DingIt.tv had a busy first year. Reportedly garnering 20 million unique monthly visitors, the streaming site also claimed in its end of year statement that it had notched up over 80 million views, and that users had watched over 743 years worth of video content. Those are undeniably impressive numbers for a relatively new start-up in a market that has practically been monopolized by its biggest player, Twitch.
But as with any new company, DingIt’s debut year hasn’t been without its problems. Competing with Twitch, a streaming platform that not even Google could overcome with its YouTube Gaming service, a cursory online search of the site also suggests a host of issues including functionality problems and malware troubles. Suffice to say that DingIt has something of an image problem as a result, so we spoke to the company’s Director of Content Adam Simmons about its successes, its teething issues and how it hopes to become more appealing to new users in 2016.
CRAVE: The initial selling point of DingIt to streamers was that it was an easier way for them to achieve a full-time living than other comparable streaming services. What strides have you made towards this?
ADAM SIMMONS: We are still focused on creating a content creation ecosystem that is sustainable. With the meteoric rise of eSports and professional gaming, so has come an influx of venture capital and investment – this can lead to a situation where there is an unsustainable flow of content.
We want to grow with eSports and add long term value to the gaming community. Thanks to the efficiency of our platform, we generate more revenue than traditional video platforms. This means we cannot only support a wider array of content but also we can pay those involved fairly for their time and expertise.
How many streamers currently using DingIt are earning a full-time income via the site?
Currently, we are heavily focused on premium content rather than individual broadcasters. This decision is focused on creating the best environment for eSports and gaming streams to succeed. All of our eSports content is sustainable, we pay all of our casters, players and production teams fairly for the work they do, and as our content schedule grows so will our support for all our content creators!
While we aren’t focused on individual broadcasters, we offer industry leading partnerships for broadcasters on our platform. This includes, from day 1, paid subscriptions for your channel, an in-built donation system and a tiered ad revenue share up to 50%. Additionally, we have a range of partner bonuses for milestones, like number of hours streamed, that can quickly supplement income.
Game streaming is currently dominated by Twitch, with even Google struggling to compete with its YouTube Gaming service. However, DingIt is still a relatively new service, and while it may not be threatening Twitch right now, it could certainly do so in the future given the right circumstances. How would you be able achieve this?
DingIt came to market to solve problems with streaming video as a whole. Delivering HD video to an ever growing, global audience who want better quality on more devices is a major issue for both streaming platforms and even global infrastructure. Working with Akamai, DingIt has developed technology that significantly increases the efficiency of streaming video – reducing cost, reducing buffering and enabling a global audience to view. This allows viewers to get a better experience on DingIt than on other platforms and, along side our proprietary ad tech, allows us to generate far better profit per viewer than other platforms.
DingIt has seemingly struggled to ingratiate itself with the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive community, with there being numerous posts regarding pernicious ads on the site leading to potential malware. What is your response to this? Is DingIt actively taking measures to prevent this from being the case?
While we take the feedback of all our users, it is easy to look at a vocal minority rather than audience trends. The CS:GO events we run are growing rapidly over time with an ever increasing percentage of returning viewers – something that indicates people are enjoying the broadcasts! There have been some legitimate concerns such as the advert quality. There was an issue (over 6 months ago) for a short period of time where advert control was lower than we desired – we quickly took action to address this though and we are always monitoring and refining the adverts displayed on the site. With over 20 million monthly unique viewers, it is an ongoing focus to maintain a high quality viewer experience whilst balancing commercial interests.
Many users have bemoaned DingIt’s choice to employ an external plugin in order to view its videos. With your service’s rivals broadcasting videos without the need for plugins, the argument is that the inclusion of one makes DingIt a less attractive option. Is DingIt going to stick with the plugin for the foreseeable future?
Our technology is redefining the way video is streamed globally in a way that creates an enhanced viewer experience on multiple devices, while also increasing the sustainability of content investment and development. One of the requirements for this technology to work is our Chrome extension or plugin which allows the browser to display the stream. Many users globally cannot watch a buffer free, HD stream on other platforms due to their location, connection or device. DingIt enables them to enjoy the gaming streams we are so passionate about. With this in mind, we are always looking at new features and development that can further enhance engagement with the platform.
DingIt has experienced a lot of growth since its initial launch. How do you plan to further increase your user base in the coming years?
A crucial part to us is reinvesting into our content. Thanks to already being profitable, we can support larger scale events, more diversity in the games and genre our broadcasts include and content that caters to a broader audience. In 2015, a lot of our success was found in catering to different audiences; our live eSport events are enjoyed by more hardcore gamers but also allow our professional editors to produce highlight reels that are more appealing to casual gamers. These more casual gamers often transition into returning viewers who go on to watch live streams and full reruns. Through expanding our content to cater to additional demographics, we expect to see continued growth in 2016.
eSports is now a major facet of streaming, and DingIt was initially launched as a service that would focus upon tournaments and competitions rather than individual broadcasters. How successfully do you feel you have managed to pull this off?
Premium content is our key focus and it has worked really well for us so far. We are an open platform and create ample opportunity for individual broadcasters to succeed and create a career on DingIt. However, for content investment eSports has shown to be more commercially viable as a growth market.
In 2015, we prioritized consistent content that allows viewers to return daily to view high quality eSports. By building up a large archive of premium content, we are able to produce professionally made highlight clips which cater to a more casual audience of gamers and can easily be promoted to a larger demographic.
What can DingIt users expect to see on the platform in the near future?
New content, new features and new experiences!
