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The video industry has been working hard to create a unified delivery workflow for the predominant streaming formats HLS and DASH that can provide the same quality level as traditional broadcast. Having separate delivery workflows for the different streaming formats creates additional costs related to processing, caching and storage. It also means more complexity.

Today, live video is a key source of news and entertainment for many consumers. What is driving the consumer appetite for live news, sports and other events on TV? Research shows live events are the main reason viewers choose to watch on an actual TV (according to 44% of polled audiences). The second most mentioned reason (37%) is that it's easy to access a TV for live events. Consumers enjoy being able to watch sports events on a large TV screen, with no delay, and from the comfort of their own home. Also, staying on top of news as it happens is important in today’s highly connected world.

The opportunities are growing for many players in the video industry, and consumers are seeing more offers every month. Disney launched the Disney+ OTT streaming service and already has more than 10 million subscribers. Apple TV+ is also now available. And there are more launches to come, such as AT&T HBO MAX. The proof is already on your screen: OTT can scale for massive viewing audiences.

In May, we started a blog series on how to improve quality of experience (QoE) in an OTT environment in order to match the quality of broadcast. Part 1 covers what you can do on the video compression side and reduce latency to improve the user experience.

With a growing number of OTT service providers counting live sports as an attractive part of their offering, many consumers are now willing to watch live events through their video streaming service. The gap in QoE between a traditional broadcast and OTT is starting to narrow. An important ingredient for delivering exceptional QoE for live sports coverage is end-to-end latency, so it’s no surprise that this topic is often ranked by users as one of the most critical parameters of a good live OTT service.

OTT video consumption is exploding across the globe, with the latest stats from Parks Associates showing that more than 310 million connected households will have at least one OTT service by 2024. What’s especially grown in size? The number of live OTT services available. Today’s consumers are watching live sports and other major events through their video streaming service, and they expect a high-quality experience, similar to broadcast. This blog will examine why benchmarking is vitally important to the success of OTT services and how Netflix has set the gold standard.