In a time of change, are consolidation and acquisition the prescription for building a better mousetrap? What is my recipe for success in the new era of online video? Quality, security, and integrity. Yes, that’s right, I said it. Now let’s have a look at what it really means.
QUALITY. The quality of the content of course depends on the niche. But the one true benchmark of quality regardless of the nature of the content is the user experience. We may not want to see reality content in HD as the “polished look” does not play well on a video of a guy picking up a girl at the car wash. But we do want the clip to load fast, have limited buffering throughout the scene, and be easy to navigate for either the seasoned professional or the new kid on the Web.
The flip side to that is people are ready for true HD content. The word HD has been thrown around all too much over the past few years. A guy rips a DVD that was an HD DVD and all of a sudden he is offering his customers HD content. To speak of this as HD content would not be entirely accurate. Historically the problem has been that users want instant gratification. They do not want to wait 30 minutes to download a huge file in hopes that they may get to watch some hot HD porn, at some point that day.
Connections are getting better every day. That common denominator keeps getting more prevalent, enabling HD streaming at 1080i over a cable modem or greater Internet connection. It won’t be long before you can consume all the porn you want in a true HD codec, “streaming” online. In fact it is happening as you read this little gem today.
SECURITY. This is a tricky one. I, personally, have been a huge advocate of content security since day one, coming from the mainstream side of the business, including television and music. The mainstream content providers did not fully comprehend the piracy problem (obviously, you might say).
We tried to get the adult business to adapt to DRM. It not only helped protect the content but also created new and innovative business models, some of which still generate fantastic revenues to this day.
But it was a challenge. I even went so far as to hand out condoms from 2001 to 2003 that read “Protect Your Content X2K” — still a great idea to this day (but if you still have one of those from the shows back then, please do not use it).
We as an industry have helped create the problem by not being cautious about whom we give our content to and where we place it. It is not too late; there are still some great ways, from DRM to digital watermarking, to protect your content. It is a security thing. If you intend to steal, do you try and break into the house that has the lights on, a security system, and a Rottweiler, or do you choose the dark, unprotected house down the street?
INTEGRITY. Yes, the integrity of the product is No. 1 as we get ready for what will be the “wild west” of adult. The companies that have built a true business with consumers that actually log in, know about, or want to pay for their adult content — kudos to you. You have done it right; the days of $100 payouts, five cross sales, and a cancellation cross sale will eventually come to an end. Consumers do have a choice now more than ever, so why not embrace it?
Offer your customers the highest quality content possible, using the best-of-breed technologies to deliver a fantastic user experience and give the “client” (yes, they are clients) what they want, how they want it, and better yet, let them pay for it however they want. Whether it is PPV, PPM, VOD, subscription, or even free. There are business models and ways to monetize all of these. Just do it remembering they are customers who require quality, service, and a level of respect, not merely suckers armed with credit cards and bank accounts.
FINAL THOUGHTS. There are a number of people that are out there everyday trying to help companies do just what I have described above. OK, maybe two out of three of the above items. We have to be realistic. Now is the time to break out those masters and encode the source material into a true HD codec — there are many out there and more become available every day.
Get yourself into a good hosting scenario. Look into using one of the many CDN (content delivery networks) for cutting edge delivery of your newly encoded product, and most of all, try and improve on the quality of the user experience. Do these things now as well as embracing additional business models and I truly believe you will be leaps and bounds in front of your competition. There is no question that companies who are embracing quality, security, and the integrity of their product will be around for a long, long time.
Stephen Bugbee is owner of X2K Consulting and Media Services and can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the July 2009 issue of AVN Online. To subscribe, visit AVNMediaNetwork.com/subscribe.
