How true, synchronized live OTT can change the second screen and social TV game

The shift to multiscreen TV “broke” the social and interactive elements of television viewing. It was thought that through companion and messaging apps the social aspect of TV viewing could be revived. Unfortunately, the delay in delivering Over The Top (OTT) content to different devices and lack of synchronization between the primary screen and secondary screens quickly became an issue. The second screen has become a frustration rather than an enhanced social experience. For example, second screen users being informed of who scored a touchdown in a football game and how before it happens on their screen means viewers of live OTT events are forced to log out of social media and messaging platforms. They risk hearing about what is unfolding on someone else's screen before it happens on theirs. This is only part of the problem. There is also little opportunity for real-time social messaging, viewer engagement and shared experiences when audiences are watching the same content on different screens and devices with a time delay ranging from tens of seconds to several minutes. To bring the social element back to live TV viewing, OTT's issue of synchronizing content delivery across all devices and harmonizing this with live linear broadcasts needs to be addressed. This paper outlines the technical challenges in distributing true live OTT over today's Content Delivery Network (CDN) platforms, and why their limitations in streaming live content breaks real-time social interactivity. It further describes a software-based OTT distribution solution that is optimized for distribution of live content with low and synchronized OTT delivery, and further outlines the technical differences with today's HTTP-based streaming solutions. The last section of the paper provides examples of real-time social and audience engagement, and what this means for the entire media ecosystem.