Video Monetization

Best OTT Platforms for Creators: Your Brand on Every Screen

By Eden Metzler
17 Min Read

Learn More about Mobile & TV Apps

Image showing how Adrienne from Find What Feels Good takes advantage of all the best OTT platforms, devices and services with Uscreen.

OTT platforms can be a powerful tool for content creators looking to increase revenue and stand out in their niche. 

An OTT platform lets you offer premium streaming experiences and build your online presence beyond social media. You can create your own branded apps for OTT streaming services like Roku, Smart TV, and even gaming consoles. 

Plus, connecting with viewers on their chosen device makes your video content even more valuable, and keeps your audience coming back for more. 

Ahead, we recommend the best OTT platforms based on features, capability, and price. 

Name Best forPrice
UscreenScaling membership  business$$
MuviMedia houses$$$
WowzaTechnical entrepreneurs$$
SetplexTech-focused brandsQuote-based
BrightcoveLarger enterprisesPrivate
PivotshareBeginnersRevenue Share
DacastNew live steamers$
KalturaEducational institutions$
IBM Watson MediaEnterprise$$
JW PlayerDevelopers and content creators$
Vimeo OTTSmall Businesses$
Brid.TVBrands Monetizing with Ads$

What are OTT platforms? 

“OTT” stands for “Over-the-Top”. When we’re talking about OTT platforms, we are referring to the streaming services that deliver content over the internet, across multiple devices. 

Think about the last time you used a popular streaming service like HBO Max or Hulu. Did you watch it on your laptop or smart TV? These brands are able to offer you the choice to watch your favorite content on the device you love, and that’s because they use OTT streaming platforms. 

The biggest perk of an OTT platform is that it gives your audience the choice of where they want to watch your on-demand content, hop into your livestreams, and engage with your exclusive community. 

Best OTT platforms compared

1. Uscreen

Best for: Scaling your membership business 

Reasons to buy: 

  • Cost effective, all-in-one pricing model.
  • Easy to set up and operate branded OTT apps.
  • Immaculate viewing and community experience. 
An original screenshot of Uscreen's OTT platform solutions ranging from TV, Tablet, mobile apps and more.

If you’re looking for an OTT platform that makes it easy to build and customize your own apps,  Uscreen is your best option. The Uscreen platform allows you to easily build your own branded membership site and apps, helping you to make money from your video content.

With Uscreen, you can launch your own video streaming service across multiple platforms, such as web, mobile apps, and smart TVs, ensuring your subscription video content and exclusive community area accessible anywhere and anytime.

But Uscreen is more than just a content delivery service. It offers a suite of tools that helps you build your brand, engage your audience, and earn money from your videos.  

You can build your video memberships to offer access to your exclusive community and ad free content, which allows you to generate revenue from recurring subscription payments. On top of that, you can offer different ways for your audience to view and pay for your content, such as limited rentals, one-off purchases, or pay-per-view streaming. 

And when you’re ready to take your brand and business to the next level, Uscreen makes it easy to launch your own branded set of membership apps. The latest stats show that membership businesses with OTT apps generate 10x more subscription MRR than those that without apps.

Original graph showing how Uscreen customers with membership apps have more success than the ones without apps.

Studio Bloom is an on-demand fitness platform for pre- and post-natal workouts. They joined Uscreen in June 2020 to provide a more premium experience for their members. With the help of Uscreen’s OTT platform, they developed multiple apps, including a popular Apple Watch tracker app. 

An original screenshot shows an OTT tablet preview for an app built on Uscreen.

This strategic move allowed Studio Bloom to significantly increase revenue, reaching over $87k a month, grow their subscriber base by 30% in 3 months, and successfully transition to a fully online digital streaming business model, outpacing the capabilities of previous platforms like Vimeo and Intelivideo.

Say you’re a fitness instructor, too. With Uscreen, you can set up different levels of membership, each providing tailored content and benefits that suit each level of your audience best. For example, a fitness instructor could offer a basic plan with access to daily workouts, a premium plan that includes personalized nutrition guides, and a VIP plan that adds one-on-one coaching sessions.

Uscreen also helps you make the most of your content with built-in marketing and analytics tools:

  • Analytics: Offer a detailed overview of audience behavior, like watch time per device and unique video page views per day. This helps you understand what content is performing well. 
  • Marketing: You’ll get access to free giveaway funnels, lead generation tools, landing page builder, subscription upselling, and other marketing tools. 
A screenshot of Uscreen's marketing tools ranging from giveaway funnels, landing pages, email, subscription upsells, gift cards to coupons and push notifications.

Uscreen also integrates with popular marketing tools like Mailchimp and ConvertKit to assist your marketing efforts. Our approach to marketing empowers you to automate lead generation, nurture your audience, and run win-back campaigns across all stages of the customer journey.  

And since community is the heart of any successful creator business, Uscreen makes it easy to build and nurture yours. Through a built-in community space and dedicated community features such as channels, attached catalog videos, polls, mentions, and followable user profiles with avatars, you can promote interaction and engagement with your members.

An original screenshot from B Tribal Fit's online community for their OTT platform.

Let’s look at a few extra benefits you get from partnering with Uscreen as your membership and OTT provider. 

It’s cost effective

It’s easy to build and monetize a membership community for video creators with Uscreen’s all-in-one pricing model. A single platform can simplify operations and cut costs for creators by combining many tools and services. You can easily launch, manage, and grow your membership business with Uscreen.

Uscreen works on a monthly subscription basis instead of the typical revenue-sharing model. This allows you to predict costs more accurately and maximize profits as you scale.

It’s easy to setup and manage

Uscreen allows you to lease a fully-customized app that’s connected to your web-based live streaming platform. You can maintain the lease as long as you have an account with Uscreen, simplifying the management of your OTT app.

With the platform, you can create branded apps for Roku, Smart TV, and gaming consoles, so you can reach a wider audience.

The first step is ordering your apps through the Mobile & TV Apps  tab in the Admin Area, choosing your app, and contacting Uscreen directly. Once the order is confirmed, Uscreen sends you a simple form to fill out, asking for things like the app name, description, categories, offers, and image.

A screenshot of Uscreen's Mobile and TV apps backend dashboard.

It’s profitable  

Additionally, creators who use Uscreen and develop membership apps reportedly see a substantial increase in key business metrics:

  • Increase engagement by an average of 20%
  • Encourage more regular visitors by an average of 10x
  • Boost your customers by an average of 8x

With Uscreen’s support, music education membership business Prodigies earns over $40,000 a month, benefits from high retention rates with 3,000 long-term and lifetime subscribers, and leverages its community for organic growth through word-of-mouth.

It’s simple with Uscreen.

Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.

Other notable features: 

  • HTML5 full HD online video player.
  • Customizable VOD templates with flexible branding options.
  • Multiple monetization models including subscriptions, one-time purchases, and rentals.
  • Robust analytics and reporting tools.
  • CRM capabilities. 
  • Flexibility for organizing your video catalog.
  • Video hosting and live streaming. 
  • API access. 

Pros:

  • Community-building tools that include live chat, comments with likes, and an option for members to personalize profiles with custom avatars.
  • Customization and website builder templates available to help you quickly launch your own branded website.
  • Monetize by offering subscriptions, bundles, pay-per-views, rentals, free trials
  • Stream your content through an on-demand video catalog or schedule in advance
  • Easy to create a feed, live stream content, and get paid for it. 

Pricing: $$

2. Muvi

Best for: Media and video production houses 

Reasons to buy: 

  • Robust customization features.
  • Audio streaming services.
  • Simple ads monetization.
An original screenshot of Muvi's dashboard backend for Michael Keenan, author of this article.

Muvi is known as one of the highly customizable OTT platforms for enterprise brands. The company offers an end-to-end solution for launching white-labeled OTT video and audio streaming services. 

With Muvi, you can build a branded website with more flexibility. It’s easy to customize existing features, request new ones, and integrate with 3rd party tools like Google Analytics, DoubleClick, and more. 

You can build an advertising-based revenue model with Muvi and keep 100% of the profits. There’s also Muvi Kart, which lets you sell physical products to maximize revenue. 

Features: 

  • Video on Demand (VOD)
  • Pay-Per-View (PPV) / TVOD
  • Enterprise Video Content Management
  • Live Streaming 
  • Video Advertising (AVOD) 
  • Encoding & Transcoding 
  • Video Streaming 

Pros:

  • Robust cloud-hosted platform that supports on-demand content and ecommerce.
  • Quick and easy setup.
  • Multiple monetization methods.
  • Allows you to sell physical products alongside live streams. 

Cons: 

  • Limited website templates.
  • The video editor could use improvement.
  • Limited marketing functions.
  • No easy way to integrate with email providers like Mailchimp.

Free trial: 14-day free trial 

Pricing: $$$

3. Wowza

Best for: Event producers and technical entrepreneurs 

Reasons to buy: 

  • Most developer friendly.
  • Full-featured, 30-day free trial. 
  • Support for wide range of live events.
An original screenshot of Wowza’s user dashboard for Michael Keena's account, the author of this post.

Wowza is a comprehensive live streaming solution that can stream content from the cloud and live encoders. It also recently joined the group of “hybrid” platforms, offering on demand video hosting and audio-on-demand services. The goal is to attract big brands in industries like healthcare, retail, esports, and government. 

Wowza lets broadcasters develop highly customized video streaming processes. Broadcasters have full access to Wowza’s API and SDKs and the potential for third-party integrations. It’s known for its scalable, flexible broadcasting possibilities and advanced streaming infrastructure. 

Features: 

  • Brand overlay.
  • Bulk uploading.
  • Closed captions.
  • Mobile screen support.
  • Cloud transcoding.
  • Reporting/analytics.
  • Social sharing.
  • Video looping.
  • Live video streaming.

Pros:

  • API for Live, VOD, CMS, CDN, and Player.
  • High-level security features.
  • Supports virtual reality, 360-degree films, and 4K streaming.

Cons: 

  • App configuration and server management is difficult. 
  • Limited client support. 
  • Limited monetization tools.

Free trial: 30 days 

Pricing: $$

4. Setplex

Best for: Tech-focused brands 

Reasons to buy: 

  • Numerous broadcasting channels.
  • Versatile monetization methods. 
  • Complete suite of streaming features.
A screenshot shows Setplex's OTT capabilities.
Source: Setplex

Setplex provides OTT streaming services for IPTV, content owners, and government IPTV. It’s a simple, yet powerful and affordable solution that covers all the essentials. 

With Setplex’s OTT service, you can take advantage of on-cloud or on-premise management, making your app instantly available on the top ten app stores and directories. Setplex also has a Middleware integration that lets you edit your user interface, content, main menu, and more. 

The SPA210 HD is Setplex’s most powerful and fully-featured SET TOP BOX (STB), designed specifically for IPTV/OTT/VOD deployment.

Features:

  • OTT distribution. 
  • Content management.
  • Multiple monetization methods.
  • Encoding/Transcoding.
  • CDN.
  • API integration.
  • Billing.

Pros:

  • Distribute content and broadcast over satellite.
  • Store unlimited hours and HD programming. 
  • Live channel delivery for linear channels and events.
  • Launch an OTT platform in 24 hours. 
  • Custom packages to meet your needs.

Cons: 

  • Some reports say certain channels don’t work.
  • Complicated workflows. 

Free trial: No

Price: Quote based

5. Brightcove

Best for: Larger enterprises

Reasons to buy:

  • Robust video analytics.
  • Server-side ad insertion.
  • High-end video platform.
A screenshot shows how the Brightcove OTT platform looks like.
Source: Brightcove

Brightcove is a full-featured, cloud-based video streaming and hosting platform launched in 2004. It focuses on helping enterprise brands deliver live or on-demand HD assets to 175 countries. 

Brightcove’s live streaming functionality offers real-time broadcasts, VOD hosting with integrated marketing solutions, and content streaming across desktops and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. It also supports server-side ad insertion (SSAI), so if you provide ad supported video, you can target ads in the expandable banner, midroll, overlay banner, and other forms to avoid ad blockers. 

Features: 

  • Live streaming.
  • VOD hosting.
  • Multi-bitrate and adaptive video streaming.
  • Global content delivery.
  • Tech support.
  • Video API access.
  • Top-tier security features.
  • Video monetization.

Pros:

  • Monetize with coupons, SVOD, PPV, and AVOD. 
  • Serve any type of ads.
  • Gain deep analytical and actionable insights.
  • 24/7 customer support.
  • Fully customize your HTML5 video player.
  • Supports multiple business use cases. 

Cons: 

  • High price point compared to other OTT platforms.
  • Features are limited to high-ticket plans. 
  • No China video delivery. 

Free trial: No

Price: Quote based.

6. Pivotshare

Best for: Beginners

Reasons to buy:

  • Best for collaboration. 
  • Free to start.
A screenshot shows Pivotshare's OTT backend platform.
Source: FounderJar

Pivotshare is an OTT platform that encourages collaboration to reach more viewers and monetize OTT content. Uscreen is a main Pivotshare alternative, but the two platforms go about supporting creators differently. 

Pivotshare tends to attract people new to monetizing video content. It has a basic channel builder that’ll get you off the ground. You can invite friends to contribute to your video content, set transactional pricing and create video packages. 

But Pivotshare takes 30% of all revenue generated as a single publisher. If you have contributed content and the channel is downloaded or rented, you’ll receive 60% of the purchase price, split between all contributors. 

That’s a big chunk of change if you’re producing a lot of video content for your audience. 

Features:

  • Social integration.
  • Repeat billing.
  • Responsive channel design.
  • Video search. 
  • Simple user navigation.
  • File downloads and attachments.
  • Analytics. 

Pros:

  • Combine audiences and expand your brand.
  • Complete branded channel customization.
  • Subscription, coupon, and free trial monetization. 
  • Share through in-stream video previews and action buttons. 
  • Provide real-time, in-depth audience analysis. 

Cons:

  • Revenue share gets expensive, fast. 
  • Not ideal for solo creators. 

Free trial: Free to start.

Price: 30% of revenue.

7. Dacast

Best for: New live streamers

Reasons to buy: 

  • Low entry-level price.
  • Full API access.
  • Impressive live streaming.
A screenshot of Dacast's platform for Michael Keenan's account, the author of this article..

With Dacast’s OTT services, you can host on-demand videos and monetize content via PPV, subscriptions, or ad networks. In most cases, Dacast is used for live streaming by content owners. However, Dacast is geared toward newcomers to VOD and offers all the basics. 

Dacast makes it easy to set up your video streaming channel. Whether you’re a cable TV station or a government agency, you get a professional Over-the-Top service out of the box. 

Dacast delivers content through Akamai, the world’s largest content delivery network. However, if you host a lot of videos, you’ll have to pay for storage. 

Features: 

  • Live streaming video. 
  • Embeddable links.
  • Video hosting.
  • Customizable video player.
  • Video API.
  • Monetization tools. 
  • Analytics. 
  • All-device HTML5 player.

Pros:

  • All-in-one platform for live streaming and video monetization.
  • White label features such as customizing video players and adding a watermark logo.
  • Full API access to integrate features and build custom workflows.  

Cons: 

  • Heavy commission structure, 9% of earnings plus commission fees.
  • Files larger than 2GB require FTP upload, which is complex. 
  • Outdated interface. 
  • Can only accept USD and EUR for credit card transactions. 

Free trial: Yes, 14-days

Pricing: $

It’s simple with Uscreen.

Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.

8. Kaltura

Best for: Educational institutions 

Reasons to buy: 

  • Open source video platform.
  • Integrated LMS.
  • AI-driven tools for video marketing.
A screenshot of Kaltura's platform took by the author of this article, Michael Keenan.

Kaltura is the first open-source video streaming platform launched in 2006. 

Since then, it’s become the leading video cloud for global organizations, media companies, and educational institutions. The platform is supported by an API and a variety of plugins you can use to add functionality like payments, advertising, and analytics. 

Kaltura also provides tools to support effective learning and development experiences. It’s been integrated with Carleton’s Learning Management System (LMS), so brands can train students, offer certifications, and host town halls and private events. 

Features: 

  • Third-party integrations.
  • Content management. 
  • API access.
  • Customizable branding.
  • Embeddable videos.
  • Activity dashboard.
  • Robust CMS.
  • Smart monetization.
  • Automated captioning.

Pros:

  • Simple interface to record live sessions.
  • Cloud transcoding and encoder processing capabilities in different resolutions.
  • Gamification features for learners. 
  • Supports HTML video ads and overlay ads. 

Cons: 

  • Poor customer service.
  • Difficult to implement. 
  • No downloadable video files.
  • Limited revenue models.

Free trial: 30 days. 

Pricing: $

9. IBM Watson Media

Best for: AI automation for enterprise

Reasons to buy: 

  • Reliable and scalable infrastructure.
  • Leverages Watson AI technology. 
  • Helps improve audience reach. 
A screenshot of IBM Cloud's pricing.
Source: TrustRadius

IBM Watson Media is one of the biggest video streaming platforms. “Streaming Manager” is the main product, and IBM Video Cloud has many features, like embedded video players, custom branding, and cloud transcoding to give viewers an optimized experience. 

To ensure smooth playback, IBM uses multiple CDNs. It also lets you create custom registrations to capture lead information and grow your sales. 

Features: 

  • Integrate content management.
  • Automated captioning and speech-to-text. 
  • Integrated chat.
  • Live analytics dashboard. 
  • Multiple admin support.
  • Lead capture.
  • Support for professional encoding and production gear. 
  • Syndication.
  • AI/machine learning capabilities.
  • Automation.

Pros:

  • No resolution or bitrate limit on HD live streaming.
  • Plays on all mobile devices, including phones, PCs, tablets, and smart TVs.
  • Streaming is fast across the globe with multiple CDNs.
  • Loop video playback at any time.
  • Set up your channel page according to your branding guidelines.
  • A live chat option with a Q&A section is available.

Cons: 

  • White-label features are limited to IBM Video Cloud Gold plan, which is $499/month. 

Free trial: 30-days

Pricing: $$

10. JW Player

Best for: Developers and content creators

Reasons to buy: 

  • Fast HTML5 video player.
  • Ideal for sports organizations.
A screenshot shows how an OTT platform looks like on JW Player.

JW Player is a popular video streaming player for content creators and developers. It touts having the fastest HTML5 player available, which means all video and ad content renders beautifully on every screen. You can publish videos, run ads, and stream content all from one place. 

JW Player is an end-to-end management solution that helps you with your online video strategy. It enables video playback and ads on Chromecast-enabled devices. It also provides multi-screen VAST-compliant advertising so viewers can have a good viewing experience. 

Features:

  • HTML5 video player.
  • HLS & DASH adaptive streaming.
  • Multi-bitrate encoding.
  • Password protected sharing.
  • Engagement analytics.
  • Video gallery.
  • Priority email support.
  • Video CMS dashboard.

Pros:

  • A responsive and customizable HTML5 video player.
  • Custom video gallery set up.
  • Video analytics with integrations like Google Analytics, Adobe, and Nielsen.
  • Article matching to pull relevant videos from your library and match them to written content.

Cons:

  • Reportedly poor playback.
  • Limited storage. 

Free trial: 30-days

Price: $

11. Vimeo OTT

Best for: Small businesses

Reasons to buy: 

  • Start with no monthly fees. 
  • Built-in video editor.
  • Diversified monetization options.
A screenshot shows Vimeo's analytics for a customer's popular content.
Source: Vimeo

Vimeo is a video-sharing platform that began in 2004. It was originally built as a YouTube competitor with a professional twist. In 2017, they acquired Livestream and broke into the B2B market. Vimeo now offers on demand video hosting and OTT streaming services to accommodate broadcasters and influencers. 

Vimeo OTT supports a wide range of apps. You can share video content through iOS, Android, and intelligent TV programs like Android TV, Apple TV, and even Xbox. It also has integrations with Google Drive, Eventbrite, and Zoom to make managing live streaming and events easier. 

Vimeo’s OTT service has 2 pricing models for starters:

  • Create a subscription product and pay $1 per subscriber, per month.
  • Create a one-time purchase or rental product. Pay 10% of purchase price

Features: 

  • Branded OTT apps.
  • App development and management.
  • Live streaming with auto-archive.
  • Real-time insights
  • World-class CDN.
  • Content Management. 
  • Monetization. 

Pros:

  • Upload videos from any device or cloud storage
  • Subscription-based monetization.
  • Simple migration with zero downtime.
  • Flexibility to add more apps, DRMs, and other features.

Cons: 

  • Limited revenue models. 
  • No 100% customization.
  • OTT service doesn’t support audio streaming.

Free trial: Free to start.

Pricing: $

12. Brid.TV

Best for: Ads monetization for bigger brands

Reasons to buy: 

  • Extensive ad monetization options.
  • Generous free plan available. 
  • OTT app development. 
A screenshot of BridTV's platform.

Brid.TV is a powerful ad-based OTT platform designed to make broadcasting and monetizing content at scale easier for large video producers. It offers one of the fastest HTML5 video players and, unlike some OTT providers, the technical cost doesn’t increase as you upload more videos. 

Compared to other OTT streaming platforms, Brid.TV isn’t easy to use at first glance. But it offers detailed documentation and support when you have questions. 

Brid.TV offers many advertising options, including ad waterfalling, ad pods, header bidding, support for pre-,mid-, and post-roll, plus integration with Google IMA SDK. With an upgraded account, you can access the Brid.TV Marketplace to partner with advertising partners and earn more revenue. 

Features:

  • Ad inventory management.
  • Ad optimization.
  • Audience analytics.
  • Content library.
  • File management.
  • Mobile ad serving. 
  • Video creation.
  • Video management.
  • Real-time analytics and reporting. 

Pros:

  • Publishing and billing management system. 
  • Brandable and customizable HTML5 video player.
  • Live streaming and DVR.
  • AI content matching.

Cons:

  • Poorly managed live streaming. 

Free trial: Free plan available  

Price: $

How to choose the right OTT platform for video streaming

Many OTT service providers are available for creators looking to monetize their video content. Most now offer the standard Video-On-Demand (VOD) and live streaming capabilities. But some offer more advanced features for different types of OTT business models.

As you compare the different options on your OTT providers’ shopping list, keep the following considerations in mind:  

  • Easy to set up. The first thing to consider is ease of use. Look for an OTT platform you can quickly set up and start streaming content without technical expertise.
  • Video monetization tools. Check to see if your ideal OTT platform has ways to monetize your content. For example, if you’re starting a video membership site, you’ll want a tool that provides subscriptions. Your platform should also let you monetize through rentals, one-time sales, and pay-per-view. 
  • Excellent viewer experience. Viewers expect a smooth, high-quality video streaming experience. Ensure your OTT platform offers low-latency streaming, top-tier video hosting, and quality optimization. Verify that users can easily find content and access a fast app that works on any device, operating system, and browser. 
  • Marketing tools. Great OTT platforms provide features that make promoting your content easy and attract viewers to your site. Look for an OTT platform that offers giveaway funnels, smart email automations, analytics, content scheduling, community features, and retention tools. 
  • Customer support. Support is always helpful when you’re using new software. If you have a question about a feature, it’s nice to have a place to get answers. See if your OTT platform has support services like 1:1 calls, email support, FAQs, and community forums where you can get help from real people. 
  • Customization. Get an OTT platform that lets you customize the look and feel of your website and apps. 
  • Scalability. The best OTT platform will support you as your audience grows. Ensure it uses a powerful Content Delivery Network (CDN) that lets you stream large amounts of content to a global audience. 

Find the best OTT platform for you

Now that you know your options for finding the best OTT solution, you can start testing them out. While each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, you have a better idea of which is best for growing your own OTT platform and video business. 

The good news is the OTT industry gives you many options to choose from, so the creative potential of your content is unlimited. The right partner can help you capture your audience’s attention and provide an incredible viewing experience that earns you more customer loyalty and revenue. 

Try Uscreen for free today to find out how the platform can take your video business to the next level.

It’s simple with Uscreen.

Build, launch and manage your membership, all in one place.

OTT platform FAQ

What is an OTT platform?

OTT streaming platforms are services that allow users to watch video content without the need for a traditional cable or satellite, usually in the form of mobile and TV apps. These platforms typically operate through a subscription model, where users pay a monthly fee to access the content.

How many OTT platforms are there?

There are nearly 300 OTT streaming services to choose from in the United States. 

What are the benefits of OTT platforms?

The best OTT platforms offer additional benefits, such as managing and delivering content in one place, customizing the viewing experience for niche audiences, and giving users greater control over their brand, content, audience, and data.

What are OTT platforms examples?

Some popular OTT streaming services include Netflix, HBO Max, Disney +, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. Other streaming services include Peacock, Paramount Plus, and Apple TV Plus. With the rise of streaming technology, OTT platforms have become an increasingly popular way for people to watch content from their favorite creators and producers.