Advanced Television

Alliance sets course for the future of online video

February 6, 2015

By Colin Mann

The Streaming Video Alliance (SVA), a newly formed industry forum comprised of leading companies from the online video ecosystem has held its first session, which included confirmation of the Board of Directors, approval of SVA goals for 2015 and commissioning of SVA working groups. The SVA was established to build an open architecture, standards and best practices to support the future of streaming video.

The body says that online video continues to undergo tremendous growth, streaming video must scale quickly, efficiently and cost effectively to meet consumer demand. Achieving success in streaming video relies heavily on creating an open architecture and infrastructure model that fosters broad collaboration throughout the online video ecosystem. The SVA has made this its mission, as the organisation plans to develop, publish and promote open standards, policies and best practices that allow the online video streaming ecosystem to flourish.
The SVA’s inaugural meeting addressed the following initiatives:
  • Commission Working Groups. The SVA discussed and prioritized the core topics to be addressed and commissioned working groups accordingly.
  • Appoint Board of Directors (BOD). The BOD will oversee all working groups and approve proposed standards. It will also control membership structure, bylaws, IP policy and more.
  • Endorse Alliance goals. As the SVA continues to grow, members will aim to create an open architecture to anticipate future trends and embrace innovation.
  • Plan for strategic growth. Since its founding, the SVA has received over 300 inquiries and has over 100 companies interested in joining and contributing to its goals.
“This meeting and the formation of the Streaming Video Alliance signifies the first step in an important shift towards creating open standards across the online video industry,” said Joe Inzerillo, Vice President of MLBAM and host of the SVA meeting. “This alliance brings together some of the most prominent companies from across the ecosystem that are collaborating to scale the online video infrastructure, create higher quality of experience and redefine the way online video is streamed for consumers worldwide.”

“We’re excited to be a part of the Streaming Video Alliance and work with other leaders to advance the industry,” said Chris Knowlton, Vice President and Streaming Industry Evangelist at Wowza Media Systems. “Based on the first meeting this week, it’s clear that we will be quickly addressing some core streaming challenges, making it easier for content owners and distributors to consistently deliver high-quality content to a growing number of end users.”

The SVA unites more than 17 industry leading content providers, network operators, content delivery networks and technology providers. Members include: Alcatel-Lucent, Charter Communications, Cisco, Comcast, EPIX, Fox Networks Group, Korea Telecom, Level 3 Communications, Liberty Global, Limelight Networks, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Qwilt, Telecom Italia, Telstra, Ustream, Wowza Media Systems and Yahoo!.

 

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