An overview of direct to consumer (D2C) and 3rd party distribution platforms

1. WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE
MY OTT CONTENT?
AN OVERVIEW OF DIRECT & THIRD-PARTY OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
JULY 14, 2020
TOGETHER WITH:
THE OTT GROWTH AGENCY

2. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
OTT BY THE NUMBERS
● The global OTT market is projected to reach $332.52 billion by 2025
● More people have at least one OTT video subscription (68%) than
subscribe to pay TV (65%)
● The number of digital video viewers in the US topped 235 million in
2019, which represents 71.2% of the population in the U.S.
● In 2019, the average users spent around 17.5 hours a week on OTT
video services

3. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
TYPES OF OTT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● SUBSCRIPTION AGGREGATORS
○ Amazon Channels, The Roku Channel, Apple TV
Channels, vMVPDs
● SOCIAL MEDIA
○ YouTube, Instagram, Facebook
● FREE AD-SUPPORTED TV SERVICES
○ Xumo, Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, IMDb TV, STIRR
● DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER
○ Your direct-to-consumer products: website, mobile and
CTV apps

4. SUBSCRIPTION
AGGREGATORS

5. SUBSCRIPTION AGGREGATORS
Also referred to as “OTT aggregators” or “hub apps”.
Subscription Aggregators package and sell multiple streaming
services within a single user interface. Typically these add-on,
a-la carte offerings augment an existing base product.

6. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
SUBSCRIPTION AGGREGATORS
PLATFORMS

7. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Quick to market
● Cost-effective
● Test your concept
● Increase your subscription base
SUBSCRIPTION AGGREGATORS
BENEFITS

8. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● No customer information
● Competition
● Revenue share (15-50%)
● Loss of leverage & control
SUBSCRIPTION AGGREGATORS
CONSIDERATIONS

9. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Embrace the partnerships
○ Give consumers access anytime, anywhere, any method
● Don’t overly rely on a single partner
● But create reasons for customers to do business directly with you
○ Pricing & Promotion
○ Exclusive Content
○ User Experience
SUBSCRIPTION AGGREGATORS
TAKEAWAYS

10. SOCIAL MEDIA

11. SOCIAL MEDIA
Refers to websites and apps designed to allow people to share
content quickly, efficiently, and in real-time.

12. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
SOCIAL MEDIA
PLATFORMS

13. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Social media platforms have enormous user bases and massive scale
● Social platforms handle most labor-intensive parts of building a service
● Leading companies are using social media platforms for discovery and
driving audiences to their DTC applications.
SOCIAL MEDIA
BENEFITS

14. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Risks to using a platform controlled by another company
● YouTube takes 45% of ad-revenue
● 26% of users block advertisements, reducing revenue potential
● Limited branding
SOCIAL MEDIA
CONSIDERATIONS

15. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Treat social media as a marketing platform to drive users to your own
ecosystem.
● Differentiate the content on your owned-and-operated apps from your
social media presence
○ Trailers
○ “Batch and Window”
SOCIAL MEDIA
TAKEAWAYS

16. FREE AD-SUPPORTED
TV SERVICES
(FASTS)

17. FASTS
It stands for free, ad-supported streaming TV and refers to
services that stream the kind of programming that people
normally would have to pay to watch on TV, like old shows and
movies available on demand, and/or combine a mix of TV and
digital video programming into TV-like linear channels.

18. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
FREE AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICES
PLATFORMS

19. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Cost-effective
● “Starter homes” for several mid-sized media companies not yet going
direct-to-consumer (ad-based)
● For SVODS: “Barker channels” are a top-of-funnel strategy
● For AVODS: tap into additional advertising revenue
FREE AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICES
BENEFITS

20. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Where FASTS fit into your distribution strategy
● What are your goals?
○ Build a DTC brand?
○ Diversify your distribution across as many platforms as possible?
FREE AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICES
CONSIDERATIONS

21. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● AVODs - consider your overall distribution strategy and determine
where FASTS fit in
● SVODs - leverage FASTS for top-of-funnel
○ Build awareness, drive DTC subscriptions
○ Additional revenue stream
FREE AD-SUPPORTED STREAMING SERVICES
TAKEAWAYS

22. DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER
(DTC)

23. DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER (DTC)
Direct-to-consumer allows brands to engage directly with their
audience in a way that's not possible through third-party
distribution platforms. The direct-to-consumer model also puts
control of the entire customer experience in the hands of the
brand.
Examples include Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, etc.

24. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER DISTRIBUTION
PLATFORMS

25. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Get direct access to consumers and usage data
● Create/maintain leverage
● Form a strong bond with customers
● No revenue sharing (*)
DIRECT TO CONSUMER
BENEFITS

26. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● May still have to pay “platform tax”
● On-platform discovery for DTC apps will only get more difficult
● Accountability
● You cannot “set it and forget it”
DIRECT TO CONSUMER
CONSIDERATIONS

27. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
● Unless you’re Netflix or Spotify, in-app billing is a fact of life
● But create reasons for customers to do business directly with you
● ABP. “Always Be Proactive”
○ DTC is not “set it forget it”
○ If you’re constantly testing and improving to stay ahead, you’ll fall
behind
DIRECT TO CONSUMER
TAKEAWAYS

28. x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS
CONCLUSION
● SUBSCRIPTION AGGREGATORS
○ Amazon Channels, The Roku Channel, Apple TV
Channels, vMVPDs
● SOCIAL MEDIA
○ YouTube, Instagram, Facebook
● FREE AD-SUPPORTED TV SERVICES
○ Xumo, Samsung TV Plus, Pluto TV, IMDb TV, STIRR
● DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER
○ Your direct-to-consumer products: website, mobile and
CTV apps

29. THANK YOU!
Questions?
ott@zemoga.com
For additional information
zemoga.com
43twenty.tv
the-streaming-wars.com
x WHERE SHOULD I DISTRIBUTE MY OTT CONTENT? | AN OVERVIEW OF OTT CONTENT DISTRIBUTION PLATFORMS