Pay-per-view is probably a term you've heard before, and you may even have experienced it, too. Pay-per-view is not a new business model, but it can seem foreign in a world full of unlimited streaming service subscriptions.
So, what is the future of pay-per-view streaming? And what innovations are occurring that could reshape the entertainment industry? Read on to find out.
What Is Pay-Per-View Streaming?
You've probably heard the term "pay-per-view" (PPV) before, but did you know that it is a centuries-old business model? In fact, a boxing match between Joe Louis and Jersey Joe was the first to be televised and monetized in 1948.
Decades later, in 1985, pay-per-view cable channels became more mainstream. Then, as the internet evolved, pay-per-view services spread online and became available to online content creators.
While the medium has changed, the model itself remains the same. Also known as transactional video on demand (TVOD), pay-per-view streaming is a monetization technique used by various platforms and content creators to provide content to viewers for a fee.
Unlike a subscription service, which allows you to pay for unlimited access to content over a fixed amount of time, pay-per-view streaming requires you to pay for access to individual pieces of content, often for a limited period of time or a single viewing.
A subscription also bills you automatically on a recurring subscription cycle, while pay-per-view is a single payment billing model.
How Does Pay-Per-View Streaming Work?
Pay-per-view streaming is particularly popular in the entertainment and sports industries, where you can purchase a ticket to live stream a concert or a big sports game. The downside, however, is that in some cases you cannot catch up on that event or download the live stream to watch it again.
This is where it gets interesting. Surely if you've spent your hard-earned money on a live stream, you should be able to download or access it so you can watch it again? But this isn't always the case.
With pay-per-view, you purchase a ticket to watch your paid video content, whether it is live media or pre-recorded content, and in many cases you cannot watch that content repeatedly.
Unfortunately, you're only paying for the content, and not the experience. A large part of why we attend paid events is for the experience; the ambience. Considering that watching a live stream of an event doesn't give you the full experience, you shouldn't have to pay so much to access that content—especially if you won't have unlimited access to it.
Take Disney+ Premier Access, for instance, which gives Disney+ subscribers early streaming access to a movie while it's still showing in theaters for a one-time fee of $30. Essentially, it allows you to buy a virtual ticket to a brand-new Disney movie to watch at home instead of a theater while it's still fresh and playing in theaters.
Once you've paid the fee for access to your movie of choice, you can continue to stream or download that movie as many times as you like, as long as you remain a Disney+ subscriber.
Premier Access movies eventually become available to all Disney+ subscribers without an extra fee, so the benefit you get from Premier Access is exclusive and early access to new movies as soon as they are released.
Rather than traditional pay-per-view streaming, perhaps the Disney+ approach is the way forward? You get unlimited and early access, which are nice perks while other people wait for the free general release.
When Would You Use Utilize Pay-Per-View Streaming?
What are the circumstances under which you would possibly pay for pay-per-view content? If you are unable to attend an event, you may be willing to pay a fee to watch it, or to access content from that event online or at a later stage.
If there is a person or organization with the ability to stream exclusive content that may be otherwise difficult for you to access, you may be willing to pay a fee to gain access to that.
What Is the Future of Pay-Per-View Streaming?
Gone are the days when watching movies at theaters was a thing every weekend. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, movie theaters have been struggling to stay afloat due to lockdowns. As a result, streaming has surged around the world as people seek to keep themselves entertained at home.
Considering COVID-19 will be around for the unforeseen future, as well as the continuing demand for online streaming content, what does this mean for pay-per-view streaming?
While streaming services have kept people entertained during the pandemic, it hasn't been enough; sometimes people want new, fresh and on-demand content closer to the time of release so they don't feel like they're missing out.
But could pay-per-view streaming be the solution, or will distributors turn to a different type of business model for at-home streaming?
One company that hopes to help content creators and movie theaters continue to make money through streaming is California-based XCINEX. It has created Venue, a device that helps content producers and distributors charge per person viewing.
This is a device with a sensor that sits on top of your TV and counts everyone in the living room to charge everyone tickets. The idea is that instead of paying per view, you get charged per person viewing.
By now you're probably thinking what everyone else would: Can't you just sign up with one person, start the show, then have your friends join you in the room? Unfortunately not. As stated on XCINEX's FAQ page:
When you use the Venue streaming app and pick something to watch, you'll need to buy tickets for each viewer. You can purchase tickets for everyone or each viewer can buy tickets individually. If Venue detects more people in the room than tickets purchased, content will pause until the ticket count equals viewer count.
If you have concerns about privacy, XCINEX addresses those as well:
VENUE does not use facial recognition. On the contrary, utilizing our software, VENUE only keeps a head count of viewers watching the content to ensure ticket accountability. XCINEX takes extensive measures to ensure your privacy is safe and your viewing is private.
One can see why movie studios and entertainers would partner with Venue, as they could potentially make more money than they currently do from available streaming options. But what are the implications for viewers?
Considering that the pandemic has already hit our wallets hard, this type of streaming seems opportunistic, taking advantage of the rising demand for streaming content and our inability to attend events in person due to social distancing rules.
An Opportunity to Produce Quality Content and Maintain Goodwill in Tough Times
The pandemic has increased our appetite for entertainment streaming content, and has certainly changed the way we consume it. On the other hand, content creators and movie theaters are looking for ways to stay above water.
For the sake of maintaining goodwill and ethics, maybe they should focus on producing more of the type of content that viewers want to watch, instead of utilizing business models that would take more money out of viewers' pockets during these tough economic times.