If you’re looking for advice on the best video monetization platforms for 2023 to generate revenue from your content and scale up your business, then you’ve come to the right place.
We all know the importance of video content is growing, with today’s consumers watching and demanding more videos than ever before. In fact, Cisco predicts that internet video traffic will account for 82% of all consumer internet traffic by the end of 2022.
As such, it’s understandable you want to seize the opportunity to share videos that will help you connect with your audiences on a much deeper level and create a stable revenue stream at the same time.
So, let’s talk about what video monetization is and the most common models, and then compare the best video monetization platforms so you’re confident where to go to get started.
What is video monetization?
Video monetization is the process of earning money through the videos you publish online on any platform. Getting paid for sharing live videos or videos on demand (VOD) can be achieved through advertising, subscriptions or direct transactions.
The easiest approach to video monetization would be to upload content to your YouTube channel and take advantage of its video ads capabilities. However, unless your video is watched thousands and thousands of times, you’re unlikely to earn any decent ad revenue from YouTube monetization.
Luckily, your YouTube channel is only one of many monetization platforms out there. So, which one should you pick? Firstly, let’s explore in more detail how your video content can earn you money.
Common video monetization models
There are many ways in which broadcasters and video creators can monetize their video content, however, the most common ones fall into three categories: AVOD, SVOD, and TVOD. There is also a hybrid video monetization strategy combining SVOD with TVOD.
Choosing the right video monetization method for you is an important task as it will have short-term and long-term implications for your brand and revenue potential. But there is no black and white answer which one is better than the other.
We’ll cover the pros and cons of each to help you make an informed decision and let your business grow.
AVOD
Advertising video on demand (AVOD) is a video monetization model which allows you to generate revenue through ads that are shown before and during videos. It very much resembles the traditional TV broadcast model where your favorite program is ‘interrupted’ by short commercial breaks.
As a content creator, you might find this sponsorship model appealing as it allows you to target a specific demographic and narrow down your audience based on certain behavioral traits. Advertising video on demand offers a low-risk way to monetize your content, is easy to set up and has a low barrier to entry.
A good example of an AVOD platform is social media giant, YouTube. But as mentioned before, how much you earn will depend on the amount of times your video ad gets watched. The pricing for your ad placement will also depend on your audience size.
When making your decision on which video monetization model to go for, consider that online viewers expect to see ads that are tailored to their hobbies and shopping habits. In fact, 75% prefer fewer ads that are aligned to their needs and interests.
So, if you choose AVOD, make sure your video ads are personalized to boost viewership, engagement and revenue.
SVOD
SVOD stands for subscription video on demand, often referred to as subscription VOD. This monetization model allows users to consume unlimited video content when they enter a subscription agreement and pay a small recurring monthly or annual fee.
Market giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Hulu, and Disney + have all adopted the SVOD model. Some of these SVOD platforms are ad-free, but others include ads on lower-tier pricing packages.
Whilst with AVOD your income is fairly unpredictable, with SVOD you know how much revenue to expect at the end of the month. And you get greater pricing flexibility.
On that note, if you choose the SVOD model, you’ll need to consistently provide high-quality content. This often means investing more time and money to keep your current subscribers engaged and attract new ones.
SVOD can also apply to live streaming content, for example live sporting events, webinars, and other live entertainment.
TVOD
Transactional video on demand (TVOD), also known as pay-per-view streaming, allows viewers to buy the content they wish to watch on a one-time basis. So, if you remember that time you purchased content on Google Play or iTunes, you were taking advantage of TVOD.
Instead of paying a monthly subscription, you only pay a one-time fee and get to either keep the content you want to watch, or rent it.
The big benefit of TVOD is that it caters to viewers who only want to pay for something they want to watch. You can offer less expensive content or premium content available for a limited time and let your customers keep it forever.
On the flip side, the pay-per-view model means you’ll only attract people who need something from you and once they get it, they are done. This makes it more difficult to create a loyal customer base.
Hybrid: SVOD + TVOD
Mixing and matching video monetization options is a great way to make the most of your content and diversify your income. Let’s look at Amazon Prime as an example.
Amazon Prime charges viewers a monthly or annual membership fee to access its content (SVOD), but it also gives people an option to rent or buy certain premium content like the latest cinema movie or new series (TVOD).
Combining SVOD with TVOD, and even with AVOD, can of course take more effort and time to set up and manage, but it’ll help you reach different types of viewers.
How to find the best VOD model for you
Now that you know about the different video monetization models, you’re probably wondering which one (or ones) is the best for you. Here’s a quick checklist of the things you need to take into consideration before making a final decision:
- Your target audience – What are your viewers’ interests? How big is your audience? Do they prefer free content or paying for a subscription service? What are their viewing habits?
- Your content – Do you have premium content that your viewers would be willing to pay for? Do you have the capabilities to regularly create exclusive content to keep your audience engaged?
- Your goals – How much revenue do you want to generate? Do you prefer a more predicable income? Are you aiming to create a loyal community?
- Your platform – Do you currently have a VOD platform? Do you need an easy-to-use platform or do you have the skills and time to play around with multiple monetization features?
Who needs a video monetization platform?
Broadly speaking, content creators who want to earn money off of their content.
These could be broadcasters who have an entire VOD library they wish to monetize, or advertisers and marketers who want to drive their clients’ business growth at scale.
With online learning booming at the moment, educational institutions and e-learning providers are also increasingly taking advantage of video monetization platforms to enrich the learning experiences and increase student engagement.
Even fitness instructors and yoga lovers are turning their studios into best-in-class video experiences for members at home, earning ad revenue in the process.
So, strictly speaking, you don’t have to be a video business or a video marketing professional to need an online video platform or a streaming service.
10 best video monetization platforms for 2023
Now that you know about the benefits of video monetization and the most common models of content monetization, it’s time to look at and compare ten of the best platforms out there to help you transform your videos into money-making assets.
1. Uscreen
Uscreen is an all-in-one video monetization and OTT platform, catering for every video business need. The platform is equipped with support for SVOD, TVOD and hybrid models.
Pros: It lets you create a standalone video membership site for complete ownership of your content. You can also launch a professionally branded video streaming app for TV and mobile, with no coding knowledge required.
Uscreen enables the creation of live streaming events and offers in-depth analytics so you can track and measure your content performance in real time.
Cons: Reviews on Capterra and G2 say that Uscreen seems to be easy to navigate for some, but not as intuitive for others. Some users also say customization functionalities are limited in some areas. Its most popular Growth plan costs $159 per month and there is a $0.50 fee for each subscriber.
2. Twitch
Twitch is an interactive video live streaming service for content spanning gaming, entertainment, sports, music, and more. It’s free to join and offers its partners and affiliates many ways to monetize their content.
Pros: Twitch Affiliates can earn revenue from subscriptions, ads and Bits (virtual goods). To become a Twitch Affiliate, you need to meet certain criteria:
- At least 500 total minutes broadcast in the last 30 days
- At least 7 unique broadcast days in the last 30 days
- An average of 3 concurrent viewers or more over the last 30 days
- At least 50 Followers
If you’re ready to level up from an Affiliate, you can join the Twitch Partner Program. As a Twitch Partner, you can accept subscriptions from your viewers and earn a share of the revenue generated from any ads played on your channel.
Twitch also provides participating Partners a share of the revenue Twitch receives from Bits equal to 1 cent per Bit used to Cheer for them. As a Partner, you also get to customize your Cheermotes and Bit Badges.
Cons: Twitch offers the perfect alternative to YouTube. However, the enormous volume of account holders means you might have to spend tons of hours on the platform to stand out and start generating income.
3. JW Player
{% video_player “embed_player” overrideable=False, type=’hsvideo2′, hide_playlist=True, viral_sharing=False, embed_button=False, autoplay=False, hidden_controls=False, loop=False, muted=False, full_width=False, width=’1920′, height=’1080′, player_id=’54265421626′, style=” %}JW Player is an all-in-one SaaS platform boasting 40,000 broadcasters, publishers, educator and other video-driven brands whose business relies on video as users.
JW Player is an all-in-one SaaS platform boasting 40,000 broadcasters, publishers, educator and other video-driven brands whose business relies on video as users.
Pros: Through JW Player, you can deploy videos quickly and easily to your iOS and android applications with mobile SDKs or OTT apps solution. JW Player offers outstream and instream ad capabilities so you can monetize video ads within video or without video content.
JW Player works with any video ad server, network or exchange, and includes built-in support for SpotX, Google DFP, Google IMA, AdX, and FreeWheel.
In addition, JW Player offers Video Player Bidding, the first solution of its kind with header bidding built directly into the player to drive monetization and reduce latency.
In terms of analytics, JW Player offers comprehensive, real-time insights so you can better understand your community engagement and maximize your income.
With JW Player, you get to keep 100% of your ad revenue. A recent Forrester study showed that JW Player clients see a 482% ROI.
Cons: For small companies or new users, integrating JW Player might be time-intensive with a steeper learning curve than what they’re accustomed to.
4. Vimeo
Vimeo is a video sharing website which offers monetization through subscriptions and pay-per-view.
Pros: You can join Vimeo on a free plan if you’re not going to upload tons of videos, or upgrade to advanced or enterprise plans if you want to live stream or access more marketing tools.
Cons: Pricing starts to grow as your needs for extra functionalities grow, for example live streaming, broadcasting, OTT apps or a customizable video player.
Vimeo doesn’t offer many integrations or marketing tools, which is a downside for those wishing to launch strong and revenue-generating campaigns.
5. Patreon
Patreon is a video monetization platform perfect for creators to generate a monthly revenue stream that’s not tied down to one video hosting platform. So, you can ask your audiences from YouTube or Discord to support you on Patreon.
Pros: Patreon lets you charge members a recurring fee, and for that, you can offer podcasts, music videos, webinars, and more on or off the platform. It’s easy to use for both content creators and members alike. Although there is a lot of scrolling involved for members as content is listed in a feed.
Cons: In terms of pricing and monetization, there is an element of revenue sharing you need to know about. Patreon will take between 5% and 12% of your income, depending on the plan you sign up for.
6. Thinkific
Thinkific is an online learning platform which offers content creators and educators attractive options to sell their online courses and share knowledge.
Pros: Thinkific provides four content monetization options:
- Third-party ads included in your content, for example product placements, PPC advertising, and affiliate marketing
- Premium content for which your audience would have to pay to access
- Content monetization platforms like Facebook or YouTube will act like a third party between you and advertisers, so if you mostly publish your content on social media, this is the easiest way to start monetizing it
- Monetizing your fan base through the sales of new products like mugs and T-shirts. You may also launch a Patreon to take donations or offer exclusive content
Cons: As a course platform, it can be an appealing option to educators, although the free plan is somewhat basic, according to online reviews. Thinkific also lacks live streaming, so if you want to engage directly and in real-time with your students, you might need to search for other platforms.
7. Wistia
Wistia is a video hosting site which offers subscriptions, advertisement, and one-off monetization methods to help you collect revenue from a wide range of customers.
Pros: As the platform offers subscription videos on demand, you can have a peace of mind that you’ll earn a consistent income.
Cons: Wistia’s page builder tools aren’t as advanced as some other tools on the market, so it might be a bit more difficult to create a Wistia channel page that looks like your website. However, looking at online reviews, people seem to praise the platform’s easy navigation and analytics.
8. Muvi
Muvi is an OTT video platform which supports both live streaming and VOD. It’s designed to support content creators in launching multi-device streaming and video streaming platforms.
Pros: With Muvi, you can showcase your videos in various formats on TV, android, or Apple devices. The OTT platform also supports broadcasting and audio streaming on demand if you want to create services like Shopify. Muvi’s paywall implementation works with all major advertising and subscription models.
Cons: It is quite expensive for beginners as the standard plan costs $399 per month for 2000 concurrent users. The more you spend on the platform, the more you can expect in terms of bandwidth, storage, and support.
9. Cleeng
Pros: Cleeng is an all-in-one subscriber-based video monetization platform which leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities to help you boost subscriptions. It’s not a video hosting platform but a tool you can use with a video hosting platform to monetize your content.
Cleeng’s paywall options include VOD subscriptions and pay-per-view live streaming.
Cons: Cleeng has got a range of features including detailed predictive analytics so you can improve your long-term revenue strategy. You can get an accurate idea of the pricing by visiting their website and inputting the number of managed users you have.
10. Dacast
Dacast is a live streaming and VOD platform which supports all common video monetization models and facilitates global payments.
Pros: You can broadcast live or on-demand content through Dacast to your own OTT apps across all devices and benefit from a customizable video player and a range of secure and easy to use features.
Cons: According to some user reviews on Capterra, the latency can be an issue, especially when live streaming on Dacast.
Prices vary depending on bandwidth and storage, with their Starter plan costing $39 per month for 1,000 GB of bandwidth and 50 GB of storage.
Start monetizing your video content
Whether you’re an advertiser, fitness instructor, broadcaster or publisher, there are many video monetization options available for you. With the right platform, you can earn a regular income and build a loyal community of like-minded people who will love your high-quality video content.
When considering video monetization platforms, always have your audience and goals in mind to ensure you get the best for your money. Always check the company’s monetization policies, payment terms, customer support, and the difficulty of implementation to find the best fit for you.
Now, go out there and start sharing!