The Future is FAST
Globalization, Complexity, and Monetization in Publishing
FAST (Free Advertising Supported Television) has evolved significantly, and Bitcentral has emerged as the top provider for publishers seeking audiences in this rapidly changing landscape.
Created in the 1990s, Bitcentral is a media and publisher workflow company that delivers the foundational platforms which enable content publishers and media organizations to monetize and scale with each new iteration, technology and trend. Its clients are some of the biggest names in media, including Telemundo, Sinclair, FOX, CNN and Hearst. Each trusts Bitcentral to keep them ahead of the technology curve and to deliver their content quickly and seamlessly in the United States and worldwide.
We had a chance to sit down with Greg Morrow, Bitcentral's general manager of streaming, to learn precisely where the market is going FAST through globalization, complexity and monetization. The short answer is using technology backed by on-demand customer service, which empowers publishers to globalize, master complexity and ramp up monetization. Bitcentral accomplishes this with ViewNexa.
With Bitcentral’s ViewNexa—
Package digital video content and distributes it to multiple platforms.
Deliver your Over the Top (OTT) content directly to consumers, precisely where and how each wants to view it.
Effortlessly launch native applications for CTV, Mobile, and Web.
Create and personalize video applications.
Manage, distribute, and monetize your content across various devices, including iOS, Android, Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, Samsung, Vizio and others.
Deploy native payment systems seamlessly provide subscription services, rentals, and purchases while concurrently monetizing your content through various advertising options.
ViewNexa premiered at the 2023 NAB Show, and creates a unified workflow that simplifies video management, streaming, text-to-speech captioning and audio accommodation to local market languages, norms and customs. Solutions improve time-to-market, function on-the-fly, reduce vendor fatigue and minimize costs while supporting various monetization models in each market. ViewNexa performs these essential tasks behind the scenes, allowing publishers to go where new customers are and to tailor programming to the market and distribution channel while monetizing it seamlessly.
VIDEO PUBLISHING TRENDS
In addition to streamlining distribution, Bitcentral tracks trends in the digital publishing space. From 2023 forward, Morrow identified these critical considerations for every publisher.
Globalization—Asia, Latin America and Africa are coming into their own with FAST, providing savvy publishers with rich market expansion. Going global means dynamic programming like news and syndicated content often are stitched together in a manner that suits the local market language and culture regardless of whether the content is distributed through linear, live, OTT, or a hybrid model. It also opens publishers to new revenue streams that fit a localized economy's lifestyle and demand needs. Through globalization, each asset can be repurposed and represented in multiple distribution channels and reach new audiences
Complexity—Vendors, partners, technology, compliance issues, language, culture—that's a lot to keep track of. Add the unique requirements inherent to each platform and disparate types of content in various stages of completion, and you've got the definition of complex. In the old days, a publisher would format the content to each platform and pass each asset through several departments and people, losing valuable time and increasing distribution costs. Bitcentral's technology allows the publisher to manage their content once for all platforms (internet, apps, television, syndication, and multiple channels) and distribute it widely.
Monetization—Whether Video on Demand (VOD), live television, syndicated and aggregated content, or bespoke products like exclusive newsfeeds and paywall-protected features, turning content into currency pays the bills. Consumers are experiencing subscription fatigue, leading publishers to migrate toward less committal monetization. Free Advertising Supported Television has been adapted to the digital age and has proven successful with OTT/CTV platforms in North America. This trend is expanding in emerging markets. Distribution needs to factor in localized issues, including ad spacing and quantity, language, culture and content. Bitcentral’s technology makes these factors simple.
However, monetization is more than money coming in. It's also saving money on the backend by streamlining the end-to-end video workflow, lowering engineering integration, reducing content hosting costs and improving time to market. Technology backed by exceptional customer service does that. Cost savings and multiple consumer-side monetization strategies translate to more income and a higher return on investment.
The future of video publishing is constantly evolving, with shiny new ideas popping up on the horizon and technology advances opening new markets. What's the best advice for navigating this dynamic landscape from the trend watchers at Bitcentral?
"Don't get over-indexed on the flavor of the day," Morrow advises. "Trends are cyclical. Instead, focus on strong monetization, meeting the customers where they are and maximizing product innovations."
