OTT -- July 8, 2023

Locator: 45942OTT.

Link here, streaming wars.

I've been annoyed / frustrated that "streaming" is not the word I always want to use when talking about streaming. How I missed this, I know not, but finally, the answer: OTT.

Link here to wiki.

An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that have traditionally acted as controllers or distributors of such content. It has also been used to describe no-carrier cellphones, for which all communications are charged as data, avoiding monopolistic competition, or apps for phones that transmit data in this manner, including both those that replace other call methods and those that update software.

The term is most synonymous with subscription-based video on demand (SVoD) services that offer access to film and television content (including existing shows and movies for which rights have been acquired from the content owner, as well as original content produced specifically for the service).

OTT (Over-the-Top) services also include a range of "skinny" television offerings that provide access to live streams of linear specialty channels. These services resemble traditional satellite or cable TV providers, but the content is delivered via the public Internet instead of a closed, private network with exclusive equipment like set-top boxes.

Over-the-top services are typically accessed via websites on personal computers, as well as via apps on mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets), digital media players (including video game consoles), or televisions with integrated Smart TV platforms.

And more:

The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) categorizes the OTT services into two groups: multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs); and online video distributors (OVDs).

Virtual MVPDs include such varied services as DirecTV Stream, FuboTV, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, and YouTube TV.

The FCC defined an OVD as:

any entity that provides video programming by means of the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP)-based transmission path where the transmission path is provided by a person other than the OVD.

An OVD does not include an MVPD inside its MVPD footprint or an MVPD to the extent it is offering online video programming as a component of an MVPD subscription to customers whose homes are inside its MVPD footprint.

For investors:

Consumers can access OTT content through Internet-connected devices such as smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, set-top boxes, gaming consoles, and desktop and laptop computers. As of 2019, Android and iOS users make up more than 45% of the total OTT content streaming audience, while 39% of users use the web to access OTT content.