Taking up the challenge is adult powerhouse Pink Visual, a veteran company that is long-accustomed to being at the forefront of industry innovations.
According to Pink Visual, its newest website, PVLocker.com, is an advanced content distribution platform, offering ala carte, per-file pricing. The system allows customers to purchase files which are then stored in the server cloud maintained by Pink Visual, where the customer can access that content via a PC, or a variety of mobile devices — including all major makes and models of Smartphones and tablet devices.
The backend of PVLocker is powered by the WebKit open source browser engine and will look and function very much like a hybrid of common, existing app store and mobile desktop environments. While by default the video clips will automatically stream at the best bitrate possible for the device the user is employing to view it, the bitrate may also be manually selected. Purchasing content is made easy via the site's robust shopping cart, which offers one-click functionality — allowing customers to setup an account and enter their billing information upon their first purchase — where it will be saved for future use.
Although PVLocker customers will initially be limited to storing the content they purchase from Pink Visual, the plan for the future is to offer storage of other content the user owns, as well. There will, however, be no "sharing" functionality for PVLocker.com (at least not where non-PV content is concerned), unlike the many existing online content and data storage solutions, done in order to protect the rights of copyright holders.
This was an important consideration for Pink Visual, which reportedly came up with the idea for PVLocker during brainstorming sessions for its ongoing antipiracy campaign.
"Our team's conversation kept coming back around to things like the importance of adjusting our business model, and a clear desire on the part of the consumer for more flexibility, easier access and more convenience," Pink Visual president Allison Vivas told XBIZ. "It all sort of clicked together, and the PVLocker.com concept was born."
Given the evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, nature of this groundbreaking offer, it may be surprising to some that no other major adult company has developed such sites.
"I think there's an enduring desire on the part of content creators (and on the part of mainstream producers in particular) to dictate to consumers how, when and where their content is consumed," Q. Boyer, Director of Public Relations for Pink Visual, told XBIZ.
"Looking at the current trends, including the popularity of social media and social networking, it seems pretty clear to me that consumers are actively rejecting all such attempts to dictate terms to them," Boyer said. "They want their entertainment when they want it, where they want it, and how they want it."
"Give them that freedom, and they just might buy your product," Boyer added. "Deny them that freedom, and you might just be inviting the arrival of your own market-irrelevance."
Given the overwhelming advantages of PVLocker and the forward-looking strength of its business model, some may wonder if it will be Pink Visual's new "thing," signaling the end of the company's distribution of content in other ways.
"No, not at all," Vivas told XBIZ.
"I'm sure there will continue to be consumers who actually prefer to purchase content on a subscription basis, and others who prefer to watch on DVD," Vivas said. "We will continue to offer content through those channels and mediums for as long as it continues to make sense from an ROI perspective."
This is a key element to any business strategy and one that is vital for adult operators to embrace in the face of shifting consumer preferences.
"Once any given means of distributing content becomes truly obsolete, you'd be a fool to continue to offer content in that way," she offered. "That's just being stubborn despite your own best interests."
"There's no sense in being nostalgic where the business of content distribution is concerned," Vivas concluded.
With PVLocker, Pink Visual moves into the future of adult content access, delivery and storage; leading the way for the industry to follow — and for its affiliates to profit.
