with VR, the user might not always look exactly where you want them to. This means VR ads are probably going to have to be more native and more immersive. We already know travel and real estate industries are looking at VR as a natural fit for them – and that signals ad model opportunities. Also, consider what it might be like to not just see James Bond’ s cool shoes, but to look down and see them on yourself,” he suggests.
Closer
For ARRIS’ s Cheevers, sport, and in particular, sports such as boxing, where the experience is closer into the action, is a new experience that people will potentially pay for.“ Other genres that offer potential to monetise include adult content, unique life experiences( climbing Everest and having a 360 VR experience every step of the way), and educational content where the exploration of the scene extracts the value from the VR experience,” he suggests.“ As we have seen with some of the experimentation taking the director’ s view out of his hands, the creatives are experimenting with new ways to create stories and tracks and directions within the movie concept that a first watch may only reveal so much, and the movie can be watched many times to reveal different avenues. Think playing games with many rooms and tunnels that you have to explore, but with a central theme that pulls you along to a one-to-two-hour hour experience, but one that can have different elements the next time you play it. A VR movie that costs a little more than a traditional movie that every time you watch it you find a little more could be worth paying more for,” he suggests.
Ericsson’ s Plunkett says that both VR and AR offer an entirely new and enlarged visual canvas for advertisers and sponsors to work with, and he expects to see a great deal of activity in that area.“ These formats are also likely to attract a content premium that will be embraced by platforms and producers. The first priority, however, is to create truly compelling experiences that attract audiences to the format in significant numbers. If that can be achieved, the monetisation potential is very promising.”
According to Harmonic’ s Fautier, for VR, there are different monetisation models.“ For social networks( e. g., YouTube, Facebook) there can be a free model where the content is ad sponsored; a paid live service, like we see today with sports, is another option. For VoD, we envision a freemium model where some content will be free while some other will have to be accessed via in app payment. A paid VoD service is another model, similar to the Martians FOX production. Per session payments, like we see in arcade games, will be a major VR driver. While today there are only a few examples in the West, 5,000 already exist in China,” he advises, concluding that the business model is still in the early days and will evolve.
Bundle
Irdeto’ s Oggel suggests that VR offers broadcasters and operators the opportunity to offer new services or to bundle new experiences with current services.“ From an engagement and advertising view point, research suggests that consumers viewing VR 360 videos are more engaged than with regular videos. Therefore, broadcasters can capitalise on this increased engagement from consumers and look to integrate interactive and personalised advertisements into their VR content... A number of major operators( e. g. Fox Sports, NBC, HBO, CNN) have been focusing on VR 360 sports or event broadcasts. Viewers can, for example, replay key moments in a game or event and view not only the main action again but also the reaction and contribution of others in the game or event. In addition, several operators( e. g. BBC, NBC) experimented with VR content creation and delivery at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. There is an opportunity for advertisers to get involved with these new initiatives and offer products and services whilst consumers are enjoying these types of VR experiences,” he advises.
“ If we take all the technical, cost and acceptance hurdles, we should accept that VR and AR content is going to be niche for quite a while,” suggests NAGRA’ s Verbesselt.“ In large parts, monetisation is going to be driven by the platforms. While the gimmicky short form experiments will likely be free or advertising supported, premium live events could be monetised in a similar way to regular pay-TV and be adapted into a premium business model. For example, broadcasters could give users the option to virtually attend all the games of their favourite football team for a premium price.”
NeuLion’ s Wagner says that by using OTT, broadcasters and content owners will be able to monetise VR / AR in much the same way as they do any other type of content – ether live or on
demand.“ NeuLion already provides a number of mechanisms for content owners to trigger monetisation opportunities and this will be no different for VR and AR content. The content can be put behind a pay wall and offered up as a subscription or on a pay-per-view basis. Ad supported models could succeed as long as the broadcaster gets their strategy for ad placement right.”
Community
Technicolor’ s Cooper sees a major issue that needs to be addressed by the community of content creators, distributers and consumer device manufacturers in the immersive space.“ When I hear members of this community talk about the business elements of immersive, it is often put in the context of‘ monetisation’, such as:‘ How do I monetise my immersive content?
How will I monetise my distribution network? How will I monetise the investments I have made in head mounted displays?’” he reports.“ I believe that this siloed approach to discussing the economics of immersive media, entertainment and beyond, are a dead end. It is how you end up with absurd value propositions in which a 20-minute piece of content costs $ 50 dollars and requires at $ 400 HMD that is attached to a $ 2,000 gaming computer or console. That does not a mass market make,” he argues.
“ The questions we ought to be addressing should revolve around how we can work together to develop an ecosystem that: 1) provides content / experiences that a critical mass of consumers are both excited about and can afford; 2) How do we get the content to consumers in a high-quality manner; and 3) How do we create an end-to-end business model that funds the development of highquality content while fairly( and profitably) rewarding all of the other critical links in the value-chain? The quicker we answer these questions, the quicker the best devices, content and services will become available to a critical mass of consumers,” he suggests.
For VR City’ s Cowan, ad-supported VR programming makes a great deal of sense, as does SVoD.“ I’ m a great believer in VR for its power to connect people to an experience and a story. Figures on the dwell time on VR content in a headset are impressive and for brands that should be an exciting prospect. For SVoD to work, we need to be producing content worthy of repeat engagement and I think this will come. We need to move away from creating one off experiences which people will be unsure of paying for and start combining what we know about VR and its powers of connection, with what we know about TV and its powers in story and jeopardy. Ultimately if we can tell stories in VR that viewers want to return to, then the future is bright,” he suggests.
EUROMEDIA 19