With the streaming sector becoming ever more saturated, Ian Waters, senior director, Cisco ThousandEyes, takes a look at what SVoD and BVoD operators need to do in order to both survive and thrive
By Contributor
Published: January 13, 2022
With the streaming sector becoming ever more saturated, Ian Waters, senior director, Cisco ThousandEyes, takes a look at what SVoD and BVoD operators need to do in order to both survive and thrive
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Streaming services from both digital natives and traditional broadcasters have now become part and parcel of many households' entertainment. In fact, according to Ofcom, UK subscriptions to streaming video on demand (SVoD) services rose by half last year, to reach a new record number of 31 million UK consumers.
Streaming's growing popularity creates both an opportunity and a challenge for broadcasters and content owners. Firstly, the content market - and therefore the audience that consumes that content - is now more fragmented than ever. The competition is not just found in the market leaders but in other digital arenas like gaming and social media.
What's more, new generations of consumers are unforgiving when it comes to bad streaming experiences. One bad experience, and they will take their viewership elsewhere and not return.
To sustain and grow their audience share and reach, streaming providers need to focus on the way that content is delivered to viewers and the quality of the end-to-end service. This quality is now a key differentiator.
An internet-enabled evolution UK consumers now have hundreds of local and global streaming services from both SVoD and broadcast video on demand (BVoD) operators to choose from that's a lot of competition for viewers' time and attention. Naturally, there are questions around how many services a market can handle. As a result, these providers must stay relevant and connected with audiences to be successful.
But first, it's important to consider the evolution of the TV market. Rewind a decade ago and linear TV services dominated the broadcast world. The operators of these services ran the entire end-to-end delivery and network infrastructure. These broadcasters were under a lot of pressure to maintain high uptime. If ever the box went black, it would cost them thousands in lost advertising revenue.
The internet re-wrote the broadcast playbook. Whilst the pressures of delivering an always-on service still remain, it has significantly lowered cost barriers to entry and has signalled a new area of new Internet-powered services and devices. Video content now needs to be delivered reliably where the audience is, across mobile and fixed-line networks.
As a result, this new era of content delivery requires partnerships with carrier service providers, content delivery networks (CDNs), digital monitoring and security service providers to manage the content delivery and viewing experience not only now but in the future. Streaming providers must provision network capacity and bandwidth for all possible viewing scenarios.
However, this also means these organisations are dealing with increasingly complicated IT ecosystems, often stitching together a range of technology services and connectivity they do not own to reach their intended audience. And even though they have far less control over the end-to-end delivery mechanism, they are still ultimately held responsible by consumers for how it performs. So, how can they find new ways of making content delivery more reliable?
Critical visibility and collaboration Firstly, holistic visibility of all the elements and providers that make up this end-to-end content delivery mechanism is crucial. This kind of visibility provides actionable insights into the performance and availability of these networks that are responsible for delivering a good user experience. Should any part of the chain be it application, internet or cloud suffer an outage, SVoD and BVoD organisations can quickly identify and remediate dreaded downtime. And it's only a matter of when, unfortunately. You don't need to look far back in time to find an example. In December, Amazon Web Services experienced a major outage that took down major streaming services like Disney Plus and Netflix.
Secondly, these organisations can't go it alone. Despite the aforementioned lack of control, they do need to partner with a range of technology and carrier service providers to ensure they remain competitive and online for their users. The outages of 2021 served as a clear reminder that the internet can tumble. Streaming providers should consider diversifying their delivery services to provide brand reputation. If any of their providers experience a disruption in services, they can route around it or communicate the issue quickly to customers.
Further to this, in a world where it's no longer good enough just to launch a streaming service and the size of catalogue is not always a barometer for success, they need to understand their customers' preferences and behaviours to develop a unique, seamless platform, while also monetising their content through intelligent data gathering.
Increasingly, it is those partnerships that will result in differentiated viewing experiences that keep viewing audiences engaged.
A brave new streaming world So, what's next for streaming? Already, we're seeing agreements with as-a-service application providers and carrier service providers to apply quality-of-service (QoS) prioritisation to their specific application traffic, improving the performance of those services for a nominal monthly fee. We are likely to see similar arrangements develop over time, with partnerships being established between internet providers or backbone networks to ensure that streaming traf
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...
26/03/2026
Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month
Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...
26/03/2026
Friday 27 March
Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...
26/03/2026
Includes four separate instruments
Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...
26/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before' in Brand CampaignTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy o...
26/03/2026
Wuppertal March 26, 2026
CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control SystemRiedel Communications today announced that Czech-based ...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Enhancements to Harmonic's Sports Streaming Solution Introduce Server-Side Multiview, Contextual Metadata-Driven Advertising, Dynamic In-Stream Ads and Robu...
26/03/2026
Open the report
Our 2025 report brings together results from 79 business magazine titles across 22 market sectors, published by 49 media owners. Over the year,...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
26/03/2026
That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices.
This we...
26/03/2026
Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...
With the streaming sector becoming ever more saturated, Ian Waters, senior director, Cisco ThousandEyes, takes a look at what SVoD and BVoD operators need to do in order to both survive and thrive
