Cloud-Based Solutions Transform Broadcasting: Insights from Industry Experts

In a recent roundtable discussion, broadcast industry leaders explored the pivotal role of cloud-based solutions in revolutionizing playout and content distribution. The conversation highlighted how broadcasters are leveraging cloud infrastructure to enhance operational scalability, flexibility, and audience engagement.

Participants emphasized the advantages of cloud-based workflows, including improved cost-efficiency, real-time resource management, and the ability to adapt swiftly to evolving trends such as OTT delivery and personalized content experiences. However, challenges like cost control and sustained scalability were also addressed.

Klaus Weber, director of product marketing at Grass Valley, stated: "The challenges of modern content creation, playout, and distribution — such as allowing multiple users in different locations to edit and finalize content simultaneously, and then delivering it across various formats and channels — are best addressed with cloud-based solutions."

Sam Peterson, COO of Bitcentral, noted the dynamic scalability of cloud solutions, minimizing large upfront investments. "Unlike traditional, on-premise environments, cloud solutions allow broadcasters to scale their operations dynamically," he explained. This agility is especially crucial during peak traffic or channel launches.

Ian McPherson, global strategy leader at Amazon Web Services, highlighted the cost and complexity reduction, and innovation potential of cloud solutions. He added: "Cloud-based solutions reduce the costs and complexity associated with playout and content distribution, while enabling innovation for new experiences."

Graham Sharp, CEO of BCNexxt, discussed the dynamic scalability of cloud resources, enabling efficient workload management. "The cloud provides dynamically scalable resources based on the type of content being played out," he commented. This flexibility reduces costs and enhances efficiency, especially during complex live events.

Andy Warman, CTO at Imagine Communications, underscored the expanding role of cloud solutions across all aspects of playout and distribution. "Cloud is playing a growing role in all aspects of playout and content distribution — in some cases replacing on-prem usage entirely in broadcast, as well as digital applications," he explained. This includes disaster recovery and augmenting existing systems.

Rick Young, SVP at LTN, focused on the business agility and ROI benefits of cloud solutions for media companies. "Media companies are actively exploring cloud-enabled solutions as they provide greater business agility, and flexible location-agnostic workflows and drive ROI on high-value and high-volume content," he said.

Michael Demb, VP at TAG Video Systems, emphasized the efficiency and flexibility of cloud-based solutions in managing resources. "Cloud-based solutions offer broadcasters the flexibility to scale quickly and manage resources efficiently without being tied to on-prem physical infrastructures," he explained. This includes dynamic resource allocation and QoS assurance.

Nivedita Nouvel, VP of marketing at Broadpeak, highlighted the importance of a hybrid cloud approach for cost optimization. "Cloud-based solutions provide the flexibility, scalability and operability that is required to offer a reliable video service at the best cost," she said.

Mārtiņš Magone praised the cost-efficiency and remote monitoring capabilities of cloud-based playout and distribution solutions. "Cloud based playout and content distribution solutions offer a wide range of unique benefits, including scalability, flexibility and remote monitoring," he stated.

Stefan Lederer, CEO of Bitmovin, noted the industry's growing acceptance of cloud solutions, shifting focus towards vendor selection and cost optimization. "Cloud-based solutions give broadcasters and content providers the efficiency, flexibility and scalability needed to succeed in the current market," he said.

Stephane Cloirec, VP at Harmonic, discussed the application of cloud technology in event-based applications, backup, disaster recovery, and AI-powered solutions. "Playout applications can take full advantage of the cloud for event-based applications or backup and disaster recovery use cases," he explained. This includes innovations such as automatic closed captioning and real-time translation.

Sam Peterson revisited the topic of cost management in cloud-based distribution. "Many media companies have traditionally operated in a fixed-cost environment," he said, "However, with the shift to more dynamic, variable-cost models — particularly in cloud-based and multi-platform distribution — this landscape has become more complex."

Craig Wilson, product evangelist at Avid, stressed the importance of efficient workflow design to avoid delays. "Designing overly complex workflows risks delaying content delivery in the first place, even before the point of distribution," he cautioned.

Stefan Lederer again emphasized the importance of cost-efficient distribution due to the global economic climate. "Profitability remains front and centre as a result of the global economic climate and this is driving the need for more cost-efficient distribution," he said.

David Edwards, product manager at Net Insight, discussed the shift from satellite to IP delivery for content distribution. "Content distribution classically relied on satellite delivery to achieve wide-scale coverage," he noted. "Geostationary satellite costs now seem like a big financial burden and inflexible."

Aaron Kroger, product marketing lead at Dalet, addressed the challenge of scalability in content distribution, highlighting the need for efficient human workflows. "One of the challenges faced today with distributing content is scalability," he explained. "To effectively scale does not mean to remove the human element such as review and approval but to ensure that it is as efficient as possible."

Klaus Weber further emphasized the benefits of integrated platforms for content creation and distribution. "When content creation and distribution operate on the same software-based platform, it offers significant advantages in both speed and, more importantly, reliability," he stated.

Ian McPherson elaborated on the speed and reliability improvements in cloud-based workflows. "Moving broadcast workflows to the cloud improves the speed and reliability of content distribution by eliminating the need to move content between applications and workstations as it moves through the supply chain," he explained.

Nivedita Nouvel highlighted technologies like multicast ABR for enhanced distribution efficiency. "Technologies such as multicast ABR for live content and dynamic congestion control mechanisms greatly help to improve content distribution efficiency," she stated.

James Cranfield, global VP at Cinedeck, discussed challenges in media orchestration systems, including legacy system integration, cost management, and training. "While media orchestration systems are key for streamlining the broadcast workflow, they can often present challenges," he said.

Stefan Lederer mentioned the use of analytics tools for real-time monitoring of video stream reliability. "By using analytics tools that monitor user session data, streaming service providers can now track and analyze their video streams’ reliability in real-time," he explained.

Andy Rayner, CTO at Appear, noted the continual advancements in content distribution technology and the challenge of scalable architectures for live linear distribution in the age of OTT. "There are continual increases in all elements of content distribution technology — especially networking and computing," he stated.

Sam Peterson emphasized the need for broadcasters to adapt their distribution strategies to remain competitive. "To stay competitive, broadcasters must be willing to rethink and innovate their distribution strategies, moving beyond outdated, one-size-fits-all approaches," he advised.

Ian McPherson highlighted the evolving viewer expectations and the subsequent development of OTT offerings and diversified distribution channels. "Broadcasters must meet changing viewer expectations for watching content where they want, when they want, and how they want," he emphasized.

Craig Wilson pointed to the rise of FAST channels as an example of cost-effective content distribution and monetization. "The rise of FAST channels in recent years shows how broadcasters are finding different ways of distributing content, and monetizing existing content in new ways," he noted.

Nivedita Nouvel discussed the impact of live events on content delivery and the shift from personal cloud DVR to more flexible catch-up TV services. "While global live video content consumption is decreasing, popular events are driving higher audience peaks," she observed.

Mārtiņš Magone, CTO at Veset, noted the increasing adoption of cloud-based playout infrastructure for scalability and flexibility. "More and more broadcasters are shifting to cloud based playout infrastructure with the vision of introducing a scalable, flexible and monitorable foundation to work from," he stated.

Stefan Lederer discussed the importance of meeting diverse viewer needs through flexible OTT distribution. "To remain relevant and reach a wider audience, broadcasters must distribute their content in a way that meets the diverse needs of viewers today," he said.

David Edwards explained the shift from satellite to internet-based distribution for wider geographical coverage and cost reduction. "Distributing content requires wide-scale geographical coverage to the edge," he noted. "Now with near ubiquitous, high-quality global internet availability broadcasters can revolutionize their distribution solutions to leverage greater flexibility and a radically lower OPEX cost base."

Andy Rayner predicted a transition to OTT-based delivery within the next decade, even for linear channels. "There is an inevitable transition in broadcasting from traditional linear delivery to OTT-based consumption," he stated.

Geoff Stedman, chief marketing officer at SDVI, discussed the importance of content orchestration solutions for meeting the diverse specifications of different distribution platforms. "Each distribution platform has their own specifications for content packages, including media formats, audio placement, and metadata," he explained.

Aaron Kroger highlighted the value of orchestration platforms for managing one-to-many distribution and providing centralized views of content across platforms. "A good orchestration platform easily manages one-to-many distribution using automation to convert and configure to the specific needs of each end point," he said.

Sam Peterson discussed the increasing importance of partner-based content distribution and the need for adaptability. "Partner-based content distribution has become a critical trend, as media companies increasingly rely on third-party platforms to expand their reach and audience," he said.

Benjamin Shirley, product manager at MainConcept, discussed the role of IP-based solutions and advanced codecs in shaping the future of content playout and distribution. "As broadcasters move to IP-based solutions, protocols such as ST2110 and NDI with codecs such as JPEG-XS will shape the future of content playout and distribution," he stated.

Stefan Lederer highlighted the growing interest in AI-powered solutions for cost reduction and compliance with accessibility regulations. "With a mass of solutions and services leveraging AI hitting the market right now, there’s a lot of interest in how AI can reduce costs and increase profit," he noted.

Stephane Cloirec concluded by discussing the importance of innovative ad insertion solutions for maximizing revenue in the streaming era. "With ad-supported tiers going mainstream for streaming platforms and ad revenues remaining a primary revenue source for broadcasters and content owners, deploying innovative ad insertion solutions is essential to stay competitive in this market," he stated.