Mediakind launches Mediakind Engage delivering extraordinary direct-to-consumer fan experiences at scale

MediaKind announces the launch of MediaKind Engage, a new end-to-end direct-to-consumer (DTC) solution for video contribution, production, streaming, and audience engagement. The solution enables sports entities, broadcasters, and content owners to make a seamless transition to operating workflows in the cloud while also expanding the reach, scale and reliability of their video streaming content to a global fan base.

Streaming is now a fundamental part of all media, particularly sports, with internet-based delivery representing the present and future of all content distribution. Almost all of the 40 sports-rights holders analyzed in MediaKind’s 2021 Sports D2C Forecast regarded DTC platforms as an essential part of their future distribution strategy for live sport and building direct touchpoints with fans. As the growth of DTC platforms increases, content owners of all sizes have an opportunity to leverage OTT technologies to establish direct fan engagement, maximize recurring revenues, and increase secondary monetization opportunities.

MediaKind Engage provides a broadcast-grade framework that meets and exceeds today’s DTC market challenges around the quality of experience, ROI, and commercialization, enabling content owners of all sizes to maximize the value of their OTT offerings. Built on a robust platform, this cloud-native technology service speeds up time-to-market and lowers setup costs for fast, efficient DTC service delivery, guaranteeing stability at scale. MediaKind Engage also offers a pricing model aligned to the revenues that content owners can achieve across subscription, transactional and ad-supported services, creating greater relevance to sponsorship and branded content.

Allen Broome, Chief Technology Officer, MediaKind, said: “Whether you are a mid-sized content owner requiring turnkey end-to-end technology capabilities, or a larger sized content owner looking for partnerships or aggregated content offerings, OTT technologies are essential to establishing meaningful, direct relationships with fans. With the launch of MediaKind Engage, we provide a rich, end-to-end direct-to-consumer solution that offers broadcast grade video quality, high scalability and stability – the core tenets of any future live and VOD streaming service, particularly in the sports space. MediaKind Engage enables all content owners to bring these services to market at low setup costs, enabling them to invest and maximize the value of their assets, with the potential to deliver sustainable long-term revenue.”

MediaKind Engage is structured around Platform and Software-as-a-Service (aaS) models, embracing modern agile and DevOps to drive feature velocity. It enables new OTT innovations to be launched with greater control, as the services are already deployed and rigorously tested with all cloud providers. The solution brings together MediaKind’s rich end-to-end portfolio and deep expertise in operating advanced video and cloud workflows and is complemented with fully integrated, best-of-breed partner solutions to meet the demands for high-volume, high-quality video and data services. MediaKind Engage comprises three MediaKind services:

Engage Production (Content acquisition and distribution): Capturing and delivering the best content sources from an event and transporting it reliably and securely to the cloud. Engage Production facilitates cloud-based production and auto-curation workflows to maximize content value while automatically managing every element from live to VOD and all associated metadata.

Engage Publishing (Channel origination and streaming): Enabling as many high-quality steaming distribution points as required while reliably reaching fans at scale wherever they are. Engage Publishing also addresses the need to regionalize and personalize the video experience.

Engage Experience (Fan engagement and client applications): Broadening the base of fans by widening access into the content via OTT streaming. Engage Experience deepens engagement with the content community through fan engagement tools while increasing value for rights-owners, sponsors, and broadcasters through personalized and ad-supported video.

Broome concluded: “MediaKind has a clear understanding of the content owner marketplace today, the various forces driving direct-to-consumer service decisions, and the necessary solutions that will enable content owners to prosper. Through our technology leadership, operational excellence, and cloud-native technology model, we provide proven competencies in OTT technologies that enable all content owners and channel originators to develop impactful direct-to-consumer offerings to their audiences. MediaKind Engage opens up new avenues for content owners to experiment with fan engagement techniques and methods of monetization while enabling consumers to curate and personalize their content experience.” Business Wire