A full 99% of U.S. households now subscribe to at least one streaming service, with the average American spending over three hours a day streaming content and paying $46 a month subscribing to streamers, according to Forbes.
Ryder McNeal
Now a recent SMU grad is throwing his own hat into the streaming ring by launching PREVO, a new platform that aims to revolutionize the indie film distribution model.
Founder Ryder McNeal says PREVO offers “a curated selection of independent and festival-quality student films, series, and documentaries.” The service launched last week and is available on the web, iOS, and Android platforms.
“We want our subscribers to be a part of the community and inform the content we showcase,” McNeal said in a statement. The founder said any filmmaker can submit their films or series to PREVO for free, but “only some will be chosen.”
Most of the indie and student films on PREVO at its launch “have completed successful festival runs or are currently doing so,” the service said. PREVO aims to add around 15 new films or series weekly, growing its library and offering “fresh content consistently.”
“Gone are the days in which indie or student filmmakers produced great films, won festival awards, and had nowhere else to exhibit their films afterward,” McNeal wrote on LinkedIn. “With features like filmmaker awards, audience voting, live Q&As, workshops, and much more, PREVO films will continue to generate buzz long after their time on the festival circuit is over.”
PREVO was the top winner of the 2024 SMU Big iDeas pitch competition
McNeal noted that SMU’s Office of Engaged Learning was a “significant” help in the early stages of PREVO last year, as he was still defining his vision for PREVO.
After hearing about SMU’s Big iDeas Business Plan Competition throughout his years at SMU, McNeal decided as a senior last fall to pitch his PREVO concept—and he ended up being the top winner of the 2024 competition last February.
PREVO Summer 2024 Film Awards—with a $5K prize
Utilizing its subscriber “voting feature,” the service said it will host the PREVO Summer 2024 Film Awards, with $5,000 slated to go to the winner.
PREVO said it also intends “to finance new films from its most promising filmmakers in the future.” The streamer says it’s already connecting with talent by building “strong relationships with film schools and festivals,” and said it plans to further solidify these relationships post-launch.
Live event in September
PREVO said it will host its first live event in September via a weekend of live-streamed sessions with filmmakers, film school faculty, and industry professionals. The event will include Q&As, workshops, and other opportunities for the PREVO community to learn from each other.
PREVO is launching for $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year, which the platform says will enable it to “never charge submission fees to its treasured filmmakers.” You can sign up and learn more—including how to submit a film—at Prevo’s website.
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