Overview
More than 4.5 billion Internet users engage in some form of online video & entertainment content, ranging from entertainment, tutorials, educational content, presentations, and vlogs. Various trends like the acceleration in content creation, evolving user viewing habits and cord-cutting have led to the convergence of VOD(video on demand) where viewers choose their own filmed entertainment.
As people worldwide are searching for more and more ways to keep their attention occupied, big players in the industry including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Roku are expanding their technological capabilities and content library offerings to meet the increased demand for engaging content and visual entertainment.
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also created a shift in consumer behavior. More people are spending more time at home, whether it is for leisure or work, changing the way they discover and engage with content and also the different experiences they seek. This is only likely to contribute to consumer’s craving for excitement, information, and engagement to keep themselves occupied. According to Nielsen, users found cost, ease of use, and variety to be the most important attributes when choosing a streaming service.
As part of the means to deliver entertainment and informational content to the world, there are huge opportunities for disruption within the video entertainment industry.
The Challenge
How do we offer users a more engaging, personalized, and pleasant experience?
One of the biggest opportunities and challenges of the streaming industry is offering tailored, customized content to its users. Viewers today want infinite control over their video consumption. They want to be able to choose what to watch, when to watch and with whom to watch their favorite content. This also means that the traditional scenario of how users view entertainment content has changed. In the past, someone would arrive home after work, order takeaway, turn on their Hulu VPN and start watching. Nowadays, people stream videos during their commute to work, on their laptops, and even at a friend’s home.
There are different ways in improving user experience besides offering larger libraries of available and new content. This can include rebuilding consumer trust by establishing data collection and service offerings without infringing on their privacy or even more transparent handling practices of their data. Another aspect is how to work on the viewing experiences of users to enable them to connect and bond with their friends and loved ones over video entertainment.
How do we create new business/revenue models while still balancing the needs of our different stakeholders?
Most video entertainment companies generate revenue through monthly membership fees related to streaming content to their users(Netflix). Other platforms may also monetize user activity by selling other streaming associated devices (like TV models or digital media players) or serving display ads and publisher inventory in order to generate revenue.
Streaming service platforms tread a fine line in balancing between ensuring that too many ads do not spoil their user’s experience, while at the same time making sure that ads served are targeted and relevant to their users. This further exemplifies the importance of leveraging artificial intelligence and customer data to create targeted ad offerings that cater to the end user’s exact tastes and viewing preferences.
Teams
Teams are assembled by forming groups of 5 – 6 individuals.
You can either form your own team by registering together with your friends or register by yourself so you can meet other talented individuals.
One of the keys to winning the hackathon is to assemble a group of strong team members. The more diverse your team is, the better chances you have of winning because different members can come together to contribute with complementary skills. Usually, winning teams are composed of team members with product management skills, coding, design and business.
Since every hackathon involves a problem to solve, product managers will be able to put together ideas while considering the end-user’s challenges and communicate that to the coders. Coders should then be able to create a workable solution, which is then made beautiful by the designer. Someone with a business or marketing mindset can then contribute by brainstorming within the team about how the solution could be monetized or self-funding itself. This is just one example of how “Teamwork Makes the Dream Work”.