There’s a change coming…
The way you’re going to use, consume and sell video is about to look dramatically different.
If you take advantage of this change you could see a large increase in your audience and revenue in a short period of time. What am I talking about?
OTT apps.
They have conditioned people to not only want, but expect, on-demand streaming through their favorite devices. And it’s created a huge and profitable gap in the market. And, guess what?
The timing is perfect for you to fill it.
By offering OTT apps to your customers you can ensure you’re there for all of your customers, in the right place, at the right time. Heck, you could even grow your audience by up to 30% in next few months.
In this article I’m going to show you why OTT apps are important for your business right now, and how they’ll help you stay relevant and profitable into the future.
OTT: The Future Of Video
Over-the-top apps (OTT) are bringing in a “new age” of video.
These apps allow you to stream video from your favorite provider, on your preferred device, whenever you want. You don’t need a cable subscription or expensive satellite package to do it, either. Allowing you to bypass all of the “usual” services and paying for channels you don’t want or use.
Instead, you pay a flat subscription to the channel provider to enjoy what they create. Then, you watch it on the device you prefer. If you have a Netflix subscription, or have at least heard of Netflix, you know what this looks like in practice.
These apps make the content available on television, mobile phones, tablets, desktop computers and streaming boxes. And, there’s no ignoring how powerful this access to streaming has become in today’s society, either.
85% of US internet users stream video every day, and that’s even reaching up to 95% in countries like Saudi Arabia:
Statistics like this have lead to some fascinating predictions for the online-streaming market.
In 2015, the OTT market was valued at 28.04 million, but it’s predicted to reach 62.03 billion by 2022. Making over-the-top streaming a market that’s just waiting to explode. Why?
Because people want access to their videos, on their time, on their device. The success of Netflix, Amazon TV, and Roku all attest to this.
It won’t be long until we experience less of a market “shift” and more of a market earthquake towards every household using OTT apps to watch their favorite shows, movies, and content.
But, what does this mean for you as an online video business owner or a content creator?
The short answer is there could either be a bleak or profitable future on the horizon for you, depending on the steps you take over the next 12 months. But, for the longer answer, you’ll have to read the next section.
Why You Need OTT Apps To Future-Proof Your Business
Video businesses need to start using OTT apps if they want to survive into 2022 and beyond.
We’ve already seen what online streaming has done to companies in the offline world. Blockbuster Video had to become part of the on-demand service for dish just to survive as a company:
It looks as though a similar shift is on the horizon for the current brand of video businesses as well. Cable subscriptions dropped 11% between 2011 and 2017, and the act of canceling your subscription even has a name – Cord Cutting.
(Heck, since I moved houses 18 months ago, I haven’t synced my TV to pick up normal TV channels. Everything comes through my Amazon Fire Stick.)
Even YouTubers are feeling the pinch. Bloomberg reports that 96.5% of YouTubers don’t (or won’t) make enough money to cross the US poverty line.
But while this may all sound a little doom and gloom, it’s not. There is a positive trend for business who take action and use OTT apps to their advantage. And, the monetary values of OTT are going to continue to increase. Why?
Because for current generations of Millenials, and the generations that come afterwards, they’ll have been raised and fed a diet of OTT on-demand videos. They won’t just want it, but they’ll expect it.
Brands like the New England Patriots are shifting their streaming services to OTT and subscription streaming to try and get ahead of the curve:
“The thing we have to be careful of is millennials. They don’t watch TV, they don’t have TVs or subscribe to cable. So we have to bring that audience in. Over-the-top is a great opportunity.”
– Robert Kraft, Chairman, New England Patriots
The benefits of this don’t just come in the future, though. There are tangible benefits that can improve your business almost overnight, by harnessing what’s known as the Netflix Effect. Most notably, an increase in audience and revenue.
How Netflix Does It – Use Apps to Increase Your Audience by 30%
Netflix is available on any device, at any time, to any of its subscribers. This has conditioned people to want to access whenever and wherever they can get it.
As the shift from desktop continues to happen, it’s likely we’ll see more of these little segments popping up, with tribes of people watching on their favorite device.
Being in all of those places allows you to attract and reach more customers and increase your revenue and income. If you’re only on desktop right now – which many online video businesses are – you’re losing out on thousands of customers.
Even if you were just to create an iOS app, based on the data above, you’d be able to reach up to 31% more people. That’s a huge growth in audience just by creating an app people can download to their phone.
You can leverage each segment of this potential audience by creating apps for:
- Televisions
- Tablets
- Streaming Boxes
- Mobile Phones (Android and Apple)
And giving yourself the opportunity to reach a much larger audience who otherwise wouldn’t buy your product because it’s desktop only, or not offered on their preferred OTT platform.
Best of all, you don’t need to change your product or marketing to take advantage of this.
It doesn’t require a lot of changes to your business (if any at all). All you have to do is create an OTT app and begin offering it as a service. But, how do you do that?
First Steps: How To Create Your Own OTT Apps
Creating your own OTT apps can seem a little confusing. It feels pricey and like you’d need to get a developer to do all the work, doesn’t it?
Well, the truth is, it doesn’t have to be like that. There are various routes you can take to get started.
If you want to start off small and test the waters, you could try and create your own Roku app. This is a TV-streaming service and is responsible for many of the streaming boxes in America. You’ll have the option to target a large audience and test to see if OTT is for you.
If you’re a business owner who likes complete control, you can create your Netflix-style service from end-to-end. We put together a detailed guide on how you can do this in our create your own Uscreen article.
Both of these methods require some DIY knowledge and will require some money invested in them.
However, if you want your apps created by a professional, for an affordable price, you really should check out our Uscreen services. We can help you create fully branded apps for all devices and save you thousands of dollars and hours while doing it.
You can learn more about those right here.
Wrapping This Up…
OTT apps are the future of television and online streaming services. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry that is creating a large movement in how people consume their content.
If you want your business to survive into the future, you’re going to need to take advantage of these apps in one form or another. And, if you do so right now, you have the potential to increase your audience by 50% almost instantly.
Creating these apps doesn’t need to be hard or expensive, and can be done through DIY methods or using services like Uscreen.
