This post is provided by Gilles Domartini – founder and CEO of Cleeng. Cleeng, a leading freemium platform for Pay-Per-View and Video-On-Demand, has joined forces with online video platform Kaltura, to change the landscape of the paid online video streaming industry.
Two major events recently demonstrated the enormous consumer appetite for live-streaming worldwide: First, Super Bowl XLVIII became the most-viewed, live-streamed sporting event in US history with record online audience engagement. Second, the Oscars ceremony became the victim of its own success when the live internet broadcast crashed due to “traffic overload”, generating more angry tweets than the famous Ellen DeGeneres selfie. Compared to linear television, online audiences were offered a wider range of viewing and navigation options between the Oscars pre-show, ceremony and backstage events across any electronic device. Although, streaming offers viewers more choice and flexibility, it isn’t always easy, as the end-to-end ingestion and video processing distribution challenges during the show demonstrated.
If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap
— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014
Paid Streaming Usage is Here
There is a plethora of new opportunities: Take for instance Louis CK grossing $4.5 million in 45 hours for digital downloads of his one-man-show or the World Wrestling Entertainment Network expecting to reach 1 million subscribers to its online service less than two months post-launch. Both cases further prove that buying online entertainment is quickly gaining popularity. The appeal is much broader than just celebrities and sporting events – many prestigious universities, health foundations and B2B conferences are also embracing live streaming as a way to directly connect with their audiences on a global scale. Both Kaltura and Cleeng are committed to easing the existing pain-points of live streaming. Kaltura’s is working toward this with the launch of Kaltura Live Streaming, which provides a unified, affordable and robust Live-to-VOD solution; Cleeng recently launched the new Cleeng Live!, allowing any event organizer to easily setup tickets, pre-booking and payments for online events in just two-minutes.
Challenges Remain to Organize a Successful Pay-Per-View Event
There is great potential for live-streaming opportunities, but it remains complex due to frequent, high profile outages. If you’re planning to organize a pay-per-view event, it’s important to manage six key factors:
Cleeng has powered more than 300 live shows for leading brand names such as Cirque du Soleil, TEDMED and the University of Massachusetts, reaching millions of viewers worldwide. After measuring these interactions, we have uncovered the components that define a successful user experience and the type of business models required to meet user expectations and to further empower social sales. With Cleeng’s experience and expertise in live-streaming and Kaltura’s powerful and flexible video platform, we’ve created a solution that empowers publishers to host premium events and build engaging, revenue-generating online video experiences.
Free trial account for Kaltura users!
See Cleeng, a proud sponsor, at Kaltura Connect 2014 – The Video Experience Conference, which will take place in New York City on June 16-18.