2023年7月5日
By 埃里克·黑首席技术官/通用汽车媒体，Edgio
博客

构建vs. 购买困境:为什么媒体公司正在改变他们的方式

For media companies, launching OTT services quickly and easily is critical to business success. There are many reasons for this, including the need to be present in the market and build audiences. We’ve moved on from the landgrab that happened a few years ago when the likes of 亚马逊, 苹果, 迪斯尼第一次进入市场时，似乎拥有无穷无尽的百家乐软件——现在, 优先考虑的是在一个有效的商业模式中建立受众.

如今，流媒体是媒体公司业务的一个关键焦点. 提高上市时间, 同时提供卓越的体验，是可靠的和强大的, 能对底线产生巨大影响吗. When launching a new streaming service, companies must decide on the best technology strategy. Generally, they have two options: build it themselves or buy from a vendor. This is a dilemma that 迪斯尼’s CEO Bob Iger grappled with when he was planning 迪斯尼+，正如在去年的代码大会上所解释的那样:

“我们一心想进入流媒体业务. 我们需要一个技术解决方案. 我们拥有所有这些优秀的IP. 我们不是一家科技公司. 我们如何将IP带给世界各地的消费者? 我们不停地踢轮胎. 我们想要发展自己. 五年，5亿美元. 不是钱的问题，而是时间的问题，因为世界瞬息万变.”

想象一下，如果艾格没有继续花3美元.80亿美元投资BAMtech. 迪士尼+几乎肯定不会像现在这样迅速推出. 它将错过大流行和由此导致的流媒体激增, it would not have achieved the same degree of exceptional growth it demonstrated in its first year. 一夜之间，迪士尼变成了一家科技公司. 与此同时，像苹果这样的科技巨头苹果电视+, 谷歌, YouTube上电视，进入流媒体电视市场. 流媒体技术被转移到内部已经成为一种趋势.

作为SI的媒体公司

正如鲍勃·艾格所认识到的, 媒体公司有很棒的IP, 但, 只有一两个例外, 它们不是科技公司. And owning tech does not automatically improve their business: share prices do not jump because you have the best encoders; they jump because your new series is a hit with viewers.

不过, there is a lot to be gained by having internal expertise when it comes to streaming technology. Streaming workflows are so complex - especially at scale - that they need constant management. Gone are the days of uploading your content library to a single vendor’s black box. Media companies require best-in-breed solutions at every stage of the workflow that are suited to their specific needs, which means building in-house and owning streaming tech does make sense in some cases. However, such an approach should not automatically make companies a closed shop.

Media companies’ owned tech will most likely be stronger in some areas than others - after all, 有很多问题需要考虑:摄入, 编码, SSAI, 订阅, 交付, 安全即服务……这样的例子不胜枚举. Larger firms with big engineering teams will act as a system integrator (SI) for the full end-to-end technical stack. Advantages exist for external thought leadership from trusted partners and SI’s to help optimize not only 1st 但 3rd party workflow and technical integrations based on all aspects of the technical and revenue equation.

Others need a larger relationship with a trusted partner to take on the SI role and provide a complete end-to-end solution based on existing upstream systems and workflow. In both cases, flexibility is essential to allow media companies to vary their offerings. The reality is that taking tech in-house rarely delivers the desired solution on time or on budget. 实在是太复杂了.

流媒体要求灵活性

灵活性在当今的流媒体世界中至关重要. Audiences may not be willing to pay for the multiple 订阅s that they were a couple of years ago, which places media companies in a state of experimentation to work out the best way to deliver and monetize their content. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach: each company has its own distinct audience and priorities.

例如，有些公司可能需要提供分层订阅/广告模式. The landscape is evolving so quickly that they must have flexibility built into their tech stack from day one to enable them to adjust strategies at short notice.

媒体公司需要值得信任的合作伙伴, that will sit in the room with them to help devise and deliver the best strategies. 合作伙伴必须分享“不惜任何代价都不能失败”的观点, 尤其是对于现场直播的体育赛事, they must provide flexibility and operational robustness in equal measure. 简而言之, media companies need effective and efficient technology that will support their goals, 提升他们的品牌, 帮助他们在晚上入睡.

经济逆风

The economic pressures that are being felt by many households are mirrored by business pressures within media companies. 内容成本正以惊人的速度增长, which means efficiencies must be found elsewhere if they are to compete on the content side. These circumstances have flipped the trend for taking tech in-house recently - coupled with the experience for many of having taken the in-house route only to be hit by inevitable delays and the increases in cost that come with developing such a complex workflow.

Media companies today need scalable technology within a workable economic infrastructure. 他们需要 ESPN没有数百到数千人的管理，就能达到美国的质量水平. And they need it up-and-running as soon as possible to satisfy their business demands.

For media companies, launching OTT services quickly and easily is critical to business success. They must also have the flexibility to adjust business strategies at short notice, 同时提供高度可扩展和健壮的服务. 不惜一切代价获取无限百家乐软件的时代已经一去不复返了. 流媒体是业务的关键焦点, technology decisions have the power to make or break a streaming platform’s success - and in turn the success of the business itself. 公司走哪条路线都行, it’s important that they have the bandwidth to focus on the key ingredient that will drive their businesses forward: great content.

[编者注:这是来自 Edgio. 流媒体 accepts vendor bylines based solely on their value to our readers.]