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Insight
November 14, 2024
2022, you’ve been great! It’s been a (very!) busy year, here at Simplestream, as we run around the globe attending events, award ceremonies, introducing our whole new branding, and – most importantly – innovating a value proposition that’s now richer than ever.
First things, first: Simplestream has a new look. The company’s re-brand was completed earlier this year, casting a fresher light on the Simplestream outfit, together with a fully revamped website. “Our new branding aims to convey the elements of agility, modernity, and technological advancement that Simplestream carries as core values. – our Founder & CEO, Adam Smith, commented – Since the foundation of the company, we have been strengthening our profile, with the objective to become an unrivalled tech partner for industry knowledge and richness of function. The refreshed visual identity aims to communicate our reliability, and to provide our value proposition with a stronger, elegant outfit.”
“SIMPLICITY IS THE END, NOT THE BEGINNING” - FREDERICK MAITLAND
As an OTT innovator and leader in out-of-the-box solutions for broadcasters, content owners and media brands around the globe, growth has always been Simplestream’s main objective. We worked tirelessly to satisfy the demands of our customers, and to evolve the overall offering to respond to the needs of an ever-expanding industry.
Not only did Simplestream grow its portfolio of projects, launching a variety of prestigious new brands in the OTT streaming space, but the company also improved existing services by innovating parts of its technology stack, and entered the world of FAST and virtual channels, by unveiling a new product.
Channel Studio
How do you resurface your dormant, on demand content, for ‘live’ linear distribution? Channel Studio is the product of choice to repurpose existing backlogs of VOD assets. It lets operators easily create virtual ‘live’ channels with optional server-side ad insertion, and/or on-screen graphic overlays. A seamless playback experience sits at the core of new opportunities for monetisation, with increased audience engagement and higher live viewing figures as a result. Channel Studio is set up for the distribution of content anywhere, including leading FAST platforms.
Awards
Channel Studio was shortlisted for the ‘Monetize’ category at the recent IABM BaM Awards, and its core technology – VOD2Live – was also voted as one of the most innovative solutions at The 2022 Streaming Media Innovation Awards, for the ‘Cloud Workflow Solution’ category.
Our CPO & Co-Founder, Lewis Arthur, for the second year in a row was included in the Top 50 list of professionals who stood out in the VOD world, an award powered by VOD Professional. Finally, Ashley Horne – Simplestream’s Technical Director – was chosen among the finalists for the ‘Technology Leader of the Year’ category at the IABM Awards earlier in December.
Media presence
Simplestream made the headlines in a number of prestigious publications, this year. Our announcements covered the launch of Craftsy, Digital Theatre, and PBS America, with several other projects undertaken for clients in the teleshopping, news, and broadcast space in general. We’re proud to be working with world-class names in the streaming space, contributing to better user experiences. In 2022, we were also featured on Digital TV Europe, with an interview of our CEO, Adam Smith, on the opportunities presented by FAST channels, and how the industry will need to evolve and adapt to new trends going forward.
Events
In-person events were back in full swing this year. From NAB Show in LA, to Connected TV World Summit in London, the HbbTV Symposium & Awards in Prague, and Cannes’ MIPCOM, our Sales team travelled around the world to take the pulse of the industry and talk about our solutions and how Simplestream can help OTT operators to elevate their own game. In September, Europe’s flagship industry event was back in Amsterdam. Our IBC 2022 was an absolute blast, as we exhibited in Hall 5, showcasing our new visual identity, and attracting the interest of a curious audience. Our CCO, Dan Finch, spoke about the case study around the GB News project, as part of the IABM program, while Ashley Horne sat down with Cleeng and TO THE NEW to dissect the topic around the most profitable business models in OTT.
Facts and stats
Before we wrap it up and get ready for some (well-deserved) time off, we had some fun browsing through the main stats and facts of our 2022.
- 23 issues of our Unboxed bi-weekly newsletter (a new entry in 2022) were issued from January, with interesting stories and fresh insights on industry-relevant topics.
- Over 400 users subscribed to our newsletter on LinkedIn! Thank you.
- Our solutions powered nearly 21 million hours of playtime across the entire portfolio of projects including the full range of devices.
- Brace yourself, this means that Simplestream supported streaming services for something like 2,283... years of continuous watching!
That's all, folks! We’ll be recharging ahead of a new year, which will mark another one of growth and innovation. In the meantime, happy holidays, from all at Simplestream, and best wishes for a roaring 2023.
