How OTT works
The name comes from going over the top of the traditional operator. Video is encoded into several quality levels, stored, and delivered through a content delivery network to an app or browser. The player picks the quality that suits the viewer's connection and adjusts as it changes.
All the viewer needs is an internet connection and a device: a phone, a computer, a smart TV or a streaming stick.
Types of OTT service
- SVOD: a catalog for a recurring subscription
- AVOD: free to watch, paid for by advertising
- TVOD: rentals, purchases and pay-per-view
- Live and linear: channels and events streamed as they happen
- FAST: free, ad-supported scheduled channels
OTT vs IPTV vs cable
Cable and satellite deliver channels over the operator's own network to its own box. IPTV also uses internet protocol but over a managed network run by a telecom operator, with guaranteed quality and a set-top box. OTT uses the public internet and any device, which is why anyone who owns content can launch one.
What it takes to launch an OTT service
- Content you own or have licensed for streaming
- A platform: content management, encoding, delivery, player and apps
- A way to earn: subscriptions, advertising, sales or a mix
- Protection suited to the content, such as DRM for licensed titles
- Apps on the devices your audience uses
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