Paying for your CDN - Is it worth it to pay to stream live

[andrewzarian]

So how are these CDNS surviving ? Stickam , Ustream and JTV have all been here for a while. I would imagine the costs are insane to keep them running.

[cseeman]

So how are these CDNS surviving ? Stickam , Ustream and JTV have all been here for a while. I would imagine the costs are insane to keep them running.

Andrew, this is a very good question. I suspect some are still searching for and revising their business model. Almost all are built on venture capital and some "angel" funding. Ustream, for example, has played with various paid models ranging from Watershed, now Ustream's own paid service, users themselves paying to eliminate ads. These companies generally don't reveal their financial situation. I suspect the venture capital is keeping them afloat.

BTW I'd also note that one of the potential ad buyers is us, content producers. My own CDN has been asking me if we'd like to buy advertising to boost the audience. This would mean running ads for our show, during other producer's shows.

There are, from what I understand, fundamental problems with the value of ad buys for online video. It's across the entire industry whether it's the repurposing of broadcast content or direct to internet live content. It's severely undervalued by the ad buyers compared to broadcast/cablecast.

BTW I think the economics of the industry is a worthy thread topic on its own. Not only from the producer but understanding the CDNs as well.

[NASNTrevor]

Use Ustream at the moment, partnered with them after some successful live broadcasts. Got them to build a custom tool to let me cue up ads during the broadcast, which has been received extremely well by viewers.

Also talking with Veetle.com, one of the best high quality live streaming sites I've come across.

[andrewzarian]

@NASNTrevor - How much does it cost per month. Or did you guys do some sort of sponsorship

[NASNTrevor]

@NASNTrevor - How much does it cost per month. Or did you guys do some sort of sponsorship

No cost, was able to convince them to enter into a rev share situation. We control ad placement during the broadcast, which makes them significantly more effective and don't have to pay any monthly rates.

[BradShoemaker]

Interesting approach. Also, I had never heard of Veetle.com until now. Looking into it.

[NASNTrevor]

Interesting approach. Also, I had never heard of Veetle.com until now. Looking into it.

It's great on the consumer side, reliable, high quality streams. Not the best platform for a lot of content, but as I'm sports focused, it's a destination for many sports fans already.