How To Start a TV Channel on The Internet

In the past, starting a TV channel was only possible for huge enterprises and very rich people, but in this internet and social media age, this dream is possible for virtually anyone. 

The television industry has significantly evolved in the past decade. High-speed internet bandwidth has allowed many on-demand TV streaming and online TV channels to flourish, providing more options for viewers than the traditional TV viewing experience. 

As a result of this phenomenon, many people are now quitting their cable or satellite bundles and rely on internet-based OTT services instead, a practice we know as cord-cutting, which also creates new opportunities in starting online TV channels. 

Here, we will dive into how we can start a TV channel on the internet and monetize it to make a profit. 

Starting a TV Channel on The Internet

Starting and running your own online TV can be a great opportunity to promote your business and your brand. However, starting your channel can be a pretty complex process with a lot of technicalities to consider. Here, we will share a step-by-step guide in starting your online TV channel and how to make the most of it. 

Step 1: Define your objectives and requirement

Make sure you have a clear idea about:

• What do you want to get out of the online TV channel? (revenue, engagement, awareness, etc.) Provide a detailed answer
• What is your target audience?
• What kinds of content do you want to offer? 
• Will you run a live streaming channel, on-demand channel, or linear (24/7) broadcast channel?

In this step, you should also try to create a rough programming schedule. If you are planning to start an on-demand only channel, you should create a list of your content and divide them by types/topics.

Step 2: Choose Your Platform

There are generally three main platform options in starting an online TV channel: 

 

• Direct To Consumer (D2C): In this option, you are launching an online TV channel on your own platform, typically a website or web app/mobile app. 

• Platform sharing: you are working together with an established platform to publish your content. In this case, you are not a full-fledged online TV channel. For example, if you have a film published on Netflix, you are using this model. 

• Social media: you can use the established video sharing social media platforms like YouTube, IGTV, or Facebook to publish your online TV content. This method is free and you can reach the social media’s massive amount of audience, but you won’t have much control over your content and the monetization aspect of your channel. 

 

If you want versatility and freedom in monetizing your content, then you should build your own website/app and serve your content in a D2C model. Thankfully, online TV channel solutions like Viloud have allowed the process of building your own D2C channel easier than ever.

Here are some key considerations in building your own TV website/app: 

• Optimize everything so it performs well. Typically a TV website performs just like a normal website with a large screen in the middle of the screen (where your content would be published).
• Don’t forget to publicize your sponsors but don’t sacrifice branding
• Update your site regularly to include the latest promotions, shows/programs, and launch of new features
• Make sure it’s easy for people to contact you and learn about your TV channel (having an optimized “about us/contact us” pages)

Step 3: Create/Get Your Content

You can’t run a TV channel without any content, and you have two main options of procuring your content: developing your own, or purchase/rent ready-to-publish content.

In most cases, however, you’ll need to invest in basic equipment for recording video and (if you want to do live streaming), broadcast your content live: 

• An HD camera. Nowadays cameras come in various price ranges, choose at least one according to your needs and available budget. 
• Audio source. Audio quality is more important than your video quality, so make sure to invest in proper audio equipment like microphones, headset, wireless mics, and others based on your needs. 
• Lighting. Very important especially if you want to do a lot of live broadcasts.
• Teleprompter. A great addition if you plan to read from a script. 
• Computer. For editing, or to stream your content directly to your TV channel. 
• Video Encoder. Important if you want to live stream your broadcasts. An encoder will encode data from your camera into a streamable format. 

Step 4: (Optional) Get a Video Hosting Platform

You’d need a video hosting platform to store and distribute your video content, especially if you are going to use a D2C model to create your content. 

There is certainly an option to host your videos on your site/server, but there are some potential issues with this approach:

• Video files are obviously large in size, so you’d have to make sure your server has enough storage space. 
• Even if you do have enough storage space, hosting videos on your site might disrupt the site’s performance.
• Most people now consume videos on mobile devices, which may require different video quality and size depending on device/screen size and bandwidth. You’d need the ability to publish the video in different qualities in real-time, or you might need to save a lot of different versions of the video, which can create another storage issue. 

Getting the right video hosting service can significantly help in tackling these issues. You can then easily get an embed code from the hosting service and embed the video player on your website or app. 

Step 5: Monetizing Your Online TV Channel

In general, there are three main options in monetizing your online TV channel: 

 

• Free with ads: you broadcast your content for free (you viewers wouldn’t need to pay anything to watch your channel) but you will also show ads on your channel. You can show banner ads on your site/app, and you can also show short commercials in the beginning/middle/end of each content. 

• Subscription-based: your viewers pay a monthly recurring fee to watch a library of your content (can be all of your content or just a selection of it). Subscriptions can cost below $5/month and as much as $100+/month. However, implementing subscription-based monetization might be difficult if you are a brand-new channel. 

• Pay-per-view: you can put a paywall on certain content to monetize it on a pay-per-view basis. A typical approach is to put paywall on exclusive sports events or high-profile content. 

 

Step 6: Marketing Your TV Channel

Of course, just because you already have an online TV channel up and running on the internet, doesn’t mean your viewers will automatically come and consume your content. You’d need to market your new TV channel everywhere while utilizing all the available channels, including: 

• Social media. Obviously social media is where our audience is nowadays, so promoting your TV channel on all major social media platforms is a must. If necessary, use paid social media promotions to boost awareness
• Send out press releases to relevant media and websites
• Build relationships with influencers and relevant businesses so they can help promote your channel. You can offer free advertising
• Content is everything. Aim to always improve the quality of your content and maintain consistency both in quantity and quality.

End Words

The online TV revolution is already here, and there has never been a better time to create your own online TV channel and monetize it than today.

However, launching your channel won’t guarantee you immediate success, and it may take time before you start earning money. It’s important to build the right infrastructure for your long-term investment, and this is where an all-in-one video hosting and video platform service like Viloud can help.