GCP – Google Cloud partners fuel media and entertainment boom: Viewers reap the rewards

It’s clear that for the past decade, the media and entertainment industry has been undergoing a significant transformation. Still, consumers continue to demand more personalized and diverse entertainment offerings. To keep pace, media and entertainment companies need powerful and flexible tools that accelerate time-to-market for these new offerings, while also optimizing costs. This is where Google Cloud and its partner ecosystem comes in. By partnering with industry leaders, we’re fostering an open ecosystem that unlocks a future filled with wider content variety, personalized recommendations, and a seamless viewing experience for consumers.

Personalized discovery takes center stage with generative AI

The way consumers discover content is undergoing a massive shift. Keeping viewers engaged hinges on a delightful discovery experience. To address this challenge, the industry is embracing a wave of innovation through new AI tools and partnerships. For example, global streaming technology and entertainment company Cineverse partnered with Vionlabs, Datatonic, and Google Cloud to develop cineSearch — a conversational gen AI search and discovery tool designed to make deciding what to watch as entertaining as the entertainment itself. Users chat with Ava, a cinephile chatbot, who analyzes viewer preferences, such as mood and genre, to suggest spot-on movie recommendations and then displays links to all the streaming services where the titles are available to watch. 

Quickplay and Google Cloud joining forces to utilize next-generation AI for video streaming discovery is another noteworthy collaboration. The premium entertainment platform’s Curator Assistant, powered by Google Cloud AI, empowers curators to create dynamic storefronts with personalized recommendations. By analyzing various data points and historical performance, Curator Assistant provides intelligence to support more seamless content discovery, ultimately enhancing viewer experience.

Streamlining workflows and saving costs

Partnerships between Google Cloud and innovative companies are driving operational efficiencies and cost savings across the board. For instance, TelevisaUnivision has been able to gain real-time visibility into its video network by integrating AlvaLinks‘ Cloudrider technology with Google Cloud. As a result, the Spanish-language media company has been able to identify and address issues quickly, streamline workflows, and boost overall efficiency. 

Tape Ark migrated one of the largest tape-based sports broadcast video collections in the world to Google Cloud. This move empowers the broadcaster to unlock the value of its previously idle video content by enabling monetization opportunities. It also eliminates the need for outdated tape infrastructure, reducing costs associated with hardware maintenance, software licenses, and data center space. This project creates a massive historical archive of favorite sports moments for fans to enjoy.

Lastly, Globo, a major media company in Brazil, moved its visual effects (VFX) workflows to Google Cloud to achieve greater agility and meet sustainability goals. This project was a part of its larger initiative to migrate the entire company to the cloud. By using BeBop and HP Anyware, Globo’s editors and VFX artists can now work remotely with just a light device and an internet connection. This not only reduces employee reliance on expensive hardware, but also decreases Global’s carbon footprint. 

Scaling up for success: Streamers get speed and power

For today’s streaming services, handling massive content libraries and delivering high-quality video requires a robust and scalable foundation. Adapting to emerging technologies and changing consumer needs is a monumental challenge, but it’s possible to rapidly transform with the right technology partnerships. Case in point, TelevisaUnivision launched its giant streaming platform, ViX, in just nine months leveraging Google Cloud’s scalable infrastructure and Akta’s video workflow management solutions.

Stationhead, a popular music streaming app known for its social features, used real-time audio technology from the leading interactive video platform Phenix to power custom channels for celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Olivia Rodrigo. These channels let fans connect, listen together, and even join interactive events with their favorite artists. The secret sauce? Phenix runs on Google Cloud infrastructure, allowing Stationhead to deliver these features with ultra-low latency — and gain a competitive edge. 

Similarly, Globo partnered with Bitmovin and Google Cloud to achieve lightning-fast encoding times, reduce costs, and create exceptional video quality, even for demanding formats like 8K. This collaboration ensures a smooth viewing experience for their audience without breaking the bank.

Finally, Amagi‘s experience reflects the overall growth trend. By combining its cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and streaming TV with Google Cloud infrastructure, Amagi fueled a 30% increase in broadcast and FAST channels on the platform. This partnership is empowering broadcasters with advanced tools for content management, diverse ad formats, and insightful analytics — all while benefiting from Google Cloud’s scalability. 

Pushing the boundaries of creativity

The realm of media and entertainment isn’t limited to improving the efficiency of content consumption, and Google Cloud is also fostering innovation at the intersection of art and technology. For example, we recently collaborated with digital VFX service provider Gunpowder to support Turkish media artist Refik Anadol’s “Dataland” project. Google Cloud’s high-performance infrastructure provided the foundation for complex data caching and high-fidelity renderings, crucial elements for Anadol’s data-driven art. 

Partnerships like these highlight the exciting potential of technology to empower artists and push the boundaries of creative expression, paving the way for a future where art and technology seamlessly converge. 

These are just a few examples of how Google Cloud and its partners are transforming the media and entertainment landscape with AI. By working together, we are creating solutions that benefit both content creators and viewers. This collaborative approach is fueling innovation and growth in the industry today, ensuring exciting entertainment experiences for everyone tomorrow.