What is Over The Top (OTT) Services

The term OTT is heard everywhere in the field of entertainment off late. The viewers are quite familiar with this term . What does it mean ? Why it has gained so much prominence ? Despite having Audio Visual source of entertainment like Cable network , why OTT can stand alone ? Well surely these are questions that lot of our audience or readers are thinking about . You will find the answers in details. Go through this article . It will throw more light on this topic which can be regarded as a very trending topic known as OTT.

The full form of OTT is " Over The Top " . It relates to any streaming service that delivers content over internet. Further, it is significant to mention out here, that since the service is delivered " over the top " of another platform hence, this name.

Earlier the trend was different. Viewers were required to take out a cable subscription and cable TV providers used to ensure that the consumer gets the access to such programmes . At present we see a different mode of operation in relation to entertainment industry. Users can sign up for services like Netflix or Spotify and access their offerings over the internet. The role of cable provider is more confined to providing internet connection now a days. As a viewer, what you consume or watch , it entirely depends on you , the cable provider does not have any say in it.

Importance of OTT Over the top media service

In this paragraph , we will try to study the relevance of OTT platforms. As stated early , it's early days for this medium in the field of entertainment , but it is promising enough . It is wooing viewers and attracting business . The more business it generates the more spotlight it gains and the same is happening going by the current trends. Some popular OTT platforms are Netflix, Hotstar, Hulu, Amazon prime video etc.

OTT is a relatively new concept so lot of people are perhaps not fully aware of it's potential which is understandable . Surely, with the passage of time more & more people will get associated with it , be it in the capacity of viewers or for immense business opportunities that it offers as a market player. You will be amazed to know, that lot of new players are stepping into this field. They have realized this field can offer lot of prospects and they are highly interested to tap the potential early on so that they can draw/ extract maximum benefits . With the entry of new companies , invariably the consumers will have more to choose from which is a healthy scenario by all stretch of imagination.

This scenario is also ideal because it will increase ad inventory for marketers. This field is enlarging and expanding at a pretty fast rate. As more & more people cut the chord and shift or incline towards online media consumption, the way forward is OTT services , as this is how you can reach out to a large segment of audience. How does marketers use this to their advantage? Time will unfold the answers however, it is certain they won't leave any stone unturned to make it a profitable business proposition.

Benefits of OTT Over the Top Media Service

It offers some great advantages . For instance first up we must know that , it is easier to connect . A stable internet connection and a Smart phone or PC, is what you need to get access to it. It is less expensive or can be termed as cost friendly when compared with TV channel packages offered by other sources like Cable operators etc. Another benefits offered by such platform is that you can access your favourite media content anywhere and everywhere . You can access a huge number of movies and programmes including content from other countries. So this is surely a great boon for the viewers. You might be wondering, is this where the benefits associated with such platforms comes to an end . Hold on , there is more to come in subsequent paragraph.

It will be unfair, if we miss out mentioning about another major OTT market which is audio. It offers services such as Spotify, now almost synonymous with music streaming. The benefits audience draws may be considered as collosal, as users can access a massive library of recording artists and podcasts via an internet connection.

Further, it is important to state that users now a days prefer using OTT messaging services including Signal, Telegram or Whatsapp . It enables them to use their internet connection to share information. Voice OTT services like Whatsapp or Skype are being used increasingly rather than phone calls.

It's obvious one gets plenty of benefits from such platforms therefore, it is adding to the popularity of such platforms.

OTT Marketing - What is it ?

When we analyse OTT Marketing first and foremost we have to understand, that many such services run on the basis of paid subscriptions however, quite a few of them also run advertisements and even offer tiered packages and this enables the customers to pay for ad -free experience .

The Two key types of OTT Marketing set up, pattern or systems visible in relation to this kind of marketing are :

Client -Side .
Service - Side.

You might be thinking where lies the difference between these two ? Let's clarify it for you all.

In a client - side set up , the viewport for the stream media loads the ad prior to the film or episode being shown while in server- side, it is not possible to ad-block since the ad is integrated seamlessly into the frames of the media. Technically though server- side is regarded as more complex or challenging therefore, it is not that common.

Conclusion

OTT is here to stay. Cinema hall or Multiplex will never lose their charm , but OTT has come to the scene as a strong alternative . People may not have enough time to go to a movie theater or book tickets . In such a situation , OTT platform has provided a viable option to the audience and people have responded very positively to this source of entertainment.

OTT Marketing has a huge scope . The various companies are already trying to extract maximum benefits by channelizing their effort in this direction. There will be a great degree of improvement when it comes to OTT platforms in near future. More viewers will turn up to watch programmes on this platform . Surely, there will be more investment in this field which will upgrade the status and position of this platform . More innovative marketing strategy will be adopted and will add more to this platform.

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