Scotflix: New Scottish platform promises to ‘flip traditional streaming model on its head’
“For decades, Scotland has produced extraordinary writers, filmmakers, actors and crews, but too often the IP, the audience relationship and the long-term value leave with the distribution”
The button is being pressed on a new Scottish streaming platform that promises to hand power to its content creators.
Scotflix is set to launch on September 12 at the Scottish Screenwriters Festival in Glasgow.
Created by Maureen Hascoet, the founder of Firewalker Pictures and the Scottish Screenwriters Film Festival, the new platform will host films, shorts, series and podcast content that is made in Scotland, made by Scottish-based creators, or centred on Scottish subjects. Scotflix said content had already been committed by Bafta-winning filmmakers, established production companies and independent creators.
The platform is being powered by Hiway, the London-based content operating system, and the partnership is said to “flip the traditional streaming model on its head”.
On most platforms, creators hand over their content and wait months for a fraction of the revenue. On Scotflix, the creator keeps full ownership of their IP, sees exactly who is watching, and receives their share of every transaction in real time, direct to their bank account, the firm noted.
Hascoet said: “For decades, Scotland has produced extraordinary writers, filmmakers, actors and crews, but too often the IP, the audience relationship and the long-term value leave with the distribution.
“There is no shortage of audience for Scotland. There is a shortage of infrastructure and connection. Scotflix is that infrastructure.”
David Orman, co-founder and chief executive of Hiway said: “Scotflix is exactly what Hiway was built for. A way for companies to operate their own streaming service, live in minutes, without hiring technical teams or investing heavily in complicated streaming technologies. Plus a community of creators who deserve to own what they make.
“That’s why the partnership is so great - every filmmaker on Scotflix keeps their IP, owns their fan data and gets paid in real time. No middlemen, no ninety-day payment windows, no giving away your audience to someone else's algorithm.”
Scotflix will be available at scotflix.co.uk from launch day, with mobile and smart TV apps to follow.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.