How Telcos can Win the New CDN Playbook

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Jacques Le Mancq, President and CEO of Broadpeak

Telecommunications service providers face sustained pressure to diversify revenues and protect their share of consumer spend. Streaming bundles and aggregation strategies are gaining momentum, with video now one of the strongest drivers of broadband value. Parks Associates’ State of Streaming Report shows that more than a third of broadband households bundle a streaming subscription with home internet in Q3 2025, underlining video’s strategic importance within connectivity offers. Sky’s recent “super-bundle,” which consolidates leading streaming apps into a single, attractively priced platform, highlights how operators are evolving into powerful aggregation hubs.

At the same time, global direct-to-consumer platforms continue to fuel subscription growth and generate record live event traffic, intensifying competition across the streaming ecosystem. Regardless of who owns the billing relationship, the rapid expansion of video consumption places network operators at the heart of the streaming economy. Those that rethink their CDN strategy and unlock new ways to monetise their network will secure their future in the video ecosystem of tomorrow.

A new phase for CDN strategy

Network operators are taking more control of the customer relationship through streaming bundles, but that means inheriting the hardest part of the problem: live audience peaks that keep getting larger and more frequent.  Simply adding CDN capacity isn’t enough. The market is now entering a new phase in which footprint alone is insufficient. Efficiency, cost control, sustainability and live performance increasingly define competitive advantage.

The next CDN playbook is about changing the shape of the load, not just scaling it. Open CDN models are reshaping operator strategy by enabling telco-managed infrastructure to serve third-party content providers. Moving closer to the end user improves performance while giving operators greater visibility and influence over traffic flows. This shift allows operators to participate more directly in value creation rather than remaining confined to basic connectivity. Meanwhile, hybrid delivery is quickly becoming standard practice, combining commercial CDN reach with operator-level optimisation and localised efficiency.

Operators that invest in advanced, open and performance-driven CDN capabilities can strengthen their appeal to high-volume streaming services. Coupled with groundbreaking technologies such as multicast ABR, these models are already proven to deliver measurable wins during peak live streaming events.

Tackling live audience peaks with multicast ABR

Unicast delivery was not designed for today’s mass live streaming audiences. Sending separate streams to millions of devices places heavy strain on infrastructure, increasing latency risk and driving up operating costs.

Multicast ABR (m-ABR) provides a more scalable model by distributing a single adaptive bitrate stream across IP networks to large concurrent audiences. This approach massively reduces bandwidth consumption while maintaining OTT-grade flexibility and personalisation, giving operators tighter control over network load and more predictable economics during high-profile live events. Multicast ABR has already demonstrated its value and has been deployed at global scale by leading operators including BT, Orange and TIM, delivering substantial traffic reductions and exceptional quality of experience for millions of viewers.

Successful deployment depends on close coordination between operators and content providers. Delivery networks need to be designed around  efficiency at the core. That means integrating m-ABR within existing infrastructure to position your network as the fundamental strategic backbone for premium live streaming events.

Media over QUIC (MoQ) is also gaining attention as a potential evolution in low-latency transport and real-time distribution. Although still under standardisation, it could complement multicast strategies by improving congestion control and delivery coordination, making it a technology operators should explore as part of their long-term roadmap.

Streaming at scale needs monetisation at the CDN layer

Network optimisation alone does not define the opportunity. Monetisation capabilities embedded within CDN environments are becoming increasingly important as video demand surges and advertising models grow more sophisticated. Today, the delivery layer is becoming the natural place to enable ads and enforce anti-piracy protection.

Embedding dynamic ad insertion within operator infrastructure creates new revenue streams while strengthening partnerships with streaming services seeking advanced targeting and inventory control. As advertising shifts toward personalisation and performance-based measurement, operators need to seize the opportunity to play a more active role in enabling premium inventory and differentiated viewer experiences.

Meanwhile, streaming piracy continues to place huge strain on content providers and rights holders. Millions of recent takedown notices across Europe highlight the scale of illegal live streaming and the operational burden it creates. To tackle a wide range of attacks most effectively, security must be integrated directly within delivery infrastructure. Threats increasingly target token authentication, manifests, credentials and network availability through large-scale denial-of-service attacks. Embedding protection inside the CDN layer enables authentication, traffic validation,anomaly detection and targeted interventions in real-time, limiting exposure while preserving low-latency performance. For operators carrying premium live content, robust security strengthens trust with rights holders and streaming partners while safeguarding revenue.

Energy efficiency = cost control

Maximising and protecting your revenue is only one part of the battle. Energy consumption has become a defining factor in streaming economics. Infrastructure provisioned for peak demand often remains underutilised outside major events, driving unnecessary energy use and spiraling operational costs.

What’s the alternative? Alongside higher-performance streaming software and server throughput capability, open CDN strategies and multicast-enabled delivery allow operators to leverage shared infrastructure more efficiently, reducing reliance on redundant edge caching. Mutualised network resources and optimised traffic management deliver meaningful reductions in hardware requirements and energy consumption during live events.

The financial case is clear: improving streaming efficiency lowers energy costs and reduces capital expenditure. Operators that quantify these gains can unlock significant savings while aligning with their own environmental commitments – and those of their content partners.

How telcos win the next streaming play

‘Scale at any cost’ won’t work anymore. It’s about building optimised infrastructure, embracing smarter delivery models, and taking more control over streaming monetisation. The future of video delivery will reward those who combine scale with efficiency and collaboration with control. Operators that act decisively now can secure their role as indispensable partners in the next phase of streaming growth.

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