Video Streaming Stacking Sped Up With Sheltering at Home, Parks Hears

Video streaming service stacking is likely to continue near term, after accelerating during the shelter-at-home period for the coronavirus, said industry executives on a Parks Associates webinar. Five million more broadband households have an over-the-top video service now than in Q3, said Parks' Steve Nason. Broadband households with four or more OTT services is up 8 points since Q3 to 25%; customers were more likely during lockdown to look for the “optimal” combination of services to meet their needs, said the analyst Wednesday. Among developments enabling the OTT market to grow were MPEG Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP, faster broadband speeds to the home and incremental improvements in Wi-Fi, said Bart Spriester, Comcast Technology Solutions general manager-content and streaming provider solutions. The streaming industry has “come a long, long way,” said Tom Griffiths, director-technology of U.K.-based ITV. Live content presents a “fundamental challenge” to OTT video “that will probably never be solved,” said Spriester. With traditional broadcast and streaming video converging more from providers, rights management can be challenging.