Special Feature | Video on Demand
More than 40 percent of people in a recent survey reported that they are more likely to watch a programme regularly if they know they can “catch-up” on VOD if they miss any episodes.
The Growth of VOD
Online Video usage is substantial: Netfl ix announced that its users consumed 2 billion hours of TV shows and movies in Q4 of 2011. With a subscriber base of 20 million in the U.S., this works out to 33 hours of usage per subscriber per month. In other words U.S. Netfl ix users consume an average of 8 hours of video on Netfl ix per week.
Live TV losing out to on-demand and DVR: Anonymous usage data from 2 million TiVo devices indicate that only 38 percent of TV viewing is live. An interesting point is that among Netfl ix and Hulu users, live TV consumption drops to just 27 percent.
This data indicates that time shifted TV and video consumption is dominant among certain sections of the population, for instance among OTT users.
Like movies, TV series also follow a pattern of carefully constructed release windows. There are catch-up TV services that require quick turn of linear content for VOD, sometimes within hours of live broadcast; DVD rental/retail follows about six months later; with library VOD titles going back about two years from original broadcast. By managing these windows, service providers can add compelling TV content to both their SVOD and free (FOD) services, keeping subscribers engaged at all levels.
Launching on multiple screens
For new entrants into the video space, there’s a unique opportunity to position your service as a multiscreen offering. Before you launch the service is the time to begin setting the stage with opinion makers. Begin the PR process, leverage both the company blog and infl uential consumer and industry bloggers, and begin social media campaigns. This is also the time to think about retail integration, CRM and employee training.
At launch, you will likely employ a formal announcement with PR and social media activities, with TV, radio and print advertising, and price promotion offers. When it comes to the marketing messages for your launch campaign, it is important to keep in mind that while your content may be available on any device; different genres are better suited to particular screens.
For example, our research fi nds that children’s programming is more likely than other genres to be viewed on mobile devices, likely because parents are using their phones and tablets to entertain children in restaurants, vehicles, waiting rooms, and other places outside the home. Launch efforts can highlight these conveniences and illustrate how your subscribers can personalise their content through access on different devices.
With on-going management of your service, user data is invaluable. Where do heavy users of the service live? On what screens are they watching? What content are they watching? How often do they watch? Which categories and price points are getting the most traction? If you’re able to pull dynamic data in and analyse it, you’re able to optimise your content mix, market directly to the people most likely to buy and promote the most valuable content.
Making it work
Once you’ve made the content available on any screen, told consumers what you have, and convinced them to give your service a try, make sure they can fi nd what they are looking for – easily. In a multiscreen TV service, the biggest challenge is consistency of user experience. Established players are challenged by the set-top box – translating that experience to other devices can end in confusion or worse. For new services, it is important to make search and discovery simple and consistent across devices from the outset.
There are also a number of technical and operational challenges to overcome. While there has been much work done around standards, in a multi-device environment, you’re going to be operating in multiple codecs for the foreseeable future. Set-top boxes, mobile devices, gaming consoles,
But the launch is only the start of your marketing campaign. This is a living service that must be actively managed and promoted. In our experience, video is the most effective way to market video. Service providers are in a position to leverage the video channel very effectively through cross-channel promotions, barker channels and online video. With so many videobased properties, you have many opportunities to promote the most recent content additions, and augment social media, PR and promotional campaigns.
PCs, smart TVs and other devices all require different formatting. Different devices and guide providers also require customised metadata, and customised artwork. Plan ahead, you’ll need the resources to ensure you’ve got this right.
Protecting content from piracy is also important and the only way an operator can ensure they keep their rights to premium content. There are a great number of DRM vendors working in the marketplace and most service providers have established relationships. As content owners clear their content to operate on different DRM platforms, securing content requires on- going effort.
Finally, depending on the country, content and service providers need to think about localisation and compliance issues. Whether its language – dubbing, subtitles – or ensuring that the content complies with local cultural/social requirements, service providers are often surprised by the fact that the content they receive may not be immediately broadcast ready. Often, a substantial amount of work is needed to ensure the content is ready for local viewing. It is critical to plan for this.
Future of television
Video services are growing exponentially. Changing viewing trends – binge viewing, catch-up TV, mobile video – is resulting in new customer expectations that all TV services have an On Demand component. Content providers and service providers are fi nding a high degree of value in offering VOD services on any screen.
We believe that the future of television involves offering content on the subscribers’ terms – accessible when and where they want it – and belongs to those content and service providers who get it right.
ibeconnects.com | May/June 2013
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