Optimizing live and on-demand content profitability with IP video distribution

Before the age of streaming, there were far fewer dimensions to video delivery and consumption. Feeds were limited with fixed content, transmitted from one source to one broad audience of cable or broadcast network viewers, with little opportunity for targeted segmentation. Today, audiences are fragmented across more streaming platforms, channels, and devices than ever before. Media companies are now charged with generating experiences that are varied enough to capture the attention of diverse audiences and tailored enough to deepen engagement, all underpinned by the pressure to stretch the profitability of content as far as possible.

In the evolution of video distribution, linear paths like satellite and fiber were significant chapters that served a purpose. However, when it comes to addressing the challenges of the modern media landscape, there are some things that satellite and fiber just can’t do.

As the disadvantages strain the business decisions of media, sports, entertainment, and technology companies looking for optimal ways to increase the value of live events and on-demand video content, fiber and satellite video distribution are being superseded by IP video distribution that offers greater efficiency, scale, and monetization.

The drawbacks of satellite video distribution

The complexity of satellite workflows is no longer feasible

While media companies face mounting pressure to feed an endless appetite of content consumption — to be delivered at the highest quality — they’re also up against the shrinking bandwidth of satellite capacity being repurposed for use by 5G wireless carriers. While trying to funnel more content through a narrowing path, issues of interference commonly arise that demand time-consuming troubleshooting and the disruptive reallocation of resources to correct transmission traffic.

Satellite doesn’t accommodate the flexibility needed in today’s media landscape

As digital consumption of video content grows and evolves, media companies need the space to experiment with new channels and live event feeds quickly and efficiently. They also need the agility to modify them based on changing viewer preferences, and the scalability to reach both global and hyperlocal audiences across an expanding universe of platforms and devices. Satellite video distribution is far too rigid to meet these demands, and it does not offer the flexibility required for navigating rapid changes in the media landscape.

Disadvantages of fiber video distribution

Customization opportunities are restricted by fiber paths

A purpose-built technology, fiber was intentionally designed for content to be distributed by one source to its select few contracted distribution outlets. This, of course, inherently has limitations in reach and customization. Given the advantages of targeting relevant audience segments — often down to the individual viewer — media companies using fiber video distribution miss out on revenue-generating customization opportunities that fiber can’t offer.

Fiber can’t guarantee reliable distribution

Vulnerable to signal loss caused by manufacturing flaws, environmental and construction interference, and general corrosion over time, the fragility of fiber is impossible to overlook. Unless reinforced with the installation of multiple fiber paths — which is complicated and costly to achieve — the lack of redundant routes can threaten video transport and lead to network disruption that can be expensive to diagnose and repair, requiring specialized service and equipment.

The bottom line is that the risk of disruptions, financial implications, and complexities of maintaining both fiber and satellite video distribution models stifle the potential for business agility and innovation, at a time when the landscape demands it.

Why media companies trust IP video distribution

While internet-based delivery has held the most promise for advanced content transport, it too has had its own set of constraints. The basic architecture of the public internet doesn’t include the native ability to multicast or support both low latency and high reliability. During periods of particularly high use, internet routing protocols are overwhelmed by traffic, causing jams that can lead to packet delays or loss.

This is where the value of a proprietary IP network like the LTN Network becomes so critical for effectively addressing today’s challenges and achieving reliable, cost-effective delivery of live and on-demand content. Through the application of unique overlay technology and an ecosystem of datacenters located in carefully selected parts of the world to amplify reliable connectivity — plus the use of proprietary routing protocols — LTN can guarantee ultra-low latency and 99.999% reliability.

Media companies can take control of their full video chain workflows

Because we control our own technology and specialized protocols tailored for video, the LTN Network is self-healing. Fully managed solutions like LTN Wave are built over our distributed network which is hardened by geographic redundancy. If one datacenter encounters disruptions, we can reroute live customer traffic around congested or delayed paths in real time. The command over our own network empowers our customers to have their own unprecedented degree of control over content feeds. We ensure end-to-end visibility into workflows, supporting each with powerful monitoring tools and the meticulous oversight of our always-on technical operations center (TOC).

IP video distribution enables content companies to customize with efficiency and scale

In comparison to the rigidity and expense of fiber and satellite video distribution, IP video distribution via a proprietary network enables media companies to tailor content efficiently and at scale. Unlike fiber and satellite video distribution — and even basic IP transmission — the LTN Network was built for multicast transport, enabling simultaneous distribution and customization of high-value content to anywhere in the world. There’s no need to put more hardware at the edges or to create multiple versions of content at the source. Instead, scalable and efficient customization happens during transport, offering the opportunity to make every event and every second of a video stream an asset that maximizes monetization.

A proprietary IP network fits perfectly with hybrid models and connects seamlessly with external workflows

It’s not uncommon for media companies to have one foot in digital content delivery and the other in legacy linear distribution, seeking a hybrid approach that offers greater flexibility and revenue. LTN creates a path for implementing future-ready digital strategies, while also accommodating existing workflows — e.g. keep your current encoders and IRDs while transitioning feeds from satellite or fiber to the LTN Network. It’s the simplest way to integrate proprietary IP video distribution that fits the timeline and aspirations of media companies. The need for flexibility in today’s ever-evolving media landscape is also what drove LTN to design solutions with modularity and the intention that they work with existing workflows seamlessly. It’s the agility of our modular IP technology that has accelerated the time-to-market for business experimentation, empowering our customers to innovate and scale in the most cost-effective way possible.

Tier 1 media companies around the world are no longer viewing the transition to IP video distribution as something they have to do — it’s now something they want to do to expand their reach both globally and hyperlocally, monetize video content, and ensure ultra-low latency and high reliability.

Learn more about the challenges driving leading media companies from satellite video distribution to IP video distribution.