Let’s start this OTT video platform read with a fun activity!
What’s your most favorite OTT streaming platform? Here are the options!
- Netflix
- Prime Video
- Disney+
- Other OTT Video Platforms
You can let us know in the comments section! So, heading back to the read!
OTT video platforms have become so popular today and the history goes back a long time! It all started when Netflix went OTT for the first time in 2007. And since then, there has been immense growth and there has been equal competition.
But guess what? There’s still some room for fresh competition! And isn’t that the reason you’re here? You want to build your own OTT video platform and be a part of the competition!
Well, you’ve got it!
This read is all about what you’re looking for! You’ll learn
- What an OTT Platform is
- The reasons why you should start an OTT platform
- The steps to launch your own OTT platform and
- The components required to build your own OTT platform
Also, we’ll be covering the advantages of OTT platforms! So, sit back and relax while we take you through the OTT video platform ride!
What Is An OTT Platform?
OTT means “Over The Top”! An OTT platform is where media is streamed on a platform with the help of the internet. Users can pay to watch videos they like on a monthly subscription model or pay to view per content.
Some of the most popular OTT platforms are,
- Netflix
- Prime Video
- Disney+
- Hulu
- Sling TV and more
Quick Fact: The name Over The Top means delivering something over the top of a platform.
Not that you know what an OTT video platform is, but it’s always good to brush up on the basics! Now that you’re clear, let’s look at the reasons why you should build your own OTT video platform.
Why Start an OTT Platform in 2021?
Remember what we said at the beginning of the read? There’s room for more competition!
The OTT video platform trend is just on the rise and there are many new platforms that are thriving in the competitive market.
So, let’s look at the reasons why you should start an OTT video platform now!
1. Increase Brand Awareness
Believe it or not, an OTT video platform can market itself!
How? Here’s a quick example!
When a person watches a video, he/she will take a look at the platform’s name. And when thousands of people watch the same video, the name goes around. Eventually, more people end up landing on your OTT video platform.
What happens here is,
- You get more traffic on your OTT video platform which means more opportunities for subscriptions.
- Existing subscribers increase brand awareness via word-of-mouth marketing!
This is like a chain reaction and keeps repeating itself – you’ll have a loyal customer base and your brand name might shoot to fame sooner than you think!
2. OTT Video Platforms are Easy to Scale
Only when a business scalable, there’s hope in the long run. When the number of subscribers increase on your OTT video platform, the scalability issue comes in.
But with the right CDN system onboard, scalability is not going to be an issue! You can handle a huge number of consumer demands with ease!
3. OTT Video Platforms Offer Multiple Monetization Methods
Revenue is key for any business to thrive. And when it comes to running an OTT video platform, monetization is not going to be an issue!
There are multiple OTT platform monetization methods to make money today. Some of the most common OTT platform monetization methods are,
- User subscriptions
- Pay-per-view content
- Ad banners
The above monetization methods play a great role in helping OTT video platforms make money provided they crack it right!
4. Larger Audience Base
As of 2021, Disney+ has more than 100 million users and Netflix has more than 208 million users.
A recent survey stated that an approximate 60% of Americans use a streaming service and 50% of the lot use Netflix.
So, it’s not the audience you should be worried about. The entire world is ready to subscribe to an OTT video platform if it is worth the time and money!
All you have to worry about is, building your own OTT video platform and trying to bring it to the limelight!
5. The Convenience Factor
With an OTT video platform subscription, people can watch content anytime they want to! And they just love this fact! There’s going to be no waiting period or long ads in between – just the user and the OTT video platform.
This extreme convenience is what has made OTT platforms so preferable the past few years! And the trend just seems to grow!
The above mentioned are the advantages of OTT platforms and the reasons why you should start building your own OTT video platform today!
With high hopes that you’re convinced, let’s move to the next part of the read!
What Features Should Your OTT Streaming Platform Have?
This is one of the most important parts of the read!
If you want your OTT video platform business to be a success, you have to make sure that the platform gives the best possible experience! And you need to have certain features to give that kind of an experience!
Below mentioned are the features your OTT video platform must have!
- Registration Gateway: Make sure the registration process is a walk in the park. Allowing users to log in with their social media handles is even better!
- Multiple User Profiles: People love when they are given their private space. Make sure your OTT streaming platform has the option where users can create multiple profiles – just like Netflix.
- UI/UX Design: An OTT video platform that looks pleasing and offers a great user experience can go a long way in terms of growth and revenue. Also, make sure the “Night Mode” feature is present.
- Video Player: This comes without saying! But still, make sure your video player has all the basic functions – start, stop etc!
- Watchlist: The user should not have to go through the hardship of finding his/her favorite video every single time. A “My List” feature can help fix this.
- Notifications: As an admin, you should be able to send your platform users custom notifications or new video arrivals. Make sure your OTT streaming platform has this feature as well.
- Android & iOS Applications: The Android and iOS community when combined have more than 4 billion users. Make sure you give them a mobile application to stream videos on!
- Flag/Report Abuse: Users should be able to raise their concerns over content that is present on the platform. And the flag/report abuse is kind of a mandatory feature to do this!
- Built-in Payment Gateways: The transaction process should be a breeze! Make sure there are built-in payment gateways to get this done.
- Multi-Currency & Multi-Language Support: Though the U.S. Dollar and English are accepted worldwide, it’s great if you can leave it to the choice of people!
Honestly, the features list could go on forever! But with the above-mentioned, your OTT streaming platform can put up one hell of a fight!
Quick Recap: As of now, we’ve covered what an OTT video platform is, the reasons why you should start one and the features your OTT streaming platform should have!
We’re pretty much done with the basics. So, let’s look at the steps to build your own OTT video platform now!
How to Launch Your Own OTT Video Platform?
To be frank, launching your own OTT video platform can either be a piece of cake or a nightmare. It totally depends on the path you choose to build your OTT video streaming platform.
So, here we go – the steps to create your own OTT video platform!
Step 1: Find A Specific Niche for Your OTT Video Platform
If you are thinking to stream all kinds of movies and TV series like Netflix or Prime Video, you should seriously reconsider!
Not that it’s a bad move but you’re about to directly compete with the OTT giants! And chances are your OTT video platform might go unnoticed, forever!
As a new OTT video platform, it’s best if you choose a particular niche before you start. You might have the question of whether the platform will take off in the long run.
Here’s an example that might inspire you!
Shudder, an OTT platform chose horror as its niche. They only display exclusive horror content and the platform was started only in the year 2015. By late 2020, the total number of subscribers on Shudder crossed 1 million!
And by now, the numbers would have surely gone up by a million at least!
Though that’s a small number when compared with the OTT giants, think of the subscribers – everyone who is on your platform loves the niche and is going to remain loyal for a very long time. That’s what you really need as a new OTT video platform!
So, choose a niche you think would be ideal for your OTT video platform. Also, make sure that there is a good demand for the same – sports, pets, anything!
We’ll also give you a few profitable streaming ideas for your OTT streaming platform in the later section of this read. But if you already have one on your mind, well and good!
Step 2: Choose a Business Model for Your OTT Video Platform
Now that you’ve chosen a niche for your OTT video streaming platform, it’s time you choose a business model! This is how your OTT platform business is going to make money!
The most common OTT platform monetization models are,
- Transactional Model
- Subscription Model
- Advertisement Business Model
Here’s a quick overview of the different OTT platform business models.
Transactional Model
Here, your OTT video platform users get to watch most of the videos for free. You, on the other hand, can set certain videos as premium and ask the user to pay for that particular video.
When the user pays, they can view content online or download it to watch in offline mode.
This model is highly effective when you are just starting your OTT video platform – helps you draw more users to the platform at the early stages.
Subscription Model
If you’re a Netflix or a Prime Video subscriber, you know how this works!
Your OTT platform users should pay a monthly or an annual subscription fee to view the content you offer!
Image Source: Netflix
Above is Netflix’s subscription plans for the U.S. region. Similarly, you can come up with a sophisticated subscription plan or simply start with a free plan and one subscription plan!
Imagine having 1000 subscribers on your platform. And each of them pays $5.99. That’s $5,990 per month.
This model is best when your OTT video platform has a significant number of users. Click here to know about techniques to grow your OTT subscription business.
Advertisement Business Model
This needs no introduction, does it?
Platforms like YouTube have been using ads in between videos and guess what? They made $6.9 billion in revenue using ads alone!
Similarly, you can use banner video ads on your OTT video platform and make some extra revenue.
This OTT monetization method is best suited if your platform has abundant traffic!
So, which monetization method should you be going for?
Well, here’s your answer – The Hybrid Model!
Here’s what it is!
The Hybrid Model
This is the combination of all the above three OTT monetization models!
Don’t ask yourself whether it’s going to work because it sure will!
Making revenue with just one monetization model is not a very good idea. When you combine all three models together, your OTT video platform will start to make a consistent revenue even if your platform hasn’t made it to the limelight, yet!
Clear with the OTT monetization models? Okay, let’s move to the next step of building your own OTT video platform.
Step 3: Create Your Own Video Streaming Website
There are two ways to do this!
Building your OTT streaming platform from scratch
Using OTT video platform scripts
Building From Scratch
We’re not going to talk about the first methods because of these reasons,
- You have to create all the above-mentioned features from scratch
- This takes around 1-2 months and costs an approximate $70,000
- You’re going to spend an awful lot of time reading this part
So, we’ll move to the next method!
Creating Video Streaming Website Using Video Streaming Scripts
Video streaming scripts or OTT scripts are nothing but readymade video streaming solutions.
With a video streaming script on board, you can create an OTT video platform at a reduced cost & time. Also, you need not have any development or coding knowledge. The OTT scripts follow the plug and play method and the installation process is no biggie!
So, these are the steps to create your OTT video platform using a video streaming script!
Step 1: Buy a domain name for your streaming website from a popular domain vendor.
Step 2: Choose a hosting platform to run your video streaming website.
Step 3: Purchase a video streaming script (we’ll tell you which one you should be going for) and install it on the server.
Step 4: Customize the website to make it look the way you want it to.
Step 5: Set payment gateways, upload videos and your OTT video platform is all set to go live!
That was quick, wasn’t it?
As for the timeline and the cost, it’ll take a week or two and cost you around $800.
Also, here’s the video streaming script you should be going for – StreamView.
StreamView OTT Script
StreamView, also known as Netflix Clone Script, allows you to build your own OTT video platform in no time. StreamTunes has all the above-mentioned features and a few more under the hood. The script is self-hosted and allows a high level of customization.
Also, the script is white-label and there is no forced branding or whatsoever!
You can check the live demo to know how StreamTunes works!
Step 4: Set-Up Mobile Applications for Your OTT Video Platform
Like we already discussed, it is important that you have mobile applications for your video streaming website. The best part about StreamTunes OTT scripts is that you get native Android and iOS applications as well!
The applications are feature-rich and ready to use. The support team takes care of the customizations you need!
So, that’s pretty much the step to build your own OTT video platform.
Wait! Don’t switch tabs!
There are a few other things you need to take care of to make your video streaming website function seamlessly!
5 Essential Components Needed to Launch Your OTT Video Platform
1. Hosting
A good hosting provider can create a big difference for your OTT video platform. You can host videos on the cloud or on your server – it’s totally up to you!
But remember, when you choose to go with a cloud white label hosting platform, you get benefits like unlimited storage.
2. Content Delivery Network System
Down the lane, your OTT video platform is going to have users from all over the globe. And to meet their requests, you need to have a reliable CDN system.
It’s best if you choose a CDN provider who has multiple CDNs. Because only when your users get a seamless streaming service, there’s going to be retention and subscription.
3. Streaming Protocol
Every time a user tries to view a video, a streaming protocol is used to deliver data. And a good streaming protocol facilitates quick video delivery! The best-known streaming protocols are HTTP and RTMP.
4. Transcoder
A transcoder is used to convert videos on your platform into multiple video formats. This helps users view videos on multiple devices like the Web, Mobile and TV.
5. Cross-Platform Support
Since the StreamTune video streaming script comes with Android and iOS applications, users can view it on any device they want! In order for your video streaming website to function efficiently, you need to make sure that everything mentioned above is present.
That said, we’re moving to the final part of the read!
Profitable Niche Ideas for Your OTT Video Platform
It doesn’t matter what you’re going to stream! There’s always a group of people to view your content! But still, if you want a couple of streaming niches that are going to be a sure shot, you’ve got it here!
- Fitness Streaming
- Sports Streaming
- Music Streaming
- Community Related Streaming
- Animals Related Streaming
You can know more about each streaming niche here!
That was a long ride, wasn’t it? But in the end, you got to know how to launch an OTT platform at a reduced cost and time!
That’s all that matters!
The Bottom Line
The world is slowly ditching cable connections and moving to OTT streaming subscriptions. And 7 out of 10 people say they prefer streaming via an OTT video platform rather than sticking to a television.
With the transformation only beginning, there could be no better time for you to start an OTT video platform!
Now that you have everything you need, I see no reason why you should still wait! Take the first step, right now!