Why Video Is the Next Frontier for Publisher Apps — and How to Deliver It Securely

For most publishers, the journey into digital content delivery began with ebooks. Then came audiobooks. Now, a growing number of publishers are asking a third question: what do we do about video?

The shift is not hypothetical. Educational publishers have been embedding video in digital textbooks for years. Professional publishers are adding expert interview series and tutorial content behind subscription paywalls. Trade publishers are experimenting with author video content as a subscriber retention tool. And across all these categories, the question is the same: how do you deliver video content securely, at scale, through a branded platform that you control?

The answer is more complex than it was for ebooks — and understanding that complexity is the first step to getting it right.

Why Publishers Are Adding Video Now

The business case for publisher video has sharpened considerably in 2026. Video ad inventory commands CPM rates four to ten times higher than display advertising. Exclusive video content — author interviews, expert commentary, companion tutorials — is proving to be one of the most effective subscriber retention tools available to publishers with paywalled digital products. And as AI-generated text floods the open web, the authenticity and production value of video is becoming a genuine differentiator.

For educational publishers, the case is even more direct. A digital textbook that includes embedded video explanations, worked examples, and lecture recordings is simply a better product than one that does not. Learners expect it. Institutions increasingly require it. Publishers who cannot deliver video alongside their written content are at a structural disadvantage.

The trend is also being driven by changing reader behaviour. Research consistently shows that users spend significantly more time on pages with video elements than on text-only equivalents. For publishers building subscription products, that dwell time translates directly into retention, renewal, and lifetime value.

The DRM Problem: Video Is Not the Same as Ebooks

Publishers who have already implemented DRM for their ebook catalogue will know Readium LCP — the open standard that encrypts EPUB files and validates access at the reading app level. LCP is elegant, well-supported, and designed specifically for the publishing industry.

Video DRM works differently, and it is considerably more complex.

The dominant video DRM systems are Google Widevine, Apple FairPlay, and Microsoft PlayReady. Each is tied to a specific ecosystem: Widevine protects content on Android devices, Chrome, and Chromecast; FairPlay protects content on iOS, macOS, and Safari; PlayReady covers Windows and Xbox. For a publisher who wants to deliver protected video to readers on both iOS and Android — which is to say, virtually every publisher — all three systems need to be in play simultaneously. This is known as multi-DRM.

Implementing multi-DRM is not a small undertaking. It requires a DRM licence server infrastructure, content encryption at the transcoding stage, adaptive bitrate streaming (typically using HLS or DASH protocols), and a playback layer that can negotiate the correct DRM licence for each device at runtime. Companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have built this infrastructure in-house at enormous cost. For publishers, the realistic path is to work with a platform that has already built it.

The key point for publishers to understand is this: you cannot simply add video files to an ebook platform and expect them to be protected. Video DRM and ebook DRM are architecturally separate systems. A platform that handles both needs to have integrated them deliberately — not bolted one on top of the other.

What Multi-Format Delivery Actually Requires

When a publisher wants to deliver ebooks, audiobooks, and video through a single branded app, the technical requirements multiply quickly. Consider what needs to happen for a reader who opens a publisher's app on their iPhone:

• The ebook reader must validate a Readium LCP licence for the EPUB file

• The audiobook player must handle the audiobook format with its own entitlement check

• The video player must request a FairPlay licence from the DRM server, receive an encrypted stream, and decrypt it in real time using Apple's Secure Enclave

Each of these is a distinct technical pathway. Each requires its own authentication and entitlement logic. And all three must be unified under a single user account, a single subscription or purchase record, and a single branded interface.

This is why publishers who try to assemble multi-format delivery from separate specialist tools — one platform for ebooks, another for video, a third for audiobooks — typically end up with a fragmented user experience and a maintenance burden that grows with every new format they add. The integration work is substantial, and it never really ends.

The more sustainable approach is a platform that was designed from the outset to handle multiple content types under a single entitlement and authentication layer. That means the publisher's back-end systems only need to manage one set of user accounts, one set of subscription records, and one set of content permissions — regardless of whether the content being accessed is an EPUB, an audiobook, or a video file.

Practical Considerations for Publishers Adding Video

For publishers who are evaluating whether and how to add video to their digital platform, a few practical questions are worth working through before committing to a technical approach.

What is the video content, and how sensitive is it? A publisher delivering free promotional author interviews has different security requirements from one delivering paid-for professional development courses or premium educational content. The level of DRM protection required should match the commercial value of the content. Not every video needs multi-DRM; some publishers are comfortable with token-based access control for lower-value content.

How will video be packaged and transcoded? Video files need to be transcoded into multiple bitrate versions before they can be streamed adaptively. This is a processing-intensive step that typically happens before content is uploaded to the delivery platform. Publishers need to understand whether their chosen platform handles transcoding, or whether they need a separate workflow for it.

How will video be integrated with existing content entitlements? If a reader has purchased an ebook, should they automatically have access to the companion video content? If a subscriber's plan is downgraded, should video access be revoked immediately? These entitlement questions need to be answered at the platform level, not handled manually.

What does the user experience look like on mobile? Video playback on mobile devices is more demanding than ebook reading. Publishers should test their video delivery on the actual devices their readers use — including older Android devices and entry-level phones — before committing to a production launch.

The Case for a Unified Platform

The publishers who are getting video delivery right in 2026 are not the ones who built the most sophisticated video infrastructure. They are the ones who chose a platform capable of handling video as one content type among several, rather than treating it as a separate product requiring separate infrastructure.

The advantage of this approach is not just technical. It is commercial. A reader who can access ebooks, audiobooks, and video through a single app, under a single subscription, with a consistent interface, is a more engaged reader than one who has to navigate between separate products. Engagement drives retention. Retention drives revenue.

For publishers who are already delivering ebooks and audiobooks through a branded platform, adding video is not a new project — it is an extension of an existing one. The question is whether the platform they are on was built to support that extension, or whether it will require a rebuild.

Conclusion

Video is not a replacement for ebooks or audiobooks. It is a complement to them — one that is becoming increasingly important for publishers who want to deliver premium, differentiated content through their own branded platforms. The technical complexity of video DRM is real, but it is not a reason to avoid video. It is a reason to choose the right platform before you start.

Publishers who are thinking about adding video to their digital offering should be asking their platform provider three questions: Does the platform support multi-DRM video delivery (Widevine and FairPlay)? How is video integrated with existing ebook and audiobook entitlements? And what does the user experience look like across iOS and Android?

If the answers are clear and confident, the path forward is straightforward. If they are not, that is useful information too.

Ready to explore what a multi-format content platform could look like for your publishing business?

Eden Interactive works with publishers of all sizes to deliver secure, white-label reading and learning experiences through Publish360 — including ebooks, audiobooks, and video content. Get in touch to start the conversation.

See also: The Multi-Format Reader Is Here: What Publishers Need to Build to Keep Up | The Owned Audience Imperative: Why 2026 Is the Year Publishers Must Control Their Own Distribution