From Backend to Big Screen: Why Discovery Now Defines Success

For more than a decade, video platforms have focused on infrastructure. Building reliable backends, ensuring stability, and securing content pipelines were the industry’s primary goals. Those investments paid off: today, audiences expect seamless delivery as standard. The battleground has shifted. As competition escalates, success requires not just a working platform, but one that wins the battle for viewer attention.

At IBC 2025, we saw several key trends in our meetings that underscored this shift:

Focus Moves From Infrastructure to Engagement

Not long ago, operators were obsessed with fundamentals: backend performance, system stability, and integrations. Those are still critical, but they’ve become table stakes. In the conversations we have with broadcasters and operators, their focus has moved on.

Today, the competitive edge lies in discovery and engagement. Platforms are racing to make the first moments on screen more intuitive, visual, and appealing. Previews, short-form highlights, and vertical video feeds were once “nice-to-have extras.” They’re quickly becoming defining features. They capture younger audiences accustomed to TikTok-style navigation and provide a faster way for viewers to decide what to watch next.

Engagement has moved from the periphery to the core. It now decides whether audiences stay subscribed, whether content is discovered, and whether platforms grow.

Beyond the Buzz: Why Streaming Needs Real AI, Not “Agentic” Vaporware

Artificial intelligence has been the dominant talking point across the industry for several years. Generative AI, “agentic” AI, and other buzzwords appear on slides and booth graphics everywhere. But there’s a critical problem: much of it isn’t real. Too many solutions exist only as prototypes or demos, not as production-ready tools.

For decision-makers, this creates noise and confusion. Every vendor says they’re “doing AI,” but too many of their solutions exist only as demos or prototypes. Only a handful are delivering at scale. And some of the most hyped concepts of 2025, such as “agentic AI” often feel like a solution in search of a problem: intriguing in theory, but with no clear use cases or customers behind them.

What streaming truly needs is proven applications that run live, add value every day, and improve both the viewer experience and business outcomes. That’s where AI earns its place in the long-term strategy of operators and broadcasters alike. That’s why there’s been such a positive response to our announcement that Sunrise in Switzerland is now live with our Preview Distillery solution, automatically creating over 100 TV Highlights clips per day to help viewers quickly find content they want to watch.

Global Signals Point to Universal Needs

We see strong interest in content discovery enhancements from Latin America as well as Europe and North America.. In markets like Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Mexico, we see the same appetite for solutions that help audiences connect with content quickly.

Another shift is who is buying. Broadcasters, operators and streaming services of all sizes are grappling with the same issues. Enriching metadata, improving visibility, and delivering discovery experiences that keep audiences engaged are universally important, no longer something that is the preserve of the global streaming giants.

What Sets the Winners Apart

Looking ahead, the platforms that succeed will be the ones that:

• Deliver intuitive discovery experiences. Previews, vertical feeds, and shorts will be central to keeping audiences engaged.
• Leverage AI responsibly. Not just as a slide in a presentation, but as a solution deployed at scale, delivering value in real time.
• Adapt to changing viewer behavior. Especially among younger generations, who expect visual, swipeable experiences that mirror the social platforms they use daily.
• Respect context and rights. Repurposing content within apps is attractive and effective, but must be done with awareness of licensing constraints.

These factors separate genuine innovation from marketing gloss. They define who will hold audience attention as competition intensifies.

Conclusion: Engagement That Works

The state of the industry is clear: backend stability is solved; discovery now defines success. AI will play a central role, but only if it moves beyond buzzwords and delivers value in production.

For Media Distillery, that’s where we see the biggest impact. Previews and enriched metadata, delivered at scale, in real time, are transforming how millions of viewers discover content every day.

The winners in streaming won’t be those shouting the loudest about AI. They’ll be the ones delivering engagement that works, keeping audiences connected from the first glance to the full-length program.