Meeting media industry demands through hybrid video distribution

Robert Suber of Intelsat underscored the role of hybrid video distribution technology in reinforcing media companies’ reach and revenue streams.

With the rise of streaming platforms and the growth of video content production, leading to both opportunities and challenges in the media industry, one of the most significant trends is the shift towards hybrid video distribution.

At its core, hybrid video distribution is a blend of traditional satellite-based broadcasting and modern internet-based (IP) delivery. This is a solution that combines satellite, fibre, and cloud infrastructure to meet the growing demand for scalable, cost-effective, and reliable content delivery. 

To gain insights into this emerging technology, Asia-Pacific Broadcasting spoke with Robert Suber, Asia Pacific Director for Sales (Oceania, Philippines and Japan) at Intelsat, a global leader in satellite communications and hybrid video distribution.

According to Suber, the media industry is experiencing headwinds due to intense competition within its ecosystem, alongside the rise of streaming and Free-Ad-Support-Television (FAST) channels. However, when free-to-air, pay-TV, and streaming are combined, a hybrid distribution system that benefits both traditional and modern media outlets is created. This allows companies to scale, reach new customer bases, and enhance revenue streams.

Addressing the surge in consumer demand

As global video consumption soared by 60%, the demand for seamless, high-quality content delivery is stronger than ever. The Asia Pacific region, in particular, is experiencing significant growth, with countries like South Korea and India driving the surge. 

To respond to this, Intelsat’s hybrid distribution solution has leveraged its extensive satellite and fibre networks to create a global delivery infrastructure. By combining satellite, fibre, and cloud resources, Intelsat enables media companies to distribute content across multiple regions and platforms, from television and mobile devices to streaming services.

This approach facilitates multi-destination routing, encryption, and the scalability needed for growing global demand.

Scalable, cost-effective solutions

Amongst the solutions crafted by Intelsat is the utilisation of satellites, fibre, and cloud infrastructure coupled with its managed services portfolio.

“What we do is we can pick up the content from our broadcasters and deliver that to any part of the world with service level agreements which reach 99.999%,” Suber said.

He explained, “We can receive that content through our satellites. We can deliver through the teleports, and using the 300,000 kilometres of fibre that we have, we can deliver that content to the end destination. They can meet us at our pop, and we can provide services like encoding and decoding, 24/7 a year.”

Intelsat’s portfolio also includes managed services like Multi-Channel Per Carrier (MCPC), which allows broadcasters to deliver content to lucrative neighbourhoods with minimal bandwidth usage. 

Furthermore, Intelsat has also adapted its hybrid solutions to diverse regional challenges. With global content production now reaching around $175b annually, Intelsat has leveraged more than 60 years of its experience in video delivery and currently manages over 6,500 TV and radio channels that reach over 500 million households worldwide.

“We can very effectively manage any regulatory or technical hurdles with the team that is in place and has been servicing our current customer base,” Suber said.

It also offers products like IntelsatOne IP, which is a secure terrestrial IP solution that utilises a private network, minimising the need for content to traverse the public internet. 

Ensuring reliability in hybrid distribution networks

Suber underscored that Intelsat’s services were built to respond to the extremely high expectations from broadcasters, direct-to-home suppliers, as well as occasional news and special events organisations—making its infrastructure second to none in quality.

Intelsat’s network is built with geo-diverse uplinks and triple-path fibre redundancy to minimise the risk of outages. “The risk of outage or degradation is almost zero,” said Suber. 

Looking ahead, Intelsat aims to further focus on optimising its hybrid distribution solutions to meet the growing demands of the industry. It also plans to continue leveraging its satellite, fibre, and cloud infrastructure to adhere to its objective of removing the pain points from its customers’ distribution operations.

“Satellite will remain a cornerstone of Intelsat and the excellent customer service that we pride in,” Suber stated. “We have multiple neighbourhoods globally and satellites servicing very valuable neighbourhoods. Clearly, IP distribution is becoming extremely important to the industry and we are working as an organisation to make sure that we can assist our customers in utilising our hybrid video distribution network to achieve their commercial and technical goals.”With its extensive infrastructure and expertise, Intelsat is well-positioned to be a key player in the future of global media connectivity. To further explore its hybrid video distribution strategy, visit https://www.intelsat.com/.