Vimeo adds SVOD channel service for partners with VHX acquisition

Vimeo, long a home for independent creators looking to showcase their work outside YouTube, is adding a big enhancement to its service package with the acquisition of VHX, an over-the-top video platform provider.

Once integrated, the platform will allow Vimeo to build SVOD (subscription video on demand) channels for its clients, which range from individual creators to niche content providers, all the way up to major media companies.

Terms of the deal were not made public, but VHX co-founder and CEO Jamie Wilkinson will report to Kerry Trainor, Vimeo's CEO. The platform provider's entire staff of 22 employees will come aboard Vimeo as well.

For VHX, the acquisition will put its OTT technology out to a wider customer base. "Adding our platform to Vimeo's massive community of creators and consumers means we'll be able to move faster, and help creators large and small succeed in the over-the-top streaming market," said Wilkinson.

In addition to the ability for Vimeo partners to launch their own branded SVOD channel across screens, the technology is scalable: clients can launch or migrate channels in Vimeo's up to 4K, adaptive-bitrate streaming environment.

VHX is bringing with it a number of its own SVOD partner channels already, including niche programming like Yoga with Adriene and a channel by comedian Jack Vale, according to Multichannel News. The platform supports several device types, including desktop browsers, iOS and Android mobile devices, and Apple TV and Roku streaming devices.

VHX's current fee schedule offers an interesting view of the costs of white-label SVOD, which is offered by a number of competitors including Vidmind and JW Player. For example, its basic SVOD fee is $1 per subscriber per month, not including additional merchant fees. It also offers a TVOD (transactional video on demand) option with a 10 percent plus 50-cents fee for each sale or rental. That along with other fee-based services could be helpful to smaller OTT providers looking to start in a niche and eventually scale upward in audience and content availability.

For more:
- see the release
- see this Multichannel News article

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