‘Chaos’ reigns in VOD content supply industry
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 01 May 2020

A report from the media industry’s business network the DPP has warned that despite the massive user uptake in the ever-growing number of streaming services because of the Covid-19 outbreak, pain points are growing for many video-on-demand (VOD) content owners.

In a report investigating the global VOD content distribution, Supplying the VOD Revolution, The DPP says that it has defined a reference workflow for the supply of content from distributors and aggregators to platforms, exposing the pain points felt by implementers of these workflows. In addition the report asked what practical steps can be taken to reduce complexity and enhance efficiency in what is regarded as a vital artery of the video industry.

The research team engaged with key individuals, from CTOs to operations staff, to gain a true understanding of what it means to supply content for video-on-demand. Worryingly, the DPP noted that what emerged was a chaotic picture that frustrates both distributors and platform owners.

The report found that organisations across the content supply chain are keen to develop best practices for key processes, and reduce the number of formats used. Yet the study revealed that many VOD supply chains are still dominated by manual processes, making them inefficient and susceptible to human error, and that on-boarding processes routinely take months to complete, incurring significant costs for both distributors and platforms. In addition the DP found that the main format challenges do not come from video, but from metadata and avails while custom formats and spreadsheets still dominate the exchange of such crucial information.

“The dramatic rise in the number of VOD platforms, and the lack of commonality between their delivery requirements, has become a source of pain for many content owners,” said DPP head of delivery and growth, and author of the report, Rowan de Pomerai. “It’s startling how chaotic and costly aspects of this process can be, not just for content suppliers, but for platforms too. Just as we did for broadcast delivery, the industry can work together to improve efficiency and reduce cost. Of all the problem areas we hear about at the DPP, this may be the one causing the most frustration on a daily basis.”

The report was enabled by Sony New Media Solutions and commenting on the findings, Kunal Shah, vice president, software engineering and architecture added: “The rising number of global VOD platforms creates commercial opportunity for content providers, but with it comes technical and operational complexity. We're thrilled to partner with the DPP on this ground-breaking research, and the insights from this report will benefit our customers around the world, both distributors and platforms alike.”