Pay Per View How To

Planning to host a pay per view single event or series? Here’s what you’ll need.

Given the growing popularity of video streaming services over the Web, as well as the growing possibilities of charging for video content (pay per view), it’s no surprise that more and more people and companies want to get involved. But it’s still a relatively new concept, and can be overwhelming. Following is a general outline of what you’ll need to think about in preparation for launching your own program.

DIY (Do It Yourself)?

Unless you are a technical wizard, have your own merchant account, and want to spend lots of time and money setting up your own PPV system, leave it to the professionals! You’ll be glad you did. But what exactly should you look for in a company to host your Pay-Per-View event or series?

PPV Checklist

- Reliability
People are paying for this service, so they’re going to expect it to work! Make sure that the company you work with has the experience and capabilities to handle any situation. Find out how long they’ve been in business, who their other customers are, etc.

- Bandwidth and Storage Space
Make sure that your Pay Per View hosting company has the capacity to handle anything that comes up. It may not seem important when you’re broadcasting a 5-minute video to 15 people. But what if your business grows, and you need to broadcast a 45-minute video to 1,500 people? You want the “scalability” to grow at your own pace, with no worries.

- Technical Support
This is critical! You need a company that will help you solve all your technical issues, and in a timely fashion. Response time, and the way you can communicate with them are both critical. Personally, I always look for a company that offers e-mail support and phone support. There’s nothing like picking up the phone and getting your problem solved now.

- Ease of Use
If you’re not going to do it on your own (DIY), why chose a company whose system is complicated and confusing? They should make it easy for you to operate, including setting up your events, uploading and streaming your videos, and signing up and charging your customers.

- One-Stop Shopping
In line with the last quality (Ease of Use), you’d be best to find a hosting company that handles everything. You’d be surprised how often you’ll run into companies that handle the streaming, but not the money. Or let you host the event, but not help you sign up and manage your customers.

- Additional Items
Above are the basic needs for your Pay Per View system, but there are some pretty nifty “extras” that could be good to have. Here is a list of additional features that you may want to investigate:

• Geo Targeting — Want to make your event available only in certain areas? It’s possible
• Live or Archived — Customers could watch the event live, or a “saved” version later on
• Pricing Control — Set your own pricing, as well as how the customer is charged (by the minute, by the download, as a subscription, etc. Even the ability to otherwise “free views” for certain clients.)
• Chat — Let people interact with you and each other during the broadcast
• Customization — Set up the Pay Per View system within your design, on your domain, etc. Basically, make the back-end “transparent” to your customers.

Final Notes

Pay Per View is an exciting new concept that is going to grow exponentially over the next few years. Generate the right content, and find the right company to help you deliver it, and you could be in on something that’s going to be big! Just do your homework, and make your Pay Per View host can handle your business at every level.