Interview with Cees van Versendaal, COO, MWareTV
Please introduce MwareTV
Telcos, ISPs, network operators, hospitality and housing organizations: they all recognize the value of providing their users with a good streaming television offering. But that is a long way from their core businesses, and they need a way to establish, operate and monetize the service with minimal investment. MwareTV provides that. We have a complete, cloud-based service which can be run up for new users very quickly or replace existing systems. We also provide all the services around it, from licensing suitable content to ensuring the new service matches corporate branding right across the board.
What are the key issues when looking at a streaming service?
There are three broad headings. First is content: without the right content your audience will not be interested. To support that content, you need the technology platform to manage and deliver the media, and to collect the revenues. Third – and this is easy to overlook – is marketing. You need to attract subscribers to your service, and you need to keep them there, upselling when you can. Your streaming environment needs to support an adaptive and active marketing campaign.
How does MwareTV help with content?
Licensing content and channels is a business decision. Can you earn enough in subscriptions and advertising to cover the cost of the content. There are no simple answers to that: it will depend on the size of your market, where you are, and how the competition stacks up. For many, the idea of negotiating for content rights is daunting. It is another task that is not in the core skillset of the organization, and given the potential for financial and legal problems it could put some off the whole idea of streaming content. That is why, in many markets, we offer ready-licensed content. In North America, that includes local channels like news as well as national and international services. Sign one deal with MwareTV, and you are good to go.
How complex is the technology platform? What specialist skills are required to support streaming television?
MwareTV is a completely cloud-based solution, so the simple answer to these two questions is not at all, and none. You need web browsers to interact with the service, to manage content, to plan marketing programs, to set subscription offers, and to look at the performance dashboard. All of these operations are presented in an intuitive and simple fashion, so everything can be implemented by those who need to.
How can you brand services?
This is obviously vital. You need your audience and potential subscribers to identify the service with the host enterprise. The streaming service must reflect your brand values, and build on those values for the rest of your offering. This is potentially a huge technical challenge, when you consider that the service will be accessed by set-top box, smart TV, computer, tablet and mobile, each with multiple operating systems. MwareTV includes in its core offering a remarkable tool which allows you to build apps for all platforms with absolutely no knowledge of the underlying technology, and no need to write a single line of code. You simply drag and drop the controls and graphics into place, dressing it into corporate branding, and let the underlying technology sort out all the connectivity. It really is as simple as that, meaning you get your service online in hours and days, not after months of expensive third-party user interface development.
There is a lot of talk about FAST at the moment. How does this fit in?
People get very excited by the F of FAST – free. In truth, a FAST channel calls for a lot of up-front investment. You are paying for the content and hoping that it will attract an audience, which will in turn attract advertising revenues. Given that the global advertising pot is finite, you may find yourself having to fight hard for even minimal rates and fill rates. Maybe the way to go is a hybrid model. Offer some good, premium channels as part of a subscription, then add FAST channels to bring a wider choice. That also allows you to evaluate the FAST channels to see which are actually making money.
Is this still a good time to start a streaming service?
Very definitely. If you have the market, we can help you satisfy it. Our cloud based technology platform requires virtually no capital investment and specialist staff. The fee structure is tied to subscribers, so you pay as you grow. With it, your streaming service will boost your brand recognition and greatly enhance retention.
www.mwaretv.com
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