Matthew Wilkinson, CEO of Magine Pro, shares his insights on IBC 2023, highlighting five crucial lessons for navigating the future of streaming.

A month has passed since our participation at IBC 2023 in Amsterdam. This year, the event saw a remarkable surge in attendance and was a real reflection of an industry in constant flux. Beyond the customary customer value demonstrations, IBC remains an event of strategic importance, offering a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights, driving the acceleration of our understanding of market dynamics and customer needs.

With that being said, here our five key takeaways from IBC 2023:

1. Pacing with Technology Trends

The industry’s innovation pace is relentless. Attending IBC to discover new solutions and technological advancements might already place you behind the curve. At Magine Pro, we’ve embraced Large Language Models like ChatGPT to augment our metadata and streamline workflows. The initial allure of this technology might wane, but its implementation promises significant and rapid business impact.

2. Navigating Market Shifts

The past 18 months have seen a profound shift in the macroeconomic landscape, with diminished capital availability and elevated performance expectations from streaming industry investors. This transformation is driving us to innovate swiftly, to prioritise return on investment and realise cost reductions & service. The reins of decision-making have shifted from CTOs to CFOs, who demand improved ROI, especially in content investments.

3. Content, Content, Content

Success in this evolving landscape centres around content strategies and strategic partnerships to reach audiences. Service providers can no longer afford to deploy capital to build and integrate both the technology and invest in content;  businesses must be focused on validating the go to market hypothesis, and the “product” consumers demand is content, not the technology behind the scenes. Capital needs to be deployed smartly to drive customer acquisition, engagement and retention – and building a customer technology stack, will not significantly optimise for this much better than outsourced platforms.

4. Embracing Broader Horizons

It is imperative to consider the broader context beyond traditional streaming. Evolving technology consumption behaviours, notably influenced by platforms like TikTok, are reshaping how consumers engage with media and allocate their time. The traditional streaming media market must evolve to align with changing consumer expectations, and proactive innovation can capitalise on shifting preferences.

5. Readiness for Transformation

The industry is poised at a crossroads. As we look to the future, our success hinges on our adaptability and innovative spirit. Prioritising content, leveraging technology, and anticipating evolving consumer behaviour will position us to thrive in this dynamic landscape.

On a last note, I’ll leave you with a quote from a meeting with an industry peer “There’s opportunity for everyone to succeed in the market – we just need to figure out how!”
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If you weren’t able to attend the IBC this year and missed the panel discussion ‘Building an OTT Video Service – Custom Build or Managed Service’, where Matthew shared insights alongside other industry experts, don’t worry! You can catch up on the panel right here.

Want to find out more about navigating the future of streaming and how Magine Pro can help? Get in touch or book a meeting with a member of the team to find out more. We also have some useful insights and resources available on our blog and free to download white papers, ebooks and more.

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