DaCast offers broadcasters a complete subscription service to monetize media content, with a payment system included for transactions. Subscriptions are broadcaster defined, multi-rate and offer bundling capabilities to provide broadcasters with a paywall solution for their premium content.
Similar to pay per view monetization, rates and periods for subscriptions are defined by the broadcaster. Not only does the DaCast user get to select how much they will charge for a subscription, but also how long that subscription will last for. Weekly, monthly, quarterly, biannual, and annual make up the subscription periods available.
Broadcasters can attach up to three subscription rates to the same channel. This means, for example, a weekly subscription can be given a $10 fee, while a monthly subscription can go for $25. This lets broadcasters easily upsell content by providing discounts and incentives to spend more money than people normally would.
Unique to DaCast, the Pay-in-Play system is an integrated monetization payment application located directly in the player. Aimed at dramatically increasing conversion rates, the system allows for viewers to purchase subscription and pay per view content without having to leave the original website.
For embedded videos, this means the viewer can stay on the original service they encountered the player on while they validate an e-mail address and enter credit card information.
PayPal support is also integrated in the system, providing an even quicker payment experience, although it does require briefly leaving the original site.
When a viewer pays for a subscription through Pay-in-Play, login details are created. The viewer selects a password and then can login later using these credentials. This makes it easy for viewers to buy subscription content and access it a day, a week or even much later if it’s within their purchase window.
Additionally, viewer accounts are also used to speed up the payment process, letting viewers skip the step to validate an e-mail address and jump right into entering payment details.
To make subscriptions a more appealing feature, DaCast has introduced a package feature. This feature allows streaming content to be bundled and purchased together. Live streaming media can be combined with previously recorded, VOD streaming content and sold as part of the same subscription. This also makes it easy to make an entire library of existing content that is appealing to sell to viewers who can access the entire catalogue through a single payment.
The package feature also integrates media content into the same player, giving the viewer the access to change between channels. To do this, the viewer just has to open the right pane of the player, which houses similar features as live chat while streaming, to see the available content that is part of the bundle to access it, making it easy to manage multiple channels.
All transactions transmitted through Pay-in-Play are done so with SSL encryption. Payment method details will never be disclosed and viewers can purchase content securely from the system directly from the broadcaster’s website that is supported by DaCast’s secure platform.
