Smart TV apps have become increasingly popular in the last few years, owing to a growing trend of changing demographics and content consumption on the shared, household experience that Smart TVs offer. The global smart TV market size was valued at USD 197.82 billion in 2022 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 11.4% from 2023 to 2030.
One of the crucial factors behind the widened popularity of Smart TV app development is the availability and accessibility of Over-The-Top (OTT) Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) platforms. OTT refers to the delivery of video content over the internet, leaving behind traditional modes of broadcast. Content providers and creators can directly reach consumers using DTC services, without the requirement of intermediaries like satellite or cable TV providers. As a result, viewers have a variety of content options along with a plethora of Smart TV apps. Simultaneously, the media industry is also seeing the rapid growth of Smart TV app development platforms.
A genre that is seeing major interest in smart TV app development is sports. Many popular sports events, including tournament, live shows, match highlights are now being steamed by multiple OTT, DTC platforms, which has played a vital role in catering to the demands of sports enthusiasts. The most common example is sports streaming platforms like ESPN+, NBC Sports, and MLB.TV are popular choices among sports fans, offering exclusive access to sports-related content. They are fast becoming aspirational among sports content owners and leagues, all seeking to go digital and autonomous with their own smart TV apps to engage fans and viewers directly.
Are you on a mission to launch your own smart TV DTC app and looking to find the right smart TV app development company to take your fan and viewer engagement to new heights? We’re here to help you get started in minutes and show you how to monetize your DTC services with just the right strategies like a pro, so read on.
Not all smart TV apps are created equal. As users, we are certain you have faced your own set of clunky experiences like login failures, player failures, and UX that feels like navigating a labyrinth of subpar personalization and unintuitive swipes and clicks.
The user experience (UX) and design of a smart TV app for DTC services are crucial for its success. With the increased popularity of streaming services and the growing number of consumers using smart TVs for entertainment, providing an unmatched user experience and a visually appealing design are vital factors that can make or break the app’s profitability.
Smart TV apps must allow users to easily navigate through the app, discover content, and access their favorite shows or movies without any hassle. A logical user interface in a well-designed app ensures that users consume what they have been looking for efficiently, hence increasing engagement and enhancing their satisfaction with the app.
DTC services can establish a strong connection with users with a visually appealing design that aligns with the DTC service’s brand hence making the app memorable. Constant use of colors, fonts, and other visual elements helps create a consistent brand image and experience, and reinforces a cohesive and enjoyable viewing experience for users of the smart TV app.
The use of remote control and large screens is fairly new in the world of streaming and only promises to grow with increased adoption of smart TVs. To ensure that the content can be easily read from a distance, and that navigation is intuitive with remote controls too, it is vital for the app’s layout, visual element, and typography to be optimized for TV screens. Poor designed apps lead to user abandonment and frustration.
A user-friendly Smart TV app that is accessible and inclusive to a wide range of users can improve the overall user experience and attract a larger audience. The app must be developed to accommodate users with multiple abilities, such as providing descriptive audio, closed captions, and other accessibility features. Physical disabilities are getting widespread attention but in recent years, mental health and trigger warnings have become an essential part of a larger inclusion and accessibility strategy among media owners. They can further extend this to include factors like sensory overload to ensure that those with varying degrees of tolerance for sensory triggers do not feel overwhelmed with the UX of smart TV apps. Experience personalization for every type of user is essential.
There are various vital features that must be considered when developing a smart TV app for DTC services, so the viewers can enjoy a seamless and user-friendly experience on the platform.
The smart TV app must have a simple and intuitive UI that enables viewers to easily navigate through the library of content, discover content they are most likely to enjoy, and access the various features and functionalities of the smart TV app without ambiguity.
A comprehensive catalog is crucial. It should contain all the content available on the DTC service, with easy access to a wide range of movies, games and TV shows, depending on the niche of your DTC service. This will enable users to understand, browse, discover content based on the genres, recommendations or categories.
The smart TV app should provide personalized recommendations depending on viewers’ watching history, habits, tastes, and preferences. This improves user engagement and enables viewers to discover content according to their interests and keep coming back for more.
The smart TV app should offer a seamless and high-quality playback experience, so viewers can simply pause, start, rewind or resume the content without playback or buffering issues. It must support various video resolutions, be it HD or 4K, given the viewer’s device capabilities, internet bandwidth and preferences.
Entire households use a single smart TV app, which then becomes the most important differentiator compared to smartphone or tablet DTC apps. It’s important that smart TV apps allow viewers to create user profiles that can be used to personalize content suggestions or recommendations for every member of the household.
Viewers should have access to a trustworthy and secure method of managing their subscriptions, making payments, and updating their billing information through the smart TV app.
Additionally, it should support a variety of payment options, including credit cards, in-app purchases, and electronic wallets.
The smart TV app must allow viewers to share their favorite content on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, to improve engagement and promote word of mouth user acquisition for your DTC service.
The smart TV app should have a robust search functionality that enables viewers to easily search for specific content, directors, actors, or other relevant keywords that quickly find what the viewers are looking for.
The smart TV app should support cross-device syncing, enabling viewers to seamlessly switch between different devices, be it smart TVs, tablets or smartphones, and continue watching content right where they left off.
More importantly, it should allow seamless login to a variety of devices without frustrating the user with multiple password entries or one time passwords.
The smart TV app should provide easy access to customer support, including live chat, FAQs, or email, to support viewers with any inquiries or issues they may have. This is especially crucial for geographies like Asia where smart TVs are new and have a variety of users with varying technical capabilities accessing content across a large screen for the first time.
Displaying pre-roll, mid-roll, display, and overlay ads is an effective way to monetize video-on-demand (VOD) content and address logistical challenges in ad-supported monetization.
Pre-roll ads, shown before the VOD content, and mid-roll ads, inserted during the content, have high completion rates as viewers are likely to watch them while waiting for the content to start or during a break.
Display ads, combining text, images, and URLs, can promote products or services during the live stream. Overlay ads, displayed in the lower third of the screen, provide a top-notch viewing experience and can be used to promote related games or third-party brand advertisements.
Through a subscription model, smart TV apps can offer premium content or exclusive features. A recurring fee is charged to avoid ads when accessing premium content. It also generates a constant and reliable revenue stream for content owners.
The hybrid model, combining both subscription-based and advertising-based monetization strategies, is gaining popularity as an effective approach for monetizing Smart TV apps.
With this model, users have the option to access content through a subscription, providing a premium ad-free experience, while also being exposed to relevant and non-intrusive ads during their viewing sessions. This allows app developers to generate revenue from both subscription fees and advertising, diversifying their monetization streams and maximizing their earnings. The hybrid model offers a balanced approach, providing value to both users and developers, and can be a successful strategy for monetizing Smart TV apps.
Though subscription models have been the gold standard in VOD streaming, subscription fatigue is now making a dent in this approach. As recently as last year, Netflix was one of the biggest naysayers of AVOD and preferred the SVOD model that seemed to be working for them. But in 2022, they transitioned to offering ad supported basic plans, indicating that hybrid models are here to stay and have the buy-in from the behemoths of the OTT universe.
FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) monetization refers to a revenue model that allows viewers to access content for free, supported by advertisements. FAST services provide a range of TV shows, movies, and live programming at no cost to the viewer, and generate revenue through advertising.
This model is becoming increasingly popular, as more viewers are turning to free, ad-supported content rather than paying for subscriptions. FAST services often include targeted ads, which allow advertisers to reach specific audiences based on demographics and viewing habits. This makes them an attractive option for advertisers looking to reach a large and engaged audience.
Even in the context of screen fatigue, FAST services offer households a passive viewing experience that allows them to relax and enjoy content without any interruptions or distractions. By providing a seamless and uninterrupted viewing experience, FAST services are becoming an attractive option for viewers who want to binge-watch their favorite TV shows or movies but don’t mind the ads because that’s what keeps the content free.
FAST services are also well-suited for archived content, as they can provide a platform for older or less popular content to reach new audiences. By offering a vast library of content, FAST services can provide viewers with a wide range of options to choose from, including classic movies, TV shows, and other content that may not be available on other streaming platforms.
To cater to diverse customer needs and price sensitivities, diversifying OTT monetization models is crucial.
This can involve offering both ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) and subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) options.
AVOD attracts cost-conscious customers and generates revenue from ads, while also providing an opportunity for upselling to SVOD in the future. By tailoring pricing options to different customer segments, a comprehensive monetization strategy can be ensured for the OTT platform.
No, they aren’t. There are other monetization models that can be employed, depending on the specific goals and objectives of the service. Examples include:
Developers can earn revenue generated from making one-time purchases within the app by the users of Smart TV apps, for buying movies, TV shows, or virtual goods.
Smart TV apps can partner with brands or sponsors for the promotion of their products or services. Developers can generate revenue through these collaborations by charging fees or commissions for these promotions.
Some smart TV platforms have their own app stores wherein developers can publish their apps. These platforms provide revenue-sharing models where app developers can earn a percentage of the revenue generated from app sales or in-app purchases.
Smart TV DTC services may use a combination of these monetization models, as well as other strategies such as partnerships, sponsorships, and licensing agreements.
The key is to identify the most effective monetization strategies based on the target audience, content, and competition in the market.
ViewLift is a leading expert in smart TV app development for DTC services, which offers comprehensive solutions for helping businesses launch their successful streaming services on popular Smart TV platforms.
With our seasoned expertise in smart TV app development and a slew of successful case studies with major content owners, ViewLift is the go-to partner for DTC services that have been looking to expand reach on smart TV apps.
ViewLift’s expertise in smart TV app development is unparalleled, with an experienced team of developers who comprehend the nuances of different smart TV platforms, including Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
They can develop custom apps that provide optimization for each platform, ensuring seamless navigation and smooth performance for users.
ViewLift has shown a proven history of launching successful DTC services on Smart TVs, with multiple case studies showcasing their expertise.
An example: ViewLift collaborated with a major sports league, to build and monetize its smart TV DTC service. The high quality and low latency live streaming gained significant traction among fans, resulting in high viewer engagement and retention and a whopping 51% growth in SVOD revenue.
ViewLift remains dedicated to providing superior user interfaces for smart TV apps. They understand the need for seamless and clear navigation along with a presentation that is compelling and captivating for the users.
By placing a strong emphasis on the user experience, the content is made more readily available and discoverable to viewers, who are then more likely to retain and engage with it.
Monetization is a primary aspect of any DTC service, and ViewLift understands the vitality of implementation of an effective monetization strategy for smart TV apps. We provide various monetization options, including transactional models, subscription-based models, and ad-supported models which are tailor-made to cater the needs of each individual service and its audiences. Ultimately, this enables DTC service to generate higher revenues and maximize their profitability on Smart TV platforms.
ViewLift is a leading technology company that specializes in the development of DTC services for smart TVs.
ViewLift’s approach to Smart TV app development for DTC services includes optimization for Smart TV platforms, developing visually appealing user interfaces, highlighting on robust backend infrastructure, and offering analytics and data-driven insights.
By leveraging their expertise in smart TV technology and user experience, ViewLift helps DTC services continue to deliver seamless streaming experiences to smart TV viewers.
ViewLift’s approach to Smart TV app development is a testament to their expertise in understanding the intricacies and nuances of the Smart TV app platform. They recognize that creating a successful app for Smart TVs requires more than just a basic understanding of the platform. ViewLift has taken the extra step to ensure that their apps are optimized for various Smart TV devices, including some of the most popular brands such as Sony, LG, Samsung, and Roku.
By prioritizing optimization for various devices, ViewLift allows DTC services to reach a broader audience and provide their content across a multitude of Smart TV platforms. This approach enables DTC services to deliver an immersive viewing experience to their customers, regardless of which device they use.
ViewLift’s commitment to understanding the unique characteristics and requirements of the Smart TV app platform not only benefits DTC services, but also ensures that viewers receive a seamless and enjoyable viewing experience. Viewers can easily access and watch their favorite shows and movies, without having to worry about compatibility issues or poor performance on their Smart TV devices.
Overall, ViewLift’s deep understanding of the Smart TV app platform, and their dedication to optimization across various devices, sets them apart in the industry and positions them as a trusted partner for DTC services looking to provide a high-quality viewing experience to their customers.
ViewLift’s commitment to an intuitive and visually appealing user interface is a critical aspect of their Smart TV app development approach. Unlike mobile or web users, Smart TV users interact with their devices differently, requiring a user interface that is specifically designed to cater to their unique needs.
ViewLift’s UI design approach prioritizes creating a seamless and enjoyable user experience, featuring clear navigation, simple controls, and visually appealing layouts that are optimized for TV screens. By providing a user-friendly interface, ViewLift ensures that users can easily discover, access, and enjoy their favorite content without any unnecessary complexity or confusion.
Moreover, ViewLift’s UI design approach reflects their deep understanding of the importance of aesthetics and usability. A visually appealing UI can enhance the overall user experience and create a positive brand image, while intuitive controls can improve engagement and retention rates.
The modern OTT audience has numerous options to choose from, so providing a compelling user interface has become more critical than ever. ViewLift’s approach to UI design not only caters to Smart TV users but also ensures that DTC services can differentiate themselves from their competitors and provide a memorable and engaging viewing experience to their customers.
Overall, ViewLift’s emphasis on creating an appealing and compelling UI demonstrates their commitment to providing an immersive viewing experience that is tailored to the unique needs of Smart TV users.
ViewLift’s focus on delivering a smooth and reliable streaming experience is a crucial component of their Smart TV app development approach. While an appealing UI can attract users, a robust backend infrastructure is what keeps them engaged.
ViewLift’s scalable and secure streaming solutions are designed to handle large user bases and high-quality content delivery. This allows DTC services to cater to a broad audience without worrying about server overload or crashes.
ViewLift’s apps are optimized for fast loading times, minimal buffering, and adaptive streaming, accommodating different internet speeds to ensure that viewers enjoy an uninterrupted experience while streaming. This is particularly important for Smart TV users, as interruptions can ruin the immersive viewing experience and cause frustration.
Moreover, ViewLift’s emphasis on a robust backend infrastructure reflects their understanding of the importance of delivering a high-quality streaming experience. In today’s world, where users have access to multiple streaming options, any hiccup in streaming performance can cause viewers to switch to another service.
By providing a smooth and reliable streaming experience, ViewLift ensures that viewers remain engaged with the content and the DTC service. This, in turn, leads to increased customer loyalty and retention rates.
In addition to delivering a smooth and reliable streaming experience, ViewLift also prioritizes secure anti-piracy measures to protect the content of DTC services. They employ digital rights management (DRM) and other content protection technologies to safeguard content from unauthorized access or distribution.
ViewLift’s anti-piracy measures ensure that DTC services can maintain control over their content and prevent revenue loss from illegal distribution. This helps build trust with content owners, who can be confident that their content is being protected against piracy.
By providing secure anti-piracy streaming solutions, ViewLift enables DTC services to protect their intellectual property and maintain a competitive edge in the market. This, in turn, enhances the overall value proposition of their Smart TV apps, further improving the user experience for viewers.
Overall, ViewLift’s commitment to delivering a robust backend infrastructure for smooth and reliable streaming performance showcases their dedication to providing an immersive and engaging viewing experience that is tailored to Smart TV users while protecting content creators’ rights and interests.
ViewLift’s emphasis on data and analytics represents a critical aspect of their Smart TV app development approach. The company recognizes that data insights are essential to understanding user behavior, engagement metrics, and content performance, allowing DTC services to make informed decisions and optimize their offerings.
ViewLift provides DTC services with reporting tools and comprehensive analytics that capture critical insights into user engagement, content performance, and user behavior. By leveraging data-driven insights, DTC services can develop a deeper understanding of their audience, preferences, and viewing habits, enabling them to tailor their content offerings accordingly.
Moreover, ViewLift’s data-driven approach empowers DTC services to optimize their content for maximum engagement and retention. They can identify popular genres, most-watched shows, and other critical trends that inform content creation and acquisition strategies.
By offering these insights, ViewLift helps DTC services make data-informed decisions that enhance the viewer experience and increase user satisfaction. This approach ensures that DTC services are continuously improving their offerings to remain competitive in the market.
Overall, ViewLift’s emphasis on insights backed by data and analytics demonstrates their commitment to providing a comprehensive and tailored Smart TV app development solution that is designed to meet the unique needs of DTC services. This approach ensures that DTC services can leverage data to make informed decisions and create a viewer-centric experience that drives engagement and loyalty.
Selecting the right monetization strategy for a DTC service on Smart TV apps is critical for success in today’s competitive streaming landscape. It requires a careful consideration of the target audience, business objectives, and content offerings to maximize revenue potential while delivering value to users.
DTC services can choose from a variety of monetization models, including subscription-based, ad-supported, hybrid, diversification, sponsorship, partnerships, in-app purchases, and pay-per-view. Each model has its advantages and disadvantages, and selecting the right one requires a deep understanding of the audience, their preferences, and the market dynamics.
For instance, a subscription-based model may work well for premium content or a niche audience, while an ad-supported model may cater to a broader audience looking for free content. Similarly, a hybrid model that combines subscription and advertising may provide flexibility and multiple revenue streams, while diversification into merchandise or events may offer additional revenue opportunities.
Ultimately, the key to selecting the right monetization strategy is to consider the target audience, content, and competition in the market. A data-driven approach that includes insights into user behavior and engagement can provide valuable guidance for choosing the optimal model.
In summary, selecting the right monetization strategy is a crucial decision for DTC services on Smart TV apps, and requires careful consideration of audience, content, and market dynamics. With the right strategy in place, DTC services can generate revenue, drive engagement, and provide value to their users.
Choosing the right monetization strategy for your Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) service on Smart TVs is a critical decision that requires careful consideration of multiple factors.
To start, it’s vital to understand your target audience’s preferences. You can achieve this by analyzing consumption patterns, willingness to pay, and competitors’ pricing models. By understanding your audience’s tastes, you can determine the most effective way to monetize your DTC service.
Next, you need to evaluate the value proposition and content of your DTC service. Are you providing unique and compelling content that justifies a subscription-based model, or would an ad-supported model be more appropriate? Understanding the perceived value of your service in the market can assist in determining the most efficient way to monetize it.
Another crucial factor to consider is the technical capabilities of Smart TV app platforms. Some Smart TVs have built-in payment gateways, while others require third-party payment options. You need to consider the revenue-sharing policies, integration efforts, and user data privacy of the Smart TV app platform when selecting a monetization strategy.
Finally, you need to consider the sustainability and scalability of your chosen monetization model. Will the chosen strategy allow for growth and adaptation to changing market dynamics? Will it generate a constant revenue stream to support your DTC service’s operating costs and future investments?
In summary, choosing the right monetization strategy for your DTC service on Smart TVs requires a thorough understanding of your audience’s preferences, the value proposition of your service, technical capabilities of the platform, and sustainability and scalability of the chosen model. By carefully considering these factors, you can select the optimal monetization strategy that generates revenue, drives engagement, and provides value to your users.
Monetizing Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) services through Smart TV apps can be challenging, but there are also several opportunities available to generate revenue.
The difficulties in generating revenue from DTC services through Smart TV apps are:
Many Smart TV apps come with built-in ad-blocking features, which can hinder the monetization of DTC apps as ads are the primary source of revenue for many app developers.
Consumers can be hesitant to subscribe to multiple services, leading to lower adoption rates for new apps and subscription fatigue.
Holding customers’ attention when using Smart TVs can be challenging due to constrained screen space and competition from other apps.
Smart TV app stores are fragmented, making it difficult for content owners to reach a large audience and monetize their apps effectively.
Smart TV platforms charge fees from app developers and content owners for distributing and hosting their apps, which can significantly lower the potential revenue received from monetization efforts.
Smart TVs have limited access to user data, making it challenging for Smart TV app development platforms to tailor and personalize advertisements or other content, which can affect the success of monetization efforts.
Due to shifting preferences and habits of users, it can be challenging to retain users for Smart TV apps.
Lower engagement and revenue generation can be a consequence of poor user experience. However, maintaining a top-notch user experience for Smart TV apps can prove to be a time-consuming and challenging task.
DTC businesses that provide subscription-based access to premium content can monetize Smart TV apps. Users can access content such as films, TV shows, and other media exclusively, which will lead to a source of recurrent income.
Apps for Smart TVs can focus on targeted advertising for the generation of revenue. DTC service providers can include display advertisements in their apps, using user information and viewing patterns to send tailored ads and thereby generate advertising revenue.
DTC services can provide in-app purchases like premium content, virtual goods, merchandise, or additional revenue streams.
DTC services can look for sponsorship or partnership opportunities with businesses or brands for generating revenue, including brand integrations within the Smart TV app or sponsored content, and product placements.
DTC services can leverage affiliate marketing by collaborating with other businesses and generating a commission for the promotion of their products or services within the app.
DTC services can provide transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) options that will allow users to rent or purchase specific content for a one-time fee. Additional revenue streams for exclusive or premium content can be generated.
It’s essential to diversify your OTT monetization models to address diverse customer needs and price sensitivities. This could include launching services with both ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) and subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) options.
AVOD can attract price-conscious customers who may not be willing to subscribe to a paid service while providing a steady revenue stream from ads. This approach can open up avenues for future upselling to SVOD, expanding your subscriber base and maximizing revenue potential. By catering to different customer segments with tailored pricing options, you can ensure a more comprehensive monetization strategy for your OTT platform.
In summary, monetizing DTC services through Smart TV apps is challenging, but there are opportunities available to generate revenue. By carefully considering the difficulties and opportunities presented, DTC services can create an effective monetization strategy that maximizes revenue while providing value to their users. A successful monetization strategy can enable DTC services to provide their audience with high-quality content while maintaining a profitable business model.
Smart TV app development is critical for the growth of DTC services in today’s streaming-driven world. With cord-cutting becoming increasingly popular, creating a smart TV app development platform has become essential for DTC businesses to reach out to a wider audience base. Smart TV apps offer a seamless and convenient way for consumers to access DTC services on a larger screen, providing an enhanced user experience and greater engagement.
The benefits of smart TV app development go beyond the mere convenience of accessing content on a larger screen. With features such as targeted marketing, personalized content recommendations, and data-driven insights, businesses can optimize their offerings and improve customer retention rates. In addition, having a smart TV app can enhance brand recognition, create new growth opportunities, and strengthen a business’s position in the competitive DTC services market.
So, if you’re looking to leverage the power of smart TV app development for your DTC business, now is the time to take action. Talk to Viewlift’s team of solution experts to develop your own smart TV app and unlock the full potential of this exciting platform. By creating a smart TV app, you can propel your DTC business to new heights, connect with a wider audience, and provide a better user experience.