Live streaming's usage has been growing steadily over the past few years, in large part due to the pandemic, and is expected to increase further in 2023 with its use in e-commerce experiencing a particularly sharp boom. Gonzalo de la Vega, VP strategic products at Fastly, explains how broadcasters can meet consumers' expectations with their live stream offerings
By Contributor
Published: December 1, 2022
Live streaming's usage has been growing steadily over the past few years, in large part due to the pandemic, and is expected to increase further in 2023 with its use in e-commerce experiencing a particularly sharp boom. Gonzalo de la Vega, VP strategic products at Fastly, explains how broadcasters can meet consumers' expectations with their live stream offerings
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Live streaming consumption has significantly increased over the past few years. According to research carried out by Cisco in 2021, video represented 80 per cent of total global internet traffic, with live video accounting for 13 per cent of this. For a range of reasons, this is only going to continue to increase in 2023.
Brands are increasingly choosing to rely on live streaming to drive their marketing strategies. While YouTube advertising will remain a central pillar of any online video campaign, contenders, such as TikTok, which recently launched Tik Tok Shop, are only going to gain momentum and see use as a channel for B2B marketing, rather than just as a tool to reach customers. The pandemic has caused a fundamental shift in the way consumers approach the buying experience, accelerating the adoption of online shopping, and this is the natural next step in this evolution.
A further trend we've seen throughout 2022 has been that the streaming giants have continued to put out content at tremendous pace. Netflix and Disney have worked to satisfy consumers' thirst for content by investing heavily in constantly renewing their offering, while live streams of sporting events - such as the Premier League by Amazon and Serie A by DAZN - have placed this tech at the forefront of the entertainment industry.
These signs all point towards the continued growth of the streaming industry. Here's how broadcasters can ensure they keep these experiences running as smoothly as possible.
Unlocking the power of edge computing and real-time observability
The growing prevalence of live streaming highlights broadcasters' need for expertise, knowledge and best-in-class technology. These allow the delivery of secure, fast and reliable streaming services.
From a technological standpoint, edge computing brings multiple advantages when it comes to live streaming. Locating servers closer to their target audiences enables broadcasters to improve performance and massively reduce latency. This is because, with edge computing, data flows directly from the edge servers to the user, allowing for request times to be cut by up to 90 per cent.
This performance increase comes in the context of a rapidly evolving and highly competitive live streaming landscape where user expectations are constantly growing. Efficiency and speed are elements of paramount importance for broadcasters aiming to provide best-in-class services. With so many new players in the market, OTT providers and broadcasters will need to work extra hard to win over undecided customers with reliable streaming services.
Real-time observability plays a pivotal role in this. Rather than simply monitoring ( observing the state of a system across a period of time), observability provides the information needed to make decisions in real time. By unleashing the power of real time data, observability enables broadcasters to achieve a deep and comprehensive understanding of a system and of what can be improved. Thanks to real-time observability, it is possible to react to setbacks quickly and efficiently. However, this also has potential drawbacks, due to the range of available data and broadcasters need to learn which metrics should be prioritised to reach their desired results.
Build stacks to support your streams
Simply leveraging the right technology is not enough to deliver successful live streaming experiences. Broadcasters should dedicate time and energy to carry out a thorough stack assessment ahead of key events. This includes, among other things, load testing and the implementation of configuration changes on-the-fly for all the partners a broadcaster relies on. It's important to remember that there are no second chances with live streaming. In order to be fully prepared for major events, broadcasters can conduct a dry-run with a smaller event. This gives them the opportunity not only to test technology and processes, but also to gather data facilitating the optimal delivery of more important events.
Making audience projection is also crucial. Although predicting the audience size of a live streaming event with accuracy is a near-impossible task, making an educated guess is highly recommended. Broadcasters should generate audience projections both for the most likely scenario and for the best-case scenario, so as to ensure that there is the necessary capacity reservation in place. The old saying better safe than sorry' has never been more true.
With demand for live streaming services soaring, broadcasters need to take advantage of the latest technology and of an effective strategy to deliver fast and safe digital experiences. Shifting away from centralised infrastructures in order to embrace the myriad benefits of edge computing promises to be a major move in 2023.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
01/06/2026
Designed to solve a common problem in broadcasting, the automated workflow detects, identifies, removes, and documents copyrighted music
AudioShake has introdu...
01/06/2026
The sports-analytics company combines its data with proprietary AI to help leagu...
01/06/2026
Category line-up & sponsors announced
Photo: Paul Clarke
The Production Music Awards (PMA) have announced that submissions are now officially open ahead of...
01/06/2026
New hybrid sample/synthesis instrument revealed
Excite Audio have just released the latest instalment in their Evolve series, which has been developed in co...
01/06/2026
Latest TONEX expansion captures three rare vintage amps
The newest addition to IK Multimedia's ever-growing TONEX line-up introduces a set of three incr...
01/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
01/06/2026
SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026
1 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has secured Hyundai, Hisense, Macca's, Rexona, bet365, Com...
01/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to ...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Marshall Electronics is showcasing a comprehensive lineup of next-generation POV cameras, purpose-built to power today's connected AV environments, at InfoC...
01/06/2026
Adobe Announces Concept to Vector
Deepa Subramaniam June 1, 2026
0 Comments
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from designers is how difficult it...
01/06/2026
Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton June 1, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist shapes dark, gritty tone for horror thri...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Mardi 2 juin 14h00
FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris
Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...
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...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Wins 15 Awards at the Canadian Screen Awards - See Pho...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
Live streaming's usage has been growing steadily over the past few years, in large part due to the pandemic, and is expected to increase further in 2023 with its use in e-commerce experiencing a particularly sharp boom. Gonzalo de la Vega, VP strategic products at Fastly, explains how broadcasters can meet consumers' expectations with their live stream offerings 
