As the Australia and New Zealand streaming market continues to evolve, broadcasters, operators, and streaming platforms are facing increasing demands around performance, scalability, and monetisation. To support customers across the region we have appointed a new Vice President for ANZ, bringing deep expertise in video delivery and streaming operations.
In this interview, Carl Hurd, shares his perspective on the unique dynamics shaping the ANZ market, the challenges media companies are navigating, and the opportunities emerging through smarter, more efficient streaming technologies.
What makes the Australia and New Zealand market unique when it comes to video streaming and content delivery?
ANZ is a mature streaming market with very high consumer expectations, especially around live sports and premium content. What makes it unique is the combination of advanced digital adoption and geographic complexity, providers need to deliver broadcast-quality experiences across large distances and varied network conditions.
It’s also a highly competitive environment where global streaming platforms compete alongside strong local broadcasters and telcos, which drives both innovation and pressure on efficiency.
What are the main challenges broadcasters, platforms, and operators in ANZ are currently facing?
The biggest challenge is delivering consistently high-quality, low-latency streaming at scale, particularly during live events. Viewers now expect streaming reliability to match traditional broadcast standards.
At the same time, providers are balancing rising delivery costs with increasing pressure to improve monetisation. The industry is also becoming more operationally complex, with companies managing multi-CDN environments, personalisation, advertising workflows, and real-time analytics simultaneously.
What trends are you seeing specifically in the ANZ region?
We’re seeing strong growth in hybrid business models, particularly ad-supported streaming and FAST channels alongside subscription services. Platforms are looking for more flexible and sustainable monetisation strategies.
There’s also growing investment in low-latency streaming, AI-driven optimisation, and data analytics to improve both viewer experience and operational efficiency. Increasingly, organisations are focused not just on scale, but on smarter and more efficient streaming operations.
What opportunities do you see for companies in the region?
The biggest opportunity is combining performance optimisation with cost efficiency. Companies that improve observability, automate delivery decisions, and optimize traffic intelligently can significantly enhance both user experience and operational economics.
There’s also major upside in personalisation, from targeted advertising to tailored content experiences, which can unlock stronger engagement and monetisation without simply increasing subscription prices.
What should organizations prioritising their streaming infrastructure focus on over the next few years?
They should focus on three things: resilience, flexibility, and intelligence.
Firstly, resilience is critical because audiences have little tolerance for outages or degraded live experiences. Secondly, flexibility matters because monetisation models and delivery architectures are evolving quickly. Finally, intelligence, through real-time analytics, automation, and AI-driven optimisation, will increasingly determine who can scale efficiently while maintaining premium viewer experiences.
As streaming services across ANZ continue to evolve, broadcasters, operators, and platforms are looking for smarter ways to deliver high-quality experiences while managing growing operational complexity and costs. Broadpeak’s continued investment in the region reflects its commitment to supporting local media companies with the technologies and expertise needed to succeed in this fast-moving market.
Working with Carl, Broadpeak is strengthening their local presence and working even more closely with customers and partners across the region. Whether you’re exploring low-latency streaming, monetisation strategies, CDN optimisation, or operational efficiency, Carl is always happy to connect and discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of streaming in ANZ.
