How to create your own online cinema

Before starting, you need to conduct market research and define the service concept. Viewers are increasingly choosing niche platforms that offer specialized content.

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For example, Shudder, a service aimed at horror fans, has successfully attracted more than a million subscribers, providing carefully selected films and series in its genre. This trend underscores the importance of personalization and targeting specific audience interests.

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Competitor research

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Major market players such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ivi, Okko, and Start continue to dominate, investing in original content and expanding their libraries.

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For example, Netflix and Amazon have invested more than $38 billion in Stranger Things and The Lord of the Rings exclusive projects. Studying their strategies will help you understand what approaches work in the market and how you can stand out from the competition.

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Niche selection

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Identifying a unique niche could be the key to an online cinema's success. You can consider these options:

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• Licensed movies and series: access to popular and classical works.
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• Original films and exclusive releases: creating original projects that are only available on your platform.
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• Online cinema for a specific audience: such as children's programs, sports broadcasts or educational material.
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• Highly specialized genres: focus on anime, documentaries, or classic movies.
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Choose a niche after you have analyzed the needs and preferences of your target audience.

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Determining the target audience

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Understanding the demographics, interests, and habits of potential users will help you adapt content and marketing strategies. For example, if your audience is young parents, a focus on cartoons and parental control features would be an advantage.

How to create your own online cinema? Before you get into the details, remember that legality is the place to start. Without official rights to the materials, no service will be able to work safely and for a long time.

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You need to consider in advance where and how you will get licenses; there are the following options:

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1. Purchase of licenses from studios. Contact film companies directly to purchase rights to show their products. These can be both new releases and classic films.
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2. Working with distributors. Distributors provide access to extensive libraries from different studios, making the licensing process easier.
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3. Agreements with independent directors and producers. You will collaborate with independent filmmakers and will be able to offer viewers unique content, as well as support creative professionals.
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4. Copyright protection and anti-piracy measures. Copyright compliance is an important aspect of online cinema operations. Digital rights management (DRM) technologies can be used to protect movies and TV shows from unauthorized copying and distribution. And cooperation with intellectual property protection organizations will help to respond quickly to cases of piracy and maintain the legality of the service.
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If you decide create your own online cinema, think in advance about how he will earn money. Monetization is a chance to turn a project into a sustainable business.

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There are several proven revenue models out there, and each of them may be appropriate depending on the audience and concept:

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• Subscription Model (SVOD — Subscription Video On Demand). Viewers pay a regular subscription for unlimited access to content. Examples: Netflix, Disney+. This approach provides a stable income and retains an audience.
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• Paid movie rental and purchase (TVOD — Transactional Video On Demand). Users pay to watch specific movies or TV shows without subscription obligations. Examples: Apple iTunes, Amazon Prime Rentals. This model is suitable for monetizing premium or new content.
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• Free access with ads (AVOD — Advertising Video On Demand). Movies and TV shows are provided free of charge, but with ads. Examples: YouTube, Peacock. AVOD appeals to a wide audience and especially those who are not ready to pay for a subscription.
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• Hybrid models. A combination of several approaches, for example, free movies with ads and a premium subscription without them. With this strategy, it is possible to reach different audience segments and diversify sources of income.
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• ‍Affiliate programs and branded collaborations. Collaborating with other companies to promote content or create exclusive offers. This way you can increase brand awareness and attract new audiences.

Understand how to make your own online cinema, means understanding the technology. A successful platform starts with a smart architecture: from choosing a ready-made solution or individual development to cloud storage, CDN and interface. All this affects the speed, reliability and comfort of the viewer.

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Choosing a development model

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• Ready-made solutions (white-label platforms, SaaS services). Existing platforms will help you launch the service quickly with minimal investment. Such solutions provide basic functionality that can be adapted to your brand. Please note that customization and customization options may be limited.
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• Custom development from scratch. Creating a unique platform from scratch will give you complete freedom in choosing functionality and design. Remember that this approach requires a lot of investment and time, but the result will be a product that will fully meet your requirements and the expectations of the target audience.
  

The choice of technologies

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• Web platform and mobile apps. Access to movies through the website and mobile apps expands the reach of viewers. Developing cross-platform services using technologies such as React Native or Flutter will reduce costs and speed up the creation process.
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• Cloud servers for storing and broadcasting content. Cloud solutions ensure scalability and flexibility. With the help of cloud servers, you can effectively manage the load and maintain the stable operation of the platform.
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• CDN connection for high download speeds. Content Delivery Network (CDN) distributes content across servers located in different regions, and thus speeds up downloads and reduces delays when watching videos.

User interface development (UI/UX)

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• Movie catalog. The intuitive navigation and catalog structure will help viewers easily find movies. Categorization by genre, rating, and other parameters will improve interaction with the platform.
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• Recommendations. The introduction of algorithms for analyzing user preferences will help offer personalized recommendations and increase audience engagement and satisfaction.
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• Subscription and payment. A transparent subscription method increases conversions, while integration with payment systems and various payment options increase user loyalty.

The launch of an MVP will help you quickly test the platform on real users.

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Start with a basic set of features to gather feedback and understand what elements need to be improved. After collecting feedback, optimize, fix bugs, and adjust the user experience. This way you can customize the service to the needs of your audience and avoid unnecessary costs.

To attract viewers to the cinema, you should start with SEO optimization so that you can be found in search engines. Free trial subscriptions and loyalty programs are great for retaining users. Social media activity and collaboration with bloggers will expand your audience.

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It is also useful to collect feedback and analyze how users interact with the platform — this will help develop the service and make it even more convenient for viewers.

Now you know how to create an online cinema, and in general, there is nothing complicated here if you approach the process step by step. WITH Beetrail you don't need to understand all the details — we will develop a high-quality and convenient product that will solve users' real problems.

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Our team will provide a full development cycle so that your project is ready to enter the market.

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Complete the application form and we'll start working on your app today!