Simplestream
Simplestream is a London-based B2B OTT video platform provider serving broadcasters, sports organisations, and media companies with live streaming, VOD, FAST channels, multi-DRM content protection, SSAI advertising, and cross-device app delivery built on AWS. Core products include App Platform, Media Manager, and Channel Studio.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Simplestream does
Simplestream is a London-based B2B OTT video platform provider, operating as Simplestream Ltd. with a reported headcount of 11-50 employees. The company serves broadcasters, sports organizations, content owners, news channels, children's content providers, and teleshopping networks, with primary go-to-market targeting the UK and Irish markets while supporting global infrastructure delivery. Named enterprise customers include Channel 4, Virgin Media Television, Racing TV, GB News, PBS America, BFBS TV, AMC Networks International, GAAGO (RTÉ/GAA), the Japanese Basketball League, TVSN, TBN UK, POP (Narrative Entertainment), and Digital Theatre, spanning live broadcasting, sports rights, public-sector broadcasting, military broadcasting, religious broadcasting, and teleshopping verticals.
The platform combines three core products (App Platform, Media Manager, Channel Studio) with add-on modules (HbbTV, Live Events, Migration Services, Sports Video Platform) plus the Freely sub-brand. Underlying technology is AWS-native and includes multi-format ingest (RTMP, HLS, SRT, RTP, Zixi), adaptive bitrate transcoding, multi-DRM via Intertrust (FairPlay, PlayReady, Widevine), and multi-CDN delivery (AWS CloudFront, Akamai, Fastly, Limelight, CenturyLink) with 225+ Points of Presence across 47 countries. Differentiated workflows include automated Live2VOD capture using SCTE markers, VOD2Live channel creation for FAST, and Media Flow syndication with 20+ out-of-the-box connectors. The platform meets enterprise compliance standards including PCI-DSS Level 1, HIPAA, FedRAMP Moderate, SOC 2 Type II, and ISO 27001/27017/27018/9001.
Revenue is generated through custom enterprise subscriptions on multi-year contracts, professional services for platform migration, and transaction processing through 30+ payment gateway integrations supporting SVOD, AVOD, TVOD, FAST, and freemium monetization models. Distribution is exclusively direct enterprise sales (with inside-sales qualification), supplemented by technology-integration partnerships with Bitmovin, Xperi, Globecast, Sourcepoint, Intertrust, and NPAW. The Freely endorsement provides exclusive UK free-to-air TV platform integration. The company has raised approximately $13.25M across nine funding rounds from 2011 to 2021, with investors including Beringea, QVentures, Pilat Media, Claret Capital Partners, and BOOST&Co.
Simplestream firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Simplestream
- Legal name
- Simplestream Ltd.
- Website
- https://simplestream.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Simplestream is a London-based B2B OTT video platform provider serving broadcasters, sports organisations, and media companies with live streaming, VOD, FAST channels, multi-DRM content protection, SSAI advertising, and cross-device app delivery built on AWS. Core products include App Platform, Media Manager, and Channel Studio.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Simplestream industry classification
Industry- Product category
- OTT Video Streaming Platform
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (51621), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Enterprise/Creator Video Hosting & OTT SaaS Platforms (MPACAAAL)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Ad Tech for OTT (SSAI/CSAI, Ad Decisioning, Measurement) (MPAHAJAG), Live Streaming & Low-Latency OTT Orchestration (LL-HLS, DASH, WebRTC) (MPAHAJAK), Subscriber Identity, Entitlements & Access (SSO, IAM, Paywall) (MPAHAJAB), Device & App Lifecycle Management (Build, QA, Release, A/B Testing) (MPAHAJAE)
Keywords
Where Simplestream is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Simplestream business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD): Monthly or annual subscription fees allowing unlimited content consumption. Operators manage billing patterns, free trials, and plan updates through Media Manager. Integrates with 30+ payment gateways.
- Advertising Video-on-Demand (AVOD): Free-to-consumer model monetized through pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll advertisements. Revenue generated from ad impressions (CPM). Supports both SSAI and CSAI ad insertion.
- Transactional Video-on-Demand (TVOD): Single-content purchases or rentals for premium or new content. Supports pay-per-view live events. Typically used alongside SVOD or AVOD.
- FAST Channels: Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV channels using VOD2Live technology. Revenue generated through SSAI ad insertion on linear channel streams.
- Freemium: Hybrid model offering free ad-supported access with option to upgrade to ad-free subscription. Upsell pathway from AVOD to SVOD.
- Payment Processing: Integration with 30+ payment gateways for subscription billing, one-time purchases, and coupon management. Supports multiple currencies and PCI-DSS compliance.
- Migration Services: Cost- and time-efficient migration from existing OTT platforms or video infrastructure. Professional services for onboarding and platform transition.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise OTT Plan - Custom pricing for broadcasters and large OTT platforms |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise video streaming - Custom enterprise pricing |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels7 records
Simplestream product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Simplestream provides a unified, cloud-based OTT video streaming platform that enables broadcasters, sports organisations, and content owners to deliver live and on-demand video across web, mobile, smart TV, and connected devices. The offering combines content management (Media Manager), multi-device app delivery (App Platform), online channel creation (Channel Studio), HbbTV support, monetisation (SVOD/AVOD/TVOD/FAST with SSAI), and migration services into a single broadcast-grade platform with 99.9% uptime and approximately six-week time-to-launch.
Product overview
Simplestream is an award-winning provider of next-generation TV solutions and OTT services, offering a unified platform-plus-modules architecture. The core products are App Platform (multi-device app framework), Media Manager (modular cloud-based CMS), and Channel Studio (online channel creation), supplemented by add-on modules including HbbTV, Live Events, Migration Services, Sports Video Platform, and Freely (free-to-air sub-brand). These core products are complemented by an extensive suite of 20+ integrated services spanning the entire streaming value chain: Live Streaming, VOD2Live, Live2VOD, Video Delivery, Advertising (SSAI/CSAI), Monetisation, Payments, Content Management, Content Presentation, Rights & Security, Languages & Localisation, Insights & Analytics, Engagement & Attribution, Downlinking & Encoding, Branding & Customisation, Authentication, Promotional UI, Syndication, Reliability & Scalability, and Consent Management. The platform is designed for reduced time-to-market, scalability, and enhanced monetisation opportunities, serving broadcasters, sports operators, content owners, news channels, kids content providers, and teleshopping brands.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Media Flow: Simplestream's flexible syndication solution supporting 20+ syndication connectors via MRSS, JSON and XML for automated content distribution
- Unboxed
- Beyond the Stream
- MMAuth
Products and services
- App Platform Cross-device application framework that enables broadcasters, sports operators, and content owners to deploy branded streaming apps across mobile, tablet, smart TV, and connected devices with custom branding, deep linking, white-label customisation, and consistent user experience.
- Media Manager Secure, modular cloud-based content management system (CMS) providing centralised management of video assets, metadata, categorisation, publishing windows, encoding status, syndication workflows, and multi-tenant collaboration for OTT operations.
- Channel Studio Online channel creation tool that enables broadcasters to create and manage linear streaming channels with optional ad insertion, including VOD2Live capabilities, EPG generation, looped and scheduled channel playout.
- HbbTV
Quantifiable outcome
- 98% average ad completion rate for SSAI on live streams (customer sample, June 2022)
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Simplestream
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Simplestream technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature17 records
Simplestream partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- BitmovincoreBitmovin partnered with Simplestream and Xperi to extend playback support to TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The fully integrated streaming platform combines Simplestream's content management and application framework with Bitmovin's advanced playback technology, enabling video providers to deliver consistent, high-quality streaming experiences.
- Xperi (TiVo OS)corePartnership with Xperi to support TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. Simplestream provides content management and app framework while Xperi provides the TiVo OS platform for connected TVs.
- FreelyflagshipSimplestream is the only Freely endorsed supplier, offering live streaming, catch-up, VOD, and Apps for the UK free-to-air platform. Deep integration with Freely ecosystem for UK broadcasters.
- SourcepointcoreConsent Management Platform powered by Sourcepoint, integrated into App Platform. Provides GDPR, ePrivacy, and CCPA compliant consent management for targeted advertising.
- IntertrustcoreDigital Rights Management (DRM) solutions provided by market-leading Intertrust. Vendor-agnostic multi-DRM supporting Fairplay, Playready, and Widevine.
- AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreAWS CloudFront infrastructure and cloud services. Simplestream's core infrastructure runs on AWS with PCI-DSS Level 1, HIPAA, ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 27001 compliance.
- AWS CloudFrontcorePre-integrated CDN partner. One of multiple CDN options Simplestream offers alongside Akamai, Limelight, CenturyLink, and Fastly.
- AkamaicorePre-integrated CDN partner for global content delivery. Simplestream offers CDN-agnostic approach with Akamai, AWS CloudFront, Limelight, CenturyLink, and Fastly.
- Google Ad ManagercoreAd server integration for advertising video monetization. Simplestream supports Google Ad Manager alongside FreeWheel, SpringServe, and SpotX.
- FreeWheelcoreAd server integration for video advertising. Pre-supported alongside Google Ad Manager, SpringServe, and SpotX.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Simplestream competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Brightcove: Publicly-traded OTT video platform serving broadcasters, media companies and enterprises with live streaming, VOD, monetization, and analytics. Direct competitor to Simplestream across most customer segments and product capabilities.
- Kaltura: Enterprise video platform offering live streaming, video CMS, monetization and OTT app delivery. Competes head-to-head with Simplestream in the broadcaster and enterprise segment, frequently cited in Simplestream's own comparison content.
- Amagi: Broadcast-grade OTT and FAST channel platform with cloud-based playout, ad insertion, and content preparation. Highly comparable to Simplestream, particularly in FAST channel creation (CLOUDPORT) and broadcast customer base.
- Bitmovin: Video streaming infrastructure provider specializing in player SDKs, encoding, and DRM. Partner of Simplestream for playback but also a partial competitor as broadcasters may choose Bitmovin's stack directly for OTT delivery.
- JW Player (JWP): Video player and OTT platform serving broadcasters, publishers and enterprises with live streaming, monetization and analytics. Direct competitor in the mid-market OTT SaaS segment.
- Wowza Streaming Engine (Wowza Media Systems): Streaming infrastructure software and cloud services for live and on-demand video delivery. Comparable to Simplestream's live streaming and encoding services, with overlapping broadcast and enterprise customer base.
- Muvi: End-to-end OTT platform offering video CMS, multi-screen apps, monetization and live streaming. Targets broadcasters, content owners and enterprises in a similar segment to Simplestream.
- Deltatre: Sports and media technology provider offering OTT platforms, live streaming, and digital fan experiences. Directly comparable to Simplestream's Sports Video Platform offering and broadcaster client base.
Regional players
- Red Bee Media: UK and European broadcast services company offering media management, OTT playout, and live streaming solutions. Regional competitor with strong broadcaster relationships in the same geographies as Simplestream.
- Zattoo: European TV streaming platform and OTT technology provider headquartered in Switzerland. Comparable in the European broadcaster OTT segment but with stronger DACH geographic focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Simplestream social profiles
Digital presenceSimplestream compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance14 records
Simplestream financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Simplestream leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Simplestream funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Simplestream M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Simplestream
What does Simplestream do?
Simplestream provides a unified, cloud-based OTT video streaming platform that enables broadcasters, sports organisations, and content owners to deliver live and on-demand video across web, mobile, smart TV, and connected devices. The offering combines content management (Media Manager), multi-device app delivery (App Platform), online channel creation (Channel Studio), HbbTV support, monetisation (SVOD/AVOD/TVOD/FAST with SSAI), and migration services into a single broadcast-grade platform with 99.9% uptime and approximately six-week time-to-launch.
Is Simplestream a public or private company?
Simplestream is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Simplestream founded?
Simplestream was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Simplestream based?
Simplestream is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Simplestream make money?
Seven revenue lines are on record. Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) is the primary driver. The others are advertising Video-on-Demand (AVOD), transactional Video-on-Demand (TVOD), FAST Channels, freemium, payment Processing and migration Services.
Who are Simplestream's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Brightcove, Kaltura, Amagi, Bitmovin, JW Player (JWP), Wowza Streaming Engine (Wowza Media Systems), Muvi and Deltatre. Regional players are Red Bee Media and Zattoo.
Does Simplestream have an API?
Yes. Simplestream provides API-driven services for content management, localisation, and syndication. Media Manager exposes localisation features via an API that returns language content to devices based on user settings. Search functionality is API-based and fully customisable. Syndication is supported via MRSS, JSON, API, and XML feeds. Custom connectors for syndication are available on request. EPG metadata supports JSON and API ingest formats. API access tokens are provided for secure downstream partner delivery.
What industry is Simplestream in?
Simplestream's product category is OTT Video Streaming Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAAAL, Enterprise/Creator Video Hosting & OTT SaaS Platforms, with a secondary code of MPAHAJAG, Ad Tech for OTT (SSAI/CSAI, Ad Decisioning, Measurement). Its NAICS code is 51621 and its SIC code is 7372.