SANTA MONICA, Calif.—Skweez Media has reported a successful unveiling of its new internet television network during the just-concluded Adult Entertainment Expo(AEE) at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. Dubbed “the iTunes of porn” by CNBC.com, the service provides Netflix- and Hulu-like capabilities in an attempt to provide a new approach to the online video service platform for adult entertainment content owners.
Media wishing to demo Skweezme.com or schedule an interview with Skweez Media’s founders should contact [email protected].
Throughout the week of AEE, Skweez Media held meetings with studio executives and interviews with international media outlets inquiring about licensing, content delivery, anti-piracy, and the platform’s unique, non-subscription-based monetization model.
An article titled, “Building the iTunes of Porn,” by CNBC correspondent Chris Morris, reported on Skweez Media’s work to turn the downturn of the industry’s finances around, by “[giving] fans access to a vast library of porn at a rate … consumers find palatable.” Morris continued, “[Skweez Media] bypasses a recurring payment model, which is the bread and butter of most adult studios.” The article was also reposted on Yahoo Finance.
Skweez Media President Jamey Kirby told Morris, “Recurring billing is a marketer’s dream, but it can be a consumer’s nightmare.” Skweez Media Executive Vice President of Content and Marketing Mike Kulich added the adult industry has simply not given customers a chance to be honest, modeling Skweez Media after the new delivery and monetization systems developed after the rampant music piracy of the late ‘90s. “We don’t expect to be able to recuperate the $4 billion the industry loses each year to piracy,” Kulich tells Morris, “but it would be nice if we could recuperate a portion of it.”
When asked about how Skweez Media benefits participating content creators, Kulich explained, “Studios will be compensated via a revenue-share model, dividing 25 percent of the monthly revenue generated by the [network].” Skweez Media is building a war chest of titles in order to release new ones into its library on a weekly basis.
Mainstream media outlet Huffington Post commented on the Netflix-like delivery method presented by the company as a possible solution for a lagging adult industry economy, plagued by piracy and the bottoming-out of physical DVD sales. “The affordable daily rate will keep customers coming back,” Kirby told Huffington Post Editor Andy Campbell, who wrote, “When the site launches on Monday, 99 cents will get you 24 hours of access to the site’s war chest of full-length videos.”
"With the decline of DVD and paysite revenue due to factors including tube sites and content piracy, Skweez Media is a way for our licensees to monetize their content that is unlike any of the VOD services currently available,” said Kulich. “We’re extremely happy both the industry and media has recognized there must be a solution to the decline of adult entertainment profit, and Skweez Media’s place in its mitigation and eventual turnaround.”
Adult industry veterans also recognized the importance of a network such as Skweez Media. Paul Fishbein, president of Plausible Films and the founder of AVN, said, “We were quite impressed with the look and feel of the Skweez Media site. I think this is going to be a vibrant, popular consumer product, and a great source of additional revenue for producers and studios.”
Product Development Director for Adam & Eve Pictures, Bruce Whitney, echoed Fishbein’s sentiment, saying, “Skweez Media is the big story out of this year’s [Adult Entertainment Expo]. It is a superior user experience to anything else out there. But the real topper is the mobile experience. It feels like a native app, and it delivers beautifully. This is the first product that feels like it is optimized for mobile first.”
Skweez Media presents licensed titles by content owners in an unlimited-streaming-per-day format, on multiple platforms, at a price point more comparable to current mainstream viewing habits. Skweez Media offers full-length titles and shows, similar to the mainstream online video platforms, but at a fraction of the cost of purchasing physical DVDs.
The unlimited streaming offered for one low price per day on Skweez Media appeals to consumers who have moved away from monthly recurrent paysite billing and per-minute tube site billing towards adult entertainment. For content owners and studios, the licensed titles are monetized with payment for every licensed product viewed using a proprietary rev-share model.
Studios entering into licensing arrangements with Skweez Media have provided a large content library of titles available on the Skweez Media platform, with many more on the way. Content on Skweez Media will be available via the Web for PC and mobile devices and on all Roku players.
Skweez Media invites studios and performers with content to partner in licensing and revshare agreements. Those interested in adding this revenue stream to their overall marketing plans are invited to contact [email protected] for more information and assistance.
