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Selling live pay-per-view products on ZenVideo OTT

Melissa Borup
In this article:

If your OTT account can create live events (i.e., you are a Growth or Enterprise seller), you may also sell access to those live events through individual transactions, a practice commonly known as Live Pay-Per-View (PPV).

In this article:

How do I sell a Live PPV event?

To sell a Live PPV product, you will need to create a live event, then add it to a transactional product ("Buy/Rent").

  1. To create your Buy/Rent product, navigate to Products > All Products> Create Product.
  2. Click on the Content tab
  3. Select Videos on the left side
  4. Click on  Add videos 
  5. Select Live events to choose your event

select_live_event.png

You can then configure your Buy/Rent product as you would; however, note that Live PPV can not be enabled for Rentals. Also, note that you will need to set your product as Ready for Sale for your customers to see your live broadcast (more on that below). 

To promote your Live PPV event, consider adding it to your featured carousel.

For more information on setting up your account for live events, please contact our Sales team.

Best practices for selling Live PPV

  • Take advantage of preview mode to ensure your settings are just right before going live to your viewers.
  • Set the event to "pre-order" so that your viewers aren't charged until the event goes live. This helps in cases where you need to cancel at the last minute. Just remember to release the product when the time comes!
  • If you will be notifying your viewers when the event starts, try going live several minutes before the start time to give the notification emails ample time to arrive to the recipients. You can display a "starting soon" intro slate in the player until the event starts.
  • Leave the VOD version of your event available for at least 24 hours so that anyone who purchased but had technical difficulties will still have a chance to watch after the event ends.
  • If you're expecting high viewership for your live event (i.e. thousands of purchases), you may want to release your preorder the day before, or at least as soon as you know it's definitely happening. This gives our platform time to charge all preorder customers and give them access, as well as notifying them of the charge.
  • Set an expiration date in your Distribution settings if you only want the archived video available for a certain amount of time.

Common Questions for Live PPV

How many live events can I have in my PPV product?

  • You are not limited in the number of live events that can be placed for sale in your Live PPV Product.

Can I sell access to live events and VOD video simultaneously?

  • Yes! We encourage mixing Video On Demand content with live events as a means of enriching the customer's purchase experience. 

What is the difference between a Pre-order and Ready for Sale for my Live PPV?

  • Pre-order products do not allow customers to view any of the content immediately after purchasing. When a Product is set to Ready for Sale, customers can view all the content you have included in the Product, such as any VODs that are included alongside your live event. It’s up to you to decide if you want to give customers access right away or not.

Will my Pre-order Product automatically change to Ready for Sale when I start broadcasting?

  • No, your Pre-order product will not automatically change to Ready for Sale when you start broadcasting. When you are ready to give your customers access to your content, you must change the Product type to Ready for Sale. 

Note: PPV pre-orders still need to be manually released even if a Release Date is added on the TVOD.

Can I charge for a Live PPV product and make that event part of my Subscription?

  • Yes! You can create a Live PPV product that is offered for sale to anyone not already subscribed to your channel and, at the same time, offer that same live event to your existing subscription customers. To do this, you'll need to add your live event to both your Live PPV product and the relevant subscription product. Read more about configuring your live event.

Can I notify my Customers that my Live Event has started?

  • You can notify your customers when your live event has started by configuring your notification settings on that event. Read more about how to do this.

Can my Customers view my Live Event in my App?

  • If you have branded apps powered by ZenVideo OTT, your signed-in customers will automatically see their purchased Live PPV products in their “Library” tab. Branded apps require an Enterprise account; if you’re interested in learning more about our app program, please contact our Sales team.

Can my Customers purchase access to my Live Event in my app?

  • Customers can purchase on the web and also on sites that have TVOD in-app purchasing enabled.

Note: If you’re interested in selling your TVOD products via branded apps, please contact your account manager.

What happens to my Live PPV Product when my event ends?

  • When you stop streaming and click "End Broadcast" in the OTT Admin, your broadcast will end for customers and begin to transcode into a regular VOD. This may take some time depending on the length and quality of your broadcast.

    Once the VOD has transcoded, it will automatically replace the Live Event you previously offered in the Buy/Rent product you previously created; giving Customers access to watch On Demand. If you do not wish to provide On Demand viewing, you will need to remove the content from the product.

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