Since the commercial deployment of video on demand in 2000, iN DEMAND’s delivery of movies via cable’s VOD platform has generated nearly $8 billion in retail revenue for its affiliates. The platform continues to be a powerful revenue-generator for MVPDs, and is part of a huge business ecosystem. In a typical month, new movie titles premiering on demand represent $900 million in total domestic box office.
In recent years, the entire media business has shifted, and the transactional video on demand industry is no different. It has transcended challenges and embraced new frontiers in licensing, content processing and delivery. Cutting-edge technology is required in order to move massive amounts of content in multiple emerging formats, and do all this with dependability and efficiency.
To keep pace with the changing scenarios, MVPDs are leveraging new analytics to expand customer engagement strategies that will help them cope with these changing trends. Operators have vastly increased the amount of content they provide. Improved search and discovery now makes it easier for customers to find anything they want to watch. The free on demand (FOD) category has also expanded, which in turn has made customers more comfortable with the platform and more aware of the transactional segment of MSOs’ offerings.
With the proliferation of new video services and content management services, content aggregators like iN DEMAND are at a crossroads. One way that iN DEMAND addresses current challenges is by making continuous improvements in its approach to client service. A huge inventory of content flows through the company’s infrastructure and it has to be managed meticulously. Working with 220 content providers, iN DEMAND delivers every genre of movie, from comedy to action, to high profile, revenue-driving live sports and PPV events, across varied platforms.
According to Lauren LoFrisco iN DEMAND’s EVP, Distribution and Business Services, “Our company provides contemporary solutions to reduce the pain-points of our clients, and help grow their revenues. iN DEMAND embodies customer service as the 'Future Ready' underpinning of our company’s mission. Filtering all we do through this strategic context enables us to be more innovative and to be an indispensable business partner. We have a workforce of expert engineers, licensing leaders, smart schedulers and progressive programmers, who make it possible for our clients to serve a wealth of transactional entertainment to their customers. For over 30 years of upheaval and industry change, the people here at iN DEMAND have been dedicated to making clients the #1 priority.”
The company’s operations and technical team prides itself in responsiveness and flexibility to customers’ needs. “We are in business to provide creative solutions that make it easier for our affiliates to deliver an extraordinary amount of entertainment at the highest quality,” said John Vartanian, iN DEMAND’s Chief Technology Officer, “With an eye towards increasing buy rates, we are able to deliver customized MSO specs and metadata, and build stunts and categories that help them generate more transactions,” he added. The company also uses technological advancements to improve its products. By taking advantage of new video compression standards and advances in compression algorithms, they can deliver content at lower bit rates, resulting in reduced storage costs and decreased VOD contention at cable systems. “We are constantly adapting to support any technology that the MSOs choose,” he said. “For example, we are in the testing phase of HDR and 4K and will be ready to support affiliates when they are ready to deploy.”
iN DEMAND also specializes in leading-edge marketing support that helps MVPD clients drive awareness and purchases of movies on demand, PPV and event content. Their marketing team customizes thousands of cross channel spots, produces barker channels and provides creative services for seasonal and tactical campaigns. According to Chief Creative Officer Stacie Gray, “Our team also focuses on enhanced services in digital and social media marketing. Notable is our iN DEMAND Productions unit that covers movie junkets and film festivals, producing interviews with stars and other high-profile talent. This exclusive video content is helpful to our clients who use it in free on demand platforms and in their social media channels to enhance their own promotion.”
“Our video distributors depend on iN DEMAND to deliver over 300,000 hours of content resulting in 120 million transactions every year,” added LoFrisco. “Our technology and industry-leading innovations will ensure we keep delivering what our clients’ customers want to watch no matter how they watch it.”
For a worry-free PPV/VOD partnership, join our family of video providers or add your content to our portfolio. Learn more at http://www.indemand.com/what-we-do/
