OTT Full Form – What is OTT?

The full form of OTT is Over The Top. It means that the viewers can use the internet connection to watch TV and film content instead of satellite or cable connections. They can watch the content on television, laptops or mobile devices.

Full-Form of OTT

The full form of OTT is Over The Top. This term is used to refer to any media service that streams and delivers content over the internet. It is called ‘over the top’ as the service is delivered over the top of another platform.

It means that the viewers can use the internet connection to watch TV and film content instead of satellite or cable connections. People can watch the content on television, laptops or mobile devices.

In the previous years, people used to subscribe to cable TV and the cable Tv provider would be in charge of making the TV content available in consumers’ homes. Whereas now,  a consumer can download the OTT platform application of their choice, sign up and take the subscription of various streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar directly. Subscribing means paying a certain amount every month to view the shows that a particular OTT platform offers.

How are Over The Top (full form OTT) different from cable TV?

The customers have complete liberty to select and watch the content these services offer as compared to the previously used cable tv where they could watch only those channels which the cable tv service provider broadcasted. There is no involvement of a cable TV service provider in the above except for giving internet connections.

Significance of Over The Top (full form OTT) platforms

Though OTT is a relatively new entertainment service in India, the market is expected to grow rapidly and the industry will witness a boom in the coming years. Companies in huge numbers are entering the OTT market which has increased the viewing options in multitude for the consumers. Now people have an array of OTT platforms to choose from and watch their favourite content.

Along with global service providers like Disney, Netflix and Amazon Prime, a lot of domestic and local OTT platforms like Sony Liv and Voot have also started streaming shows and movies. This means more and more people are opting for Over The Top platforms as they give the consumers a vast variety of TV shows, movies, series and documentaries to choose from and watch.

How do Over The Top (full-form OTT) platforms benefit marketing?

The global and domestic OTT platforms are gradually entering the Indian households and the number of people subscribing to these platforms is increasing day by day. 

This has created a huge opportunity for marketers and advertisers to explore and monetize through their marketing strategies. As more and more people break away from the usage of cable TV and move towards consuming online media, marketers have increased their chances of reaching a larger consumer base.

What are the advantages of Over The Top (OTT full form) media services?

1. Easy to use: OTT content is very simple to access. The interface of most of the platforms is user-friendly which makes it effortless for users to navigate. Also, a subscriber only needs to have a good internet connection and a device like a laptop, tv or mobile to access the shows, movies serials, etc offered by OTT media services.
2. Cost-efficient and economical: OTT media services prove to be cost-efficient for the users as there is no limit to the content that they can watch in a day or a month.
3. Convenience for the users: The best part about OTT streaming services is that it gives complete liberty to the user to watch their favourite programmes according to their own time. Whether it is any hour of the day or night, the customer can view whatever they wish to and for any number of times.
   1. OTT platforms are not limited to geographical boundaries. The user can be placed anywhere in the world and can still access the content just by logging into their account. So a person travelling to France can easily watch their favourite Indian movies at any point in time simply by logging in to the respective app.
4. A vast variety of content: The amount of content that is available on OTT platforms is immeasurable. They offer a large variety of TV and film content that include dramas, series, movies, TV shows, news, sports, kids’ content, documentaries and more. It also gives access to the international tv content for which the user doesn’t have to pay anything extra.
5. No commercial breaks: A huge drawback of cable tv is that there are lots of commercial breaks in between programmes which break the interest of the viewer, hamper the engagement levels and waste a lot of time. Whereas OTT allows the consumers to have a seamless experience of watching their favourite content without any commercial breaks or advertisements. This acts as a bonus for the viewers as they have a more entertaining experience.