How is content windowing in the post-Covid era?

The world has emerged from Covid, but the way people consume and engage with video content has been undeniably transformed by the pandemic. In the post-Covid era, content sellers have adapted to changed viewing preferences by adjusting their content windowing strategies. SymphonyAI Media took a closer look at content windowing in the post-Covid era and how content sellers have shifted their strategies to optimize release sequencing and maximize revenue throughout the content distribution process.

●  WHAT IS CONTENT WINDOWING?

Content windowing is a media distribution strategy that seeks to maximize revenue by creating exclusive windows of availability across multiple distribution channels and platforms. An effective content windowing strategy tries to capitalize on the high initial demand for new video content by first distributing the content exclusively on high revenue-per-view platforms for a set time period. Once that initial demand is satisfied, content sellers can continue to monetize the content and connect with new audiences by releasing the content on lower revenue-per-viewer platforms like SVOD, pay TV, AVOD, and FAST channels.

●  CONTENT WINDOWING VS. CONTENT DISTRIBUTION: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE?

Content windowing is just one aspect of content distribution, which encompasses the entire process of licensing video content and making it available to audiences through various channels. While content windowing focuses narrowly on release sequencing and windows of availability, an overall content distribution strategy involves complex decision-making about channel/distributor selection, negotiating content licensing and revenue sharing arrangements, digital rights management, marketing and promotion, pricing strategy, and other factors that impact overall distribution success.

●  CONTENT WINDOWING IN THE POST-COVID ERA

Content windowing strategies have shifted significantly over the years, driven primarily by the introduction and growth of new distribution channels, changes in audience viewing habits and preferences, and business interruptions like the Covid-19 pandemic.

By 2019, most theater chains had negotiated an exclusive theatrical release window of 75 days before TVOD release and at least 90 days before home video/SVOD release with major studios – but that was about to change. Theater attendance dropped significantly during Covid-19 and has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

When the pandemic hit, a mix of government-mandated theater closures and fears about gathering in public spaces significantly reduced theater attendance. With theaters no longer producing revenue at the same level, content sellers needed to adapt their content windowing strategies to maximize revenue in the new environment. This meant negotiating an even shorter exclusivity window for theaters and creating a new business model known as Premium Video-on-Demand (PVOD).

PVOD gives audiences early access to stream newly-released video content on TVOD or SVOD services for a premium price. Disney pioneered PVOD when it skipped theaters and generated more than US$270 million in sales by releasing “Mulan” directly onto its Disney+ platform for a US$29.99 rental fee. Following in Disney’s footsteps, distributors like Universal and Sony have negotiated shorter theatrical windows for their films since 2019 and accelerated the release of those assets on OTT streaming platforms.

Data from the National Association of Theater Owners indicates that the average theatrical exclusivity window for nationally released films in 2022 was just over 40 days. From there, most films are released on TVOD platforms (or integrated SVOD/TVOD platforms like Prime Video) for Electronic Sell Through (EST) or Download to Rent (DTR). After a short TVOD window of 3-4 weeks, the film will be released next on home video formats (Blu-ray, DVD, etc.), then on SVOD platforms, and eventually even on AVOD or FAST platforms.

A good example is “Bullet Train” (2022): the film premiered on July 18 of that year, ran exclusively in theaters for 53 days, was released on TVOD on September 27, then to DVD/Blu-ray on October 18, and finally to SVOD platforms on December 3.

●  BENEFITS OF A DATA-DRIVEN CONTENT WINDOWING STRATEGY

According to SymphonyAI Media, content sellers in 2023 can leverage content performance and engagement data to optimize their content windowing strategies and maximize revenue from their content distribution efforts. Analyzing content performance data can help content sellers predict revenue drop-off in active distribution channels, or forecast revenue performance for a specific film in an untapped distribution channel. Content sellers can also use audience demographic data to determine which distribution channel has the most valuable, engaged audience for a specific piece of content.

Going forward, the most data-driven content sellers will use content performance and engagement data to plan content windowing strategies for major releases and make critical decisions like whether to release a film on PVOD or in theaters, the optimal length for PVOD/TVOD/theater exclusivity, which OTT streaming services to release on, and even how to price their content.