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I just launched Streaming Monetization 101, a 50+ lesson, roughly seven-hour course created in partnership with the Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA). It’s available now through SVTA University for $399.
The course provides new hires in streaming services and the companies that support them with a comprehensive, real-world understanding of how platforms generate and grow revenue. It covers the business models, technologies, and execution strategies that drive monetization in SVOD, AVOD, FAST, vMVPD, and hybrid services. It’s built for product managers, marketers, content strategists, ad ops teams, and anyone else who needs to understand how the entire monetization engine fits together.
In under seven hours, learners gain practical, actionable knowledge they can apply immediately. Here’s some of what’s inside:
- How to attract and retain subscribers through pricing, bundling, and churn reduction
- Why content strategy changes depending on your revenue model, and how to plan accordingly
- The core ad tech platforms, deal types, and metrics every team should understand
- What privacy laws and identity frameworks mean for targeting, measurement, and personalization
- What it takes to deliver video reliably and securely at scale, both live and on demand
- How to drive content discovery, recommendations, and perceived value across devices
It’s built to accelerate time to competency across product, ad tech, marketing, sales, and content teams.
Q1: What problem does this course solve that you kept seeing in the field?
The problem I see is that new hires in streaming often enter with little or no domain knowledge, yet they’re expected to contribute almost immediately. Unfortunately, the industry is complex. To make meaningful contributions, they need a baseline understanding of multiple areas, including business models, content strategy, ad tech, privacy, infrastructure, and more.
Most companies don’t have structured programs to teach that. So new hires spend months piecing it together, asking disconnected questions, or getting lost in siloed documentation. This course is designed to accelerate all of that. In under a day, it gives them the industry and technical context they need to start thinking like a streaming professional.
Q2? Who is this course built for—and who isn’t it for?
This course is for new employees working in business-facing roles at streaming platforms or the companies that support them. That includes product managers, content programmers, marketers, ad ops teams, partner managers, and anyone else expected to make decisions that touch revenue.
It’s not a technical deep dive. It’s built to give entry-level professionals a baseline understanding of the technologies, regulations, and business dynamics that shape how streaming works. A marketing associate can’t build a subscriber strategy without understanding privacy regulations. A content coordinator can’t evaluate a new license without knowing how SVOD, AVOD, and FAST models impact value, or how accessibility and localization requirements impact global marketability. A product manager can’t prioritize features without knowing how personalization affects churn or ad yield.
This course doesn’t train specialists. It gives generalists the fluency they need to contribute, ask smarter questions, and collaborate across teams from day one.
Q3: How is this course different from traditional training or vendor-led sessions?
Let’s face it, most traditional or vendor-led sessions are either sales training for their product or technical training for how to implement it. They’re usually informal, siloed, and backward-facing, with little structure and no way to check for comprehension. There are no quizzes, no progression, and no attempt to build foundational, cross-functional knowledge.
They’re not designed to build general industry knowledge, because vendors often don’t have that expertise, and most teams don’t consider it essential for onboarding.
This course fills that gap. It’s not about how to use a tool or platform. It’s about how streaming works at a strategic level, across business models, technology ecosystems, regulatory pressure, and competitive dynamics. When new hires understand that bigger picture, they ramp faster and contribute more meaningfully from day one.
Q4: What do you hope learners can do after taking the course?
After taking the course, learners will be able to contribute more significantly because their suggestions and recommendations are grounded in real industry products, services, ecosystems, and technologies. Their input will make sense within the broader context of how the industry operates today. Without that foundation, new hires are limited to siloed contributions based only on what’s directly in front of them.
They’ll also be more effective in customer-facing roles because they’ll speak the language and understand the market forces behind their customers’ questions and concerns.
And just as important, they’ll be better teammates. They’ll understand the roles their colleagues play, the technologies they rely on, and the competitive pressures they’re working under. This helps them contribute more confidently in cross-functional settings.
Q5: You’re known as an encoding expert. Why should someone trust you to teach monetization, content, and ad tech?
I think I’m known for two things: encoding expertise and being a credible journalist. A lot of the topics in this course are areas I’ve been following and writing about for years. A few are newer, but I’m teaching entry-level material, and I apply the same discipline to course development that I use in my reporting for Streaming Media and other industry publications.
The bottom line is, I hate being wrong in public. So, I go overboard on fact-checking, sourcing, and making sure everything is accurate and up to date. The course structure also allows me to be responsive. If there are errors or omissions, and there will be, I can quickly correct them.
Q6: What are some of the biggest misconceptions new hires have about the streaming industry?
Streaming looks simple when your main point of contact is the remote. But scratch the surface, and you find a surprisingly complex web of business models, technologies, market constraints, and competitive dynamics.
One of the biggest misconceptions, inside and outside the industry, is the belief that there is a one-size-fits-all strategy for success. There isn’t. What works for Netflix doesn’t work for a mid-size AVOD service. What drives ROI for a FAST channel doesn’t apply to a premium SVOD platform.
This course makes that clear. It helps new hires recognize how business models shape everything, from content strategy to delivery infrastructure, and how those choices look different depending on market position and scale.
At the same time, we are not ignoring the realities of major platforms. The course includes examples, metrics, and trade-offs that apply directly to services like Hulu, Prime Video, or Peacock. Those are the workflows and constraints most vendors, partners, and internal teams are trying to understand.
Whether you are a global service or a niche player, the lesson is the same: there is no single formula or playbook. The course helps learners understand what is possible, what is practical, and what actually works depending on who they are and what they are building.
Q7: What surprised you most as you built the course?
The one topic that I had the least exposure to was programmatic advertising, and what surprised me was the sheer complexity and impact programmatic has today. That realization made me even more committed to making sure the course breaks it down in a way that’s easy to understand and immediately useful for learners. That includes defining the ecosystem players, like DSPs, SSPs, and DMPs, along with the mechanics of delivering a personalized ad via technologies like server guided advertising insertion.
Q8: Where do new hires stumble when they join a streaming platform or supplier?
One of the biggest challenges for new hires is navigating what they don’t know. The streaming industry in particular is known for a seemingly endless supply of dense acronyms, from ABR and AVOD to VAST and VOD , not to mention unique and hard to grasp technologies like CDNs and DRM along with regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
Some may feel overwhelmed and hesitate to engage, while others might jump in without realizing the gaps in their understanding. This course is designed to support both types of learners by providing a solid foundation of industry knowledge. Ultimately, it helps everyone contribute more confidently and effectively from day one.
Q9: What do you hope would change if a team went through the course together?
Streaming success depends on coordinated execution across multiple departments. Without a basic understanding of what other teams do, it’s hard to see how those pieces fit together or why they matter.
When a team or a company goes through this training, my hope is that everyone gains perspective on the discrete roles and contributions that drive the broader streaming operation. That kind of foundational understanding supports more effective communication, whether it’s between departments, with external partners, or in conversations with customers.
It’s a new course, so time will tell. But that’s the goal.
Q10: What would you say to someone deciding whether this course is worth the time and budget for their team?
Think about how confusing the streaming industry felt when you were first exposed to it. This course helps new hires overcome that initial overwhelm quickly and confidently.
Consider the difference in effectiveness between someone with a year of experience and a newcomer. This course accelerates that learning curve, helping new employees become valuable contributors much faster.
Reflect on how investing in your team’s knowledge benefits your department and your leadership. Ensuring that employees have a solid foundation reflects positively on the entire team and enhances collaboration and communication, both inside and outside the organization.
Q11: What’s the tie with the Streaming Video Technology Alliance?
I felt like this course would deliver the most value as part of a larger, structured learning experience. Partnering with the Streaming Video Technology Alliance made sense because their curriculum reaches the exact professionals this course was built for: people working across product, content, monetization, and platform operations.
SVTA also brings deep credibility. Their members include many of the world’s leading streaming services, vendors, and infrastructure providers, and their educational focus goes well beyond theory. That gives learners confidence that this course isn’t just accurate, it’s aligned with how the industry actually works.
It also opens the door to continued learning. Someone who takes this course can then move into more advanced SVTA offerings on things like low latency, DRM, and content protection. That’s a huge win for learners and for teams that want to onboard people into the broader ecosystem, not just their internal tools.
Ultimately, I wanted this course to be accessible, trusted, and relevant. Partnering with SVTA helps make that happen.
The course is now available through SVTA University for $399.
