Amagi, a startup trying to rethink the way TV broadcasters deliver their content, is launching in the United States.
As a TV viewer, you may not see any big issues with the current broadcast infrastructure, but Amagi says satellite delivery is expensive, time-consuming and limits a broadcaster’s ability to customize their content to different geographies.
In contrast, the startup’s Cloudport platform uses cloud infrastructure to deliver the same content. That means that as broadcasters expand globally, they don’t need any satellite or local hardware. It also allows them to create localized content and gives them a single dashboard where they can monitor all their different feeds.
Behind the scenes, Cloudport uses artificial intelligence to automate parts of the process, like detecting black frames. And it allows broadcaster to create their own on-demand streaming channels, too.
In the launch announcement, co-founder K.A. Srinivasan said the costs of traditional satellite playout are “unsustainable.”
“This model also prices out mid-sized broadcasters and content owners who want to launch their own channels,” Srinivasan said. “To navigate the environment, broadcasters and content owners need to leverage cloud technology to stay competitive.”
To be clear, Amagi offers satellite- and fiber-based delivery as well, though it emphasizes the cloud platform. It also combines different approaches, for example by using a hybrid strategy to help Dim Sum TV deliver regionalized feeds throughout South East Asia.
This also sounds like one of those “launches” that acknowledges something that’s already in-progress. Amagi was originally based in Bangalore, but it says it’s now headquartered in New York and also has an office in Los Angeles. And it’s already working with Vice Media and Turner Broadcasting — for example, Vice used the platform to launch new Viceland channel feeds in Africa, New Zealand and elsewhere.