E! is set to bring a vast catalogue of star-studded programmes such as Keeping Up with the Kardashians and latest gossips from Hollywood.
The Paramount Network will digitise the biggest televised shows: COPS, Two & A Half Men, Friends and more.
“While other streaming providers are removing quality programming and raising prices, we’ve added two popular entertainment channels to Sling Blue without inflating costs for our customers,” said Dana McLeod, vice-president of Sling TV, to Forbes.
In an attempt to diversify the revenue stream, Sling TV has welcomed a brand-new channel, VSiN, the channel that is solely on legal sports gambling. The programme provides sports betting advice, news, analyses and broadcast from Las Vegas, the gambling capital of the US.
However, how long can OTT providers sustain low pricing models while incurring costs in race to produce original content?
Some local operators in Asia have employed creative strategies to gain more advertising revenue. For instance, OONA incentivises viewers’ actions with virtual currency: t-coins. Users are encouraged to earn t-coins by sharing video ads and engaging other users to view OONA. The virtual coin is redeemable with Telkom Indonesia products and a selection of branded good.
A key difference in the Asian market is the video consumption habits of consumers. Brightcove, a video production company, observes that Asians have higher tolerance to advertising; this lead to incremental growth in AVoD market and open up a new gateway for marketers to access the new group of consumers.
Balancing between customer propositions and profits is never an easy task; by maintaining a strong user-base and offering it to advertisers is pivotal to the success of the OTT business.
