Boosting Audience Engagement Through Superior Broadcasting Technology

How to make your audience stay tuned?

There’s no broadcaster who wouldn’t ask this question. People have many options these days. The day they experience buffering or low-quality video, you will lose them for good.

Let’s face it:

The broadcasting environment has changed entirely. If your equipment is not up to the task, your audience is not going to stay with you for long either.

In this article, we will cover:

–       Why it matters more than ever before

–       Video quality matters

–       The most important features to consider

–       How to future-proof your equipment

Why Broadcasting Equipment Matters More Than Ever Before

Just some stats for you.

Streaming now accounts for approximately 46% of all TV consumption time. That’s higher than broadcast and cable combined. This transition was much more rapid than experts expected.

But here’s the catch…

All that audience time is not worth a thing if you cannot keep up with the quality of broadcasting. Viewers are simply not going to forgive you for minor (and major) technical glitches anymore. It is not acceptable to have pixelated video and buffering problems in 2024.

So it goes without saying that reliable and powerful equipment for broadcasting, solutions like Thor Broadcast are what you need.

Look at it this way…

You may have the best content in the world. You may have the most amazing production crew in your industry. But if you cannot handle it with a broadcasting infrastructure on point, your audience is not going to see any of it.

Do not underestimate this point.

Video Quality Matters

Did you know that

…a single second of buffering can cause a 5-20% drop in engagement? It just takes one second of distraction to lose your audience.

It does not stop there.

 

One of the most critical problems in broadcasting is that once the viewer has a negative experience, it is over to you to win them back. Quality issues stick with them, so that’s how they will think of you when they scroll through their feeds.

The silver lining is that

Broadcasters who make the investment in quality equipment have seen substantial improvements in these metrics. According to the report released last year, buffering times had reduced by 18% worldwide across all operators that have invested in improving their content delivery technology.

It’s not just a small percentage point.

It’s the difference between keeping and losing your viewers.

So, what happens when quality is low?

When you do not have the proper equipment for broadcasting, you open the floodgates of all technical glitches. The immediate consequence is

–       The frustration of viewers results in an instant loss of traffic

–       Reduction in trust, which is not easy to earn back

–       Subpar experience that’s subpar for your brand image

Does it sound familiar? It’s what you are probably dealing with every day now.

The Most Important Features to Consider When Selecting Broadcasting Solutions

All broadcasting equipment is not the same.

A lot of what separates good enough solutions from the ones that can provide you with the edge is the presence of some key features. Let’s talk about those first because we’ll get into each of them in more detail a little later.

Signal Quality and Reliability

That’s the baseline of it all.

Broadcasting equipment needs to be able to deliver the quality signals at all times. What does that mean in practice? We are talking about 4K (and more) resolution support, handling the demand of available bandwidth.

Reliability is just as important.

Equipment that drops mid-broadcast does not disappoint only the viewer. It tarnishes your brand name, and there is no coming back from that for a very long time, if ever.

Scalability for the Future

Broadcasters need to be future-oriented.

Does your equipment allow you to scale up your production to handle higher traffic tomorrow? Can it support emerging video formats? Will it still be useful when new technologies become more popular?

It’s time to start thinking about those questions.

Encoding and Compression

Modern broadcasting needs modern encoding.

The most efficient broadcasting equipment out there is capable of using compression algorithms that allow you to maintain the highest possible quality while requiring less bandwidth to operate.

You want your viewers to have a smooth streaming experience even on less-than-optimal connections.

Look for HEVC, AV1 codec support. They are capable of delivering breathtaking image quality at much smaller bitrates than H264.

Low-Latency Delivery

Live is different.

Latency for live content is a make or break factor. No sports viewer, no gamer, no regular folks watching live streams are going to accept the lag that ruins their viewing experience.

The very best equipment is capable of delivering with minimum delay.

That is an understatement. Cheaper alternatives will make you choose between latency and quality.

How to Future-Proof Your Broadcasting Equipment

The future is now.

The technology that used to be cutting-edge five years ago is already on its way out. Future-proofing is not a suggestion, it is a requirement.

IP-Based Infrastructure

SDI is history.

The IP-based solutions are on their way to becoming the industry standard. The reason is quite obvious. IP infrastructure is much more flexible, it allows for remote production capabilities, and can be easily integrated with cloud services.

The transition to IP is already happening.

Monitoring and Analytics

If you cannot measure, you cannot improve.

The best broadcasting equipment will provide you with an in-depth analysis of the quality of the streams, viewer behaviour, and the technical performance of the equipment. The data will allow you to see the problems before they start to impact your user experience.

Real-time monitoring means instant reaction to the issues.

The only way to run a professional operation is to be able to detect and handle all problems right now.

Redundancy

Equipment will fail.

The only question is whether you have backup systems that kick in and take over as soon as something goes wrong.

That’s not an expense, that’s insurance.

The equipment failure cost during a high-profile live stream is much more significant than investing in some good backup systems.

Final Thoughts

High-quality broadcasting technology is no longer a “nice to have.” It is a basic requirement if you want to start a successful and profitable broadcasting business.

Viewers are not going to put up with less than stellar quality. Competition is so strong that you cannot risk technical malfunctions. The technology has moved on and it is time to catch up with it.

The key takeaways are:

–       Quality of your equipment has a direct effect on audience retention

–       Modern viewers have zero tolerance for buffering

–       Proper infrastructure will pay for itself over time

–       Future-proofing your solution will save you money in the long run

 

Broadcasters that understand this and those that win today know that great content deserves great delivery and great delivery does not happen without the quality equipment.

Every part of your broadcasting chain is important. From encoders to transmitters, over distribution networks to delivery, every single weak link will undermine all other components.

Investing in the right broadcasting equipment solutions is not just an investment in technology. It is also an investment in your audience, your respect for them, and your desire to deliver the experience they truly deserve.

This is the only way to win.