Academic streaming video vendors, such as market leaders Films on Demand, Alexander Street, and Kanopy, tend to argue that regardless of any trade-offs made when licensing content rather than purchasing physical copies, the value of licensed streaming content is self-evident in increased usage and resulting lower cost per circ.
“VHS is dead…and DVD is almost dead—anyone who has an Apple [recent model iMac or MacBook] now doesn’t have a DVD player. And DVDs are becoming defunct. They’re getting damaged, they’re getting weeded, and they’re getting lost. And only one person can watch at a time,” says Tom Humphrey, COO of Kanopy, discussing the broader consumer transition to streaming and the corresponding demand for streaming video resources in higher ed.
“Is it better to have a DVD on the shelf that’s going to sit there for ten years and only get watched once, or am I better off putting $100 toward something that is going to generate 1,000 plays over the course of the year” before requiring renewal? Humphrey asks.
Source: Library Journal