Kanopy

Kanopy

Company type	Privately held company
Industry	video streaming
Founded	2008
Founder	Olivia Humphrey
Headquarters	San Francisco, California , United States
Number of locations	San Francisco, United States; Sydney, Australia
Website	www.kanopystreaming.com

Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video service for educational institutions that provides students and faculty access to more than 26,000 films globally through a unique model where institutions only pay for films watched. Kanopy provides students access to one of the largest collections of films in the world.

Kanopy has more than 26,000 films in its collection including leading producers such as Criterion Collection, Universal Paramount, The Great Courses, New Day Films, California Newsreel, Kino Lorber, PBS, BBC, First Run Features, Media Education Foundation, Documentary Education Resources, and more. Many of Kanopy’s films are not available elsewhere.

Kanopy works with over 2,000 educational institutions globally including Stanford, Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, UPenn, University of Michigan, University of Sydney, Singapore Management University and Bournemouth University. More than 12 million students and faculty around the world use Kanopy – for both academic and personal use.

Kanopy works closely with award-winning filmmakers and distributors to ensure a sustainable economy for current and future filmmakers.

History

Kanopy’s CEO brings more than 20 years of industry experience. Olivia CEO - over 20 years of combined media experience, gained from home video, DVD, broadcast, Pay TV platforms. Tom COO – Harvard Business School, former lawyer and management consultant, former COO of retail startup that grew from 8 to 80 people in 12 months and sold to News Corp.

Kanopy has been profitable since its first year of operation (2008). Kanopy works with nearly 2000 universities globally, providing filmmakers with a large audience for their films. More than 12 million students and faculty around the world can view films in Kanopy’s collection. In the last year, Kanopy has added 950 new customers, almost doubling its customer base in 1 year. Grew to a customer base of over 1,000 North American institutions after only 2 years. Kanopy has experienced steady growth in user engagement but it is too early to share specific data – more information will be shared in the coming year.

Interface

Kanopy’s user interface works with nearly all authentication systems. Kanopy provides each institution with a dedicated and customizable website through which their users can access and watch films whenever they like, wherever they are, on whatever device they prefer. Kanopy’s viewing platform makes it easy to watch, share and discuss films – both in and outside of class – at your convenience. Engage with students and other users (including filmmakers!) to discuss film topics, themes and behind-the-scenes information. Features include captions, transcripts, clip creation, playlist creation, and more, making it easy to incorporate into classroom discussion.

Kanopy’s administrative dashboard provides librarians with a high level of transparency into viewing habits and budget usage. Librarians have the most sophisticated tools available to analyze live viewer behavior, proactively adjust budgets and spend, manage licenses and marc records and other administrative functions.

Business Model

Students at participating universities and colleges can access Kanopy films free – for both personal and academic purposes. Kanopy’s innovative PDA model has been adopted by thousands of universities worldwide. Kanopy’s patron driven acquisition (PDA) model ensures that institutions only pay for the films their students and faculty actually watch - with no additional hidden fees. Libraries only pay for films that “trigger” (to trigger a film, it must be played 4 times within a 12-month period). If no films are triggered, libraries don’t pay because there are no other associated fees. PDA model not only guarantees value for every dollar spent but ensures faculty and students have the freedom to use films for individual research purposes while also supporting a model for broader classroom use. Libraries subscribe to Kanopy’s films/collections year on year, resulting in a sustainable revenue model. Renewal rates are more than 95% each year.

Kanopy’s administrative dashboard provides filmmakers an unprecedented level of transparency into both sales and audience viewing habits. Kanopy’s dashboard provides unique insights into audience viewing behavior by film, institution, country, time and day, etc. Kanopy provides filmmakers and film distributors the majority share of every sale made – providing them with solid returns. Filmmakers and film distributors always receive the majority of revenue from every film sale. Kanopy does not mask or hide revenue from filmmakers through hosting or platform fees or other revenue structuring. Kanopy does not require filmmakers or film distributors to sign exclusivity agreements. Kanopy provides filmmakers and film distributors the majority share of every sale made – providing them with solid returns.

Device Support

The devices in this list feature hardware that is compatible for streaming Kanopy videos:

• Apple Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
• Android smartphones and tablets
• Microsoft Windows

Awards

• Streaming Media Magazine Readers’ Choice Awards 2013 – Finalist
• Ernst & Young 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year Western Region Award – Winner
• WA Innovator of the Year Award- Mitsubishi Growth Category 2012 – Winner
• Commonwealth Bank WA Business Owner Award 2012 – Winner