LONDON—The adoption of cloud technologies are significantly disrupting established relationships in the media industry and transforming the relationship between media and tech companies, according to a new series of reports, “The Cloud for Media,” from DPP.
The four reports cover “Automating Media,” “Cloud Post Production,” “Cloud Playout,” and “Streaming at Scale” and are based on input from over 60 media companies, gathered through workshops, case studies, and webcasts.
Some of the key findings of the reports, which explore the present reality of media in the cloud, and shed light on the challenges that remain, include:
- Consumer hardware manufacturers are becoming TV platform operators.
- Musicians and sports teams are creating linear TV channels.
- An entirely new breed of post production facility is emerging in the cloud.
- Startups are just as important to the automation revolution as global tech giants.
“The transition to the cloud is more advanced in some parts of the industry than others,” says DPP CTO and author of the reports, Rowan de Pomerai. “But the cloud creates new opportunities across the media supply chain, and they’re being seized by those who can move quickly - from established leaders to new entrants. These reports offer guidance to help companies identify the right cloud strategies for each part of their workflow. They tell the stories of those who’ve been successful, and identify the industry challenges that remain.”
The reports conclude that the quest for automation has been greatly aided by the move to the cloud. As media companies centralize their content and data, the power of automation at scale has become evident, the report noted, adding that the payoff for automation is faster time to revenue.
The reports also stresses that the move to the cloud has put post-production in a state of flux and that an entirely new breed of post production facility is emerging in the cloud.
While many companies have focused on remote access to on premise hardware, those who have made the jump to cloud-based production are finding that the cloud is ready to handle a wide range of post production workflows.
Major broadcasters have implemented full cloud playout at scale already, DPP found based on its survey of media companies. The reports noted that there are two predominant cloud architectures for playout: edge playout and full cloud; the former offers a useful stepping stone, but the future is fully cloud hosted.
Cloud based technologies have also been central to the rise of streaming. While streaming is now central to delivering all video: on demand, live, and linear TV, challenges remain. Even in the cloud, scaling isn’t instantaneous and large peaks in demand, such as major events, require careful planning and operations.
“Moving to the cloud means being strategic and thoughtful about each individual workflow. We've moved some parts of our business wholly to the cloud, while others remain on premise, and some are hybrid,” vice president, strategic media solutions at A+E Networks, David Klee explained. “It's really important to understand the capabilities and context for each part of the supply chain, which is why we've found it so useful to participate in the DPP's Cloud for Media research for two years running.”
More information on ‘The Cloud for Media’ series can be found here.
