Zixi’s Kris Alexander on IP workflows, revised business model

The broadcast industry’s transition from satellite to IP delivery is forcing technology vendors to adapt, and Zixi is no exception. The company underwent a strategic repositioning following its acquisition by the private equity firm Clearhaven Partners last summer.

“We went around and listened to customers and the consistent thing we kept hearing was, ‘I love your technology for what I do, but I don’t understand what else you do and where else you can help me,'” said Kris Alexander, Zixi’s VP of product & industry marketing, during a candid interview at the 2025 NAB Show.

“And then the other thing we consistently heard is, ‘Your commercial model just doesn’t work for me.'”

This feedback prompted a shift in Zixi’s approach.

“There were customers who were like – I want to use you – but your pricing model doesn’t work,” Alexander said. “And that was primarily because… we priced it like a CDN. And it just didn’t make sense.”

Alexander noted this let to trouble evaluating the total cost of ownership and predicting margins for each usage. 

Under new leadership from CEO Marc Aldrich, who previously worked with Alexander at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Zixi has shifted to a more predictable licensing model.

“We can just license it for an event you’re running… for a station affiliate you’re sending it to… or channel,” said Alexander.

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The company’s software now supports 14 different protocols, including popular standards like SRT and REST. This allows broadcasters to gradually transition to IP delivery while maintaining compatibility with existing equipment.

Alexander emphasized Zixi’s focus on integration with existing workflows.

“This is why we spend a lot of time making sure that we can speak with SCTE-35 messaging,” said Alexander. “That way you could use your existing as-run infrastructure, so you don’t have to throw anything away in terms of infrastructure… You don’t have to change your operational structure.”

Alexander noted Sinclair Broadcast Group has found value in both cost savings and reliability improvements with Zixi.

“The big differentiator, [Sinclair’s Del Parks] said, was we were able to bring down the cost,” he noted, adding that Zixi’s software is “highly efficient in terms of both memory utilization and compute utilization.”

The reliability factor was equally important, with cost savings in terms of monitoring.

“Their costs of having to troubleshoot were significant,” Alexander noted. “On top of this, not only do we have that piece of software that can take the inputs and do the processing and send the targets, but we also have, think of it as a layer of software that does automated orchestration, the control and more importantly, the monitoring.”

Looking ahead, Alexander identified contribution and remote production as growth targets, noting broadcasters’ desire to avoid expensive satellite trucks and fiber installations.

“Nobody wants to have to roll trucks with a satellite uplink. Nobody wants to pull fiber. It’s expensive, and there are also long lead times. It’s not flexible,” he explained, noting a shift to bonded 5G or LTE.

As Zixi navigates the new world of transmission and delivery, Alexander noted broader industry disruption, including the C-band spectrum repack, ATSC 3.0 deployment, and ongoing media company consolidation.

“I suspect we’ll continue to see a lot of change, especially over the next three to five years,” Alexander noted, before acknowledging the uncertainty that comes with technological transitions.

Regardless of the industry’s future direction, Alexander positioned Zixi as “an ingredient” in the transition to IP.

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“In the move to IP, you’re going to need some software and ingredient to help in that transition. And so, regardless of the different players here, we feel that we offer something that can provide a lot of value in terms of flexibility and lowering cost as an ingredient for that final solution.”