Nikita Agarwal
Listen to this articleToday, people are abandoning traditional cables and streaming videos on OTT ( Over-the-top ) platforms.
About 235 million Americans are now consuming digital video on streaming media devices like Smart TVs, a Roku, or gaming consoles to view their content.
Some of the best OTT services like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Now, Netflix, etc., are earning revenue in millions.
If you’re a content creator, you can also use an OTT platform to provide the same viewing experience to your audience — and monetize it.
You can live stream your videos or even offer on-demand videos — an OTT platform offers vast possibilities.
But at the same time, it’s crucial to choose the best OTT video platform provider to increase your chance of success.
The best OTT platform provider will make it easy for you to scale your business and provide a seamless experience to you and your viewers.
You will find numerous options in this fashionable market. But fret not, we’re here to help.
Later in this article, you will see a list of the 7 best OTT service providers that will help monetize your video streaming business to its maximum potential.
Before we unveil the key features, pros, and cons of each provider, let’s start with some basic concepts and definitions of OTT platforms.
What is an OTT Platform Provider?
OTT is short for “over-the-top,” which refers to streaming content over the internet.
An OTT platform is where you can host live and on-demand videos that are broadcasted over the internet.
Careful, you shouldn’t confuse OTT platform providers with OTT streaming services like Netflix or HBO Now.
These OTT services use the technology provided by OTT platform providers to:
1. Deliver video content directly to viewers.
2. Monetize the content.
Typically, an OTT video service platform allows you to monetize your business in three ways. Viewers can pay for access on a pay-per-view basis ( transaction video on demand ), or they can subscribe for unlimited on-demand access to the platform. The latter is known as subscription video on demand or SVOD.
Sometimes, broadcasters even monetize their content with sponsored advertisements — leveraging direct and network ads for both your live and VOD content. Youtube is a good example of earning through sponsored advertising.
Benefits of Launching Your OTT Website and Apps
Launching your own OTT websites and apps might be a sound business strategy for video content creators.
OTT apps are everywhere, and consumers today expect access to content on any device at any time.
Here are some of the benefits of OTT websites/apps hosted using OTT platform providers:
i. OTT Apps Increase Customer Conversions
Millions of people are cutting their cable cords, yet there has been a significant rise in content consumption.
Making your videos widely available on multiple devices is the key to expanding your customer reach.
You get the opportunity to actively address audience segments that were previously out of reach.
85% of US internet users stream video every day. The live streaming business was valued at $30 billion in 2016, which is expected to double by 2021.
Percentage of internet users who watch online video content as of January 2018
One of the main reasons is that OTT apps aren’t geographically limited the way cable TV channels are.
Besides, you don’t need any additional infrastructure if you subscribe to the best OTT video service platform.
You can generate revenue from customers worldwide by simply building your own OTT website and app and distributing it over various streaming devices.
ii. OTT Platform Helps Establish Direct Relationship
Dealing with third-party OTT platforms is like involving a middleman between you and your viewers.
But when you build your own OTT service, you get full control over subscriptions — and can establish direct relationships with them.
OTT websites and apps can track and analyze user engagement data. This allows you to leverage deep insights into your audience preferences and behavior.
You can then create content that appeals to your viewers more closely.
And the best part is that you can seek out partnerships with vendors whose interests align with your audiences.
This will make the advertising environment more effective for your users as well as the vendors.
iii. OTT Apps Reduce Customer Churn
OTT websites or apps make your content widely available — giving easy access to people.
But at the same time, it’s crucial to reduce customer churn rate.
Customer churn rate refers to the percentage of users who sign up for your service but fail to renew it.
These are the people who start your subscription but cancel it when they see what your platform is all about or do not find videos of their interest.
One reason could be that your videos aren’t available on their preferred channel or device.
This is why making your content widely available on every kind of device through your own OTT apps or website can pay off.
Besides, you can keep a close eye on the most-watched content so that you can create more similar types to keep your users’ attention engaged.
Ready to increase user retention? Learn how to reduce OTT churn with Ventuno.
How to Choose the Best OTT Platform Provider
The video streaming market is expected to reach $842.93 billion in value by 2027.
To establish your brand, you need to find the best OTT platform provider that offers you the following features:
Video CMS
OTT streaming services quickly build up a library of thousands of videos.
The best OTT service providers will include a powerful video CMS ( content management system ) to help upload, organize, and distribute your content.
In fact, most of them allow you to add subtitles in multiple languages for a single video.
Another feature of a robust CMS is its ability to deliver video in the most efficient way possible in multiple bit-rates (240p, 360p, 720p, 1080p, 4K).
These systems should allow you to add, modify, or delete video meta-data with minimum effort.
Learn more about Video CMS
Enhanced Security Features
The security feature is an absolute necessity for any OTT streaming service. Your audience should be able to view your content without worrying about any breach of security.
Get access to a secure OTT video service platform that offers HLS encryption and DRM support.
Monetization
One significant advantage of hosting your independent OTT service with the help of the best OTT platform providers is that you can monetize your website in different ways.
In 2020, the global OTT revenue generated was $106 billion. It is expected to rise to $210 billion by 2026, more than double of 2020.
Having the proper tools to make money from your video is important. Your vendor should give you the flexibility to monetize videos using different methods — subscriptions, ads, and pay-per-view.
Understand the different OTT monetization models
Integrations
Having the ability to integrate with any platform or application helps automate your workflow on your OTT solution provider.
It is essential as it helps connect critical functions for providing a superior experience to your viewers.
Reliable Technical Support
Top OTT platform providers understand the need to provide fast, reliable, and constantly available technical support.
7 Best OTT Platform Providers in 2021
With so many options available in the market, selecting the right OTT platform services can be a bit daunting.
Here’s a list of 7 top OTT platform providers, discussing what they have to offer and how much each of them costs.
So, let’s begin.
1. Ventuno
The first on the OTT providers list is our very own Ventuno, providing an all-in-one video streaming platform. It is suitable for independent creators, small businesses, or large production houses.
What separates it from others is its ability to customize — you can edit its pre-designed templates to set up beautiful websites, native mobile apps, and native connected TV apps.
Besides, you get a full-fledged reporting tool to track various KPIs, including views, users, engagement revenue, and much more. These insights can be useful in making strategic decisions and accelerating growth.
Top companies like SimplySouth and Joy Joy World use Ventuno to stream live and on-demand videos on their website.
Ventuno even lets you be omnipresent by launching on multiple platforms like Amazon Fire TV, Roku, LG TV, or Samsung TV, not restricted to iOS and Android mobile apps.
In short, Ventuno allows you to focus on promoting your brand rather than just maintaining your OTT platform.
Features
• Get access to a dedicated onboarding specialist
• Build your website without any prior coding knowledge
• Monetize in different ways — AVOD, TVOD, SVOD
Pros
• CMS is super-intuitive and user-friendly
• Compatible with various devices
Cons
• CMS playlists can take time to load
Pricing
Ventuno offers an affordable OTT platform pricing plan starting at $299 per month for Basic. It includes two monetization abilities — SVOD & TVOD, along with 1000 subscribers capability.
You can upgrade it to Professional, increasing your limit to 3000 subscribers for $1149 per month It provides advanced integrations, mobile apps, and much more.
It also has a bespoke solution for enterprise-grade ventures with custom pricing plans.
2. JW Player
JWPlayer is a robust OTT service provider that helps users deliver a seamless experience to their viewers. Its high-quality playback solution can be used by firms of all sizes for hosting videos and live streaming.
It is particularly popular for its ad-monetization capability. It offers the best-in-class ad integrations — works with any video ad server and network.
In addition, it includes built-in support for SpotX, Google DFP, Google IMA, AdX, and FreeWheel.
Companies like Babyfirst, Fuse, and others use JW Player for their video streaming needs.
Features
• Helps increase playtime through its engagement products — article matching and recommendations
• Can be deployed across websites, mobile apps, or connected TV
• Maximizes content security with minimal fuss
Pros
• Interactive website
• Active and reliable support
Cons
• Users complain of crashes and error screens
Pricing
JW Player offers a 30-day free trial with full ADI and SDK access and 75 GB streaming capacity.
After the free trial is over, you can upgrade your plan to Starter ( starts at $10 per month ) or Enterprise ( custom pricing ).
3. Vimeo OTT
Next up on the list of best OTT service providers is Vimeo, which offers live streaming and video hosting services.
It is quite famous for its live tech support ( available only with its Premium or OTT custom plan ).
Furthermore, you can launch branded apps on tvOS, Android, Android TV, Roku, Xbox, iOS, and Samsung Tizen devices — using the Vimeo platform.
It allows you to monetize your video content in various ways, including subscriptions, transactions, advertising, and registration.
Features
• Provides in-depth, real-time insights
• Enables live streaming with auto-archive
• Gives 24/7 support for you and subscribers
Pros
• Free migration with no downtime
• Highly scalable
Cons
• Limited customizability
Pricing
Vimeo OTT has three pricing plans – Starter, Growth, and Enterprise.
The Starter plan costs $1 per subscriber per month and gives you free access to web-based apps.
Growth is priced at a $500 monthly fee with unlimited live events and live stream analytics.
Its Enterprise plan offers advanced features and support for scaling your OTT business, such as API and SDK support, Branded apps, and more.
4. Brightcove
Brightcove’s OTT platform called Beacon is best suited for medium-sized and large brands.
It comes packed with a vast set of functionalities, including reporting and analytics, and monetization capacity.
Another interesting functionality offered by the brand is that viewers can record and playback live streams.
Talking about monetization, you can generate revenues out of your live and on-demand videos through OTT advertising, subscriptions, and one-time purchases.
Most importantly, it enables integration with Google Analytics for viewership reports from all devices.
Features
• Provides best-in-class customer support with Support Staff Excellence Certification
• Enables device management control for limiting the number of devices per account
• Offers DRM protection for the secure storage and delivery of content
Pros
• Scalability and reliability
• Rich, easy-to-use interface
Cons
• Reporting is pretty limited
Pricing
Brightcove does not have its pricing plan displayed on the website. You can contact them directly to get a quotation.
5. IBM Watson Media
IBM Watson Media makes it to the list of the best OTT platform providers as it offers AI-driven solutions for live streaming events, corporate communication, and content management.
It is a streaming medium and video hosting company for large-scale companies. Moreover, it provides API access with customization capability for enterprises.
What’s extra about it is that IBM Watson AI enables convenient video search and automated closed captioning.
Features
• Live stream and auto-archive for videos on-demand for boosting reach
• Automatically make content accessible across devices, like iOS and Android
• Ad integration for video monetization
Pros
• AI-driven video analytics
• Flexible and scalable
Cons
• The interface can be a bit complicated to use
Pricing
IBM Watson Media does not have its pricing plan displayed on the website, though they offer a no-cost trial period.
You can contact them directly to get a quotation.
6. Uscreen
Another best OTT video platform provider is Uscreen, popular for providing responsive and easy-to-use HTML5 video players.
Using its video CMS, you can categorize, remove, and do comprehensive video management.
It offers website builder templates that can be customized to suit your brand feel and quickly launch your site.
All in all, Uscreen helps deliver a superior live streaming experience across all devices.
Features
• Offers various video monetization options — subscriptions, pay-per-view, bundles, rentals, and lifetime access
• Enables pre-register to the PPV (pay-per-view) live-stream
• Available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Android TV devices
Pros
• Security protects viewers 24/7
• Built-in marketing tools
Cons
• Slow and unresponsive customer service
Pricing
Uscreen has three pricing plans. The Basic one is available for $49 per month that includes a website, marketing tools, and automation.
You can upgrade it to Amplify for $399 per month and get robust integration functionality.
The Enterprise plan offers custom pricing based on your requirements. You get end-user support, white-label mobile apps, and more.
7. Dacast
Dacast brings ten years of experience in the video streaming industry. With over 15,000 clients, Dacast has established its niche in providing an end-to-end OTT platform that enables users to broadcast live or on-demand content.
Its powerful CMS puts you in control of your resource library and keeps your content sorted.
You can even monetize your videos in different ways, including subscriptions, transactional, and ad-based.
Features
• Enables you to add branding elements to the video players
• Offers 24/7 tech support via email and live chat
• Gives video API access on premium plans
Pros
• High-level security
• Mobile device support
Cons
• Customer service needs improvement
Pricing
Dacast caters to all business sizes with four active plans.
Affordable for small audiences, its Starter plan is available for $39 per month with features like live streaming, video hosting, and 24/7 support.
Its Event plan is best suited for one-time or occasional events — priced at $63 per month. You also get real-time analytics with this plan.
The next is Scale, which costs $188 per month with 1 TB storage, advanced library management, and unlimited channels.
Custom pricing is another option offered by this top OTT service provider, suitable for large enterprises.
FAQs on OTT Platform Providers
Choose the Best OTT Platform Service Provider for Your Video Business
Choosing the best OTT video platform provider requires thorough research and considerations. We hope that this comparison will help you shortlist the top OTT solutions for your video business.
Independent creators or large businesses rely on an effective OTT platform service to help provide a superior experience to their viewers and expand reach.
Robust OTT platform providers like Ventuno can help you with smooth video hosting and live streaming processes while providing fantastic customer service, automation of daily repetitive tasks, and real-time analytics to further improve your strategies.
Apart from offering all the top features of the best OTT service providers, Ventuno stands out as the most affordable option as well. To justify this, we urge you to –
What are your thoughts on this article? reach out to us at info@ventunotech.com if you would like to discuss!
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