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CTV/OTT

CTV and Over-the-top (OTT) have changed how people watch television, and in some regions is on track to overtake broadcast, cable, and satellite. Look below for the latest news in OTT technology and programming, as well as insights and analysis into where the OTT market is headed.

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Features

The Multiview Imperative: How Technical Architecture Determines Streaming Success

The largely unsung hero in YouTube's growth may be a feature that cost the company 99% less to implement than Sunday Ticket: multiview streaming capability. As this article shows, if you're broadcasting sports, multiview--particularly Build Your Own Multiview (BYOMV)--is quickly becoming an expected feature among sophisticated viewers. It's also one of the most affordable and effective ways to amplify the value of your programming, particularly when your content isn't exclusive and faces direct competition in the same market.

AI and Adtech in Operation

With an eye to providing more insight into real-world deployments and the operational side, online adtech firm Magnite volunteered to give me insight into how AI fits into their current operational processes.

Industry Champions Revealed: The 2025 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards

The readers have spoken! Here we present 19 top tech solutions of 2025, as chosen by the readers of Streaming Media .

Leveraging AI in OTT and CTV Content Discovery

In this article, experts from key streaming vendors weigh in on both the benefits and drawbacks of leveraging AI in OTT and CTV content discovery while speculating on how it will impact the future of personalization. Various methods of filtering make AI recommendations fully transparent to users, ensuring that personalization does not become too rigid for them, and advancements in IP distribution are among the many issues under consideration in this evolving field.

Spotlights

Stream It in IMAX Enhanced: A Gamechanger for Live Sports Streaming

With its new ‘Stream it in IMAX Enhanced' program, IMAX is bringing its world-renowned brand, expertise, cutting-edge VisionScience™ technology, and proprietary digital source enhancement workflows to live-streamed sports and events.

View From the Top: Bitcentral

Bitcentral, a trailblazer in media software solutions, presents ViewNexa®, a game-changing streaming platform designed to meet the evolving demands of the digital video era. Bitcentral's commitment to innovation is exemplified in ViewNexa, a solution that redefines how broadcasters, content creators, and publishers connect with their audiences.

Boosting Streaming Profitability with IMAX StreamSmart

Streaming organizations must be able to accurately measure and swiftly assess the impact of workflow changes to validate their effectiveness. Therefore, they must have access to the right metrics that can reliably predict viewer perceptions of quality for achieving bitrate savings without compromising the viewing experience.

Fireside Chat: IMAX's Vikram Arumilli and ESHAP's Evan Shapiro Talk Optimizing Streaming Content Delivery and User Experiences

In this fireside chat at Streaming Media Connect 2024, Media Universe Cartographer Evan Shapiro, spoke with IMAX SVP and GM Vikram Arumilli about IMAX's transition from a traditionally consumer-facing brand known for high-end cinematic experiences to a brand that also focuses on in-home and on-device entertainment.

Columns

Streaming and the Success of Our Hopeless Cause

Rely on streaming platforms as free-speech safe spaces while you can, but keep your typewriter and onion-skin paper handy. You may need them sooner than you think.

Greatly Exaggerated: The Death of Linear TV

Take with a grain of salt any post that talks about the "Death of Linear TV." Viewers are watching linear TV on YouTube TV. They're watching linear TV on Twitch, on Hulu, on Disney, on Prime, and more. People are watching linear TV on all sorts of streaming platforms. Regardless of the underlying technology used to deliver it, it's all linear TV programming, and linear TV is alive and well.

Creating New CTV Ad Standards

IAB Tech Lab has recently released some new standards for CTV advertising, known as the Ad Format Hero Initiative. The organization asked and received more than 100 CTV ad format descriptions/concepts from the industry on classifying new formats. Next up, they ran an industry survey (completed 16 April 2025) to determine what should be prioritized. The Ad Format Hero Task Force selected eight formats based on the survey results. The idea is to create standards so that sensibly, engineering and operations teams don't have to reinvent the wheel every time they want to insert the right creative.

Doubling Down on Live Linear Programmatic Advertising

The problem of adjusting a live ad buy in linear has jumped over one more hurdle. Earlier this year, DirectTV Advertising announced that their satellite TV content can now be bought programmatically in real time. This means an advertiser can see when viewing is surging and double down to serve ads during key moments. This feature will be available for programming on ESPN, MLB Network, FS1, and the Tennis Channel.

CTV/OTT Companies and Suppliers