TOTAL LICENSING
The Future Today YouTube sensations PinkFong and Like Nastya - with a combined 276 million subscribers across platforms - are partnering with Future Today to launch new branded streaming channels on top platforms like Roku, Amazon FireTV and more. Why are some of the hottest YouTube stars launching their own ad-supported streaming apps? Future Today CEO & Co-Founder Vikrant Mathur is changing the game by elevating YouTube-centric brands and influencers to grow new audiences and monetize through branded, omni-platform streaming channels. Here, he tells us more... Can you tell us more about these partnerships? We will be leveraging our full-stack streaming solution to launch, manage, promote and monetize these new apps that we are launching across a variety of different streaming platforms. In addition, some of this content will also be available through the Happykids app. And can you tell us more about why AVOD is becoming so popular? The genesis behind streaming, specifically services such as Netflix, was to give consumers the choice of (a) watching content anytime, anywhere, and on any device; and (2) pay for only content that they want to watch. Consumers are fed up of paying hundreds of dollars for channels that are being offered to them as part of the legacy bundle-based system but don’t satisfy their content needs. However, with the recent proliferation of new SVOD services in the market, there are only
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so many subscription services that a household can afford. There was a recent report that an average household is subscribing to nearly 7 paid streaming services on average; this number is unsustainable and going to drop significantly. AVOD is growing in popularity because it doesn’t compete for a share of your wallet, does not require a commitment, isn’t guarded by a registration wall, but still gives you the option of discovering new content at your convenience. Which brands are moving to AVOD and why? AVOD is an increasingly important part of a brand’s distribution strategy now. Whether it be a premium studio, distribution company, independent studio, or a digital influencer, everyone is looking to AVOD to increase their reach and boost their revenue. AVOD finally has the scale and the revenue potential that these brands have been looking for. Depending on each
brand’s specific goals, content is either being packaged into a standalone VOD branded app, a digital linear channel or simply syndicated out to streaming services that have scale on a nonexclusive basis.” How will this influence licensing plans? From a content licensing standpoint, AVOD is becoming an increasingly important window in every brand’s distribution plans. So content brands are paying more attention to their AVOD strategy and working closely with their tech partners such as Future Today to maximize the value of their content through these AVOD opportunities. From a merchandising standpoint, given how quickly kids are moving away from broadcast linear, AVOD presents kids content brands with an opportunity to increase their reach, and be in front of as many kids as possible, which can then directly translate to licensing and merchandising revenue.
