From 12–15 September at IBC2025 in Amsterdam (Stand 5.H54), Scalstrm will be showcasing how operators can scale smarter, monetize better, and cut costs without compromising quality.
We’ll be focusing on three key areas:
- Event-Based Video Processing → deliver broadcast quality only when it’s needed, reducing cost while maintaining reliability.
- Ad-Funded Business Models → personalized ad-insertion at scale, unlocking higher fill rates and better targeting without latency.
- Smarter Infrastructure & Cost Savings → a microservices platform designed for real-time scaling, seamless workflows, and sustainable efficiency.
Because the reality is clear: static infrastructure can’t keep up with today’s streaming demands.
From Static to Smart: Rethinking the Old Model
Last year, during a major football match, millions of viewers saw the same problem repeat itself: streams froze, crashed, and failed at the moments that mattered most.
It wasn’t for lack of effort. The issue is structural. Most operators are still relying on static, over-provisioned infrastructure, built to cover hypothetical peaks, leaving expensive capacity sitting idle most of the year.
It worked in a simpler time. But in today’s world of unpredictable spikes, breaking news, and FAST-driven channels, static infrastructure is becoming financially unsustainable and operationally fragile.
Consider these numbers – a typical FAST or AVOD channel runs at a steady baseline, but live sport can generate peaks 10–15x higher than average. For example, the 2022 FIFA World Cup final drew 1.5 billion viewers globally, and individual streaming platforms reported traffic spikes several times above normal load.
Election nights or breaking news can double or triple traffic within minutes. CNN has reported 2–3x jumps in concurrent streaming audiences during major political announcements.
The takeaway: these peaks aren’t exceptions, they’re the new normal.
Scaling Smarter in Real Time
What if scaling worked with you, not against you?
Scalstrm’s elastic, software-based platform scales up instantly when demand surges and scales down just as quickly when it doesn’t. No panic. No wasted spend. No babysitting infrastructure at 3 a.m.
Think about election night. One minute, viewership is steady. The next, breaking results drive a massive spike. Traditional systems strain under the load. Scalstrm’s infrastructure handles it seamlessly.
The same applies to live sports, streaming news, or ad-funded entertainment: when the audience shows up, your platform is ready. When they don’t, you’re not paying for capacity that sits unused.
Purpose-Built vs. One-Size-Fits-All
The streaming industry has outgrown the software models it was built on. Most legacy solutions were designed to be generalist, engineered for broad applicability rather than the unique demands of large-scale, high-variance video delivery. The result? Bloated compute consumption, idle storage, and fragile performance when audiences spike.
A different approach is needed. Purpose-built platforms start from a clean slate, tuned specifically for the economics and dynamics of video. That means:
- Workloads that expand and contract with actual demand, instead of burning energy to cover hypothetical peaks.
- Processing pipelines where individual functions scale independently, eliminating bottlenecks before they cascade into outages.
- Intelligence embedded at the architecture level, so optimizations activate only when streaming is active.
This isn’t just about saving money, it’s about resilience. In an environment where a FAST channel can suddenly multiply its audience tenfold, or where an election broadcast can double traffic in minutes, software designed for yesterday’s TV simply cannot keep pace.
The conclusion – the future belongs to purpose-built infrastructure – leaner, smarter, and architected for the volatility of modern streaming.
Smarter Infrastructure. Better Outcomes.
We know many operators are still tied to systems and contracts that no longer reflect how media is consumed. That means high costs, underutilized resources, and constant firefighting. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.
With Scalstrm, you get:
- Real-Time Scaling = Real Savings → pay only for capacity when you need it
- Performance Without Panic → handle surges without over-engineering
- More Focus, Less Firefighting → free your teams to create better experiences, not babysit servers
And the best part? You don’t need to start from scratch. Scalstrm integrates with existing workflows, targeting bottlenecks instead of forcing a full rebuild. It’s modernization that works with your setup, not against it.
Moving Forward with Confidence
Audiences already expect seamless, buffer-free experiences. Advertisers already demand precise targeting and flexibility. The industry is moving quickly — but with the right infrastructure, operators can move just as fast.
Static infrastructure had its time. Today, there’s a smarter path forward: infrastructure that adapts, scales dynamically, and pays off where it matters most, for your business and your customers.
Meet Us at IBC2025
We’ll be in Amsterdam, 12–15 September, Stand 5.H54, ready to showcase how Scalstrm is helping operators scale smarter, monetize better, and run leaner.
