Size of Industry

$50,110,000,000

What is it?

"Live streaming technology lets you watch, create and share videos in real time, a bit like live TV. All you need to be able to live stream is an internet enabled device, like a smart phone or tablet, and a platform (such as a website or app) to live stream from.

Current popular live streaming apps include Facebook Live, Instagram Live stories, Twitch TV (often used by the gaming community), House Party and Tik Tok.

Unlike pre-recorded videos that can be cut and edited, live streaming is just that – live and uncensored.

Some live streams can be private. For example, video conferencing, like Skype or Zoom, uses live streaming technology to allow you to talk to people you have invited. To make sure they stay private, they should be password protected and passwords shouldn’t be shared with people you don’t know.

Some live streams are public and might be watched by hundreds or even thousands of people.

Viewers can comment and interact live by posting messages that appear beside the live stream. They can also share emojis such as hearts, and gifts such as coins which appear on the screen."

HOW does it work?

"Finding and Playing Streaming Video and Audio

A sample of the channels you can access through Roku. TIFFANY HAGLER-GEARD/BLOOMBERG VIA GETTY IMAGES

If you're brand-new to streaming, you'll need a high-speed internet connection. You'll also need a device to enjoy the video or audio content on — that could be a smartphone, a computer, a tablet or a TV. Computers may be the easiest to set up for streaming. You can access the websites for many streaming video and audio providers and enjoy the media right in your browser window. You may also find a dedicated desktop application for a streaming service.

Although smartphones and tablets have web browsers, you're far more likely to use an app developed specifically for that particular service. If you wanted to watch or listen to a live game in progress, you might open the ESPN app. To hear the news, you might listen to TuneIn Radio, which offers live and recorded broadcasts from all over the world. Many services require paid subscriptions, but many others are ad-supported or completely free. For streaming audio, most people rely either on go to the website of the program in question or to a podcast platform which has a host of programs, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. These can be found on your smartphone.

TVs require hardware to make live streaming connections. Often this is a device you plug into a port on the television such as Roku, Amazon FireStick or Google Chromecast — these are the devices that allow your TV to access the apps for streaming live content. If you have a smart TV, this hardware is already built in. Just turn on your TV, go to the ""Apps"" section and you'll see an operating system designed to run streaming apps for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, PlutoTV, YouTube and many more. The most popular apps are usually pre-installed but your device or TV will let you download new apps as well. (If you still subscribe to a cable service, the newer cable boxes allow you to stream videos and apps through them, too.)

Once you've selected the app you want, you'll see an array of programs, along with descriptions and ratings. You just click on the show you want to get started. If it is a paid app (like Netflix, Hulu or Amazon) you'll have to create an account or sign in if you already created an account and paid for the service online. The good news is once you've signed in, the streaming app will save that information so you don't have to do it again.

Most apps have an interface that lets you choose your favorite shows and browse others. With on-demand streaming you can watch one at a time, or ""binge-watch"" several in a row. You can pause the show to get something from the kitchen, usually even for live events like sports. Streaming media's flexibility is one of the key reasons it has become so popular.

Encoding Streaming Media

Demi Lovato performs during the Celebrating America Primetime Special on Jan. 20, 2021. The livestreamed event hosted by Tom Hanks featured remarks by president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris and performances representing diverse American talent. 

Streaming providers must determine the best way to get their content to your device in a way that's easy for you to use.

High-quality images, audio and video files often start out very large. Although still imagines aren't streaming, as an easy-to-imagine example let's say your smartphone has a 12-megapixel camera. A still photo you take with that camera has a print size of 9.7 by 14.5 inches (17.8 by 36.8 centimeters). That's larger than you need for a quick social media snapshot, but the larger file size means you can use the photo for other things, in this case perhaps a poster. Our phones create bigger sound, video and image files because it's generally a better idea to create a large file and shrink it down. It's harder to enlarge a smaller media file with a high-quality result.

Streaming providers use file formats that maximize quality over typical internet speeds. Compressing them is done using codecs, instructions for coding and decoding visual and audio information in a standard file format. Lossless formats capture more of the original file's fidelity but have larger file sizes. Many formats, however, are lossy — they remove some of the information in the file but attempt to keep as much of the original as possible.  

To compress audio and video files, a lossy-format codec may identify parts of the video that it can copy and apply later in the show. It deletes the redundant information to keep the file size down. Codecs may also reduce the number of colors in the video, lower the resolution of the video or reduce its frame rate. Lossy audio codecs may remove frequencies from the original recording that most people can't hear, around 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.

While that may help save on streaming bandwidth, it can cause problems, too. You may have experienced some side effects of file compression while you watch a show if images seem washed out or pixilated. If you're running with your earbuds in, you may not hear a heavily compressed music file, but with nice headphones, you just might.

Streaming Infrastructure

Streaming providers want to make sure their service is as fast and reliable as possible, which means developing specialized systems to handle the traffic.

In 2016 researchers at Queen Mary University of London published a report on the content delivery network (CDN) used by Netflix. At the time, the streaming video company had just become a global service with 4,669 servers in 243 locations around the world. It had been developing its own CDN since 2011 to get the service ready for global traffic. Netflix Open Connect, as it's called, requires the assistance of internet service providers (ISPs) all over the world.

Netflix encourages these ISPs to join the system by giving them its proprietary streaming devices, called Open Connect Appliances (OCAs), for free. Their ISP partners embed the equipment in their networks. Netflix then uses the devices to connect customers to the closest service point in the network. It speeds up the service and prevents the network architecture from being stretched too thin.

Streaming a live conference call works a little differently. Each participant is streaming live audio and video to and from their device at the same time as each other participant. Providers prioritize connection over video quality and offer telephone-based options for those who need to attend but can't use the internet.

Business computer network security presents another hurdle. Part of Zoom's streaming software, called the Intelligent Transport Layer, determines the best communication protocol to connect multiple callers over different networks. Zoom uses a distributed network and its own proprietary codec to encode and share information during its calls. The company says it keeps 50 percent excess capacity available to accommodate increasing traffic.

Video and Audio Streaming Customers

What happens to the streaming video and audio at your end? On smartphones and tablets, we're often using a proprietary application designed by the streamer that takes care of the business for us. If you tune in to a Disney+ stream on your phone, you don't have to worry about whether you'll be able to watch it.

In a web browser, however, streaming works a little differently. Your computer and internet connection affect how well the media stream works on your machine. With the release of HTML 5 — the language webpages are written in — streaming providers can embed audio and video files in their webpages without forcing you to rely on browser plugins.

Smart TVs and devices that plug in to TVs, such as a Roku or Apple TV, have their own operating systems and dedicated apps for streaming services. It's a lot like the experience on a smartphone or tablet. Your experience may vary on the deals streamers and hardware manufacturers work out — or don't — among themselves. In 2021 Roku removed YouTube TV from its channel store in a contract dispute.

Some content providers use their corporate structure to offer deals to potential subscribers of multiple services. At the time of writing in June 2021, AT&T offers the HBO Max streaming service free to anyone subscribing to its highest-end video, internet or wireless plans. HBO Max is part of WarnerMedia, owned by AT&T. Similarly, Comcast's Xfinity service customers get Peacock Premium for no extra charge (Comcast owns NBCUniversal and its library of content). The device you own and the internet service you subscribe to may affect which content you can access, for good or bad."

Use Case

Live streaming can help you expand and grow your audience. The candor and strong social component of live streaming is what draws viewers in. There is something very exciting about watching a live, unedited, unpredictable live stream. The immediacy of it makes people want to be a part of it that much more. As far as video marketing is concerned, the more people see your stream – the greater your brand awareness becomes.

Using live streaming helps build a trusting relationship with your audience. As we’ve mentioned, there is a certain vulnerability about live video. Unrehearsed live video comes across as much more realistic and therefore – relatable and trustworthy. This shows that your company values transparency and isn’t afraid to show their faces to the consumer.

Another part of it is being open for communication with the audience: the ability to chat with your customers in real time makes them feel like they are included in the conversation and that their voices are being heard. This makes your brand feel reachable and human. The more your customers trust your brand – the more likely they are to do business with you as well as recommend you to others.

Live streaming is a great platform to reinforce your brand values. Treat a live stream as you would any other marketing medium: it is your voice to the world. What message do you want to convey about your company? What should be the takeaway for your viewer? Use your live stream to make a good impression, show the audience your personality, but don’t make it all one big sales pitch. Stay classy.

Pretty alluring benefits, huh? Now, let’s talk about the specific types of live streaming that could benefit your company.The power of live streaming

10 ways to use live streaming for video marketing

1) Q+A sessions

Let your viewers ask you questions about your product or service over a live stream. This creates an opportunity to have a conversation with your customers in real time. Answering questions shows that your company welcomes transparency, which has a positive influence on trust. Try to address each question individually as this helps build a personal relationship with your audience.

You should also encourage your viewers to comment and ask questions even if your live stream isn’t a Q&A session per se. Something we like to do on our live show, Live @ Epiphan, is to give shout-outs to returning commenters. As creators, we appreciate knowing that we have a consistent following.

Q&A sessions also hold the potential of helping build a strong community around your brand. As people are communicating with you live, they are also talking to one another, sharing opinions and knowledge. You can be the club that connects people interested in similar topics.

2) Host a webinar

Using live streaming for education can be a really powerful tool. Let’s take for example a live demo of how to use your product or service. A live demonstration is a very honest presentation of a skill: with no editing magic, it shows exactly how much time it would take to complete the steps and which mistakes to avoid. A live demo is practical and trustworthy.

Offer valuable information to your audience. Take this opportunity to cover something topical your brand is an expert in (and not necessarily about your product or service). This way your community benefits from the knowledge while your company builds authority in that particular field.

You can even build a good part of your business around hosting webinars. Look at how Photigy, an online school of photography, uses live video lessons to better connect with students. The school’s students say that live webinars have that “true classroom feel”, meaning they get to ask questions and receive feedback from the instructor right away, which is very important for the learning process.Live streaming webinar

3) Behind the scenes look

It’s always exciting to get a glimpse into the life of others. Get a little personal with your viewers: livestream a tour of your office, introduce your employees, show your viewers how your product is made! Even the most ordinary and mundane company activity might be very interesting to someone who sees it for the first time. Live streaming a company party or a celebration is a great way to share your company culture, making your viewers feel included. You could also use this opportunity to give an exclusive sneak peek of your new product or share product development status.

This kind of personal touch is a potential video marketing hat trick: the offered insight builds a very special connection with the viewer, the openness strengthens the trust in your brand, and the curiosity value can potentially attract a lot of viewers.

4) Collaborate with influencers

Partnering up with the right influencer can have significant impact on expanding your reach. By “influencers” we mean personalities that have large followings on their social media platforms and websites and usually provide some expertise in a specific area. You can invite an influencer to be a part of your live stream, be a guest on their live show, or you could give them some creative freedom to create their own live streams promoting your brand.

Alternatively, you could let them “take over” your live stream for a period of time and let them post live content directly to your page. The beauty of using a live stream (as opposed to a produced video) is again that easy, honest, unrehearsed feeling it provides. Check out these 10 brands that that were successful with their influencer live streams.

Be sure you understand what kind of content to expect from this influencer. Ideally, it should align well with your brand and feel organic to the viewer. Be sure to do thorough research on your personality of choice, considering their primary demographic, hashtags they use, and overall reputation. The interests and values of the influencer’s audience should overlap with your company’s message and values, making it easier to gain their attention.

Here is an example of the way a marketing agency called IMPACT hosts a live stream with different influencers: once a month, IMPACT’S CEO sits down with an influencer for a “Website Throwdown“, critiquing websites in real time. This type of collaboration with multiple influencers really drives the attendance and improves discoverability.

5) Use your live stream as an exclusive sale gateway

Real-time sales with a limited time frame can create a sense of urgency to buy, especially if you are offering discounts exclusively to your viewers. Set up a live stream showcasing your special service or product and provide a link to where you can buy it. Keep in mind that some live chat windows do not allow pasted links, so you may need to get more creative: have an easy-to-pronounce link ready to go and/or put it in your lower thirds.How brands grow using live streaming Sales gatewayIn the video below, watch how Tmall’s See Now Buy Now fashion show was streamed live, bringing high-end fashion to regular consumers. Thanks to seamless integration with AliBaba’s e-commerce platform, the viewers were able to purchase the item they saw on the livestream in just a few clicks.

6) Run contests

Remember those live contests on the radio? They always felt rather exciting because they were happening there and then, and you can’t help but feel drawn in to participate. We can apply that same principle to shake up those live streams a bit!

Contests have great potential for increasing the reach of your live show (and subsequently – your brand). As a part of entry requirement, ask the contest participants to share a link to your live show. This way your audience becomes an additional marketing channel. You could also use contest entry requirements to expand your email list: capture email addresses using a sign up form.

What our friends at PTZ Optics like to do during their live show is hold live trivia games, keeping track of the right answers and even awarding prizes at the end. This can really keep the audience engaged. Keep in mind that the contest itself does need to take place during the live show: participant submissions can be collected before the show. The live show is just a really exciting venue to announce the results of a contest.

7) Live stream large events

It seems as though it is almost customary for the modern large business to livestream significant events and product launches. This is no coincidence: a live launch can help your product stand out and create a lot of buzz around it (mass media coverage included!). We definitely recommend considering going live with your demos, product launches and keynote presentations. Build up the hype in advance so your viewers have the chance to share the news and anticipate the event. From there on your viewers’ FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is your ally.

Also consider live streaming someone else’s large event. You could potentially attract the audience interested in that event to your brand. Streaming large events does require preparation: be sure to test your equipment in advance, check the internet connection at the venue, and use reliable hardware. We recommend using a robust device such as Pearl-2 for live streaming events.

8) Gather feedback and crowdsource

Testing your product on a live audience is a great way to gather feedback and opportunity to improve your product. If you are in the early stages of your business, you can even hold a live brainstorming session with your followers. Many companies practice what’s known as live beta testing and remote focus groups, where they can see and analyze the interaction with their product. This is a very effective way to gather candid reactions.

Live polling is another way to gather information. We’ve talked about ExciteM, a company that provides live polling services in one of our Live @ Epiphan episodes. It is very interactive and it makes the viewer feel great about having their opinion heard (building that relationship!).

9) Get media coverage

Getting media attention can greatly increase attention to your brand. If you are able to make your live stream exciting enough that it becomes viral – you can be sure that the media will be picking it up. We all know how much hype a new Apple product launch gets. For a smaller company, however, going viral is not the easiest of tasks.One does not simply go viralWe would still encourage you to try something out of the ordinary: use facebook live’s 24 hr streaming feature to run a car touching contest, live stream a giraffe giving birth, jump out of the stratosphere and stream it on youtube. The media will be all over it. Be careful to not overdo it and get the bad kind of media attention.

Alternatively, hopping on a social trend and live streaming it could attract attention. Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge?

10) Reuse live footage

Alright, so you’ve mastered every single one of the above 9 items. Great! Now you have a whole library of great content for viewing and reuse! Create highlight reels, new promotional videos, optimize uploaded VOD streams for search engines – there is still a lot of value in the saved content even after the live stream is over. As an example let’s consider for a second long live streams (think royal weddings and video game streams). A short and sweet highlight reel of a long stream may even gather more views than the lengthy original.

Even in this post we’ve used links to some of our live (now VOD) content as example material. What we are trying to say is that live video can be a very cost-effective way to make worthy video marketing collateral.

It is however important to invest in the quality of your initial live stream in order to ensure that your content is usable. For example, with Pearl-2, Epiphan’s all-in-one video encoder and video production system, you can record and stream simultaneously at a resolution of up to 1080p.

Market

The global video streaming market size was valued at USD 50.11 billion in 2020. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.0% from 2021 to 2028. Innovations, such as blockchain technology and artificial intelligence, to improve video quality are expected to boost the market growth. AI is playing an essential role in editing, cinematography, voice-overs, scriptwriting, and several other aspects of video production and upload. Various video streaming solution providers use AI to improve the content quality of videos. In the recent past, the popularity of such platforms over broadcast media such as YouTube and Netflix has increased considerably. Moreover, the rapid adoption of mobile phones owing to the growing popularity of social media platforms and other digital mediums for branding and marketing is anticipated to further fuel the growth.

The growing adoption of cloud-based solutions to increase the reach of video content is influencing the market growth positively. This trend is majorly observed in the countries of North America and Europe. Furthermore, ongoing innovations and technological advancements are expected to meet the growing users’ expectations for exceptional video quality, performance, and security. For instance, in April 2019, Akamai Technologies spotlighted its initiatives and innovations in delivering digital experiences of high-quality at the 2019 NAB Show (U.S.). The company showcased its advancement in live and on-demand media service, including cloud wrapper, direct connect, cloud interconnects, VPN and DNS proxy detection, and token authentication. Also, the high adoption of digital media across various industry verticals has led to the population’s inclination towards different streaming solutions and services. For instance, in November 2019, Apple Inc. has entered the online video cascading industry by launching its TV+ service. In June 2019, Wowza Media Systems, LLC, announced the complete range of professional services for video-related solutions providers. For another instance, in March 2019, Google, the subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., unveiled its cloud-based gaming console, ‘Yeti,’ which features a game streaming service along with gaming hardware.

The technical advancements and growing number of service providers in this domain pose a threat to the standalone streaming giants in the market. The streaming television space seems to be the fastest-growing sector for TV service providers to grab revenue share from existing key players, such as Netflix. For instance, in July 2019, AT&T Intellectual Property has launched its new streaming service called AT&T TV to get people to watch television online. For another example, in April 2018, Amazon.com, Inc., and Google partnered to bring official YouTube apps on Amazon’s Fire TV. These complementary services for television and other entertainment content are anticipated to threaten the existing key players in the market.

In the education and academic sector, videos can be effectively used to enhance the learning process, such as visual recordings of webinars and courses, among others. Visual recordings have a powerful impact on the ability of students to retain information. Therefore, nowadays, universities, schools, and colleges are creating multimedia content and delivering it in the form of video presentations, thus, making use of technology to impart knowledge effectively. Several factors such as increasing consumption and easy access to such content, increasing demand for mobile devices, and the increasing availability of the internet are positively influencing the adoption of these services for educational purposes.

COVID - 19 Impact Insights

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease) pandemic has placed more than 1/4th of the world’s population under lockdown. As millions of individuals stay locked into their homes, opt for online streaming and entertainment services. The video streaming services have experienced a rise of around 10% in viewership during the lockdown. The viewership of video streaming services has drastically risen across the globe, several video streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Disney+ have registered a spike in the viewership worldwide. For instance, in March 2020, Netflix registered an increase of more than 50 percent in the number of first-time installations of its mobile application in Italy and more than 30 percent of that in Spain.

Individuals across the globe are using various live streaming platforms to get recent updates on the status of COVID-19, stay entertained, play games, and socialize. The rise in the consumption of digital content from various sources, including mobile apps, TV streaming, gaming, has been observed in China and Italy during the outbreak. Thus, different live streaming platforms, including Twitch, YouTube Live, Facebook Live, amongst others, have gained increasing popularity in the outbreak. For instance, in March 2020, the viewership of Twitch increased by 31% as more individuals connected with the live streaming platform.

Streaming Type Insights

The live streaming segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2020, with around 61% market share. This is attributed to the surging demand for digital media devices coupled with faster internet helping consumers to access media content remotely. Furthermore, several other factors enrich the live streaming of videos, such as ad-free content, mobile viewing, analytics tracking, abundant content use, immense audience potential, and high-quality streams.

Live content, such as sports and other significant events, has preserved the high importance of live video streaming. However, non-linear streaming is expected to demonstrate healthy growth over the next coming years owing to the convenience and series linking. Several other factors that fuel the growth of non-linear streaming type in the industry include watch-time feasibility, no buffering, large capacity, and live pause, among others. Video-on-demand is also expected to become mainstream in all age-group population with both the streaming types.

Solution Insights

The OTT-based segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2020, with over 41% of the market share. It is owing to a feature that OTT based solutions deliver film and TV content through the internet without the need for users to subscribe to traditional cable or pay-TV services. Further, the segment is expected to witness a noticeable growth over the forecast period owing to the growing demand for improved automation of business processes and the full availability of broadband infrastructure. Emerging trends in OTT, such as hybrid monetization models, rising demand for digital original content, and content fragmentation due to intensive competition, are expected to contribute to the growth of OTT streaming solutions.

In 2020, the pay-TV segment held a notable revenue share as its demand has grown in countries such as China, India, Mexico, and Brazil. Moreover, customers are shifting their preference to OTT services due to the increased programming expenses. The increasing availability of unlimited wireless data plans and public wi-fi has boosted the growth of OTT service providers. For instance, HBO Now is the online streaming platform launched by Home Box Office, Inc., which has enabled an online view of HBO shows without a cable subscription.

Platform Insights

Smartphones and tablets accounted for the largest revenue share in 2020, with a 31% market share. This is attributed to the easy accessibility of the internet, increasing disposable income, better standard of living, and changing lifestyle. The smart TV segment is also expected to register healthy growth over the forecast period. Since smart TV offers a comprehensive option of TV channels along with video streaming services, such as Netflix, a noticeable growth is expected to be driven.

Mobile/tablet streaming allows trouble-free live streaming, owing to the abundance of reliable internet services. Due to ease in remote access and portability, smartphones and tablets are more likely to be preferred for online content watching. However, the availability of several video streaming applications for television has drawn attention towards the smart TV segment, such as YouTube TV, Hulu, DirectTV Now, PlayStation Vue, and Sling TV, among others. Also, applications for organizing the TV’s content, such as PLEX, are anticipated to boost the growth of this segment as they provide the ability to play any compatible media content on the smart TV.

Service Insights

The training and support accounted for the largest revenue share of over 35% in 2020. Further, the managed services are estimated to have a significant market share, representing around 31% of the total market in 2020. Managed services help combine broadcast and OTT solutions into one online video management solution to provide a personalized experience to viewers. This advantage is projected to bode well for segment growth. Further, based on services, the market has been segmented as consulting services, managed services, and training and support services.

Video managed services deliver highly evolved media services to the viewers, helping them achieve a better quality of content with higher monetization. These services include localization and access services, digital packaging and fulfillment, creative video services, and compliance and metadata services, among others. Also, it combines intelligent content distribution capabilities for third-party and direct OTT streaming service providers. Since it helps manage and monetize a comprehensive OTT platform and streaming-related service, managed services are anticipated to grow at a healthy rate over the forecast period.

Revenue Model Insights

The subscription model accounted for the largest revenue share of the video streaming market in 2020, with a 43% market share. This is attributable to an increase in the number of video streaming subscriptions across the globe. Also, the subscription model offers streaming of online videos with an access fee or a subscription. For instance, Netflix offers various monthly subscription plans or programs. Further, based on the revenue model, the market has been segmented into advertising, rental, and subscription.

The advertising segment-based solution operates on the hosting of advertisements. Advertising is one of the common forms of monetizing streaming videos where the revenues are generated from the advertisers. Since advertisers pay a massive amount for streaming their ads on the on-demand streaming platforms owing to the marketing requirements, the advertising segment has collected a significant amount of share in the market. However, subscription models have gained momentum due to the wide variety of video content as well as original content offered by the OTT providers, such as Netflix Originals and Prime Originals, among others.

Deployment Type Insights

The cloud segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2020, with more than 57% of the market share. The advancements in cloud computing have revolutionized video streaming and enabled the creation of platforms for streaming purposes such as YouTube and Netflix. The cloud-based segment in the Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the highest CAGR in the coming years. In 2019, the division acquired the largest market share in North America, attributed to the growth of cloud-based services in countries such as the U.S. and Canada. Further, based on the deployment type, the market has been segmented into the cloud and on-premises.

Video streaming platforms have adopted the cloud-based deployment to enable large bandwidth and speed. Since the cloud-based deployment is capable of handling more substantial data content along with providing a better viewing experience, several streaming services providers have chosen this segment over on-premises. Also, cloud-scaling helps in increasing the bandwidth and dealing with buffering and latency issues. Since most enterprises don’t have the networks and infrastructure capable of handling heavy traffic in online streaming, there is a huge demand for cloud-based deployment in the streaming of videos.

User Insights

The consumer segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2020, with a 51% market share. This is attributable to the rise in the viewership of video on demand and live streaming services from the media and entertainment sector. The consumer segment is anticipated to grow owing to the convenience offered in watching videos remotely. Increasing mobile subscriptions and the adoption of connected devices, especially smartphones, are expected to contribute to the segment growth.

The enterprise segment is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 21.5% over the forecast period. This growth is attributed to the increasing use of video streaming services by enterprises for training and consulting. Technological advancements such as superior video codec, web-based real-time communication, captioning, indexing, and transcoding and aggregation are expected to spur the demand for video streaming for enterprise users. Besides, the technology improves the communication efficiency in an organization through measures such as on-demand video, and flexibility in remote working conditions.

Regional Insights

North America accounted for the largest revenue share of around 39% in 2020, with a 39% share, majorly due to the rapid growth of cloud-based streaming services. Meanwhile, the European region also held a notable market share. It is expected to witness steady growth owing to the large population watching online content. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is projected to demonstrate growth at the highest CAGR over the forecast period, attributed to the increasing use of mobiles and tablets, rapid technological advancements, and popularity of online streaming.

Over-the-top (OTT) solution has transformed the way of content consumption among viewers in the Asia Pacific region. Incumbent telecommunication providers and multichannel operators in this region have also proactively pursued business innovation and advancement using video streaming for advanced marketing techniques. With the fastest growing broadband internet population, operators in Southeast Asia have expanded the monetization opportunities by offering video streaming multichannel services along with fixed-mobile packages. These initiatives taken by the service providers are contributing to the growth in the Asia Pacific region.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The key players that dominated the global market in 2020 include Amazon Web Services, Inc.; Apple Inc.; Netflix, Inc.; International Business Machine Corporation (IBM Cloud Video); Hulu, LLC; amongst others. Vendors in the market are focusing on increasing the customer base to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Therefore, vendors are taking several strategic initiatives, such as collaborations, acquisitions and mergers, and partnerships. For instance, in July 2019, Hive Streaming, a Sweden-based enterprise video distribution company, partnered with the U.S. based software company, Kaltura, Inc., to provide joint customers with premium video delivery capabilities. Under this partnership, the data visualization solutions of Hive Streaming are joined with the broad network optimization offering of Kaltura, Inc., including Kaltura eCDN along with additional network optimization and video delivery solutions. This collaboration has enabled high-quality live and non-linear video content. Some prominent players in the video streaming market include: