IBC 2025 Preview: Streaming platforms evolve strategies to combat viewer fatigue and rising costs

Streaming and over-the-top video distribution finds itself at a crossroads.

What began as a revolutionary shift away from traditional broadcasting has matured into a complex ecosystem facing fundamental challenges around viewer retention, operational costs, and technological scalability.

The rapid proliferation of streaming services over the past decade has created an oversaturated marketplace where consumer patience is wearing thin. Platform fatigue has emerged as a defining characteristic of the current landscape, with subscribers increasingly selective about which services justify their monthly spending. Simultaneously, the technical demands of delivering high-quality video content to millions of concurrent viewers continue to strain infrastructure and budgets.

At IBC 2025, industry leaders will gather to address these pressing concerns while showcasing innovations designed to reshape the streaming experience. From artificial intelligence-powered content optimization to next-generation advertising technologies, the solutions on display represent attempts to solve problems that have become existential for many streaming operators.

The stakes could not be higher. As traditional broadcasting revenues continue their decline and streaming services face mounting pressure to demonstrate profitability, the technologies and strategies emerging from this year’s convention may well determine which players survive the industry’s ongoing consolidation.

Platform fatigue drives strategic shifts

The streaming market’s maturation has fundamentally altered consumer behavior, forcing content owners to abandon growth-at-all-costs strategies in favor of more nuanced approaches to viewer engagement and retention.

“Platform fatigue and shifting loyalty are pushing content owners to secure broad distribution, and to focus on viewer retention and engagement, and fresher programming strategies,” said Blair Harrison, founder and CEO of Frequency. “FAST channel creators need to use data to optimize programming in near real-time, with sophisticated programming tools that can adapt to demand.”

This shift extends beyond traditional subscription models as providers recognize that one-size-fits-all approaches no longer resonate with increasingly sophisticated audiences.

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Craig Ferguson, director of regional sales for Europe at Evergent, noted that “OTT providers are moving away from one-size-fits-all subscriptions toward flexible, personalized models that meet changing audience needs, from short-term passes to modular, multi-service bundles.”

The emphasis on personalization reflects broader industry recognition that viewer expectations have evolved dramatically.

“More content providers are turning to interactivity and hyper-personalization to reduce subscriber churn and enhance monetization efforts,” said Steph Lone, AWS global leader for solutions architecture in media, entertainment, games, and sports.

Rather than pursuing mass audiences, successful streaming services are increasingly focusing on defined market segments.

Lucy Trang Nguyen, business development director at Accedo, explained that “content owners are realizing that if they want to grow their business, they need to focus on serving a defined niche with the right strategy, rather than chasing mass audiences.”

This strategic pivot requires operational changes that extend beyond content acquisition.

Ferguson noted that success increasingly depends on “delivering transparent, self-driven subscription experiences that earn loyalty in competitive markets” through “real-time subscriber insights with more agile pricing and offers.”

Cost and complexity challenges drive innovation

The technical demands of streaming at scale continue to challenge operators seeking to balance quality with operational efficiency. Industry leaders are implementing various technological solutions to address mounting infrastructure costs while maintaining service reliability.

Network-level innovations have emerged as critical differentiators in reducing operational overhead.

“The big game-changers are direct routing and resilient transport protocols,” said Daniel Lundstedt, head of sales and marketing at Intinor. “What’s exciting is that you can now move contribution feeds reliably over the open internet without breaking the bank or sacrificing quality. It’s not just about saving money, it’s that scaling up for major events becomes actually doable instead of this massive logistical nightmare.”

These transport improvements complement broader infrastructure optimizations.

“Innovations that allow productions to reliably transport footage in an affordable way over the public internet are certainly helping to address cost and complexity challenges associated with streaming at scale,” said Nick Rashby, president of AJA Video Systems.

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Storage and workflow optimization represent another critical area of focus.

Peter Thompson, CEO and co-founder of Lucidlink, explained that “cloud-native, stream-first storage on a unified platform lets content move seamlessly from creation to distribution without duplicate files or stalled pipelines. Teams get the same fast, reliable experience and performance anywhere in the world, regardless of internet quality or location.”

Advanced delivery techniques are gaining traction as operators seek to optimize resource utilization.

Andrew Reich, vice president of strategic business development at Zixi, said the “industry is moving towards smarter IP-based delivery that reduces both cost and operational overhead while maintaining broadcast-grade reliability. Techniques like content-aware delivery, null packet compression, and bonded connections across diverse networks can help content owners deliver more streams with less infrastructure.”

Encoding efficiency remains a priority area for cost reduction across the industry.

Yang Cai, CEO and president of VisualOn, noted that “efforts to reduce bitrate without sacrificing quality—through techniques like content-adaptive encoding—are key to lowering streaming costs at scale. There’s also a move toward more flexible, modular player frameworks that streamline integration across diverse platforms.”

Next-generation FAST and AVOD strategies emerge

Free ad-supported television and advertising-based video-on-demand services are evolving beyond their initial implementations, with providers preparing more sophisticated approaches that leverage artificial intelligence and real-time optimization.

The integration of AI-powered capabilities represents a significant advancement in FAST channel management.

“Next-gen FAST and AVOD strategies will be built on intelligence and adaptability, not static schedules,” said Harrison. “Channels will need to learn from audience behavior and adjust in real time to regional opportunities and live events.”

This technological evolution is reshaping traditional broadcasting operations as linear television operators face revenue pressures.

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“FAST was only ever a lower cost version of linear television as the channels still utilize the same workflows, from curating and scheduling through playout to ad insertion. In response to the lower revenue generation, FAST operators have become very innovative in terms of utilizing technology to replace manual operations; AI is being used to curate and generate schedules, playout is fully automated, and ad sales and insertion are using Ad brokering Marketplaces,” said Graham Sharp, vice president of sales and marketing at BCNEXXT.

The impact extends to traditional broadcasting as revenue pressures mount.

“Traditional linear television under revenue pressure from reducing advertising, these channels are looking to the technology used in FAST to reduce operating costs, forcing the rapid merger of FAST with traditional linear television on to a lower cost technology base,” Sharp said.

Advertising technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated, with contextual targeting and server-guided ad insertion gaining prominence.

“Next-generation strategies will go beyond established methods such as SSAI and CSAI by adopting SGAI and AI contextual advertising that aligns ads with the content viewers are watching in the moment. This shift makes ads feel more seamless and relevant, which improves engagement, drives higher completion rates, and strengthens overall ROI,” said Adam Massaro, senior product marketing manager at Bitmovin. 

However, these technological advances come with limitations that operators must consider.

Paul Davies, head of marketing at Yospace, noted that “server-guided ad insertion will reduce the amount of server power required for ad insertion, making it more cost-effective while opening up new revenue opportunities, and it can also improve start-up times for VOD. However, it will have limitations in delivering the level of measurement that advertisers demand and in coping with the scalability of addressable streams.”

Broadcasters are responding by adopting hybrid approaches that combine multiple revenue streams.

“Broadcasters worldwide are re-evaluating both their linear channel and their OTT operations, and many are adopting a mixed strategy including AVOD, Hybrid SVOD/AVOD combined with multiple FAST channels. This mixed approach, which aims to appeal to a broader audience is evident already with a number of broadcasters such as ITV and 5 in the UK as well as with Amazon, CNN and Warner Bros. Discovery,” said Martins Magone, CTO of Veset.

Emerging technologies reshape delivery

Several technological developments are positioning themselves to address long-standing streaming challenges, particularly around scalability, latency and quality of service for live events and interactive content.

Multicast technologies are gaining attention as solutions for large-scale events that traditionally strain unicast delivery systems.

“Multicast-ABR and emerging 5G Multicast & Broadcast Services are making a real impact by reducing both cost and complexity for large-scale streaming. When paired with advanced content steering that leverages analytics from CMCD and CMSD, these technologies help operators optimize quality while driving down operational expenses,” said Kristan Bullett, CEO of Humans Not Robots. 

Processing architecture is undergoing a fundamental shift toward GPU-based systems.

Sharon Carmel, CEO of Beamr, anticipates that “in the near future, video processing will be dominated by GPUs. Broadcasting and streaming will shift to using GPUs and GPU-based platforms that can offer minimal latency and easily support 4Kp60 10 bits HDR. This is reinforced, for example, by NVIDIA’s Blackwell chip, which supports 4:2:2 progressive and interlaced encoding.”

Hybrid infrastructure approaches are becoming standard practice as operators seek to optimize workload distribution.

“Hybrid streaming with centralized orchestration is a key innovation that reduces costs and complexity for video service providers, combining on-premises and cloud infrastructure to optimize video workloads in real time and improve operational efficiency,” said Eric Gallier, vice president of video solutions at Harmonic.

Artificial intelligence is expanding beyond content recommendation into operational automation.

Gallier noted that “AI-powered video workflows further reduce complexity by automating routine processes such as the creation of subtitles and sports highlights, streamlining operations, lowering costs and allowing service providers to focus on higher value tasks.”

Latency optimization continues to drive innovation in delivery methods.

Quality and regulatory considerations

As streaming services handle increasingly mission-critical applications, quality of experience monitoring and regulatory compliance are becoming more prominent operational concerns.

The importance of end-to-end visibility has become apparent as streaming applications expand beyond entertainment.

“QoE problems don’t just happen at the player—issues at ingest, encoding, or delivery can be invisible until users are already affected. We see this with customers across education and healthcare: BehaviorLive depends on uninterrupted streams to deliver CEU credits, while care.coach relies on always-on video check-ins to keep older adults safe,” said Barry Own, chief solutions architect at Wowza. 

Regulatory changes are beginning to impact streaming operations in ways that mirror traditional broadcasting requirements.

Nikols highlighted upcoming changes: “In California, new regulations from July 2026, will prohibit streaming services from transmitting commercials louder than the primary content, aligning with the CALM Act for traditional broadcast. For streaming companies, this means they must implement precise audio monitoring and dynamic loudness management across all content.”

Revenue optimization and monetization evolution

As the streaming market matures, monetization strategies continue to evolve beyond traditional advertising and subscription models, with operators seeking to maximize revenue from existing audiences while controlling acquisition costs.

The integration of premium content with advanced targeting capabilities offers new opportunities for revenue generation.

“Streaming offers the best of both worlds – premium content delivered in a context-safe environment with the added power of advanced targeting, measurement, and interactivity,” said Avi Yampolsky, vice president of international accounts at Operative. “The challenge is that most broadcasters are still struggling to capture the full value of these digital operations. Broadcasters need to evolve their ad models, sales strategies, and tech stacks to maximize yield, deepen audience engagement, and truly scale streaming as a growth engine for the business.”

Enhanced presentation capabilities are emerging as differentiators in crowded markets.

“The industry should be talking about how creative programming strategies and investment in presentation will define the next phase of streaming. On screen graphics are central to this shift, giving OTT channels the ability to engage viewers longer, reduce drop-off, deliver branded experiences, and create new opportunities for monetization,” said Harrison.

Live sports streaming presents particular opportunities for operational efficiency improvements.

Gallier noted that “regarding the cost of live sports streaming, the transition from linear channels to single-event streaming is a breakthrough, allowing streamers to deliver the best video quality and viewer experience only during the few hours that the event is live.”

As IBC 2025 approaches, the streaming industry stands at a critical juncture where technological innovation must align with evolving business models and consumer expectations.

The solutions on display will reflect an industry that has moved beyond the initial disruption phase toward mature optimization of complex operational challenges.

The convergence of artificial intelligence, advanced delivery protocols and flexible monetization strategies suggests that successful streaming services will increasingly differentiate themselves through operational excellence rather than content acquisition alone.