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Top 7 Video on Demand Trends in 2017 Video on Demand (VOD) is set to get bigger and better as consumers become increasingly geared towards an on-demand lifestyle, whether in entertainment, food or shopping. No longer does one have to wait for a coveted television show to air at a specific time, or a much-longed-for meal at a restaurant across the city. With the array of services that have cropped up to fulfil our every need, consumers seek instant gratification in every arena. VOD, in particular, is expected to comprise 80% of total internet usage by 2019, indicating that viewers will shift their focus to ondemand services, from traditional entertainment formats like cable and satellite. It’s no surprise, considering the rising crop of young entrepreneurs endeavouring to enter the space. With readymade frameworks available in the market, aspiring business owners needn’t create a VOD framework from scratch. They’d much rather employ a turnkey technology like Streamhash, and get their
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streaming platform ready in a couple of days. Plus, the likes of Streamhash operate on a license model, implying that the superior core technology is sold to multiple clients at an economical rate. In turn, these clients can customise the appearance of the platform to lend it a personalised touch.
What is Video on Demand?
A VOD service is a platform that lets viewers select, curate and consume audio or video content available within a specific content
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library. The content could include movies, television shows and platform originals, which can be streamed anywhere, at any time. It is vastly different from conventional, linear broadcasting, which allows users to view a show or movie at a specific time on a specific network. VOD can typically be viewed either via streaming through a set top box or other device, or by being downloaded to a hardware. What Are the Revenue Models Under Video on Demand?
VOD services can be monetised in a variety of ways. The three most popular ones are highlighted below. Subscription Model: Today, the most popular forms of VOD are offered as bundled content, at a flat subscription rate. Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu have demonstrated this model successfully. Advertising Model: YouTube, on the other hand, offers free viewership, but monetises its platform by displaying pre-roll and mid-roll advertisements. The
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majority of the collections from ads go to the broadcaster, while the platform takes the remaining portion. Freemium Model: Some platforms, like Indian VOD service Hotstar, offer a freemium model, with an elementary suite of shows available to all users, and a select set accessible under a premium subscription. What Are the Top 7 Trends for VOD in 2017?
2017 holds a myriad of potential trends for VOD. Here are some that we predict taking the on-demand entertainment world by storm. Advertising Video on Demand: The advertising-led monetisation model faces several challenges, despite the general incline in advertisements in the VOD realm. These challenges are manifold. For instance, as monetisation models evolve, the per capita income on VOD platforms is being reduced. This is further spurred on by the fact that there are more and more broadcasters, because of whom advertising revenue is being spread thin. You must also remember that advertising via VOD platforms remains useful and relevant only when the targeted
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audience doesn’t have ad blockers activated. Also, the impact of advertisements reduces over several years. Thus, VOD platforms have resorted to alternate models of monetisation. Hulu, which has traditionally employed advertising as a monetisation tool, has now moved to an exclusive premium model. Likewise, YouTube’s premium variant, YouTube Red, is an additional revenue stream for the company. Increasingly, pure content providers, e-magazines and news platforms are following suit, with many having introduced a premium subscription fee or paywall. While advertising-led VOD is still powerful in certain domains, other revenue models like transactional VOD and subscription VOD are fast eclipsing this concept. Transformation of Video on Demand Landscape: Clearly, television viewership is bound to decline as VOD picks up steam. The shift to internet-based consumption will affect a sequence of players in the VOD value chain. The obvious victims are cable television operators, but telecom providers will also face the heat with a sizeable percentage of their users abandoning television in favour of VOD. As a result, a suite of brands has risen /StreamHash
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to the occasion by seeking to dominate the entire series of activities associated with VOD. AT&T, for instance, purchased Time Warner, and Verizon acquired Yahoo. These acquisitions were meant to amalgamate the telecom expertise of the purchaser with the content specialty of its new brand. In India, Vodafone and Airtel, the top two telecom players in the country, have inked deals with Netflix and Amazon Prime. In deals like these, telecom titans can offer exclusive content to their subscribers. The trend towards VOD is compounded by independent networks, like Starz and Showtime, launching their own over the top services, which are then channeled through providers like Amazon and Apple TV. Obsolescence of Traditional Television: If you look closely, you’ll notice that television audiences are dipping as the years slide by. The advent of the internet and social media are two primary reasons why. While earlier, people used to turn to the television set to spend their free time, now, they are resorting to the internet. At one time, television used to also be a medium to catch the latest events and goings on in the world. Now, with over the top content, live events can be streamed across /StreamHash
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devices, proving the redundancy of television. This is especially relevant for Generation Y, for whom the inflexibility of a television schedule can be cumbersome. So where does that leave television? Well, the format certainly has a future, albeit in superior quality content tailored for a vast audience. Rise of Mobile Viewing: This past year, mobiles overtook large screens as the primary medium for VOD consumption. This also means that content produced for VOD in the future, must be customised to fit a smaller screen. But there’s more. When most of us watch a video on our phones, we tend to hold the phone up without tilting it into landscape mode. Effectively, this means that vertical videos are rising in popularity, and have grown by 25% between 2010 and 2016. Additionally, the content ecosystem is being pumped by user generated content, via platforms like Instagram Stories, Snapchat and YouTube, meaning that current consumption via mobile, on an average, is still south of twenty minutes. However, in the future, there is an expectation that long-form content will gain pace as screen sizes expand and mobile batteries sustain more usage. For /StreamHash
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content entrepreneurs looking to venture into the VOD space, it is critical to ensure that their platform is conducive to a mobile framework. Luckily, technologies like Streamhash are designed to be fluid across devices, making consumption device-agnostic. Advent of Live Streaming: Live streaming is probably the trend of the millennium, having been embraced rapidly by users on Periscope and Facebook. What made this trend especially unique, was that it was adopted by influencers and trendsetters, piquing the interest of social media loyalists. Live streaming is useful for a plethora of industries. Live streams from sports matches have replaced television spots, and there are even collaborations to prove it. Twitter, for instance, has gained NFL rights and Facebook exclusively streams games played by the US National Basketball Team that precede the Olympics. Streaming also sits well in infotainment, with multiple brands employing social media streaming through their respective pages to broadcast important events. The American presidential debates were streamed by ABC on Facebook, gaining an audience of over 28 million users. Celebrities have also adopted live /StreamHash
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streaming as a means to connect deeper with their followers, a trend that may be bolstered in 2017. Live streaming is also an effective monetisation tool, with content producers using paywalls to draw revenues from live streams. Dawn of Virtual Reality: You may think that virtual reality (VR) is restricted to IMAX theatres and Google Glass, but 2017 promises to make it more mainstream than you ever thought possible. VR headsets are becoming more economical and as a wider array of content makes its way to consumers, VR will play a significant role in democratising virtual experiences through 4K and 360 degree streaming. VR is a clever way to monetise, via rental, sale or subscription.
Future of Entertainment: As on-demand becomes a hot buzzword, capturing the essence of the entertainment space, VOD looks all set to take over from traditional entertainment.
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There hasn’t been a better year than this one to hop onto the VOD bandwagon. Even if you’re at the very beginning of your entrepreneurial journey, you can invest in quality without emptying the bank account to get your business up and running. Pick a robust, versatile technology like Streamhash, and get started with a content plan to curate your offerings. 2017 is your year.
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eBook Feedback: Website URL: www.streamhash.com email: contact@streamhash.com Skype: contact@streamhash.com Phone: +1- (415)-513-0273
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