This article analyzes the growing uptake of Video streaming over smart devices and the limitless use cases of Live streaming. It further explores the key drivers have made live streaming truly mainstream.

1. 44 | BROADCAST & CABLESAT | NOVEMBER 2017 | broadcastandcablesat.co.in | An ADI Media Publication
Perspective
Live Streaming Becomes Mainstream
I
n the early days, watching online videos
used to test one’s patience rather than
provide contentment value. Cable
and satellite broadcasting still enjoy the
popularity, today, as their content delivery
had been flawless; something the Internet
could not offer up until recently. Media
streaming technologies thus emerged which
gave online video delivery a big leap.
The high-level video streaming process
involves five key elements:
ll Capture: To acquire an audio/video (AV)
through a capture device
ll Encode: To digitize, encode, compress,
and/or optimize the AV source
ll Process: To optimize it for multiple
display qualities for adaptive streaming
(attuned to end-user device, Internet
bandwidth, and other considerations)
ll Delivery: To deliver the processed video
fragments to the end users’ device or player
ll Consume: To consume the video stream
using a video player on multiple platforms
namely smart device, laptop, game console,
smart TV, etc.
Each leg of the process has undergone
specialization and innovation to provide
superior delivery to the end-user. Based
on the time dimension, streaming may be
defined as live or on-demand.
Live Streaming
The process for live streaming is slightly
different considering the real-time
dimension. The time relevance factor makes
the margin of error fairly low. Interestingly,
the end-to-end process from capture-to-
consume is completed within few seconds (or
near real-time) of the actual event. Today,
the use cases of live streaming are limitless
given the technology advancement:
ll Sports: The most common and popular live
streaming use case
ll Business events: Management speech or
message to geographically spread-out
employees
ll Product launches: Like Apple product
launch
ll Concerts/events: Music, fashion, comedy,
etc. including behind-the-screen look for
deeper fan engagement
ll Conventions: Like World Economic Forum
or Indian Mobile Congress
ll Training: Tutor assisted e-classrooms
ll Personal connect: Using social media
platforms or propriety device software
ll Others: News, political meeting, religious
services, etc.
Future Outlook
The key drivers have made live streaming
truly mainstream. The next growth wave has
been triggered by social media players like
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube,
Twitter, etc. They have empowered every
smart device user to live stream video
without having advanced skills or device
capabilities. The current popularity of live
streaming is astronomically high for the
sports genre while other use cases would
soon gather traction in the near future.
Sohag Sarkar
Management
Consultant & TMT
Advisor
Live Streaming
Key Drivers Key Statistics or References
Smart device penetration: There is higher
uptake and enrichment across the device
segments. For mobiles devices it is the higher
sales of bigger screen (>5 inches) and for
TVs it is the 4K technology, OTT/plug & play
support, amongst other key features
Device penetration
ll Mobile: 84%, smart phone: 33%, PCs: 16%,
Tablet: 5%, and TV: 82%
How Internet users watch TV:
ll On TV set: 71%, catch-up mode: 6%, online
streaming on TV: 2%, and Online Streaming in
other devices: 3%
Broadband speeds and tariff: The increasing
Internet speeds is driving higher uptake of high
quality video (4K) while lower 4G data tariff is
pushing the sales of smart TVs and devices
Average speed:
ll Average: 6.5 Mbps (Y-o-Y increase: 87%), and
Peak: 41.4 Mbps (Y-o-Y increase: 62%)
One of the leading TV manufactures registered
40 percent growth in the smart TV segment when
compared to overall sales (10–12%)
Digital content and OTT services: The spread
of digital content is expanding exponentially.
There is higher churn of user generated
content; while the key players are driving
content production/acquisition and leveraging
innovative monetization models:
ll Advertisement video on Demand (Voot,
OZee)
ll Subscription video on demand (Netflix, Sun
Nxt, Amazon Prime Videos, Hooq)
ll Freemium (YouTube, Hotstar, Sony Liv,
Ditto TV)
Average daily time spent with media:
ll Internet over PC/Tablet: 8 Hrs, Internet over
mobile: 3 Hrs 22 min, and TV: 1 Hr 51 min
Frequency of watching online video:
ll Every day: 15%, Every week: 25%, every month:
23%, less than a month: 15% and Never watch
online: 20%
Percentage of users watching video on mobile: 34%
In the latest edition of IPL, Hotstar had more online
viewers (36.4 mn) than Sony broadcast network
channels (34.9 mn) in the first 13 matches among
cities with 10+ lakh population
Digital payments: The availability and adoption
of digital payment options is triggering the
higher uptake of VOD services
Some of the content players have enabled integrated
carrier billing to offer unified payment options like
Ditto TV, Hooq, and ALT Balaji