Starting relatively small, the NFT market has increased by 21,000% since last year, according to a report by NonFungible.com and L’Atelier BNP Paribas. It did not take long for people to figure out how they could effectively earn with NFTs: $5.4 billion was generated by buying and selling tokens in 2021, according to NonFungible.com. Expanding at such a pace, NFTs naturally start penetrating mobile, web, and even CTV, with the potential of transforming some of them along the way.
NFT Is Gradually Reimagining Streaming Models
NFTs are much more than just a piece of digital memorabilia: as a blockchain-based technology, it has the potential to change the streaming industry in the near future. The decentralized nature of blockchain technology allows for sharing content on a peer-to-peer basis, something that many creators and artists will find astonishing, considering the current state of things.
NFTs can have a big impact on how content creators monetize their work. Currently, many creators are losing a large percentage of their potential earnings. One reason for that is online piracy; another is streaming services like YouTube Music, Apple Music, or Spotify, which keep nearly 30% of the profit (meaning that artists get only 70%), according to Ditto Music. NFT-based platforms like Audius allow for a solution for those issues: providing a token-based peer-to-peer reward system that pays up to 90% to the artists for streaming.
Streaming is also about video content where some changes might emerge. Cinemas and streaming services may effectively become a relic of the past compared to how they exist today. The future of CTV belongs to a peer-to-peer video distribution network. A great example of such an end-to-end platform is Theta: as a blockchain-based system, it allows sharing videos of higher quality at a lower cost.
NFTs can have a much more significant effect on streaming than being just a buzzword. How content is created, shared, and monetized may change dramatically, thanks to their influence. However, whether platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, Disney+, Hulu, or HBO Max will still dominate the CTV space in the age of NFTs remains to be seen.
From Mobile to Smart TVs: Meet Tokens on Samsung and LG
NFTs used to be predominantly on mobile. Expanding at their current rate, it was always a matter of time before they finally arrived on bigger screens. And now, two major Smart TV producers have announced NFT integrations with their products. The debut of tokens on Samsung and LG marks a new axis of development for NFTs.
Samsung has developed a Smart TV NFT platform that would include some of the most popular NFT marketplaces, like Nifty Gateway. Viewers can buy, sell, view tokens, and display their collections on the latest line of Samsung Smart TVs. According to the Korean manufacturer, this became possible thanks to recent improvements in “picture and sound quality, more screen size options, customizable accessories, and an upgraded interface.”
The next day, LG followed with a press conference after its rival’s announcement. Although nothing specific was revealed there, the company’s head of the home entertainment business division spoke about plans to add NFT features to their latest organic light-emitting diode screens.
Will there be more NFT on Smart TVs? For now, it is only Samsung and LG. However, considering that both Korean manufacturers have broken this new ground, it is only a matter of time before other market players like Alcatel and Vizio catch up.
How Can NFT Enthusiasts Benefit From the Connected TV Environment?
There are plenty of opportunities for NFT enthusiasts now: one can make educational content, buy, sell tokens, and even create a rewards app. While more NFT-related content is popping up on CTV, it is not quite there yet. So this is an excellent opportunity to become a pioneer, and here are several ways to do so.
The first is the fact that NFT-branded channels will soon appear on connected TV in the near future, which can be monetized through ads (AVOD), subscriptions (SVOD), or on a pay-per-view basis (TVOD). According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, nearly half of the NFT traders are Amazon Prime and Netflix subscribers. At the same time, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, and Apple TV indicate similar results with slightly higher usage. So it is safe to say that there is generally an interest in the NFT subject and a potential for earnings.
Another option is bringing the gamification aspect of NFTs to CTV to keep viewers engaged. A similar concept was previously successfully implemented in the highly popular (move-to-earn) apps like Stepn, where users can get rewarded with tokens for doing some outdoor activities. Now the new (watch-to-earn) Sator app takes this idea even further — it rewards viewers simply for watching their favorite TV shows. We can also expect development in this direction, and similar watch-to-earn applications could appear on CTV soon with the possibility to earn tokens while watching content.
But if one were to take the gamification aspect to a new level, here is another great example: Mila Kunis’s NFT-based show, The Gimmicks, allows viewers to make decisions for characters based on their tokens. Most similar NFT shows are monetized via in-game purchases, which not all users like. However, we can assume that in the future, such applications could be monetized on CTV also through AVOD, similar to what Netflix announced about their potential plans.
Additionally, the first CTV apps dedicated to NFT art have already appeared on the most popular CTV platform in the USA. Channels like StreamNFT allow displaying your collections and exploring other NFTs from the largest art marketplaces. Even though not all NFT file formats can be currently displayed on CTV platforms, most NFT owners will still be able to view collections on their devices. The ability to show your collection on a big screen allows you to attract potential buyers, but it is also for your enjoyment. Therefore, we can expect the appearance of similar applications also on other popular CTV platforms.
Final Thoughts
NFT is new to CTV, but we can see how it is quickly integrating itself onto the medium. It is in the right position not only to expand but also to transform the industry from the inside so that content creators can become less dependent on intermediaries of different sorts. There is also more NFT-related content emerging on CTV, although it is not hugely popular just yet; thus, it may be the right time to make a move for those willing to explore and use this increasingly popular technology.
This article was originally published on Spiceworks.