OTT Platforms – An Industry that Never sleeps!

OTT – Over-the-top media service is a streaming service that is offered directly to viewers via broadband or internet and it bypasses the cable, satellite networks. It involves delivering audio, video, and various services without the involvement of an operator that controls the distribution of content – like traditional cable television.
This concept was first realized in the year 2013 when Prime Videos rolled out its first-ever content on this platform.

Amidst the pandemic with all the public theaters and malls closed there have been a number of releases on OTT platforms like – Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and many more. But, this takes off the business from the theaters and malls as, before the pandemic struck all these movies were supposed to be released in traditional theaters.

Although OTT platforms do not release their data still there are surveys conducted on the user level.
According to Nielsen’s smartphone panel reports, there had been a nineteen percent increase in VOD – video on demand consumption within a week.
Now VOD – Video on Demand averages almost four hours per day! As the number of users has surged at a record speed, the advertisements have also increased at break-neck speed! In April 2020, there were almost sixteen thousand more ad insertions on various OTT platforms – except Netflix, Amazon Prime.

What are the main reasons behind OTT gaining such enormous popularity?

The choice and diversity of the content posted on these platforms are much greater than compared to theaters.
Content can be accessed when you want and where you want.
Very little restriction on the type of content/story that movies can show.
A theater has to cater to mainstream audience expectations and choices for business reasons.
Thus, because of the above reason in theaters many deserving films miss out on preferred screening slots and have to compromise on slots, and that in turn affects the overall revenue collections.

By the end of 2020, the revenue generated from OTT platforms is expected to cross US $20 BN, yes you read that right! A survey showed that more than fifty-eight percent of households in the United States prefer the OTT platform. So with all this, one can only expect the trend to go upwards.

Some OTT platforms Statistics:

An average user uses three different OTT services
YouTube is watched by 84.6 percent of US digital video viewers and Netflix is watched by 67.7 percent of audiences.
Amazon Prime and Roku comprise nearly 70 percent of the US base for streaming online content.
A survey showed that the United States has more than 860 million connected video devices.
With all these, one obvious question that comes to mind is, will OTT platforms replace the traditional theater industry?
Well, we would know the answer to this question in a few years!