Consumers are increasingly demanding greater flexibility in how, where and when they watch video content, and this is driving significant change across the TV and media industry. Last year, Deloitte reported that streaming video online overtook live programming as the viewing method-of-choice for US consumers, highlighting the need for traditional media providers to extend their reach through digital distribution. NAB provides the ideal format to focus the discussion on the opportunities arising from this converged broadcast and OTT landscape. We are excited to be a part of this conversation, and are most looking forward to meeting emerging and established content providers and distributors across sports, media and entertainment, who are interested in maximizing their reach through live streaming, TVEverywhere and live-to-VOD services.

Simplestream will be present on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) booth # SL9016 showcasing our Media Hub technology for telecommunications operators, as well as on the Media Excel booth#SU7916 showcasing our Media Manager technology for broadcasters, rights holders, and OTT content providers, as part of a wider partnership. Our solutions enable live streaming, catch-up, TVEverywhere and live-to-VOD content from one, up to hundreds of channels across broadcast and OTT within a single workflow. The unique one-stop-shop approach enabled by our solutions reduces the complexity and cost of OTT infrastructure to make video services such as automated live-to-VOD publishing and simulcasting to every device, possible for providers of every size. On the AWS booth, Simplestream will also demonstrate its consumer streaming platform, TVPlayer, which uses the Simplestream Media Hub solution to deliver more than 85 channels to more than 600,000 unique, active weekly users through a single app.  We are also excited to announce that TVPlayer has been optimised as a white label solution for telecommunications operators, and are looking forward to making our first customer announcement closer to the show.

The key challenge for broadcasters today is how to address the rising demand for TVEverywhere. We expect that broadcasters will increasingly look towards the most agile technologies that can streamline multi-channel services, and will embrace digital distribution as a way to compete across every platform. This new converged OTT and broadcast landscape will open up new opportunities for content providers to maximise viewership through global reach.The accessibility of digital distribution will also mean a more level playing field for rights holders, content creators, and providers of all sizes.  In the next few years, we expect to see more niche-content services thriving and the line between broadcast and OTT becoming less defined. Under these circumstances, a broadcaster’s success will be determined by its ability to innovate cost-effectively, and attract more customers,  rather than its size.

At NAB we expect to see broadcasters demonstrating how they will be extending their reach into new markets, with a focus on capturing more of the millennial viewers who are increasingly looking to other devices. Multichannel platforms, personalization and user experience, driven by big data, will be key topics, as will a number of partnerships that will take broadcasters OTT.

We are really excited to be a panelist on the NAB Show Live panel, ‘Where is the broadcast industry heading?’ where we will be discussing some of the most important challenges and opportunities for broadcasters in the year ahead.

This is Simplestream’s first time at NAB. We have experienced substantial growth since launching five years ago and this year was the ideal time for us to be reaching out to stakeholders and press in the U.S.