Accessing worldwide media is now just at the click of a button in the video streaming business. You can reach an audience in any part of the world through mobile technology. However, the question is how would you guarantee the speed at which you can deliver.  

The OTT platform is your answer. But launching an OTT platform across various geographies calls for the professionals that know the real game. Without expert knowledge, pleasing a different audience in a different country cannot always go well. Hat works here will not work for another audience in a different country. So getting an OTT service appropriate for different geographical settings is important.  

In this article, we break down the essential factors that you should consider while preparing your OTT platform versatile for a global audience. 

Top Considerations For Launching Your Video Streaming Globally

Video-on-demand service or the video streaming platform service has evolved based on how content is consumed around the world in terms of convenience, choice, and competition. 

In 2017, Netflix witnessed its international subscriber base overtake its US counterpart and one of the key reasons for this is its collaboration with Hotstar, India’s largest streaming service, which currently boasts about 8 million subscribers and approximately 180 million monthly active users (MAU).

So to compete with the leading players in the industry, it is essential to master the way of getting your video streaming transformed to global standards. Here are the essential factors you should consider before launching your video streaming globally. 

1. Geo Blocking

When you license content to launch a video streaming service from your content partners, you can only stream that content in the geography permitted by the license. So when you launch it globally, and locally in other countries, you have to manage the content effectively to avoid troubles with content providers. This is done by Geo-Blocking, which allows you to block the entire platform or specific content in countries and regions that are not included in the license.

2. Multilingual

As an OTT player, understanding your audience takes you far more than where you can think of. You have to be able to understand their values, cultures, and their language to connect to them. Working with translators to offer content on your websites/apps in local languages, and allowing them to set it as their “default” language is a great way to stay in the loop with your clients. It increases your SEO value and boosts your site’s ranking on local search engines.  

3. Subtitles & Dual Audio

When you build a video streaming platform, you have acquired local and international content and the license to stream in various countries. But what happens when the content is not native? So to optimize international content for a local audience, adding subtitles and dubbing the content in local languages is key. This is a great way to attract an audience and keep them with you. 

4. Integrate with local Payment Gateways

How to sort the payment pathway is a question as important as how to start a video streaming business. Payment cultures vary among countries. For example, African countries don’t have much access to credit cards. India has a culture of using payment wallets. And Paypal has restrictions in some parts of the world. So you must study the payment cultures in different regions so your customers can easily pay for your services.

5. Payments in local Currencies

When you build a video streaming service for cross-border streaming, various countries have restrictions with currencies across borders. Dollars or pounds will not be the option for a cross-border audience always. So in those cases, trading in their native currencies is the way to go. So you have to scale your platform for local currencies. You have to set up a subscription in local currencies to prevent losses in case of currency fluctuations. 

6. Multiple Subscriptions Plans

Marketing your platform by taking it across Digital and offline mediums is absolutely essential. Running discounts and offers has to happen at some point in this journey like in any other business. So in order to handle discounted offers or promotions when you create a video streaming platform, you will need a robust coupon engine to help you generate and measure the effectiveness of your video streaming service promotions and discounts and measure the impact on the platform.

7. Content Partners

When you build your own video streaming platform, streaming local content is one of the sure ways to succeed on an international level. This process allows you to tie up with multiple content partners. With each content partner, you can get a different deal, like a flat all-out license, or a revenue share.  When you grow, it will be challenging to streamline and manage all the content upload processes as well as reports properly. To tackle this, you need a content partner portal to allow content partners to stay connected. This will allow them to manage their own content. 

Conclusion:

Our focus on technology should have given you deep insight into how important optimized technology is. As a platform owner setting foot in building a video streaming solution, you must be aware of all the factors mentioned here while building your platform. Technology and the automation it brings in are extremely important to you as a platform owner to effectively stream your content beyond borders.   

You need an all-in-all OTT solutions provider that can help you plan your launch across countries and ensure that you have top-notch security and advanced features for definite success.