The global OTT market is expected to be over $72.8 billion by 2023

Current OTT market status suggests that entering the OTT market will not only be profitable for new players but will also pose a challenge to existing OTT companies like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. Thus, new OTT app development companies planning to get into the OTT market can reap the benefits of growing viewership share to fit into the competitive market and break the monopoly that the established OTT players have been enjoying.

As per the PWC report on the global E&M (Entertainment & Media) industry, the OTT video segment continued to rise by 35% over 2020. An additional 22.8% surge was observed in 2021. Further, it will possibly grow at a CAGR of 7.6% through 2026. Given the statistics of the OTT market, there is a greater opportunity for the user to enter the segment and flourish.

The ease of streaming live videos that users have received from different OTT platforms has channeled momentous growth for the global OTT market. With the expansion, the market has seen the arrival of a multitude of OTT players, such as NBC Universal, Warner Media, Paramount Global, and others.

Factors motivating the dynamism in the OTT market

• Increased internet penetration: It is evident from a report conducted by Statista that there has been a steady growth in worldwide internet penetration. With a period of 3 years, i.e., from 2020 to 2023, global internet users are expected to surge from 4.5 billion to 5.3 billion. Thus, growing internet users will be a matter of encouragement for app development companies to explore the OTT segment.

• The global spread of covid-19- Starting from the outbreak of covid-19, a huge demand for the consumption of streaming live videos on OTT platforms prevails. Moving forward, the expansion of OTT users does not seem to be withdrawn in the coming years. Thus we as OTT app developers are committed to extending our service to the users contributing to their profitability.
• Increased adoption of smart TVs: As observed from the Statista report, by 2025, there will be more than 266 million units of smart TVs sold worldwide. Users need to increase their OTT app production to meet the increasing demands for OTT content.

What is to be the going-forward approach for OTT app developers?

• Personalizing OTT content with Big Data Analytics- Embedding the content watch-time with predictive analytics allows OTT app developers to achieve customer-based preferences; thereby providing better recommendations for the viewers. Given the OTT market growth is based on views and shares of subscribers, Big Data streaming analytics support Operations Optimisation, Personalised artwork, customer retention, a recommendation engine for personalization, and content creation analytics.
• A hybrid approach of subscription and advertisement models for optimum customer retention, focusing on the monetization model like SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand), can let the developers retain viewers on a monthly or yearly basis. On the other hand, utilizing another monetization model, AVOD (Advertising-Based Video On Demand) for OTT content can let developers maximize their profit. Instead of paying any subscription fee, in AVOD, viewers have to watch the on-demand unskippable advertisement during their live streaming.

In Summary: Key Points to Consider for OTT App Development

The OTT market is currently soaring like never before. Integrating OTT apps with cutting-edge technology will give the player an advantage over the competition. Thus, while making an OTT app, it is suggestive to ask developers whether they can integrate functionalities like personalized OTT content, SVOD, and AVOD. Not to mention, it is crucial that OTT app developers also concentrate on maximizing the scalability of the app to accommodate the forecasted increase in user traffic.