Background
OUTtv was launched in Canada in 2001 as the world’s first LGBTQ+ TV network. It launched as an SVOD platform in 2016 to deliver an easily accessible and affordable streaming service focused on bringing LGBTQ+ movies, TV shows, documentaries, and more to its audience.
Objective
With OUTtv showing success in its native country, Canada, the channel was keen to increase its audience and revenue by expanding into new territories. Its objective was to reach all English-speaking countries worldwide. However, breaking into new regions can be costly and complicated with typically high service development costs, time-consuming processes, and market-specific technological complexities.
There is always the risk of failing to capture interest from viewers in those new regions. Knowing that each market has unique needs, OUTtv required a vendor with experience in global markets to provide in-depth analytics allowing for better insights into local tastes, online viewing habits, and device usage.
OUTtv recognized that analytics are critical, and the cost of acquisition is an important metric. It understood that knowing the consumer – how they come in and how they behave – and understanding content performance will ultimately drive the success or failure of an SVOD platform.
The solution also needed to be scalable with the ability to grow and adapt along with the expectations and needs of their subscribers. Another critical requirement was for a simple way to profile and manage multiple brands across the different territories.
Solution
OUTtv selected a joint solution using Brightcove Video Cloud and Accedo One, previously packaged as Brightcove OTT Flow. Brightcove Video Cloud provides the back-end services with its industry-leading video player, ingestion, transcoding, metadata management, and SDKs. The Accedo One platform reduces maintenance costs, enables engaging user experiences and full management control of an OTT service across platforms from a central, cloud-based dashboard. It is a true turnkey solution intended to give publishers the ability to design, launch, adapt and optimize their OTT services without ongoing development overhead.
Brightcove Video Cloud gives its users the tools that they need in a single video platform. The solution is designed for media companies wanting to rapidly deploy high-quality, full-featured direct-to-consumer video services across all common streaming device platforms. Expanding to new markets was simpler and more efficient for OUTtv as a result of Brightcove and Accedo’s global presence and experience.
Results
Using Brightcove and Accedo to expand the reach of its SVOD service, OUTtv has successfully grown its subscriber base. Available on Web, iOS, Android™, ROKU®, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV®, and more, the channel now reaches its targeted territories and markets – including, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Mexico, with the UK & Ireland launched under the Froot brand – and launching soon in South Africa and South America.
Brightcove and Accedo have enabled OUTtv to reach new regions and grow its subscriber base in an easy manner. The use of analytics has meant OUTtv can accurately monitor audiences, territory by territory. The team knows where to target next, and what is working where.
