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Monetizing On Demand, Live, and Simulcast Video With FreeWheel’s “Stream Stitching”

FreeWheel’s new technology seamlessly inserts dynamic ads within an adaptive stream

Did you know that Americans now watch 500 percent more online video every week than in 2009? Aside from the many media services consumers can choose from to access streaming content, one of the biggest drivers of that shift in consumption has been and will continue to be portable access to live video.

Capitalizing on that trend, nearly all of our publisher customers have or will soon have a significant live/simulcast video operation, whether tied to TV Everywhere, over-the-top (OTT), or other content initiatives. But, while episodic content is garnering nearly record levels of video ad loads – almost double than the beginning of 2011, according to our latest Video Monetization Report – fully taking advantage of ad opportunities on live and simulcast video requires a step up in capabilities.

To that end, we are excited to announce that we have released Stream Stitching technology for on demand, live, and simulcast video, and it is tightly woven into our MRC-accredited Monetization Rights Management® (MRM) system!

We’re sure you’re asking, “What is stream stitching?”

In short, it’s a technical process that allows for dynamic advertising to be inserted into an adaptive stream of live or on demand content.  FreeWheel’s Stream Stitching technology was built from scratch with our enterprise-class entertainment customers in mind, providing a smooth viewing experience within an ad-supported environment.

Dynamic ad insertion in live video requires powerful, scaled infrastructure designed to handle the technical rigors that come with global live programming and events, such as massive spikes in ad calls as every viewer worldwide goes to commercial break simultaneously.  

FreeWheel’s Stream Stitching technology:

• - Takes a significant burden off of operational teams, allowing for a single integration to be deployed to dozens of devices that support adaptive streaming protocols such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), and, in a near-future release, MPEG-DASH and HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS).
• - Processes ad insertion in the cloud, lessening the demand on a consumer’s device and minimizing the impact on battery life.
• - Supports linear ad formats (pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll), and, through a hybrid solution, will also support companion and overlay formats; rich media formats from some of the most prominent providers in the mobile and desktop space are also supported.
• - Provides a flexible solution by working with any content delivery network (CDN), or streaming source.

In short, Stream Stitching provides viewers with an optimal user experience with content supported by optimized advertising. As initiatives such as TV Everywhere and OTT take hold, backed by the expanded business models that support them, it will be vital for publishers to put infrastructure to be in place to take advantage of those engaged audiences.

That’s what we’re helping to solve for with Stream Stitching, and will continue to work towards with our other MRM Extension products and future development.

Want to learn more about FreeWheel's new Stream Stitching technology?  Contact your account manager, or email us at sales@freewheel.tv.