Ad tech companies have been salivating over the growth of ad-supported streaming.
But the other VODs – subscription-based (SVOD) and transactional video on demand (TVOD) – remain key parts of the revenue mix for streaming video.
And many video-driven businesses are seeking to monetize through a mix of all three models, said Matt Malanga, CMO of video software platform JW Player, which acquired InPlayer on Tuesday.
JW Player declined to share the deal price, but Malanga told AdExchanger the acquisition was financed using the $100 million in funding the company raised in 2021 from private equity firm LLR Partners.
InPlayer provides subscription, transaction and identity management solutions for video publishers and broadcasters. These are capabilities that will allow JW Player to offer a more complete end-to-end video monetization service, Malanga said.
Clients will no longer need to work with multiple vendors to build a video monetization solution, he added.
But the main rationale behind the deal is to help JW Player clients earn more money through more efficient management of their advertising and subscription revenue streams, including pay-per-view and rental transactions.
Thirty-one percent of broadcasters consider subscriptions and transactional revenue to be very important to their business, according to a recent survey by Sirkin Research.
InPlayer’s identity management tools will also provide JW Player and its clients with “strong audience insights,” Malanga said.
JW Player has already started integrating InPlayer’s technology into its own offerings, and some of InPlayer’s solutions are already live within JW Player’s platform. Malanga couldn’t share a specific timeline for when the entire product integration process will be complete, since it will be happening in phases.
InPlayer will not continue to operate as a standalone business.
InPlayer’s product and engineering leadership will play an important role in JW Player’s business going forward, Malanga said, and JW Player plans to add the majority of InPlayer’s employees to its current headcount of 300.
