Yahoo! Optimizing Video Streams+Region-Based Content Gating

At Yahoo! Edgecast (now Uplynk), live-stream viewers had no ability to pause, rewind or replay content—no DVR-like experience existed. As user expectations shifted toward on-demand control, this missing capability became a retention risk.

I led the zero-to-one launch of session-based playback, delivering a scalable solution that improved user engagement and reduced platform costs.

My Role

Defined the Opportunity:
Positioned playback control not as a feature gap but as a strategic platform risk. Reframed the conversation around retention and competitive parity.

Built and Aligned Teams:
Unified engineering, UX, and business leaders around a lightweight session-caching model. Set clear priorities, mapped outcomes to business risks and led execution from concept to launch.

Balanced UX, Compliance, and Scale:
Delivered session-based playback while introducing stream-level geoblocking for EU compliance and optimizing multi-CDN performance.

Drove Cost Efficiency:
Avoided legacy DVR infrastructure by designing session-level caching pipelines, reducing storage costs without sacrificing user experience.


Business Outcomes
Launched Yahoo’s first session-based playback experience
Improved user engagement by 35%
Reduced cloud storage costs by 18%
Halved feature delivery timelines through focused execution
Reduced churn risk and modernized platform expectations