Owing to the technological advancements and evolving consumer needs, the sector is slated to undergo further innovations and disruptions
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The over-the-top (OTT) streaming market is perhaps the most dynamic and interesting sector at present. With an increasing number of players entering this space, established conglomerates and startups alike, OTT’s snowball effect shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, owing to the technological advancements and evolving consumer needs, the sector is slated to undergo further innovations and disruptions. Objectively looking at the progression of the sector, here’s discussing five key trends that are set to govern the OTT industry in times to come:
Leveraging AI for personalising user experiences
AI has undoubtedly been one of the most revolutionary technical advancements of the present times. Several players have leveraged the technology to personalise user experiences and recommendations. The coming years will witness this predictive technology being deeply integrated into the OTT platforms.
By deploying machine learning, OTT players can best understand a user’s preferences and personality traits, become aware of the prevalent themes and selectively curate content on the platform, making online viewing more intuitive and conducive.
Online video streaming set for rapid growth
The boom in social media enabled the growth of online streaming. The online streaming market is here to stay and will be significantly infused with the present day consumer behaviour. Gartner’s predictions supports the same, estimating a growth in consumer spending on streaming services, from USD 18.7 billion at present to USD 30 billion by 2020.
Besides, while currently two-third of internet traffic is consumed in streaming videos, the same will grow to 82% in the next three years, as per the Visual Networking Index report shared by Cisco. In order to make the most of this trend, OTT platforms would be invested in capturing breaking stories live, and creating a VOD playout for linear TV schedule.
Sports and music events set to drift online
Providing users with optimal quality live coverage of sports is a catching trend. Recently, the English Football League launched its live streaming service, enabling easy online access to viewers spread across the globe. Twitter was quick to join the bandwagon, spending USD 10 million for streaming Thursday night NFL games. As a consequence, the micro-blogging site was able to score 2.7 million views for each of the games.
With the trend gaining further momentum, we are going to witness more broadcasters opting for live streaming of sporting events and music performances.
OTT Platforms to become more user-centric
Typically, an OTT platform endeavours to bridge the gap between multiple content producers and audiences. By the same virtue, both content producers and viewers are the users of an OTT platform. The future belongs to players that are able to make their platforms completely user-centric for brands and content creators as well. In fact, with the increasing proliferation of OTT platforms, content creators would access the same to remain relevant to the present day users and build brand identities.
The advent of hybrid platforms
At present, the OTT industry stands where the e-commerce sector once stood quite a few years back. However, with the boom in the sector, consumers are demanding a full stack of services, getting everything they desire from a single platform. Hence, the coming times would witness OTT platforms enabling the sale of physical products or offering a combination of audio and visual solutions. The near future belongs to Hybrid OTT Platforms that are able to effortlessly combine streaming, surfing and shopping, all in a singular ecosystem.
In essence, the upcoming trends seem to be favourable predisposed in the favour of the consumers of today. Offering the ultimate ease and convenience, it is going to be interesting to gauge the transformations in the sectors in the years to come.
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