Where the streaming tech industry goes wrong

Written By Streemfire Staff

I went to IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) in Amsterdam to test the hypothesis behind Streemfire and to check feasibility. What I saw only confirmed my view. Many vendors are running in the wrong direction.

The default message on the floor was one-size-fits-all distribution with a pinch of AI. The same tools were pitched for movies, cartoons, football, and cooking. Most of these products will be commoditized on the open internet very soon, either by platforms such as YouTube or by do-it-yourself solutions using services like Cursor.

Streemfire believes that to compete in content distribution you have to cater to hyper-niches with both content and technology.

Take FAST, free, ad-supported television. In the last two years, everyone jumped on this train. It is a distribution format OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) control, and it will end up crowded with inauthentic content. Niche communities like hunters or cyclists will not scroll through hundreds of channels hoping to find what they like. You have to reach them directly. Done right, this creates a real community. On Streemfire’s Duck Hunting TV channel, we see continuous engagement of 85 minutes per visit.

AI is a similar story. Many companies added features just to stay relevant. Two features keep coming up: AI to improve image quality and AI to automate tasks like ad placement. These are nice to have, and they are easy to replicate in a YouTube player or with an OpenAI script.

Our focus is on automating specialized distribution with AI by building the data that matters to each community: different outdoor conditions when hunting, which cycling brands win during events. This information is valuable to communities, sponsors, and manufacturers, and it is often overlooked by the winners of consolidation. That gives Streemfire an edge in growing our network and becoming the dominant provider in each niche.

We are raising a £350,000 pre-seed round. Book an appointment if you want to learn more or simply chat about where this is going.

++

Investor Newsletter

++

CEO Corner

++ Investor Newsletter ++ CEO Corner

Bonus:

Here are the technologies and protocols from IBC that I think will make a big impact quickly:

  • SSAI, server-side ad insertion. If you meant SGAI, consider clarifying the term so readers recognize it immediately.

  • H.265, also known as HEVC. This is a video compression codec that reduces bitrate for similar quality. It is not a streaming protocol.

  • Satellite and SRT used together for contribution and transport. This mix keeps getting better and is worth watching.

Streemfire Staff