There are two main ways to charge viewers for your content: pay-per-view and subscription. Each has advantages depending on your event frequency, audience size, and revenue goals. This guide helps you decide which model is right for you.
Pay-per-view explained
Pay-per-view charges a one-time fee for access to a single event or piece of content. Viewers buy a ticket, watch the event, and the transaction is complete. There is no ongoing commitment.
PPV works best for one-off events, finals, special occasions, and organisations that stream occasionally rather than weekly. It is the simplest model to set up and the easiest for viewers to understand.
Subscription explained
A subscription charges viewers a recurring fee, usually monthly, for access to all your content. This model works when you produce content regularly and have enough material to justify the ongoing cost.
Subscriptions create predictable recurring revenue but require consistent output to retain subscribers. If you only stream a few times a year, viewers will cancel between events.
Which should you choose?
If you stream fewer than 10 events per year, pay-per-view is almost always the better choice. It captures full value from each event without asking viewers to commit to a subscription they will rarely use.
If you stream weekly or have a large archive of on-demand content, a subscription model can generate more total revenue over time. Some organisations use a hybrid approach: subscriptions for regular season content and PPV for premium events like finals.
Pay-per-view made simple
PassCast is built for pay-per-view events. Set your price, sell tickets, and keep your revenue. No subscriptions to manage, no recurring billing complexity.
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