The shift to online streaming for live events such as concerts, sports, and television has accelerated significantly, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As audiences increasingly turn to over-the-top (OTT) streaming via their smartphones, desktops, and smart TVs, the growth in online viewership is staggering. For instance, Super Bowl LV saw a more than 65% increase in online viewers compared to 2020, while European broadcasters achieved record live streaming numbers during UEFA Euro 2020. Free ad-supported streaming channels (FAST) are also gaining traction, with new platforms like Peacock (NBCUniversal), IMDb TV (Amazon), and Pluto TV (ViacomCBS) emerging.
According to eMarketer, the outlook for digital advertising is bright: “US advertisers increased their spending on digital ads in 2020 by nearly 15 percent despite the pandemic, and growth is projected to accelerate as digital ad spending surpasses two-thirds of the US ad market.”
This landscape presents exciting opportunities for broadcasters and streaming operators utilizing Amazon Web Services (AWS) to monetize live streams and deliver personalized or region-specific ads. One effective approach is dynamic ad insertion (DAI), which allows broadcasters to integrate midroll ads during live streams. This technology enables live ad replacement, substituting traditional TV ads with digital ones during ad breaks.
By leveraging AWS Media Services, broadcasters can achieve rapid deployment of live ad replacement solutions through “manifest manipulation,” facilitating the seamless swapping of content and personalized ads for viewers. This article outlines how to establish a robust DAI solution with server-side ad insertion (SSAI) using AWS Elemental services, particularly AWS Elemental MediaTailor—a service designed for channel assembly and personalized ad integration. We will explore the architecture needed and the configuration of AWS Elemental services in conjunction with Amazon CloudFront, a content delivery network (CDN) service, to create an ad replacement architecture on AWS for linear TV channels.
Architecture Overview
Before we delve into the architecture and implementation specifics of a DAI solution on AWS, let’s briefly review traditional ad placement methods during live streams. Here are the primary revenue generation strategies for video streaming providers:
- Pre-Roll ads: Ads displayed before the live feed starts.
- Mid-Roll ads: Ads shown at designated points within the live feed; this method typically provides the most revenue potential.
- Post-Roll ads: Ads displayed at the conclusion of the live feed.
The advantage of SSAI over client-side ad insertion lies in enhancing the viewer experience, offering seamless playback similar to traditional TV, with managed transcoding of ad assets that align with program content, eliminating buffering issues. SSAI integrates advertisements into the content without interruption, allowing for personalized ads that maximize monetization opportunities and reduce ad blocking. Additionally, SSAI simplifies development at the player level, delivering a consistent experience across various internet-connected devices, including smart TVs, tablets, smartphones, and set-top boxes.
With SSAI, the video resolution and bitrate of the ads can match the live content, unlike client-side ad insertion, where ads often have inferior quality, leading to a subpar user experience. By providing targeted ads, advertising agencies can more effectively reach segmented markets, increasing revenue while minimizing wasted advertising on audiences outside the target demographics.
The diagram below illustrates the functionality of a live ad replacement system, which transitions ads from a traditional live feed to digital advertisements.
Note: For OTT distribution, replacing an entire ad break with digital ads of the same length can be challenging. Video slates are used to maintain visual continuity until the completion of the digital ad break.
In a traditional broadcast environment, ad markers are inserted at specific frames to indicate the start and duration of an ad break, usually managed at the playout level. The length of an ad break can vary based on the broadcaster and the event. AWS Elemental MediaTailor does not impose limitations on ad break duration, allowing for multiple ad pods or creatives during a single break.
Using DAI enables the full or partial replacement of ad breaks. During these breaks, markers typically utilize Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) standards (SCTE-104 for uncompressed video and SCTE-35 for compressed feeds). AWS Elemental provides substantial flexibility in handling SCTE markers; additional details on how AWS Elemental MediaLive processes SCTE messages are available here.
The following diagram represents the architecture needed to establish a dependable live DAI on AWS.
It is essential to note that MediaTailor also supports non-AWS-origin and CDN solutions, but this guide focuses on a comprehensive AWS configuration.
- Ingestion: The source can be any live feed with SCTE markers. For this guide, we will utilize a live source from AWS Elemental MediaConnect, a high-quality transport service for live video. The source is an MPEG-2 transport stream containing SCTE-35 markers and multiple components, such as audio, video, and subtitles.
- Live Transcoding: AWS Elemental MediaLive acts as a live transcoder, producing multiple video renditions. SCTE markers can either pass through from the source or be sent directly to MediaLive via an API call using the scheduling feature.
- Packaging: AWS Elemental MediaPackage is employed to reliably prepare and protect video for internet delivery, converting the stream in real-time from MediaLive into various formats, including HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and MPEG Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH).
- SSAI: MediaTailor serves as the manifest manipulator, integrating ads received from the ad decision service (ADS) into the live stream. The ADS can be any ad server for directly sold advertising and may include supply-side solutions for programmatically sold advertising downstream from the ad server.
- CDN: Amazon CloudFront is utilized as the CDN for distributing live content, although other third-party CDNs may also be employed.
- Player: A video player that supports HLS with the “EXT-X-DISCONTINUITY” tag or MPEG-DASH with multiple periods is required. MediaTailor can also support MPEG-DASH streams with single periods as origins (more details can be found here).
The subsequent illustration depicts what ad replacement looks like in side-by-side video players.
Step-by-Step Deployment
This section will guide you through the necessary steps for implementing a live ad replacement system.
For those looking for additional insights, this resource is excellent for understanding the onboarding process.
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