Since 2011’s Margin Call succeeded with its day and date release through video on demand (VOD), the strategy and platform has grown to become a viable option for indie and big release productions. Other movies demonstrated the platform’s power as well. The Interview turned controversy into cash for Sony after its large screen release got squashed–raking in $40 million before landing on Netflix 30 days after its VOD release. Currently, indie horror film It Follows is showing that the “compressed window” strategy that closely runs theatre and VOD releases can result in massive earnings and exposure for indies that otherwise could drown behind small marketing budgets and limited release.
76 percent of homes in America currently use DVR, Netflix and/or other VOD services to stream content to their screens. As the number rises with each year, more and more services have come onto the scene to allow independent film and television makers a viable platform to host their productions on Hulu, iTunes, Vudu and countless other services. Now, Walla enters the fray with some incredible options that makes the process easier for content creators, as well as providing viewers with some often hard to find content.
What is Walla?
Walla is a service striving to make global aggregation and distribution a simpler process. Its proprietary tools leverage technology to resolve VOD issues while reducing costs for platform delivery. In turn, this should make the process much more efficient for creators while holding them accountable for producing high-quality content that will pass stringent quality checks employed by streaming platforms. If content passes the quality check, Walla ensures that movies and TV shows should reach iTunes distribution within 30 days. Additionally, with established agreements with top VOD distribution services in place, it can provide Distribution as a Service (DaaS) with ease to up to 110 territories.
During the initial phase, Walla’s Studio Service will guide you through the uploading process that offers an incredible ease of use for the client at the speed they prefer. Once uploaded, a quality check of your content will begin. Once completed, all the platforms your work qualifies for will become options to launch on. If there is a service you wish to be added to that you don’t qualify for, Walla will instruct you on how to reach that goal. After you make your distribution decisions, Walla handles the rest of the work.
Pricing
With clear-cut pricing and no hidden fees, content creators can understand just what they are getting into. In addition to low, one-time fees clients are guaranteed to receive prompt payment each month that they can track in near real-time through the company’s sales reporting. With transparency as its goal, Walla strives to have clients know exactly what is going on with their project on each platform. Once you have your sales stats for the month, Walla will deliver prompt payments on time, every month.
Walla in the News
Walla’s name received a nice boost in April courtesy of two exciting pieces of news. First, the company announced a partnership with premiere South Korean distributor CJ Entertainment. The partnership brings the South Korean content to Facebook–including a 48 hour free streaming of the film Friend II: The Legacy. Furthering the month’s good news, Walla also launched support for the new iTunes Store Package from Compressor to make delivery to the iTunes Store simpler. It remains to be seen how Walla further impacts distribution, though the recent news bodes well for the service.
Have you tried Walla? What are your thoughts on Walla and VOD as a whole?