The media and entertainment industry has boomed in recent years. According to data from Statista, the value of this market reached 2.34 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021, experiencing a growth of 10.4 percent compared to 2020. Although this growth is expected to slow down over the coming years, the dollar figures are still set to reach 2.93 trillion by the end of 2026.
Ultimately, emerging competition and changing consumer habits are driving constant change. The streaming service market, for instance, has also seen significant growth, with subscriptions passing 1 billion worldwide for the first time in 2020. For service providers and content owners, remaining competitive in this saturated landscape is the number one priority, and finding the right technology partners and ways of working is paramount to this success.
Progressively broadcasters, multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD)/PayTV operators, and OTT providers seek to invest in and acquire tools that enable them to be agile and ultra-responsive. Cloud technology is core to this, as it removes the challenges of inflexible on-prem solutions while empowering all these providers to experiment and evolve to meet consumer demands and pivot their offering when needed. And that’s why we’ve designed our solutions to enable our customers to simplify the process of content processing and ultimately get content to viewers quicker and more efficiently.
Arqplex: Powered by MediaKind. Managed by Arqiva
Last December, we announced a pioneering partnership with Arqiva to introduce a media service proposition designed to address many of the core challenges broadcasters and operators face in migrating broadcast and streaming services to the cloud. Today we go one step further in our partnership with the launch of our new, fully managed, headend-as-a-service offering, Arqplex – powered by MediaKind and managed by Arqiva.
We appreciate the importance of expertise and knowledge; Arqplex is underpinned by decades of experience in broadcast and broadband services for tier-one service providers. The partnership combines MediaKind’s best-in-class cloud-native multiplexing, encoding, and packaging headend media processing technology, delivering globally renowned content quality and distribution reliability, with Arqiva’s expertise in systems integration, global connectivity, and managed services.
Arqplex: Designed with you in mind
We value the significance of streamlined workflows just as much as you, which is why the Arqplex service was designed to provide market-leading secure and reliable content aggregation, encoding, multiplexing, and ABR packaging, coupled with reliable managed services.
It has been developed for a broad range of broadcasters or MVPD operators, including leading global, regional, and national broadcasters and regional cable and satellite network operators. Through Arqplex, we can take content from anywhere, be that satellite, fiber, cloud, or the internet, and once it’s processed, deliver it wherever it needs to go, be that broadcast or OTT platforms. And because it’s a fully managed service, we can empower our customers to meet the challenges of continued market convergence and bypass barriers to adoption such as skill gaps or shortages. By unifying OTT and broadcast operations, Arqplex reduces complexity, increases efficiency, and delivers rapid speed to market for highly valuable content.
Harnessing the power of the cloud
Cloud-native technologies are now a key component for faster speed-to-market. MediaKind’s cloud-native headend software powers Arqplex to deliver broadcast-grade service levels to OTT operations. The service utilizes Arqiva’s global content network to acquire content from any source, whether satellite, fiber, cloud or the internet. It also includes options to manage blackout, alternate content insertion, linear ad insertion, targeted dynamic ad insertion for streaming, and catch-up TV functionality, allowing service providers to enhance their offerings and provide more extraordinary experiences to viewers.
In truth, the public cloud as a means of delivering broadcast content is coming of age. The Arqplex service is built on a cloud-based subscription model, removing the need for significant CAPEX investment in the latest technology advances. The service provides customers with technology upgrades and patches securely applied as soon as they are available, removing the need to source and install updates. The service is cloud-agnostic; media service providers can use AWS public cloud, an alternative cloud provider, or Arqiva’s UK-based datacenters, providing even more flexibility to customers. Where customers opt for cloud processing, operations can be sited in the region most appropriate for their services.
In short, we have created a managed service that is cloud powered, secure, and ensures a cost-effective means of content delivery. Arqplex enables both operators and broadcasters to focus on creating new, exciting, and differentiated content; a necessity in this highly competitive and innovative market.
To hear more about Arqplex, meet us at IBC Show in Amsterdam (September 9 – 12) at booth 1.D09 or checkout www.mediakind.com/arqplex and www.arqiva.com/arqplex
