Partner Spotlight: Filmhub signs distribution agreement with OverDrive, the leading streaming video platform for libraries and schools

Editor’s Note: Our Partner Spotlight Series profiles streaming services from our partner network, giving insight to our content providers — filmmakers, producers and large catalog owners from around the world.

We are excited to welcome OverDrive, the leading multichannel platform for schools, libraries and retailers, to our global network of streaming partners.

Profile

OverDrive is the world’s largest digital platform for eBooks, audiobooks, music and streaming video from thousands of major and independent publishers. Backed by two decades of digital media experience and with its growing network of 38,000 libraries and schools in 70 countries, Overdrive strives to create streaming and reading happiness. The company was founded in 1986 and is located in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2015, it was acquired by Rakuten, the Japanese e-commerce giant.

Overdrive’s business model is a TVOD rental service. The company enables retailers, libraries & schools to select content (like eBooks, and audiobooks, music, and films) for a custom lending catalog and build a virtual branch website with it. Customers, students or patrons can now rent a film or a documentary. Libraries, Schools, and retailers pay a fixed amount per rental to Overdrive.

To access Overdrive-distributed content, Overdrive offers a proprietary media rental application to its customers. The app can be used by patrons and students to access content through libraries, retailers, and schools.

The OverDrive app is globally compatible with most major digital devices (Android, certain ChromeOS devices, iOS, Kindle US, Mac, Windows).

Here’s a video with more information:

Curation

All titles of Filmhub’s existing users are automatically eligible and offered to Overdrive and other recently added streaming services. (Filmmakers can always opt-out of specific services, service types, and territories via Filmhub’s rights management tool.)

Overdrive curates its video catalog. This means that — while there’s no automatic delivery of every title — Overdrive’s programmers regularly select titles from Filmhub’s marketplace. Our platform promotes relevant content from our filmmakers to them, and our smart tech tools, including predictive analytics, help them select and order appropriate titles.

Partnership benefits

OverDrive is an exciting partnership for Filmhub, as we continue to add premium digital channels and streaming partners to our marketplace.

“OverDrive Rakuten is an excellent extension to our marketplace, strengthens our partner network and offers a valuable new streaming opportunity to our content creators,” says Filmhub’s Head of Sales, Roger Jackson. He adds, “OverDrive has enabled public libraries all over the world to reach consumers of all ages. We believe that OverDrive will be an impressive partner for our creators to stream their title in front of an attractive audience and earning digital revenue from a worldwide network of millions of customers.

We here at Filmhub are excited to kickoff our partnership with Overdrive and take another step toward a future where content creators have the ability to access the worldwide distribution market by use of technology.