Follow these simple steps to make Video on Demand content available on every device your viewers own.
Over-the-top (OTT) media channels deliver content directly to users through multiple devices, but are designed primarily for TV. Any organization that creates video content can benefit from utilizing this format to reach viewers.
Originally, OTT devices were so-named because they literally sat on top of the television, bypassing cable and enabling access to a wider range of content. Now, the term broadly refers to any kind of software that delivers television content through the Internet rather than a cable or broadcast provider.
What can an OTT Platform do for my organization?
Organizations that broadcast video content to viewers can use OTT technology to better address their users and drive conversions with high-quality content. Whether you run a small e-learning business or a multinational enterprise, OTT platforms enable a variety of valuable features that boost the effectiveness and profitability of video content.
The most valuable of these features are things that traditional cable providers cannot offer. Some of these features are useful from a viewer perspective, while others offer unique benefits to the organizations that use them.
Some of the unique features that OTT platforms offer organizations include:
Full customization. You are in complete control over how your OTT app looks, feels, and works. There is no cable provider telling you that your content needs to fit certain conditions or parameters. You can brand your platform entirely to suit your needs and prevent competitive third parties from advertising to your viewers.
Video monetization. As an OTT app owner, you have practically unlimited opportunities to monetize your video content without third-party oversight or approval. You can support your content with advertisements, charge viewers according to a video-on-demand (VOD) subscription, or both. You decide what monetization method fits your revenue needs best.
Detailed analytics. With an OTT app installed directly on your viewers’ devices, you can gather and analyze key performance data that directly represents your content’s success. Invest in OTT services that provide granular, user-level analytics so you can see how your content performs with audiences – and improve it over time.
Built-in Digital Rights Management (DRM). If you’re spending time, energy, and money creating excellent content, you want to make sure your organization profits from it. Protect your intellectual properties by investing in a secure OTT platform .
Integrated payment gateways. Buying additional content through a traditional cable platform is difficult. Customers either have to call separately and recall details of the offer they saw, or look up the offer on their computer or mobile device. Either option introduces far more user experience friction than a one-click payment gateway integrated directly into the video content itself.
User experience differences between OTT vs Traditional Cable
So far we’ve only covered half of what makes OTT services so valuable for content creators and enterprises. To understand the other half, we need to think about how viewers interact with VOD platforms and digital media assets through devices like Roku, Samsung TV, and AndroidTV.
OTT platforms offer quite a few valuable benefits to viewers. These benefits are the main reason why cable and satellite TV companies have been declining for years. According to Pew Research, 71% of people who don’t use cable or satellite TV say that they get the content they want online for less.
The cord-cutting phenomenon is easy to understand. Streaming services like Netflix offer much more than regular cable TV does, and at a fraction of the price. Users can now subscribe to multiple OTT channels and still pay much less than what cable operators charge.
OTT platforms have a lot to offer viewers. Most cord-cutters who sign up for OTT TV services justify their decision in the following ways:
Get more for less. This is an easy one. OTT services allow users to access digital media assets of all kinds for a fraction of the price cable providers charge. They get much more high-quality content at a rate that cable providers simply cannot beat.
Content is available anytime, anywhere. Unlike cable TV channels that tell viewers to tune in at specific times, OTT app users can watch what they want, whenever they want, on whatever device they want. This is a huge benefit for mobile-oriented users who want to catch up on their favorite content while on the move.
No installation necessary! In order to deliver cable television to a household, cable providers need to send installation crews to home addresses. This means customers have to wait for days or weeks before they can actually enjoy the service they’re paying for. OTT apps can start broadcasting content in mere seconds.
Viewers only pay for what they want. For years, cable TV packages assumed that more is always better. Many people bought all-inclusive packages with hundreds of different channels they never even watched. OTT apps are far more selective – users pay specifically for the content they watch, and can cancel any subscription whenever they want.
Managing and Sharing Digital Media Assets through an OTT Platform
OTT apps are a powerful and flexible replacement for cable TV broadcasters, but they don’t handle everything that traditional TV studios do. In order to make the most of your OTT app deployment, you also have to think about the way you store, organize, and publish your content.
This is done through a digital asset management (DAM) system, which acts as a central repository for all of your digital media. This is a cloud-connected database where you keep your videos, as well as any data you need to make use of those videos for business goals.
Great DAM solutions do more than simply let organizations keep track of their video content. They also streamline security, versioning, editing, approval, and publishing using high-bandwidth infrastructure specially designed for video content.
This is important for content creators who need to reuse multiple versions of the same content in different formats. Instead of performing the same edit a dozen times on a dozen different files in order to make sure every format is the same, you can perform that edit once and version it out to every format you output to.
Similarly, your DAM solution will allow you grant permissions to specific users to interact with certain videos without making all of your content available. This way, you can work closely with advertisers and third-party partners without having to manually perform every single task they require of you.
These are just a few of the benefits that come with choosing an OTT-compatible DAM solution. Some of the other things you can expect to improve by deploying a high-performance DAM system include:
- Quick and intuitive navigation through your assets.
- Efficient asset categorization and organization.
- Optimal storage utilization without file redundancies.
- Easy collaboration with employees, clients, and contractors.
- Centralized creation and communication of video assets.
- Automation-friendly workflows and tech integrations.
- Digital rights management and security policies.
Why is it important to have an OTT app that runs on streaming platforms like Apple TV, Roku TV, and Amazon Fire TV
Video content creators need to go where their customers are. While you can certainly generate a following using your own browser-hosted app, there are limits to how streamlined an experience you can offer your customers that way.
When your content is available through web browsers, mobile apps, and Smart TV apps, it allows viewers to enjoy a seamless user experience. They can start one of your videos on their mobile device while traveling home from work and then switch to their TV once they arrive.
Without a dedicated, TV-compatible OTT app, you cannot easily offer this functionality to users. Instead, they will have to manually open your app on their Smart TV, log in, find the video they were watching, and scroll the playhead to the appropriate part. This entire process will take precious minutes of their time – and they may simply get distracted and not complete the task.
Introducing user friction into your customers’ lives is not a successful business strategy. For your content to succeed in the long term, you need to make it seamlessly available on Apple TV, Samsung TV, AndroidTV, and every other streaming service your customers use.
The best way to do this is by leveraging a built-for-TV OTT platform that bridges the connection between your web-browser content experience, your mobile content experience, and your OTT channel experience. This is the secret to maximizing the value of your video content.
Why do you need to treat OTT as another Screen?
It should be apparent that OTT is more than a media channel that delivers content to users. It is essentially its own screen, where users can engage with your content. Like the OTT boxes that used to sit on top of TVs, today’s OTT services are distinct and separate from the devices that they work with.
Content creators, small businesses, and publishing enterprises that treat OTT as a separate, distinct screen are able to optimize their content for success in today’s challenging media environment. By taking the right steps to create your own OTT channel, you can capitalize on the many advantages this media format offers.
5 Steps to Create Your Own OTT Channel on Cincopa
- Go to your Cincopa Account: On your Account, you need to have the Gallery ID. The Gallery is the way to present multiple videos in one place. This ID is a unique identification for the Gallery.
- Go to the OTT Channel on your Dashboard.
**If you don’t have the option on your Dashboard please contact Cincopa Team.
- Invite a user to the new Channel:
(a) Add the Name of the Channel
(b) Add the Email and the user giving the person an Access to the Gallery. → send the invitation.
Send the pairing code you have generated to your Viewer.
** Note: You can pick & choose which Gallery to share with a user.
- If you already have the Channel on SamsungTV or Android TV or AppleTV or Roku, ask your viewer to download the App.
** If you don’t have the APP, ask the Viewer to download the CincopaTV App, or if you need a branded app, Cincopa can create a branded App for you ( Start as low as 400/Month). - Ask your Viewer to add the Pairing code on the APP. The Pairing code can be used for All the APPs, i.e Mobile, and TV App.
** Note, If you need to automate this process, please contact the Cincopa Team.
Your viewers can watch the content on every screen directly with your brandable OTT channel. It is your decision what OTT Gallery to share with which Viewer.
