Thanks to broadband and mobile internet penetration, the global digital video content market is experiencing rapid growth. According to analysts at Technavio, the market is expected to grow at an impressive CAGR of over 25% by 2020. Competition between vendors all comes down to who can offer the most accessible, affordable, and desirable content, as well as who is able to successfully integrate the latest and most in-demand technologies, such as 360 degree video and VR.
In this blog, we identify the key and prominent vendors in the global digital video content market.
Key vendors
Amazon
Amazon Video is an Internet video on-demand service developed and operated by Amazon. It offers television shows and films for rental or purchase. Amazon has pursued a number of exclusive content deals to differentiate its service from competitors, including a multi-year licensing deal with HBO. Amazon video is available in the US, the UK, Japan, Germany, and Austria, and the company has plans to expand its video service into India in the near future.
Youtube
YouTube is an American video-sharing website headquartered in California. It makes use of the latest video technology to display a wide variety of user-generated and corporate media videos. Available content includes video clips, TV show clips, music videos, audio recordings, movie trailers, and other content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos. Most of the content on YouTube is uploaded by individuals, but media corporations including CBS, the BBC, Vevo, Hulu, and other organizations offer some of their material via YouTube as well.
Netflix
Netflix Inc. is an American multinational entertainment company. It specializes in and provides streaming media and video on demand online and DVD by mail. In 2013, Netflix added film and television production, as well as online distribution. It now offers its “Netflix Original” content through its online library of films and television. As of July, Netflix reported having over 83 million subscribers worldwide.
Hulu
Hulu is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Hulu LLC. It is primarily focused on television series, offering episodes from a variety of series from its owners’ respective television networks and other content partners. In 2016, Hulu established a joint venture with Yahoo!, Yahoo! View, and also announced that it intends to launch a service with live television programming in 2017.
Other prominent vendors
Apple
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in California that designs, develops, and sells online services, computer software, and consumer electronics. Apple iTunes, a media player and library, offers movies and tv shows, in addition to music and apps, which are available for purchase and download. Apple is the world’s largest information technology company by revenue, the world’s largest technology company by total assets, and the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer.
TalkTalk TV Store
TalkTalk TV Store, formerly Blinkbox, is a UK-based transactional video-on-demand (VoD) service available on Macintosh and Microsoft Windows computers, games consoles, tablet computers and Smart TVs. Content is usually streamed, with downloading currently possible on Windows PC/laptops. The Blinkbox brand has been extended to companion services offering digital music and books.
CinemaNow
CinemaNow is an international over-the-top (OTT) provider of on-demand Internet streaming media available to viewers in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in California. The CinemaNow platform is available on the web, on mobile devices running iOS and Android, the Xbox and PlayStation game consoles and CE devices including Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Toshiba.
Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television, telecommunications and Home Automation services in the United States. It is the third-largest cable television provider, serving more than 6.2 million customers, including 2.9 million digital cable subscribers, 3.5 million Internet subscribers, and almost 3.2 million digital telephone subscribers, making it the seventh-largest telephone carrier in the country.
Crackle
Crackle is an online distributor of original web shows, movies, and TV shows. Founded in the early 2000s as Grouper and rebranded in 2007, Crackle is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment. The service is free with commercials on all supported platforms.
Deutsche Telecom
Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies, with approximately 156 million mobile customers, 29 million fixed-network lines, and more than 18 million broadband lines. The company provides fixed-network/broadband, mobile communications, Internet, and IPTV products and services for consumers, and information and communication technology (ICT) solutions for business and corporate customers.
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster and a subsidiary of AT&T. DirecTV provides television and audio services to subscribers through satellite transmissions, and subscribers have access to hundreds of channels.
IndieFlix
Indieflix, Inc is an independent film distribution and online streaming service based in Seattle, Washington. IndieFlix provides access to thousands of high quality independent shorts, features, documentaries, and web-series from film festivals around the world. Its service is available on Fire TV, Roku, Xbox, and all internet connected devices including smart phones, smart TVs, and tablets.
Popcorn Flix
Popcornflix LLC is a website and OTT service offering free, ad-supported streaming video of movies and webisodes. It is owned by Screen Media Ventures. The site primarily streams independent feature films, many of which come from Screen Media’s library. The service is currently available in the United States and Canada, and the company has plans for expansion in the future.
Rovi
Rovi Corporation, based in the United States, offers copy protection, software licensing and “search recommendation” for devices including set-top boxes, digital video recorders, TVs, and mobile and tablet devices. Companies such as consumer electronics manufacturers, cable operators, websites, and social networks use Rovi’s entertainment metadata to provide their own digital video content.
SnagFilms
SnagFilms, established in 2008, offers advertising-supported documentary and Independent films. Films are streamed on the website, which contains a library of over 5,000 films. Additionally, filmmakers have the ability to submit their own documentaries for consideration.
Vudu
Vudu, Inc. is a content delivery and media technology company. The company distributes full-length movies over the Internet to television in the US using a peer-to-peer content delivery network. Vudu is also available within PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iPad, TiVo Roamio, Roku devices and most smartphones via the Vudu app. Vudu was acquired by Walmart in 2010.
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