On the whole, the global video streaming market is still on a growth trajectory. Despite gloomy reports of declining user figures and layoffs across the media industry, many sources are pointing towards continued acceleration of an already sizable market,   which is predicted to reach around USD 865.85 billion by 2034. At the same time, it is certainly true that the past 12 month period has been a challenging one for many video streaming businesses. The industry is currently characterized by an oversupply of service providers, bringing with it a plethora of problems that ultimately make it increasingly difficult to remain profitable.

As more market players vie for a finite user base’s attention, content acquisition costs have soared, leading to heightened financial pressures for companies both large and small. Many have been forced to invest heavily in original content, as well as in securing exclusive streaming rights to popular franchises and sports events in order to stand out from the crowd. As a result, a growing number of video streaming companies have started to experience increased strain on their profitability, as high expenditure on content creation and acquisition does not always translate into a proportional growth in customers. It is no longer enough to just deliver an exceptional user experience; in order to remain competitive and ensure the long-term success of their business, video service providers must adopt innovative strategies to improve operational efficiencies and lower TCO.

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Charting profitable growth in a competitive OTT market

The need for operational efficiency is increasingly critical as video service providers confront rising content acquisition costs, the continuous evolution of devices and platforms, and the complex nature of content rights management. In such a multifaceted environment, swiftly and effectively managing operational complexities can be the key to remaining competitive and avoiding obsolescence. 

It is important to note that efficiency in this context encompasses more than just cost-cutting. Rather, it involves optimizing everything from streamlining resource allocation and workflow to strategically deploying technology that improves both internal operations and user-facing features. Every aspect of the technological infrastructure, from content delivery networks to customer relationship management systems, must be looked at and optimized to ensure agility and scalability. 

At the heart of this lies a dedication to data-driven decision-making where insights derived from analytics platforms and user feedback guide every facet of service delivery and optimization. Additionally, it is essential to establish proactive measures and employ the appropriate tools for monitoring, troubleshooting, and optimization in order to elevate both back-end processes and the user facing experience of your service.

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Leveraging data and monitoring solutions to streamline OTT operations

Most video service providers agree that data is crucial for efficiently delivering a high-quality streaming experience. However, transforming insights and predictive analysis into an effective optimization strategy presents several challenges, arising from the complexity of the data itself as well as the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of the OTT environment. 

One key obstacle is of course the sheer volume and complexity of data generated by observability and analytics platforms, making it both complex and time consuming to extract actionable insights that can be used to influence strategic decisions. Doing this well requires sophisticated analysis tools as well as a deep understanding of data science - something which not all video streaming companies have readily available in-house. Another challenge is the dynamic nature of both the industry and users’ behavior, which is influenced by market trends, new content releases, and other external factors such as social media. Accurately predicting these changes and adjusting optimization strategies accordingly can be a cumbersome task.

By implementing a comprehensive monitoring solution, and working with a service partner who can help turn data into comprehensively presented insights, video service providers can proactively address issues, anticipate user needs, and customize experiences before any problems arise that could negatively impact the user experience. By making the shift from reactive to proactive problem solving where advanced analytics are leveraged to foresee and resolve issues, these companies will be able to streamline their operations, safeguard performance and experiment on the user experience for continuous growth in an ever so competitive market.

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A smarter way to achieve and maintain operational efficiency

Shortening the path between data analysis and product decision is key to optimizing performance and streamlining operational efficiency. At the same time, many video service providers are getting their data from several different analytics providers, which can lead to fragmented insights and difficulties with taking actions. Here is what we propose instead:

• One consolidated analytics platform. Built on top of New Relic’s award-winning all-in-one observability platform, our QoS monitoring solution serves as a one stop shop for comprehensive insights on performance and user experience. It proactively examines key components of your services’ infrastructures, end-user applications operations, and overarching video performance, providing real-time, actionable insight.
• Proactive troubleshooting & optimization. By working with a trusted Managed Service partner that empowers you with deep insight and expert advice, you can quickly identify and resolve potential issues before they have a negative impact on your operations, leading to an elevated user experience as well as the ability to make better decisions regarding resource allocation and delivery. 
• Experimentation for an elevated experience. In addition to serving as a lens through which to ensure quality of service and optimize operations, a solid observability platform should enable you to run automated UX testing, with experiments that are personalized and observed on a granular user cluster level. This will enable you to ensure maximum opportunities for learning and optimization, while creating an optimal experience for end users.

Accedo will be at IBC in Amsterdam on September 13-16. Please come visit us at booth 5.D68 or book a meeting with our team to learn more about how we can help you streamline your OTT operations to achieve sustainable profitability in an increasingly crowded market.

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