Ep. 55: Kanaan Jemili - The Evolution of Streaming: From Technical Excellence to Customer Retention

In this insightful episode of Retention Zone, industry veteran Kanaan Jemili shares his extensive experience in the streaming industry, tracing its evolution from technical challenges to today's complex customer retention landscape. Drawing from his time at DivX and later with New Line, Jemili offers valuable perspectives on how the streaming industry has matured and the current challenges facing service providers.
The Journey from Technical Focus to Business Success
Jemili recalls his early days at DivX in San Diego, where the primary focus was on video technology innovation, particularly in HD and 4K development. After merging with Neulion, the company found itself deeply embedded in the sports and media streaming world, serving major brands like the NHL, NBA, UFC, and ESPN Europe.
"Back then things have started kind of scaling both on the pay per view subscription," Jemili notes, reflecting on the industry's growth. He emphasizes how streaming transformed content distribution from a regional to a global phenomenon: "When you broadcast one thing in one country, but when you stream there's really sometimes streaming in 180 countries."
The Evolution of Business Models
The conversation reveals how streaming business models have evolved significantly. Jemili explains the shift from single-revenue models to hybrid approaches: "The business model has started with a pure pay per view or a pure subscription or a pure kind of advertising only... the last five years we've seen a shift into combining those."
This hybrid approach allows services to create natural user journeys, starting with free ad-supported content before transitioning to subscription and pay-per-view offerings. Additionally, sponsorships have emerged as a crucial revenue stream, with brands seeking prominent placement within and around content.
Global Challenges and Opportunities
Operating a global streaming service presents unique challenges, particularly around:
Rights Management: "You have the issue of just streaming capacity... But now it comes in the GEO kind of selection of where the stream should look like."
Security Concerns: "If you're blocking a certain territory then the risk of piracy and so forth gets higher."
Quality Expectations: "The main thing is still the quality... Make sure that everyone who comes on the platform to stream, they're able to log in and to watch this stream."
The Retention Challenge
Addressing the critical issue of customer churn, Jemili identifies three key factors:
Content Engagement: "If I sign up and I don't see anything from that service that's gonna attract me more and pulls me in... people tend to drift away."
Subscription Fatigue: "There's just fatigue... So to be able to differentiate and find that subscriber who's really kind of, they see value in that service."
Pricing Pressures: "There's no methodology today that I see kind of standard in managing the pricing of these B2C services."
Sports as a Retention Strategy
Jemili emphasizes sports content's unique position in fighting churn: "The value of sports is almost not just the same and permanent but it's increasing all the time." He notes how sports engagement often starts young and grows stronger over time, making it a powerful tool for customer retention.
The accessibility of sports has also transformed: "Today the access to sports has gone through a transformation... I can anywhere in the world, even in the US you can have access to many, many sports." This increased accessibility, combined with emerging sports and formats, continues to reinforce the value of sports in media.
Looking Forward
The interview concludes with Jemili's observations about year-round engagement opportunities: "Now... you can watch your athletics or your curling or your volleyball throughout the year." This evolution from event-based to continuous engagement represents a significant opportunity for streaming services to maintain subscriber interest and reduce churn.
As the streaming industry continues to mature, the focus has clearly shifted from solving technical challenges to addressing complex business and customer retention issues. Success in this environment requires a sophisticated understanding of content strategy, pricing, and customer engagement - all while maintaining the technical excellence that makes streaming possible.