NAB 2026 Streaming Infrastructure Report: The Race to Zero Latency
Streaming technology vendors at NAB 2026 are united around a single goal: eliminating the latency gap between live broadcast and streaming delivery.
Senior Technology Correspondent
Walk the streaming technology section of NAB 2026 and one theme emerges above all others: the race to zero latency. After years of accepting that streaming would always lag behind traditional broadcast by several seconds, the industry has reached a point where sub-second latency is not just achievable but expected.
The Latency Landscape
The current state of streaming latency is more nuanced than the simple "streaming is slow" narrative that dominated industry conversations just a few years ago. Today's streaming infrastructure can deliver content with latency ranging from under one second for the most advanced implementations to several seconds for traditional HLS-based delivery.
The challenge is that different use cases have different latency requirements. Live sports betting, for example, requires sub-second latency to prevent arbitrage between broadcast and streaming viewers. Interactive live events need low enough latency to enable real-time audience participation. General entertainment streaming can tolerate higher latency in exchange for better quality and reliability.
Technology Solutions
Multiple vendors at NAB 2026 are demonstrating solutions that address different points on the latency spectrum. WebRTC-based delivery systems are showing sub-second latency for interactive applications. Low-Latency HLS and DASH implementations are delivering two to four second latency for sports and live events. And new approaches based on QUIC and other modern transport protocols are promising to push latency even lower while maintaining the reliability that broadcasters require.
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