Video Streaming Services

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Why we decided to offer free OTT cloud hosting

Charging to host content just doesn’t make sense to us.

If you shop around looking for a turnkey OTT service you will find many companies offering similar cookie-cutter solutions. To work with them you request basic video streaming apps, wait an undisclosed amount of time as they are built, upload your videos, launch your properties and sell content. What you will also find is a costly fee each month based on data used to host your videos in the cloud. This charge to store your content on their servers can quickly escalate to a small fortune if you are trying to scale a network with an immense video library. To the OTT providers it seems fair; server space is an expense that can easily be passed on to the customers. This policy also serves as insurance; if they are so lucky as to bag a substantial partner, charging based on storage space used allows them to leach off of their costumer’s size, meaning they do not miss out on extra profits when working with established brands. This model for cloud hosting on OTT essentially penalizes the content owner for adding content, curbing them from taking necessary steps to make their apps profitable.

Why would you hurt your partner’s chance at success?

For Unreel, the decision to offer free OTT cloud hosting was easy. Our number one concern is our partner’s OTT app’s success. In that vein, one of our main focuses is to guide our partner’s content strategy. Being across all platforms on your own video streaming apps is meaningless if those apps lack content that entices fans to use them every day. A great driver of effective content strategy is offering an extensive reserve of videos. The more content to discover on a property, the longer a user will stay, increasing ad viewership, further developing their relationship with your brand, and providing additional opportunities to cross promote your other brands or properties. When you engage fans on an app loaded with an overwhelming supply of content, fans consistently return because there is always something new for them to watch.

Upload terabytes of video without spending a dime.

To us it makes absolutely no sense to discourage our partners from bulk uploading videos to develop a deep content inventory. By bearing the brunt of cloud hosting expenses ourselves, we free up our partners to shape their content strategy around making their video streaming service the best experience for users. Whether we are working with a single content creator who has 100’s of videos or a major network with a content catalogue that goes back decades, they both pay the same for hosting – nothing. Unhindered by the fear of raising their overhead, Unreel partners are more effective at launching OTT apps that are built for long term success.

Click here to learn about Unreel.me’s free hosting and launch OTT apps of your own!

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Thursday, February 16, 2017

Maker Studios Cut Me, What Now?

This could be the best thing to ever happen to your career as a creator!

In a move that is sending shockwaves among the content creator community, Maker Studios has announced it will cut ties with all but 300 of their creators.

If you are one of the thousands to be let go, you might be feeling like this:

Or in extreme cases this:

In reality though you should be feeling like this:

Now free from Maker you have two choices: Partner with another MCN or go it by yourself.

New MCN’s and Networks Will Call For You. They will say they are different from Maker, but they are not. They all operate under the same model, find as many creators with fans as possible, promise the world, trap them with an inescapable contract, and take the majority of revenue the creator generates despite the creator doing the majority of the work. Why would you want that again?

Go it alone and tell Maker and other MCN’s what they can go do:

Why going it alone does not have to mean going it alone:

As you wiggle your way out from under Maker studio’s thumb, you are entering a new world where YouTuber creators without a network are self-distributing and monetizing content with the support of Unreel.me. Unreel provides creators with their own branded video streaming site and apps, basically their own Netflix, available across all platforms. With Unreel.me powered properties creators are able to sell subscriptions, videos on demand, enable ads just like on YouTube, and accept tips like Patreon. The vast majority of the profits generated are the creators to keep, not an MCN’s or YouTube’s. On top of that, creator’s videos can be cross promoted on thousands of other Unreel powered sites and apps, exposing the creatorto new fans and increasing opportunities to earn ad revenue.

How self-distributing works:

Step 1: Launch your own “Netflix like” video streaming site and apps for free instantly with Unreel.

Step 2: Sync your YouTube and Facebook content and upload videos directly to your site.

Step 3: Monetize your site and apps by selling subscriptions to access exclusive videos, video-on-demand, enabling ads, and accepting tips.

Step 4: Tell your fans about your site and instruct them to download your apps to see exclusive videos.

Step 5: Jump in your swimming pool of money, since you do not have to share the majority of your revenue with an MCN or YouTube!

Ready to be your own boss?

Instantly Launch your site for free, click here!

With Unreel.me there is no commitment and it is free to launch instantly. Customize your site with your own branding, colors, and content. Sync with your YouTube and Facebook video libraries and upload exclusive content directly in the admin. Drive your fans to check out your properties where they can buy subscriptions to access exclusive videos, tip you, and view videos with ads. Contact us to explore opportunities to launch your own apps across all platforms and expose your content to millions of new fans with our syndication strategy. Without Maker you are now free to pursue countless new ways to earn more money from your videos and grow your fan base, let us help.

About Unreel.me:

Unreel powers OTT sites and apps for the industry’s largest creators, networks, and publishers. With a patented A.I. to power an unparalleled user experience and Big Data driven analytics, Unreel is building more than just another video streaming app for our partners. With a wealth of monetization options and opportunities to reach new fans, Unreel is dedicated to seeing its partners succeed by providing them the tools necessary.

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Friday, January 27, 2017

Unreel.me Feature Updates: Light theme and new discover page

The new Light theme is bringing balance to the OTT force:

To be honest, Unreel has been keeping its partners in the dark…theme. With the introduction of light theme, that is the case no longer. Light theme features a white background and accents on unreel.me powered video streaming desktop and mobile sites. Today marks a brighter era for creators, publishers, and networks using the platform. Although black will always be a sleek and sexy look, now you have the choice to set white as your background, brightening up the aesthetic of your site.

To implement light theme simply go to the ‘general’ section of the ‘settings’ drop down from your admin dashboard. Then scroll down to the section titled, ‘colors’ and change the theme to ‘light.’

New Discover Page:

In addition to a new light theme option, all sites have been updated with a new discover page. The discover section of your site now has a more enticing look for the featured video sans the gradient, and a smoother channel layout with a new play button, scrubber bar and video details on thumbnails. We will continue to work on updating our designs to ensure our sites remain on the cutting edge of design.

Click here to launch your own Unreel.me Video Streaming site with Light theme.

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Friday, January 20, 2017

Maximize your OTT revenue: Advertising vs. SVOD

When it comes down to it, a video streaming service is a business. The sole reason why networks are turning to OTT to distribute content is monetization. Killer content is essential, but only because it brings an audience with buying power. The fact of the matter is that great content is simply a commodity; content owners want to maximize the earning potential of their videos. On OTT platforms there are two models for generating revenue that networks prefer; AVOD and SVOD.

OTT AVOD:

Advertising on OTT platforms is swiftly approaching the immense value that was formally only reserved for TV commercials. With the ability to effectively reach target markets across mediums that receive high engagement, marketers are eager to advertise on OTT. Currently in the land of OTT there is a deficiency of ad inventory. Lack of opportunities to deliver ads, combined with tremendous demand, has resulted in rocketing CPM’s (The amount marketers will pay for their ad to be shown to 1,000 people).

There are two reasons why OTT content is so valuable to marketers; the viewing habits of users on OTT devices and the precision to target demographics on such devices. The level of engagement with video advertisements on OTT platforms rivals that of cable. Across desktop and mobile, YouTube reports that millennials watch a staggering 29% of skippable ads, purely out of interest in the content.[1] Google determined that OTT ads provide a greater ROI than Television ads for over 75% of businesses that pursue both.[2] On OTT, advertisers can set their ads to be shown only to viewers who fit their target market. This is why engagement and ROI is so high, the right products and services are being shown to people who are most likely to be interested in them.

Calculating Potential AVOD revenue:

To estimate the potential monthly ad take of your video streaming service you must predict how many views your content will receive and then factor in your expected CPM. Putting a number on your monthly views can be done by examining the size of your current fan base and the level of marketing effort you intend to put in promoting your new OTT offerings. Keep in mind; unlike YouTube or cable, you cannot rely on organic discovery to fuel your OTT audience size. The majority of viewers you receive will be sent to your apps by your own efforts!

Optimistic outlook

Take the average view count for a video on your current distribution channels, and multiply that by the number of videos you intend to release per month. That number of views would be a very optimistic scenario, close to the ceiling of total views you can expect from your OTT apps for the first months.

Conservative outlook

Multiplying the number of dedicated fans you have (subscribers to your distribution channels and newsletters) by the number of videos you intend to put out in a month will give you a conservative scenario for total number of monthly views.

Expected CPM’s

Once you have the number of expected views you want to use, you will have to break it down by the platforms you will be on. In general on Unreel powered apps, SmartTV CPMs are $20-$40, Mobile app CPMs are $5-$10, and Desktop/Mobile CPMs are $2-$7.

Plug your estimates into the equation below to get a feeling for what your monthly revenue from ads could be:

(CPM(# of views))/1000=Total revenue

OTT SVOD:

At first glance, Subscription video-on-demand appears the most lucrative business model for a video streaming service. There is a reason it is the preferred monetization strategy for the largest names in streaming. The reliability and revenue potential that comes with monthly payments from users is the stuff digital distribution dreams are made of. With a subscription model, there are very few variables. It is easy to calculate monthly revenue to budget around. For the most part, SVOD provides unrivaled security, delivering cash flow into a business at a consistent rate.

SVOD comes with a caveat however; it only works for some types of content. Generally, subscription services have a supremely dedicated following; either because their content is uber-premium, or it fits a niche with a highly engaged fan base. SVOD services also need large libraries of content that update consistently and frequently. Netflix and HBO are winning with SVOD because they mix massive and constantly updating collections of major Hollywood films with frequent and new quality content. Lesser known brands pull SVOD off because they provide great content for a specific genre, be it fitness, comics, humor, horror etc.; they have dedicated fans. Even these smaller subscription services are only able to make SVOD work because among their niche’ they are popular and they consistently put out interesting videos.

Calculating potential SVOD revenue:

To calculate the optimal revenue from subscriptions requires putting on your guestimation cap. It all starts with determining the elasticity of your offering.

Elasticity is a measure of costumer sensitivity to a change in price. The more elastic your service is, the higher the price you can charge without experiencing a significant drop-off of users. Elasticity for OTT apps is based on several factors including, dedication of fan-base, quality of content, type of content, and frequency of new content. All of these factors make your service appear to be good value for users. It is up to you to know what price for your subscription will be received as solid value to your target users and what price will drive them away. Price too high and no one will pay it; price too low and you leave money on the table.

Use this table to get a feel for subscription prices for some of the top OTT services:

Once you’ve determined a price that won’t send your fans running for the hills, you will need to anticipate how many users will actually sign up. This number should be based upon the size of your current fan base (subscribers to your current distribution channel and newsletter) and the extent of your marketing efforts. Assume the percentage of current fans that subscribe to your service will be between 5%-25%.

Now that you have a price and the number of users you expect to sign up, simply multiply them to come up with your SVOD estimated revenue.

(# Of users) X (Price of monthly subscription)= SVOD monthly revenue

Comparing SVOD to AVOD:

Now equipped with two numbers, you have a very rough estimate to compare what your revenues could be. from AVOD and SVOD. These figures are not financials to bank on, rather, are more of a wake up call to ensure you truly consider if SVOD is the correct avenue for your streaming service to pursue.

A Final Word:

Choosing between Ads and SVOD is a vital decision that will shape your video streaming business. Unless your fans are many and extremely loyal, relying on AVOD is the safest way to generate revenue. The decision is not easy, and you need to reflect inward, just how dedicated are the people who love your content? Is there enough of them to sustain your business if the only revenue you receive is their monthly payments? You can always choose to do SVOD and Ads. Keep your subscription rate low, and supplement it with the revenue from ads. This is a way to guarantee yourself a monthly revenue stream, with the opportunity to significantly increase profits from high views counts. Do not be afraid to experiment to find what works best for your content.

Unreel is powering video streaming services for some of the largest networks in the world, monetizing with several different business models. If you are ready to take your content OTT, or looking for an upgrade, lets talk.

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Friday, January 6, 2017

The Future of the Future of TV: 2017 Edition

Little over a year ago Apple’s Tim Cook issued a bold statement. The future of TV is apps.

smartv

Visionary as Apple Inc. may be, even they cannot claim something and then simply make it so. Rather, that statement was an assessment of an abundantly clear truth; both the market and networks have a predilection for content that is neatly packaged into easily consumable apps. Fans want an un-bundling of content, allowing them full control of what they watch and pay for. Unlike other media, networks are eager to disavow traditional platforms in favor of the greener pastures distribution through their own apps promise — more control, more information, more revenue. Networks no longer require a third party’s platform to push content to their audience, they can become their own platform. Apple’s prediction is quickly becoming a reality; the future of TV really is apps.

So then what is the future of TV apps?

fdf Networks brimming with content and individual creators are in need of apps to own their distribution on new platforms . The market has already demonstrated that niche’ apps for specific genres of content, brands, and creators assure a built-in audience and therefore instant usership. Digital networks are sitting pretty, backed by armies of creators with content easily pushed to vertical driven apps. Traditional networks are also well positioned to dive headfirst into the OTT app pool with each of their unique content offerings attracting established fans. All networks will need apps for each brand/genre in their portfolio, leaving them with the daunting task of managing hundreds of individual properties. The future of SmartTV will be the networks that can manage and leverage their multitude of apps from a central CMS and drive engagement with an optimized user experience across all their properties.

Interconnected apps are the future of TV.

The winners of SmartTV will be those early adopters who launch a network of apps able to communicate with one another, share data, and be managed from a central CMS dashboard. The fiber connecting these apps is data. A network of apps collecting metrics on overarching trends as well as specific user behavior will yield highly actionable insights. Providing both an omniscient recommendation engine for individuals in addition to revelations about groups of user-cohorts. This intimate understanding of user engagement will provide an unparalleled advantage to networks armed with data from their interconnected apps, allowing for strategic decisions to be informed by in-depth data not hunches.

Cross-promotion breeds increased engagement.

Interconnectivity is a two way street. It is both a connection between apps on the back-end as well as the front-end. A single all access ‘passport’ account made by a user could mean access to the whole family of apps within a network, reducing friction and encouraging additional engagement. A thorough understanding of each fan’s viewing habits would then provide powerful recommendation data driving targeted engagement to new properties that will be of interest. This means longer watch times and increased downloads for additional apps. Once a user joins one of a network’s apps, they are exposed to all of them.

The 500 million dollar question:

Vevo recently announced their plans for music world domination that includes establishing an OTT empire. The price tag for their expansion, a cool $500 mill; much of which will be necessary to build the tech for their apps. Although Vevo’s situation is different than most, the sticker shock associated with a truly connected OTT platform may leave many networks with cold feet.

Make sure your network has a place in SmartTV’s future.

For networks, brands and creators hesitant or unable to shell out that kind of capital, other solutions do exist. One option is to outsource to an app firm that will craft a one-off, stand-alone app. While perhaps economical for a single app, any attempt to scale this way becomes both slow and pricy, taking considerable time and funds to execute. Another option is enlisting a standard cookie-cutter tech company that, in a reasonable amount of time, will build templated apps for each brand in a network. The only thing connecting these apps however are their identical standard design; as always, you get what you pay for. The shortcomings of these traditional solutions have slowed the imminent transition from cable, and desktop to SmartTV.

The key for networks is to find an OTT sweet spot; somewhere between the high costs of DIY, the long production time required when outsourcing to a firm, and the mass-produced stand alone tech company solutions. A strategy that can quickly produce interconnected OTT apps with a unique UI/UX and actionable data without costing a fortune. A strategy to scale apps with the right features quickly, striking while the iron is hot, will lead the winners of SmartTV into the future.

unreel-me_all_devices

A New Solution.

Unreel.me supports networks looking to dominate SmartTV and OTT . Unreel is currently providing some of the largest networks in the world with interconnected custom apps; rapidly scaling every brand in their portfolio. Using a patented Big Data driven A.I., Unreel apps boast the industry’s most in-depth analytics dashboard and a powerful recommendation engine. Going beyond data by providing a one-of-a-kind UI/UX and viral features found nowhere else to boost fan engagement, Unreel OTT apps are more than just apps. With a focus on monetizing content with SVOD, VOD, Tip jar and Ad support, Unreel is turning OTT into a scalable stream of revenue for the business side of networks and creators all over the world.

Lear more about the Unreel advantage here.

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Friday, December 2, 2016

Is OTT The Death Of Movie Theaters?

From the Big Screen to your Own Screen:

Hollywood studios are considering shortening the window between a film’s theatrical release and home release to only two short weeks.[1] A move that would have been considered heresy even 5-years ago could happen in an often static industry known to be a late adopter.

The opportunity motivating such revolutionary thinking? The promise of self-distribution on OTT channels.

With DVD sales down double digits year after year, it is clear that consumer preferences are shifting towards digital content.[2] Digital content provides studios with the keys necessary to forgo traditional distribution gatekeepers, such as movie theaters and rental businesses, including the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc. OTT has endowed studios with the ability to make a movie available to fans, on the devices they want to watch, while keeping all the profit.

Some people would rather watch from their couch.

Studio execs see the opportunity and are even prepared to cannibalize ticket sales in order to capitalize on OTT.

Self-Distribution represents more than just an opportunity to circumvent the revenue share models of traditional channels. OTT for studios means taking control of their relationship with fans, allowing for retargeting and recommendations that drive further business. When a consumer goes to the theater, their only interaction is with the theater. That is whom they purchase their tickets and popcorn from and that is who has the chance to collect visitors’ emails and information in order to develop a relationship. Distributing on their own OTT platforms affords studios that privilege. Being able to gather data about users and then push additional content they may have interest in via in-app recommendations and email is extremely powerful.

screen-shot-2016-12-02-at-10-07-10-am The fact that the film industry is prepared to significantly impact their primary source of revenue, ticket sales, in order to maximize profits by self-distributing speaks volumes about the value of OTT.

When a film generates $100 million at the box office, a significant portion of that revenue is pocketed by the movie theater. For the first two weeks of a film’s release theaters on average take a 20% cut, with that number skyrocketing to 50% afterwards.[3] Rather then nibbling on an unimpressive 50% of ticket sales after a film’s first two weeks in theaters, studios now have the more lucrative option of selling their movie directly to fans in the $25-$50 range, feasting on nearly all of the revenue.

Will movie theaters be thrown to the wayside à la Blockbuster, drive-ins, and silent films? Probably not – OTT isn’t a replacement for the big screen experience. Rather, it is a means to capture audiences unwilling to go to the theater in favor of the convenience of their own devices as well as a way to reap all the profits from fans desperate to shell out cash in order to own a film as soon as possible; all the while collecting data and retargeting to drive further sales.

Unreel.me provides the technology and support for the self distribution of any film, be it independent or the years biggest hit.