--- title: "What Is FVOD? Free Video on Demand Explained | RentAnOTT" description: "FVOD is on-demand video offered free with no ads and no payment. See why services give content away and how FVOD differs from AVOD." url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/fvod" markdown_url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/fvod.md" category: "Monetization" updated: "2026-10-05" --- # What is FVOD? FVOD (free video on demand) is on-demand video that viewers can watch without paying and without advertising. The service earns nothing directly from it and uses it for another purpose, such as promotion or public service. ## How FVOD works A title is published with no paywall and no ad breaks. Some services ask the viewer to register first, which turns free viewing into a list of contacts; others let anyone watch. ## Why offer video for free - Sampling: a free first episode or film that leads into a paid catalog - Marketing: trailers, behind-the-scenes clips and interviews - Audience building: collecting registered users before a paid launch - Public service: broadcasters, governments, educators and faith organizations with a mission to reach people - Sponsorship: content paid for in full by a brand or a funder ## FVOD vs AVOD Both are free to the viewer. AVOD shows advertising and earns from it. FVOD shows none. In practice the terms are often mixed up, and many services described as free are AVOD. Because FVOD has delivery costs and no income, most services limit it to a small, deliberately chosen part of the catalog. ## FVOD on RentAnOTT On RentAnOTT any title can be published free, with ads, inside a subscription or for sale, since AVOD, SVOD and TVOD are included on every plan and run on one catalog. [See pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing). ## Related terms - [AVOD](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/avod) — AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) is a streaming model where viewers watch on-demand video for free and the service earns from the ads shown before, during or after it. - [Freemium streaming](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/freemium) — Freemium streaming is a model in which a service offers part of its catalog or features for free, with or without ads, and charges a subscription for the full experience. The free tier exists to bring viewers in; the paid tier is where most revenue comes from. - [SVOD](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/svod) — SVOD (subscription video on demand) is a streaming model where viewers pay a recurring fee, usually monthly or yearly, for unlimited access to a catalog of on-demand video. - [Free trial](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/free-trial) — A free trial is a limited period, commonly 7, 14 or 30 days, during which a new subscriber has full access to a streaming service before being charged. When it ends, the subscription starts automatically unless the viewer cancels. - [Video paywall](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/video-paywall) — A video paywall is the point in a streaming service where playback is blocked until the viewer pays, by subscribing, renting, buying or spending in-app currency. - [Hybrid monetization](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/hybrid-monetization) — Hybrid monetization is the practice of running more than one revenue model on a single streaming service, such as subscriptions, advertising, rentals, purchases and in-app currency, so that each viewer can pay in the way they prefer. ## Further reading - [Content monetization platforms compared](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/content-monetization-platforms) - [OTT subscription plans and tiers](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/ott-subscription-plans) - [OTT revenue calculator](https://www.rentanott.com/tools/ott-revenue-calculator) ## Frequently asked questions ### What does FVOD stand for? FVOD stands for free video on demand. ### How does a service pay for FVOD content? Through something else: subscriptions the free content leads to, a sponsor, public or donor funding, or a marketing budget. ### Should viewers have to register to watch free content? Registration gives you a way to contact viewers later but reduces how many start watching. A common compromise is one free title without sign-up and the rest after registration. All 163 terms: [Streaming and OTT glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary). ## Book a demo Tell RentAnOTT what you are launching. The team walks through the platform and maps the path to go-live around your catalog, markets and revenue model. Book a demo: https://www.rentanott.com/contact ## More from RentAnOTT - [Home](https://www.rentanott.com/index.md) — What RentAnOTT is, what every plan includes, and how launch works - [Features](https://www.rentanott.com/features.md) — Every core feature and optional add-on - [Pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing.md) — Platform tiers, apps, add-ons, usage rates and example bills in INR and USD - [Free tools](https://www.rentanott.com/tools.md) — OTT app builder and calculators for streaming revenue, bandwidth, bitrate and pricing - [Insights](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs.md) — All streaming business articles - [Glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary.md) — Definitions of streaming and OTT terms - [Book a demo](https://www.rentanott.com/contact.md) — Talk to RentAnOTT about your launch Full site in one file: https://www.rentanott.com/llms-full.txt