5 Essential Features for Launching a Streaming Platform

These days, when streaming platforms have become the obvious choice of entertainment for viewers, there is no better time than now to venture into the OTT industry. 

Viewing comfort at all levels is what a streaming platform aims at. And for this, you need to reach all possible devices and platforms that are currently in demand. 

 If you already own a streaming platform or are in the process of picking one, here are 5 essential features you must ensure your shortlisted one has.

1. CDN 

Content Delivery Network (CDN) is one of the essential features of a streaming platform that determines your reach. You are into OTT industry where delivering “the right content to the right kind of audience at the right time” is the key to your success. This is where having the appropriate one for your platform comes into play. It is a fact that not all CDNs support every kind of streaming prerequisite. 

Sticking to one might also not suffice. Rather, having multiple CDN strategy will ensure that you get the optimum support for balancing users loads and reaching geographical audience segments. One of the market leaders, Netflix Inc. uses three CDNs for distributing content.

Ensure that your chosen CDN service aligns with your content strategy. You cannot ignore future streaming needs while considering current content distribution requirements. Compare and check the size of data packets and bandwidth peak parameters that your multiple CDN offers to ensure high quality of experience.

2. Pricing Strategy

In the current competitive streaming landscape, the two most crucial factors that may make or break your business is “ How you price it” and “How you charge for it”. The best strategy is to price the video content low at the initial stages and then gradually raise it depending on users’ viewing preferences. 

You can bundle regular series content in a subscription package. New releases, classics, and featured content can be packaged under a transactional monetization model. Discounts can be offered on pay-per-view model for your subscribers. You can charge a little higher for the same content from the non-subscribers too. Adding pre-ordering or pre-purchase model may turn out to be beneficial for your platform.

Even after you launch your platform, ensure to conduct a market and competitor analysis to identify the pattern of video content pricing.

3. Monetization model

How to monetize content the right way is one of the key challenges that most OTT platform owners face. As an essential feature of a streaming platform, your monetization model must be strategized on the basis of subscriptions, advertisements, and pay per view. 

•  Subscription Model and TVOD or PPV model

Subscription model is mostly preferred as it is convenient for both providers and viewers. You can have a bundled cost for a wide range of content which would generate a recurring revenue. 

Subscription model has more scope of flexibility when it comes to scaling up content price. 

So you can cater to viewers’ needs, analyze their viewing behavior, and then work on increasing your subscription prices. This model is appropriate when you have a large collection of  different types of content for viewers. 

Ensure that you have and keep adding long form of content like movies and series as viewers prefer to subscribe to such plans when they get binge-worthy content. Netflix and Amazon Prime have been exclusively using this monetization model which has turned to favor their revenue.  

TVOD or PPV model can be used for new releases and niche content. You can check our monetization guide for PPV model here. 

• AVOD monetization model

If you are falling short of long form content or do not have fresh ones for your viewers, you can choose advertisement based video on demand model or AVOD. 

Most viewers, like those on YouTube or Hotstar, access video completely free of cost. AVOD monetization model can be used in such cases as viewers mostly do not prefer paying for generic content. Moreover, platforms like YouTube that provide 90% of their content for free, find AVOD as the most suitable monetization model. Hotstar has been making good use of AVOD for its free contents and SVOD for its premium subscribers. 

Surprisingly, many streaming owners have faced the outburn of incorporating wrong monetization model. You definitely don’t want that! So, check which of the monetization models can bring you steady business revenue for long term and then incorporate it.  

Looking for a platform that supports all formats of monetization? Check our Multiple Monetization feature.

4. Marketing

Marketing is an essential component that has to be given priority even if it may seem unnecessary. To have a successful launch, you need to market your streaming service well. Do not forget to highlight the competencies and differentiators of your service in your marketing strategies.

• Social Media:  

Audience pays attention when they are entertained. Create interesting marketing clips and videos about your OTT platform  and post on social media. This will grab a quick attention of audience.  Apart from viral videos, you can create social media profiles and pages across all platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, SnapChat, Facebook, and so on to target your audience. 

Keep engaging with audience by posting images, facts, polls, and questions about  their entertainment preferences. You can also go for social media integration with your streaming platform for better reach and engagement.

• Email Marketing: 

Some might find it obsolete, but email marketing is still very effective when  communication strategies are concerned. Millions of people go through their emails everyday. And thus, possibilities of people reading your promotional emails are very high. When you have reached their minds, they would at least think of you while looking for streaming entertainment.

 Ensure to have bulk email campaigning ready while marketing your streaming platform. 

•  Offline marketing campaigns

Another way to market your streaming platform is to create offline campaigns. Create partnerships  with different brands in industries like food, apparel, sports, and so on. Expand your reach by carrying out marketing activities collaboratively. Offer combined service or products in partnership to gain brand advantage. You will be amazed to find an increase in the number of your users.

5. Video Player

 How interested would you be to watch a video that buffers every 10 seconds? You definitely would close the screen and never return to the platform, right? 

Your streaming application must have an online video player that streams fast and without interruptions. In order to deliver high quality resolution over any Internet speed, your platform should support Adaptive Bitrate Streaming. 

Your OTT platform should be easy for the user to navigate. Organize content in such a way that users can easily find the next video after they watch one. You can sort your content in playlists and categories format. This will not only enhance the look and feel of your streaming platform but will also create a better user experience. 

Developing your own OTT platform is a humongous task in itself. However, the bigger issue that one needs to confront after venturing into the streaming market is gaining momentum in business. Choosing a good technology partner, that has all essential features, will help you in creating your own OTT platform from scratch and ensure that your streaming business gets the push to accelerate further and reaches the elite list.  

Muvi provides end-to-end streaming platform as per our clients’ requirements. Its unique features cater to all your streaming needs as well as leverage your platform to meet the market demands. 

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