Such availability of content has been created by a democratisation of the TV landscape, where broadcast-quality channels can be spun up efficiently and cost-effectively like never before. Setting up, operating, and monetising a high-quality streaming service is more affordable than ever – mainly because it is now possible to create high quality content and launch streaming apps more efficiently and with fewer vendors.

In this article, I will spotlight how any organisation with good content can get involved in this exciting era for digital distribution.

Maturing technology

The streaming market is fierce and demanding to compete in. Huge investment in vast content libraries has created access to thousands and thousands of films, shows, and other content. Despite such access at the tip of their fingers, audiences often report that they struggle with searching for content and getting relevant recommendations. There is a huge opportunity for niche streaming services to get a slice of the pie as a result, as they can cater better to specific interests. Maturing streaming technology has levelled the playing field by providing such niche content owners a more affordable route to market by going direct-to-consumer (D2C), while also guaranteeing a high-quality viewer experience.

Now, there is an exciting opportunity for niche content providers to meet the needs of an under-served audience in the simplest way. Whether it is content for older audiences, people who like art, independent films, education, fitness or health and wellness, or live streaming faith-based services, there is now the possibility of providing a dedicated service to suit a viewer’s specific interests that the big platforms don’t provide.

The streaming technology market has been evolving rapidly for over a decade now and it has given vendors a lot of streaming experience. There are now genuine end-to-end solutions available – from content ingestion and management through to app development – that deliver great quality experiences.

Such technology has levelled the playing field for content owners with high-quality video content, and its potential is giving them the power to ingest, organise, distribute, and monetise that content to any digital destination.

More monetisation options

D2C also provides a fantastic opportunity for content owners to build first-party data sets and monetise them. What these organisations are doing, ultimately, is getting control.

They can leverage the potential of FAST channels and distribution to grow audiences. They can also embrace subscriptions, advertising, or a hybrid of SVOD/ AVOD to maximise revenues across all bases. For brands, D2C providers can offer an appealing proposition: brand-safe, contextually safe ad placements for a highly dedicated audience.

Securing your future today

The digital media paradigm has changed forever and has set the pace for a new ecosystem. By providing consumer access to all kinds of high-quality content, the opportunities have never been greater for audiences to find the content they want via D2C services. The playing field has been levelled and, while the big streaming companies may continue to occupy viewers’ top one or two subscriptions, there is a fantastic opportunity for niche services to take the next spot.

We are all in the media business now, and it looks like it will stay that way.

According to Jonas Engwall, CEO of Bedrock (which provides video streaming platforms to broadcasters and media companies in Europe), the answer is simple. “Content is still king in the streaming world. But the platform is queen.”

He continued that while there are exceptions, “If you look at the global streamers, they are well ahead of the local players. They are quite advanced in their content offering, massively pushing content with the platforms. And I think from a platform perspective, they’re also very advanced. They provide very personalised platforms, they’re stable, they work well.”

Ivars Lubāns, Head of Product at Go3, a local streaming provider in the Baltics (and part of TV3 Group), pointed out that the key to growth for this service was providing variety and locally-focussed content. “Regarding the Baltics, it’s a small market and Netflix is probably not that interested [in providing local content], as it’s three separate countries, three separate languages. So, we have the local knowledge and the local understanding and relevance, which is especially important for the 25+ [demographic] market.”

This was echoed by Anita Barnard, Head of Distribution and Commercial Partnerships at Marquee TV, which offers ballet theatre and opera, and whose service focuses on “content from places where people cannot or cannot afford to go to, such as the Sydney Opera House”. However, Engwall asserted that, “Local players are great at storytelling. But the challenge is to bring that content on a platform that can compete with the big players.”

The panel agreed that consolidation and partnerships could be a key differentiator for driving growth in D2C platforms. But more than that, without consolidation the CTV landscape will become too fractured for consumers. “Consolidation is the future,” said Parul Goel, Territory Head UK and Director Finance, UK/EU/Americas at ZEE Entertainment. “It’s got to happen because there is so much leaking of money everywhere. And we have to stop it to grow our industry. Otherwise, there will be hundreds of channels people won’t watch.”

Marquee TV works with local and global providers to bring its content to wider audiences and provide a better viewing experience, and Barnard sees a customer experience opportunity in this marketplace. “From a consumer point of view, there’s so many different subscriptions in their life and they just want to manage that in one place. Consolidation doesn’t have to be companies buying companies, but it needs cooperation to find an easier way for consumers to manage their subscriptions.”

Lubāns agreed on the need to evolve the CX. “[For consumers] one part is the money and the other is the experience. If you have to switch between providers to watch different content, it’s inconvenient. Some kind of aggregation has to happen within the industry.”

With the current economic situation, it can be hard to justify the investments needed to grow – and the days of growth at all costs may be coming to an end. “For global players it’s a land grab race. They are creating lots of content, but at some point they will have to stabilise to make a profit,” asserted Engwall. From Goel’s point of view, “Cost control in terms of content is the quickest way to get profit.”

With a plethora of ways to monetise content – whether using AVOD, FAST or SVOD – D2C providers should not be afraid to experiment with different strategies. As Engwall explained, “Nowadays, technology allows you to have a broader monetisation strategy; I think it’s up to everyone to try and see how it ends up … Spotify has shown in music that people will pay eventually to get a better experience. I think we’re heading in that direction.”

Ultimately, the panel decided, the key to growth in this sector is putting user experience first. “We want viewers to have a good experience on the bigger screens. Those who do watch via those bigger screens tend to stay longer,” Barnard observed. Lubāns concluded: “Going forward, I think the industry will focus not on the quantity, but on the quality of the content.”

The panel was moderated by Lydia Fairfax, Founder & MD at Triple Crown Consulting.

Whole sessions are devoted to answering these questions, and others explore how broadcasters can increase their share of digital viewing time, and what the expansion of SAVOD (Subscription with Advertising VOD, exemplified by Netflix Basic with Ads) and FAST means for the TV advertising market. Early confirmed speakers across the agenda include:

• Pedro Bandeira, Vice President Product and New Business, Europe, Deutsche Telekom
• Aušra Sidaravičienė, Group Chief Technical Officer, TV3 Group
• John Jelley, Senior Vice President, Product and UX, Peacock & International, D2C at NBCUniversal Media
• Ken Morse, Director of Application Delivery, Sky
• Pierre-Adrian Irlé, Head of Play Suisse, SRG SSR
• Jason Briggs, President and General Manager, RDK
• Mehmet Eroglu, Chief Commercial Officer, Foxxum
• Gary Woolf, EVP Strategic Development, All3Media International
• Marcos Milanez, EU General Manager, Rakuten TV
• Ivars Lubāns, Head of Product, Go3, TV3 Group
• Akhila Khanna, VP, Partnerships and Business Development, UK, Paramount.

You can see an up-to-date list of publicly announced speakers here.

There is a session titled ‘Driving D2C and SVOD growth’, focusing on how channel groups, studios and SVOD providers maximise their potential audience reach, convert app availability into paying customers, maintain attention in an increasingly competitive marketplace, guarantee win-win relationships with CE/OS/STB device platform providers, and expand market share during a cost-of-living crisis.

As part of a four-session advertising stream on Tuesday March 21, leaders who are driving the advanced advertising transformation will explore how we maximise the value of free connected TV, and how we make TV a better product for advertisers (spanning the latest thinking on making cross-platform buying easier, improving cross-platform measurement, and attributing TV exposure to business outcomes, among other things.

A session is devoted to ‘Preparing for a larger addressable TV universe’, exploring the challenges (as well as opportunities) as the number of addressable-enabled platforms and homes increases – acknowledging the fact that free-to-air platforms are increasingly ready to join the party, adding to Pay TV and streaming footprints.

The ‘Win-wins in the Television OS marketplace’ session focuses on how TV-OS providers, television set OEMs and content owners work together to increase total household reach, audience engagement and ongoing revenue opportunities for streaming TV. This includes  a look at the Pay TV operator Smart TV model (pioneered by Sky Glass), the role of independent OS/UX providers, and how global OS/UX providers in the CTV/Smart TV space differentiate themselves.

Connected TV World Summit is renowned for delivering smart new thinking and research, and many of the world’s leading analysts are gathering to explore these mission-critical issues:

• ‘The subscription economy in an inflationary era’ – Tim Mulligan, Executive Vice President and Research Director, MIDiA Research
• ‘Content and windowing strategies in the D2C market’ – Jack Davison, Executive Vice President, 3Vision
• ‘The impact of Netflix and TikTok in video advertising’ – Maria Rua Aguete, Senior Director, Media and Entertainment, Omdia
• ‘How broadcasters increase their share-of-time in digital’ – Lottie Towler, Research Manager, Ampere Analysis
• ‘The future of free-to-air aggregation’ – Richard Broughton, Executive Director, Ampere Analysis
• ‘Decarbonising TMT’ – Alice Enders, Director of Research, Enders Analysis
• ‘Technology choices shaping the sports experience of the future’ – Tom Morrod, Research Director & Co-Founder, Caretta Research
• ‘Media & Entertainment opportunities in the metaverse’ – Joseph Teasdale, Head of Tech, Enders Analysis.

‘Delivering an experience: STB & Operator App’ is a session that explores two parallel and closely entwined technology roadmaps: the next-generation TV experience delivered via a set-top box, and operator/aggregator services enabled directly on a television without an STB, whether in the form of ‘Operator as an App’ on a third-party television brand or embedded into an operator-produced television set (as with the pioneering Sky Glass model).

In ‘Cementing the consumer love affair with TV’, 90 minutes are devoted to best practice and global innovation in content discovery. Ampere Analysis is leading a special session dedicated to the future of televised sport, focusing on rights and distribution strategy, while there are parallel sessions devoted to beating the sports streaming pirates and building the sports streaming networks of the future.

Connected TV World Summit has moved to a new venue: Convene, 22 Bishopsgate – London’s second tallest building, next to the Gherkin and minutes from Tower 42. For the first time, the organisers (disclaimer – Videonet is owned by Adwanted Group, which produces Connected TV World Summit) are hosting some Masterclasses, making use of ultra-modern networking and meeting spaces to dig deeper into narrow-focus topics, led by experts in the field.

Nathalie Lethbridge, Founder and Principal Advisor, Atonik Digital, leads the FAST Masterclass, and the consulting/research firm MTM leads the Customer Retention and Acquisition Masterclass. There is a special breakfast devoted to how we decarbonise the television value-chain while ensuring the industry ends the process as large as it started.

The organisers are predicting 100+ senior-level speakers and 600+ (unique) delegates over the two days.

You can find more details about Connected TV World Summit 2023, here.

The registration for this event can be found here.

Connected TV World Summit is produced by Adwanted Events (formerly called Mediatel Events). Adwanted Events also delivers The Future of TV Advertising Global (also with Sydney and Canada editions), The Future of Media, The Future of Brands and The Future of Audio, among others.