Docsville

What Docsville does

Docsville is a London-based direct-to-consumer video-on-demand (VOD) streaming platform focused exclusively on documentary films, founded in 2012 and operating with a headcount of 11-50 employees. The platform offers a curated library of global documentaries spanning culture, technology, politics, true stories, and the human experience, with content described by the company as "award-winning." Docsville serves individual documentary enthusiasts globally, distributing through its own website and dedicated applications on iOS, Android, Apple TV (3rd and 4th Gen), Roku (4K and 1st Gen), Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Chromecast, with multi-language subtitle support in Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German, and French.

The business operates a hybrid monetization model combining recurring subscription revenue with transactional purchases. Subscriptions are priced at $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year for unlimited library access, while individual films can be rented for $5.99 or purchased for $9.99 on a perpetual basis, with gift subscriptions also available. The technology stack is built on VHX (now part of Vimeo OTT) infrastructure rather than proprietary streaming technology, indicating a relatively lean platform build. Beyond aggregation, Docsville operates an in-house production unit, Docsville Studios, which has co-produced original documentaries — notably "Rainbow Warrior" — in collaboration with established production partners including Europacorp, Fremantle Media, Expanded Media, GNZ, and Fifth Floor Productions, with proceeds from that title donated to Greenpeace. This dual platform-plus-studio model distinguishes Docsville from pure-play documentary aggregators, though no financial scale, funding history, or headcount details are disclosed in the source data.

Name

Docsville

Website

https://docsville.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Docsville is a London-based direct-to-consumer VOD streaming platform offering a curated library of global documentary films via subscription ($3.99/month or $29.99/year) plus rental and purchase, with in-house Docsville Studios producing original documentaries in partnership with established production companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Streaming: Monthly and annual subscription plans providing unlimited access to the documentary library. Monthly plan at $3.99/month and annual plan at $29.99/year.
2. Individual Video Rental: Rent individual documentary films for a one-time fee. Example: Rainbow Warrior rental at $5.99.
3. Individual Video Purchase: Purchase individual documentary films for permanent access. Example: Rainbow Warrior purchase at $9.99.
4. Gift Subscriptions: Gift subscription options allowing users to purchase subscriptions for others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Docsville is a direct-to-consumer online video-on-demand streaming platform that provides subscription-based access to a curated library of award-winning global documentary films spanning culture, technology, politics, true stories, and the human experience. In addition to its monthly ($3.99) and annual ($29.99) subscription tiers, Docsville offers transactional rentals and purchases of individual films such as Rainbow Warrior, and produces original documentaries in-house through Docsville Studios in collaboration with major production partners.

Product overview

Docsville operates as a documentary streaming platform offering two primary products: a subscription-based service providing access to a curated library of award-winning global documentaries (priced at $3.99/month or $29.99/year), and individual video products available for rental or purchase. The platform's flagship individual title is 'Rainbow Warrior,' a documentary about Greenpeace's history. Docsville distributes content across multiple viewing platforms including web browsers, mobile devices, smart TVs, and streaming devices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Docsville Streaming Subscription Subscription-based access to a curated library of award-winning global documentary films covering culture, technology, politics, true stories, and the human experience; available as a monthly plan at $3.99 or an annual plan at $29.99, with a gift subscription option, targeting individual documentary enthusiasts worldwide.
• Rainbow Warrior Documentary An individual documentary film produced by Docsville Studios telling the story of Greenpeace and the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior ship, with subtitles in Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German, and French; available to rent for $5.99 or purchase for $9.99, with proceeds donated to Greenpeace.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• EuropacorpminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Docsville Studios documentary productions. Contributed to 'Rainbow Warrior' documentary production.
• Fremantle MediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Docsville Studios documentary productions. Contributed to 'Rainbow Warrior' documentary production.
• Expanded MediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Docsville Studios documentary productions. Contributed to 'Rainbow Warrior' documentary production.
• GNZminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Docsville Studios documentary productions. Contributed to 'Rainbow Warrior' documentary production.
• Fifth Floor ProductionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduction partner for Docsville Studios documentary productions. Contributed to 'Rainbow Warrior' documentary production.
• GreenpeaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDocsville donates proceeds from 'Rainbow Warrior' film rentals and purchases directly to Greenpeace. The documentary tells the story of Greenpeace including the tragic sinking of their ship Rainbow Warrior.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• MUBI: Curated independent and arthouse film streaming service with subscription and rental/purchase options — closely comparable curation-led positioning, multi-region presence, and price-pointed model.
• DocPlay: Documentary-focused streaming and discovery platform; same target audience (documentary enthusiasts) and content focus, providing a near-direct horizontal comparator.
• CuriosityStream: Direct subscription documentary streaming service founded by Discovery's John Hendricks; same product category (D2C documentary subscription) and a primary head-to-head competitor to Docsville in the niche SVOD space.
• Topic (First Look Media): First Look Media-owned ad-supported streaming service focused on documentaries, independent films, and thought-provoking content; comparable curated global documentary offering.
• MagellanTV: Subscription-based documentary streaming service offering a curated global documentary library; closest peer by product, audience (documentary enthusiasts), and business model.

Broad incumbents

• Netflix: Global streaming incumbent with a large and growing documentary catalog; the dominant broad competitor whose documentary investments raise the bar for specialist competitors like Docsville.
• Apple TV+: Premium streaming service from Apple with a focused, high-quality lineup including award-winning documentaries — a broad incumbent setting quality benchmarks in the documentary category.

Others

• Vimeo OTT: The white-label OTT platform (formerly VHX) on which Docsville is built; a key enabling technology peer — analogous niche-DTC SVOD operators run on this infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Sundance Now: Streaming service for independent films, documentaries, and original series from the Sundance ecosystem; overlapping 'thoughtful cinematic' positioning with partial documentary overlap.
• Wondrium (formerly The Great Courses): Subscription streaming platform for educational/non-fiction video content; partial overlap via the documentary-as-education category and similar ad-free subscription model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/docsville
• Facebookfacebook.com/docsville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yaddo-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Docsville