39 TECHFEED Blockchain
CHAIN REACTION The BitMovio platform is an alternative to Netflix et al, offering a new set of experiences and ways to pay for content
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virtual currency – in their wallet, they can watch a video ad or engage with some other advertising material to gain access. “This sort of monetisation has been one of our core innovations; trying to create a really engaging experience and something that is unimaginable in the current SVOD and AVOD world,” adds Zhu. DECENTRALISED MARKETPLACE BitMovio’s model as a ‘decentralised streaming marketplace’ is built on smart contracts, with support for Bitcoin and Ether for payments and rewards. The platform uses the Ethereum blockchain for distributed ledger and smart contract technology. The blockchain-enabled smart contracts aim to see creators and content owners paid in almost real time without value skimmed away by middlemen. To enable this, the company has issued the previously mentioned MoviBits – ‘a fiat gateway and economics incentive to build an engaging and trusted community’. “Think of it as Twitch Bits on steroids,” says Zhu. “We have combined the Twitch Bits concept with the crypto one. Users can buy it using a credit card or PayPal and it has a broader range of use cases, such as for tipping and gifting, or to access premium content. Or MoviBits can be earned through various actions on the platform.” The MoviBits currency can be purchased or can be earned on the platform by watching ads or potentially by spending their attention on the site in other ways, prescribed by content owners. MoviBits can be used to watch content or to pay or tip favourite content creators.
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WE’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO OFFER CONSUMERS AMORE GAMIFIED, INCENTIVISEDCONSUMEREXPERIENCE
The company has introduced pre-roll video ads on its iOS and Android apps and on web content so that content creators can earn additional revenue for free content. Content creators can choose to enable or disable ads when they publish their free-to-view content. BUILDING BIT BY BIT In the near term, BitMovio is looking to build its content library and is casting its net wide to encourage creators of all stripes to upload their content to the platform and become part of its creator community. “Right now our focus is on our own marketplace building, with our own website and apps to demonstrate this gamification model, combined with crypto and virtual currency,” says Zhu. “In the meantime, we are also working on a white label solution.” Once the B2C platform has proven itself, BitMovio aims to offer this blockchain- enabled gamification model on a wider basis. “We can start to talk to the brands and see who has a lot of followers and who wants to build their own direct-to- consumer brands. All the brands copying Netlix and YouTube – or SVOD and AVOD – that’s the only thing in the market right now,” affirms Zhu. “But we’re going to be
able to offer consumers a more gamified, incentivised consumer experience.” Zhu envisions three types of user for the BitMovio white label platform. Of course, there are major content owners – big studios and TV networks with substantial content libraries and resources. But of particular interest to Zhu are the mid- range companies who have been trying to build their own direct-to-consumer SVOD or AVOD platforms, but find it costly to acquire and retain subscribers. The third group are smaller independent companies that might be hard pressed to roll out their own branded offering, because they are unlikely to have enough content – Zhu would recommend they incubate in the BitMovio marketplace, before moving into the mid-range category. “If we can build our own marketplace model and have a few pilot customers in the medium range, then we can go to the bigger players. “Right now, the big studios are more willing to listen to innovators in this space, because of the disruptions caused by Netflix and YouTube. Everyone knows the danger of these. It will take time, but now the time for them to adopt a fresh solution is going to be much, much shorter.”
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