[#1] OTT from the Beach

Welcome to the 1st edition of "OTT from the Beach" – where we bring you the latest waves in the OTT industry, all with a touch of sunshine from our Gran Canaria base!?

Whether you're an OTT enthusiast, a media, sports, or entertainment executive, a tech sales pro in streaming, or simply supporting 2Coders, this newsletter is tailored for you.?

As a subscriber, you deserve the best, and we're excited to share the most relevant OTT insights, company highlights, and exclusive content with you every month. Let's dive in!

Key Highlights

• Growing partnership network and new projects with telco providers.
• Something new is coming from 2Coders, built by our OTT experts.
• What about Ad insertion, Sports OTT, and content personalization?
• The future of OTT as seen by 2Coders.
• Podcasts, opinions, and more from the OTT world.

Growing our Partnership Network

Over the past year, the OTT industry witnessed a surge in partnerships, notably visible at major conferences like IBC, where companies joined forces as exhibitors to a greater extent than ever before.

In 2023, we prioritized forging strategic alliances with industry leaders to enhance client services, while also exploring exciting new products we could integrate. As we enter 2024, we're taking our partnership efforts to the next level - stay tuned for a major announcement as we kick off the year with a prominent monetization platform player.

Meanwhile, get a sneak peek at some of the cool integrations we did last year in case you missed them: How Our Partnership with Penthera is Revolutionizing Offline Video Viewing for Serving OTT Customers, Transforming Streaming Experiences: Our Dynamic Partnership with Bitmovin.

Forging Alliances: Collaboration with Major Telco Providers in Spain & Canada

In January, we continued our journey with a Canadian telecommunications giant, diving into their streaming platform and setting our sights on the captivating realm of sports streaming.

But hold on, there's more! Last but certainly not least, we embarked on an exciting project with a Spanish multimedia company, poised to make waves in the industry.

Among the platforms we'll be covering are their native iOS and Android mobile applications for smartphones and tablets. Our mobile team is all geared up after smashing it up with one of our beloved clients in the USA (read the full case study: Driving Enterprise Communication: A Case Study on Our Successful Development of Vbrick’s Mobile Video App Solution)

A Decade of Expertise - What's Next for 2Coders?

For a decade, we've been around in the OTT industry, collaborating with top-tier sports and media entertainment streaming providers across diverse markets, witnessing it all! With over 300+ years of cumulative market presence among our clients and over 50 OTT projects under our belt, our team of OTT experts has been brewing something extraordinary. Trust us, it's worth the wait! Stay tuned.

If you'd like to discover more about our expertise, read more in our Introduction Deck.

For this first newsletter, we present to you Playa de Maspalomas in Gran Canaria, which is 5600 meters long and has 2738 hours of sunshine per year. So much space to lay on a beach chair with your laptop :)

The Rise of Ad-Supported Monetization Models

In 2023, giants like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video embraced the Advertising-Based Video On Demand (AVOD) model, moving away from traditional subscription-only models. These platforms introduced ad-supported tiers, catering to a growing segment of viewers seeking lower-cost alternatives. Disney+ launched its Ad-Supported streaming in the US in December 2022. In 2023, Disney claimed that 50% of new subscribers chose the Ad-Supported plan over pricier ad-free plans. Following the success of the Advertising-Based model, Disney+ introduced its “Standard with Ads” plan in the UK and selected European regions in November 2023.

Will this be the future of streaming? Read more about this on our blog, where we talk more about OTT advertising and how OTT ads work.

The Future of Sports is OTT?

In 2023, sports streaming grew rapidly as OTT services competed with traditional broadcasters for live sports rights. Streamers spent over US$6 billion on exclusive deals with major sports leagues in key markets. This shows the mutual dependence between streaming providers and sports organizations. Sports streaming also changed how fans watch live sports, offering them more flexibility and quality.

At 2Coders, sports streaming has been ingrained in our daily operations since 2012 when we began facilitating the streaming of one of the largest live events in the USA. We're at the forefront of the market, empowering sports providers to succeed. If you want to bring your sports competition even closer to your fans and you are thinking about streaming shift, then read our LinkedIn post.

Will AI Transform the User Engagement?

The way people consume content has changed dramatically in recent times. Streaming providers are facing a tough challenge to keep their audiences interested and loyal to their platforms. They need to find effective ways to enhance user engagement, but their current strategies are not enough.

Personalization is one of the key factors that can influence user satisfaction and retention. However, existing algorithms are often biased and limited by relying on viewing history and similar content. To meet the changing needs of users, streaming providers should adopt more innovative approaches. For example, they could use facial recognition technology to detect the emotional state of the viewer and recommend films that match their mood. This would require collecting and analyzing more user data, but it would also offer a more customized viewing experience that could reduce the churn rate and model the viewer experience according to their emotions at the moment.

The best way to predict the future is to create it. And that’s why we at 2coders Studio, like to navigate to the unknown seas to explore every exciting opportunity and be a part of the group that draws the world map of OTT.?

This year we plan to go even deeper into technologies such as AI, and ad-supported streaming, to continue with the mission to find the answer to the question of shifting from traditional pay TV to an OTT model, and to ride the waves of the growth of Connected TV (CTV).

Last year, we felt a few changes that shook the world of online video. We've experienced an uptick in demand for personalized content delivery and interactive features. People were more interested in content that is customized to their preferences, with added features that improve their viewing experience. And that trend will continue to arrive on the OTT shores in 2024, with the same intensity.

Our suggestion as seasoned experts is to explore the sea of opportunities and be even more eager to adopt more innovative front-end technologies that can help you build more up-to-date products. If you do this, you can be sure that you will not be overrun by the others.?

As a final note - looking at the horizon, we can say with some certainty that streaming videos will get even more exciting and user-friendly. The focus will shift to adaptive user interfaces and next-level viewing experiences, creating a perfect environment for every user.?

First Streamed Movie

The first movie that was streamed via the internet was Wax or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees. It was originally released in 1991 and was broadcast on the internet in 1993 at a rate of 2 frames per second due to bandwidth limitations.

Additional literature for this month ;)

• Podcast: OTTRED Spotlight: Amir Mortezaie - Product design & strategy
• Column: Live Sports Streaming and the Edison Tone Test
• Podcast: James Walmsley - Retaining Streaming Subscribers in a Dynamic Market
• LinkedIn: Evan Shapīro’s post about Netflix earnings?

Thank you for being a part of our inaugural edition. Your support means the world to us. If you enjoyed the newsletter, share the love and encourage others to subscribe.

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Until next month's edition in February, stay tuned for more waves of insights and surprises from the beautiful Canary Islands!