AWS for M&E Blog
AWS Elemental celebrates 10 years of innovation
Elemental Technologies was already making history in video processing when Amazon Web Services (AWS) acquired it in September 2015. Elemental pioneered accelerating live and on-demand video processing using GPU-based appliances, and in 2014 launched Elemental Delta, a video delivery platform providing next-generation TV services.
Ten years later, and supercharged by the cloud, AWS Elemental is proud to celebrate the achievements of thousands of remarkable developers, world-leading media organizations, and Partners. Leveraging AWS Elemental Media Services, our customers have done amazing things, whether it’s the first live 4K UHD stream from space, winning Technology and Engineering Emmy® Awards or smashing viewing records for the most streamed Super Bowl in history.
The Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry has undergone a radical transformation in the last few years. Today streaming has a leg up on linear television, and competition for audience engagement remains fierce. At the same time, live and on-demand video workflows are accessible for companies of all sizes, from enterprises and educational institutions to regional broadcasters and global streaming services. AWS Elemental has innovated on behalf of customers with services and capabilities to support every step of this evolution.
Over the last decade, AWS Elemental Media Services have helped deliver the largest live streaming events. Netflix seamlessly live streamed an NFL Christmas doubleheader in 2024, with 65 million United States (US) viewers tuning in for at least one minute of action. Tubi delivered the most-streamed Super Bowl in history, to a peak audience of 15.5 million, and NBCUniversal inserted personalized advertisements across 5,000 hours of Paris Olympics content on Peacock.
Still, peak viewership and hours of video delivered continue to rise.
Elemental foundations
While the award-winning portfolio of AWS Elemental Media Services is noteworthy, it is also the direct result of nearly 20 years of innovation. It began in 2006 when a trio of engineers (Sam Blackman, Jesse Rosenzweig, and Brian Lewis) established Elemental to address the growing demand for streaming video. Under the late Blackman’s leadership as CEO, Elemental built reliable on-premises solutions that became increasingly vital to broadcasters and content providers looking to reach wider audiences.
“Ten years already? The Amazon acquisition was, above all, a huge validation of the work the Elemental team had put in to become the most trusted and recognized brand in the industry. On a personal level, it redefined what ‘Think Big’ truly meant, making our wildest ideas possible. I feel immense pride seeing the AWS Elemental sign in Portland and watching the team’s continued innovation and growth. Keep up the great work and keep Sam in your hearts.” – Jesse Rosenzweig, Co-founder and CTO, Elemental Technologies
Following the AWS acquisition, the company focused on extending its core product functionality to the cloud. In 2017, AWS Elemental Media Services launched, a purpose-built suite of tools that changed the way media companies create, produce, monetize, and deliver content. Originally comprising of AWS Elemental MediaConvert, MediaLive, MediaPackage, MediaStore, and MediaTailor, the services were expanded with the release of MediaConnect in 2018.
MediaConvert processes video files to prepare high-quality on-demand content, MediaLive encodes high-quality live video for broadcast and streaming, while MediaPackage prepares and protects content. MediaStore stores and originates video assets, MediaTailor creates and monetizes personalized linear channels with dynamic ad insertion, while MediaConnect transports live video reliably and securely. Quality-defined variable bitrate (QVBR) encoding, a Technology and Engineering Emmy Award winning feature, was introduced in 2018 to help customers save on storage and distribution costs while increasing video quality.
Automated adaptive bit rate (ABR) configuration was added to MediaConvert in 2020 to pick ideal renditions for the ABR configuration of video. That same year, AWS Elemental Link was launched. Link is a device that connects a live video source to MediaLive, to make it effortless to use the cloud, and a UHD version came out the following year. The team also released AWS Cloud Digital Interface (AWS CDI), a network technology for reliably transporting uncompressed live video between applications in the cloud.
Most recently in 2024, AWS Elemental MediaLive Anywhere was introduced so customers can control live video encoding from the cloud using their own infrastructure. Media Quality-Aware Resiliency (MQAR) was also launched, as an integrated capability between AWS Elemental Media Services and Amazon CloudFront, which provides cross-region origin failover in seconds based on video quality.
Along with impactful new services, AWS Elemental has continuously innovated with new features–especially when it comes to video quality and resiliency. AWS Elemental leads the industry in developing video processing technologies, with dozens of patents and a team of experts who relentlessly work to optimize quality while reducing costs.
A decade of enabling customer innovations
AWS Elemental Media Services are foundational to powering the world’s top sports, entertainment, and streaming providers: BBC, Formula 1, FOX, NBCUniversal, Netflix, PBS, Peacock, Prime Video, Tubi, Warner Bros. Discovery, and more. In addition to delivering video to massive global audiences, AWS Elemental helps smaller customers such as houses of worship, education, local sports leagues, and enterprises stay on the cutting edge of video workflows. For example, Atmosphere streams video to restaurants, gyms, medical offices, and airports. PAOK TV delivers content to football club fans in Greece, and MasterClass boosted the quality of the VOD transcoding for their classes they offer–all powered by AWS Elemental Media Services.
AWS Elemental is celebrating a decade of milestones achieved by an amazing group of customers. While the number of incredible projects from AWS Elemental customers is vast, here are a few highlights of what our customers have achieved:
- BBC: Delivered live, UHD coverage of both Wimbledon and the UEFA Euros, including the UEFA Euro 2020 final watched by 25 million people using AWS Elemental Live.
- Formula 1: Built their F1 TV Premium streaming service using AWS Elemental Media Services where fans can fully immerse themselves in racing. Viewers watch every F1 Grand Prix, F1 Sprint, qualifying and practice session live in 4K Ultra HD/HDR, while being able to customize the viewing experience—including access to unique camera angles.
- FOX: Delivered broadcast-quality streaming to more than 24 million unique viewers for Super Bowl LIX, while maintaining the lowest possible latency with AWS Elemental MediaLive.
- NBCUniversal and Peacock: Offered more than 5,000 hours of live coverage during the 2024 Paris Olympics with personalized ads inserted by MediaTailor. Overall, viewers streamed 23.5 billion minutes of video, up 40% from all previous Olympics combined.
- Netflix: Power their live event streaming with AWS Elemental MediaConnect and MediaLive to deliver optimized experiences to subscribers.
“When we began thinking through our approach for Live three years ago, great quality on as many devices as possible, without interruptions, was at the center of the viewing experience we wanted to create for our members. Our cloud-based approach for Live Encoding allowed for dynamic scaling, flexibility, and ease of integration across a range of Live events. We created our solution using AWS Elemental MediaConnect to acquire feeds in the cloud and AWS Elemental MediaLive to transcode them into various video quality levels, and we’re energized by the progress we’ve made in building an experience millions of viewers enjoy.” – Flavio Ribeiro, Senior Engineering Manager, Live Encoding Technologies, Netflix
- PBS: Modernized its VOD workflow with AWS Elemental MediaConvert and delivers nearly all of its video streaming through Amazon CloudFront. PBS averages more than 70 PB of content delivered monthly while enabling member stations to stream local content to viewers.
- Prime Video: Uses AWS Elemental Media Services to architect live video for high resiliency for live encoding, packaging, and ad insertion for all live events including Thursday Night Football, FAST, and linear channels.
- Warner Bros. Discovery: Streamed 1.3 billion minutes of content to 175 million viewers for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 using AWS Elemental Media Services.
Partner collaboration
AWS Elemental has validated software, hardware, and services available from more than 300 AWS Partners. These include Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and resellers that maintain high technical standards and meet best practices. These partners include Amagi, Arc XP, Big Blue Marble, Deltatre, Frequency, Hydrolix, Merapar, M2A Media, Nomad Media, TrackIt, and many others.
“Arc XP and AWS Elemental have grown up together over the past decade, transforming technology that once lived in massive server rooms into the backbone of our SaaS Media Platform. Together, we’ve helped reimagine and modernize broadcast media workflows as the industry diversifies into new formats and modalities. At IBC, where the future of media takes shape, we’re especially excited about what’s ahead: combining the innovation of Elemental with generative AI and hyper-personalization to help media companies deliver richer, more immersive digital experiences to audiences everywhere. Congratulations to the Elemental team for their amazing work across the industry—and here’s to the next decade of innovation together.” – Joe Croney, Chief Technology Officer, Arc XP
“Congratulations to AWS Elemental on 10 years. We’ve been technology partners since the early Elemental days through your journey with AWS and have counted on your support all along the way. It’s been an incredible experience, and we’re excited for what’s ahead.” – Krzysztof Bartkowski, CEO and Co-founder, Big Blue Marble
“Whether it’s a global live event or a VOD stream, delivering broadcast-level quality of experience and personalized ads is essential to hit revenue goals and meet viewer expectations. Our solution combines data from AWS Elemental MediaLive, MediaPackage, and MediaTailor with CDN logs and end-user telemetry during ingestion, no matter the scale, so our customers can find and fix issues before viewers are impacted. We look forward to another decade of innovation with AWS Elemental, continuing our goals to make viewers happy and streams profitable.” – Marty Kagan, Co-founder and CEO, Hydrolix
Focusing on the future
Customers continue to transition to cloud-based media processing with AWS Elemental and build personalized streaming experiences, maximize revenue potential, and deliver the highest quality video for the world’s largest events. They are also evaluating generative AI solutions to reduce costs, enhance audience engagement, increase global reach, and drive revenue growth.
AWS Elemental is prepared to help navigate these changes so customers can build sustainable and profitable operations.
As part of the ten-year anniversary celebration, AWS will showcase a timeline of Elemental history at IBC2025. AWS Elemental experts will also be on hand to answer questions in the Builder zone. Visit us in Amsterdam from September 12-15 at the AWS Stand (5.C90) in the RAI to meet with AWS Elemental experts, and find out more by visiting the AWS Elemental 10 year anniversary page.
Learn more about AWS at IBC2025.