Premium Video on Demand in a nutshell

One of the impacts of COVID-19 was the stoppage of productions and resignation in premieres. Premium Video on Demand (PVoD) appeared on different platforms such as Disney+ or HBO Max, to meet the needs of subscribers from their homes.

After the pandemic, the cinema window had to change, releasing the movie on PVoD instead of in a theatre. This could put more pressure on the success of streaming efforts to compensate and affect the revenue generated by theatres or other windows.

Video on Demand vs Premium Video on Demand

First, we need to understand the difference between Video on Deman (VoD) and Premium Video on Demand (PVoD):

Video on Demand
The concept of an online service where the user has full freedom to choose the desired content without fixed schedules, also known as VoD.
Premium Video on Demand
Focuses more on movies, their premieres and recent releases, which are exclusive content for which the subscriber pays a higher fee. Its acronym is: PVoD.

Premium Video on Demand

According to Deloitte’s 14th Annual Fall Pulse Survey of Digital Media Trends, only 18% of U.S. consumers have attended a movie in a theater since the COVID-19 pandemic began. As the pandemic continued, studios released more movies through PVoD and viewership increased. As of October 2020, 35% of consumers claim to have seen a PVoD release.

Premium video on demand brings advantages such as helping studios make their streaming services more valuable to subscribers, satisfying consumers’ desire for new content, and making them feel like a VIP. In addition, direct-to-consumer release could anticipate the cost of preparing a movie for streaming distribution.

Also, it has been a lever to attract new subscribers and retain existing subscribers with exclusive releases.

While the pandemic has hit the film industry hard, it also offers an opportunity for business models with a time-honoured tradition to relax and better meet the challenges of the digital world.

Other video on demand business models

In addition to PVoD, other recently emerging business models include:

SVoD
Subscription Video on Demand. This is a subscription model for streaming television services through a contract that guarantees unlimited access to the content offered by the platform. An example would be: Netflix
TVoD
Transactional Video on Demand. This is the counterpart to the “free bar” enjoyed in the SVoD model. Under normal circumstances, a TVoD service does not charge the user to open an account, but rather the user pays a certain amount for each content viewed. As Prime Video (mixed model between SVoD and TVoD).
AVoD
Advertising (or Ad-based) Video on Demand. This is a free audiovisual content consumption model. The fact that AVoD has no costs for the user is due to the fact that it is financed based on advertising. An example would be: YouTube.

A more relevant example was Disney+, which implemented “Premier Access“, a type of Premium VOD in which it has released its latest titles such as Mulan, Cruella, Raya and the last dragon, Jungle Cruise and Black Widow. In this way it takes advantage of the appetite that its 100 million subscribers have for exclusive content that they cannot see directly in theatres.

We know that advances in streaming technology allow the secure distribution of live and on demand content in the highest quality, ensuring the best user experience. Therefore, Optiva Media works to meet the user’s needs and to make every advance in streaming more satisfying. You can learn more about video on demand in our post: Video on Demand 2021.