Yahoo Edgecast, Session-Based Playback
Launching DVR-like playback controls for enterprise live streaming without the infrastructure overhead
Outcome
$5M in enterprise renewals retained, engagement up 35%, storage 18% below projected DVR spend.
The Challenge
Live viewers expected pause, rewind and catch-up. Our platform offered none, and competitors had shipped the controls. Building persistent DVR would have added substantial infrastructure cost. I needed to give viewers playback within a live session and protect renewals.
Key Decisions
Put retention risk on the roadmap
I showed leadership that every month without playback controls exposed renewals to churn. That got the work executive sponsorship and cleared competing priorities from the roadmap.
Use session-level caching
I proposed a caching model that gave viewers playback controls during their active session. Cached segments expired naturally, avoiding the cost of persistent DVR storage.
Make caching and player decisions together
CDN architecture and player UX had been planned separately, and the caching design would have broken seeking under load. I brought engineering, UX and business owners into the same decisions and tied technical tradeoffs to renewal risk.
Add geoblocking and multi-CDN delivery
I included EU-compliant content controls and multi-CDN optimization in the playback initiative, closing compliance and delivery gaps in the same release.
The product decision
Give viewers control without keeping every stream forever.
01 Customer need
Live viewers expected pause, rewind and catch-up.
They had none of those controls, while competitors already offered them. Persistent DVR could close the gap, but it would keep recorded video in storage.
02 The tradeoff
Keep playback inside the live session.
Session-level caching gave viewers pause, rewind and replay while they were watching. When the session ended, cached segments expired instead of becoming a permanent DVR archive.
03 What changed
Playback shipped without the projected DVR storage bill.
Engagement rose 35% within months. Cloud storage costs came in 18% below projected DVR spend.
The gap
Competitors had shipped the controls viewers expected.
What I Delivered
Session-based playback
Launched pause, rewind and replay for viewers during a live session, using cached segments instead of persistent DVR storage.
Multi-CDN optimization
Distributed traffic across CDN providers to improve reliability and reduce single-provider risk during peak load.
EU-compliant geoblocking
Added controls to restrict geo-sensitive content under European requirements.
Caching architecture
Built the session-caching pipeline to handle high-concurrency live events while keeping storage costs predictable.
Outcomes
Engagement rose 35% within months. Cloud storage costs were 18% below projected DVR spend, and multi-CDN work cut delivery timelines by 50%. Playback controls helped retain $5M in enterprise renewals through two ownership changes; Disney and Discovery renewed against a roadmap built around viewer retention.