Before we close the book on 2022, it’s instructive to take one more gaze back on a year full of generational significance, both for our industry and our company itself.
By The Numbers
The numbers have continued to trend upward in a rapidly changing and increasingly crowded media landscape, yet recent statistics signal a shift in the market. An examination of OTT trends shows that while both ad-supported streaming services (AVOD) and Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) grew from 2020-2022, the number of American households using AVOD grew faster - 29% - compared to the 21% increase in the SVOD market, according to a Comscore report released last year.
Meanwhile, the reach of CTV, or TV connected to or through the internet, continues to expand, with 87% of U.S. households having at least one CTV device and 46% of all adults watching video daily on such a device, according to recent Leichtman Research Group findings (both jumps from our reporting in 2021).
Globally, the evolution of 5G has become a reality with countless live deployments in multiple countries. According to PwC, Telecom players will invest up to $57B in the next four years, and subscriptions are expected to surpass 2B over this same time period in the dash to utilize this game-changing technology.
More Than Trends
More SaaS players are applying the concept of agile monetization in a recognized shift toward subscriber retention as a critical driver of business scalability and a catalyst for growth. Meanwhile, the evolution of live sports viewing worldwide took a massive step forward, with sports organizations big and small embracing the OTT and live streaming methods.
As a company, Evergent was proud to oversee a veritable cavalcade of milestone events in 2022. These ranged from new customer engagements, including Shahid, the NBA, SonyLIV Service, Aha, and OSC Korea, to strategic partnerships launched with Brightcove, KOCOWA, and XroadMedia and the inclusion of our offerings in online marketplaces of AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Square. It’s no wonder this year marked Evergent’s brand update signifying a better alignment with our business objectives.
Welcomed Returns
Last year’s return to in-person industry events allowed us to once again enlist our team of experts for face-to-face meet-and-greets at more than 20 worldwide shows and events, including IBC in Amsterdam, Sportel in Monaco, NAB in New York, Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, CES, StreamTV and Broadcast Asia.
And, as the world re-opened last year with the long-awaited return of office workforces across the globe, our focus at Evergent remained firmly trained inward on our most valued internal asset - our people. We enhanced our professional development initiatives, ensured a safe working environment from the moment of entry for returning employees, and consciously invested in the physical, emotional, and recreational health of our Evergent family. Online training applications were upgraded with additional professional and life skill offerings. We greeted our people with a well-stocked library full of technical books, materials, and e-learning resources. These and other efforts reinforced our organization’s ability to grow our workforce by nearly 25% in 2022 - often through employee referrals. Further, incorporating in-office visits as part of an adaptive hiring process enhanced this growth trend.
Evergent’s healthy balance of work and play featured an expanded in-office recreation zone and family-infused, festive celebrations capped by the long-awaited return at the end of the year of the company’s imaginative and effusive Annual Gala.
Let’s hope that 2023 is as exciting and action-packed as the one we just completed.
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