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VisualCaster

Best Practices for Growing an On-Demand Video Platform

by Noyal Sharook July 21, 2023

In this fast-paced digital era, where entertainment knows no bounds, on-demand video platforms have become a beacon of joy, serving up an amazing array of content right at our fingertips. Whether it’s diving into the latest blockbuster, exploring educational documentaries, or indulging in heartwarming series marathons, these platforms have revolutionized the way we consume media. The hype is only starting to grow even further with so many new names entering the market.

In this article, we uncover the best practices for growing an on-demand video streaming platform, where technology and human touch intertwine to create a world of endless possibilities and cinematic wonders. So if you’re in the process of building your own platform, or if you are stepping into the possibility of building one, this one’s for you.

UNDERSTANDING ON-DEMAND VIDEO PLATFORMS

Before jumping into the intricacies of on-demand video platforms, it is necessary to understand what they are and how they work. So what exactly is it? Simply put, it is an online service that allows users to access a vast library of video content at their convenience. Unlike traditional TV broadcasting, where viewers have to adhere to fixed schedules, on-demand platforms offer the freedom to watch videos whenever and wherever they choose.

Take the case of Netflix, for example. Users are able to choose from a wide array of content, ranging from classic films to the latest releases, and enjoy them on various devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart TVs. It operates on a subscription-based model, allowing users to stream unlimited content for a monthly fee. The key advantage of on-demand video streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video lies in their personalized approach, as they use algorithms to recommend content based on users’ viewing history, ensuring that each individual receives tailored suggestions and a unique viewing experience.

The myriad of benefits that these on-demand video platforms offer have gone on to revolutionize the way we consume media. The biggest flex is unarguably the convenience it offers, allowing users to access a vast library of content anytime, anywhere, and on any device. Secondly, these platforms offer personalized recommendations and content curation, enhancing user engagement and satisfaction. Furthermore, they have opened new avenues for content creators and artists to reach global audiences, democratizing the entertainment industry.

In the case of entrepreneurs, building an on-demand video platform can be a lucrative opportunity. Firstly, it allows them to tap into the booming digital media industry and capitalize on the growing demand for personalized content consumption. The subscription-based model provides a stable revenue stream, offering a predictable income over time, while the platform’s global accessibility enables entrepreneurs to reach audiences worldwide. Moreover, the analytics and user data collected from the platform facilitate data-driven decision-making, enabling continuous improvement and refinement of content offerings to meet customer preferences. In short, if your focus is on the right niche, making use of the best market opportunity, it can be a goldmine.

BEST PRACTICES FOR GROWING ON-DEMAND VIDEO PLATFORMS

Now that we’ve covered the significance of on-demand video streaming platforms, let’s take a look at some of the best practices that can play a vital role in growing your VOD business. As the demand for video streaming services continues to rise, it becomes crucial to understand what the users demand when choosing a VOD platform. Although price plays a crucial role, there are also other factors that should be taken into consideration. Here are a few best practices to get you on the path to success:

1. Content Variety and Quality

Offer an exciting array of top-notch content to cater to diverse interests and keep users coming back for more. For example, if your VOD platform is specifically focused on the health industry, provide a mix of content that resonates with different users. This could range from engaging workout routines to informative tutorials and entertaining challenges. Additionally, staying abreast of trending topics and user preferences will guide your content acquisition strategy, ensuring that your platform consistently offers engaging and sought-after content. Always remember the popular adage – content is king!

2. User-Friendly Interface

Design a platform that feels like a breeze to navigate. Keep it simple and intuitive, ensuring users can easily search for and discover videos they love. Implementing a user-friendly interface with easy navigation, efficient search filters, and personalized recommendation algorithms will enhance engagement and reduce user frustration. By ensuring that videos load quickly and play seamlessly across various devices, you’ll create a positive impression and will encourage users to explore more content and spend quality time on your platform.

3. Personalization and Recommendations

Make your users feel special by offering personalized content recommendations. This is implemented by suggesting relevant videos based on their interests that will delight users, increase engagement, and keep them hooked on your platform. By harnessing the potential of data analytics to gain insights into their preferences and viewing habits, you can curate tailored content suggestions that align with their individual interests. As users find the suggested videos more aligned with the things they love and their viewing habits, they are ikely to spend more time exploring your content library, increasing overall engagement, and ultimately leading to improved customer retention.

4. Solid Technical Infrastructure

The most important key component to grow your on-demand video platform is to make sure that you have built a solid infrastructure that makes this growth possible. Begin by ensuring that your platform’s infrastructure is scalable and can handle increased user traffic and demand for streaming content without compromising performance. Additionally, utilize cloud-based solutions to dynamically allocate resources as needed. To provide smooth and high-quality video playback across different devices and network conditions, optimize video encoding, streaming protocols, and adaptive bitrate technology.

For enhancing the delivery and distribution of video content to end-users, utilize a CDN to distribute video content across multiple servers geographically, reducing latency and ensuring faster and more reliable content delivery to users worldwide. Security measures are also key components of a reliable on-demand video streaming solution so employ digital rights management (DRM) and encryption to safeguard premium content.

In a world glued to smartphones, don’t forget to optimize your platform for mobile devices.

Invest in a mobile-responsive design and optimize the user interface for seamless navigation and interaction on mobile devices, as mobile usage accounts for a significant portion of video streaming. Note that you must also make it a point to minimize buffering time by optimizing video loading, encoding settings, and network delivery, as excessive buffering can lead to user frustration and drop-offs.

5. Flexible Subscription Plans

To bring in new customers to use your platform, you need to give them a taste of it first. One of the best ways to do this is by offering free trials and letting them experience the benefits of your premium content firsthand. Although this may not always be the best strategy for everyone, it sure is a great way to get your customers flowing. In addition to free trials, providing flexible subscription plans with varying pricing options caters to users with different budgets and commitment levels. Offering multiple tiers of subscription plans, such as monthly, quarterly, or annual, allows users to choose the one that best suits their needs and preferences.

This customization promotes a sense of control and personalization, encouraging users to invest in your platform with confidence. By combining free trials and flexible subscription plans, you provide potential users with a low-risk opportunity to experience your platform’s benefits while catering to their individual preferences and financial situations. This approach not only drives customer acquisition but also improves the chances of converting free trial users into loyal, paying customers who recognize the value of your premium content.

6. Marketing and Promotions

Even the most exceptional video content needs effective marketing to gain traction and attract a wider audience. Embrace various digital marketing channels, such as social media, email campaigns, and influencer partnerships, to reach potential viewers. Utilize data-driven marketing techniques to target specific demographics that align with your content offerings. Plus, implementing free trial periods or promotional discounts can entice new users to try your platform and convert them into loyal subscribers.

Additionally, you also have the power of social media in your hands. Leverage the power of social media to promote your on-demand video platform by encouraging users to share their favorite videos and fitness achievements, fostering a vibrant and supportive community. Secondly, you may also engage in influencer marketing campaigns if it aligns with the kind of video platform that you are building.

7. Feedback and Customer Support

It doesn’t matter what business you are building, customer centricity is at the core of success. Start listening to your users and value their feedback. Implement a robust customer support system to promptly address their queries and concerns. Secondly, build a vibrant and engaged community around your platform to nurture loyalty and advocacy. Actively engaging with your audience creates a sense of belonging and trust, encouraging users to become brand ambassadors and share their positive experiences with others.

Stay on top of platform performance and user engagement metrics. Regularly analyze data to identify trends, user behavior, and areas for improvement. Use this valuable information to make data-driven decisions and continuously enhance the user experience.

BUILDING AN ON-DEMAND VIDEO PLATFORM

So far we’ve discussed the best practices to grow your on-demand video streaming solution, ranging from content management to personalization to customer engagement. But how do you actually get started in building a VOD platform? Well, that’s what we’ll be talking about in this section. If you’re just starting out, it can be quite a challenge but we’ve simplified the process for you.

The first step is to define your niche and validate the idea. This can be done by extensive market research and understanding product market fit. Then focus on planning your content strategy, whether it’ll be a specific genre, topic, or target audience. Once you have that figured out, the next ideal step is to choose the right monetization model that works out for you. The goal is to choose the one that best fits your content and audience preferences. Now comes the building part, where depending on your technical expertise, you can choose to build your VOD platform from scratch or use a pre-built solution that offers customization options. Note that you’ll need a reliable video delivery solution, a responsive application, and a robust CMS to manage your video library. Additionally, you’ll also need to implement a secure payment gateway to handle subscription payments.

All of what is mentioned above can be an exhaustive process, especially if you’re an entrepreneur who has to focus on other areas of your business as well. To simplify the process, you can opt to go for a pre-built software solution that does all of the above for you. Check out iSripts VisualCaster, a video streaming solution that enables you to create on-demand OTT platforms similar to Netflix, facilitating the delivery of video streaming services to your customers. This simple software empowers you to efficiently manage, upload, distribute, and stream a wide range of video content without going through the hassle of beginning something from scratch.
What does it entail? It comes loaded with a range of features designed to do the job as well as simplify your job. Want to check it out? Try out our Free Demo here.

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New Product Release

iScripts Mega Launch: Now build a world-class streaming service without coding!

by Sejin Roy March 2, 2023

written by Sejin Roy

The demand for movie streaming apps has skyrocketed after the pandemic. Although streaming apps like Netflix were quite popular before the COVID, it has seen immense popularity lately. Not only Netflix, other like Amazon Prime Videos and HBO have also gained a lot of traction.

The popularity of Netflix has brought the biggest transformation in the world of entertainment. These streaming platforms have all the latest blockbuster movies that will keep you hooked to your mobile screens till the end. The streaming quality is fantastic, the variety of content is massive, and these services are available at a very reasonable price. All these factors give people good reasons why they should subscribe to at least one platform for online streaming.

With millions of people searching for affordable and robust online video streaming platforms, businesses can use this opportunity to grow their brand by catering to this demand. Online streaming services mean a large volume of organic traffic to your channel and a high conversion rate. As a business or startup owner, the real question becomes how you can leverage this opportunity to build a popular brand?

Further reading: Build website & app like Netflix (with no code)

In order to build a streaming service that can become as popular as Netflix or Amazon Prime video, you must be able to provide users with certain features such as:

Categories

Movies, web series, kids’ shows, reality shows, and other videos are available in different languages. A good streaming app allows its audience to sort the list by their desired language and category of content. For example, if your audience is looking for cartoons for their kids, they must be able to filter the list by kids’ shows. Likewise, you must sort the content by region, language, and type of video. This will make the search easier for your audience.

You should also understand your target audience and their geography so that you can build a library according to their interest. Your OTT streaming app will attract a larger audience if you promote content they can understand and relate to.

Offline Watching

Most people download a few episodes of their favorite web series or a couple of movies on their devices. They watch these shows when they are traveling or are in places with poor internet connections. In addition to online streaming, let your audience download their desired content for offline use. Nearly every popular OTT streaming platform has a download button for their movies and series. Although there’s a limit for the number of episodes they can download at a time, this option is great for the audience that spends a considerable amount of time traveling.

Watchlist

Another important feature of a video streaming app is the watchlist. People spend a lot of time browsing different movies only to end up closing the OTT streaming app. This can get super frustrating, especially when you are getting bored and you don’t want to spend your free time browsing content. Saving a few titles to the watchlist will help you watch your favorite movies without having to browse. This feature also comes in handy when someone is recommending you a series or a movie. You can search it immediately in the OTT app and add it to your watchlist.

Multiple Profiles

If there’s one thing people love about Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other online streaming services, it is the setup of multiple profiles. You can share your password with your friends, colleagues, and relatives. Let them enjoy their favorite shows while you pay for the subscription.

People can also set up multiple profiles by dividing the subscription amount. A good streaming app allows 3-5 user accounts, making it possible for the entire family to use the OTT streaming platform with one subscription while having their own accounts. Each user will get recommendations based on their watch history and interest.

Subtitles and Video Quality Options

You can’t always watch the videos in the best quality because of limited data availability or poor connection. That’s when the good and average video quality options come in handy. Basically, the audience gets to set the streaming quality for different networks. For example, you can set the “average” video quality when you are using the data or keep the quality “best” when you are on your mobile’s data.

Likewise, you should allow your audience to watch videos in different languages. The more subtitle options you add, the more audience your OTT platform will attract. If you are targeting an audience from a particular nation, make sure to have regional subtitles.

Skip Intro

Most viewers skip intro for movies and series. It is quite frustrating, you already remember what you saw in the previous episode, and you will not want to watch it again. Let your audience remove this part and get straight to the new content. They can watch the intro if they want or skip it if they aren’t interested.

Stream on Different Devices

While mobile seems the most suitable option for streaming videos, you can’t always use it. At times, you want to connect your mobile to the TV so that you can enjoy a family movie with your loved ones. Or, you may want to access the OTT streaming platform on the laptop to stream videos on a bigger screen. Make sure that your online streaming app is compatible with all devices. It should work on Mac, Windows, Tablet, Android, iOS, smart TV, and other devices.

Live Streaming Service

Millions of viewers use OTT streaming services for live streaming, especially for news and sports channels. In fact, A lot of people buy streaming subscriptions for this very purpose only, like watching NFL or Formula 1. If you are considering building a streaming platform, make one that has or can support live streaming as your platform expands.

iScript VisualCaster: Build Streaming Platform without coding

You don’t have to break the bank for developing an online streaming platform . iScript VisualCaster allows people to build a OTT streaming website and mobile app within minutes. Once installed on your server, you can customize everything from design to content from the software’s administrative dashboard.

Please feel free to contact us if you have an idea to create a similar application. We will help you to make an online on-demand video streaming application easily.

Check out iScripts VisualCaster

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Business Model Study

How to Create a Platform Like Hulu

by Noyal Sharook January 21, 2023

written by Noyal Sharook

Hulu is one of the most popular streaming platform in the world, hosting movies, series, TV shows and original content. It was Hulu is a leading streaming service that offers an extensive collection of movies, series, television shows, and original content. Established in 2007 and based in Los Angeles, California, Hulu provides subscribers with access to over 85 top channels, featuring live sports, news, and events. Furthermore, it includes the entire Hulu streaming library, DVR storage for up to nine months and the ability to fast-forward through recorded content. With the additional options of Disney+ and live sports through ESPN+, Hulu provides a vast array of entertainment choices for its viewers.

Hulu- Through the years

The idea for Hulu originated in 2006, when Jason Kilar and NBC Universal executive Beth Comstock collaborated with a group of companies including Yahoo, MSN, Myspace, Comcast, Facebook, and AOL. In contrast to other streaming service providers such as Netflix, Hulu does not have a singular, revolutionary origin story. Instead, it was a concept that was developed by a group of Hollywood executives who recognized the potential for streaming television content, which has since been validated by its success. In 2008, Hulu was officially launched to the public, though its website had been active since 2007, when NBC Universal acquired the domain and conducted tests on the site. During this period, there was no content available.

Initially, Hulu offered both paid as well as free subscription schemes. Under the free plan, we could access only unlimited content on a computer. On the other hand, paid subscribers had access to a vast collection of content on computers, mobile devices, and televisions that supported the internet.

By 2009, Hulu had come up with more than a hundred million USD in funding. In addition, it helped to increase its value and proved that the idea was a successful one.

In 2010 Hulu Plus was launched. The offering included a content library having full season episodes and a day after access to recent content streamed on television.

Hulu has experienced steady growth in its subscriber base over the years. In 2011, the platform made more episodes of various shows accessible through its free plan and began developing its own content. In 2017, it transformed into a live television streaming platform. As a result of these developments, Hulu’s subscriber base grew from around 23 million in 2018 to almost 31 million by the end of 2019. As of 2023, Hulu has continued to expand and now boasts 47.2 million subscribers.

The Hulu Business Model

In 2017, when Netflix was paving the way for on-demand streaming and was literally forcing uses to move away from the cable system, Hulu proved to be the savior of television content.

This American video streaming platform focused majorly on live streaming television shows instead of movies or other video creations. Hulu developed good relations with all the major cable television channels of the United States like CNBC, ABC, Fox, and NBC. As a result, it became one of the largest online libraries of television shows.

It also established partnerships with local and national television channels like Disney and National Geographic for providing live television content. In addition, the approach was online, and so there was no need to install cable television.

To watch content using Hulu, viewers need to register through the app. The registration process is simple and can be completed in just a couple of steps or so. Once the registration is complete, a free trial is offered, and various other schemes that users can buy to enjoy the latest movies and television shows.

The marketing strategy of Hulu is to target mass-market customers who are looking for on-demand quality movies and television programs from a variety of sources. Although this service is not available internationally, Hulu has managed to build a huge base of almost 30 million viewers in the United States alone.

Apart from subscribers, Hulu has a huge list of advertisers who can access captive viewers for marketing in the form of unskippable advertisements. However, the main value proposition is in its content which is hard to find elsewhere.

In the United States, Hulu TV is the prime service that provides access to ongoing television programs, including current-season episodes on the same day or the next day of the live stream on television.

Hulu generates revenue through the following three sources:

Subscription.
Advertisement revenue.
Add-ons.

Although these methods contribute a lot to the total revenue of Hulu, more than half of the revenue is earned through user subscriptions. It is expected that the same trend will continue in the days to come.

There is an old saying – old is gold. And Hulu has proved it right. When Netflix had almost succeeded in labeling cable television as an old-school approach, Hulu came up with a different approach and gave people what they once adored.

The business model was to take advantage of the old love of the users. So the lesson is not to take destruction for granted. It is always possible to rediscover the old habits of users.

Hulu Subscription Plans in 2023

Hulu offers two subscription plans for its customers: Hulu (With Ads) and Hulu (No Ads). Both plans offer a 30-day free trial and provide access to Hulu’s streaming library, which includes a wide variety of television episodes and movies. Most new episodes are available the day after they air. Both plans also grant access to award-winning Hulu Originals and the ability to watch on a variety of devices, including TVs, laptops, phones, and tablets. Additionally, both plans allow for up to 6 user profiles and the ability to watch on 2 different screens at the same time.

The main difference between the two plans is that the Hulu (With Ads) plan includes commercials during the streaming library, while the Hulu (No Ads) plan does not have any advertisements in the streaming library. The Hulu (No Ads) plan also includes the ability to download and watch content offline.

The Hulu (With Ads) plan is priced at $7.99/month and the Hulu (No Ads) plan is priced at $14.99/month. Customers can also bundle and save by adding on other services like Disney+ and ESPN+.

Additionally, Hulu also offers a bunder plant with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN together for price starting at 12.99 per month

How to Create a Streaming Platform Like Hulu?

With millions of users worldwide, video streaming platforms like Hulu have become increasingly popular. iScripts VisualCaster is a powerful on-demand video streaming solution that can help entrepreneurs launch their own video streaming platforms similar to Hulu. This software provides a comprehensive set of tools to manage, upload, distribute, and stream any video content.

Many entrepreneurs may be hesitant to start their own streaming services due to concerns about competition or a lack of technical or financial resources. However, iScripts VisualCaster provides a solution that can help turn this dream into a reality. The software offers all of the features and functionality of a world-class streaming solution, but at a fraction of the cost. Additionally, it does not require extensive technical expertise to operate, as the software provides a comprehensive dashboard that allows for customization of everything from content to users, and even the look and feel of the platform.

If you have an idea for a streaming app similar to Hulu, iScripts VisualCaster is the perfect choice. It is an open-source software, you can create an on-demand online streaming app that meets your specific needs and requirements. If you’re interested in learning more, you can contact iScripts and our team will assist you in creating a functional, user-friendly platform that meets your vision.

Check out iScripts VisualCaster

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Clone Scripts

How to Build an App like YouTube?

by Mariya Parackal January 5, 2023

written by Mariya Parackal

Video grabs and holds the attention of audiences more than words and even pictures. As video marketing continues to soar, many are now looking for alternatives to YouTube and Vimeo. What are the benefits of starting and owning your video sharing site? Is it feasible?

Besides harboring a great deal of opportunity for businesses and individual sellers, video is a social necessity among friends and artists. Businesses and individual sellers are constantly searching for sites like Vimeo and YouTube alternatives to post sales and product videos in hopes of attracting buyers. Friends use video as a social tool and a way to effectively communicate with friends. Some want to become mini celebrities while others want to share creative and artistic work.

In this video we will talk specifically about YouTube, YouTube is is the world’s most popular video sharing and hosting website. Today YouTube serves Billions of video views per day.

How does YouTube work?

YouTube is a platform with different kinds and types of videos. You can create a YouTube account using your Gmail account and there you can upload contents and videos. On the homepage timeline, you can see the list of suggested videos based on what you have watched, shared and liked. Search anything you want to watch at the search bar on the top of the screen.

YouTube provides 5 tabs for easy use:

Home: All the suggested videos are placed in the home page. The suggestions are based on the videos we have watched, subscribed, liked or shared. The timeline videos are placed at a priority.

Trending: The videos with most likes and views will be listed in the trending page. Trends will change according to the location.

Subscription: This page only shows the list of videos you have subscribed.

Inbox: All the messages and notifications are stored in the inbox. If someone likes, shares or comments on any of your uploaded videos, the inbox is the place where you can see all the activities and notifications.

Library: This is the place where you can watch the downloaded videos without any internet connection.

How does YouTube make money?

YouTube is generating revenue through ads. YouTube puts ads on the home screen and video of the user according to their geographic data. Such ads are sponsored and embedded ads.

Another feature of YouTube is YouTube TV. There are many channels partnered with YouTube like Fox, ESPN, Disney, NBC, and many more.

YouTube videos are not completely free or chargeless for users. YouTube gets around 30 million users a day and this will attract advertisers. When the ads get views the advertiser will pay to YouTube. Sometimes advertisements will play at the beginning of the original video, here also YouTube gets paid. And last way of making money is through the advertisements that displayed on the homepage.

If you want to avoid these Ads, Youtube also has ‘premium’ subscription plan. The plan comes with additional features like automatic subscription to ‘premium YouTube music.

YouTube Clone Script

To create a website similar to YouTube in your niche market is easy with open-source YouTube Clone Script like iScripts VisualCaster.

iScripts VisualCaster let’s you create a video sharing website like YouTube in a matter of minutes. You can customize the platform according to your wish by adding custom branding, content and information. User can come to your website, create their unique profile and start engaging on various videos, through views, likes, comments and even dislikes.

The YouTube clone script comes packed with impressive features such as channels, playlist and friends management, tagging capability, video comments as well as “latest” and “top” videos categories. This is a sure way to to lower your investment risk and see just how far you can take your site before putting much money into it.

Key Features

Easy to upload and share videos
Choose different layouts and themes
Free one year support
Support all type of videos

Check the main features of iScripts VisualCaster.

Check out iScripts VisualCaster

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