Branded VOD increases usage, says Disney

Branded video-on-demand from channel providers can provide significant uplift in usage by pay TV subscribers, according to Catherine Powell, senior vice-president and general manager, media distribution at the Walt Disney Company EMEA.

Speaking at the Digital TV Summit in London this week, Powell said that Disney’s repositioning of its VOD content as Disney On Demand, which is licensed to 25 pay TV operators currently, as well as its ABC-branded on-demand service, had led to an increase in share of viewing.

Powell said that there was a danger that content could become devalued as anywhere, anytime distribution gained traction. She said it was possible to devalue high-quality content by providing too much choice and that there was a role for aggregators and content providers to curate and editorialise the viewing experience.