Industry: Media and Entertainment

Software development for media and entertainment

Streaming and media software that plays on every screen and pays the right people. We build video pipelines, OTT apps, ad insertion and rights systems that hold up on launch night, with DRM, captions and privacy handled from the first release. Senior engineers own the architecture, AI coding agents carry the volume, and every line is reviewed by a human.

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Key highlights

We build OTT apps, encoding and packaging pipelines, CMS and metadata tools, ad insertion and rights systems for broadcasters, streamers and publishers.
Video is packaged once as CMAF and delivered over HLS and MPEG-DASH, with Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady through a multi DRM provider.
Ads are stitched server side from VAST and VMAP responses, so they play reliably on smart TVs and are harder for ad blockers to strip.
Rights windows, territories and devices are enforced at playback, so you only stream what your licences allow.
A focused first release, such as a web and mobile OTT app on an existing catalogue, usually ships in 10 to 14 weeks.

Industry challenges we solve

Media businesses run on catalogue, audience and rights. The technology usually grew one deal and one device at a time, and now every new launch exposes the joins.

One app per device, all slightly different. Web, iOS, Android, Roku, Fire TV, Tizen and webOS apps were built by different vendors, so features ship months apart and bugs are fixed five times.

Encoding costs that grow with the catalogue. Every title is encoded into separate ladders for each format and DRM, storage and egress bills climb, and nobody is sure which renditions are still played.

Rights tracked in spreadsheets. Licence windows, territories, holdbacks and device rights live in contracts and spreadsheets, so titles go live in the wrong country or stay up after a licence expires.

Ads that break playback. Client side ad SDKs fail on smart TVs, buffer between ad and content, and lose impressions to ad blockers, while advertisers dispute the delivery numbers.

Royalty statements nobody can verify. Usage data from platforms and partners arrives in different formats, and calculating what each rights holder is owed takes weeks of manual reconciliation.

Launch nights that take the service down. A premiere or live event drives a spike in sign ups and concurrent streams, and the login, entitlement or payment service fails before the CDN does.

Capabilities

Our media and entertainment software capabilities

We build the workflow from ingest to playback to payout, and integrate the specialist vendors you already use at each step.

OTT and streaming apps

Web, iOS, Android and connected TV apps for Roku, Fire TV, Android TV, tvOS, Tizen and webOS, sharing one backend for catalogue, entitlements, profiles and playback, with player analytics built in.

Video pipelines

Ingest, transcoding and packaging with FFmpeg or AWS Elemental MediaConvert, per title encoding ladders, CMAF packaging for HLS and MPEG-DASH, and live workflows with low latency options.

DRM and content protection

Multi DRM with Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady through providers such as EZDRM, BuyDRM or Axinom, plus token authentication, concurrent stream limits and forensic watermarking integration.

CMS and metadata

Content and asset management for titles, seasons, artwork, trailers and localisation, with editorial scheduling, rails and personalisation, and feeds to partners and platform stores.

Ad tech and SSAI

Server side ad insertion with AWS Elemental MediaTailor or Google Ad Manager DAI, VAST 4 and VMAP integration, SCTE-35 markers for live, and Open Measurement for verification.

Rights, royalties and subscriptions

Rights and avails management with window and territory enforcement, royalty calculation from usage data including DDEX feeds for music, and subscription billing across web, App Store and Google Play.

How we deliver

From one screen to every screen

01
Content and platform audit
We map the catalogue, rights data, video workflow, apps and vendors, and where cost and failures concentrate. Output: a target architecture and a ranked roadmap.
02
Launch the core
Backend, pipeline and the first apps, usually web and mobile, built on the shared platform and load tested against your expected launch traffic.
03
Add screens and revenue
Connected TV apps, SSAI, subscription tiers and partner feeds are added on the same backend, without rebuilding the core.
04
Optimise and hand over
Encoding ladders, CDN costs and conversion are tuned on real viewing data, and your team is trained to run releases and live events.

Compliance and security considerations

Media platforms answer to studios and rights holders on content security, and to regulators on children's privacy and accessibility. We design for both.

Studio content security requirements Multi DRM COPPA (US) UK Age Appropriate Design Code GDPR and UK GDPR CCPA and CPRA FCC caption rules and CVAA European Accessibility Act WCAG 2.2 AA PCI DSS for subscriptions

Content stays protected end to end. Hardware backed DRM levels, HDCP output rules, token authenticated delivery and concurrent stream limits are configured per title and per licence, so you can meet the content security terms in your studio and distributor agreements.

Children's privacy is designed in. Services aimed at or used by children get COPPA verifiable parental consent flows in the US, high privacy defaults under the UK Age Appropriate Design Code, and contextual rather than behavioural advertising where required.

Captions and accessibility are standard. Players support WebVTT, TTML and IMSC captions, CEA-608 and 708 passthrough for live, audio description tracks and accessible controls. This supports FCC IP captioning rules under the CVAA, the European Accessibility Act and WCAG 2.2 AA.

Tech stack we use for media and entertainment

Industry standard formats and DRM, cloud media services where they save time, and custom code where your workflow is different.

HLS, MPEG-DASH and CMAF Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady FFmpeg AWS Elemental MediaConvert and MediaTailor Shaka Player, hls.js and ExoPlayer VAST 4, VMAP and SCTE-35 React, Next.js and Lightning JS Swift, Kotlin and BrightScript Node.js and Go services CloudFront, Akamai and Fastly Stripe and app store billing PostgreSQL and Elasticsearch

FAQ

Common questions

Can you build OTT apps for smart TVs as well as mobile and web?

Yes. We build apps for web, iOS, Android, Android TV, Fire TV, tvOS, Roku, Samsung Tizen and LG webOS on one shared backend. Where it makes sense we share code across TV platforms, and we handle store submission and certification for each.

Which DRM do we need?

Usually all three: Widevine for Android, Chrome and many TVs, FairPlay for Apple devices and Safari, and PlayReady for Windows, Xbox and many smart TVs. We package once as CMAF with common encryption and use a multi DRM provider so one licence workflow covers every device.

What is SSAI and do we need it?

SSAI stitches ads into the video stream on the server, so the player sees one continuous stream. It plays more smoothly on TVs, is harder to block and works for live. Client side ads can still be right for some web only services, and we advise on that during the audit.

Can you enforce licensing windows and territories automatically?

Yes. Rights are stored as structured windows by territory, device and offer type, and the entitlement service checks them at playback and at publishing. Titles go live and come down on schedule, and geo restrictions are applied at the CDN and API.

How long does an OTT platform take to launch?

Usually 10 to 14 weeks for a first release on web and mobile with an existing catalogue. That covers the pipeline, CMS, DRM, subscriptions and apps. Connected TV apps and SSAI typically follow in a second phase.

Who owns the code and the viewer data?

You do. Every engagement includes full IP assignment and an NDA, the code lives in your repositories, and content and viewer data stay in your own cloud accounts.

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