Everything You Need to Know About OTT Service

Description: What is OTT meaning? What are the OTT platforms? The last decades have dramatically changed our digital entertainment way. As smart devices like smartphones, tablets and smart TV have become the dominant in people's daily digital entertainment in both video content delivering and sharing, there has been a huge rise of OTT services. If you are still not quite clear about OTT, this post will help you. You can learn what is OTT and what are the best OTT services.

What is OTT? OTT VS. CTV

Firstly, let’s dive right into the topic: what is OTT meaning? Short for Over-The-Top, OTT means the content delivery method, which delivers contents from creators to audience via the Internet across any device that can run media broadcasting apps or browsers. It is different from the traditional video broadcasting that deliver contents via cable. For example, you might watch a movie or TV show on your TV via cable, which is not OTT. However, if you are watching a movie or TV episode on the Netflix app on your Apple iPhone, which is connected to the Internet, it is OTT streaming. Some of these OTT services allow OTT stream download to let you stream their contents for offline viewing, while others simply allow online streaming.

An OTT platform is the technology or software that provides these services, enabling users to access and stream content on various devices. On the contrast, CTV is not referring to any video delivering method. CTV, short for connected TV, refers to the television screen that displays the contents streamed via the Internet. It refers to the television device itself. It can be a streaming device like Roku or Amazon Fire TV Stick, gaming console (PSP or Xbox), or smart TV (such as Samsung, LG, Apple TV, etc.) You can consider CTV as OTT devices that stream OTT contents.

8 Most Popular OTT Services Now

The below are some of the most popular and widely used OTT streaming services. You can download and install these OTT streaming apps on your smart devices for on the go streaming.

Netflix

Being considered as one of the leading OTT services in the U.S., Netflix provides 15000+ titles of on-demand movies, TV shows, and originals in up to 4K video quality. As one of the best OTT services, Netflix is available on vast of OTT devices like iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones and tablets, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV/Stick/tablet, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung, Windows tablets, Windows, and Mac computers, etc. That means you can watch Netflix on Mac, Windows, and various other OTT devices. There are 3 different subscription plans of Netflix, among which the ad-free plans allow you to download videos from Netflix app for offline viewing.

Hulu

No matter you are going to stream on-demand movies or TV shows, or watch live TV, Hulu will be your top choice since it provides multiple OTT plans to stream let you stream on-demand contents including shows, dramas, movies, documentaries, etc., and a Live TV package to let you stream live TV. Compared to Netflix, Hulu will be much more appealing since it will upload new episodes only one day after their premiere. But similar to Netflix, Hulu also allows you to watch Hulu offline on its app for offline viewing.

Disney+

Disney+ is another top OTT platform that enables you to access to contents released by Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney and National Geographic in one place. Disney+ provides an extensive media library of TV shows, movies, sports, and other programs. This OTT streaming platform provides a specific category for kids, which includes hundreds of classic animated and feature movies. Similar to Netflix, Disney+ is also available on various OTT devices such as Apple mobile devices and TV, Windows and Mac computers, smart TVs, Android devices, etc. You can subscribe to different Disney+ plans according to your needs.

Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime Video is a world trending OTT streaming service to let you stream movies, TV series, sports, documentaries, dramas, and more in 200+ countries and regions on various OTT devices such as Amazon Fire devices, Windows/Mac computers, Chromecast, PSP, Xbox, Roku, Samsung, Sony, LG, etc. Different from other OTT services that ask you to subscribe, Amazon Prime Video allows you to purchase or rent specific title for streaming.

Sling TV

As a live TV streaming service, Sling TV is actually also an OTT service that lets you to stream on-demand movies, TV shows, sports, and more, as well as live TV channels. Sling TV offers 3 different subscription plans to offer different contents starting from $46 per month. Meanwhile, there is a free streaming service provided by Sling TV, which is called FreeStream and enables you to stream various on-demand videos with ads.

Max

Previously known as HBO Max, Max is another top OTT service to let you stream blockbuster movies, epic originals, TV series, sports programs, and more. And since 2023, Max added a live sports plan named the B/R Sports Add-on to let you stream live broadcasts on TBS and TNT, including NBA/NHL on TNT, NCAA March Madness, MLB on TBS and U.S. Soccer. As to the subscription plans, similar to Netflix, Max also comes with ad-supported plan that starts from $9.99 per month and ad-free plans that start from $16.99 per month.

Pluto TV

Pluto TV is one of the best and most popular free OTT services to provide 190+ channels and 1000+ on-demand titles for streaming. Meanwhile, Pluto TV offers original OTT programs and channels that are not available on cable TV. You don't need to spend any penny for streaming Pluto TV, but you will have to watch their ads.

Tubi

If you are looking for free OTT streaming, Tubi is the one you shouldn’t miss. Tubi is a leading free OTT service that enables you to stream 20000+ movies, TV shows, plus Tubi originals for totally free. You can get quite a few classics to stream on Tubi such as Lion, Karate Kid, Butch Cassidy, etc. There is no subscription required, since Tubi, similar to Pluto TV, adopts ads for license monetization.

Conclusion

The OTT streaming services are without doubt the future, since there have been billions of OTT streaming users. Besides the above-mentioned OTT services, you can still get more options such as Apple TV Plus, YouTube, Vudu, CBS, Peacock, etc. Choose the OTT service that meets your needs most and get yourself enjoyed.