With the vast number of streamers in the market, each must find ways to differentiate in order to attract viewers already overwhelmed with choice. One such streamer, MagellanTV, stands out from the crowd in that it was born of its founders\u2019 true passion for documentary filmmaking and the care with which it treats its subscribers.<\/p>\n
The factual streamer was co-founded by Thomas Lucas and Greg Diefenbach, filmmakers who have worked in the documentary business their entire careers. \u201cWe\u2019ve always been thrilled about subjects like space science and history, and we\u2019ve loved telling those stories,\u201d says Diefenbach, also the managing director. \u201cWe didn\u2019t jump in as some people who had analyzed a business opportunity per se. We saw this as a way to share our passion for documentaries with others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucas and Diefenbach saw an opportunity to curate a platform that would serve those looking for programs that covered more than the surface level of their subjects. \u201cThere are a lot of people who wanted to take a deep dive into documentaries\u2014documentaries that are maybe a little bit nerdy, maybe a little bit geeky\u2014that reflected their interests. And we could cater to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
How deep of a dive do MagellanTV\u2019s subscribers want? Well, Diefenbach notes, \u201cIf there\u2019s going to be a six-part series on the history of France, that\u2019s great, and I\u2019m sure that\u2019ll be a wonderful series. But, if you were going to do a deeper dive into the top campaigns of Napoleon, and there was a whole show on the Battle of Lodi, that would be very MagellanTV.\u201d As he says, \u201cThe way that we\u2019ve approached it is with what we call \u2018television worth watching.\u2019 We\u2019re not trying to show something that appeals to everyone, we\u2019re trying to appeal to the passionate.\u201d<\/p>\n
The streamer also differentiates itself with its dedication to solving the consumers\u2019 problem of being inundated with choice. Though the streamer has between 3,000 and 4,000 hours of content at any given time, the programs are organized into curated playlists that speak specifically to viewers\u2019 needs, as well as to timely events. As an example, prior to the Beijing Olympics, the streamer featured a playlist focused on China, including Chinese history, political and social documentaries for viewers to find quickly. \u201cWe know what people generally like to watch as they come in, so we just try to make that easier, more accessible,\u201d Diefenbach says.<\/p>\n
The creation of the playlists draws on Diefenbach\u2019s own experience searching for something to watch. With so many options on a plethora of streamers, \u201cwe\u2019re all very dependent on the recommendations of friends,\u201d he notes. If friends recommend a program, we\u2019re more likely to search for that specific series, even if there are 20 other great shows at the top of a streamer\u2019s scroll bar, because we trust them. \u201cIf we succeed in doing our job, then we\u2019ll create a relationship with our members, and the members will have confidence that we know what they like,\u201d he says. \u201cSo, when we recommend things to them, it\u2019s like a friend who has recommended a show.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to the ease with which viewers can navigate MagellanTV, every program on the streamer is high-resolution. \u201cVisual quality matters a lot to us, and we don\u2019t parse it,\u201d Diefenbach notes. \u201cWe don\u2019t say, \u2018You can have high-res if you pay more.\u2019 It\u2019s 4K for everybody, all the time.\u201d Also, there are no ads.<\/p>\n
Viewers clearly appreciate these facets of MagellanTV, as, in just two years of existence, it has already become available worldwide and is \u201cfast approaching 50 percent of our members being outside of the United States,\u201d Diefenbach says. \u201cWe get emails and comments from Saudi Arabia to Thailand, South Korea, who share our interest in the subject areas.\u201d To cater to these audiences even more, the streamer intends to introduce more languages to ensure that everyone can watch the programs in the way that is best for them.<\/p>\n
In the future, the streamer plans to ramp up original productions, increase its co-productions and expand into the FAST channel arena, but, most importantly, it will \u201cdouble down on that relationship with the consumer,\u201d Diefenbach notes. \u201cWe\u2019re going to hyper-serve them with high-quality documentaries that cater to their interests.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Greg Diefenbach, co-founder and managing director of MagellanTV, on how the factual streamer is differentiating itself in order to attract viewers overwhelmed with choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":17751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[6074,5726],"class_list":["post-17750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-greg-diefenbach","tag-magellantv","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n