What Does OTT Stand for?

OTT is a great way to access content without having to subscribe to traditional cable or satellite providers. For an aspiring entrepreneur, it's also a great way to monetize your brand because of the personalizing strengths of OTT. If you're asking yourself what does OTT stand for, you've come to the right place.

Simply Put

OTT stands for Over-the-Top. It refers to using an internet connection to access movie and TV content, either through an app or a streaming service.

How Is It Different From Video Streaming?

Video streaming is just streaming a video onto a device, like a TV or mobile device. YouTube is an example of simple video streaming. OTT offers premium content from the OTT provider, which can be personalized and monetized in ways a platform like YouTube can't match.

Content can be accessed with computers, phones, tablets, gaming consoles, smart TVs, and more, and all without a TV service provider subscription. All a customer needs to access premium content is an internet connection.

Making Money With OTT

Your brand can use OTT to monetize in a number of ways. You can offer subscriptions, sell streaming products, stream live events, and boost your profit margins with advertising. You can get paid for the number of viewers you have as you show ads from your own direct advertisers, charge viewers directly for access to pay-per-view events or content, charge a monthly fee to allow subscribers to access your premium content, and much more. There are lots of options available.

Why Not Just Use YouTube?

There are a number of advantages to OTT over a platform like YouTube, not least because YouTube got its start as a free streaming service. YouTube itself has tried multiple times to shift to a more OTT-like model, but it's never gone that well because consumers largely expect YouTube to be free, as always. Here are some benefits of OTT over YouTube:

Complete Control

This is a big one. When you go with an OTT service, your content becomes all about you and your brand. With YouTube, their name is always the most prominent, and you have very little way to personalize any part of the experience.

Go Direct

With OTT, you can deliver your content directly to your target audience without the platform getting in the way.

Get Rid of Ads

If you prefer to offer a subscription service or one-time purchases, you can. You're not forced to allow ads onto your content or confined to ads as the only way to monetize. And with consumers increasingly less patient with all the ads they're forced to see.

There's even more to love about OTT. If you're ready to get started monetizing your content and building new revenue streams through your media offerings, reach out to us at Lightcast today. Our service team can answer all your questions, and our award-winning media management system gives you unprecedented control over every aspect of your content and your viewer experience.