Harmonic Inc. announced a tier-1 broadcaster successfully migrated its video distribution from satellite to Harmonic's SRT-based IP solution, achieving a 68% reduction in bandwidth costs. The solution incorporates HEVC compression, software-based edge devices for customization, and remote management through DMS X and VOS360 Media SaaS. This modernization enables flexible content delivery to 150 affiliates and supports advanced features like local ad insertion and branding.
This shift validates the economic and operational superiority of IP-based primary distribution over traditional satellite for tier-1 players. By moving intelligence to the edge with software-defined processors, broadcasters gain the agility to customize content for regional markets without the high CAPEX of dedicated hardware. In a fragmented market, the ability to execute localized ad insertion and rights management via a SaaS-controlled gateway like VOS360 provides a clear path for legacy networks to compete with cloud-native streamers. Watch for further satellite transponder churn as mid-tier networks follow this cost-reduction blueprint.
Harmonic has been expanding its broadcast distribution portfolio to address the same satellite-to-IP migration trend demonstrated in this tier-1 deployment. In March 2026, Harmonic announced significant enhancements to its XOS Advanced Media Processor that lower the cost of broadcast distribution, specifically targeting the migration from C-Band satellite to Ku-Band and IP distribution. The XOS processor now supports both traditional satellite workflows and IP-based distribution using SRT or RIST, together with CDN distribution, and offers hybrid satellite and IP delivery including satellite Ku-Band downlink and RIST packet recovery over IP. Stéphane Cloirec, vice president of video appliances and software product management at Harmonic, noted that broadcasters worldwide are navigating major transformations from spectrum reallocations to next-generation television standards.
The SRT protocol itself has become the de facto transport layer for these satellite-to-IP transitions, with cloud providers building tooling around it. AWS published detailed troubleshooting guidance for SRT and Zixi with Elemental MediaConnect in February 2025, outlining best practices for operating reliable transport over public networks. The guide notes that both SRT and Zixi are built on UDP and use automatic repeat requests for retransmitting dropped packets, with configurable latency values that balance delay against packet recovery time. This operational maturity at the cloud level validates SRT as production-ready for primary distribution workflows of the type Harmonic delivered in this deployment.
MediaKind, which acquired Harmonic's video business, has integrated SRT capabilities across its platform stack. MediaKind's documentation details SRT listener source configuration for live event ingest, supporting AES-256, AES-192, and AES-128 encryption options with IP allowlisting for secure contribution. The company also documents SRT input with decode and SDI output workflows on its Beam platform, demonstrating the same receive-and-process pattern used in Harmonic's DMS X edge devices for affiliate delivery. This continuity across the combined Harmonic-MediaKind portfolio suggests that broadcasters evaluating this tier-1 migration model have a unified vendor path from contribution through edge processing to affiliate delivery.
Add StreamingMeme as a preferred source on Google to see more of our streaming news at the top of your Search results.
Add as preferred source
