Interaction - Ranga Jagannath, Senior Director-Growth, Agora

How do you perceive the transformative impact of live media on the digital landscape, particularly in light of its growing market size and the increasing penetration of mobile devices and internet users?

India's internet user base boomed in 2023, surpassing 800 million for the first time. This translates to 820 million active users, signifying that over 55% of the population went online last year. Given its burgeoning market size and the ever-expanding reach of mobile devices and internet users, the transformative impact of live media on the digital landscape has become profound and multifaceted.

Live media has evolved beyond a fad, transforming into a foundational element of how we interact online.  Its immediacy and interactive features, like live chats, foster a strong sense of community and engagement among viewers.

Moreover, technological advancements further enrich the live media experience, making it an indispensable component of our digital ecosystem. With a focus on user-generated content, live media platforms offer interactive features that minimize reliance on external social media channels, thereby enhancing user engagement and creating vibrant communities around content.

As technology continues to advance and audiences increasingly crave personalized experiences, live media will continue to thrive as a vital and immersive medium for content consumption and community-building.

Could you elaborate on Agora's role in enabling users to engage audiences and drive monetization through live media? What sets Agora apart in this regard?

 Agora’s vast selection of extensions like AI noise suppression, AR facial masks, and 3D spatial audio helps enhance the interactive audio and video stream. It allows a larger audience to interact and engage with the stream via real-time chat, emoji reactions, and virtual gifting. Streaming with the lowest latency levels, without stutters, buffering, or other delays is made easy using Agora’s global network built for real-time streaming.

Continuously monitor the quality of experience (QoE) and performance to ensure end users enjoy perfectly synchronized, high-quality video and audio with seamless transitions. On the Quality of Service and Quality of Experience side of things, Agora promises a flawless user experience by promptly identifying and resolving any issues.

Can you share some noteworthy use cases of live media that showcase its effectiveness in different contexts or industries?

Live media has become increasingly prevalent across various contexts and industries due to its ability to engage audiences in real time and create immersive experiences. Its rapid adoption is fueled by advancements in technology, changes in consumer behavior, and the rise of social media platforms. Here is how RTE platforms like Agora facilitate the use of live media across industries:

• Social: Empowers users to utilize Agora’s interactive live streaming platform to engage and interact with followers through real-time audio/video. Rely on the Agora global network’s extremely low latency to support seamless experiences with no jitter or lag anywhere in the world. Social media use cases include virtual watch parties, creator platforms, and dating apps, where people connect and collaborate seamlessly.
• Media and Entertainment: Allow multiple hosts to join and interact remotely while streaming to a massive audience. Agora’s network provides the reliability and quality necessary for a premium interactive streaming event with support for unlimited global participants. In media, we have already witnessed the rise of OTT, live concerts, and sporting events. Agora helps in removing the limitations of CDNs to deliver live content in the highest quality without latency. Agora’s global edge network allows you to reach your audience worldwide, unconstrained resource-intensive points of presence (POPs).

• eCommerce: Reimagine the shopping experience with the addition of interactive video streaming. Product experts lead customers on a buying journey, exploring options, and features, and answering their questions live via video or voice. Live commerce is also transforming the online shopping experience by combining entertainment and quick purchasing. It represents a novel approach to e-commerce that blends real-time engagement with online buying, enabling e-commerce websites to deliver personalized, interactive, and real-time experiences instead of static content.  By harnessing these capabilities, e-commerce websites can enhance user engagement, build trust, and ultimately increase conversions and revenue.

• Virtual events: Selected audience members can interact with hosts in real time via video or voice. Directly invite participants into a discussion with panelists.
• Live concerts: Streaming live concerts in high-definition audio and video for huge audiences globally with ultra-low latency on Agora’s interactive video platform.

With the real-time nature of live media enabling immediate audience feedback, how does Agora facilitate content creators in understanding viewer preferences and adapting their strategies accordingly?

Agora offers several tools that help creators in this aspect. Here are a couple of examples. By accessing the raw audio and video streams, content providers and app developers can customize the experience for different categories of users thereby enabling extremely personal experiences.

Another example is to be able to moderate content using one of the 3rd-party plugins that Agora offers via the Extensions Marketplace. These are just a couple of examples of how app developers and brand custodians can leverage Agora to fit into their strategy of providing personalized content based on user preferences.

Considering the booming popularity of gaming and esports, how do you assess the impact of live media on enhancing engagement within these sectors? Are there any specific trends or developments you've observed?

The booming popularity of gaming and esports has indeed witnessed a significant impact from live media, enhancing engagement within these sectors in unprecedented ways. By enabling real-time interaction between fans, sportscasters, athletes, and influencers, live media platforms have transformed the gaming and esports experience into immersive and interactive events. Incorporating features such as live chat, podcasts, data overlays, and live auctions of merchandise adds value and excitement to the viewing experience, keeping fans engaged and connected throughout the event.

With the ongoing IPL fever, the profound impact of live media on enhancing engagement within the cricketing world has been exemplified. With millions of fans eagerly following every match, live media platforms have become indispensable for delivering immersive and interactive experiences through features like live chat, data overlays, and multiple camera angles.

Fans are empowered to engage with the game in real-time, sharing their excitement, opinions, and insights with fellow enthusiasts worldwide. Virtual Watch Parties, powered by Agora's unique network architecture, allow users to enjoy their favorite shows with loved ones from around the globe, enabling low-latency and scalable global gatherings, whether it's screening a film debut to thousands of fans or facilitating shared viewing experiences with distant relatives.

Specific trends and developments observed within gaming and esports include the rise of esports tournaments and live-streaming events, which attract millions of viewers worldwide. Additionally, the integration of AR/VR into live gaming broadcasts, offers immersive and interactive experiences, blurring the lines between virtual and real-world environments. Furthermore, the emergence of influencer-led gaming streams and collaborative gaming events has created new opportunities for fan engagement and brand partnerships within the gaming and esports sectors.

In what ways does Agora address the challenges posed by content delivery network (CDN) limitations, and how does it revolutionize audience engagement and revenue generation for content creators across diverse events?

Agora addresses the challenges posed by the content delivery network (CDN) limitations by revolutionizing audience engagement and revenue generation for content creators across diverse events through its innovative Software Defined-Real Time Network (SD-RTN™). Unlike traditional CDNs, which are optimized for delivering static or on-demand content with latency issues, Agora's SD-RTN is specifically designed for real-time video and audio streaming, ensuring ultra-low latency and high reliability.

By dynamically selecting the most efficient routes for transmitting streams of video and audio frames, Agora's network eliminates lag or freezes, optimizing for fluency even under poor network conditions. This ensures a seamless and immersive viewing experience for audiences, enhancing engagement and satisfaction.

Moreover, Agora's SD-RTN offers scalability and customization options tailored to the needs of content creators across various events. With support for over 1 million concurrent participants in a single large-channel broadcast session and the ability to quickly add server capacity as needed, Agora enables content creators to reach large audiences while maintaining optimal performance.

Additionally, Agora's network provides smart monitoring and route optimization, automatically rerouting connections in the event of a service outage to ensure uninterrupted delivery of content.

Furthermore, Agora's SD-RTN extends beyond traditional CDN services by offering specialized functionalities for interactive live audio and video streaming, enabling content creators to deliver real-time experiences synced with the live event. This is particularly valuable for events like live sports, where delays in the live stream can impact audience engagement and excitement.

By revolutionizing audience engagement and revenue generation through its real-time network, Agora empowers content creators to deliver immersive and interactive experiences that captivate audiences and drive business growth.

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