--- title: "What Is Cross-Platform Streaming? Definition and Examples | RentAnOTT" description: "Cross-platform streaming means one service available on web, mobile and TV with a shared account and synced progress. See what that takes to deliver." url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/cross-platform-streaming" markdown_url: "https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/cross-platform-streaming.md" category: "Devices" updated: "2026-10-05" --- # What is cross-platform streaming? Cross-platform streaming is offering one streaming service across many kinds of device, such as web browsers, phones, tablets, smart TVs and streaming boxes, so that a viewer can sign in anywhere with the same account and carry on where they left off. ## What viewers expect - One account and one subscription that work on every device - Continue watching: start on a phone, resume on a television at the same point - The same watchlist, profiles and recommendations everywhere - A consistent look, adapted to each screen - Purchases made on one device available on all - Casting from a phone to a television ## What it takes behind the scenes - An app for each platform, each with its own technology and store - A shared back end for accounts, entitlements, catalog and playback position - Encoding and packaging that every device can play, including the right DRM for each - Billing that reconciles web payments with each store's in-app purchases - Layouts managed centrally, so a change to the home page reaches every app - Analytics that recognize one viewer across devices ## Choosing which platforms to support Every platform adds cost, so order matters. Start with the web and the mobile platform most of your audience uses. Add television when long-form viewing or family viewing is central, beginning with the television platforms common in your market. Check your own analytics for the devices people are trying to watch on. ## Why it matters Viewers who use a service on more than one device watch more and cancel less, and television in particular lengthens sessions. A service missing from the screen a viewer prefers is easy to forget. ## Cross-platform streaming on RentAnOTT Every RentAnOTT tier includes a streaming website, with cross-device continuity, profiles and watchlists. Apps are added per platform: Android, iOS, Android TV with Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung and LG. [See pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing). ## Related terms - [Native app](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/native-app) — A native app is an application built specifically for one operating system, such as iOS, Android or tvOS, using that platform's own programming languages and tools, and installed from its app store. It has direct access to the device's video player, DRM, storage and notifications. - [OTT app](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/ott-app) — An OTT app is the application through which viewers watch a streaming service on a phone, tablet, television or browser. It handles browsing, sign-in, payment and playback, and is published under the service's own brand. - [Smart TV app](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/smart-tv-app) — A smart TV app is an application built to run on a television's operating system or on a streaming device attached to it, and installed from that platform's app store. For a streaming service it is the way viewers watch on the big screen. - [CTV](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/ctv) — CTV (connected TV) is a television that can stream video over the internet, either because it is a smart TV or because a streaming stick, set-top box or games console is attached to it. - [Multi-DRM](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/multi-drm) — Multi-DRM is the use of several DRM systems, normally Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady, to protect the same video so that it plays securely on every browser, phone and television. - [In-app billing](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary/in-app-billing) — In-app billing is the payment system that an app store, such as Apple's App Store, Google Play or the Amazon Appstore, provides for buying digital goods inside apps. It charges the payment method on the user's store account and manages renewals, refunds and cancellations for subscriptions bought that way. ## Further reading - [OTT app builder](https://www.rentanott.com/tools/ott-app-builder) - [White-label streaming platform buyer's guide](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/white-label-streaming-platform) - [How to start a streaming service](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs/how-to-start-a-streaming-service) ## Frequently asked questions ### How many platforms should a new service launch on? Two or three: the web plus the mobile platforms your audience uses. Add others as demand shows up in your data. ### Does a subscription bought on one device work on others? It should. The entitlement belongs to the account, so signing in on any device unlocks it, wherever it was purchased. ### Is cross-platform the same as multi-screen? The terms are used interchangeably for a service that works across phones, computers and televisions. All 163 terms: [Streaming and OTT glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary). ## Book a demo Tell RentAnOTT what you are launching. The team walks through the platform and maps the path to go-live around your catalog, markets and revenue model. Book a demo: https://www.rentanott.com/contact ## More from RentAnOTT - [Home](https://www.rentanott.com/index.md) — What RentAnOTT is, what every plan includes, and how launch works - [Features](https://www.rentanott.com/features.md) — Every core feature and optional add-on - [Pricing](https://www.rentanott.com/pricing.md) — Platform tiers, apps, add-ons, usage rates and example bills in INR and USD - [Free tools](https://www.rentanott.com/tools.md) — OTT app builder and calculators for streaming revenue, bandwidth, bitrate and pricing - [Insights](https://www.rentanott.com/blogs.md) — All streaming business articles - [Glossary](https://www.rentanott.com/glossary.md) — Definitions of streaming and OTT terms - [Book a demo](https://www.rentanott.com/contact.md) — Talk to RentAnOTT about your launch Full site in one file: https://www.rentanott.com/llms-full.txt