By Kalle Henriksson, research and innovation, founder, Edgeware
Contributor 2 hours ago
By Kalle Henriksson, research and innovation, founder, Edgeware
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> By Kalle Henriksson, research and innovation, founder, Edgeware
https://www.tvbeurope.com/features/taking-control-of-your-ott-content-delivery title=Share via Email class=share-email>
As consumers increasingly opt to get their TV through OTT services distributed over HTTP-based CDN networks rather than traditional packages, many service providers now need to use multiple networks to deliver their content. Ovum predicts that spend on CDN services will grow from just under $11 billion in 2018 to nearly $16 billion in 2023. This upsurge is because multi-CDN environments provide increased reach, redundancy and flexibility around peak traffic. So having a choice of CDNs to use becomes critical to ensuring fast, buffer-free streams that meet viewers' increasingly high standards.
There are, however, some very real issues when distributing TV content over the internet in a multi-CDN environment. The quality of the OTT TV delivery, for example, is left in the hands of the CDN provider. Content distributors, therefore, have limited visibility and no means to instantaneously fix any potential issues that may arise during the streaming session.
So what are the key challenges facing OTT TV providers and how they can be overcome?
Limited control and measurement options
By relying on multiple third-party CDNs rather than having their own CDN infrastructure, OTT TV providers are losing overall control and insight of the end user experience when streaming media.
In OTT streaming, the vast majority of decisions are negotiated between the client and the CDN. This means that even the service providers themselves are outside of the decision loop. The client autonomously takes decisions about what media to fetch from a menu of variants, significantly limiting visibility into the customer experience and making it difficult for the content provider to know what actions to take in order to fix possible quality issues.
Quality of Experience (QoE) information and insight into how viewers are experiencing content can be provided using client-side solutions, but this requires client integration, which can be a considerable drawback. And with today's explosion of client devices, it's hard to reach 100 per cent coverage. The current client landscape is more fragmented than ever, consisting of an ever-growing mix of brands, models and versions. Integrating with client devices, therefore, becomes complex, time-consuming and costly - often ending with the provider sampling a subset of clients instead of all of them.
This is all made even more complicated by the fact that each CDN comes with its own features and capabilities. Because these are not standardised, there is a risk that one CDN's capabilities cannot be provided by another. This makes it difficult to create one overall control functionality that works independently of which network is delivering the content.
Limited options to impact the service quality in real time
A multi-CDN approach typically involves relying on third-party CDN services, rather than distributing the content over a fully managed network. This means broadcasters and content distributors are in the hands of the CDN provider when it comes to acting on potential problems with the quality of the TV service.
The issue is that they lack instant access and the ability to act on key session data. This can include bitrate, the timing between segment requests, the type of device used, the video format and performance data from all delivering CDNs. As a result, a potential service complaint could easily end up in an SLA review, but won't be resolved during the ongoing TV show. This will heavily impact that customer's quality experience and may put them off from using the service in the future.
So, the ability to proactively identify potential drops in performance and manage the OTT TV delivery in real time - before a potential quality issue arises - is very limited.
These two challenges highlight some key questions for content providers. Firstly, is there a way to gain visibility into their customers' QoE without having to integrate with the client devices? And secondly, is there a way to control OTT TV content delivery across multiple CDNs even if they don't own and manage the CDN infrastructure themselves?
How content providers can take control
The good news is that the answer to both of these questions is yes.
In today's age of OTT TV where QoE is one important success factor, content providers have to find a way to take back control of the delivery of their content and gain visibility into the QoE without having to go down the client integration route.
One of the most effective ways of doing this is to introduce a control plane-based model that can, in real time, select the optimal delivery on a per-segment granularity, independent of both client and CDN.
Such a model can provide a new level of control when it comes to multi-CDN delivery and bring content providers back into the loop, between the client and the CDN. Sitting in the control plane allows the content provider to orchestrate the delivery of streamed media and decide - at a granular level - where each segment request should be directed, i.e. which CDN should deliver it.
Giving content distributors independence towards both CDN providers and clients for both features and quality, thus avoiding any complicated client integration, is a strategic position to be in. Every segment request can be measured and should a problem occur, the session can be moved to another CDN to overcome it. What's more, the common denominator for the sessions experiencing a pro
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
25/07/2026
New app turns vocal percussion into polished loops
Vochlea, the company behind the voice-to-MIDI instrument Dubler 2, have just announced the launch of a ne...
24/07/2026
First string library captured at Studio Richter Mahr
The latest sample library to be created at Max Richter's Studio Richter Mahr facility captures the ...
24/07/2026
Official emulation of Blackbird Studios reverb chamber
In their latest collaboration with Blackbird Studios, KIT Plugins have captured the sound of the Stud...
24/07/2026
Angela Gomez brings over 14 years of experience in broadcast communications and audio engineering, specialising in live outside broadcasts, live sports and larg...
24/07/2026
Article courtesy of postPerspective
Read the article
While Toy Story 5 maintai...
24/07/2026
Kerry and Mayo fans Up For The Match as excitement builds in Croke Park on the e...
23/07/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 23rd, JULY, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), stitched 11.57 billion one-to-one addressable advertisem...
23/07/2026
Quickly creates reverse reverb effects
Low End Candy have recently released a new plug-in that offers a quick and simple way to create reverse reverb effect...
23/07/2026
New engines, resonators, effects & more
Expressive E's versatile soft synth has just been treated to an update that greatly expands its sonic range. Noi...
23/07/2026
SGL Carbon has further expanded its photovoltaic capacity at its Ort im Innkreis site in Austria. With the commissioning of new PV carports, the sites solar sys...
23/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents new software for three-phase power analysis on MXO seri...
23/07/2026
In our latest blog, Laura Rognoni explores how the launch of Play Snooker reflects a wider shift in sports economics - from monetising peak broadcast audiences ...
23/07/2026
Download Now!
To receive a short case study showcasing Vivid Broadcast's audio setup, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name ...
23/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Partner to Advance Digi...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
New Samsung Galaxy Foldable range available now to pre-order on Sky Mobile
Sky Mobile, the award-winning network voted this year by Expe...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
Jason Statham leads Sky Original action thriller MUTINY in explosive new trailerTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy optio...
23/07/2026
Wuppertal July 23, 2026
Riedel Implements RefCam and Easy5G for the First Time...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial has today announced Centra as the official food partner once again of The Traitors Ireland, coming to RT One and RT Player later this year.
Ce...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial today announced Honda as sponsor of Today with David McCullagh RT Radio 1, weekdays 9am 11am.
Broadcasting directly after Morning Ireland in ...
23/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce Barry Gallagher has been assigned as the new journalist covering news from Cork, Kerry and the wider Southern region
Working al...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
22/07/2026
In the Opinion of the Censor airs Monday 27 July at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player
In the Opinion of the Censor looks at how films for theatrical release wer...
21/07/2026
New research involving a cross-section of Mongolias independent media landscape finds enthusiasm for AI as a tool to improve efficiency, sustainability and resi...
21/07/2026
High-end analogue channel strip boasts plug-in recall
Originally revealed as a prototype back at NAMM 2024, the Channex Studio channel strip represented a b...
21/07/2026
Relies on same DSP as plug-in range
Musik Hack's line-up has been influenced heavily by founder Stan Greene's work as a mixing engineer, and their M...
21/07/2026
Official collaboration with boutique builder Dirty Boy Pedals
Warm Audio have just announced the launch of a new guitar pedal range created in collaboration...
21/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases broad range of EMC test solutions at EMC SIPI 2026 in ...
21/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and NIFT Partner to Build Color Management Skills for India's...
21/07/2026
Harmonics cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform and Pearl Remote OLTs Enable Flexible PON Migration, While SeaStar Optical Node Powers Cost-Effective Multi-Gigabit...
21/07/2026
160 hours of Irish storytelling for 2026
KIN and The Walsh Sisters return
RT has today unveiled its most ambitious drama slate ever, with a record-breakin...
20/07/2026
Product range now readily available in the UK
Graph Tech Guitar Labs have just announced the launch of a new UK Online Store that makes it quicker and easie...
20/07/2026
Popular headset gains active noise cancellation
The Maxwell headet was Audeze's first foray into the gaming world, and thanks to its Dolby Atmos compati...
20/07/2026
Monday 20 July 2026
Sky brings free global roaming to millions of loyal custome...
20/07/2026
Red Seat Ventures Announces Introduction of Premium Creator and Podcast Communit...
20/07/2026
FIFA World Cup Final sets new RT Player record as the most-streamed single event in the platform's history
Over 1 million viewers watched live on RT 2 as ...
19/07/2026
Channel strip plug-in gets upgraded
Acustica Audio's vintage-inspired channel strip plug-in has just been treated to an update that expands its tonal ra...
18/07/2026
Captures nine sought-after Fender amps
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX expansion captures a selection of nine rare Brown Panel' Fender amps that were ...
18/07/2026
Latest batch ships alongside firmware update
Since being unveiled at Superbooth 2025, Frap Tools' debut polysynth has been met with widespread praise, a...
By Kalle Henriksson, research and innovation, founder, Edgeware
