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Success in SVOD starts with Subscription Billing

© 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.

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Success in SVOD starts with Subscription Billing

© 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.

The market for streaming video on demand is growing fast. A new report from Research

and Markets predicted 306 million homes will use SVOD by 2020, up from an anticipated

161 million by the end of 2015. Moreover, by 2020, global SVOD revenue will reach

$26,794 million, which is more than twice the total revenue expected in 2015. Many

companies will successfully take advantage of this growing market, but others won't

make the cut. What makes a SVOD business successful?

Here are a few attributes to consider:

Great subscription billing

Perhaps the most important attribute of a successful SVOD brand is the support of a

strong subscription billing platform. The right subscription billing partner can help video

companies reduce churn and increase customer loyalty. A nimble subscription billing

platform also helps companies provide a number of different subscription offerings to

meet the needs of customers, as well as easily offer promotions and upgrades to thank

loyal users. Ultimately, taking advantage of SVOD is all about customer retention, and a

high-quality subscription billing partner is the first step to get there.

3 © 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.

The right price point

Finding an appropriate pricing strategy is also key. SVOD consumers tend to be price-

sensitive. In many cases, younger consumers are unwilling to pay for these services at

all and instead choose to share accounts with family or friends. According Fierce Online

Video article, millennials would rather watch ads on a free channel than pay. SVOD

providers need to find a good balance between content offerings and pricing. A

subscription fee that is too high will turn away viewers no matter what, but consumers are

willing to pay for high-quality services.

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The SVOD market is booming.

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Offer something new

The SVOD market is already flooded with offerings. Any business that wishes to thrive

will need to provide something competitors don't. That means they either need to find an

untapped niche or outperform existing businesses. For instance, Smithsonian Networks

just launched a SVOD service that exclusively provides video related to nature and

wildlife, Stream Daily reported. What other content niches remain untapped?

Branding

Excellent content isn't all it takes to succeed in the SVOD market. In many cases, having

a recognizable brand makes a difference. This could be one reason for the continued

dominance of Netflix over other SVOD services. People are simply familiar with the brand

and equate it with a good product. To obtain success, companies should prioritize brand

building strategies.

"Companies

should

prioritize

brand

building."

Know your market

Market research is crucial to launching a SVOD brand. Some markets

have different needs and interests than others. For example, Hulu

faced difficulties expanding into Japan, where consumers are

extremely brand focused, Fierce Online Video wrote. At the same time,

users wanted localized content, which Hulu didn't offer. As a result,

Hulu didn't last in this country. Before launching in any market, brands

need to research the consumer base.

6 © 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.

Marketing strategy

You may have the best content in the world, but consumers will never know about it

unless you can effectively communicate with them. No SVOD business model is

complete without a solid marketing strategy. Marketing is also crucial to demonstrating

your value over time to current customers. In a crowded SVOD environment, viewers

may switch to a competitor if that business continues to improve its offerings.

Entering an already crowded SVOD market will be challenging for most businesses.

However, there is opportunity for strong growth for companies that do it right. With the

right balance of price and content, as well as a marketing strategy and the right

subscription billing tools, brands will be poised for success.

7 © 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.

About the Author: Bryta Schulz

Bryta joined Vindicia in 2013 and serves as Senior Vice

President of Marketing. She is responsible for building brand

awareness, creating go-to-market strategy and promotion, and

driving growth. With over a decade of executive level marketing,

product management and PR experience, Bryta has led

marketing teams in enterprise technology and SaaS companies.

Her experience includes heading product marketing at GoGrid,

PGP, RSA and Symantec and business development and

product management positions at Xcert, Thales, and

Persistence Software. Bryta holds a MA in Translation from the

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and an MBA from the

University of Reutlingen.

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© 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.