Viewster patent decides dynamically to offer users ‘free’ or ‘pay’ viewing

March 22, 2011 - PRLog -- Landmark Viewster patent decides dynamically to offer users ‘free’ or ‘pay’ viewing of movies on demand.

Fast growing VoD movie service Viewster will become the first platform to be able to dynamically compare its viewers with advertising inventory on offer from its ad-serving partners and decide to offer the viewer the choice between paying to watch the movie without interruption, or viewing it free of charge with advertising.

The dynamic ‘pay or ads’ offer, provided under technology for which Viewster parent company DIVA AG this month filed for patent protection in the US and EU, will be made active as a unique feature of Viewster by May 2011.

“We are certain that users will love this system as it gives them the best possible choice of how they want to obtain their movie,” said Jörg Boksberger, CTO and co-founder of DIVA. “It’s the element other hybrid free/paid models are missing. Our plan is to include this as a key part of our technology platform and of the suite of solutions which we use to best serve our customers.”

Viewster launches dynamic ‘choose how you view’ technology.

The new technology will mean Viewster will be able to take a dynamic decision to offer movies, or parts of movies, to be viewed free of charge, so long as it holds rights to show the particular movie without payment  and there is advertising inventory available from its ad partners for which the user in question provides a profitable profile match.

Two separate users may very well not find the same options on offer, even if choosing the same movie. Whether a user is offered free ad-supported viewing depends on whether his or her profile would make possible a profitable match with the ad inventory available at that precise moment and in that specific location.

Viewster pays tribute to success of Spotify.

Kai Henniges, CEO of DIVA AG, is a known admirer of the business model of music site Spotify, and is optimistic that the ‘free’ or ‘ads’ choice will help Viewster to establish a similarly committed following amongst movie viewers.

“This technology aligns the interests of film makers and viewers for the first time,” said Henniges. “It  ensures that movies get the widest possible audience while respecting the commercial interests of the creative talent that made them.”

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Founded in 2007, DIVA AG is a privately held company based in Zurich, Switzerland with offices in San Jose, Berlin, London and Timisoara. The company is a leading supplier of movies, TV series and short form contents, delivering content to video on demand platforms and connected devices globally. DIVA’s customers are over-the-top platforms, IPTV operators and device manufacturers in Asia, Europe, Middle East and the USA. Content management, normalisation, secure delivery and reporting are handled by DIVA’s proprietary software platform. The company’s end to end service, incorporating the on-demand Viewster application, went live in beta in November 2010.