When Ignacio "Nacho" Opazo opened his laptop in 2011, he wasn't just writing code, but rather, he was laying the foundation for what would become Latin America's pioneering OTT platform. A musician turned self-taught developer, Nacho's journey from creating El Telón (Latin America's first streaming television service) to building Zapping (now serving 500,000 paying subscribers across four countries) represents a masterclass in technical innovation and market disruption. What makes Zapping extraordinary isn't just its success but how it was built. Unlike competitors who adopted off-the-shelf solutions, Nacho's team developed everything in-house: encoders, players, applications, and even their own content delivery network. This ground-up approach was partially about control, but mot importantly, it was necessary to deliver the seamless experience they envisioned in markets where established infrastructure was lacking. The breakthrough came in 2018 when Nacho reimagined the streaming interface completely. Observing that feature bloat was actually driving users away, he created a revolutionary "swipe" interface that immediately plays content without requiring browsing - "TikTok before TikTok" as he describes it. This radical simplification required rebuilding their entire technical stack to minimize latency at every stage, resulting in channel switches that take less than 50 milliseconds and streams that run a full minute ahead of competitors. Perhaps most impressive is how Zapping has influenced the broadcasting ecosystem in their markets. They've worked directly with broadcasters to improve video quality, sometimes even upgrading stadium infrastructure to ensure better signals for sports broadcasts. They've also broken ground in content licensing, becoming the first tech company in Latin America to secure contracts with major studios like Disney and Paramount without being backed by a traditional telecommunications giant. Connect with Nacho on LinkedIn as Ignacio Opazo or email him at [email protected] to learn more about this remarkable streaming revolution happening across Latin America.Stay tuned for more in-depth insights on video technology, trends, and practical applications. Subscribe to Voices of Video: Inside the Tech for exclusive, hands-on knowledge from the experts. For more resources, visit Voices of Video.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related