The traditional order of windows
Each step is cheaper for the viewer and reaches more people than the one before. The lengths have shortened sharply in recent years and differ by title and territory.
- Theatrical: cinemas
- Premium VOD: an early, higher-priced home rental
- Transactional: standard rental and purchase
- Subscription: included in an SVOD catalog
- Free: ad-supported on-demand and free channels
Windowing on your own service
A single service can run the whole sequence itself. A new title is sold as a premium rental, drops to a standard rental, then joins the subscription catalog, and finally becomes free with ads. Scheduling this in advance means the title changes model automatically on each date.
What windows depend on
- Your license: rights holders often define which windows you hold and for how long
- Holdbacks: periods during which other channels are forbidden from showing the title
- The title: a hit sustains a long paid window; a niche title may do better going straight to subscription
- Territory: windows are usually set per country
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