Video streaming platforms are evolving. They bring a lot of revenue to businesses, and viewers can watch better content. The more people use IPTV/OTT platforms, the more streaming platforms invest in creating or obtaining better-quality videos.
For viewers, video streaming platforms offer entertainment and educational content. People learn something new or have fun. For businesses, IPTV/OTT streaming services bring a lot of money.
Let’s observe some features you can benefit from when publishing content on your own video streaming platform.
Of course, we cannot but mention OTT platform monetization capabilities. Companies specializing in software development for video streaming embed monetization functionality in their solutions. There are common models they introduce: ad-based, subscription-based, and pay-per-view.
Some platform providers allow you to combine several models or use all of them. It is a hybrid monetization approach. As a result, you allow viewers to choose which payment method is more suitable for them.
They can purchase a monthly subscription and use the platform daily or pay for only one video and never come back.
Moreover, you can divide your content into several access categories. Some videos will be available for free but include ads, and some videos will be available on a subscription basis. And you can have premium content that requires additional purchases.
The point is that you define the purchasing model and manage how you generate money on a video streaming platform.
Many platforms make money by running ads on their content. People watch advertisements during the video playback and skip or click on them. However, a lot of viewers use ad-blockers. As a result, the platform loses potential revenue.
Server-side ad insertion (SSAI) is the alternative way of inserting ads into videos. And ad-blockers cannot detect ads inserted using this method. They are embedded into videos like they are part of it.
You can avoid ad-blocking and losing revenue with SSAI. More people will see ads and will be able to click on the follow button to learn more about the product or service advertised.
Often, video streaming platforms are created to host and manage on-demand content. People love this type of content and switch to IPTV/OTT services because of it.
However, live streaming functionality can be profitable as well.
The video-on-demand feature helps you offer content to people at any time they want, while live streaming allows you to communicate with people in real-time. The greatest thing about that is that people can ask questions and receive answers. You can make an impression or change their opinion on anything.
Government streaming, companies, and content creators can be rather beneficial. Governments can become more transparent with their citizens. Keeping in mind that many people don’t watch cable television, where the majority of the news is broadcast, an online streaming platform might be an opportunity to reach more viewers.
A video streaming service is usually available on many platforms, including Smart TVs, smartphones, and tablets. It means that more viewers will be able to watch your live stream. Consequently, you reach more people and have more customers.
At some point, a video streaming business would like to expand and grow its user base. One of the solutions to this problem can be a CDN. Content Delivery Networks can help a business reach more people.
CDN is a network of geographically distributed servers that makes content delivery easier and faster. When a person requests a video to play, it is transmitted from the server, which is closer to the viewer, not from the origin server.
For example, the consumer is in the USA, and your service is based in England. If the video is transferred from England to the USA, the delivery is long and with latencies. But thanks to CDN, the video is stored on a server that is also located in the USA or somewhere close to it. As a result, the delivery time is decreased, and the customer gets a smooth viewing experience.
Moreover, CDN protects your content from DDoS attacks that aim to disable your servers. The content delivery network distributes traffic across many servers, and your video streaming platform manages to continue operating.
Thanks to CDN, you can reach people around the world and ensure a good user experience. Consequently, your user base is growing, and you generate more revenue.
User experience is quite important nowadays. There are so many services out there, and they sometimes offer similar content. So, it is not difficult for a viewer to find another platform if the first one doesn’t care about user experience and doesn’t match the customer’s interests.
If you don’t want to lose viewers, you should find a platform that can provide features for improving the user experience. For example, a recommendation engine, different payment methods, personalization, customization, and others.
When you offer a recommendation engine, you provide viewers with a great deal of content that they would not find or encounter in some other situation. Personalization allows people to customize their profiles according to their interests. These are good features to increase a user engagement rate on the platform.
Also, if you are a worldwide video streaming service provider, it is important to add subtitles in different languages to your videos. Don’t forget about localization. You will need to adapt certain elements to other languages and cultural peculiarities.
The more your viewers are satisfied with your video streaming service, the sooner they will become your regular customers.
Video streaming platforms are equipped with a lot of features that you can find valuable for a business. However, every development company implements what it considers essential for its clients. So, make sure you choose the right platform, and it will have all the necessary features. If you want to launch or upgrade your video streaming service, we recommend contacting Setplex. They can offer you a solution to achieve your business goals.
