What an OTT platform includes
- Content management: catalog, metadata, artwork, seasons and availability
- Video pipeline: encoding into multiple qualities, storage and CDN delivery
- Player and apps: web, mobile and television
- Monetization: plans, paywalls, payments, advertising and offers
- Security: access tokens, DRM, geo rules and account limits
- Audience features: profiles, watchlists, recommendations and notifications
- Analytics: audience, content, revenue and playback quality
Two meanings of the term
The phrase is used in two ways. Viewers call a consumer service such as a film or sports streaming app an OTT platform. In the industry it means the technology that such a service is built on. This entry is about the second.
Ways to get an OTT platform
- Managed (SaaS): a vendor hosts and operates it for a monthly fee; fastest to launch
- Licensed and self-hosted: you buy the software, sometimes with source code, and run it yourself
- Custom-built: your own engineering team assembles encoding, delivery, billing and apps
What to compare when choosing
Look at total cost at the audience size you expect in a year, not the entry price: per-subscriber fees, cuts of sales, delivery charges and the cost of each app. Then check which devices are covered, whether live, DRM and advertising are included or quoted separately, and who handles migration and store submission.
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