First, there have been changes in both supply and demand. A decade ago, there were very few leased feed vendors, and those early feed vendors offered a limited number of feeds. At the same time, demand for leased content by webmasters was very high because it was cost prohibitive for the average webmaster to produce his own content at a volume that would retain monthly memberships. Today, the demand for leased content feeds is still high, and there are many vendors supplying these products. Several years ago some adult webmasters changed their sites by removing leased content and offering exclusive-only content they provisioned or shot directly. In some cases, especially with large adult movie producers, this strategy worked well enough. However, most webmasters have recognized that the allure of exclusive content quickly vanishes in favor of the surfer's desire for variety. Not surprisingly, even those webmasters who were successful in producing their own affordable exclusive content have returned as buyers to the leased content business.
Second, there have been changes in technology that allow leased feed vendors to offer better products. A decade go, Internet access and delivery speeds were a small fraction of what they are today. Short video clips were popular, as were photo galleries. Video players were less robust compared to today's versions. By contrast, SexEntertain today uses DVD-quality full-length videos in its newest feeds, and this full-length, high-resolution content is delivered faster and more reliably than it was 10 years ago.
DRM encryption and other security mechanisms are more robust and give webmasters and content vendors more choices and protection. Separately, the video-on-demand market has exploded because the technology for delivering video quickly has matured, and the technology to meter billing by the minute has finally become reliable. The VOD market competes with the leased content market to some degree, though most leading webmasters combine monthly memberships and VOD choices to better service the increasingly sophisticated surfer.
Third, there are emerging changes in leased feed designs. A decade ago, most vendors sold "Basic Feeds," which were typically JPEG Push or Java Viewers with little or no graphics — often ugly compared to the member site to which they were linked. While Basic Feeds are still in use, and to a degree as popular as they are cheaply priced, the market for Premium Feeds and Ultra-Premium Feeds has become in-demand. Premium Feeds are smartly packaged to look like a website, with super-attractive graphics and high-quality video, thus adding value and diversity to the member section into which they are linked. By contrast, SexEntertain's Multi-Pass Feeds is one of the few leased content product lines in the Ultra-Premium category specifically because Multi-Pass Feeds provide the requisite slick design and super content and additional software functionality.
Certainly webmasters have grown more sophisticated in their buying habits and are more aware of the costs of processing content and building content delivery mechanisms. Many webmasters also have focused on niche and even micro niche themes for their sites. Given the change in webmaster preferences and the well-known speed of the adult entertainment industry, it should come as no surprise that leased content vendors are rapidly adding new content, features and functionality to improve their competitiveness.
While webmasters have and increasingly need more choices, leased content vendors rely more on design and technology to deliver compelling products that improve conversion and retention ratios.
