Kanopy

Kanopy operates as an on-demand video streaming platform, primarily serving public libraries and academic institutions. Its service is provided free of charge to end-users with a valid library card or university login, eliminating consumer fees and advertisements. The company generates revenue through a pay-per-view model, where partner institutions are charged a fee each time a user streams a film. For public libraries, this is a straightforward cost-per-play, while for educational institutions, a model termed "patron-driven acquisition" triggers a one-year license fee after a title is played a certain number of times. This B2B2C model ensures that libraries only pay for content that their patrons actively use, and a portion of this revenue is shared with content creators and rights holders.

Founded in Scarborough, Western Australia, in 2008 by Olivia Humphrey, Kanopy initially functioned as a DVD distributor for universities. Humphrey, leveraging her background in media rights management at companies like BBC Worldwide and Roadshow Entertainment, identified a gap in the academic market for accessible film content. The business transitioned to a streaming model in 2010, using profits from DVD sales to build the online platform. After achieving success in Australia and expanding to New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore, the company moved its headquarters to San Francisco to target the US and UK markets. A significant milestone occurred in June 2021, when Kanopy was acquired by OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries, which itself is owned by the investment firm KKR.

Kanopy provides a curated library of over 30,000 films, focusing on what it terms "thoughtful entertainment". The collection includes award-winning documentaries, classic cinema, independent films, and foreign-language titles from partners such as A24, The Criterion Collection, PBS, and Kino Lorber. This content is often unavailable in other library market services. The platform is designed for ease of use, offering features like customizable websites for each institution, captions, transcriptions, and tools for creating clips and playlists. For library administrators, a dashboard provides analytics on user engagement and tools for budget management. Keywords: video streaming, library services, academic streaming, patron-driven acquisition, film distribution, on-demand video, educational film, documentary streaming, Olivia Humphrey, OverDrive, public library platform, indie film, classic cinema, world cinema, B2B2C streaming, content licensing, digital media, library vendors, A24 streaming, Criterion Collection streaming