TECHNOLOGY
The Shifting Landscape of OTT and Video Content Distribution By Connor Judson Ga r re t t
A s surely as Atlanta emerged to become the top filming location in the world, the city is now poised to become a leader in the ever-shifting landscape of OTT and video streaming. The deep pool of tech talent, combined with the abundance of creativity and storytellers who make Atlanta home, have culminated in the perfect storm. Adding to this, Areu Bros., Endavo, and THEA, which rapidly became powerhouses on their own, have joined forces. In 2015, the Metro Atlanta Chamber launched the marketing initiative ChooseATL as a way of using local content creators to showcase the city. This resulted in what eventually became its own entity — THEA, a streaming service and app that focuses on localized content and its creators. “At ChooseATL, our team launched THEA as an innovative way to help Atlanta share its stories. We have this creative culture, booming tech, and our goal was to spread awareness outside of Atlanta to young people throughout the country,” says THEA CEO and former director of ChooseATL Kate Atwood. “We quickly saw how much affinity Atlantans had to the content being created here. It’s a hyper-focused platform around locally- sourced content.” THEA’s early success led Areu Bros., the first major Latino-owned and operated media studio in the country run by the former president of Tyler Perry Studios Ozzie Areu and his brother Will, to acquire the local video- streaming platform. Although the company will still search for and curate local talent., THEA will now have the enhanced opportunity to grow and scale as its own media services company. Ozzie was impressed by the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s decision to hone in on the local experience before anyone else was servicing that gap in the market. The THEA platform already includes nearly 60 channels and 1,000 videos from Atlanta brands and creators, such as Switchyards, BronzeLens, Blossom, UnderexposedATL, and A3C. The curated content ranges from comedy, lifestyle, and culture to short film medium and perhaps longer content in the future, plus boasting more than 1.5 million viewers. “THEA is the first locally-sourced streaming platform,” says Atwood. “Nobody has been able to tackle the local market of video content in this new era and we believe we have the strategy to do so. Instagram and Twitter enable rapid content delivery without a real boundary. However, there remains a hole in how consumers experience content at a local level. Proximity is important for connection, identity, and community. It’s
series, so we really get to understand the ethos of the market on a hyper-local level, giving consumers more power in what they want to see.” Golden Globe and Oscar-winning filmmakers, actors, producers, and directors are opting to distribute their projects through streaming services like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix — a fact not lost on anyone involved in THEA, especially Areu Bros. They witnessed THEA start the second wave of the streaming revolution. However, THEA thrives on both creativity and the technology behind their platform, while the Areu Bros. acquisition allows the THEA to continue to grow at lightspeed. Endavo is an Atlanta-based software company that builds OTT and multi-channel platforms built on the Video Distribution Automation platform (VDA) — the same software that powers THEA. VDA is a combination of creator self-distribution, OTT optimization, and other features rolled into one solution. The platform behind THEA is integrated with YouTube and Vimeo APIs, alowing creators to manage their accounts directly from the platform as well as upload video clips and schedule posts to all of the major social media. “We were doing OTT in 2008 before OTT was even a thing. We made a bet that video was going to be the next big thing. Then YouTube and Netflix changed how everything was consumed. That first big wave has already come. Now the market is opening up for more localized, regional plays,” says Endavo CEO Paul Hamm. “That’s where we’re going to focus our efforts for the foreseeable future. We’re focusing on creatives and their communities, which has opened up the floodgates. There’s a pathway to monetize without going through Hollywood and the traditional channels and you can deliver high quality content instantly. We’re creating more and more tools for content creators to get their content in front of an audience and monetize it. The software enables them to aggregate all of their channels, pull in subscriptions, and advertisements.” Through THEA, content is curated through channels that are managed independently by each creator. Endavo’s platform helps them monetize, while THEA and Areu Bros. work in tandem to ensure that the platform is inclusive yet curated and premium for the ultimate viewing experience. “We occupy a space between YouTube and Netflix,” says Hamm. “We’re cutting out the middleman similar to how Netflix went around the cable providers.”
Endavo CEO Paul Hamm
Photo by Aiva Genys
also important from an industry standard. The demand for content in the Netflix and Hulu era is unprecedented and new systems and processes are needed to fill out the market. We believe THEA can be an answer for this demand, expanding opportunities for content creators from emerging markets, Atlanta being at the forefront.” While the first city-based OTT platform will continue to promote Atlanta by telling the stories of its creatives and youth who are emerging as its champions, the success of THEA in the Hollywood of the South may lead to expansion into other cities across the United States. The partnership with Areu Bros. makes this possibility even more likely. “Once we saw the bigger role we could play in the marketplace, we started thinking about what an ideal partnership would look like,” says Atwood. “Areu Bros. got it right away. They’re trying to be disruptors in this space. I feel lucky that we’re able to join such a family of visionaries and industry movers.” Areu Bros. is preparing the platform for commercial viability by broadening distribution, expanding its content, and creating a monetization system that benefits THEA and its content partners. “When something is absent from the market, people don’t always know it’s missing,” says Atwood. “Streaming has allowed for the democratization of film and episodic
www.thea.network | www.endavomedia.com
4 0 | T H E G E O R G I A H O L L Y WOO D R E V I E W | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter