What is TVOD?

Transactional video on demand (TVOD) allows consumers to purchase streaming content on a pay-per-view basis. There are three subcategories within this model:

• Electronic sell-through (EST): Consumers make a single payment for permanent access to a piece of content.
• Download to rent (DTR): Consumers make a single, often smaller payment to access content for a limited time period.
• Pay-per-view (PPV): Consumers pay once to watch pre programmed content, such as sports games.

This type of video on demand service typically generates higher revenue by granting viewers timely access to the latest streaming content. Attractive prices, exclusive content and promotions also incentivize consumers to purchase time and time again.

Take Amazon Prime’s video store, for instance, which gives viewers the option to rent or buy on-demand content, from single episodes of a TV show to movies and more. Rather than commit to a membership, viewers can purchase content as they see fit. Other popular TVOD platforms include:

• Apple iTunes
• Sky Box Office
• Vudu
• Google Play

What makes TVOD unique?

TVOD is, essentially, the opposite of subscription video on demand (SVOD). On an SVOD platform, viewers pay a recurring fee to access all content. On the flip side, viewers pay a single fee for one piece of content in a TVOD model.

As with the other video on-demand models, TVOD has its own unique set of benefits. For one, this service is great for monetizing exclusive or niche content – take a sport like UFC or boxing, for example. TVOD is also used as a distribution window for theatrical films – movies often are available on TVOD before becoming available on SVOD services.

TVOD works well with other video monetization models, too. TVOD allows publishers to gate their content behind a paywall. Give your audience the option to access basic, free content, but lock your most premium content. Once a viewer is hooked, they’ll be more likely to pay for exclusive content.

Gated content requires a rigid security system. TVOD platforms usually instill digital rights management (DRM) to prevent unauthorized users from downloading content, reducing online piracy.

While TVOD is ad-free, its counterparts – AVOD and SVOD – both use advertisements. These methods offer a unique opportunity for advertisers to create advanced TV targeting strategies that reach audiences who are highly engaged with the video content they consume. VOD viewers watch more television than most viewers on average, and live event shows keep overall averages low for viewership. VOD viewers are a golden opportunity for advertisers to reach selective, engaged and intentional viewers who are most likely to engage in relevant advertising content when it hits them because of the self-selecting bias.

Through our TV+® platform, Simulmedia has direct integrations with over 250 networks and publishers in the linear and connected TV landscape, including every major streaming service, so advertisers can plan, buy, activate and measure across AVOD and ad-supported SVOD programming. Our proprietary technology takes into consideration the hundreds of combinations of target audiences, programs, and platforms on which a given ad can run, and churns out the most predictably successful campaign strategy based on your baseline metrics and campaign goals.

Alongside targeting VOD advertising, TV+ allows advertisers to place ads across networks, platforms, programs and services with different audiences and goals, to create a holistic, 360-degree approach to achieving a successful campaign. And your ad strategy can pivot as the results roll in, adopting a test-and-learn approach to optimization. Most importantly, our unique access to both linear and streaming TV inventory allows advertisers to understand where their audiences intersect and how best to reach them with guaranteed scale and speed that no one else can deliver.