The Challenge: Inefficient & Costly FAST Channel Infrastructure
The rise of Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels requires a highly scalable and cost-effective infrastructure to rival traditional delivery methods like DTT and Satellite. However, the standard OTT deployment model for linear channels built on pre-recorded content is inherently inefficient:
- The playout system feeds a base stream (either uncompressed or compressed) to a live transcoder.
- The transcoder then redundantly re-encodes the stream into multiple Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) profiles (different codecs, resolutions, and bitrates) for CDN delivery.
This process results in significant drawbacks:
- High Operational Cost (OPEX): Substantial computational resources and energy are consumed by continuous, redundant live encoding, leading to poor sustainability.
- High Capital Cost (CAPEX): Requires a large footprint of expensive transcoder hardware, directly hindering channel scalability and deployment speed.
- Quality Degradation: Re-encoding can introduce artifacts, compromising the quality of the original VoD master files.
The Solution: End-to-End Compressed Workflow using SCTE 223
To address the need for a scalable, energy-efficient, and sustainable solution, the myTV Super engineering and production team initiated the strategic requirement to eliminate the live transcoder entirely for the launch of new FAST channels. This framework focused on maximizing asset reuse by leveraging the platform’s existing, pre-encoded VoD ABR media files to create new linear channels.
Based on this, Skylark developed and implemented new technologies within its playout system to support this advanced, compressed-domain architecture.
The innovation integrates two key technologies, allowing the playout to remain within the compressed domain:
- Compressed MPEG-2 TS Playout: Instead of decoding the content to baseband for re-encoding, the playout system directly manipulates the compressed VoD files and re-encapsulates them into multiple MPEG-TS outputs. This technique is similar to IP splicing used in satellite delivery but is adapted for OTT ABR requirements.
- ANSI/SCTE 223 (Adaptive Transport Streams — ATS): This standard provides the generic, non-proprietary framework necessary for streaming ABR content originating from multiple Transport Streams.
Technical Implementation & Ad Integration:
The playout engine uses a compressed domain workflow, integrating Hypothetical Reference Decoder (HRD) models and utilizing the VoD files' native Keyframe Alignment (GOP structure).
Crucially, the system injects Encoder Boundary Points (EBP) into the Transport Stream based on SCTE 223, enabling the virtual segment partitioning required for ABR delivery without any re-encoding. Furthermore, to enable monetization through targeted advertising, the solution integrates the Digital Program Insertion protocol ANSI/SCTE 35. This protocol marks the commercial blocks directly in the TS, facilitating their replacement by the Digital Advertising Platform.
The Result: Sustainability, Scalability, and Enhanced Monetization
The adoption of this innovative approach fundamentally changes the economics of FAST channels offering, leading to a new, profitable business models.
- CAPEX Reduction: The elimination of Live Transcoder infrastructure for the FAST channels delivered immediate capital savings.
- High Playout Density & Sustainability: By removing redundant encoding, the solution drastically improved Operational Efficiency (OPEX), reducing energy consumption, compute cost, and unnecessary devices in the distribution chain.
- Superior Content Quality: The process preserves the integrity and original quality of the VoD master files, as no quality-loss-inducing re-encoding is necessary.
- New Revenue Stream: The significant cost reduction and the repurpose of VoD media made it economically viable to launch and monetize subscription-free, linear channels entirely through targeted advertising, maximizing revenue potential via the SCTE-35 integration.
In conclusion, new linear thematic streaming channels were successfully launched in mid 2025, reaching a new, subscription-free audience with content that is efficiently monetized via programmatic advertisement on the OTT platform. This project represents a major step forward in sustainable, scalable FAST channel deployment.
