A simple way to consider the online video industry, is look at it as a 4-wheeler (a very fast one given its growth now). The 4 wheels are Creation, Delivery, Consumption and Monetization in this order. An overview of these four will complete this introduction.
Creation : Video production is usually done by a content producer or content owner. Owners tend to be mostly businesses who either produce their own content or aggregate content form other businesses or individuals. Owners can also be individuals that sell their content to businesses to make money from their content.
Delivery : The delivery of video content to user screens whatever their sizes or types, is usually done over public networks such as the Internet and sometimes over private or company networks for internal communication. Irrespective of the network, the delivery (mostly video streaming) uses special software, file formats and technologies. Many businesses provide streaming services (like online video platforms or OVPs) and the infrastructure necessary to transport video over the Internet (like content delivery networks or CDNs) for delivery. Digital media streaming technologies evolve with the Internet, sometimes faster.
Consumption : Most online video content is aimed at the final consumer or viewer. This is the end user who watches video for education, entertainment or business needs. As online video viewing has become a daily habit for millions, it has also given rise to billion dollar businesses (like Youtube, Netflix) that are great at the fourth part (monetization). Online video viewing at the user (client) side also requires software (plugins like flash) or hardware (devices like Roku) depending on the screen you are using to watch online video (laptop/mobile/tablet/tv).
Monetization : As online video viewing grew, so did the businesses around it. Everything from catch-up tv to film and live events are now available as streaming video. There are various business models like advertising and subscription, with more being tried. This growth has also created additional services like video advertising marketplaces and encryption/security.
Starting with the next post, we will consider these 4 wheels in detail.
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