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Live streaming is a great way for your enterprise to drive online engagement . The shared experience of watching live events unfold as they happen can create an impact that cannot be matched . However , it ’ s important to remember that quality issues can threaten the success of your operation – the link between video quality , high viewer expectations and the impact on business should not be ignored .
Is it time your business got involved ? Ian Munford , Director of Product Marketing , Akamai , gives us the lowdown on streaming live online content .
What would be a good starting point for businesses looking to get into live streaming ?
Ian Munford , Director of Product Marketing , Akamai
The first starting point for any media company looking to launch a new live streaming or simulcast service would be to understand the potential audience in depth and understand the need you ’ re fulfilling . The market for live and VOD streaming is highly competitive and in many countries almost saturated so you need to understand what gap your filling in the market and what would a potential audience really value ? This could be a number of things such as the simulcast of TV channels , capturing share in a niche market or a full bouquet of live and video on demand content genres .
Companies need to think carefully about the correct business model ; should it be ad funded , subscription or a hybrid model ? There is a very large on-line audience looking for new content experiences but that doesn ’ t necessarily guarantee success .
How important is the issue of quality to retaining viewers ?
It ’ s very important . Good and relevant content will always be the most important factor for capturing audience share but streaming quality follows very quickly after that .
The industry has made great strides forward in the last few years and viewers now expect nothing short of a TV experience when they view content delivered over the Internet , especially on connected or smart TVs .
Quality means different things to different companies , however , and this also needs www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
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