CARNAL NATION

The following essay was originally published on Lavender Lounge's blog. All links should be considered NSFW --CarnalNation

In Part Two of my series "The History of Video On Demand Gay Porn Websites From 2000 to 2009," I'm putting the spotlight on MaleFlixxx.tv. The Toronto-based video streaming site has worked very hard to solidify their standing in the gay porn industry. Their long-standing exclusive deal with Kristen Bjorn is unprecedented. The critically acclaimed Kristen Bjorn movies are not available online anywhere else but MaleFlixxx.tv.

COLT and Buckshot movies are also now available only on MaleFlixxx.tv.

When you buy viewing credits, you rent whole scenes rather than paying by the minute, and many users appreciate that dialogue and plot are edited out. You only pay for the hardcore stuff. Maleflixxx also offers "private label" sites for webmasters.

Let's find out more about MaleFlixxx.tv:

1. When was the launch of your VOD sites?

The official launch of our flagship product, MaleFlixxx.tv, was in November of 2001. However, the planning process started back in 1999 when CTO Erik Schannen started experimenting with streaming technology and video-on-demand. Shortly thereafter, CBTO Michel Lozier was brought in to help launch the product with his television and cable TV business knowledge. Finally, Eric Johnson, President and CEO, was sought out to lay the business foundation, having over 10 years experience with one of the Big Four accounting firms.

2. What was your biggest challenge at the beginning?

One of the biggest challenges was trying to raise capital. Unfortunately, we were trying to launch Maleflixxx right after the dot.com bust and investors were simply not interested in taking what they considered to be a “huge risk”. In the end, this was one of the best things that happened to the company. It forced us to be extremely money conscience as well as measure every campaign we launched.

3. When you started your company, what were your predictions for 2009 (or ten years in the future)?

One can never be certain about the future; after all, we don’t have a crystal ball. However, from the beginning we were very adamant about not only setting short term goals and objectives, but thinking long-term as well. While we definitely had tangible goals such as target traffic numbers and sales, we also wanted to become a leader in gay, adult entertainment. It was this strategic planning 10 years ago that has helped us to withstand the test of time.

4. What was your company's big breakthrough?

Some of our biggest breakthroughs have been venturing out from strictly online media and truly becoming a digital distributor. It became evident shortly after we launched our first website that there was also a need for a high-quality VOD back-end services for the multitude of webmasters (gay and straight, adult and mainstream) that wanted to offer VOD services but who did not want to develop it on their own. This is what ultimately led to the creation of our affiliate program. Furthermore, this eventually paved the way for our ventures into cable television and online media.

5. What is the most popular gay niche on your site?

Without a doubt, videos that feature muscular, masculine men are the most popular on our network. However, there truly is something for everyone on our network and no niche misses out on a piece of the pie. Other niches that do well on our site are fetish, real men, jocks, wrestling and daddies.

6. What specific gay movie titles were the biggest hits over the years?

That is tough question as the top ten movies on our network are constantly changing. But over the years some of our blockbuster hits have been “Justice” from Hot House, “The Intern” from Lucas Entertainment, “Breathless-Directors Cut” from Titan Media, “Obsessions of D.O.” from Black Scorpion, and “French Kiss” from BelAmi are a few that come to mind.

7. If you made a tombstone for porn on DVD, what would be the date of its death?

That is really tough for us to say as our business model is based on VOD sales, not DVD sales. And with technology constantly leaping forward, one can never be certain about these things. However, we are seeing an increase in direct-to-VOD production. But who knows, DVD sales are sort of like a villain in a horror movie, no matter how many blows it takes, they never seem to die.