NAB 2025: The trends propelling the video streaming industry forward

TL;DR

• AI is operationalizing the streaming workflow end-to-end. From encoding optimization and metadata enrichment to content discovery and personalization, AI is shifting from experimentation to infrastructure-level deployment
• Hybrid AVOD/SVOD models, advanced ad insertion approaches, and improved measurement frameworks are reshaping revenue architectures
• Media companies are focusing on encoding efficiency, multi-codec strategies, and workflow automation to reduce infrastructure costs without compromising quality
• Viewer experience remains the primary competitive differentiator
• Low latency, high reliability, seamless playback, and enhanced personalization are critical to audience retention at scale
• Integrated solutions across encoding, playback, analytics, and advertising are reducing operational complexity and enabling faster time-to-market

The dust has just about settled from the 2025 edition of NAB! As always, it was fantastic to see all of our customers, partners, and industry friends in Las Vegas once again and get a real sense of the trends that will shape the media and entertainment technology industry in the coming months. There’s no denying the last couple of years have been tough for the industry due to macroeconomic challenges. Consumers are reducing their spending, and at the same time, streaming services need to manage this alongside the increasing costs of creating and acquiring high-quality content while investing in technology to improve their services. 

However, throughout NAB, I found a lot to be excited about. As an industry, we will still need to face more challenging times and adapt. Here are some of the trends I noticed at the show that will help drive us forward.

AI grows up

Significant technical advancements mean that AI is no longer a buzzword; it’s powering technology that is shaping every aspect of the streaming workflow and delivering tangible results. At NAB, I saw use cases spanning content creation and distribution to personalized user experiences. Currently, every streaming service is trying to maximize the monetization potential of their platform, which is why in recent years we’ve seen so many adopt hybrid monetization models, like AVOD or FAST, to supplement their subscription business model. AI can also help increase revenue potential by providing contextual scene metadata that can be used for contextual advertising.

This is something we’ve achieved with Bitmovin’s Scene Analysis, which won a Best of Show Award at NAB, and works by leveraging market-leading AI models like Google’s Gemini & OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The AI models extract metadata from the content classified by scene, giving customers a much more granular level of content tagging and categorisation than before, which can be used to create more personalised experiences through recommendations and advertising.

Codecs and the continued pursuit of efficiency and quality

At NAB, there were advancements in existing codecs, specifically AV1, to deliver greater visual improvements and optimize streaming workflows. It’s undeniable that there’s a huge interest in AV1, but adoption has not been as quick as we anticipated. Yet, at the show, I saw an increasing number of software and hardware solutions supporting AV1 encoding and decoding. Bitmovin is an advocate of AV1, and we know it has huge potential to reduce CDN costs, reduce bandwidth consumption, and improve video quality, especially for high-resolution content like 4K and 8K. Of course, HEVC remains the dominant codec for premium content as AV1 continues to gain ground. There were continued optimizations and enhancements to HEVC encoding, especially for 4K content.

Short-form content has a long future

Short-form content is often accused of shortening attention spans, but it definitely isn’t a flash in the pan. At this year’s show, a number of tech companies showcased solutions to meet demand for short-form content. So many platforms are now optimized for vertical video and come with interactive elements and AI-powered editing tools to facilitate rapid content creation. Short-form content is optimized for mobile-first consumption, and the features that support it need to be mobile-first too. Alongside editing tools, many platforms also incorporate interactive features like quizzes and polls to boost viewer engagement and help creators build a sense of community amongst their audience.

Overall, it was a highly interesting NAB Show. AI is shaping so many of the trends and technology on the showfloor, and it was super exciting to see the number of innovations that are bringing benefits and results to real-world deployments and projects. I hope you had a successful show, and hopefully I will see you on the road soon!

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