As Lucija Spiljak/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of May, 2020, video-on-demand platforms are the fastest growing way to use audiovisual content, and during the time of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, they recorded a significant increase in traffic. This gave one innovative Zagreb company a boost.
Here in Croatia, Netflix, HBOgo and Amazon are by far the most popular VOD (video on demand) platforms, but over time, some specialised ones have found their place among the competition, including the aforementioned giants.
One of them is Svevid, the first Croatian on demand platform that started operating in early May via the website www.svevid.net, created by a Zagreb company. The Croatian platform will more than likely bring a smile to the faces of all fans of Croatian and regional cinema with film titles from the former Yugoslavia from the 1940s until the present day.
Svevid is SVOD (subscriptional video on demand), which means that the user accesses the complete offer of content according to the subscriber model, and not on the basis of individual transactions (TVOD) for each title. The service is provided according to the model of monthly, semi-annual and annual subscriptions, and by choosing larger packages, the user manages to rack up some rather significant savings.
Registration starts at a mere four euros per month, and by activating the subscription, the user is given a trial period of two weeks within which they can cancel the service should they so wish, and without any obligation. As explained from this Zagreb company’s David Slaj, the Svevid platform is intended for everyone who appreciates and follows regional cinema and those who want to get better acquainted with it. It is currently available in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Macedonia and Montenegro.
“In our ever-growing catalog, we offer content that originated exclusively in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, from the beginnings of cinema in this area right up until today. We offer titles in the best available picture and sound quality, and we’re working intensively on the implementation of multilingual support for all of our content.
The Svevid platform is specific in that our goal is to promote regional production and local creators. We paid a lot of attention to the accompanying content of the catalog, in collaboration with film critic Nenad Polimac, to provide users with the historical and spatial context of everything they watch,” explained Slaj, adding that their goal was not to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis, but instead to merely speed up their product launches and further optimise their platform to provide customers with the highest quality service.
The team that came together within this Zagreb company and embark on this project mostly come from creative backgrounds and the audiovisual sector. The core team consists of five people, divided into creative and executive segments – David Slaj, founder and CEO Filip Lozic, CAO Danijel Popovic, CFO Inga Lozic and creative manager Luna Zimic Mijovic. They collaborate with a dozen other external associates in the marketing, design and systems support sectors. All of them, according to Slaj, have worked on numerous independent productions for the last five or more years, which has additionally encouraged them to think about the placement and visibility of these works.
According to market research conducted internally, the average user in Croatia actively uses at least two VOD platforms, and there is a significant decline in the viewership of conventional television channels. Furthermore, as Slaj explained, users are increasingly turning to the possibilities that VOD platforms provide them, which is to control when, how much and what sort of content they consume.
“Another significant advantage provided by the VOD platform is that the content is not intermittent and saturated with promotional messages and advertising blocks, which users point out as one of the most important features when choosing a service,” noted Slaj.
The name and theme of the whole platform comes from Slavic mythology. Svevid or Svantevid is the oldest Slavic deity, deeply rooted in a common cultural heritage.
“Our market segment counts about 40,000 households in each country in which we operate, which puts numerous challenges in our path, as well as numerous opportunities in the years to come,” concluded Slaj.
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