Why Large Studios Should Migrate to AWS Elemental for Live Streaming

In an era of increasing content demands and shrinking margins, even the largest studios must re-evaluate their live streaming platforms to remain competitive. Traditional broadcasting infrastructures, while reliable, are often resource-intensive and costly to maintain. AWS Elemental solutions—leveraging MediaLive, MediaConnect, MediaPackage, and CloudFront—offer a compelling alternative that reduces operational costs without compromising quality or scalability. Here’s why it’s time for large studios to make the shift.

The Economics of Legacy Infrastructure

Many large studios continue to rely on on-premises equipment or traditional service providers for live streaming. While these systems deliver high-quality streams, they come with inherent challenges:

• CapEx vs. OpEx: Traditional setups require significant upfront investment in hardware, licensing, and maintenance, which can strain budgets over time. AWS replaces this with a pay-as-you-go model, aligning costs with actual usage.
• Underutilization: Fixed infrastructure is often underutilized, especially during off-peak times. AWS's elasticity ensures you only pay for what you use, scaling up or down as needed.
• Maintenance Overheads: On-premises equipment demands ongoing maintenance, upgrades, and skilled personnel. Migrating to AWS offloads this burden, allowing teams to focus on innovation.

In PwC’s 27th Annual CEO Survey, 57% of Media & Entertainment CEOs said their current business path would no longer be viable in ten years.

How AWS Elemental Reduces Costs

1. Optimized Video Processing with MediaLive:
   AWS MediaLive eliminates the need for costly, dedicated encoding hardware by offering cloud-based real-time video processing. Its flexible pricing lets studios pay only for active streams, reducing idle capacity costs. Moreover, its automated scaling adjusts resources based on demand, ensuring cost-efficiency during spikes and lulls.

2. Efficient Content Transport with MediaConnect:
   MediaConnect replaces expensive satellite or leased fiber connections with secure, IP-based video transport. It enables reliable, low-latency streaming between production sites, AWS, and distribution endpoints at a fraction of the traditional cost.

3. Dynamic Packaging with MediaPackage:
   MediaPackage eliminates the need for separate content preparation workflows by dynamically packaging streams into formats like HLS, DASH, and CMAF. This reduces the complexity and costs associated with managing multiple formats and ensures optimal playback for diverse devices and networks.

4. Global Content Delivery with CloudFront:
   By leveraging CloudFront’s extensive network of edge locations, studios can deliver low-latency streams worldwide without investing in their own CDN infrastructure. CloudFront’s caching also reduces origin server costs by minimizing repeated data requests.

Additional Benefits for Large Studios

• Monetization Opportunities: AWS solutions integrate seamlessly with ad insertion workflows, enabling studios to maximize revenue through targeted advertising without significant additional investment.
• Enhanced Viewer Experience: Adaptive bitrate streaming, supported by MediaPackage, ensures audiences enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality playback regardless of their device or network conditions.
• Security and Compliance: Built-in DRM, encryption, and AWS's compliance certifications provide peace of mind, particularly for studios managing premium or sensitive content.

Real-World Cost Savings

Consider a large studio streaming multiple live sports events. With a traditional setup, they must maintain encoding hardware for peak loads, even if those peaks occur only a few times per month. By migrating to AWS:

• Encoding Costs: MediaLive scales encoding resources dynamically, eliminating idle hardware costs.
• Transport Costs: MediaConnect provides cost-effective IP transport, avoiding expensive satellite uplinks.
• CDN Savings: CloudFront’s global edge locations reduce bandwidth costs and improve cache efficiency.

Many AWS customers report up to 30–50% savings on operational costs after migrating their live streaming workflows, with additional savings on hardware depreciation and maintenance.

Myths About Cloud Migration for Studios

1. Cloud Can't Handle Broadcast-Grade Quality:
   AWS Elemental solutions are designed for broadcast-grade reliability, with features like redundant inputs and outputs, automated failover, and real-time monitoring.

2. Cloud Is Only for Small or Mid-Sized Businesses:
   Major studios and networks, including Discovery and Fox, have adopted AWS Elemental for their live streaming needs, demonstrating its ability to scale for the largest audiences.

3. Migration Is Too Complex:
   AWS and its Consulting Partners offer expertise and migration frameworks to simplify the transition, minimizing downtime and ensuring smooth integration with existing workflows.

Why Migrate Now?

The media landscape is evolving rapidly, with viewers expecting high-quality content delivered anywhere, anytime. Studios face increasing competition not only from other broadcasters but also from OTT platforms that are agile and cost-conscious.

“Major platforms such as AppleTV+, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Peacock, Paramount+, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ have all witnessed a considerable decline in subscribers. Approximately 25% of US subscribers have canceled at least three of these services, signaling a troubling trend for the industry."

source: https://www.filmtake.com/streaming/streaming-services-face-subscriber-exodus-amid-rising-costs-and-market-saturation/

Migrating to AWS Elemental solutions positions studios to:

• Reduce Costs: Pay only for what you use and eliminate unnecessary infrastructure.
• Scale Effortlessly: Handle spikes in viewership without over-provisioning resources.
• Innovate Faster: Focus on creating compelling content instead of managing infrastructure.

Conclusion

For large studios, migrating live streaming platforms to AWS Elemental is not just about cutting costs—it’s about building a future-proof infrastructure that aligns with the demands of modern audiences and evolving market conditions. By leveraging the combined power of MediaLive, MediaConnect, MediaPackage, and CloudFront, studios can reduce operational expenses, deliver exceptional streaming experiences, and stay ahead in a competitive landscape.

The time to migrate is now—because the cloud isn’t just a tool for cost savings; it’s a catalyst for transformation.