Streaming content, owning the rights to content: it’s not for the faint of heart. With profits hanging in the balance, you need to make the right moves. Here are seven situations that you face today, perhaps, as well as ways you can get through them with grace, and, let’s face it, win.

Situation 1: You’ve got a dusty archive that deserves a second life. 

You’ve spent years amassing amazing content. But most of it sits in storage now. Forgotten. Unmonetized.

Why it’s a shame: You’re paying for storage. Since your idle assets don't generate returns, you’re losing money. 

How to battle it: Build FAST and niche channels around that wonderful archive you’ve got. Consider these: Christmas classics, family baking recipes from around the world, Old Hollywood. Group them by theme, era, audience. Most smart TVs offer series-specific channels. And they’re hot. You can follow suit and build channels that show only episodes of one particular show, like the channels Ice Road Truckers, Little Women: LA, and Don’t Tell the Bride do. With these channels, you’re breathing new life into existing assets.

Why this'll work:

• Unified Virtual Channel repurposes VOD assets into live, linear streams. No need to re-encode.
• Launch channels fast, test performance, and pivot by swapping playlists without changing infrastructure. It’s easy to ensure your content brings profits, not pain.
• For broadcasters and studios who want to monetize existing libraries without investing much operationally, it’s a win.

Where’s the value: Turning your archive into a new revenue stream, you get new monetization opportunities without new production costs. Plus you get faster time-to-market and increased viewer engagement through curated experiences. The route is efficient and sustainable, and it delivers measurable ROI on content you already own.

Situation 2: You’ve got premium events rights, or rights to premium TV or movie characters, and want to max their value.

Live sports, concerts, or high-value shows are the core of your business. Or, let’s say, you’re IP-rich. You own the rights to world-famous TV or movie characters or premises. Overall, you crave more user engagement and satisfaction.

Why it’s a shame: You are underusing rights that cost you a bundle to acquire. You are not capitalizing on demand. People are willing to pay more for better service, or quality on big screens, but you’re not seeing a cent of that.

How to battle it: Use virtual channels to create premium experiences. Think pop-up events enriched with VOD recaps, or additional content. Consider creating a full day/week experience.

Why this'll work:

• Software-based orchestration enables you to mix VOD and live seamlessly.
• Rights-sensitive? No problem. Integrate full DRM, watermarking, key rotation.
• Hybrid monetization models (ad/subscription/sponsor) are simple to launch.

Where’s the value: You create a unique experience and prolong the life and profitability of every event, premium asset, and character.

Situation 3: You’re a regional operation, and you’ve got limited resources.

You’re a multi-regional broadcaster or telco, but you don’t want to build an in-house engineering team and invest a bunch in localization. You do have regional audiences and local content, though. So that’s a plus.

Why it’s a shame: You’re losing the interest of your local audience, and you’re losing monetization opportunities for the region. You’re not growing your base.

How to battle it: Create localized channels by switching playlists (or opt-outs), and adding local blocks and replacing ads. Don’t blank, divert.

(Blanking refers to streams being made unavailable for a specific amount of time to all viewers, or to specific users only. When streaming rights do not include certain content, or when users don’t have access to certain content, because they subscribe to a lower streaming package tier, the streams are said to “blank.”)

Why this'll work:

• You can launch region-specific channels (language, news, music, kids, etc.) using your existing storage and a CDN, taking advantage of edge capabilities.
• No need for legacy hardware or 24/7 broadcast centers.
• Manage everything remotely, integrate with existing metadata, and scale up when your audience does.

Where’s the value: This model brings bigger capabilities to smaller teams. You run an optimized workflow and strengthen local relevance, delivering the right content to the right audiences.

Situation 4: You’re staring down the ol’ seasonal or event-based spike.

You’ve got a festive month or so coming up, but you don’t want to build a permanent channel. You just want to get the most out of the special time, with no commitments.

Why it’s a shame: At the moment, you’re getting less revenue. You’re not using momentum to attract an audience and monetize it.

How to battle it: Deploy season-based or pop-up channels.

Why this'll work:

• With Virtual Channel, you can schedule and deactivate channels on demand. Combine, say, thematic content 24/7 with no re-encoding for VOD and mix it with IRL streams, if needed.
• This solution’s great for limited-time activities, like international competitions, Halloween content, or spring break.
• Use the same channel capability for multiple pop-up channels throughout the year, for different events or seasons.

Where’s the value: You convert short-term momentum into measurable engagement. Temp channels drive hype, sponsorship, and sales, without falling prey to long-term OPEX (operational expenditures). And when the season ends, you can reuse the channel and run something new.

Situation 5: Your audience is stuck in discovery mode.

Your viewers can’t decide what to watch. Bored by endless scrolling, they’re searching for something that suits their mood on a rainy Sunday morning. Or maybe they’re down for laughing on a Friday night in. They might want to stream some corny Valentine’s Day movies, or horror flicks they saw on Halloween. But those aren’t available at the moment.

Why it’s a shame: If you run a channel that’s not popular 24/7, you’re losing money. But if you shut it down, people get disappointed when they can’t find what they want. You’re canceling the chance for spontaneity. Even though they won’t tune in every single day, viewers still want to know the option is there.

How to battle it: Create a channel that works on demand.

Why this'll work:

• Playlists are based on user profiles and recommendations, and they’re always ready to stream. 
• When someone tunes in, the channel “wakes up.” And when it goes idle, the channel automatically pauses (kinda like the light inside the fridge when you close the door.)
• You save on costs, and even better, you give viewers the sense of discovery they love. 

Where’s the value: You create engagement without overproducing and overspending, and you cater to the most unusual and unexpected tastes. Turn every genre or channel into its own “Christmas in July.” Create a new revenue stream from audiences ready to try something new.

Situation 6: You want to get more money out of sales or sponsor contracts.

You have a commercial contract and want to sell more commercials, but your viewers are tired of too many commercial breaks. However, you still need sales.

Why that’s great, and not a shame: At the moment, you insert ads simply, instead of capitalizing on the related content. There is more hidden revenue, right there in your archive.

How to make it happen: Create branded channels.

Why this'll work:

• The ads boost the content, which in turn boosts the ads. It’s a beautiful feedback loop, which leads to more engagement, and more ad sales.
• Repetition from one sponsor builds brand recall and a clear connection between the content and the products being pitched via ads. Also, viewers get a better, less fatiguing experience with one advertiser taking the lion’s share of spots inserted into content blocks. (Multiple advertisers can give a disruptive feeling. Not so with just one.)
• Tying content to one sponsor raises the likelihood of premium sponsorship packages and strengthens ties with the advertiser. Right?

Where’s the value: Real, honest-to-God money. Plus you engage with highly specific audiences and you also help hook advertisers and brands into captive, willing-to-listen money spenders.

Situation 7: You want to attract more people to watch your content.

So many movies, so how to choose? Scrolling’s difficult, and choice is a paradox. The more you scroll, the better the chance of settling on something not that great. 

Yet you have tons of trailers that are just a part of your VOD experience.

Why it’s a shame: You’re missing out on nudging your viewers to start watching your main channels or VOD content.

How to battle it: Launch a trailer channel.

Why this'll work:

• Viewers can watch an exciting trailer and click on it to be linked, straightaway, to VOD content in your library. Or, even better, they’re led to a virtual channel so you can keep them engaged longer.
• It’s low stakes, cost-wise. Already slick assets, trailers don't require you to pony up for high licensing and production fees.
• Trailers get the blood pumping and catch people who want the next high-gloss hit of narrative action. People who tune into trailers often are already well into discovery mode, so they’re more receptive to watch more entertainment-related ads and content.

Where’s the value: A trailer channel's cheap to run, and it's a way to increase views for your main channels hidden by paywalls, or limited to certain subscription tiers or paid video-on-demand. By running cheaper channels, you can increase your income from other channels.

Now what?

Want to see how your own situation fits the use case of a virtual channel? Check out our live demo, or book a meeting with us!