As the media and entertainment (M&E) industry continues to sound the death knell for traditional TV, I’ll make a bold prediction for 2025: Linear will experience a resurgence—of sorts.
I’m not suggesting that the pendulum swing toward streaming viewership will suddenly reverse course, but over the past year, a surprising trend surfaced as media companies—even digital natives—rediscovered linear as a way to drive return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO).
One high-profile U.S. example was Amazon Prime Video’s live streaming of NFL “Thursday Night Football,” which it paired with linear ad sales. While Amazon certainly has the capability to sell the streaming inventory as DAI or addressable impressions, it opted to sell the entire audience. Why? Simple economics. Amazon gets a higher ad price for the massive “TNF” audience than is possible by selling this inventory on an impression basis. This strategy demonstrates the enduring value of linear TV in reaching broad audiences and driving monetization.
With emerging ad tech innovations, it’s possible for big brands to purchase ads that guarantee category exclusivity during a commercial break in the digital environment—something that was previously limited to linear TV. Enabling digital to be sold like linear, with broadcast-quality rules and brand protection, strengthens media companies’ ability to sell inventory in a direct but automated way, which is the key to maximizing streaming revenue. The future of advertising lies in integrating the best of each platform, optimizing the user experience while maximizing returns for advertisers.
In 2025, the market’s focus on the revenue-driving advantages of linear will continue to develop, especially when the goal is to reach large audiences simultaneously. Integrating digital streaming with linear ads is a win-win for broadcasters who can tap into a hybrid model that enables them to engage diverse viewers while leveraging well-established revenue streams. Successful media companies have realised that “linear vs. digital” is the wrong answer. “Linear plus digital” is the path to profitability.
Is the Smart Money Still On-Prem?
For over a decade, cloud solutions have been heralded as the future of broadcasting. On the surface, the choice between on-prem and cloud seems a simple one: on-prem systems require significant investments in physical infrastructure and time, while cloud solutions offer rapid deployment without the maintenance headaches. But the choice isn’t so clear-cut.
With no Olympics or elections driving advertising revenue in 2025, reducing costs will be a top priority across the media industry. One of the ways broadcasters will navigate the challenge is to do the maths to determine whether it’s more cost-effective to run their operations on-prem or in the cloud.
For example, if you’re deploying a disaster recovery solution or operating FAST channels that are never going to touch an antenna, it’s probably cheaper to do it in the cloud. But if you’re running 24/7/365 workflows or have significant investments in studios, IT teams, HVAC systems, and backup generators, on-prem solutions may make better economic sense.
Over the past year, a surprising trend surfaced as media companies—even digital natives—rediscovered linear as a way to drive return on investment (ROI) and total cost of ownership (TCO).”
A hybrid strategy may turn out to be the optimal approach, with high-value channels and time-consuming resources run on-prem and the cloud used wherever it makes economic sense, including as a testbed for new ideas and to quickly launch new services. The balance between on-prem and the cloud will change based on percentage of usage, the kind of workflows and solutions needed over time, and the fluctuating cost of the cloud.
A one-and-done calculation won’t cut it in a rapidly changing industry. So as we head into 2025 and beyond, broadcasters may need to regularly revisit the TCO maths to determine whether on-prem, cloud or a hybrid of both will best meet their unique needs and budgets.
Where Cloud Makes Sense (and an On-Ramp to Get There)
While keeping things on-prem makes operational and economic sense for many broadcast workflows, one area where the balance has skewed in favor of the cloud is remote production. The Paris Summer Olympics stood out in what was a banner year for sports, which helped accelerate the move toward remote and cloud-based production thanks to SMPTE ST 2110 and the native IP protocols used for contribution to cloud.
One example is the synthesis between 2110 and JPEG XS—basically native IP speaking to native IP via VSF TR-07 and TR-08 technical recommendations—which was proven on the world stage at the Paris Olympics. We’ve also seen extensive use of H.264 via SRT in cases where the cost vs. bandwidth trade-off favors higher compression. These advancements not only exceeded expectations, but also established valuable proof points and case studies, which will help drive broader industry adoption.
In 2025, sports broadcasting will continue to be a battleground between established broadcasters and digital newcomers. It’s no secret that rights holders and broadcasters are actively seeking ways to move more live sports content into CTV and live streaming environments—after all, it’s the most valuable content in both traditional TV and modern streaming. For production environments already leveraging ST 2110, the fastest, easiest, most affordable way to make that move is to use JPEG XS as the on-ramp.
This article initially appeared on TV Tech sister brand TVB Europe.
