On Demand refers to the services which offer flexibility to control and access the telecast events effectively and thereby achieve audience expectation.
An event is the video content schedule to be telecasted on a particular date and time. The events include feature movie, television programs, sporting events like cricket match, concerts and many more. In On Demand Services, the customers who have digital cable Set Top Boxes are able to order the events.
The On Demand services are, Pay per View (PPV) and Video on Demand (VoD).
Pay per View (PPV): This is the mechanism in which television viewers can purchase events and pay for the private telecast of that event later. The event is telecasted at the same time to everyone ordering it.
Video on Demand (VoD): This is an interactive multimedia system that has a large database of events from which viewers can choose and view the events when and where they want. This system allows the viewer to select and watch video content over a network. Individual customers belonging to one area are able to watch different programs when they wish to.
VoD mechanism allows the service provider to store all the valuable events digitally and also enable the customer to access different or the same events simultaneously.
VoD is superior to PPV because:
The customer can flexibly choose programs and order the programs at anytime
In addition, VoD gives the customer complete VCR functionality; i.e. user can pause, rewind, or fast forward the events while watching.
Maintenance of the events: On Demand services offer the user facility to manage events catalog, which expires after a fixed time. The event price and related attribute values are maintained in the Event Catalog.
Maintenance of Asset: Details of each movie, sport events or music albums etc. are maintained and stored in Assets. Minimum Asset details are captured and posted into the events for ordering. Service provider wise, there could be different categories of assets with different ratings.
Ordering On Demand Services: The existing customer may call up/approach the Customer Service Representative to order the required PPV/VoD events. A customer can also order the events through SMS and Web Selfcare. When an event is ordered, the amount is debited from the customer account.
However, the ordered events can be processed for cancellation for various reasons before the cancellation deadline. On cancellation, the amount is credited to the customer account.
Scheduling Event Timing and Channel: The date, time and the channel on which the event should be telecasted are specified. The above information is scheduled in the system to create corresponding sessions on the Conditional Access System (CAS).
Usage/Credit Limit enforcement: Every On Demand Service has a periodic usage limit, which can also be changed if required. The credit limits/usage limit varies from customer to customer. A threshold value is set for every customer to control usage. Once the threshold value is reached, the customer is not allowed to purchase any more PPV/VoD events.
Real Time Charge Generation: In On Demand Services, the charges are posted as soon as the event is sold. The credit adjustments are also given if a sold event is cancelled.