Stream Circle – A Revolutionary Idea That Exploits Conservative Viewing Habits

From the same stable as the globally famous Provys, a software solution for the management of TV channels, which is used by many renowned broadcasters, comes another thoroughbred, a new and revolutionary service for streaming content in a highly effective yet low cost way to a wide and diverse audience.

The project started three years ago, and is now gaining ground under the name of Stream Circle.

Although this may sound too good to be true, with Stream Circle, you can set up your own TV service, with help from experts but without initial investment in expensive equipment. In this way, you can quickly start monetising the content you have available. That is why Stream Circle earned both respect and awards – the Game Changer Award, two years ago, and the Best of Show Award 2016, given by TVB Europe.

Josef Vasica, CEO and founder, is the brains behind all of this. Josef explains: "It is a cloud TV channel playout and streaming platform, through which, classical TV channels, and more, can supply the viewers with a greater range of additional and focused content, without changing the traditional TV viewers' habitual composure."

Even traditional broadcasters once thought that one day, internet TV archives would mean the end of their business model. But, they had not reckoned with Stream Circle, which was about to change the distribution methodology by utilising cheaper online delivery to targeted audiences without forcing them to search endlessly through video archives in the hope of finding some interesting content or simply, and very probably, giving up.

"I pondered the issue," Josef explains. "Just picture yourself – you are at work all day long, then you get home, your head is about to explode and you want to relax and watch something. First, you would think about the genre for some time, then, you would spend even more time selecting the movie itself, and before you found and downloaded it, it would be so late, that you would not feel like watching anything."

So, where did the belief come from that it is necessary for TV stations to have extended online platforms, when it looks as if the older we are, the happier we are with regular broadcasting that is dictated to us by the channel itself through its scheduled programmes?

"Stream Circle generates profits even for small operators, even though viewers want the largest possible choice of instantly accessible programmes," Josef claims. "Anyone wanting to broadcast traditionally must be prepared to pay huge amounts of money for playout equipment and to air the content. That is not what start-up companies really want to do. They might be interested in just a narrow focus group or one-time events, such as the Olympic Games. Why should anybody, who is interested in addressing temporarily, say, a group of 100,000 potential viewers, invest large sums in technical equipment and distribution contracts?"

The Stream Circle project is supported by a group of highly experienced professional TV engineers. They have collectively more than 100 years of experience in the field, which guarantees their broadcast competence. For all this, Stream Circle can supply one fully operational TV channel with 3D graphics and live insertions at a cost of 1700 EUR a month. The basic simple service is available for only 500 EUR a month.

According to Eurobarometer data, over 60% of the population still watch classical terrestrial broadcasting. Apart from eliminating the main financial and technological barriers for small content owners, Josef is interested in bringing their media content as close to TV viewers as possible, and providing the tools which will encourage the owners to profitably experiment with their content.

"Initial support is available for every aspect of launching a new channel. The Stream Circle team will help to create a typical framework for a TV programme which is then tuned in by some kind of smart device behaving the same way as a TV screen in a typical living room. The team will take care of operational issues as well," claims the Stream Circle boss. "We deal with many international partners and can clearly see the demand for our kind of business there. In the whole world, people are still nervous of continual changes and upgrades in broadcasting. And Stream Circle are striving to change that."

www.streamcircle.com

This article is also available to read in the latest edition of Broadcast Film & Video here, page 22.

(JP/LM)