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Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of
over-the-air programming Over-the-air programming (OTA programming) refers to various methods of distributing new software, configuration settings, and even updating encryption keys to devices like mobile phones, set-top boxes, electric cars or secure voice communication ...
was the most common form of media distribution. As
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
and
IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...
technologies continued to develop in the 1990s, consumers began to gravitate towards non-traditional modes of content consumption, which culminated in the arrival of VOD on televisions and
personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...
s. Unlike broadcast television, VOD systems initially required each user to have an Internet connection with considerable
bandwidth Bandwidth commonly refers to: * Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range * Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...
to access each system's content. In 2000, the Fraunhofer Institute IIS developed the
JPEG2000 JPEG 2000 (JP2) is an image compression standard and coding system. It was developed from 1997 to 2000 by a Joint Photographic Experts Group committee chaired by Touradj Ebrahimi (later the JPEG president), with the intention of superseding thei ...
codec, which enabled the distribution of movies via Digital Cinema Packages. This technology has since expanded its services from feature-film productions to include broadcast television programmes and has led to lower bandwidth requirements for VOD applications.
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
,
Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
,
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
,
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...
and
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
subsequently launched the
Digital Cinema Initiative Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC (DCI) is a consortium of major motion picture studios, formed to establish specifications for a common systems architecture for digital cinema systems. The organization was formed in March 2002 by Metro-Goldwyn-Maye ...
, in 2002. Television VOD systems can
stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...
content, either through a traditional
set-top box A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
or through remote devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones. VOD users can permanently download content to a device such as a computer,
digital video recorder A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes with direct to d ...
(DVR) or a
portable media player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...
for continued viewing. The majority of
cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
and
telephone company A telephone company, also known as a telco, telephone service provider, or telecommunications operator, is a kind of communications service provider (CSP), more precisely a telecommunications service provider (TSP), that provides telecommunicat ...
–based television providers offer VOD streaming, whereby a user selects a video programme that begins to play immediately, or downloading to a DVR rented or purchased from the provider, or to a PC or to a portable device for deferred viewing.
Streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
has emerged as an increasingly popular medium of VOD provision. Desktop client applications such as the Apple
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
online content store and Smart TV apps such as
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
allow temporary rentals and purchases of video entertainment content. Other Internet-based VOD systems provide users with access to bundles of video entertainment content rather than individual movies and shows. The most common of these systems,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
,
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
,
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
,
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
,
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
and
Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
, use a
subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...
model that requires users to pay a monthly fee for access to a selection of movies, television shows, and original series. In contrast,
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
, another Internet-based VOD system, uses an advertising-funded model in which users can access most of its video content free of cost but must pay a subscription fee for premium content. Some airlines offer VOD services as
in-flight entertainment In-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship ''LZ 129 Hindenburg, Hindenburg'' offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the ...
to passengers through video screens embedded in seats or externally provided portable media players.
Video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
is becoming a growing platform to view digital content in 2022.


Functionality

Downloading and streaming VOD systems provide the user with features of portable media players and DVD players. Some VOD systems store and stream programmes from
hard disk A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magnet ...
drives and use a
memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
buffer to allow the user to fast forward and rewind videos. It is possible to put video
server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...
s on
local area network A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...
s; these can provide rapid responses to users. Cable companies have rolled out their own versions of VOD services through apps, allowing television access wherever there is a device that is Internet capable. Cable media companies have combined VOD with live streaming services. The early-2020s launches of apps from cable companies (e.g.
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
's
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
's
Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
) are attempts to compete with Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services because they lack live news and sports content. Streaming video servers can serve a wide community via a WAN but responsiveness may be reduced. Download VOD services are practical in homes equipped with
cable modem A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are primaril ...
s or
DSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...
connections. Servers for traditional cable and telco VOD services are usually placed at the cable head-end, serving a particular market and cable hubs in larger markets. In the telco world, they are placed in either the central office or a newly created location called a Video Head-End Office (VHO).


History

VOD services first appeared in the early 1990s. Until then, it was not thought possible that a
television programme A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
could be squeezed into the limited telecommunication bandwidth of a copper telephone cable to provide a VOD service of acceptable quality as the required bandwidth of a
digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative advanc ...
signal is around 200
Mbps In telecommunications, data-transfer rate is the average number of bits (bitrate), characters or symbols (baudrate), or data blocks per unit time passing through a communication link in a data-transmission system. Common data rate units are multi ...
, which is 2,000 times greater than the bandwidth of a speech signal over a copper telephone wire. VOD services were only made possible as a result of two major technological developments:
MPEG The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is an alliance of working groups established jointly by International Organization for Standardization, ISO and International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC that sets standards for media coding, includ ...
( motion-compensated DCT)
video compression In information theory, data compression, source coding, or bit-rate reduction is the process of encoding information using fewer bits than the original representation. Any particular compression is either lossy or lossless. Lossless compression ...
and
asymmetric digital subscriber line Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...
(ADSL) data transmission. A VOD service was proposed as early as 1986 in Japan, where there were plans to develop an "Integrated Network System" service. It was not possible, however, to practically implement such a VOD service until the adoption of DCT and ADSL technologies in the early 1990s. The first VOD systems used tapes as the real-time source of video streams.
GTE GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...
started as a trial in 1990 with
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
providing all components. By 1992, VOD servers were supplying previously encoded digital video from disks and
DRAM Dynamic random-access memory (dynamic RAM or DRAM) is a type of random-access semiconductor memory that stores each bit of data in a memory cell, usually consisting of a tiny capacitor and a transistor, both typically based on metal-oxid ...
. In the US, the 1982
anti-trust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...
break-up of AT&T resulted in several smaller telephone companies nicknamed
Baby Bells The Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOC) are the result of '' United States v. AT&T'', the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust suit against the former American Telephone & Telegraph Company (later known as AT&T Corp.). On January 8, 19 ...
. Following this, the
Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 (codified at ) was an act of Congress passed on October 30, 1984 to promote competition and deregulate the cable television industry. The act established a national policy for the regulation of cable tel ...
prohibited telephone companies from providing video services within their operating regions. In 1993 the National Communication and Information Infrastructure (NII) was proposed and passed by the US House and Senate, opening the way for the seven Baby Bells—
Ameritech AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation (and before that American Information Technologies Corporation), is an American telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the se ...
,
Bell Atlantic Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...
,
BellSouth BellSouth, LLC (stylized as ''BELLSOUTH'' and formerly known as BellSouth Corporation) was an American telecommunications holding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth was one of the seven original Regional Bell Operating Companies after ...
,
NYNEX NYNEX Corporation was an American telephone company that served five states of New England (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) as well as most of the state of New York from January 1, 1984 to August 14, 1997. History ...
,
Pacific Telesis Pacific Telesis Group was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies, sometimes also referred to as "RBOCs" or "Baby Bells", created in 1983 in preparation of the breakup of AT&T as a holding company for Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell, Pacif ...
,
Southwestern Bell Southwestern Bell Telephone Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of AT&T. It does business as other d.b.a. names in its operating region, which includes Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and portions of Illinois. The company is cu ...
, and
US West US West, Inc. (stylized as US WEST) was one of seven Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs, also referred to as "Baby Bells"), created in 1983 under the Modification of Final Judgement (''United States v. Western Electric Co., Inc.'' 552 ...
—to implement VOD systems. These companies and others began holding trials to set up systems for supplying video on demand over telephone and cable lines. In November 1992, Bell Atlantic announced a VOD trial. IBM was developing a video server code-named Tiger Shark. Concurrently,
Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president unt ...
(DEC) was developing a scalable video server configured from small-to-large for a range of video streams. Bell Atlantic selected IBM and in April 1993 the system became the first VOD over ADSL to be deployed outside the lab, serving 50 video streams. In June 1993, US West filed for a patent to register a proprietary system consisting of the
Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president unt ...
Interactive Information Server,
Scientific Atlanta Scientific Atlanta, Inc. was a Georgia, United States-based manufacturer of cable television, telecommunications, and broadband equipment. Scientific Atlanta was founded in 1951 by a group of engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, an ...
providing the network, and 3DO as the set-top box with video streams and other information to be deployed to 2,500 homes. In 1994–95, US West filed for a patent concerning the provision of VOD in several cities: 330,000 subscribers in Denver, 290,000 in Minneapolis, and 140,000 in Portland. In early 1994,
British Telecommunications BT Group plc (trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is the largest provider of fixed-line, broa ...
(BT) introduced a trial VOD service in the United Kingdom. It used the DCT-based
MPEG-1 MPEG-1 is a standard for lossy compression of video and audio. It is designed to compress VHS-quality raw digital video and CD audio down to about 1.5 Mbit/s (26:1 and 6:1 compression ratios respectively) without excessive quality loss, making ...
and
MPEG-2 MPEG-2 (a.k.a. H.222/H.262 as was defined by the ITU) is a standard for "the generic video coding format, coding of moving pictures and associated audio information". It describes a combination of Lossy compression, lossy video compression and ...
video compression standards, along with ADSL technology. Many VOD trials were held with various combinations of server, network, and set-top box. Of these the primary players in the US were the telephone companies using DEC, Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, USA Video, nCube, SGI, and other servers. The DEC server system was the most-used in these trials. The DEC VOD server architecture used interactive gateways to set up video streams and other information for delivery from any of a large number of
VAX VAX (an acronym for Virtual Address eXtension) is a series of computers featuring a 32-bit instruction set architecture (ISA) and virtual memory that was developed and sold by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in the late 20th century. The VA ...
servers, enabling it in 1993 to support more than 100,000 streams with full
videocassette recorder A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape ...
(VCR)-like functionality. In 1994, it upgraded to a
DEC Alpha Alpha (original name Alpha AXP) is a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). Alpha was designed to replace 32-bit VAX complex instruction set computers ...
–based computer for its VOD servers, allowing it to support more than a million users. By 1994 the Oracle scalable VOD system used massively parallel processors to support from 500 to 30,000 users. The SGI system supported 4,000 users. The servers connected to networks of increasing size to eventually support video stream delivery to entire cities. In the UK, from September 1994, a VOD service formed a major part of the Cambridge Digital Interactive Television Trial This provided video and data to 250 homes and several schools connected to the
Cambridge Cable Cambridge Cable Ltd. was a limited company engaged in the provision of early video on demand. It provided cable infrastructure in the UK as part of the Cambridge Digital Interactive Television Trial (Cambridge iTV trial/Cambridge Cable Project). ...
network, later part of NTL, now
Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, Cable television, television and Internet access, internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Engla ...
. The
MPEG-1 MPEG-1 is a standard for lossy compression of video and audio. It is designed to compress VHS-quality raw digital video and CD audio down to about 1.5 Mbit/s (26:1 and 6:1 compression ratios respectively) without excessive quality loss, making ...
encoded video was streamed over an ATM network from an ICL media server to
set-top boxes A set-top box (STB), also colloquially known as a cable box and historically television decoder, is an information appliance device that generally contains a TV-tuner input and displays output to a television set and an external source of sign ...
designed by
Acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...
Online Media. The trial commenced at a speed of 2 Mbit/s to the home, subsequently increased to 25 Mbit/s."Cambridge Corners the Future in Networking"
''TUANZ Topics'', Volume 05, No. 10, November 1995.
The content was provided by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
and
Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...
. Although a technical success, difficulty in sourcing content was a major issue and the project closed in 1996. In 1997,
Enron Corporation Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. B ...
had entered the broadband market, constructing and purchasing thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables throughout the United States. In 2001, Enron and
Blockbuster Inc. Blockbuster LLC, formerly known as Blockbuster Video, was an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services. Services were offered primarily at video rental shops, but later alternatives included DVD-by-mail, streaming med ...
attempted to create a 20-year deal to stream movies on demand over Enron's fiber-optic network. The heavily promoted deal fell through, with Enron's share prices dropping following the announcement. In 1998,
Kingston Communications KCOM Group (formerly known as Kingston Communications and latterly KC) is a UK communications and IT services provider. Its headquarters are in the city of Kingston upon Hull, and it serves local residents and businesses with Internet and telep ...
became the first UK company to launch a fully commercial VOD service and the first to integrate broadcast television and Internet access through a single set-top box using IP delivery over ADSL. By 2001, Kingston Interactive TV had attracted 15,000 subscribers. After several trials, Home Choice followed in 1999 but was restricted to London. After attracting 40,000 customers, they were bought by
Tiscali Tiscali S.p.a. () is an Italian telecommunications company, based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that provides internet and telecommunications services to its domestic market. It previously had operations in other European nations through its acquisitio ...
in 2006 which was, in turn, bought by
Talk Talk Talk Talk were an English band formed in 1981, led by Mark Hollis (vocals, guitar, piano), Lee Harris (drummer), Lee Harris (drums), and Paul Webb (bass). The group achieved early chart success with the synth-pop singles "Talk Talk (Talk Talk s ...
in 2009. Cable TV providers
Telewest Telewest (previously Telewest Broadband and Telewest Communications) was a cable internet, broadband internet, telephone supplier and cable television provider in the United Kingdom. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange, and was also o ...
and
NTL NTL may refer to: Companies * NTL Incorporated and NTL Internet, later Virgin Media, communications media company ** NTL Ireland, later Virgin Media Ireland * Arqiva, UK company formerly ''NTL Broadcast'' and ''National Transcommunications L ...
(now Virgin Media) launched their VOD services in the United Kingdom in 2005, competing with the leading traditional pay-TV distributor
BSkyB Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
, which responded by launching ''Sky by broadband'', later renamed ''
Sky Anytime On Demand was the brand name of a range of video on demand services from Sky UK designed to compete with rival companies such as Virgin TV or BT TV as well as internet television services such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. On Demand, prev ...
on PC''. The service went live on 2 January 2006. Sky Anytime on PC uses a legal
peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer n ...
approach based on
Kontiki The ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition was a 1947 journey by raft across the Pacific Ocean from South America to the Polynesian islands, led by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. The raft was named ''Kon-Tiki'' after the Inca god Viracocha, for ...
technology to provide very-high-capacity multi-point downloads of the video content. Instead of the video content all being downloaded from Sky's servers, the content comes from multiple users of the system who have already downloaded the content. Other UK television broadcasters implemented their own versions of the same technology, such as
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's
4oD All 4 is a video on demand service from the Channel Four Television Corporation, free of charge for most content and funded by advertising. The service is available in the UK and Ireland; viewers are not required to have a TV licence—required ...
(4 on Demand, now known as
All 4 All 4 is a video on demand service from the Channel Four Television Corporation, free of charge for most content and funded by advertising. The service is available in the UK and Ireland; viewers are not required to have a TV licence—required ...
) which was launched on 16 November 2006 and the BBC's
iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...
, which was launched on 25 December 2007. Another example of online video publishers using legal peer-to-peer technology is based on Giraffic technology, which was launched in early 2011, with large online VOD publishers such as US-based VEOH and UK-based Craze's Online Movies Box movie rental service. The BBC,
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
and Channel 4 planned to launch a joint platform provisionally called
Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
in 2008. This was abandoned in 2009 following complaints, which were investigated by the
Competition Commission The Competition Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for investigating mergers, markets and other enquiries related to regulated industries under competition law in the United Kingdom. It was a competition regulator under t ...
. In that same year, the assets of the now-defunct Kangaroo project were acquired by
Arqiva Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquarters ...
, who used the technology to launch the
SeeSaw A seesaw (also known as a teeter-totter or teeterboard) is a long, narrow board supported by a single pivot point, most commonly located at the midpoint between both ends; as one end goes up, the other goes down. These are most commonly found a ...
service in February 2010. A year later, however, SeeSaw was shut down due to a lack of funding. VOD services are now available in all parts of the United States, which has the highest global take-up rate of VOD. In 2010, 80% of American Internet users had watched video online, and 42% of mobile users who downloaded video preferred apps to a normal browser. Streaming VOD systems are available on desktop and mobile platforms from cable providers (in tandem with
cable modem A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are primaril ...
technology). They use the large downstream bandwidth present on their cable systems to deliver movies and television shows to end-users. These viewers can typically pause, fast-forward, and rewind VOD movies due to the low latency and random-access nature of cable technology. The large distribution of a single signal makes streaming VOD impractical for most satellite television systems. Both
EchoStar EchoStar Corporation is an American company, a worldwide provider of satellite communication and Internet services through its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business segments. EchoStar is based out of unincorporated Arapa ...
/
Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
and
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
offer VOD programming to PVR-owning subscribers of their satellite TV service.
In Demand In Demand (stylized as iN DEMAND) is an American cable television service which provides video on demand services, including pay-per-view. Comcast, Cox Communications, and Charter Communications (with former independent companies Time Warner ...
is a cable VOD service that also offers pay-per-view. Once the programs have been downloaded onto a user's PVR, he or she can watch, play, pause, and seek at their convenience. VOD is also common in expensive hotels. According to the
European Audiovisual Observatory The European Audiovisual Observatory (french: italic=no, Observatoire européen de l’audiovisuel, german: italic=no, Europäische Audiovisuelle Informationsstelle) is a public service organisation, part of the Council of Europe set up in 1992. ...
, 142 paying VOD services were operational in Europe at the end of 2006. The number increased to 650 by 2009. At the 2010
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
in
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Sezmi Sezmi was a cloud based video delivery platform for television providers to deliver services over several IP devices like tablet and mobile computing devices. Sezmi, originally named Building B, was founded by Phil Wiser and Buno Pati in 2007 a ...
CEO Buno Pati and president Phil Wiser showed a set-top box with a one-terabyte hard drive that could be used for video-on-demand services previously offered through cable television and broadband. A movie, for example, could be sent out once using a broadcast signal rather than numerous times over cable or fiber-optic lines, and this would not involve the expense of adding many miles of lines. Sezmi planned to lease part of the broadcast spectrum to offer a subscription service that
National Association of Broadcasters The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
President
Gordon H. Smith Gordon Harold Smith (born May 25, 1952) is an American politician, businessman, and academic administrator who served as a United States Senator from the state of Oregon. A Republican, he served two terms in the Senate from 1997 to 2009. On Septe ...
said would provide a superior picture to that of cable or satellite at a lower cost. Developing VOD requires extensive negotiations to identify a financial model that would serve both content creators and cable providers while providing desirable content for viewers at an acceptable price point. Key factors identified for determining the economic viability of the VOD model include VOD movie buy-rates and setting Hollywood and cable operator revenue splits. Cable providers offered VOD as part of digital subscription packages, which by 2005 primarily allowed cable subscribers to only access an on-demand version of the content that was already provided in the linear traditional broadcasting distribution. These on-demand packages sometimes include extras and bonus footage in addition to the regular content.


Role of peer-to-peer file sharing

Peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer n ...
(P2P)
file-sharing File sharing is the practice of distributing or providing access to digital media, such as computer programs, multimedia (audio, images and video), documents or electronic books. Common methods of storage, transmission and dispersion include rem ...
software allows the distribution of content without the linear costs associated with centralised
streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
. This innovation proved it is technically possible to offer the consumer potentially every film ever made, and the popularity and ease of use of such services may have motivated the rise of centralised video-on-demand services. Some services such as
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
use peer-to-peer distribution to better scale their platforms.
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
was reported to be considering switching to a P2P model to cope with
net neutrality Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...
problems from
downstream Downstream may refer to: * Downstream (bioprocess) * Downstream (manufacturing) * Downstream (networking) * Downstream (software development) * Downstream (petroleum industry) * Upstream and downstream (DNA), determining relative positions on DNA ...
providers.


Types


Transactional

Transactional video on demand (TVOD) is a distribution method by which customers pay for each piece of video-on-demand content. For example, a customer would pay a fee for each movie or TV show that they watch. TVOD has two sub-categories:
electronic sell-through Electronic sell-through (EST) is a method of media distribution whereby consumers pay a one-time fee to download a media file for storage on a hard drive.Raugust, Karen. "Turning Digital into Dollars." Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Bu ...
(EST), by which customers can permanently access a piece of content once purchased via the Internet; and download to rent (DTR), by which customers can access the content for a limited time upon renting. Examples of TVOD services include the Apple
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
Store and the
Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...
Store, as well as VOD rental services offered through
multichannel television A multichannel television service, also known as simply a television provider, is a type of service provider who distributes television programming to its customers for a subscription fee. Subscription television providers distribute television ch ...
(i.e., cable or satellite) providers.


Premium

Premium video on demand (PVOD) is a version of TVOD which allows customers to access video-on-demand content several weeks or months earlier than their customary TVOD or home video availability – often feature films made available alongside, or in place of, a traditional release in
movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
s – but at a much higher price point. A version of the model was tested in 2011 by American satellite TV provider
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
under the brand name "Home Premiere", which allowed viewers to rent select films from major studios for
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
30 per rental as soon as 60 days after they debuted in cinemas, compared to 120 days for the regular TVOD window; this version only lasted a few months. PVOD made a return during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
and the resulting global closures of cinemas. Certain films that had already been released including ''
The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in ''Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devote ...
'' were quickly also released on VOD platforms for a higher rental price than usual, while other films including ''
Trolls World Tour ''Trolls World Tour'' (often named as ''Trolls 2: World Tour'') is a 2020 American computer-animated musical comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures, based on the Good Luck Trolls dolls created by ...
'' were released
simultaneously Simultaneity may refer to: * Relativity of simultaneity, a concept in special relativity. * Simultaneity (music), more than one complete musical texture occurring at the same time, rather than in succession * Simultaneity, a concept in Endogene ...
on PVOD and in
drive-in theater A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of movie theater, cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers ...
s, or in some cases directly to PVOD only. In most cases, these PVOD releases are offered through most of the same platforms as traditional TVOD, but at a higher price point, typically about US$20 for a 48-hour rental; this offering has again been branded as "Home Premiere" by some studios and platforms.
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
used the September 2020 release of the live-action remake of ''Mulan'' to launch a related model called Premier Access; this requires customers to pay a premium fee (approximately US$26-30 depending on country) on top of a subscription to the
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
streaming service, but they then retain access as long as they maintain their subscription (for ''Mulan'', this was effectively a 90-day rental, as the film became available to all Disney+ subscribers at no extra charge in December). It has been reported that the pandemic has contributed to a transformation in movie distribution in favor of PVOD over traditional movie houses, as studios are able to realize 80% of revenue through PVOD versus 50% of traditional theater box office receipts. Theater owners including AMC and Cinemark, as well as suppliers including IMAX and National CineMedia, all experienced significant drops in revenues during shutdowns related to COVID-19.


Catch-up TV

Many television stations offer "catch-up TV" as a way for viewers to watch programmes though their VOD services after the original television broadcast is over.


Subscription models

Subscription VOD (SVOD) services use a
subscription business model The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, an ...
in which subscribers are charged a regular fee to access unlimited programs. Examples of these services include
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
,
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
,
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
,
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
,
Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar (also known as Hotstar) is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both di ...
,
Star+ A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
,
Peacock Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera ''Pavo (genus), Pavo'' and ''Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female pea ...
, Hayu,
Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
,
Noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head * Noggin (protein), a signalling molecule involved in embryonic development * Noggin or dwang, a carpentry term Entertai ...
,
BET+ BET+ (pronounced "BET plus") is an over-the-top SVOD service operated by Tyler Perry Studios and the Paramount Streaming, a division of Paramount Global. The service was first announced on June 24, 2019 and launched on September 19, 2019. BET+ ...
,
Voot Voot is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Viacom18. Launched in March 2016, it is Viacom18's advertising-led video-on-demand platform that is available as an app for iOS, KaiOS ( JioPhone) an ...
,
Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...
,
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
,
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
,
SonyLIV SonyLIV is an Indian over-the-top freemium streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it is carrying content from its local networks, includi ...
, GulliMax and
ZEE5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Androi ...
.


Near video on demand

Near video on demand (NVOD) is a
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
consumer video technique used by multi-channel broadcasters using high-bandwidth distribution mechanisms such as satellite and cable television. Multiple copies of a programme are broadcast at short time intervals (typically staggered on a schedule of every 10–20 minutes) on linear channels providing convenience for viewers, who can watch the programme without needing to tune in at the only scheduled point in time. A viewer may only have to wait a few minutes before the next time a movie will be programmed. This form is bandwidth-intensive, reduces the number of channels a provider can offer, and is generally provided by large operators with a great deal of redundant capacity. This concept has been reduced in popularity as video on demand is implemented, along with providers often wanting to provide the maximum
throughput Network throughput (or just throughput, when in context) refers to the rate of message delivery over a communication channel, such as Ethernet or packet radio, in a communication network. The data that these messages contain may be delivered ov ...
for their
broadband In telecommunications, broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission which transports multiple signals at a wide range of frequencies and Internet traffic types, that enables messages to be sent simultaneously, used in fast internet connections. ...
services possible. Only the satellite services
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
and
Dish Network DISH Network Corporation (DISH, an acronym for DIgital Sky Highway) is an American television provider and the owner of the direct-broadcast satellite provider Dish, commonly known as Dish Network, and the over-the-top IPTV service, Sling TV. A ...
continue to provide NVOD services, as they do not offer broadband and much of their rural customer base only has access to slower
dial-up Dial-up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a connection to an Internet service provider (ISP) by dialing a telephone number on a conventional telepho ...
and non- 5G wireless and
satellite internet Satellite Internet access is Internet access provided through communication satellites. Modern consumer grade satellite Internet service is typically provided to individual users through geostationary satellites that can offer relatively high dat ...
options which cannot stream films or have onerous
data cap A data cap, often erroneously referred to as a bandwidth cap, is an artificial restriction imposed on the transfer of data over a network. In particular, it refers to policies imposed by an internet service provider in order to limit customers' u ...
s (and where possible,
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...
is now prioritizing their streaming service
AT&T TV DirecTV Stream is a family of streaming multichannel television services offered in the United States by DirecTV. The brand encompasses three separate services sharing similar infrastructure and software. DirecTV Stream, launched nationally as ...
, which utilizes a fully immediate VOD experience, over DirecTV). Before the rise of VOD, the cable pay-per-view provider
In Demand In Demand (stylized as iN DEMAND) is an American cable television service which provides video on demand services, including pay-per-view. Comcast, Cox Communications, and Charter Communications (with former independent companies Time Warner ...
provided up to 40 channels in 2002, with several films receiving four channels on a staggered schedule to provide the NVOD experience for viewers. As of 2018, most cable pay-per-view channels now number mainly 3–5, and are used mainly for live ring sports events (boxing and professional wrestling), comedy specials, and concerts, though the latter two sources are declining due to streaming services offering much more lucrative performance contracts to performers, and several ring sports organisations (mainly
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
and
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
) now prefer direct marketing of their product via streaming services such as
ESPN+ ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, the
WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American entertainment company WWE. It primarily distributes original professional wrestling events, films, television and ...
, and the apps of
Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
over pay-TV providers which require a portion of the profits they otherwise retain directly. In Australia, pay-TV broadcaster
Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...
offers NVOD for new-release movies over their satellite service. Edge Spectrum, an American holder of
low-power broadcasting Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" (more commonly " ...
licenses, has an eventual business plan to use its network and a system of
digital video recorder A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes with direct to d ...
s to simulate the video-on-demand experience. Most of Edge Spectrum's channels, where they are on air, carry
televangelism Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and "evangelism," meaning "ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-proc ...
.


Push video on demand

Push video on demand is so-named because the provider "pushes" the content out to the viewer's set-top box without the viewer having requested the content. This technique is used by several broadcasters on systems that lack the connectivity and bandwidth to provide true "streaming" video on demand. Push VOD is also used by broadcasters that want to optimize their video streaming infrastructures by pre-loading the most popular contents to the consumers' set-top device. If the consumer requests one of these films, it is already loaded on her or his DVR. A push VOD system uses a personal video recorder (PVR) to store a selection of content, often transmitted in spare capacity overnight or all day long at low bandwidth. Users can watch the downloaded content at the time they desire, immediately and without any buffering issues. Push VOD depends on the viewer recording content so choices can be limited.


Advertising video on demand

Advertising video on demand (AVOD) uses an advertising-based revenue model. This allows companies that advertise on broadcast and cable channels to reach people who watch shows using VOD. This model also allows people to watch content without paying subscription fees.
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
was a major AVOD company before ending its free service in August 2016, transferring it to
Yahoo! View The company Yahoo! ran several similar video services. Yahoo! Video, a video hosting service, was established in 2006. Later, the ability to upload videos was removed, changing it to a more pure video on demand service; the website became a port ...
using the existing Hulu infrastructure.
Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...
has introduced a series of advertisements for the same company that ties into the content that is being watched. Ad-Supported Video on Demand (ASVOD) refers to video services that provide free content supported by advertisements. Popular services include
Pluto TV Pluto TV is a free, ad-supported video streaming service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Co-founded by Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California, in the United Sta ...
,
Xumo Xumo ( ) is an American over-the-top internet television service owned by Comcast. Founded in 2011, it offers a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) and advertising video on demand (AVOD) service that primarily offers a selection of pro ...
, the
Roku Roku ( ) is a brand of hardware digital media players manufactured by American company Roku, Inc. They offer access to streaming media content from online services. The first Roku model, developed in collaboration with Netflix, was introduce ...
Channel,
Popcornflix Popcornflix LLC is a website and Over-the-top content, over-the-top (OTT) service offering free ad-supported streaming media, streaming video of feature-length movies and webisodes and owned by the Screen Media, Screen Media Ventures subsidiary o ...
,
Crackle Crackle or crackling may refer to: Foods * Cracklings, the tissue remaining after lard and tallow have been extracted from animal fats ** Pork rinds in American English, pork scratchings in British English when served in small pieces as a snac ...
,
Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...
,
Movies Anywhere Movies Anywhere (MA) is a cloud-based digital rights locker and over-the-top streaming platform that allows users to stream and download purchased films, including digital copies redeemed from codes found in home video releases as well as di ...
,
Vudu Vudu is an American digital video store and streaming service owned by Fandango Media, a joint-venture between NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery. The company offers transactional video on demand rentals and digital purchases of films, ...
,
Dailymotion Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...
, and
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
. Walmart is adding ASVOD original programming to Vudu, and YouTube Originals will be ASVOD by 2020. Data Analysis When technology companies, include SVOD apps on their devices, like phones, tablets, televisions, game systems, computers, this can remove an attitude obstruction for a user to view content.Clement, Otten, C., Seifert, R., Kleinen, O., Houston, M. B., Karniouchina, E. V., & Heller, C. (2018). IDEA FORUM: the impact of subscription-based video on demand on traditional distributors' value chains and business models. Journal of Media Economics, 31(1-2), 50–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/08997764.2020.1796687 This technology also provides an advantage for technology companies for data analysis of viewed content from consumers. By analyzing data of what is viewed most by consumers, companies can purchase more content that is aimed for an audience, and then in-turn market products that are based on what viewer profiles are of a group of consumers who viewer a specific amount of content. This data analysis will often provide researchers valuable data that includes: what was watched, when it was watched, what they watched after watching, and even how many people watched the same video at the same time in a day, month, and even year. Economics of SVOD Attendance in movie theaters had declined during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.Adgate, B. (2021, April 13). ''The Impact COVID-19 Had On The Entertainment Industry In 2020''. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2021/04/13/the-impact-covid-19-had-on-the-entertainment-industry-in-2020/?sh=4fe0fc79250f Worldwide in 2019, theatrical entertainment reach 11.4 billion dollars, but in 2020, it was only 2.2 billion. Due recovery efforts to increase those attendance numbers, along with the growing amount of marketing that is need to gain the attention of an audience, pinning down an exact budget for a film production can be difficult.Zipin, D. (2021, October 18). ''How Exactly Do Movies Make Money?'' investopedia.com. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/093015/how-exactly-do-movies-make-money.asp Video on demand can have three release strategies that include: day-and-date (instantaneous release in theaters and on VOD), day-before-date (VOD before theatrical viewing), and VOD only. Production studios can make revenue on these types of releases until sales start to slow. After that, film companies can then license the content to other streaming services and, temporarily, make extra income like that too.Mroch, C. (2020, October 30). ''How do Netflix movies make money?'' Netflix Life. https://netflixlife.com/2020/10/30/how-do-netflix-movies-make-money/ In a reflection made by 2013 Netflix Chief Content Officer,
Ted Sarandos Theodore Anthony Sarandos Jr. is an American businessman who serves as the co-chief executive officer and chief content officer for Netflix. Early life Sarandos was born in Phoenix, Arizona. His father was Ted Sarandos Sr, an electrician, and ...
, he was quoted saying, “When we launch in a territory the BitTorrent traffic drops as the Netflix traffic grows.”McKenzie, J., Crosby, P., Cox, J., & Collins, A. (2019). Experimental evidence on demand for “on-demand” entertainment. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 161, 98–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2019.03.017 This can be valuably interpreted as in that online piracy numbers drop the more that SVOD companies grow, which in turn means more revenue going back to the production companies. Behavior Detrimental to SVOD revenue Online piracy is detrimental to production companies that produce digital content.Matos, M.G. de, Ferreira, P., & Smith, M. D. (2018). The Effect of Subscription Video-on-Demand on Piracy: Evidence from a Household-Level Randomized Experiment. Management Science, 64(12), 5610–5630. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2875 In a study that offered BitTorrent users a free SVOD subscription, the results of the research provided readers with information that show download and upload speeds in those homes decreased with a free subscription, but it could not prove decreased use in BitTorrent software.


See also

* BitTorrent *
Comparison of video hosting services The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of current, notable video hosting services. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. General information Basic general information about t ...
*
Direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
*
Electronic sell-through Electronic sell-through (EST) is a method of media distribution whereby consumers pay a one-time fee to download a media file for storage on a hard drive.Raugust, Karen. "Turning Digital into Dollars." Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Bu ...
*
Music on demand Music-on-demand (MOD) is a proven, recording industry certified multi-billion dollar music distribution & subscriber-based industry model conceived with the growth of two-way computing and telecommunications in the early 1990s originally architec ...
*
National Streaming Day National Streaming Day is an unofficial holiday occurring on May 20, intended to celebrate streaming media. It was established in 2014 by Roku. In recent years, some streaming services have used the holiday to offer streaming promotions or disco ...
*
Over-the-top media service An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributors ...
*
Streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
*
Trick mode Trick mode or trick play is a feature of digital video systems, including digital video recorders and video on demand systems, that mimics the visual feedback given during fast-forward and rewind operations that were provided by analogue systems s ...


References


Further reading

* * What is Broadcaster VOD
Broadcaster Video On Demand is an exciting and evolving landscape which offers advertisers a host of premium advertising opportunities around trusted, quality content. It’s an important part of the new TV ecosystem that is helping people to watch more of the TV they love.
* Broadcaster VOD services
There are a host of different VOD services from the UK broadcasters all brimming with opportunities for advertisers. Here you’ll find an overview of the key players and their on-demand services by platform
* Broadcaster VOD advertising formats
From clickable pre-rolls to full interactivity, broadcaster VOD advertising is always innovating. Here you can get the low down on the various VOD formats currently available from the UK TV companies
* * * * * Lotz, Amanda D. (2007) "The Television Will Be Revolutionized". New York: New York City University Press. p. 59. * McGregor, Michael A., Driscoll, Paul D., McDowell, Walter (2010) "Head’s Broadcasting in America: A Survey of Electronic Media". Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon p. 47–48. * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Video On Demand
Demand In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...
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