The competition for your OTT platform- A report from the market whisperers!
So, what led to the birth of Over Top video streaming platforms, popularly known as OTT platforms? Simple, it’s the saturation of the content!
Thanks to the rapid digital transformation, the gates for the global entertainment industry have now been opened! The money and pizzazz involved in the entertainment industry could have been a primary reason for our globally collective take on content, but there is more to it than what you see at the surface.
Believe it or not, movies are a dying art, and there is a vast and intense audience dedicated to this dying art form around the globe.
Pair all these factors with the global hardware revolution, the birth of the OTT platforms would make sense!
Why OTT, though?
Content saturation is one of the primary reasons for the birth of OTT platforms, but at present, people are hooked up to an OTT platform simply because they could! People are rapidly changing to OTT platforms because it’s easy, convenient, vast, but more importantly, is affordable.
The hardware, like mobile devices or laptops, or smart TVs, are all made in such a way that they are OTT compatible. Features like a 4K screen and incredible computing powers set the stage for the OTT engagement.
The exponential rise of the OTT platforms
The pandemic is undoubtedly the main factor responsible for the sudden boost in the OTT platforms. As people were confined to their homes, OTT platforms acted as a medium to take their minds off the pandemic.
Apart from that, OTT platforms gave breathing space for many artists as they revived the industry despite the lockdown.
The global market for OTT will reach $1 trillion in the next 5 years. Many countries, especially the UAE tech market, have witnessed a lot of digital transformation companies extending their reach to OTT platform development.
What are the top OTT platforms in UAE?
There are a number of OTT platforms available in the UAE, but only a handful nail the user experience while maintaining the quality of the content.
- Netflix
- Prime
- AppleTV+
- EROS NOW
- OSN
- STARZPLAY
If you are to build an OTT platform in UAE, the platforms mentioned earlier would be your primary competition.
They are the front runners of the OTT market and are shaping up the entertainment industry.
Read Also – How Mobile Apps Are Transforming The Entertainment Industry?
How to build a solid OTT platform?
It may be hard to believe, but there is nothing called a “perfect product” in the world. A perfect product doesn’t exist because we can always innovate the final product. The space for innovation is always there.
Similarly, a perfect OTT platform doesn’t exist. Sure, there are platforms that attract millions of users, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be upgraded.
We have analyzed the OTT market and the audience’s behavior to understand the thumb rules of creating a perfect OTT platform.
- Interactive user experience.
- Quality content.
- Cross-functionality.
- Better pricing plans.
- A solid build.
Interactive user experience
An interactive user experience is a must when it comes to building a solid OTT platform. People will be spending hours altogether using your OTT platform. Many people were binge-watching entire seasons during the lockdown.
If you want to keep them engaged, you need an interactive user experience that keeps your audience engaged. People are often repelled by the crowding of the functionalities. It is the 21st century, and people love minimalism.
Best mobile app ideas like this should be fuelled by the right kind of design based on the audience’s persona. That’s the simplest and most practical way to approach the design for your OTT platform.
Take Netflix, for instance. In the last year, Netflix saw a 26% jump in subscribers from the UAE. This drastic boost is a good thing, but retaining this spike is a lot tougher than you think. And it doesn’t hurt to have a trademark design for your platform.
Quality content
This is the most obvious requirement for an engaging OTT platform. However, you would be surprised to know that this is one of the most important reasons why an OTT platform fails.
Despite the vast content, people are still looking for alternative platforms that keep them engaged. This is because people are attracted to the original content. This scarcity of content is a huge blow to the entertainment industry.
If you are planning to build an engaging OTT platform, make sure you have a solid content strategy and keep regulating the content.
Cross-functionality
It is really important that your OTT platform is compatible across devices. There are many platforms and devices available in the market. It is highly important that your OTT platform is supported across the devices.
A majority of the audience watches OTT on their smartphones. Most of the platforms we mentioned before are available across devices like smartphones, laptops, computers, tabs, and TVs.
Reaching out to the audience through the channels that they are already invested in is a sure-shot way to retain customer engagement.
Better pricing plans
There are a lot of channels through which the audience can view or even download the content without even spending a buck! Despite this, people subscribe to the OTT platforms because of their originality and their cross-functionality.
But those two factors are nothing but a line in the sand. People can cross this line very easily if they feel that they are being ripped off or overcharged.
On average, the advanced plan for most of the OTT platforms in the UAE range between AED 35 TO 45/month.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, mark your prices significantly lower than the average price. But do not compensate for your content quality to reduce your price. Finding the sweet spot is all that matters.
A solid build
App development companies in Dubai are pooling their efforts to build a solid OTT platform. A solid OTT platform is a versatile one.
Envisioning OTT platforms as an application is bringing in a lot of potential to the table. Things like voice search technologies are transforming the audience experience.
There are many types of mobile applications available in the app stores, but the OTT kind has the potential to lock customer interaction.
A strong cloud strategy is also the key to a high-functioning OTT platform. There are many cloud service providers in Dubai who are simplifying the operations involved in the industry.
Wrapping this up,
After all these, you need to pair your OTT platform with an innovative marketing strategy. A good marketing strategy can help you cover a large area and act as a funnel for customer attraction. OTT platforms bring art forms from different countries and cultures to your living room. This is a healthy transformation. This transfer of culture also decentralizes the power which the entertainment industry sometimes exploits. So, it’s a win-win scenario!
