FREMONT, Calif. — July 29, 2021 — The Streaming Video Alliance (the Alliance), a global technical association developing solutions to address critical challenges in delivering a high-quality video experience at scale, welcomes the inaugural cohort of experts to the Alliance Fellow Program and announces the newly elected board members.
“In the years since the Alliance’s inception, there have been some truly remarkable individuals who have made very meaningful contributions to the streaming video industry and to our association. The launch of the Alliance Fellow Program provides a platform in which to honor these distinguished members of our community and encourage others to follow in their footsteps. Congratulations, Roger, Sanjay, and Brian!” said Jason Thibeault, Executive Director at the Alliance. “In addition to the inaugural class of Fellows, we are excited to welcome first-time Alliance board member Alicia Pritchett onto the Alliance leadership team. She brings a wealth of knowledge and valuable industry experience to the table.”
Alliance Launches Fellow Program and Welcomes Inaugural Honorees
Fellow awards represent lifetime recognition by the Alliance. The program honors significant contributions individuals have made to the streaming industry and Alliance efforts. Nominated fellows are reviewed by the Fellow Nominations Committee and recommended to the board for approval. Honorees are selected annually and, starting in 2022, will be announced on stage at the SEGMENTS conference.
Industry Fellows are recognized for their significant and continued contribution to the streaming video industry. This can be for developing critical technology, pioneering change in traditional broadcast, contributing to the industry’s knowledge, and more. The Alliance’s first Industry Fellow is Roger Pantos of Apple.
Pantos is the inventor of HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) and holds 66 patents. His work continues to have a profound impact on the evolution of streaming video, and he frequently speaks on HLS and technical streaming topics. “I’m absolutely honored to be chosen by the Alliance as its inaugural Industry Fellow,” said Roger Pantos, Software Engineer and HLS Technical Lead at Apple.
Technical Fellows are current or former active members of the Streaming Video Alliance who have made continued and significant contributions to working group projects and furthering the Alliance’s primary mission and objectives. The Alliance’s first Technical Fellows are Sanjay Mishra of Verizon and Brian Stevenson, Founder at OpenVU and Streaming Video Alliance Subject Matter Expert.
Mishra is an accomplished telecommunications executive and entrepreneur and holds a U.S. patent for innovative design enabling a mechanism for online ordering content such as video-on-demand with multi-view across consumer devices. He has been an active contributor to the Alliance’s Open Caching Working Group, the VR Study Group (where he is a co-chair), and has spearheaded integration between the Alliance and the IETF CDNI group. “The Streaming Video Alliance brings together some of the best minds in the industry, and I deeply appreciate being chosen as an Alliance Technical Fellow,” said Mishra.
Tech industry veteran Stevenson, founder at OpenVU, currently also serves as a subject matter expert to the Alliance. Stevenson has served in numerous capacities in the Alliance. While working for Nokia and Ericsson, he represented them as a board member. He has held several working group chair roles including Privacy and Protection, the VR Study Group, and Networking and Transport (current). In addition, Brian has contributed to, or directly authored, numerous Alliance documents, most recently the CMAF Tech Brief. “The Alliance is not just an opportunity to bring people together to further industry innovations, but also to connect to something bigger than one’s own work,” said Stevenson. “Thank you for the recognition as a Technical Fellow – I’m proud to be recognized alongside these impressive industry leaders and contributors.”
“Members of the Alliance include companies from across the streaming video ecosystem such as network operators, technology providers, service providers, and content owners. Current members are: Adobe, AfrolandTV, Agile Content, allt, Amazon, ATEME, Broadpeak, Buurst, CBC, Charter Communications, Cisco Systems, Citrix, Comcast, CommScope, Compira Labs, ContentArmor, Conviva, Datazoom, Deutsche Telekom, DidjaTV, Disney Streaming Services, Dolby, Eluvio, Equus Compute Solutions, Ericsson, EXFO, Fastly, Friend MTS, Globo, Harmonic, Hughes Satellite Systems, INKA Entworks, Intel, InterDigital, Interra Systems, Irdeto, KIOXIA, Liberty Global, Limelight Networks, Lumen Technologies, Mainstreaming, Nagra, NCTA, Neustar, Nice People at Work, NS1, NTT, Optus, Orange, Panasonic Avionics, Penthera, Plex, Qwilt, ServiceNow, Siden, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Sky, SSIMWAVE, ST Engineering iDirect, Stackpath, Starz, Streaming Global, StriveCast, Synamedia, Telefonica, Telestream, THEO, TNO, Touchstream, Unified Streaming, Varnish Software, Vecima Networks, Verimatrix, Verizon, ViacomCBS, Viasat Inc., WebKontrol, and Western Digital Corp.
The Alliance also sees participation from other brands owned by, or associated with, member companies which include Globecast, Hulu, NBCSports, Paramount, Peacock, PlutoTV, Prime Video, Twitch, Verizon Media, Viaccess-Orca, and Virgin Media.
About the Streaming Video Alliance
The Streaming Video Alliance is a global technical association addressing critical challenges in streaming video. By educating the industry on the technical nature of the issues, providing a neutral forum for collaboration across the video ecosystem, and publishing documentation that defines technical solutions, the Alliance is helping to improve the streaming video experience at scale. Over 75 companies including network operators, content rights holders, OTT platforms, service providers, and technology vendors – representing some of the biggest names in global streaming – participate in bi-weekly working group activities and quarterly face-to-face meetings. For more information, please visit www.streamingvideoalliance.org
