Movie streaming platform
Build Your Own Movie Streaming Platform: A Practical Guide
Choose your path. License your titles. Sell from your own library.
Explore the four routes to a movie streaming platform. Learn the rights needed for each title. Set up your library and payments online. Calculate running costs in hours.
Festival opening night premiere
Broadcast from your film websiteFrom rights to your own library
Secure the Titles
Stream only titles you own or have licensed for VOD rights, territory, and term.
Your own productions, agreements with filmmakers and distributors, and verified public-domain films qualify.
Upload and Price Each Title
Upload your master file in .mp4 or .mov format. Turn it into a Video on Demand product.
Set it free per title or via a subscription through WooCommerce. Add the poster and trailer.
Sell, Screen, and Count the Hours
Subscribers and rental buyers watch on your site. Live premieres become on-demand titles. The plan tracks hours: recording hours for stored runtime and viewer hours for watched runtime.
Bring viewers together for a live film premiere on your platform. After the event, keep the title in your library for rentals or subscriptions.
Four routes to your own catalogue
Filmmakers, distributors, festivals, and film clubs can build a streaming service for their catalogues through four routes.
A hosted OTT service runs everything on its servers. A custom build is yours, along with the development costs.
White label is a hosted route under your brand. WordPress with WpStream places the library on a site you own.
These options differ in subscriber list ownership, domain, fees, branded TV apps, and charging methods.
Choose a hosted service for branded Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or mobile apps, or studio DRM for licensed titles. Opt for a custom build when standard options don't fit.
Select WpStream for a platform on your site, knowing it doesn't include native TV apps.
The market is active but volatile. Antenna estimates that about a third of US subscribers used a niche SVOD by Q2 2025, with a monthly churn of 6.6 percent.
A niche film service relies on retention.
| Route | Subscriber list and domain | How you charge | TV and mobile apps | Cost model and time to launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Route: Hosted OTT service | Subscriber list and domain: Subscriber accounts sit on the vendor's service, under the vendor's terms. | How you charge: Subscription and per title. Ads on some higher plans. | TV and mobile apps: Mobile and TV apps on higher plans, often priced per app. | Cost model and time to launch: A monthly plan, often plus per-subscriber or per-app fees. Launch: sign up, upload, publish. |
| Route: Custom build | Subscriber list and domain: Yours entirely, on your own domain. | How you charge: Any model you build. Each one is its own piece of development. | TV and mobile apps: Each app is its own project. | Cost model and time to launch: Development budget plus hosting. An agency build starts near $100,000 for a website-only scope, per our build-cost page. Launch waits on the developers. |
| Route: White label (a hosted route under your brand) | Subscriber list and domain: On the vendor's service, branded as yours. | How you charge: The vendor's pricing models, under your name. | TV and mobile apps: The vendor's apps under your brand, usually priced per app. | Cost model and time to launch: Platform fee plus per-app fees. The vendors are listed on our white-label OTT page. Launch runs on the vendor's onboarding. |
| Route: WordPress with WpStream on your own site | Subscriber list and domain: Yours: WooCommerce holds the customers and orders on your domain. | How you charge: Subscription (Global Subscription Mode), per title (Pay-Per-View VOD) or free (Free-To-View). Ads are not built in. | TV and mobile apps: No native apps. Browser playback, and TV devices only through a third-party HLS player with limited support. | Cost model and time to launch: Hours, no per-subscriber fee: Lite is $24 a month with 25 recording hours and 500 viewer hours, up to Ultra at $449. Launch: import the theme demo, upload, publish. |
Which Rights Do You Need to Stream a Film?
A movie streaming platform can only stream titles you own or have licensed for VOD rights, territory, and term.
The Law states: "The actual contract language matters more than the label."
The rule is simple: licensed or yours, nothing else belongs in the library. We don't support copying or hosting unlicensed films.
Licensed Rights: The VOD Types
According to IFTA's Schedule of Definitions, VOD includes "only AdVOD, FVOD, SVOD and TVOD".
SVOD: A set fee for a period that opens the whole licensed service.
TVOD: A set fee to view one picture.
Downloads to own (EST) are a separate right. Check which rights your deal specifies before setting a price.
Territory
The territory is "the countries or territories listed in the Deal Terms." This determines who can press play.
For example, the Criterion Channel's FAQ states its service "is available only in the U.S. and Canada."
Selling a title outside its territory means you're outside the license.
Term and License Period
The term begins and ends on the dates in the deal terms. The license period is the maximum time you may exploit each right, based on IFTA's terms.
Keep a rights register with every end date. If a title outlives its license, you must remove it.
Exclusive or Non-Exclusive
An exclusive grant means a right belongs only to you in the territory.
A non-exclusive grant allows the licensor to exploit the same right and authorise others to do so.
The Law Offices of Ernest Goodman note that streaming rights can be either, "on various streaming services, both subscription-based and ad-supported."
Holdbacks and Windows
A holdback is "a contractual restriction on the period" in which a right can be exploited. A window refers to the release stage of a title.
Both dictate when you can run a premiere or open rentals. Plan your calendar based on the contract, not your preferred dates.
Geo-Restriction is a Duty
IFTA's terms prevent the distributor from making the title available online without protection measures that restrict access to the territory.
In simple terms: license a film for one country, and your platform must restrict access to other countries. This is part of the deal.
Where Do the Titles in Your Catalogue Come From?
Titles on an independent movie streaming platform come from four sources. Your own productions are the fastest way to build a catalogue.
Other titles arrive through licenses with attached territories and terms. Public domain films are narrower than they seem.
Your Own Productions
You hold the rights to films you create, subject to clearances like music and footage.
Rodriques Law outlines "delivery obligations" and "dubbing/subtitling obligations." Check your film against this list before going live.
Upload your best copy, and keep a backup.
Direct Licenses from Filmmakers and Sales Agents
This is the IFTA deal in a nutshell.
The licensor grants "the Licensed Rights in the Picture, throughout the Territory for the Term in the Authorized Languages", subject to exclusivity and holdbacks in the deal.
A sales agent sells these rights on the producer's behalf, so you may not speak directly to the filmmaker.
Payments often involve a minimum guarantee, defined as "an advance against future revenues."
Get the grant in writing, right by right and territory by territory, before adding the title to your catalogue.
Distributors and Aggregators
A distributor holds rights for a territory and can license titles to your platform.
Rodriques Law explains: "A distribution deal often gives a distributor broader authority to exploit a project.
A licensing deal may be narrower and limited to a defined medium, platform, or territory."
The Law Offices of Ernest Goodman highlight: "Precise language regarding the grant of rights is a key indicator".
An aggregator packages titles for platforms, so ensure it holds the VOD right you're paying for in your territory.
Public-Domain Titles, Verified
The US Copyright Office's Circular 15A states that "all works published in the United States before January 1, 1931, are in the public domain."
Duke Law notes that films from 1930, like Cimarron, entered the public domain on January 1, 2026.
However, only the original films are public domain. Restored versions may carry new copyright. This status applies only in the US.
How a Film Service Charges
Subscription (SVOD)
IFTA defines SVOD as a set fee for a period that opens titles "along with other Motion Pictures."
Niche services show the range: OVID.tv charges $6.99 a month, Dekkoo $9.99, and the Criterion Channel $10.99, in the US and Canada only.
On a subscription site with WpStream, one WooCommerce Subscriptions product in Global Subscription Mode opens every title, or several plans can hold their own.
Per Title (TVOD)
TVOD is a set fee "for a specified period to view the Motion Picture."
On WpStream, this is a Pay-Per-View VOD product. You can only view it after purchase.
WooCommerce sells it without a membership plugin, and the per-sale fee is only your payment processor's.
Per title suits a short catalogue or a single premiere that people will pay for once.
Free with a Trailer, Then the Premiere Path
FVOD is free to the viewer with no advertising.
On WpStream, it's a Free-To-View VOD. The theme's trailer and hover preview help sell the title.
Then the premiere path: sell the premiere live as pay-per-view, and switch the product to Video on demand afterwards. Everyone who bought keeps access.
Ads (AVOD) aren't built into WpStream and need a third-party player.
How to make a movie streaming website on WordPress
The stack on your own site: WordPress, the WpStream plugin, the free Hello WpStream theme, WooCommerce, and WooCommerce Subscriptions (a paid third-party plugin) if you sell subscriptions.
The general build is in our video streaming website guide and the theme tour in the WpStream theme walkthrough.
You can create a movie streaming website from uploaded films without any live channel. These four moves turn a master file into a title in your library.
Upload
Upload the film
Go to WpStream, then Recordings, and upload the file from your computer. The docs accept .mp4 and .mov extensions.
Product
Create the Video on Demand Product
From Recordings, make a Free-To-View or Pay-Per-View VOD. Add a name, description, image, tags, and categories, then click Publish.
Price
Set Free, Per Title, or Subscription
Set a price for Pay-Per-View titles or offer access through a subscription with Global Subscription Mode in WooCommerce.
Library
Show it in the Library
In the theme, add the poster, trailer, hover preview, and categories. A series becomes a Video Collection with episodes in order.
Your Library
A Library That Looks Like a Film Service
Your viewers will see a poster grid, trailers, hover previews, genre categories, and series collections in dark or light mode.
The player shows your logo and uses one of five player skins for both live and on-demand titles.
Details on how to build rows, filters, and continue-watching features are on our video library page. Your library operates on your domain, featuring only your logo on the player.
Video unavailable. Please try again later.
What a Feature-Length Title Needs to Play Well
A 90-minute film is not a clip. It requires a clean master, quality variants, subtitles, key art, and, if needed, DRM.
Rules from Apple, IETF, W3C, and DRM companies guide this.
On WpStream, you upload the master, which plays in a Video.js-based player. WpStream documents adaptive bitrate as a beta feature for live channels.
The docs don’t specify quality ladders for uploaded films.
The Master File
WpStream accepts .mp4 and .mov uploads.
Apple's HLS Authoring Specification states all video "MUST be encoded using H.264/AVC, HEVC/H.265, Dolby Vision, or AV1", and on-demand video "SHOULD use a natural frame rate for the content."
Export the mezzanine file at the film's frame rate.
Several Bit Rates, Not One
Apple’s rule 9.9: "You MUST provide multiple bit rates of video". Its defaults are a 2000 kbit/s variant, key frames every two seconds, and six-second target durations.
RFC 8216 explains that clients "should switch between different Variant Streams" as the network changes, so viewers on hotel Wi-Fi still get the film.
Subtitles and Captions
Apple requires subtitles in WebVTT or IMSC1 and recommends captions for accessibility. The W3C's WebVTT spec details files that "provide captions or subtitles for video content".
On WpStream, closed captions come through a third-party player, which needs the platform API and has limited support.
Trailer, Poster, Metadata
The WpStream theme offers fields for a trailer, hover preview clip, gallery images, categories, tags, and a featured image, grouping series into collections.
Encryption and Domain Lock
WpStream's VOD Settings have Lock to Website, which "blocks attempts to embed on another site", and Encrypt Video, which prevents "unauthorized access, downloading, or redistribution".
The docs note, "Encrypted video may not display in all browsers." Test your titles in the browsers your audience uses before a premiere.
Licensed DRM When the Licensor Demands It
FairPlay, Widevine, and PlayReady are separate licensed systems. Browsers access them via the W3C's Encrypted Media Extensions. Apple allows FairPlay access "only if your team provides a streaming service to consumers."
WpStream documents encryption and domain lock, but not these systems.
If a licence specifies a DRM system, read our DRM explainer before signing.
The maths, in hours, on our own prices.
Lite
Recording hours are "the total recording time available for storing saved videos", as the pricing page states: the runtime you keep stored.
Lite's 25 recording hours can hold about 16 features of 1.5 hours.
Its 500 viewer hours cover around 330 full views. Lite is $24 a month or $190 a year. A film-only site uses no broadcast hours.
Plus
A 30-title catalogue at 1.5 hours equals 45 recording hours, so Plus offers 100 recording hours and 2,000 viewer hours for $59 a month or $490 a year (pricing page, read 2026-09-26).
One title watched 400 times uses 600 viewer hours.
At 150 titles, you need 225 recording hours, so Pro costs $169. Stored runtime determines the plan.
The trial
There’s no free plan. The docs offer a free trial with 10 recording, 100 viewer, and 20 broadcast hours. Monthly hours reset each month, and one-time packs don’t expire.
Hours count time only, so 4K costs the same as 1080p.
Nine Jobs After the Launch
A niche movie streaming platform focuses on retention. Antenna’s Q3 2025 specialty report shows specialty SVOD churn at 6.6 percent monthly. These nine tasks form the operator’s monthly routine.
The Operator’s Monthly Routine
01
Keep a rights register for every title: licensed rights, territory, term end date, exclusivity, and holdbacks, using IFTA’s standard terms.
02
Restrict every title to the licensed territory. IFTA’s terms make geo-restriction the distributor’s duty.
03
Retire a title when its term ends. Deleting the recording frees its recording hours for new titles.
04
Check recording hours against stored runtime before adding new titles. One-time packs carry their own recording hours and don’t expire.
05
Review viewer hours monthly. Our pricing FAQ states monthly and yearly resources reset, so size the next plan based on runtime watched times views.
06
Run premieres live as pay-per-view, then switch the product to Video on Demand. Everyone who bought the premiere keeps access.
07
Dress every title with a poster, trailer, preview clip, and categories. Group each series into a Video Collection to keep episodes in order.
08
Own the subscriber relationship. WooCommerce manages your customers and orders on your domain, so monitor renewals and cancellations there.
09
Measure churn against Antenna’s 6.6 percent specialty benchmark each month. Parks Associates reports ten US services were phased out in Q2 2026. Keep new titles and premieres coming.
A catalogue you own, on a site you run, in hours you can count.
More Film Platform Resources
Build a Netflix-Style Video Library on WordPress
Learn how to create the poster grid, rows, filters, and continue-watching features of a film library.
SVOD vs AVOD vs TVOD: Which Model Fits Your Stream?
A detailed comparison of subscription, ad-supported, and per-title models for selling video.
What Is Video DRM and How Does It Work?
Explore how FairPlay, Widevine, and PlayReady protect licensed titles, and when you need them.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, unless you made the film or its US copyright has expired.
Licensed means the VOD right for a territory and term, granted by the rights holder, as IFTA’s standard terms state.
Public domain covers US works published before 1931, and only the original version, per the Copyright Office and Duke Law. WpStream plays what you upload, so holding the licence is your responsibility.
There are two costs: the catalogue and the platform. Licences or your own productions come first. For the platform, our build-cost page details each route.
On WordPress, WpStream starts at Lite, $24 a month (pricing page, read 2026-09-26).
Running a movie streaming platform on WpStream is priced in hours. Recording hours cover the runtime you keep stored, and viewer hours are runtime watched times views.
A 150-title catalogue of 1.5-hour films requires 225 recording hours, so it needs Pro at $169 a month.
If 200 subscribers each watch four films a month, that’s 1,200 viewer hours, well inside Pro’s 10,000 (pricing page, read 2026-09-26).
Yes. Every route to a movie streaming platform except a custom build works without code.
With WpStream you install the free theme, which brings in the plugins it needs, import the demo, upload your films and create a Video on demand product for each one, all from the WordPress dashboard.
You need a developer only for a third-party player, playback on TV devices, or a fully custom build.
If you need branded TV and mobile apps or studio DRM, WpStream doesn’t include them. A custom build fits when nothing off the shelf does.
Choose WordPress with WpStream if you want your streaming platform, subscriber list, and pricing on a site you own. There’s no per-subscriber fee.
Be aware of the limits: no native apps, no built-in ads, and no built-in audience chat.
According to IFTA, SVOD is a set fee for access to a service, TVOD charges a fee to view one film, AVOD is free but has ads, and FVOD is free with no ads.
Pay-per-view is the ticketed version of TVOD, available live or on demand. On WpStream, they match Global Subscription Mode, Pay-Per-View VOD, and Free-To-View, but ads aren’t built in.
The model comparison goes deeper.
Not with WpStream: it has no native apps.
Its documentation says any HLS player can play your titles on OTT devices through the platform API, but support is limited.
A hosted platform requires sign-up, upload, and publish.
On WordPress with WpStream, you start with the theme demo, which imports in a couple of minutes. Then you add your first uploads and products.
A custom build takes as long as development progresses. The slowest part is the catalogue, as licences are negotiated individually for each right and territory.
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