the mechanics of launching a consumer video offer “o...
Post on 12-Jul-2020
0 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
AuthoredbyJasonPetersonChiefExecutiveOfficer,ContentBridgeSystems
THEMECHANICSOFLAUNCHINGACONSUMERVIDEOOFFER“OVERTHETOP”
TABLEOFCONTENTSINTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................1
THEFIRSTSTEP-DEFININGYOUROTTOFFERING.......................................................................................2
THESTEPSTODEPLOYINGTHEOTTSERVICE...............................................................................................3
MEDIALICENSING&ON-BOARDING........................................................................................................3
1. RightsLicensing............................................................................................................................3
2. DigitalAssetManagement...........................................................................................................4
3. MezzanineDeliverables...............................................................................................................5
PLATFORMDESIGN,DEVELOPMENT,ANDDEPLOYMENT.......................................................................6
1. UserInterface/AppDesign...........................................................................................................6
2. OnlineVideoProvisioning............................................................................................................6
3. Monetization................................................................................................................................8
4. Analytics.....................................................................................................................................11
5. Accounting.................................................................................................................................11
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................................12
INTRODUCTIONWhatmayseemtobeasimpleprocess—gettingaccesstovideocontentanddeliveringittoconsumers—isactuallyprettycomplexandcomplicated.Thisprimerexplainstheworkflowforasuccessfullaunch.CareshouldbetakentoacquiretherightexpertiseforeachstepinthechainasintegratingallpartsoftheprocessisacomplexundertakingandtherearemultiplepointsoffailureinanOTToffer.
2
THEFIRSTSTEP-DEFININGYOUROTTOFFERINGThefirststepindeployingasuccessfulOTTsolutiontotheconsumerisdefiningit.Weneedtoaskthefollowingquestions:
1. Whoarethecustomersegments?2. Howlargearethey—i.e.,howmanyusersareweexpectingtoserveandonwhat
timetable?3. Whattypeofexperiencedowewanttoprovidetheconsumer?
a. Whatareourcustomerrelationships:i. Howdowedelivertheservice?ii. Howdowesupporttheservice?
4. Whatarethevaluepropositionstotheconsumer?5. Whataretherevenuestructures?6. Whatarethecoststructures?
BasedontheresponsesyoucanbegintoframeupthepictureofwhattheOTTofferwilllooklike.
Let’sassumeforthepurposeofthiswhitepaperthatwearegoingtolaunchanOTTofferwiththefollowingcharacteristics:
1. CustomerSegments:TargetingSpanishspeakersinHispanicculturesglobally(US,Spain,Mexico,Central&SouthAmerica,etc.)
2. NumberofExpectedUsers:Uptoonemillionperdayand100,000concurrent.3. TypeofExperience:Wewanttoprovideahybridlinear/on-demandexperienceacross
allmajorplatforms:webbrowser,Android,iOS,andultimatelyconnecteddeviceslikePlayStation,Roku,SamsungTVs,Xbox,etc.However,wearewillingtotriageandprioritizethoseplatformswiththegreatestconsumeradoptionfirst.
4. TheValueProposition:High-qualitymusicvideoandrelatedcontentunderafreemiummodel.
5. TheRevenueStructures:Willincludeanopenlyavailablefreeareawithinawebbrowserdeliveringvideoinstandarddefinitionwithanupselltoapaidsubscriptiontoaccesstheserviceonaconnecteddeviceinhighdefinition.
6. CostStructures:Willlargelydependonthetoolschosen,butcouldbecomprisedofcapitalexpensesand/oroperationalexpensesdependingonthesedecisions.Thegoalistostartupwiththeleastamountofsunkcostpossibleandtokeepthemarginalcostofservingeachcustomerwellbelowmarginalrevenue.
3
THESTEPSTODEPLOYINGTHEOTTSERVICETodeployaconsumer-centricvideobasedofferoverthetop(OTT)thedistributiontoolchainincludesthefollowing:
InordertosetupthisOTToffer,weneedtoinitiatetwoconcurrentworkflows:
1. Medialicensingandon-boarding2. Platforminfrastructuredesign,development,anddeployment
MEDIALICENSINGANDON-BOARDINGOn-Boardingincludesalltheback-endstepsofobtaining,tracking,andpreparingcontentfordistributiontotheconsumer.Thefunctionsincludedinon-boardinginclude“RightsLicensing,”“DigitalAssetManagement,”and“Obtaining/ConvertingMezzanineFiles.”
1. RightsLicensing:Oncecontentiseitherinternallyproducedorlicensedandmastered,therightslicensed“in”shouldberecordedinarightsmanagementsystem,ideallyonethatcanreadtheEntertainmentMerchantsAssociation’sContentAvailabilityMetadata(EMAAvails)format.1Studiosanddistributorsbuildwindowsfortheircontentthatmatchpricetoconsumerutilitytooptimizetheamountofrevenuetheycanearn.Anyonlinevideoservicethatviolatesthewindowswillmostcertainlyfacelitigation.Theserightsneedtobeenforcedthroughtheretailer’stools;otherwiseabreachofcontractsuitmayensuefromthesupplier.(Forexample,ifwehavetherighttoexhibitTheHungerGamesin2015butnotin2016andthenagainin2017toconsumerslocatedintheUnitedStates,thenwehadbetternotstreamthemovieeithertoaconsumerintheUSonJanuary5,2016,oranywhereelseintheworldanytime.)
1Availableathttp://www.entmerch.org/digitalema/committeescouncils/avails-work-group/index.html.
4
Somecapablerightsmanagersare:• CounterPointSystems• FilmTrack• MediaMorph• Rightsline
2. DigitalAssetManagement:Oncetherightsareacquiredandrecorded,weneedto
actuallyreceivethemasterormezzanineelementsforeachtitlelicensed.Ideally,wehaveasystemofrecordtostore,backup,andarchivethese“masterassetpackages”becausetheyarethehighestlevel/highestqualitydeliverableswewillreceivefromoursuppliersandwewillusethemtimeandtimeagaintomakedownstreamdeliverablesasexhibitiontechnologyevolves.
Thesecontent“packages”arelikelytobereceivedaspartof“mediamanifests”2containingcomponentbasedmediaelementsinamasterassetpackageformatliketheInterchangeableMasterFormat(IMF)3.ThemediamanifestisanXML-basedcontainerstructurethatallowsformultipleversionssuchasedits,aspectratios,andlocalized
2TheMediaManifestCoreDeliveryisanXML-basedpackagecontainerdevelopedbyEMAandMovieLabsthatisbeingadoptedbysomemajordigitalretailers.Availableathttp://www.entmerch.org/digitalema/committeescouncils/media-manifest-workgroup.html.3IMFisamasteringformatforthecomponentsofamotionpicturedevelopedbytheSocietyofMotionPictureandTelevisionEngineers.
5
versionstobestored,relatedtoeachother,andupdatedasnewversionscomeavailable.MetadatacanbestoredutilizingtheDEG/EntertainmentMerchantsAssociationMediaEntertainmentCoreMetadatastandard,astandardbeingrequestedbylargerretailerstoday.4(However,somecontentprovidersmayopttocontroltheproductionofdeliverablesthemselvestomaintain“controloftheconsumerexperience.”Thejuryisstilloutonwheretheindustryisgoingonthis.)
Thereareafewprovidersofout-of-the-boxdigitalassetmanagementsystemsforbothglobalfilmandTV.Therearemanymediaassetmanagementsystemsfortelevision,buttheyaretypicallylightonmetadata,andthereareafewserviceproviderswithcustomsolutions.
Hereisapartiallist:
• Movieso ContentBridgeo OpenText(Artesia)
• Televisiono ContentBridgeo Dassaulto EvertzMediatoro Omneono ImagineCommunications(Harris&GrassValley)o Manyothers….
3. MezzanineDeliverables:Mezzanineanddownstreamexhibitiondeliverablesarecomprisedofencodedvideoandaudiofiles,closedcaptions,subtitles,artwork,andlocallanguagemetadata.Wehaveanopportunitytoeither“build”asystemtotranscodemezzaninefilesfordistributiontoconsumers,orwecanoutsourcethisfunctiontoapost-productionand“buy”filesasneededorwecanuseoneoftheemergingProgrammaticContentDistributionsoftware-as-a-servicevendorsinthecloud.
Build:IfwearegoingtotakeownershipofanIMFpackageoranothermasterormezzanine-leveldeliverable,wewouldmanagethemezzaninefilesviain-housedigitalassetmanagementandthenhireanoperationsteamanduseathird-partysystemin-housetotranscodeandpackagethemfordistributiontotheconsumer.Theupfrontcostforthesoftwarewillbehigher,andateammustbeemployed;however,the
4Availableathttp://www.entmerch.org/digitalema/committeescouncils/media-ent-core-md/index.html.
6
marginalperunitcostshouldbemuchlower.Anotheroptionistousethe“software-as-a-service,”whichmaybeviabledependingonvolumerequirements.
Buy:Therearemanypostproductionproviderswhocanmanagethelogisticsofsourcingmasterassetpackagesfromcontentprovidersandproducetherequireddownstreamdeliverablesfordistributiontotheconsumer.Thisoptionrequireslittletonoupfrontinvestmentandcarryingcost,buttheper-pieceratewillbetwototentimeshigherthananin-housesolutionatscale.Programmaticcontentdistributionsolutionscanachievesimilarresultsforafractionofthecostandcycletime.
Somewell-knownprovidersare:
• 2GDigital• ContentBridge(programmaticcontentdistributionsoftware)• Deluxe• Mojo(formerlyInceptionDigitalServices)• NEP(formerlyConsolidatedMediaIndustries)(Europe)• PremiereDigitalServices• PrimeFocus(India)• Radius60• SonyDADC• VisualDataMediaServices
PLATFORMDESIGN,DEVELOPMENT,ANDDEPLOYMENTDesigning,developingdeployingtheconsumer-facingfunctionsincludingtheUserInterface/App,OnlineVideoProvisioning,Monetizing,Analytics,andAccountingisofparamountimportance.
1. UserInterface/AppDesign:Thefirststepistodesigntheuserexperienceandthentoexecuteitthroughagenerallyacceptedsoftwaredevelopmentlifecycle(SDLC).[SDLCbestpracticesarebeyondthescopeofthisarticle.]
2. OnlineVideoProvisioning:Oncewe’vedesignedtheuserexperience,duringthedevelopmentoftheapplicationwewoulddeterminehowcontentwillbeprovisionedtotheconsumer.Self-Developed:Oneoptionistodesignanddevelopourownend-to-endsolutionusingeitherownedoroperatedhardware.Buildinganend-to-endsolutionfromscratchinclusiveofoperatingyourowndata-center(s)canbeamassivepropositionthatisonlyrelevantforthelargestparticipantsinthespace.Ifyou’reamajorstudio,thenitmight
7
makesensetobeentirelyverticallyintegratedandowntheentirestack.However,theriskofpursuingsuchastrategyisthatanycomponentinthechainmightfailtomeetthenecessarybusinessrequirementsand/orcostsandschedulesmayoverrun.(Thishasbeenpartiallythecasewithoneofthemajortelecomproviders,whohasbeenattemptingtobuildtheentirestack.Theyaremorethan$500millionintobuildingandbuyingthecomponentsandyearsoverschedule.Itwilleventuallywork,butatwhatcost?)
LeasedHardwareinaThird-PartyCloud:Forthepurposeofthisexample,wewillassumewe’regoingtointegratebest-of-breedprovidersandcomponentsintoasolutioninthecloud.
Thefirststepistoselectanonlinevideoprovider(OVP)toprovidethevideoplayer,thebackendcontentandsupplierrightsmanagementsystem,userauthentication,anddigitalrightsmanagementforsecurity.Wewillbesupportinguptoonemilliondailyusersfromaroundtheglobewithupto100,000concurrentstreams.Inorderfortheoffertohaveacompellinguserexperience,latencyfortheusermustbeverylow;nouserwantstowaitforpagesorvideostoload.Inordertodeliveralow-latencyexperience,acontentdeliverynetwork(CDN)shouldbeutilizedtocachecontentthatismostpopularinaregionattheedgeofthenetworksoitistheleastnumberofnetworkhopsawayfromtheuser.WhenselectinganOVPtheywilllikelybeabletoofferyouresaleofCDNservices.
CommonOVPsInclude:
• Brightcove• Kaltura• MLBAdvancedMediaOoyala• PlatformPurple• ThePlatform• Vimeo
Additionally,thecontentmanagedintheCMSneedstobestoredinanavailableplace.Storagecostsareamajorcostcentertobeconsidered.
ThearchitectureoftheCloudissuchthatthereareinfrastructure-as-a-serviceproviders(IaaS),whicharetraditionallythelargenetworkingandsoftwarecompanies.TheseIaaScompaniesinvestbillionsinlargewarehousesfullofcomputerhardwareconnectedbywayoffiberopticcablestointernetbackboneproviderslikeLevel3,MCI,Worldcom,andthewell-knowntelecoms.
8
IfyouhavefirstselectedanOVP,theywilladviseyouonwhichIaaSproviderstheysupport.IncreasinglyIaaSprovidersarecourtingthosecompanieswhoprovidetheapplicationstackthatrunsontheirinfrastructure.Thisisbecauseinfrastructureislargelyacommoditybusiness.However,itisthesoftwarethatisadifferentiator.
CommonCloudIaaSProviders
• Akamai• Amazon• Google• IBM• Microsoft
OncewehaveselectedanOVPandanIaaSproviderforstorage,processing,database,andtransportwithaCDNforedgecachingandlow-latencydelivery,it’stimetostartthinkingaboutmonetization.
3. Monetization:Therearefourpredominantbusinessmodelsinmedia:purchase(EST),rental(T-VOD),subscription(S-VOD),andadvertisingsupported(A-VOD).5Inthisexamplewearegoingafterwhatiscalleda“freemium”model,whichisacombinationoffreetouseandsubscription,anticipatingthatwewillconvertusersintopayingcustomers,becauseitallowsfordiscussionofbothtransactionalbusinessmodels(ESTandT-VOD)andA-VOD.FirstwewillneedausercredentialingandauthenticationengineprovidedbytheOVPthatintegratesintoapaymentprocessinggatewaytoprocesssubscriptionpaymentsviacommonlyavailablemethodssuchascreditcards,AndroidPay,ApplePay,PayPal,etc.IftheOVPdoesn’tprovidethispieceyouwillneedtosourceaseparatevendorandintegratetheirpaymentsystem’sbackendviaitsAPIintotheOVP’sauthenticationengine.
Vendorsforpaymentprocessinginclude:
• Mostmajormerchantbanksaswellas,• Paypal.com• Processing.com• Square.com
5Foradiscussionofthesebusinessmodels,see“DefiningOver-the-Top(OTT)DigitalDistribution,”availableathttp://www.entmerch.org/digitalema/white-papers/defining-digital-distributi.pdf.
9
OurFreemiumofferwillalsoincludeadvertisingunderboththefree-to-useandpay-to-useareasoftheservice–similartocableTV.Advertisingmonetizationcanbetricky.Inmostcases,whenyouloadawebpagethesubstantivecontentcomesfromtheCDNandtheadvertisement(s)loadinaseparateareacalledan“i-frame”thatisservedbyan“adserver,”whichisaseparateCDNforadvertisingwithadecisionenginebehinditdecidingwhichadvertisementtoservewhichconsumeratanygivenopportunity.Advertisingontheinternetisdynamicandprogrammatic.Thegoalistoservethemostrelevantadvertisementtoeachconsumertomaximizetheperformanceoftheadforthebuyerandmaketheexperienceashelpfulandrelevantaspossibletotheviewer.Commonad-serversare:
• Atlas(formerlyMicrosoft,nowFacebook)• DoubleClick(Google)• SmartAdServer
Theadserverperformstwofunctions:(1)decidingwhichadtoserve;and(2)deliveringitintothei-frameorvideoplayer.Therearestandardsdescribinghowthewebsiteinteractswiththead-serverdevelopedandimplementedbytheInternetAdvertisingBureau.ThecurrentstandardsareVASTandVPAIDanddescribedifferentlevelsofintegrationandflexibility.
Herearethreecommonadunits:
Thinkofoptimizingthemixofadvertisingasapyramidfunction:
10
o DirectPre-Soldo TargetedProgrammaticSoldo RemnantRunofNetworkSold
Priortothead-serverinthetoolchainforadvertisingliesasupplysideplatform,oneormoreadexchangesandmanydemandsideplatforms.Belowisagraphicthatsummarizesthemany-to-manyrelationshipsinprogrammaticadvertising.
DirectSold
RunofAudience(TargetedProgrammaticSold)
RunofNetwork(remnantinventory)
11
Theseprogrammaticbuyingandsellingtoolsliveconcurrentlywithmanualinsertionordersthatcanbeinsertedintothead-servertopre-emptorliveconcurrentlywithinventorybeingpurchasedprogrammatically.Anexampleofthiswouldbeifwesoldallofourhomepageinventoryatanupfronttoasingleadvertiserforathree-monthperiod;wewouldinsertthatordermanuallyintotheadserveranditwouldpre-empttheadexchangeinventory.
Pricingisusuallydevelopedbasedonamatrixofcriteriaincludingtargetingdataandpre-emption(someadvertiserswant100%shareofvoice,forexample).
4. Analytics:Beingabletoidentify,track,andoptimizeconsumerbehavioriskeytoconcertingandkeepingcustomers.Churnwillkillabusinessliketheonewe’rebuildinghere.TheOVPCMSwillcomewithsomeanalyticscapabilitiessuchasinformationonwhatcontentispopularincertainregionsoftheworld.However,wewillwanttooptimizethecustomeracquisitionfunnelontheonehandandtheuserexperienceontheother.
Foroptimizingthesalesfunnelwewillwanttodoourbesttoestablishacausalrelationshipbetweendemandgenerationactivitiesandcustomerconversions.Wewillthenwanttomonitorsourcesoftraffic,costsperacquisition,servicestickiness,andchurn.Thegoalistomaketheservicestickyandviralsuchthatmosttrafficandconversionscomefromorganicnon-paidsourcesandconverttopayingcustomersatagoodrate.Therearemanyservicesthatcanhelpwiththis:
• GoogleAnalytics• Hootsuite
Foroptimizinguserexperienceforacquisitionandstickiness,wewillcontinuallyA/Btestdifferentuserinterfaceconfigurationsacrossourmanydifferentdevices.ThisispartoftheSDLCbestpractices.Wewillwanttouseaservicethatallowsustodothis.Thereareseveralavailable.
5. Accounting:Thisistheprocessofdistillingrevenuedataintoroyaltystatementsforyourcontentproviders.
Whendealingwithadvertising,accountingcanbecomplex.IdeallywecancreateauniqueidentifyingnumberchainthattiestheAdIDfromtheadservertotheEIDRforthecontentaroundwhichtheadvertisementwasservedandthenreporttheresultsinastandardizedformulasuchastheDEGstandard.Ifwecandothisthenwecanalsooffercontentspecificadvertisinginventorytobuyersthatcanincreaseourrevenue.Several
12
companiescanhelpwiththis,althoughitmostcertainlyisasystemsintegrationproject.Herearefewwhoarewellknown:
• CounterpointSystems• FilmTrack• MediaMorph
Whendealingwithtransactionaldatasuchassubscriptions,themathismuchsimpler.Thereneedstobeacontractuallydefinedmethodinplacewiththecontentsuppliersforhowtheyarecompensated,whetheritisusingarevenuepoolingapproachoraperstreamroyaltyorotherwise.ThisdataneedstoberecordedintheCMSdatabaseandcaneasilybemanipulated.
CONCLUSIONBuildinganddeployinganOTTnetworkisacomplexprojectthatrequirescarefulplanningandexecution.Maintaining,upgrading,andplanningfordeliveryatscalearealladditionalareastoconsider.Luckilytherearecompaniessuchasthoseillustratedwithinthiswhitepaperthatcanhelphandlethecomplexity.
top related