzPlay, OSN, MBC, Wide Khaliji and so on. Our philosophy is to bring everything to one platform, and we moved away from the advertising approach when we did that.”

      But McKerlie also questioned if the value of one’s content assets will be negatively impacted if they are distributed through an advertising platform.

      “There is a concept that if you want to build a subscription model, you have to invest in something that someone has value for. In some parts of the world, the presence of a Netflix or Hollywood content on your platform may drive someone to subscribe to your platform. Now, if you take that asset and drop it into an advertising revenue stream, would that devalue the content that is published on that platform?

      “Also, will the content producer or distributor want to sell you assets that you then want to give away on an ad-driven platform? We ourselves have moved to the subscription service and generate revenue that way. The concept of not having ads is seen favourably here in this market.”

      However, he agreed that the choice to stick with AVOD or move into SVOD often varies by markets.
      “Unlike the GCC, if you look at the Levant, Iraq or Egypt — those are fundamentally different markets where your subscription value may not be enough to cover the cost of delivering that content so by virtue of that fact, you may be forced to explore other revenue and monetisation opportunities.

      He added that should Intigral move to an ad or freemium service, “it may be a market-specific circumstance and we may limit either the quality, the streams, the device access or the product access to ensure there is a clear path to subscription in the future.”

      ATEME has integrated AI into its solutions to adjust the streams, the bit rate and the resolution being delivered to each viewer, commented Beaudouin.

      Beaudouin concurred on the super aggregator model saying how “the great unbundling could lead to the great rebundling where people can have access to everything in one space”.

      Nagra’s Pearson, however, cautioned that it was important to get super aggregation right.

      “With super aggregation, you have to ensure deep linking so a customer can quickly get to his content of choice. If not, people will experience fatigue and not find the content they are looking for.”

       

      Personalisation and Recommendation

      This brought the discussion specifically to the all-important topic of personalisation and recommendation.
      McKerlie pointed out that recommendations were not just about personalising an experience for a digital native population based on their browsing profile and viewing habits, but also served an underlying objective for streamers.

      “We invest heavily in original content productions so it is in our interest to promote those titles and surface it early on into the customer’s experience with us because it then converts into consumption, which is a measure for us on ROI,” McKerlie elaborated.

      “So how do you enable and customise that on a platform while also installing some intelligence to bring forward the recommendations you want, so you can manage the viewer’s expectations? Essentially, we want to be able to shape the way they view as much as you want the recommendation engine to recommend it. That level of personalised functionality for a user balanced with the acquisition content spend against the recommendation and intelligence is the holy grail of that exercise.”

      Remi also concurred on the digital native theory but predicted that a reverse culture may also be underway, where people go back to a passive entertainment experience after tediously scrolling through piles of content.
      “We all see the limits of the recommendation of the current engine. You can suggest content but if you add an advert kind of recommendation to that, it involves a lot of painful scrolling through content. We are heading to a point where we will get back to the roots of television, which is a passive experience where you consume TV to be entertained and take rest. What you can have is a recommended channel, which has a mix and match of the programmes that you are likely to have but you combine it with a passive experience.”

      Pearson added to this that the flaws around recommendation remain because of the disconnect between man and machine.

      “The challenge for recommendation engines is that as human beings, we behave very differently on a Sunday as opposed to a Thursday. It is interesting that the tech is there, but we need better consumer understanding because no one wants the fatigue of being recommended a hundred things that you don’t want to watch.”

      The discussion then turned to rights management and all participants agreed that the current licensing mechanism poses a huge challenge on several fronts.

      Set-top boxes are being replaced by smart TVs as providers upgrade their services via software.

      For instance, Pearson pointed out that sports federations will start to rethink rights when they see how OTT will help them go direct to the customer (D2C) and lower the barrier to entry.

      McKerlie explained challenges within an SVOD scenario, where “you don’t have the rights to take the asset and create a channel with them”.

      “You can’t keep an auto player on and run the next title that you recommend. You don’t have those rights. So, at a content producer level, a time will come to restructure the way those rights are won or bought. And in that, you will be effectively disrupting the broadcaster’s linear distribution models because you will be buying those channels and curating them based on that interest. We will eventually get there, and it will be a combination of whatever you want and will be customised to each person from different genres.”

      Beaudouin seconded this, adding that this is going to be a major hurdle for the industry because it has to be addressed at the rights level first.

      “To enable advertising power with a broadcaster going OTT with full customisation as well, that has to first happen at the rights level.”

      Will the set-top box survive or is the future all cloud?

      Christophe Firth, Senior Principal at Kearney led this panel, raising pertinent questions around AVOD models, the role of AI and the power of UX among others.

      With so many streaming services in the market and primary dependence on software, which is more cost-effective, Firth questioned if set-top boxes served any purpose at all.

      All participants agreed that STBs would be around at least another five to six years.

      McKerlie stated that a discussion at IBC a year ago had centred around ensuring “that your device is connected to the OTT environment and through this, you have a level of control over the engagement”.

      “If you are an operator, there are a few things you can do in terms of partnerships to monetise multiple subscriptions across the device or you can integrate your experiences into the box. For instance, do you upsell the speed of the network that you are connected on through the same device that the platforms are connected with? So, there’s definitely an angle from an operator perspective to have that hardware in the home.”

      However, everyone agreed that the future lay with smart TVs. With most providers upgrading services via software and more apps including large screen clients on their footprint, to ensure better engagement, STBs roles are diminishing. In addition, STBs are also becoming cheaper as a lot of the smart aspects of the box have now been shifted to the cloud.

      Pearson agreed that smart TV was the way forward.

      The panellists were aligned on the high potential of sports content in the streaming market, and how it will further transform the OTT industry.

      “We have partnered with Samsung to ensure security is part of the TV and allows the client to virtualise the box within the TV with the same level of security. Smart TV allows the operators to get a whole new set of acquisition channels as well so they can sell direct to the consumer as they buy the TV. It’s an emerging story there on how that will add to the acquisition value chain for the operators and the interplay of how the future may play out,” he said.

      The discussion then turned to AI, and Beaudouin explained some interesting ways in which ATEME was integrating AI into their solutions primarily to adjust the streams, the bit rate and the resolution that is being delivered to each viewer.

      “We use AI to actually mix and match the data coming from the field, the available bandwidth and the type of content. Based on which content is consumed where and the complexity of that content, we can adjust the bit rate and the ABR ladders and the number of profiles delivered to a viewer. This helps ease consumption on the end-user side. This is how we mix AI and ML into video encoders and CDNs.”

      As a service provider, McKerlie said he looks at the role of AI slightly differently.

      “How do you use a trigger-based piece of data to make a better decision, because this is where AI gets interesting. We are not there yet with our experience.”

      Pearson commented that Nagra is using AI in its solution mix as part of its data science solution “to work with operators to understand the nuances in consumer behaviour, so as to try and predict churn”.

      “We are also using AI increasingly on the anti-piracy side and within OTT, there are some interesting use cases on how to reduce the total cost of ownership and bitrate switching.”

      2021 – What Lies Ahead!

      In conclusion, the panel looked at what’s in store for 2021.

      McKerlie said he is keen to see how OTT will change the game for sports delivery once the issues around latency are addressed within streaming with major sports properties likely to consider DTC.

      “Favourite goals, commentary about it, flipping paths … that will become available.”

      Pearson also expressed excitement on how sports entertainment will see great traction within OTT.

      “We are starting to see sports federations come to the party and provide that total fan engagement from the stadium to screen, and OTT has a massive role to play there.”

      He also said he hoped more would be done around recommendations and deep linking.

      Remi agreed on all of the above. He also added that he expects to see further consolidation between the platforms.

      “Behind the scenes, we also expect to see the video end of the business and CDNs continue to evolve and merge. Essentially, everything you can do inside the network will evolve to streamline and fast track the delivery.”

      Tags: ATEMEfeaturedpostintigralKearneyMENA OTT and Anti-Piracy conferenceNagraOTT

      Related Posts

      Rotana Media Services becomes exclusive media sales partner for stc tv

      Rotana Media Services becomes exclusive media sales partner for stc tv

      May 29, 2025
      The OTT journey – Learning from the experts

      Irdeto and Anypoint Media expand partnership to boost OTT monetisation

      May 27, 2025
      Tech strategies for an evolving modern MENA media ecosystem

      Tech strategies for an evolving modern MENA media ecosystem

      May 15, 2025
      Unlock future of media at CABSAT 2025 Content Congress

      Unlock future of media at CABSAT 2025 Content Congress

      May 12, 2025
      Planetcast unveils media distribution solutions at NAB Show

      Planetcast to demo media distribution platform at CABSAT

      May 6, 2025
      Piracy hampers growth of India’s digital media sector: MPA

      Piracy hampers growth of India’s digital media sector: MPA

      May 6, 2025

      Related News

      Rotana Media Services becomes exclusive media sales partner for stc tv

      Rotana Media Services becomes exclusive media sales partner for stc tv

      May 29, 2025
      Irdeto and Anypoint Media expand partnership to boost OTT monetisation

      Irdeto and Anypoint Media expand partnership to boost OTT monetisation

      May 27, 2025
      Tech strategies for an evolving modern MENA media ecosystem

      Tech strategies for an evolving modern MENA media ecosystem

      May 15, 2025
      Unlock future of media at CABSAT 2025 Content Congress

      Unlock future of media at CABSAT 2025 Content Congress

      May 12, 2025
      Planetcast to demo media distribution platform at CABSAT

      Planetcast to demo media distribution platform at CABSAT

      May 6, 2025
      Piracy hampers growth of India’s digital media sector: MPA

      Piracy hampers growth of India’s digital media sector: MPA

      May 6, 2025
      More Related News

      BroadcastPro ME

      • About
      • Advertise
      • Subscribe
      • Magazine Archive
      • Directory
      • Contact
      • Privacy

      Follow us on Social Media

      No Result
      View All Result
      • News
      • Tech Features
      • Videos
      • Opinion
      • Interviews
      • Products
      • Magazine Archive
        • BroadcastPro ME Magazine
        • PRO Directory
      • Events

      Login to your account below

      Forgotten Password?

      Fill the forms bellow to register

      All fields are required. Log In

      Retrieve your password

      Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

      Log In
      Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com