In a very short period, the success of live-streaming app solutions is at its peak. May it be Amazon Prime, Hulu, HBO, Netflix, or any other online video streaming application; they are so much inspiring for budding entrepreneurs and innovative minds.
Looking at the success these million-dollar companies have attained, a lot of businesses have begun to provide such live streaming services. Entering into this field has an abundance of advantages and growth for businesses. Even there can be seen a massive rise in the number of streaming platforms in the past few years.
In the last decade only, the number of subscribers has also seen an exponential rise because people are becoming more tech-savvy. Also, the pandemic played a vital role in directing the attention of the masses to these live video streaming platforms.
In this blog, we would understand how you can start an online video streaming business and get into the competition. But before that let’s first understand what online video streaming means.
What is online video streaming?
Online video streaming is one of the most advanced technologies that is ruling information technology as well as the digital sector. It allows the users or the viewers to view online video content over the internet and there is no need for the users to download it. Earlier, the viewers were required to download the media files, store them, and then watch them later.
But with this technology, there is live streaming of videos such as TV shows, movies, event broadcasts, and other content. It helps to save a lot of storage space on the user’s device as they can directly view the content. Also, it reduces the time used for downloading or buffering content.
Thus, it helps to deliver an improved viewing experience. It also includes audio content. In streaming, the media file is directly played on the device of the user and is remotely stored. The transmission of data requires a few seconds to display content over the internet.
Live Streaming Statistics
Live video content has become such a popular and widely accepted feature in the online streaming industry. In the maximum of sectors, live streaming has developed a place for itself such as broadcasting live concerts, games, sessions, etc.
(Source: Statista)
As per the study, the total time spent on mobile live streaming apps has been recorded at 482.5 billion hours. Along with this, in Quarter 4 of 2021, the weekly live video streaming reached 29.5%. Seeking this popularity and worldwide acceptance, businesses are looking forward to hire dedicated mobile app developers that can build scalable and responsive online video streaming applications and help businesses grow.
Let’s check some other stats too:
- As per the report, in the year 2021, the global live-video streaming market reached USD 59.14 billion. It is also predicted to grow at a CAGR of 21.3% from the period of 2022 to 2030.
- There would also have been the integration of technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain to make live streaming app solutions more dynamic and of top-notch quality.
- With the arrival of the pandemic, the popularity of these live streaming videos has also increased and top brands like Netflix have experienced an increase of 50 percent in first-time installations and a total of 10 percent in registered users.
All such data reflects how growing and potentially-rich this sector is. Thus, businesses can hire expert developers to work on video-on-demand app development for better earning opportunities in the future.
How to set up an online video-streaming business?
Setting up an online video streaming business is quite structured, easy-going, and achievable when you hire an experienced video streaming app development company. The complete process of setting up a live streaming business is divided into the following steps. Let’s have a look:
- Check up on your business requirements
Before launching the business, the primary need is to understand the core requirements of the business. For this, you need to answer certain questions like what would be the content, who would be the target audience, what all quality levels you would be offering, who can access the content, what is your primary goal, and what monetization strategies you would be implementing. Once you answer all these questions, you are good to go to check which features would be a part of your online video streaming application. Also, you need to share all this information with the mobile app development company you hire for the video streaming app development project.
- Select a Business Model
There are various business models that a business can opt for if you are going for online video streaming, but it majorly depends upon the monetization strategies you choose. As per the research, there are three famous business models for this business, i.e., transactional-based video-on-demand, subscription-based video-on-demand, and Ad based video on demand.
In Ad based, the earnings are through advertisements. In subscription-based, a fee is charged from the customers at monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annual subscriptions. On the transactional basis, the business earns through the pay-per-view model. So, once you are clear with the monetization strategy, you can frame a business model. Your business model decides which type of video streaming solution you are required to build. Thus, it is a significant step in the process of setting up an online
- Web Hosting & Domain Name
When you are done with the business requirements and business model, the next step is to select a domain name. It will be the name that will help you build a brand repo for your business. Thus, you need to think carefully before finalizing one. After that, register the chosen name with web hosting.
- Get good live recording equipment
To fetch the attention of potential users, you must always make sure about the quality of the streaming video while setting up the online video streaming business. Thus, all you require is top-notch, good-quality live video streaming recording equipment. Advanced broadcast requires professional equipment and for this, you can go for HDMI-compatible cameras.
- Selection of an Encoding Software Program
Numerous live streaming app solutions face a common challenge or issue and i.e., a maximum of the cameras are only for recording purposes rather than streaming. Hence, it is required to have software or a hardware encoder that can suitably work with your selected equipment. To transmit the recorded data over the web or live audio-visual content to digital media, you need this encoder.
- Get a High-Speed & Reliable Internet Connection
While you are going through the steps on how you can set up an online video streaming business, you are also required to have a high-speed, strong, and reliable internet connection that is sufficient for video streaming. Make sure you don’t opt for the one with lower speed as it can result in lagging or pixelated video quality content.
- Select an online video streaming platform
Next, you need to find out the best platform that specializes in video streaming solutions instead of the one that only works as more of a social media platform. It supports establishing the core foundation of an online video streaming business. If you are going for monetization or about to host private streams then, it is necessary to focus on the security and privacy settings of the application.
- Generating an Embed code
After finalizing the tools and equipment for the online video streaming app development, the next part is to create live-streaming videos. For this, you are required to go through the admin dashboard and schedule the video-streaming event. After that, you can access the available embed code options i.e., JavaaScript and iFrame. After selecting the embedding option, you can choose the code and copy it.
- Embedding into the webpage
For embedding the live video streaming in the website, it is essential to access the code editor on the dashboard of website management. There is a unique and special code-editing display for every website hosting platform. The most significant way to stream the video is through a white-label video player. It is important to know how to stream video on the website to successfully engage the audience.
- Check Analytics and Improve
Once the online video streaming is done, the work is not over as there is always a scope for betterment and improvement. For this, you need to check the analytics for gaining insights. This will help in analyzing the video streaming in real-time. From this, you can analyze device information, live viewer count, viewer location, and many more. All such data would help in improving the user experience in the next online video streaming session.
Summing up,
Online video streaming has become a household term in the past few years. A maximum of our internet activities involve content consumption and it is in the form of streaming only. May it be live audio or TV streaming, movie streaming, video game live streaming, OTT streaming, or podcasts, people nowadays are much aware of these, and thus, the popularity of these streaming platforms is rising. Thus, from this blog, I hope it is clear how you can set up an online video streaming business and what are the best possible ways to accomplish this goal.
You can also hire a good and experienced mobile app development company that has good experience in online video streaming as in the coming time, the demand for such platforms would see a high rise and thus there are high chances of industrial growth of streaming platforms.
Author BIO
Rohan Singh is a Chief Executive Officer at SemiDot Infotech, Top rated multi award winning Mobile Application development company providing a full suite of services and solutions to small, medium, big enterprises, product companies & new-age start-ups.
He has extensive experience working for multinational companies and knows what it takes to take a company to the next level. He has a master’s degree in computer science. Rohan finds covering the tech world to be an exciting and engaging experience as each day brings new and ground-breaking technologies to explore and write about.
