SAN FRANCISCO-COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates are proving to be a double-edged sword for the streaming and OTT industry, as viewers in droves have turned to these services to keep them entertained but in the process have driven up their costs, according to a new report from a video infrastructure provider serving digital media companies worldwide.
The latest edition of the Video Developer Report from Bitmovin revealed the top challenges facing video developers, the state of the video streaming and OTT industry and other key trends. Findings come from the company's fourth Annual Video Developer Survey.
LOWERING COSTSAccording to the report, reducing costs topped the list of challenges facing respondents and replaced concern over complex technology, such as live low latency, as the No. 1 challenge identified in the 2019 edition. More than half of respondents identified the cost of items like bandwidth and storage as the greatest challenge-this despite the majority of respondents holding technical roles at their companies.
The results indicate there's a clear belief in the industry that video streaming services must focus on cost optimization as a means of survival, the report said.
The report noted that although the COVID-19 shelter-in-place requirements propelled growth around the world in subscriptions to video streaming services and hours of content viewed, uncertainty over the global business landscape is resulting in companies scaling back on new projects as a cost control mechanism.
When it comes to the biggest challenges to remaining competitive, the results showed reducing cost and taking services and assets faster to market topped the list.
LIVE STREAMING AT SCALEThe survey found that while mastering live streaming at scale remains a major challenge, respondents viewed it as the greatest opportunity for innovation. Not even the abbreviated and improvised schedules of some sports leagues due to COVID-19 could discourage respondents from selecting live streaming at scale as the No. 1 item on their list of innovation topics.
Respondents also identified innovations by developers in the areas of streaming content recommendations and personalizations as service providers look for different ways to engage viewers.
CODECSThe report revealed software encoding on premise remains the top location for video encoding. It also found cloud-based encoding is increasing slightly-up three percentage points to 32% when compared to the report's 2019 findings.
Hardware encoding saw a reversal from last year. In 2019, there was an increase of 5% in the category. This year, it recorded the biggest drop, down 9%. The reason for the decline is unclear. The report offered some possible reasons, such as fewer live events being produced due to COVID-19 and the cost efficiencies of cloud encoding.
This year's survey asked video developers for the first time about the types of encoders they use. Fifty-one percent reported using a mix of commercial encoders. When it came to open source alternatives, ffmpeg was the encoder of choice, it found.
Choosing a codec to use is driven by business goals. While multicodec use is a reality, adopting and supporting a new codec depends on the business criteria of developers and organizations. Reaching a targeted audience, targeted device or platform as well as supporting 4K and 8K content are among the commonly cited reasons respondents selected a particular codec, the survey found.
When it comes to audio, the study revealed AAC continues to be the dominant audio codec. Offering higher sound quality at the same bitrate, it promises to become the successor to the MP3 format, it found.
With the role sound quality plays in enhancing the viewing experience, Dolby Atmos immersive sound technology is being widely accepted by artists, content creators and developers, and is trending to be widely used in the future. Helping to drive uptake is the effect COVID-19 had on movie theaters, closing many and prompting studios to go straight to on-demand. That in turn enhanced the role of living room and large screen viewing and drove demand for innovation, the report said.
BROWSERS VS. GAME CONSOLESThe survey revealed HTML browsers on devices like PCs and Macs are the top place where developers are focusing their efforts. That's followed by native iOS and native Android and then Apple TV.
Only 13% are developing for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and just 3% are streaming to Nintendo Switch, it found. While game consoles have not caught up with streaming devices, that might change with the launch this fall of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and Series X, the report said.
In today's COVID world, there is huge volatility that is accompanied by large demand. The industry players that best recognize the changing technological and financial landscape will be the ones to not only survive, but to thrive, said Bitmovin CEO Stefan Lederer.
This year's Bitmovin Annual Video Developer survey was conducted June 29-Aug. 9. Seven-hundred ninety-two of the company's customers, which include broadcasters, integrators and OTT streaming services, from 87 countries made up the survey sample.
More information is available on the company's website.
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
28/10/2025
ESPN Announces Monsters Funday Football', Its Latest Real-Time Animated Bro...
28/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Catherine Chalfant, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe Ole Miss alum is an operational force behind ESPN's extensive college-football catalo...
28/10/2025
Elevating the experience: AI and data take Ryder Cup to the next level By Joe OHalloran
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - 10:25
Print This Story
NBC produced th...
28/10/2025
Conquering the Air (waves): Taking a close up look at the IBC Accelerator Priva...
28/10/2025
World Series 2025: Spectrum SportsNet LA Brings Dodgers Fans Closer to the Actio...
28/10/2025
Dylan Southern and Benedict Cumberbatch at the premiere of The Thing with Feathers (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
28/10/2025
For three weeks in Lagos, Spotify's Greasy Tunes Caf pop-up brought the cit...
28/10/2025
Once a niche subculture, German rap has evolved into an influential cultural movement. Now, Spotify is giving the genre a new home with OFFCULT, a playlist dedi...
28/10/2025
Shane Delia's Malta serves up the Mediterranean this summer
28 October, 2025
Media releases
Feast on 9,000 years of culinary history Mondays from 24 No...
28/10/2025
SBS's global sporting festival continues with the FIVB Beach Volleyball Worl...
28/10/2025
Bilbao, October 28, 2025 - AgileTV, a leading technology solutions company for t...
28/10/2025
Disney, NBCUniversal, FOX, Paramount Each Achieve Double-Digit Monthly Growth
...
28/10/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has announced an agreement to sell WRTV, its local ABC-affiliated station in Indianapolis, to Circle City Broadcasting for $...
28/10/2025
Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia Named to Billboards 2025 Top Music...
28/10/2025
NEW YORK As AI usage continues to spike, a new study from IAB delves into an important aspect of how AI is transforming the advertising business with new data s...
28/10/2025
Charlie Jablonski, a broadcast tech pioneer who helped shape the modern era of Olympics television coverage, died Oct. 25 at his home in Lake George N.Y., the N...
28/10/2025
VIENNA, Austria Bitmovin has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insights into video playback. The so...
28/10/2025
LOS ANGELES LucidLink, the file streaming platform, has announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities at Adobe Max....
28/10/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced that it has joined the Ama...
28/10/2025
Lightware, an industry leader in connectivity and signal management solutions, has announced a major update to its Taurus
platform, which now delivers flawless...
28/10/2025
Following a successful mid-September International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Hiltron Communications will promote its full range of satellite communi...
28/10/2025
Open Broadcast Systems has chosen MC&S (Media Consulting & Services) as a reseller to help strengthen its presence in France.
With over twenty years of experi...
28/10/2025
Bitmovin, leading provider of video streaming solutions, has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insi...
28/10/2025
Ease Live, the leader in interactive TV technology, today announced the successful launch of interactive graphical overlays for UEFA Champions League matches fo...
28/10/2025
LucidLink, the file streaming platform, today at Adobe MAX announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities, streamlining collaboration and hel...
28/10/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has promoted Nick Hasenecz to general manager of WNDU, its NBC affiliate in the South Bend-Elkhart, Ind., market....
28/10/2025
Applications Open for Berklee Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant Boston nonprofits can apply by December 12 for funding to support community projects that ...
28/10/2025
28 Oct 2025
VEON's JazzCash Wins Silver Award for Innovation in Lending at ...
28/10/2025
Guests include Wayne Rooney, Maya Jama, Dame Laura Kenny, Chloe Kelly, Chris McC...
28/10/2025
The two-hour special, recorded live from the iconic Dolby Theatre in LA, will ai...
28/10/2025
Eutelsat upgrades teleports with Rohde & Schwarz satellite uplink amplifiers High efficiency and resilient Ku-band amplifiers for excellent RF performance
...
28/10/2025
These appointments come at a pivotal time for ABC, as the organisation continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of a digital-first media ecosystem. The ne...
28/10/2025
Scripps Research awarded $4 million to advance platform for neurodevelopmental disorders The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) grant support...
27/10/2025
You can touch this: Haptics becoming central to the virtual live experience By Adrian Pennington
Friday, October 24, 2025 - 09:12
Print This Story
The vid...
27/10/2025
A tale of two trailers: France's Stop & Go doubles up with its new hybrid tr...
27/10/2025
Pro Padel League Stages City's Cup Finals Inside NYC's Hammerstein Ballr...
27/10/2025
World Series 2025: Sportsnet Delivers Made-in-Canada' Moment for a Nation U...
27/10/2025
ESPN Extends Partnership With Sony's Beyond Sports To Expand Animated Altern...
27/10/2025
Reid Davenport attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Life After at The Ray Theatre on January 27, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by Robin Marsha...
27/10/2025
As the days grow shorter and the nights get darker, there's nothing like getting swept up in a story that sends shivers down your spine. In honor of spooky ...
27/10/2025
UPDATE: Both parties have reached a new carriage agreement....
27/10/2025
LONDON As Hollywood jumps into the production of mini-dramas, a new study from Ampere Analysis finds that more than one in 10 internet users have watched drama ...
27/10/2025
LONDON Yealink, a provider of unified communication and collaboration solutions, has joined the NDI ecosystem with the availability of its SmartVision 80 premiu...
27/10/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Chris Conroy as general manager of its stations in Cleveland, leading WOIO, a CBS affiliate, The CW station WUAB and Telemundo outl...
27/10/2025
ESPOO, Finland European connectivity leaders Nokia and Ericsson, have partnered with Berlin's Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute (HHI), to shape and drive ...
27/10/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcast has expanded NOW TV Latino, its Spanish-language live TV and streaming offering, adding five more channels from Univision, ViX Premium with...
27/10/2025
Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, will present its latest products and solutions at InterBEE 2025 (Hall 5, Booth 5218) Makuhari Messe in Chiba, ...
27/10/2025
Back to All News
City of Shadows, the New Netflix Thriller Arrives on December 12
Entertainment
27 October 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Downl...
SAN FRANCISCO-COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates are proving to be a double-edged sword for the streaming and OTT industry, as viewers in droves have turned to these services to keep them entertained but in the process have driven up their costs, according to a new report from a video infrastructure provider serving digital media companies worldwide.
