How Does Video on Demand Work?
Today, more and more people are getting across the Video on Demand concept, but not all of them clearly understand what it actually is. In this article, we will equip you with all the necessary information about this service.
The fundamental question to answer is what is VOD? The early ’90s may be marked as the moment of the first VOD services appearance; however, only in the 2000th, they started forming their current functionality. Video on Demand relates to video materials that may be streamed on viewers’ demand. Such streaming may occur in two ways: either when the viewer is downloading a chosen video file to their gadget to be able to watch it later or through an online source that is transmitting materials directly.
In a word, VOD systems offer customers access to all of the functionality of mobile media devices and DVD players, including the opportunity to save and stream video content. The key difference from the traditional form of linear TV is viewers’ absolute freedom on what, when, and where to watch. If the audience was chained to a certain TV and depended on its cable or satellite connection years ago, now, you have the possibility to create your own watching schedule absolutely independently and based only on your personal schedule.
The Main Principle of Video on Demand Work
In brief, VOD is a modern media distribution system. Its main function is to send data packages from video content hosting servers to your video player. There are two main financial models that might be used by VOD providers for earning money.
The first one is a subscription model, also known as SVOD. Huge content creating and distributing enterprises use this method. Among them are such mastodons as Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+, HBO Max, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Subscription to these services opens users access to their enormous ad-free libraries full of content, which they can enjoy at any convenient moment.
The second one is advertising or AVOD in a short form. Viewers allowed to watch content for free. However, when doing so, they have to deal with the portion of skippable or unskippable ads. Such platforms as YouTube, Dailymotion, Crackle, Xumo, etc. are actively using this model of earnings.
Also, there are so-called hybrid VOD platforms, which combine features of both above-described models. These services are typically AVOD-type in their free versions, but at the same time, you might be offered an SVOD premium deal without ads. YouTube Premium is one of those platforms that are actively using such an approach.
You might be wondering what happened with good old TV channels? Are they in danger of extinction? No, they have successfully adapted to the new reality and are currently offering a service called Broadcast VOD. In this way, the content, which has been initially shown on a traditional linear TV, is later uploaded to the channels platform for further streaming on demand of its viewers.
Summing Up
The VOD market is continually growing. Its main advantages are flexibility and availability. The freedom, which VOD gifted people with, is priceless. It is not surprising that every year, thousands of users chose VOD over traditional TV.
