How OTT Helped Filmmakers Secure Their Business Amidst Pandemic?

Learn More about OTT Streaming

OTT is literally all over the place! From rom-coms to pacey thrillers, teary dramas to rib-tickling comics, over-the-top technology has opened doors not only to veteran production houses but also to independent filmmakers and debutants who showcase cinema in an all-new light. In fact, movies that found it hard to hit the theatres due to financial constraints or other roadblocks took the OTT platform way to make it big in the industry. 

Especially amidst the pandemic when a theatrical window run was out of the question, OTT releases became the new norm which not only brought moviemakers out of the financial crunch but also became a more practical and cost-effective way to broadcast their work to a wider audience base.

What is OTT Broadcasting?

Needless to say, we’ve spoken in-and-out of OTT! However, in a nutshell, OTT is a new-age technology that delivers video content over the Internet. It bypasses the traditional cable/ satellite broadcast that has for ages remained the way people consumed content. 

Bringing movies, TV shows, web series, seasonal, & original content all in one place, streaming platforms have become a crowd favorite, urging more and more film investors to fast forward to the best OTT platform release rather than waiting for multiplexes to open post pandemic. (Check out why content creators are tossing out theatrical releases in favor of OTT).

Considering the urgency, this is probably the best time for platform owners to cash in on the opportunity in the most profitable way possible.

Types of OTT Broadcasting Opportunities for Filmmakers

Now that the entertainment industry is just a tap away and the future is gleaming bright, it is important for distributors and studio owners to understand the different streaming possibilities they can make money out of. 

Video on Demand

Live Streaming

Readily available videos that can be consumed any hour of the day from any compatible device at the user end is called video on-demand streaming. VOD platforms offer content based on predefined monetization models. Classic examples include Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc where unlimited entertainment and family content is available on demand.  VOD Broadcasts: Movies, TV shows, documentaries, musicals, stand-up comedies, seasonal/ original content, etc.

Unlike on-demand streaming that delivers stored content over the Internet, live streaming allows videos to be recorded and played on the user’s device almost instantaneously. Any virtual event can be streamed as and when it is happening with the live stream functionality. In today’s scenario VOD and live streaming go hand in hand for the entertainment industry to thrive.  Live Broadcasts: Celeb interviews, reality shows, news, award functions, etc.

How Does OTT Work?

As mentioned before, OTT (Over-the-top) service works via the Internet. Streaming companies create a platform to deliver their content to the end-user who views it on a device of his choice which can basically be a laptop, mobile, tablet, smart TV, or gaming console. And in the case of regular television sets with HDMI ports, OTT devices like Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV can be used for streaming videos. So, OTT is the ultimate destination for content owners and distributors who want to sell their content online. 

Technically speaking, the video content from the streamer’s server is encoded using codecs (eg. Amazon Prime Video uses HEVC codec), and transported through containers across the Internet to reach the viewer’s screen. (Find out the best compression standard for VOD and live streaming!)

So, all that a viewer needs is a device with HTML5 video player backed up by a good Internet connection for watching. 

Is OTT the New Normal For the Entertainment Industry?

OTT is often pronounced to be the future of entertainment. However, with the lockdown restrictions in place, and cinema halls being shut down indefinitely, it became the new normal that audiences look forward to spending their time and money on. So several filmmakers, TV channels, and production companies have launched their own OTT spaces through solution providers like CONTUS VPlayed in order to capture the market with fresher content accessible through flexible plans. 

How OTT Favor Filmmakers?

• Business Continuity during Crises

With the lockdown restrictions in place, it was quite a dry phase for production houses who have invested millions of dollars in the industry as film shoots weren’t taking place and even if there was a completed film at hand, there was no way they were going to get a theatrical release. This was when film investors started approaching OTT giants to sell their content and in some cases launch their own streaming services to broadcast all of the movies they own.

• Reach a Larger Audience Base

The number of OTT viewers have multiplied exponentially during the pandemic and this is probably the best time distributors come up with their own OTT apps for larger viewership which in turn generates larger revenue. 

• Earn Profits from Older Content

Not only can film studios make money with new releases, they also have an advantage over old movies, short films, or documentaries they’ve produced in the past. So with a good VOD platform, investors can bring in a passive income from the content they already own. 

How Does CONTUS VPlayed Secure Your Copyrighted Entertainment Videos?

Investing in DRM (Digital Rights Management) tools is utmost important for any distributor or entertainment company to refrain from being attacked by cyber theft. Especially with movies, chances of piracy are high and hence need tight layers of security to protect your content from prying eyes. However, CONTUS VPlayed offers a solution with in-built DRM attributes that aesthetically secure your videos on multiple levels. 

1	AES Encryption	When AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is implemented, it converts the copyrighted videos to a format that can be accessed only by a secret key to cipher and decipher. In other words, AES algorithms secure your content against piracy by allowing access only to authorised users.
2	Dynamic Watermarks	Another significant way to protect your videos against piracy is to add watermarks. By displaying the viewer’s name, email-id, or IP, videos are less likely to be stolen and sold.
3	Paywall Integration	Integrate a soft/ hard paywall and limit access to your movies and web series only to paid users. Videos protected by a paywall cannot be viewed unless and until a user pays for the content or signs up for a subscription.  Know more about subscription pricing & plans!
4	SSL	SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificates ensure your video is played only on the authenticated user’s device using a special handshake between the origin server and the viewer’s browser.
5	Video Access Management	Use the admin dashboard to manage video access permissions on a user level and through password protection protocols.
6	Screenshot Prevention	With the spike in screen-recording tools in the cyber-theft black market, it is high time your platform holds the screenshot prevention feature. This safeguards your videos from being captured during playback with all OTT giants like Netflix including it in their apps.

5 Best Ways Movie Houses can Make Profits with CONTUS VPlayed

Money making is an art and the ultimate aim of cinema inclining towards OTT is to generate good revenue. CONTUS VPlayed’s high-profit monetization suite makes monetizing your videos as easy as pie.

Featured article: 6 Strategies to boost revenue by 200%

SVOD	AVOD	TVOD	Catch-up TV	Coupons & Promotions
Make your audiences pay for the entire access to your video library with weekly, monthly, or annual subscription plans.	Insert skippable/ non-skippable ads using the pre-roll/ mid-roll/ post-roll options available on the CMS dashboard to earn great profits from advertising video on demand.	Simply make your audiences pay only for the videos they want to watch. Learn how to monetize using the pay-per-view model!	A great option for TV channels and networks that have ventured into the OTT space. Catch-up TV essentially broadcasts videos audiences missed watching on the channel during its satellite telecast.	Slash plan rates or offer promotional coupon codes to convert non-subscribers to paid users, and thus reduce OTT churn rate.

Key Takeaway for Every Filmmaker/ Cine Investor Out There

With more and more movies making the paradigm shift from mainstream cinema screens to OTT, it is probably prime time for production units to launch their own streaming services for assured monetary benefits. By helping you build OTT platform, CONTUS VPlayed lets you monetize an entire lot of your entertainment videos without hassles whilst keeping an exceptional viewer experience in mind.