From The Online Reporter
- Niche Content the Wave of the Future
- OTT Space Is ‘Burning Hot’
Screen Media Ventures, parent company of the popular free ad-supported OTT service Popcornflix, has launched a new horror-niche film OTT service called FrightPIX.
Screen Media is a very forward-thinking company. It holds one of the largest video libraries outside of the studios, with over 2,000 films, both domestic and foreign, at its disposal. Screen Media is a traditional movie distribution company, though smaller than the likes of Warner Bros. “We distribute direct to every movie outlet you can think of, whether it’s cable, home entertainment, syndication,” said Gary Delfiner president of digital at Screen Media. “We own and control all the digital rights for those movies,” Delfiner said. That fact has given Screen Media the freedom to launch a free, ad-supported OTT on-demand movie service.
Now, the company is jumping feet first into a newly emerging market in OTT. “About eight weeks ago, we decided to start doing verticals,” Delfiner said. “We decided horror would be the first to do – it appeals to mass viewers, it is timeless, and it appeals to the gaming audience.” Delfiner said it also appeals to that elusive demographic, 18-35 year old males. “We think it’s a good place to be.”
FrightPIX is one of the few free niche channels available
on Roku. “There are not that many channels out there
that have an exclusive focus on the horror product,” he
said. “There are a few, but not many.”
The films are grouped by subgenres such as “Creepy,” “Splatter,” “Monster” and “Out of This World.” The library has around 100 films total, and the company will be adding new content each month. “We think it’s a really good way to go, especially as we build up the inventory in the channel,” he said.
Delfiner said 20% of the films offered in FrightPIX are also available on Popcornflix, but most of the content is fresh, and the library will grow. “Although we have our library, we are actively aggregating content specifically for FrightPIX,” Delfiner said.
The titles are wonderfully kitschy. FrightPIX offers the entire “Howling” series, “Bathory: Countess of Blood,” the collection of “Deadtime Stories,” and some underground favorites, such as the slasher film “Home Sweet Home” and the high school thriller “The Expelled.”
As an ad-supported VoD service, the viewer watches both pre-rolls and mid-rolls for each film, just as with Popcornflix. “We’re pretty generous, we have them spaced out approximately every eight to ten minutes,” Delfiner said. “We are really very conscious about making a compelling viewer experience.”
Delfiner likened the mid-roll to a TV viewing experience, and said even with the mid-roll ads, the OTT movie viewing experience is superior to that available on the TV. “On TV – when do I get to watch the entire movie? Probably not that often,” he said. “[With FrightPIX] viewers get to watch where ever they want, when ever they want, on whatever device they want.”
Screen Media’s first OTT foray, Popcornflix debuted on
Roku about a year ago, and reaped a great deal of attention
when it received 500,000 app downloads. Today, that number
is around 900,000 on Roku. “We are always consistently
ranked number five, behind Netflix, Hulu,
Crackle, and Amazon,” Delfiner said.
“Popcornflix, today, is arguably one of the fastest growing
free feature length movie streaming platforms in the world.”
Popcornflix is known for offering an eclectic collection of films, big-name stars in lesser-known roles. Titles include “I Witness,” starring James Spader, “The Journeyman,” with Willie Nelson and “Battle in Seattle,” with Charlize Theron.
As with Crackle and Hulu, Screen Media is looking to acquire Web exclusive content for the platform. Delfiner said the company may offer exclusive content as a marketing vehicle for specific devices, as well. Popcornflix has a limited library of Web originals, including “Alpha Planet,” and “Writer’s Block.” None of them are quite the caliber of some of the online video being produced by Hulu, Sony or YouTube.
Delfiner described the market as “burning hot,” and said Screen Media is interested to further explore niche OTT services. “The growth rate is faster growing than any other space out there,” he said. “We’re serving millions of movies a month right now, and we’re growing very rapidly.”
Screen Media is currently negotiating with smart TV makers, and will be launching Popcornflix on major Android devices in the...
For the complete article go to www.onlinereporter.com
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- Niche Content the Wave of the Future
- OTT Space Is ‘Burning Hot’
Screen Media Ventures, parent company of the popular free ad-supported OTT service Popcornflix, has launched a new horror-niche film OTT service called FrightPIX.
Screen Media is a very forward-thinking company. It holds one of the largest video libraries outside of the studios, with over 2,000 films, both domestic and foreign, at its disposal. Screen Media is a traditional movie distribution company, though smaller than the likes of Warner Bros. “We distribute direct to every movie outlet you can think of, whether it’s cable, home entertainment, syndication,” said Gary Delfiner president of digital at Screen Media. “We own and control all the digital rights for those movies,” Delfiner said. That fact has given Screen Media the freedom to launch a free, ad-supported OTT on-demand movie service.
Now, the company is jumping feet first into a newly emerging market in OTT. “About eight weeks ago, we decided to start doing verticals,” Delfiner said. “We decided horror would be the first to do – it appeals to mass viewers, it is timeless, and it appeals to the gaming audience.” Delfiner said it also appeals to that elusive demographic, 18-35 year old males. “We think it’s a good place to be.”
FrightPIX
Delights With Horror Kitsch
The films are grouped by subgenres such as “Creepy,” “Splatter,” “Monster” and “Out of This World.” The library has around 100 films total, and the company will be adding new content each month. “We think it’s a really good way to go, especially as we build up the inventory in the channel,” he said.
Delfiner said 20% of the films offered in FrightPIX are also available on Popcornflix, but most of the content is fresh, and the library will grow. “Although we have our library, we are actively aggregating content specifically for FrightPIX,” Delfiner said.
The titles are wonderfully kitschy. FrightPIX offers the entire “Howling” series, “Bathory: Countess of Blood,” the collection of “Deadtime Stories,” and some underground favorites, such as the slasher film “Home Sweet Home” and the high school thriller “The Expelled.”
As an ad-supported VoD service, the viewer watches both pre-rolls and mid-rolls for each film, just as with Popcornflix. “We’re pretty generous, we have them spaced out approximately every eight to ten minutes,” Delfiner said. “We are really very conscious about making a compelling viewer experience.”
Delfiner likened the mid-roll to a TV viewing experience, and said even with the mid-roll ads, the OTT movie viewing experience is superior to that available on the TV. “On TV – when do I get to watch the entire movie? Probably not that often,” he said. “[With FrightPIX] viewers get to watch where ever they want, when ever they want, on whatever device they want.”
Popcornflix
Still A Big Hit
Popcornflix is known for offering an eclectic collection of films, big-name stars in lesser-known roles. Titles include “I Witness,” starring James Spader, “The Journeyman,” with Willie Nelson and “Battle in Seattle,” with Charlize Theron.
As with Crackle and Hulu, Screen Media is looking to acquire Web exclusive content for the platform. Delfiner said the company may offer exclusive content as a marketing vehicle for specific devices, as well. Popcornflix has a limited library of Web originals, including “Alpha Planet,” and “Writer’s Block.” None of them are quite the caliber of some of the online video being produced by Hulu, Sony or YouTube.
Delfiner described the market as “burning hot,” and said Screen Media is interested to further explore niche OTT services. “The growth rate is faster growing than any other space out there,” he said. “We’re serving millions of movies a month right now, and we’re growing very rapidly.”
Screen Media is currently negotiating with smart TV makers, and will be launching Popcornflix on major Android devices in the...
For the complete article go to www.onlinereporter.com
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