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With services such as Netflix being viewed over 70 percent of the time on connected televisions (CTVs), when a media buyer thinks of over-the-top (OTT) their first thought is not usually mobile or laptop-first. But the truth is, OTT can come in many shapes and sizes and merely represents how a piece of video is delivered. With viewing trends shifting so drastically, should the size of the screen really matter? Many viewers are shifting their consumption habits of live, linear and VOD television content to devices they can access whenever, and wherever. A study by Deloitte Insights, showed mobile-first viewers consume a comparatively large portion of long-form video on their smartphones, almost three times the average streamer. With TV being made available everywhere, mobile OTT has become a new norm.

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As OTT audiences demonstrate an increased appetite for video streaming, some providers  are updating their download options, while others are facing questions about their lack of the capability. With enthusiasm and expectations high, it’s vital for providers to ensure a high-quality experience. But, as more providers add mobile video download capabilities, there’s one issue that remains challenging for many streaming services: licensing restrictions.

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Viewers are binge watching and sharing video on multiple devices and social media like never before. New video distribution market entrants are driving this change to a large extent. It’s safe to say change won’t stop.

To remain competitive, not only will video service providers need to offer innovative new features, but they also will have to optimize their cost structure. Can they do that in today’s demanding environment? Can they be both feature rich and low cost?

We think so.

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In my ten years of experience in major event streaming, including Super Bowls and Olympics, I’ve found that every big event is unique – and every event has something unexpected happen. But successful streaming always has three essential ingredients – clear objectives, comprehensive testing, and operational playbooks.

Know Your KPIs
The ultimate objective may be to make the live-stream experience flawless. Realistically, that can’t happen for all viewers all the time in all places. Audience expectations, while rising steadily overall, vary locally. And there are cost-performance tradeoffs to navigate.

Amid all that variability, you need to establish specific KPIs to benchmark performance measurement, comprehensive testing, and continuous improvement. Start with the basics – viewers’ time-to-access the stream and rebuffering percentage. Include audience satisfaction and feedback if measured. And be precise about time-to-recovery objectives. For example, when servers go down, software components fail, or unexpected things happen on the Internet, does the workflow have the resiliency to recover quickly, even imperceptibly to the viewer?

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It’s in the script for every OTT service with an app for phones and tablets: “your favorite shows are now available anytime, anywhere!”  It’s in the script because marketers know that “available anytime, anywhere” is what audiences want. Their impulse to make this promise is the right one, and it may induce an initial consumer engagement. But failing to deliver on that promise will quickly frustrate users and potentially increase churn. Saying it does not make it reality. 

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Over the past several months, we’ve watched the largest video platforms make large-scale improvements to address brand safety. They honed their filters, updated their monetization policies, invited top independent measurement providers to the table and improved transparency.

It’s clear that the platforms feel and bear the burden of eliminating brand-unsafe content – the undeniably reprehensible videos that no advertiser would want to appear beside.

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Advertising technology is a fast paced business driven by trends in innovation. In the last twelve months, the video industry has been dominated by headlines devoted to the rise of header bidding and brand safety. But what is next on the horizon? For advertisers and media owners, streamlining costs and efficiency in video advertising remains paramount, which is why the latest trend is the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). But what exactly is it and why is it such a hot topic right now?

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Fresh off the show floor at NAB Show in Las Vegas, I was struck by three very clear trends:

- Broadcasters are keen to understand what they need to do to adopt ATSC 3.0, the IP-based over-the-air (OTA) TV broadcast standard that combines broadcasting and broadband internet,
- Many are working to reorient workflows to support 'Advanced Advertising' and cross-screen measurement, and
- Cross-screen multi-touch attribution is now a 'must-have' for the sell-side to merchandise their unique value to buyers.

Meanwhile back in New York, the annual TV Upfronts and Digital Video Newfronts are in full swing. My only hope is that we're not going another year planning our Marketing efforts in separate linear vs. digital siloes.

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