Everything You Need to Know About OTT Services in 2020

Check this out: according to Forbes, over half of all American adults have admitted to watching over-the-top video streaming services on a regular basis. From Hulu and Netflix to Amazon prime and Apple, it seems like OTT video is taking over the cable TV game.

Interested in making the switch to OTT video? If you are interested in entering the world of over-the-top TV, then you’re probably going to want to read this first. Take a look at everything you need to know about OTT services in 2020!

Over The Top Advertising

Over the top or better known as OTT simply stands for over-the-top of a connected device. Anything that is streamed over the top of a device or through a mobile connection like the “WhatsApp” mobile app.

All About Over-The-Top Video Services

Ready to learn all about over-the-top video services? We are here to help. Let’s face it: connected TV is the way of the future.

As OTT video streaming becomes more and more popular, OTT advertisements have become a super-efficient way of reaching out to your audience of choice. Not only that, but over-the-top advertising also gives you trackable, brand-safe, unskippable, highly targeted ads that are almost guaranteed to make a big splash.

Since they provide high-quality ads without targeting random audiences, OTT advertising is a much more effective approach than regular television advertising. The craziest part is that entertainment media companies are focusing more time and money on over-the-top video services every day as well.

So, what is OTT, you ask? As the buzziest word in the media industry right now, over-the-top television is the seamless combination between the mediums of digital video and television.

Because OTT stands for “over-the-top,” this word is used to describe the distribution of TV and film content through the World Wide Web. As a matter of fact, you don’t even have to sign up for an expensive, traditional satellite or cable service such as Time Warner Cable or Comcast either.

Surprisingly enough, all that you really need is a legitimate Internet connection to stream any sort of OTT video content. To put it more simply, some popular examples of over-the-top streaming services include the following:

• Hulu
• Netflix
• Skype

The craziest part is that you can stream over the top content thorough things like the mobile web, OTT devices, and OTT set-top boxes. Not to mention desktop devices, smart TVs, gaming consoles, and mobile apps.

VOD vs. OTT: What’s the Difference?

We know what you’re thinking: what is VOD and what does it stand for? What an excellent question. First of all, VOD stands for video on demand, a streaming service that lets people playback a ton of video content at any particular time of the day.

Yes, that includes some of your favorite companies like Netflix, Roku, and YouTube. That always got that straight, this video on demand services to let you choose and pick what you’d like to see from massive video collections, allowing instant access to some of the best content on the web.

In case you didn’t know, they’re attitude different categories of video on demand services, which include the following:

• Video on demand that is delivered through a Wi-Fi connection
• Video on demand that requires you to get a cable subscription

In this case, video streaming content is controlled, enabled, and controlled by whenever you want to actually see a new release or an original airing date. Similar to over-the-top services cover video command streaming content is also found video streaming, mobile apps, mobile web, OTT devices, and on set-top boxes.

So, what’s the difference between VOD and OTT? Here’s the breakdown. While you typically have to pay for video on demand streaming services, you don’t have to pay for over-the-top streaming services.

The best part is that over-the-top streaming services sends content to viewers without even having them sign up for a regular satellite or cable contract. In addition, OTT platforms also offer on demand streaming services to their clientele.

For those of you who are feeling confused, allow us to enlighten you. This is crazy: on demand streaming services give users easy, constant access to the most high-quality, video streaming content around.

That means that you never have to worry about recording or tuning in at a specific time again!

Different Kinds of OTT Services and Apps

News flash – there are different kinds of over-the-top services and apps as well, including platform such as:

• SVOD
• AVOD
• TVOD

Also known as subscription video on demand, SVOD is a kind of OTT service that lets you have access to a whole collection of video content for recurring, fixed fee. If you’re wondering how often you have to pay this fee, it could either be charged annually, monthly, weekly, daily.

However, you’ll be able to watch as much video content as you want to come as long as you are on a connected device. Plus, you will have to pay to keep your subscription active. Naturally, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix are the two best examples of subscription video on demand over-the-top streaming services.

AVOD stands for ad-supported video on demand services. For this type of over-the-top streaming service, digital video content sprinkled with customized ads are completely free to its fears. Some quality examples of a VOD include Roku, FuboTV, and Sling TV.

Why are ads so important with AVOD? Clearly, the revenue coming from ads can help to offset hosting and production costs. Besides this, monetizing the video content is the goal too.

Lastly, there is TVOD, which stands for transactional video on demand. To make things simple for you, TVOD is the exact opposite of SVOD services.

Transactional video on demand charges users to view content on a “pay-per-view” basis. Although it usually won’t charge you to sign up for this kind of service, you’ll end up paying for each video that you watch.

Of course, the perks of TVOD’s is that all of your cloud-based video content will be stored in a digital locker. If you need an example, iTunes and Google Play are some of the most common TVOD over-the-top platforms on the market.

The Future of Over-The-Top Video Content

What’s the future of over-the-top video content? We predict that a lot of cable providers will have to play a more” high functioning role” in the entertainment landscape. Since America is the most advanced over-the-top market, more than half of Americans have at least one subscription to an over-the-top service.

However, other OTT markets such as the Asia Pacific in the European Union still have room to grow. Meanwhile, experienced OTT markets like the United Kingdom and the United States are seeing more cable and Internet bundling packages than ever.

That’s because OTT service providers are in a big competition for the largest piece of market share pie.

What’s the point of bundling your services? The point of having these kinds of partnerships is to give clients a better deal and to reduce customer turnover rates during slow market growth periods.

As we mentioned above, streaming entertaining videos is key to the success of OTT platforms. In fact, some over-the-top services even have over one million subscribers. But here’s the kicker: fitness and educational content are a close second when it comes to OTT streaming crowd favorites.

That being said, specialized over-the-top service providers could actually be hurt by the whole “subscribe to watch” thing, giving customers way too many options to choose from. Crazily enough, there are literally hundreds of OTT service providers to choose from in the United States alone.

On the bright side, certain OTT service providers are releasing their own live TV streaming services as well. This is going to be the latest and greatest trend in OTT media.

Even though OTT service providers such as Netflix and Hulu have basically laid the foundation for film and television streaming, other OTT providers like Sling TV, YouTube TV, and DirectTVNow are starting to fill in the gaps!

How OTT Video Streaming Services Got Started

Are you curious about how OTT video streaming services got started? Let us explain. Way before the golden days of Hulu and Netflix streaming, television networks gave old shows to OTT providers, which really paid off when networks got more exposure to older programming.

Once people saw an older television show on Netflix, they would be more than likely to watch newer episodes on television. Yet, most people became satisfied with waiting until the new episodes were available on Netflix, even if it took a whole year.

At this point, television networks noticed that there was a huge market for personalized video streaming services. Then, HBOGO was created, and the CBS All Access. Did this have the slightest impact on Netflix’s revenue?

The answer is simple: not really. Since Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu had already been producing their own video content for years, they already had enough loyal viewers to keep their engines running.

FAQs About OTT Video Streaming Services

Here’s a thought: is OTT video content streaming all in one service? Fair question. As we discussed above, there are three distinct categories of OTT media content services.

Obviously, subscription-based video on demand services are the most popular, particularly since they include the following streaming platforms:

• Netflix
• Hulu
• Amazon Prime Video
• DirectTV NOW
• Sling TV

The second form is totally free. Called ad-supported video on demand services, it plays short ads instead of charging users a hefty fee for a subscription. One of the best examples of ad-supported video on demand services is Crackle.

Finally, there is transactional video on demand services like Google Play, iTunes, and Vimeo. These allow you to make purchases to either buy or rent your media. Instead of doing a full subscription, it will let you pay per piece of video content that you watch.

Are there too many players in the OTT market? Luckily, we’ve got two answers for you. First of all, the OTT market isn’t as saturated as you would think it is. However, there are a ton of film and TV watchers who don’t use OTT as their number one way to stream content.

That means that there is still a big remainder of the market to be snatched up by other OTT service providers. In spite of this fact, unless everyone turns into OTT fanatics, there will be too many providers in the market.

How can you possibly stand out in a sea of OTT providers? We don’t have the answer to that!

More OTT Video Streaming Services FAQs

If you want to hear about more OTT video streaming FAQs, then we’ve got one more question for you: what is the growth potential of OTT services?

The market for OTT entertainment could reach hundreds of billions of dollars by the year 2025. This rapid market growth is due to the high amounts of “cord cutters” who are planning to make the switch to OTT services.

That’s not all. Since over-the-top entertainment services are becoming more popular in developing nations like India or Brazil, this actually represents and totally new market for over-the-top growth.

For instance, Netflix is one of the most popular OTT streaming services in India, thanks to mobile-only entertainment plans that suit India’s sporadic Internet use. How could you beat that?

Why Not Try OTT Services Today?

Okay, so now that you’ve heard everything about OTT services, it might be wondering if you should try yourself. We highly recommend that you do, especially since it gives you that access to all the latest movies, TV shows, and more.

Are you a fan of watching your favorite shows on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video? If so, then you’ll probably have to sign up for OTT services at some point.

From DirectTV NOW to Sling TV, you can’t miss out on your favorite movies or shows if you sign up for this awesome service. Plus, you can also access live TV through these OTT platforms, which gives you the best of both worlds.

Question: why not try OTT services today? If you’re going to make the switch to OTT services, then you might as well do it sooner than later.

Need help choosing between OTT service providers? Contact us to schedule a free consultation now!