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SeaWell Networks: Serving Local Content SeaWell Networks, another TV Everywhere leader, focuses on session control for local video – what Duncan Potter, the chief marketing ofcer, refers to as "worrying about what the bits look like when they actually arrive." Te company's fagship product, Spectrum, provides a video delivery control layer that runs on top of an operator's existing network infrastructure. Tis gives operators the same level of control over Internetdelivered video that they're accustomed to having with television. As Potter explains it, each session delivery controller sits at the network edge, providing a range of services to devices that request video from its area of the network. Potter says, "We believe the whole concept of managing individual sessions for individual devices is crucial to monetizing the network and ensuring delivery and security." Te most important local video service, at least in U.S. markets, is targeted ad insertion. SeaWell isn't involved with the ad selection process but rather with managing insertions on an individual session basis. Spectrum dynamically repackages the advertising – that is, it reformats each ad on the fy to deliver it in a format appropriate for the user device and the available network speed. It then adds deviceappropriate encryption (which is required for operators to obtain content at a reasonable cost) and optimizes the bufer strategy. As Potter explains, "If it's coming in on a mobile network, you want eight- to 10-second fragments to prevent having to make constant adjustments. If you have a 60-inch TV on Google Fiber, you want fragments as short as possible." Reformatting content for diferent devices is technically challenging, Potter says, even though "people believe you can put information in and a device will play it." Caching a diferent version of each piece of content for each possible protocol and each possible bit rate is feasible but klugy; a more efcient approach, which SeaWell The traditional content model is now up for grabs: Soon, operators may curate their own over-the-top channels instead of relying on cable networks to do it. uses, is to track individual sessions and reformat content dynamically. In addition, Potter says, "We do session management and quality of experience monitoring – and that makes it possible for operators to run a smooth, professional service, as if they were delivering to their own set-top boxes." Potter explains that the original technical model for targeted video advertising – namely, that each client device would identify itself to the ad decision server ("Tis is Duncan; give me an ad for him") – did not scale well. When millions of people watch the same show and an ad comes on, each device must communicate with the ad server at the same time. "Te access network would melt, the backbone would melt, there would be massive bufering, and … the next day everyone would be saying, 'I want my money back.'" SeaWell's server, which keeps track of each session, doesn't require client devices to identify themselves each time an ad is sent. POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS AND HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL One major opportunity for using targeted ads is in political campaigns. Currently, because advertising is poorly targeted, candidates waste huge amounts of money advertising to people who can't or won't vote for them. With microtargeting, campaigns can be more efective, broadcasters can increase their ad revenues and viewers can see more relevant ads. Delivering local content such as high-school sports is another reason an operator might use a session controller. Tis is especially important for Tier 2 and Tier 3 operators; local NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 | www.broadbandcommunities.com video is a major diferentiator for these companies, but typically they don't have the scale to build their own systems from the ground up. In fact, SeaWell recently announced an implementation of Spectrum with Nemont Telephone Cooperative, a rural provider based in Montana. According to Potter, some small operators now deliver local video to subscribers outside their pay-TV footprints – usually pay-TV subscribers who are traveling and want to see a local game, but potentially residents who have moved away and still follow their high-school teams. "It's not turning the world upside down," Potter admits, but with Amazon Cloud Services and a Spectrum controller, any operator can provide this service at low cost, keep customers satisfed and generate extra revenues. In the longer term, Potter says, improved delivery of multiscreen video may revolutionize the entire content model. Niche channels may be delivered only via the Internet – or may no longer exist as channels at all. Today, channels are collections of content curated by broadcast or cable networks, but over-the-top video allows for new curation options. Operators may be able to create channels that would appeal to specifc groups of their subscribers. Targeting the audience in this way could increase their advertising revenues substantially. Improved multiscreen delivery ofers yet another opportunity – providing services diferentiated by quality. Operators can use high video quality to generate additional revenues or to reduce churn, Potter says. In addition, operators will know what video quality | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 121