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Podcast Episode 47 is live! This week we highlight the price increases from fuboTV, DirecTV Stream and HBO Max’s ad-free plan, with many live linear plans now being more expensive than cable TV. We also discuss news from FOX Sports who said their NFL Playoffs/Super Bowl broadcast schedule will not be broadcast or streamed in native 4K, but rather will be captured and produced in 1080p HDR and upscaled to 4K. We breakdown the new subscriber numbers from DAZN and their announcement that it now has 15 million premium paying subscribers and highlight their financial numbers reported by the media. Finally, we debate how many FAST channels are considered too many with Samsung announcing their Samsung TV Plus service now has over 1,800 channels globally and more than 200 in the US alone. Thanks to this week’s podcast sponsor, Agora.

Companies and services mentioned: Netflix, HBO Max, fuboTV, DirecTV Stream, DAZN, Curiosity Stream, Samsung TV Plus, NBC Sports, Sunday Night Football, FOX Sports, BSD Crown, Amazon, Twitch, DirecTV.

[Updated February 3, 2024] Over the past 18 months, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the CDN vendor landscape. Below is an updated list of vendors I am tracking in the market that offer commercial CDN services to deliver video for content owners and vendors that provide CDN platforms for deployment inside telecom networks or DIY CDN buildouts. (list is at: www.cdnlist.com) At the bottom of the post is the history of all the CDN vendors tied to video delivery, nearly 100 dating back to 1994, along with what happened to the companies. For almost 20 years, I have been offering free help to any CDN customer who has questions on their CDN deployment, including vendor selection, latest pricing, creating an RFP, CDN technologies, etc., so feel free to reach out to me at dan@danrayburn.com if I can help.

With this vendor list comes a LOT of caveats, which are essential to note. The term “CDN” means many things to people and is an umbrella term that covers the delivery of many different types of content. Not all commercial CDNs specialize in delivering the same type of content for small objects, large objects, streaming, etc., and many CDNs offer a lot of other services in the cloud security, edge, and application realm. Just because all the vendors are on this list together does NOT mean they can be compared apples-to-apples! Customers have to drill down into specific requirements around their performance needs, capacity, regions of delivery, SLA, etc., and then use those metrics to compare which CDN vendors genuinely have a similar offering. Some CDNs target SMBs (small and medium businesses) where pricing could be as low as $100 a month, and still other CDNs won’t even quote a customer under $5,000. There is no one-size-fits-all, and the differences between CDNs can vary widely, especially regarding capacity in specific geographic regions outside North America. PoPs on a map do not equal capacity or guarantee performance.

For my list, I am including CDN vendors who deliver video as part of their core services but not resellers, like a hosting provider that white-labels a CDN provider. I’m also not including “most” telcos and carriers that have their own CDN, what we call DIY, since most of them don’t resell it as a service but instead, use it to deliver content within their own network. There are more than 100 telcos, ISPs and carriers worldwide that have a combination of their own CDN or a hybrid model that mixes in commercial CDNs, so there are simply too many of them to list.

I am not listing vendors by network size, number of customers, etc., but rather in alphabetical order. That said, if you strip out the vendors in China, the top 5 commercial CDNs globally, in order of revenue tied to CDN (note I didn’t say “video” revenue), would be 1. Akamai, 2. Amazon, 3. Edgio, 4. Lumen and 5. Fastly.

Every time I make this list, I get companies that say they are missing. If you think you should be listed, contact me at dan@danrayburn.com, and I will review your company. But please note, if you have a website with no info, no details on the executives, no customers mentioned, dead links, have pricing at $10 a month and call yourself an “enterprise” solution, you won’t be added. I also don’t accept payment to add a company to the list.

Companies Offering Video CDN Delivery Services or Platforms

• Akamai
• Alibaba Cloud (primary focus region is China)
• Amazon CloudFront
• ATEME (operator platform)
• Baidu (primary focus region is China)
• BaishanCloud (primary focus region is APAC)
• BelugaCDN (primary focus region is EMEA)
• Broadpeak (operator platform for DIY CDN)
• Bunny.net
• BytePlus (owned by ByteDance, primary focus region is APAC)
• CacheFly
• CDN77
• CDNetworks (primary focus region is APAC)
• CDNsun (primary focus region is UAE)
• ChinaCache (primary focus region is APAC)
• ChinaNetCenter (primary focus region is China)
• China Telecom (primary focus region is China)
• Cloudflare
• Comcast Technology Solutions
• Edgio
• EdgeNext (owned by BaishanCloud, primary focus region is APAC)
• Fastly
• Gcore
• GlobalConnect (primary focus region is Nordic)
• Google Cloud Media CDN
• Huawei Cloud (primary focus region is APAC)
• Jet-Stream Cloud (primary focus region is Europe)
• KeyCDN (primary focus region is Europe)
• Kingsoft Cloud (primary focus region is China)
• MainStreaming (primary focus region is Europe)
• Medianova (primary focus region is Europe)
• Microsoft (Azure Front Door)
• Netskrt
• Ngenix (primary focus region is Russia)
• Qwilt
• Tata Communications
• Tencent Cloud (primary focus region is APAC)
• Varnish Software (platform for building DIY CDN)
• Vecima (operator platform)
• Velocix (operator platform)
• Wangsu (primary focus region is China)

History Of CDN Vendors and What Happened to Them
In addition to the current CDN vendors in the market, I think it’s important to remember how the CDN industry got to where it is today. Many CDNs raised tons of money but didn’t have a business model; some only focused on selling at the lowest price, and many had technology that simply didn’t work. The CDN market has been through many hard times over the past 25 years, and here’s a running list of what happened to all the vendors.

• Activate.net (acquired by CMGI Oct. 1999)
• Advection (closed down, exact date unknown, looks to be 2017)
• Adero (acquired by Intokmi Dec. 2000)
• Aerocast (acquired by Motorola in 2002, then shut down)
• Aflexi (acquired by OnApp August 2011)
• Ankeena (acquired by Juniper April 2010)
• Bandcon (acquired by Highwinds July 2010)
• BigBand Networks (acquired by Arris Oct. 2011)
• BitGravity (acquired by Tata Communications Jan. 2011)
• Blackwave (acquired by Juniper Oct. 2010)
• Blaze (acquired by Akamai Feb. 2012)
• Broadcast.com (acquired by Yahoo! April 1999)
• Burst.com (shut down in 2002, turned focus to enforcing patents)
• BNI Video (acquired by Cisco Oct. 2011)
• Cable & Wireless (withdrew from the U.S. 2002, sold U.S. company to SAVVIS)
• CacheLogic (changed name to Velocix Feb. 2008)
• CDNetworks (acquired by KDDI Oct. 2011 / re-acquired by ChinaNetCenter Feb. 2021)
• CDNVideo (acquired by ChinaNetCenter Feb. 2021)
• CenturyLink (changed name to Lumen Sept. 2020)
• Cidera (went out of business Jan. 2001, formerly named SkyCache)
• Cotendo (acquired by Akamai Nov. 2011)
• Digital Fountain (acquired by Qualcomm Feb. 2009)
• Digital Island (acquired by Cable & Wireless May 2001)
• DigitalPipe (went out of business sometime in 2001)
• Dyn (acquired by Oracle Nov. 2016)
• EdgeCast Networks (acquired by Verizon Jan. 2014 / re-acquired by Limelight Networks June 2022)
• E-media (acquired by Streaming Media Corp. in 2002)
• Ericsson Edge Gravity (closed down June 2020)
• Escene Networks (acquired by Intokmi June 2001)
• FastForward Networks (acquired by Intokmi Sept. 2000)
• Fastweb(acquired by 21ViaNet in Sept. 2012)
  
• FastSoft (acquired by Akamai in Sept. 2012)
• Globix (chapter 11 Jan. 2002, hosting/media services sold to QTS Oct. 2006)
• Grid Networks (merged with GMS April 2009)
• Hibernia Networks (acquired by GTT Jan. 2017)
• Highwinds (acquired by Stackpath Jan. 2017)
• Ibeam (went chapter 11 Oct. 2011, assets acquired by Williams Communications)
• Intel (closed down offering in 2002)
• Intervu (acquired by Akamai Feb. 2000)
• Itiva (went out of business sometime in 2010)
• itv.net (acquired by PopCast in 1999)
• Instart Logic (acquired by Akamai Feb. 2020)
• Inktomi (acquired by Yahoo! Dec. 2002)
• Level 3 (acquired by CenturyLink Nov. 2017)
• Lilac Cloud (acquired by F5 Q2 2023)
• Limelight Networks (changed name to Edgio June 2022)
• Lumen (excited the CDN business Oct. 2023 selling off select contracts to Akamai)
• MaxCDN (acquired by StackPath July 2016)
• Microcast (chapter 11 Dec. 2000)
• Mirror Image (closed down Dec. 2017)
• Move Networks (put assets up for sale June 2010)
• Octoshape (acquired by Akamai April 2015)
• Oversi (acquired by Allot Communications Sept. 2012)
• Panther Express (acquired by CDNetworks Feb. 2009)
• PeerApp (acquired by ZephyrTel Telecommunications July 2018)
• Real Broadcast Network (closed down by RealNetworks Q1 2010)
• Red Swoosh (acquired by Akamai April 2007)
• Sandpiper (acquired by Digital Island Oct. 1999)
• Savvis (exited the space by selling CDN assets to Level 3 Dec. 2006)
• SightPath (acquired by Cisco in 2000)
• SkyparkCDN (acquired by G-Core labs in 2017)
• Skytide (acquired by Citrix Dec. 2013)
• Servecast (acquired by Level 3 July 2007)
• Speedera (acquired by Akamai March 2005)
• St3 (went out of business Jan. 2002)
• StackPath (exited CDN business Aug. 2023 with Akamai acquiring approximately 100 enterprise customer contracts)
• Strangeloop Networks (acquired by Radware Feb. 2013)
• Streaming Media Corp (renamed Nine Systems, acquired by Akamai Sept. 2006)
• Streamroot (acquired by CenturyLink Sept. 2019)
• StreamPipe (acquired by Ten-TV Feb. 2002, then re-sold to Loudeye Nov. 2002)
• SyncCast (acquired by Technicolor April 2007)
• Technicolor (video network sold to FCDE March 2011)
• Teltoo (acquired by Haivision July 2020)
• Twin Prime (acquired by Salesforce Dec. 2016)
• Velocix (acquired by Alcaltel-Lucent July 2009 / acquired by Nokia April 2015 / Nokia’s IP Video business sold to Volaris Group Jan. 2019)
• Verivue (acquired by Akamai Nov. 2012)
• Verizon Media (acquired by Apollo Sept. 2021, CDN was part of Verizon Digital Media Services rebranded as Edgecast)
• Vidscale (acquired by Ericsson April 2018)
• VitalStream (acquired by Internap Feb. 2007)
• Volera (spinoff by Novell in 2001, closed down in 2003)
• Voxel.net (acquired by Internap Jan. 2012)
• Vusion (went out of business May 2009)
• Williams Communications (acquired by Level 3 Dec. 2005)
• WorldStream (went out of business Aug. 2001)
• XCDN (owned by Exceed which was acquired by Akamai Nov. 2019)
• XDN (acquired by Fortinet Jan 2013)

Open to corrections if you see any errors.

Podcast Episode 46 is live! This week we highlight some of the layoffs across the industry (Vimeo, Amazon, Kaltura, Amdocs, JWP) and why getting to positive cash flow for vendors is and should be the number one goal in 2023. We also detail the latest ARPU numbers from OTT services and some TV news from CES, with Roku announcing the first-ever smart TV designed and built by Roku and a still unnamed partner. Finally, we discuss the extremely fragmented landscape for video advertising metrics, the news of Nielsen ONE and how every major media company has struck deals with measurement firms like VideoAmp, EDO, Comscore, and iSpot to replace or supplement Nielsen. Thanks to this week’s podcast sponsor, Agora.

Companies and services mentioned: Vimeo, Kaltura, JPW, Amazon, Netflix, Disney, Nielsen, Videoamp, Amdocs, Transmit Live, Warner Bros. Discovery, Roku, Samsung, Google TV, EDO, Comscore, iSpot.

BSD Crown, the Israeli company, formerly known as Emblaze LTD., is suing Amazon and Twitch over a patent pertaining to HTTP based live video delivery. Emblaze sued Apple asking for $511 million in damages pertaining to HLS and lost their trial in 2014 with the jury ruling that Apple did not infringe on the patent. In 2010, Microsoft was also sued by Emblaze pertaining to “Smooth Streaming” and in 2015, Emblaze dropped the suit against Microsoft. In the case against Amazon, BSD claims that Amazon knew about their ‘473 patent by at least 2015 or sooner through Amazon’s own patent filings. While that is true, simply knowing about the patent doesn’t mean Amazon infringed on it.

In the suit, BSD Crown claims that their patent, “powered the first real time video broadcast over the internet using HTTP—the White House 1998 Easter Egg Roll”, which we all know to be false. There were other real time live broadcasts over the Internet that took place before 1998 that used HTTP. It also claims that “today, the technology described in the ’473 Patent powers the majority of live broadcasts.” That is also false.

Those that were in the streaming industry in the last 90’s might remember Emblaze Video and Emblaze Audio, which were the product names under Geo Interactive Media Group, which later changed their company name to Emblaze Systems Ltd., then to Emblaze Ltd and in 2014, renamed it again to B.S.D Crown Ltd.

In addition to the Video and Audio products the company also had a line of development tools called Emblaze Creator, Emblaze Hotspot, Emblaze Webcharge and Emblaze email. At the time, the company billed themselves as the world’s first Internet-specific multimedia authoring tool.

Geo Interactive Media Group Ltd was formed back in 1994 by a group of technicians from the high technology unit of the Israeli army and first previewed the Emblaze software back in February 1996. In 2014, Emblaze lawyers said they were not “patent trolls”, referencing annual revenues running to hundreds of millions of dollars in 2008. However, the company brought in just $1.9 million in revenue in 2013.

I’ve worked on a lot of cases over the years pertaining to streaming patents tied to Real, Microsoft, Burst Networks, Nokia, Move Networks and others. BSD Crown’s claim is quite the stretch.

Here’s a round-up of CES TV news from LG, Samsung, TCL, Roku, Google and Sony with pricing, if announced. The big trend at the show was larger screen sizes (93″-97”), QD-OLED, mini-LED and microLED tech. Not much was highlighted in the way of TV OS or content services.

• LG: Announced upgraded Z3 (77” to 88”), G3 (55” to 97”) and C3 (42” to 83”) OLED evo series with higher brightness and color accuracy as well as amazing clarity and detail thanks to the new α9 AI Processor Gen6. G3 models get LG’s Brightness Booster Max technology and an upgrade leaving no visible gap when wall mounted. Their webOS will get a redesigned user interface to provide more options to customize the launcher based on different profiles. LG has done away with the A series and now considers the B3 series its entry-level OLED offering. LG press release.
• TCL: Announced updated S-Series and the all-new Q Series. Q6 (50” to 75”), Q7 (55” to 85”), QM8 (65” to 98”). The new TCL 98-inch Class XL Collection Smart TV will be TCL’s first QD-OLED, retailing for $8,500. QD-OLED TV is a new type of display technology that merges quantum dots with an OLED panel for an ultra-thin screen that can produce all of blacks of OLED, along with better brightness and more accurate colors. TCL press release.
• Samsung: Announced larger QD-OLED models, up to 77”. Neo QLED TVs will see at least two major new models in this category. The QN95C has been redesigned to house all of its connections inside the chassis of the TV itself, instead of within a backpack breakout box that the TV used. All of the 2023 Neo QLED models will benefit from the company’s new Auto HDR Remastering AI tech, which can analyze and apply HDR effects to SDR material in real-time, on a scene-by-scene basis. Samsung TV Plus, the free, ad-supported TV and on-demand service on Samsung’s smart TVs, now has over 1,800 channels globally. Samsung press release.
• Roku: Announced the first-ever smart TV (Roku Select and Plus Series) designed and built by Roku (with a manufacturing partner they aren’t naming). Will be available in the U.S. in 11 models, ranging from 24” to 75”, beginning spring 2023. Retail prices ranging from $119 to $999 for HD and 4K models. Roku blog post.
• Google: Android TV OS – the underlying platform for both the Google TV and Android TV experiences – now has 150M monthly active devices. Total isn’t just for Google TV devices or for Android TV devices, but all of them combined. Google blog post.
• Sony: Decided to delay its TV-related news until later in 2023, no new models were announced or displayed at CES.

I am excited to announce that the call for speakers and sponsorships have opened for the NAB Show Streaming Summit, taking place April 17-18 in Las Vegas. Work on the conference program has started so if you are interested in speaking, moderating or being involved in some way, now is the time to reach out to me. Last year we had nearly 600 attendees, 75 speakers and 31 sponsors. Spots will go fast! I expect the show to bigger this year and the call for speakers page lists all the topics we do and don’t cover.

If you have questions about a speaking topic, idea you want to run by me first or need more details on the show, just call me (917-523-4562) anytime. Registration is also open for the Streaming Summit.

For streaming services, ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), will become one of the most important metrics to watch in 2023. To date, ARPU numbers have been pretty easy to track but with more services like Netflix and Disney adding in AVOD plans and most FAST services not sharing any ARPU metrics of any kind, it will be harder to measure just how much money streaming services are averaging per month, per user. Based on all publicly available data from earnings, interviews and SEC filings, here’s a breakdown on ARPU for streaming services at the end of calendar Q3 2022, or in some cases, the last time ARPU was given out.

• Disney+: Global ARPU, $3.91, Subscription plus advertising (Q3 2022)
• Disney+: Domestic ARPU, $6.10, Subscription plus advertising (Q3 2022)
• Disney+: International ARPU, $5.83, Excluding Disney+ Hotstar, Subscription plus advertising, (Q3 2022)
• Disney+ Hotstar: ARPU, $0.58, Subscription plus advertising, (Q3 2022)
• ESPN+: ARPU, $4.84, Subscription plus advertising, (Q3 2022)
• Eros Now: India ARPU, Premium subscriber “in the range of $1.20 to $1.30”, Subscription (Q4 2022)
• fuboTV: North American ARPU, $64.15, Subscription, ARPU $7.37, Advertising (Q3 2022)
• fuboTV: Rest Of World ARPU, $5.30, Subscription, ARPU, $0.16, Advertising (Q3 2022)
• Hulu: SVOD Only ARPU, $12.23, Subscription plus advertising, (Q3 2022)
• Hulu: Live TV+ SVOD ARPU, $86.77, Subscription plus advertising, (Q3 2022)
• iQiyi: China ARPU, $2.00, (Q4 2022)
• LionsgatePlay: India ARPU, $0.50, Advertising (Dec 2022)
• Netflix: Domestic ARPU, $15.74, Subscription only, (Q3 2022)
• Netflix: EMEA ARPU, $11.18, Subscription only, (Q3 2022)
• Netflix: LATAM ARPU, $8.54, Subscription only, (Q3 2022)
• Netflix: APAC ARPU, $8.79, Subscription only, (Q3 2022)
• Paramount+ Domestic ARPU: “Around $9”, Subscription plus advertising (Q1 2022)
• Peacock TV: Domestic ARPU, “around $10”, Subscription plus advertising (Q4 2022)
• Pluto TV: Global ARPU, $1.64, Domestic ARPU, $2.54, advertising (Q4 2021)
• Roku: Global ARPU, $44.25 trailing 12 months, Advertising (Q3 2022)
• Starz: Domestic ARPU, “around $6”, Subscription (Q2 2022)
• Vizio: Global ARPU, $27.69, trailing 12 months, Advertising (Q3 2022)
• Warner Bros. Discovery: Global D2C ARPU, $7.52, Subscription plus advertising, HBO Max and Discovery+, does not include Cinemax, (Q3 2022)
• Warner Bros. Discovery: Domestic D2C ARPU, $10.66, Subscription plus advertising, HBO Max and Discovery+, does not include Cinemax, (Q3 2022)
• Warner Bros. Discovery: International D2C ARPU, $3.68, Subscription plus advertising, HBO Max and Discovery+, does not include Cinemax, (Q3 2022)

No ARPU data released for: AMC+, Acorn TV, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, CuriosityStream, DAZN, Epix, Freevee, MotorTrend TV, NFL+, Sling TV, Tubi, YouTube TV and many others.