Today’s entertainment consumer has more choice — and more power — than ever before. 

Customers are jumping from one service to another, from AVOD (ad-supported video-on-demand) to SVOD (subscription VOD) to TVOD (transactional VOD), depending on which offer best suits their needs at that particular time. Churn is an issue and minimizing and mitigating it is more realistic than eliminating it. An active approach to customer-relationship management can curtail it and keep the customer under a larger company umbrella. By quickly developing a number of flexible options — in terms of both product and monetization — content providers can keep customers in the fold and reduce foreboding churn rates.

How to Meet the Customer Where They Are

The days of the aggressive cable-TV representative are over. To improve customer retention, content providers must deploy a nuanced, personalized approach that aims to meet the customer where they are. Here are four strategies that can lead to decreased cancellation rates and improved customer loyalty:

• Constant offers and promotions: Sales events and unique offers, previously a seasonal occasion for content providers, should now take place on a routine basis. Content providers must take advantage of the data and digital tools at their disposal, designing campaigns and experimenting with A/B testing to determine which promotions are most effective in boosting retention. 

• Flexible monetization strategies: Not every customer will want to maintain a video subscription indefinitely. Rather than lose that customer to a competitor, one content provider should offer multiple monetization strategies, allowing a subscriber to switch seamlessly to AVOD or TVOD without losing their business entirely. 

• Expanded payment options: A successful content provider will make it as easy as possible for a customer to pay for their service. In today’s sales environment, that means accommodating as many payment options as possible. Beyond standard credit and debit cards, content providers should consider adding online services such as PayPal, or even emerging payment methods like cryptocurrencies. 

• Innovative events and opportunities: The streaming video service of tomorrow doesn’t have to look like the service of today. New event formats can engage customers with enticing content and keep them coming back in search of new experiences. Over the past year, some content providers have experimented with a festival format, offering one-show, one-day or multi-day tickets to a package of premium content. Devising creative bundles and one-time opportunities will cause the customer to view a specific service as more exclusive than others, a vital consideration when it comes time to trim down the number of subscriptions. 

The consumer video experience continues to evolve rapidly, and without agility and an appetite for change, content providers will risk falling further and further behind. Active customer management will maximize lifetime value, boost brand loyalty, and keep a popular service top of mind amid a sea of competitors.

Fandango, the movie ticket buying service that’s part of NBCUniversal, will be expanding into the world of digitally-distributed movies and TV shows after acquiring M-GO, a  joint venture of Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation founded in 2012.

M-GO sells and rents digital titles via a range of connected devices, including Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, Web browsers, Samsung, Vizio and LG smart TVs, on Roku players and Roku TVs, and is optimized for the Google Chromecast.

Fandango said it will use M-GO to create theatrical ticketing and home entertainment bundles, including "movie catch-up" bundles, home entertainment pre-sell opportunities, and bundles with bonus content, and collectibles.

Additionally, FandangoLabs will tap the M-GO platform “in the creation of new moviegoing products and services,” and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and Technicolor will collaborate on “next-generation video technologies,” including augmented and virtual reality.

NBCU corporate cousin Comcast currently sells and rents movies and TV shows via its own EST service, enabling playback on mobile devices and set-top boxes. M-GO's EST competition also includes Apple iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and Google Play, among others. 

Fandango said it is acquiring M-GO after a record-breaking year in which it saw 81% growth in ticketing dollars, and added 1,600 screens to its platform, expanding that total beyond 27,000.

"With the addition of M-GO, we'll be able to accelerate the ticketing momentum achieved in a record-breaking 2015 by creating compelling new digital products that serve consumers throughout the movie lifecycle," said Fandango president Paul Yanover, in a statement. "We're excited to start working with our studio and exhibition partners to bundle theatrical tickets and home entertainment products in the form of 'super tickets,' gifts with purchase, and other promotional offers."

Multiscreen video specialist Vubiquity has teamed with TV2U Worldwide Pty Ltd to roll out transactional VOD (TVOD) services to under-penetrated markets in Asia and the Middle East.

Under the deal, TV2U will act as Vubiquity’s affiliate in up to seven high-growth markets, including Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.  Other countries covered by the deal include Australia and the United Kingdom, and others may be added to the list at a later date, the companies said.

Vubiquity will also provide  international programming for these new VOD services along with content processing and ongoing promotional support.

In turn, TV2U will provide its video-distributor clients with a TVOD platform that includes single login for access to films and TV series on devices such as smartphones, tablets, PCs, connected TVs and set-top boxes.