Understanding the OTT Landscape: The Streaming Wars Survival Guide

The Survival Guide to Understanding the OTT Landscape Streaming Wars

Over-the-top (OTT) streaming services are coming for cable TV’s crown. According to July 2022 data from Nielsen, streaming services took the top spot in TV viewership for the first time, coming in at 34.8% compared to cable TV’s 34.1%.  It makes sense: The sheer number of OTT services now available means that viewers can find whatever they’re looking for and watch it wherever they want, all on-demand.

And the market isn’t slowing down: Recent research found that global revenues for OTT TV episodes and movies reached $135 billion in 2021, with an additional $21 billion in revenue forecast for 2022. But increasing market value comes with expanding competition as companies that own content make the move from licensers to OTT providers.

This expanding market impact has led to the first skirmishes of the streaming wars — the emerging battle to win the wallets of content viewers. In this piece, we’ll set the stage with a look at common OTT business models and offer a quick and simple guide to help survive the war.


Common OTT Business Models

Streaming Video on Demand (SVOD)

Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD)

Ad-based Video on Demand (AVOD)

Free Ad-Sponsored TV (FAST)

How To Survive the Streaming Wars

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