As it expands its premium content services to operators across the LATAM region, HBO has turned to content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions provider Broadpeak to ensure customers receive programming at high quality.

Since the content will now be streamed from a location closer to end-users, HBO believes that latency and network congestion will be reduced, resulting in higher video bit-rates, faster start times and uninterrupted viewing sessions. As HBO’s most popular content – such as Game of Thrones — can represent more than four-fifths of the video traffic, caching at the ISP level can lower CDN service costs while maximising quality of experience (QoE) for subscribers.
“We must make sure our viewers can enjoy the same high quality of service during peak consumption times. Finding a content delivery solution that can handle bandwidth fluctuations that occur due to the large number of session requests handled by the CDN as a service became imperative,” said Emilio Otermin, SVP technology and operations at HBO Latin America, explaining the company’s challenge. “Broadpeak’s local cache solution has been deployed in pilot operators’ networks to alleviate these issues. Thus far, it allows us cost savings and boosts subscriber satisfaction by ensuring flawless video service quality.”
The deal comes weeks after Broadpeak beefed up its presence in the Latin American region, appointing a new sales director for Mexico and Central America. For its part, HBO has also been active in the region, and in March 2018, targeting one of LATAM’s healthiest pay-TV markets, it launched Cinemax’s commercial offer in Peru.