Vimeo, which is slowly growing as a video streaming service, is now planning to compete with Netflix with its own subscription streaming service. Although there has been no information as to when Vimeo is planning to release this addition or how much will it cost, but interim CEO Joey Levin recently revealed company’s plans to introduce something of this sort.
Levin said in a letter to Vimeo’s shareholders – “Vimeo has the once-in-a-generation opportunity to, following in Netflix’s footsteps, deliver compelling subscription viewing experiences for consumers in the market for pay TV.”
Levin further reveals that Vimeo will not pay billions rather it will help create original content and supplement it with the licensed streaming. In short, Vimeo won’t need to start from the scratch.
Experimenting this subscription service, Vimeo plans to reach out its pro subscribers, most of which are emerging filmmakers, directors and producers. Levin also pointed out that Vimeo streamed two seasons of ‘High Maintenance’ before HBO started airing it. Further, he also claimed that a bunch of Oscar-nominated short films were the creation of Vimeo directors.
For those who are not aware, Vimeo already offers an On Demand service but in this case, users have to purchase videos on a la carte basis. Competing with the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, Levin admits that it won’t be easy and they are still running into losses. However, earning profits is not Vimeo’s near future goal, claims Levin.
If you are wondering how Amazon is a competitor, the e-commerce giant has its own video subscription service named Amazon Prime Video which will soon make its way to India and reports claim that it will be much cheaper than Netflix.