Live streaming has revolutionized content distribution, empowering the creator economy and expanding live sports streaming. Market competition in live streaming has driven new audience expectations for additional features, low latency, and high audiovisual quality, and with these demands come record-breaking viewer numbers. A new high of 2.76 billion hours of live content was consumed on streaming platforms in 2023—a 75% increase since 2019.
To meet growing audience demands and stay ahead of growing competition, broadcasters face two options: continually invest in their own infrastructure with costly trials of new technology, or partner with a third-party provider to provide the required infrastructure. Let’s compare the two options so you can make an informed decision for your company.
TL;DR: Situations and Solutions
| Situation | Outsource | Keep in-house |
| High initial infrastructure costs | Reduces capital expenditure | Requires significant investment and ongoing maintenance |
| Need for low-latency streaming | Access to advanced technologies | The expertise and infrastructure required are costly and complex to establish from scratch |
| Rapid scalability requirements | Scales effortlessly with demand | Scaling can be challenging and may not keep up with demand |
| Device compatibility and adaptability | Ensures broad compatibility and adaptability | Challenging to maintain across multiple devices |
| Technical expertise | Access to specialized knowledge and support | May lack in-house expertise or incur significant costs |
| Data privacy and security | Concerns over third-party data handling, but trusted providers may streamline data protection and security | Complete control over data security but requires expertise |
| Control over content and customization | Potentially less control over customization but the right provider can cover this need | Full control over content and infrastructure but expensive and rarely required |
| Unique or proprietary technology needs | Specialized needs may not be met | Can tailor infrastructure to specific needs |
High initial infrastructure costs: outsource
When the financial burden of building and maintaining a robust streaming infrastructure is too high, outsourcing can significantly reduce these expenses by eliminating the need for hefty upfront investments and ongoing maintenance costs.
Gcore Video Streaming uses best-in-class hardware like the Intel® Data Center GPU Flex 140, meaning broadcasts are powered by leading streaming technology for the best possible viewer experience. That would benefit a mid-sized sports broadcaster looking to expand its live coverage but faced with prohibitive costs in upgrading its streaming infrastructure. Outsourcing would reduce their capital expenditure and operational complexity without compromising on performance or quality.
Need for low-latency streaming: outsource
For live events where low latency is crucial, such as sports or real-time interactive content, outsourcing offers the use of cutting-edge technologies and expertise to minimize delays and enhance viewer experience.
In esports, a company using outdated technology could expect complaints about lag during live tournaments. Outsourcing could significantly reduce latency and improve the overall viewing experience. With Gcore, the company could mitigate this issue completely by broadcasting across 180+ points of presence with an average global latency of just 30 ms, keeping latency low even in rural or underdeveloped areas.
Rapid scalability requirements: outsource
Sometimes it’s possible to anticipate rapid audience growth or sudden spikes in viewership. Music festivals can expect this during live performances. Scaling to accommodate millions of simultaneous viewers without degrading performance is a serious challenge.
By outsourcing, music festivals could scale their streaming capabilities on demand, ensuring smooth delivery even during peak times. If the organizers outsourced to a pay-as-you-go platform with volume-based discounts, like Gcore Video Streaming, they would only pay for the extra bandwidth when it’s actually used, keeping costs down between and during live broadcasts.
Device compatibility and adaptability: outsource
Ensuring content is compatible across a multitude of devices and network conditions can be daunting. Outsourcing to a specialized platform guarantees that streams are optimized for various screens and bandwidths.
For example, an OTT (over-the-top) provider offering a mix of live sports, movies, and TV shows might find it challenging to maintain compatibility across different devices like smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. Each type of content and device has unique requirements for resolution, frame rate, and bitrate. Partnering with a third party would allow them to deliver adaptive streaming, providing a consistent experience across all viewer devices.
Gcore provides flawless playback via adaptive bitrate streaming for any device type and internet quality. Seamless integration options are available, including for web apps and websites, ensuring that all content, from high-speed action scenes to low-key dramas, looks great and plays smoothly regardless of the viewer’s device or connection.
Technical expertise: outsource
When the internal team lacks the necessary skills in encoding, transcoding, CDN management, and network optimization, outsourcing brings in the required expertise to manage and optimize the streaming infrastructure.
A niche content creator in online education may lack the technical know-how to manage a sophisticated streaming setup. Outsourcing to Gcore would provide access to a team of experts who handled all technical aspects tailored to e-learning industry best practices, allowing the creator to focus on content production.
Data privacy and security concerns: depends
For organizations with stringent data privacy and security requirements, maintaining in-house control ensures complete oversight over data handling and security measures. A trading firm streaming live industry news on the trading floor might opt to keep its infrastructure in-house to ensure compliance with strict data security regulations and to maintain control over sensitive information.
However, a trusted provider can often handle these complex matters. For example, Gcore offers a range of security products that can be integrated with Gcore Video Streaming at the edge to protect broadcasts.
Control over content and customization: depends
When broadcasters require full control over their content and the ability to customize their streaming infrastructure, keeping it in-house is the way to go. A state-owned broadcast organization with a diverse portfolio of content would likely prefer to keep its streaming infrastructure in-house to have complete control over customization and content delivery. They might also be required to do so by regulatory requirements.
Most companies, including enterprises, don’t require this level of control and can rely on a third-party provider that owns their own infrastructure and offers customization.
Unique or proprietary technology needs: keep in-house
Organizations with highly specific technological requirements or proprietary technology development might not find what they need with standard outsourcing services. Maintaining an in-house infrastructure allows for entirely unique streaming solutions.
For companies requiring tailored solutions, it’s worth considering whether a provider can meet those needs. Gcore offers highly customized solutions, but most streaming providers don’t.
One case where keeping infrastructure in-house makes sense is a company developing cutting-edge virtual reality content. Such a situation would require a highly customized streaming setup, and keeping streaming infrastructure in-house would allow the company to tailor its technology to this unique project. By contrast, a company needing to integrate a single proprietary AI feature could turn to a third-party provider that offers customized solutions.
Read On with a Free White Paper
If you’ve found these insights helpful and want even more, why not download our full guide to outsourced versus in-house streaming infrastructure. The white paper explains in depth the challenges facing broadcasters today, how to assess your options, and what to look for in an outsourced provider based on your business needs. We also get technical, explaining why certain hardware matters and how best to obtain it to ensure your viewers get the best possible quality streaming experience.
