57 START-UP ALLEY Kast
COUNTRY: US/FINLAND STARTED: 2015
MARK OLLILA “People want to have a feeling they are with friends without necessarily interacting directly with them”
need to subscribe to Netflix or Sky Box Office to view content on those platforms. Ollila likens this to “inviting someone around to watch a football game”. But this does raise copyright issues. As a gatekeeper rather than a content publisher, Kast asserts that it is following the same principles as YouTube, Twitter and Twitch to manage things and that Kasters must follow community guidelines and observe copyright and licensing requirements. Kast has also pledged to remove content at the request of the rights owner. Ollila argues that watch parties are becoming an essential feature of the at-home viewing social experience, particularly among younger audiences. Among Kast’s several million subscribers across 200 countries, 80% are under the age of 34 with the majority aged between 18 and 24 years old – and the platform now possesses a direct line into how they choose to consume content, which at the very least is a valuable data set. “We are taking the industry on a journey with real data and not speculation about how people want to experience
IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF WATCH PARTIES AND THE BENEFITS THEY CAN BRING
what their friends are up to – they want to have a feeling they are together without necessarily interacting directly with them. This socially distant togetherness is a viewing behaviour that has grown during lockdown and has seen Kast’s usage spike by 500%. Brands, music venues and sporting clubs have all contacted the firm to find new ways of engaging with their customers and fans. All of which brings us back to Cannes. With many film festivals happening online this year due to the pandemic, Ollila agrees that screening rooms have been quieter places. It’s a challenge for buyers, cinephiles and film journalists to gain any sense of buzz from titles that appear in the market screenings. He believes that Kast can help industry folk swap notes about the films within a controlled but interactive viewing environment and allow them to experience cinema as part of a communal event again.
Ollila says that Kast also offers an alternative platform for filmmakers – by allowing them to host a limited, more select audience for film screenings, so that they avoid the risk of not being able to debut their film at a physical festival further down the line. “The idea is to bring a level of control to the experience. And you can add Q&As, after parties and see audience reactions [Kast’s version of emojis] during the screenings, with the option of text commentary throughout.” While the app is free to use, Kast generates revenue by charging $5 a month for an ad-free HD-quality service, complete with bespoke ‘reactions’ for special events. While Netflix, Amazon, HBO and the BBC all now have their own watch party apps, the beauty of Kast’s, says Ollila, is that it does not sit within a walled garden. Viewers of a stream don’t necessarily
films in the future,” Ollila says. “It’s important for people to understand the power of watch parties and the benefits they can bring.”
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