Siddhartha Roy, Chief Operating Officer, Hungama Digital Media (India)

What's the biggest technology challenge you face in adding (or boosting) your online and/or streaming video elements?
"Data and network consistency is extremely important for a streaming service. There exist pockets within the country that have patchy network. Most of us have tried to circumvent this issue by allowing users to download content and watch it in offline mode."

Is there any one particular technology that has made a radical difference to the way you operate? What is it?
"The advent of 4G and inexpensive data plans were a game changer. The data price war in India has ensured the availability of affordable 4G data plans and led to a dramatic increase in consumption of digital entertainment, proving to be beneficial for streaming services."

What do you wish broadcast/streaming tech vendors would do (or say or offer) for you that they aren't doing now?
"It is important for a streaming service to have better visibility into its current streaming performance."

What's at the top of your tech wish list for 2019?
"Machine learning and artificial intelligence are changing the way consumers look for and sample content. Enhancing recommendation accuracy by leveraging machine learning and AI will be a priority for the industry and us as well."

Published in ContentAsia Issue Six 2019, 4 November 2019