OTT media services allow educational content creators to broadcast their work on television without breaking the bank.
Until recently, online educators have largely relied on desktop and mobile-compatible video hosting solutions that broadcast their content to paying students around the world.
This model was just beginning to seed at the start of the global pandemic, and flourished during the days that followed. Now, however, people are starting to demand more from online educators.
Online students want a Netflix-like experience where they can start to watch videos on their mobile phone and transfer videos seamlessly to their TV with a single swipe.
This is not something that most run-of-the-mill video hosting platforms can offer.
It’s not a common feature of online education platforms or enterprise video solutions. However, Netflix offers this seamless experience while watching videos, so almost everyone now expects it.
Online educators and content creators who rely on video hosting solutions now need to develop OTT apps that offer the features their viewers demand for optimized viewer experience.
OTT media services are becoming one of the most important assets content creators can invest in.
What is OTT: Over-the-Top Media Service?
OTT apps broadly refer to services that broadcast video content over the Internet while bypassing traditional distribution networks – like television channels.
OTT apps offer a user experience similar to that of an on-demand television network channel like Video On Demand (VOD), but with far greater interactivity and a branded multi-touch environment that moves seamlessly between devices.
NetFlix, Disney+, and Apple TV are just some of the biggest names in this space. However, there is a formidable presence of small players taking up a growing market share of the OTT industry. Educators and niche content creators of all kinds offer content that sits well outside of the streaming giants’ zone of interest.
OTT apps are an ideal target for online learning platform creators to build high-quality branded experiences for viewers.
With the right streaming platform for education, you can address viewers on every device they own and let them view your content however they wish with an OTT app.
How OTT Apps Host New Channels
OTT apps offer a wide range of content options to viewers around the world.
OTT also enable viewers to consume content on whatever device they want. This changes the viewer experience in ways that can help OTT content creators thrive in a challenging environment of online education.
Here are some examples of OTT apps hosting high-traffic channels that are growing.
- The WKOUT. This OTT app offers on-demand workout routines to subscription members, giving them something more inclusive and valuable than the generic fitness content you can readily find for free on YouTube. The WKOUT offers multiple programs to users, from fat burning content to yoga and strength-building exercises.
- MyTribe. This OTT app focuses on family-friendly religious content that is approachable, amusing, and accessible. The app’s creators draw from a wide variety of modern television and media tropes to tell Bible stories to children in ways that are far more engaging than the typical Sunday school sermon.
- Bootshaus. Bootshaus is actually an electronic music nightclub in Cologne, Germany, but it is arguably more famous for its online content. It uses an OTT app to broadcast performances, interviews, podcasts and more to fans of electronic music around the world. This augments Cologne’s position as an important hub of electronic music.
- FanForce TV. Independent films are not always easy to find. FanForce TV is an OTT app that focuses on making hard-to-find indie films accessible to fans around the world. Television compatibility is a must-have for these cinematic masterpieces, and the app’s creators have made sure their app allows viewers to play those films on any device.
- Cakeflix. This OTT app focuses on one thing, and one thing only: baking cakes. CakeFlix gives amateur and professional bakers all the resources they need to create amazing cakes for any occasion. It has multiple series, interviews, and shows focused entirely on the subject.
All of these content creators use OTT functionality to maximize the viewer experience and create a sustainable business hosting and broadcasting videos.
All of these content creators use a video hosting solution like Cincopa that supports send-to-TV functionality of OTT app to serve their viewers’ needs.
The Rise of Online Courses
The growth of the OTT app industry is perhaps most evident in the world of online education.
Teaching and coaching services are rapidly migrating to OTT video platforms so they can take advantage of the features OTT technologies offer.
Niche educational content is among one of the most in-demand types of content in today’s media landscape:
- Experts predict the worldwide e-learning market will be worth $325 billion in 2025.
- Users aged 18-34 report using OTT apps like Netflix two times more than Youtube.
- The market for corporate E learning could increase $38.09 billion dollars by 2024
- US companies have seen an increase of 42% in income with E-learning
Whether learning how to manage corporate finance or how to bake cakes, people are increasingly turning towards education content on OTT apps to develop their skills and lead better lives.
OTT apps vs. Share Your Screen Functionality: What are the Differences?
One of the major benefits to implementing an OTT video platform is the ability to broadcast your content to any screen your viewers own.
The abundance of Smart TVs like Samsung TV, Amazon Fire Stick, Apple TV and Roku TV devices is making big-screen compatibility a must-have for online educators and video content creators in every industry.
Being able to reach your viewers on any kind of device is a great value proposition, but until now, it’s been difficult and expensive to implement.
Most small business content creators relied on the Share Your Screen functionality that most mobile phones have. This offers a quick, if inelegant way to take mobile browser content and broadcast it directly to a TV on the same Wi-Fi network.
The difference between native TV compatibility (OTT) and Share Your Screen functionality is significant.
Share Your Screen functionality introduces several elements of user friction that become bottlenecks to sustainable content success:
- Share Your Screen functionality forces the viewer to use their mobile phone as an interactive remote. That means they cannot use their mobile phone for other purposes without interrupting the flow of content on the big screen.
- Share Your Screen functionality only works with a particular set of mobile phone makes and models. Viewers who have older phones, or mobile phones not manufactured by the biggest and most reputable brands may not be able to use that functionality at all.
- Viewers can only share content on their television screen if their phone has sufficient battery.
- Multiple viewers cannot equally control the flow of content on the television screen. Only the user who broadcasts the content from their phone has this control. The television remote is not compatible.
- Not all content will display correctly on all television screens. Share Your Screen functionality runs on rudimentary formatting engines that try to approximate the look of a native TV display, but they cannot guarantee a high-quality visual experience on every device the way an OTT app does.
Your Online Education App Needs Its Own Send-to-TV Button
If you are a OTT content creator who specializes in online education, you need a video platform that gives your viewers the experience they have come to expect from major streaming companies.
Fortunately, you do not have to sign a synchronization deal with a major television network to do this.
You can do it simply by hosting your videos on the appropriate video streaming platform for education.
If you choose the right video hosting software for your business, you can enable native screen share to TV functionality for your users with a single click with OTT.
This means your viewers can open up your app on their phone, choose the video they want to start watching, and immediately broadcast it to their TV in a matter of seconds.
Without an OTT kind of functionality, the process of pushing a video from a phone or desktop computer to a TV is difficult and complicated.
A mobile phone user would have to rely on their phone’s Share to Screen functionality. If their phone doesn’t have that feature, they will have to manually stop the video, turn on their Smart TV, browse to the website that hosts your video content, sign in, find the appropriate video, and then scroll the playhead to the moment they left off.
This whole process will take several long, frustrating minutes impacting user experience and functionality.
A desktop or laptop user has the additional option of broadcasting content to the TV using an HDMI cable. But this solution is just as complex.
With HDMI, users will have to unplug their computer from its regular place, find a spot for it somewhere near the TV, insert the appropriate cable from one to the other, and then make sure the computer is powered on or has enough battery to last for the duration of the content.
It’s easy to see that both of these situations introduce a great deal of user experience friction into a situation that should be friction-free.
Major streaming networks have taught viewers that they should be able to seamlessly broadcast their favorite content from one device to another with a single click.
Cincopa: A Centralized Digital Assets Platform for Online Education and EdTech
Cincopa is a fully featured video hosting platform that allows viewers to broadcast their content to any screen they own.
Make Cincopa your video streaming platform and enable viewers to watch OTT content on any device.
Build a NetFlix-like video gallery for your educational content and provide an EdTech experience that meets the highest expectations with our help.