Explained Simply19th February 2025
Imagine you are planning to enjoy the movie and it’s Friday night. Gone are the days when users scrolled for TV channels and hoped to watch a good movie. But now, OTT is replacing these traditional services, giving users beyond their expectations. Just with a tap, get the OTT app for your TV, mobile, or tablet, and can access thousands of movies, web series, TV shows, live events, etc. There is an increase in the popularity of OTT platforms and some of the well-known platforms are Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, etc. Hence, for startups looking to invest in OTT app development is a good choice.
Nowadays, users prefer to choose the OTT platform rather than depending on the TV channels. The on-demand content streaming is easier because the users can watch anytime and anywhere they want. Due to the tremendous growth and demand of OTT platforms, an entrepreneur or a business must invest in OTT app development. Investing in developing OTT apps is the best way to generate revenue using the best OTT monetization strategies. Let us explore in depth about why one must investing in OTT app development.
Market Statistics of OTT Apps
OTT has been very successful and has become vast in the entertainment industry. It is booming the entertainment industry and has generated good market statistics. Before moving forward with investing in developing OTT apps let us understand the market insights.
- The OTT app for businesses has created a global revenue of $315 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $430 billion by 2029.
- Also, the number of users of OTT apps has increased, and are seen as more active on the platform. Research shows that the number of users may grow by 5 billion by 2029.
- Also, the average revenue per user is expected to be $12 and is expected to grow and reach $18 by 2029.
- There is up to 7% increase in the OTT market in 2025 and is going to reach $445 billion by 2029.
The reason behind this tremendous growth is the usage of smartphones with high-speed internet which is increasing the demand as well. Analyzing the market statistics and user behavior is a great opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs to invest in OTT app development. One of the good things is that it’s not just OTT, but can go with custom OTT application development. Or also can develop an OTT app like Netflix.
Why Do You Invest in OTT App Development?
1. Massive Growth
The internet being the main source for OTT connection has created massive growth. Users can easily access the internet and watch movies or shows on the OTT on different devices anytime and anywhere. The high-speed internet is also one of the reasons for the increase in demand for OTT apps. Despite being competitive, users like to watch the content of different OTT platforms as per their choice. A business or entrepreneur needs to know the OTT app development cost and start to invest in developing OTT apps that satisfy the interest of the users.
2. Constant Stream of Revenue
The increase in the use of smartphones has led to the growth of OTT platforms. Hence, this has created a great opportunity for businesses to generate revenue with profitable OTT app development connecting users across the globe. Analyzing the current situation, well-known OTT apps like Netflix, and Disney Hotstar are generating good revenue with their OTT app. There is also an increase in recurring subscriptions of users that creates a constant stream of revenue for the business. For OTT platform development, get your digital platform and earn money with different strategies like subscriptions, merchandise, ads, etc.
3. Ease of Access to Content
In today’s working lifestyle people always prefer convenience with services. Thus, invest in OTT app development is important so that the user can get access to the content easily. Gone are the days of traditional methods where users buy or rent CDs and DVDs. Hence, users always prefer to choose easy access to the OTT content.
Therefore, the OTT app must support multiple platforms. Consulting with a prominent App development company helps to ensure having an OTT app that supports different platforms and devices.
Also Read: How To Make An App Like Dream 11?
4. Diverse Revenue Streams
With OTT app development it opens a diverse stream of revenue generating opportunities. The following are some of them –
- Subscription-Based Video: Users prefer to pay for a subscription to get unlimited access to movies, TV shows, etc. This generates recurring revenue and is seen in popular OTT apps like Netflix & Disney+
- Advertisements: To view the content for free the user needs to view the advertisements. In turn, revenue is generated through advertisements, a good example of this is Youtube.
- Transactional Videos: Like Amazon Prime video rental service, one can implement a transactional video strategy. Here, with this, the users need to pay rent or purchase a specific movie.
- Hybrid Model: A popular OTT platform like Hull offers both ad-supported and ad-free subscriptions. Hence, one can combine free and premium content with their OTT app.
5. Enhancing User Engagement with AI Personalization
AI has been integrated into many different fields and now has been taken into the entertainment industry as well. Integrating AI with OTT app development enhances user engagement and is recommended as per user search history and behavior. This provides users with content insights that also help to create a stream of revenue with the OTT app. Integrating these advanced features makes users more engaging in the platform.
Launch Your Own OTT Platform
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Conclusion
Still on the verve of investing in developing OTT apps? Nowadays, OTT platforms have been growing tremendously and users are always into something new. Hence, there are chances of getting a successful OTT app. The multiple monetization strategies ensure profitability with higher revenue growth.
Developing this platform requires lower operating costs and hence is a cost-effective solution. The above reasons show the benefits of investing in developing an OTT app and this can be profitable with the right approach connecting with the Best OTT app development company in India.
Frequently Asked Questions
The key features for a live streaming OTT app must be high-quality video streaming, multi-device compatibility, and low-latency playback. Other features include content listed as per categories, user authentication, in-app chat, push notifications, subscriptions, AI recommendations, etc.
The cost of building an OTT app with live streaming depends on the requirements. A basic OTT app or an advanced one can cost around $30,000 – $50,000. OTT app with customization like AI recommendations, and integrating CDN cost $100,000 – $250,000.
The technology stack required to develop a live streaming OTT app includes –
- Frontend: React Native, Flutter (mobile), React.js, Angular (web)
- Backend: Node.js, Django, Ruby on Rails
- Database: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Firebase
- Streaming Protocols: WebRTC, HLS, RTMP
- Cloud & CDN: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Akamai, Cloudflare
- Security: DRM (Widevine, FairPlay), AES encryption
Monetization & Payments: Stripe, Razorpay, PayPal
A business with OTT app development can have different monetization strategies. Some of them are subscription models where users need to pay monthly for the subscription, free content with ads, pay-per-view, sponsorships, partnerships, in-app purchases, etc.
Some of the challenges in building a live streaming OTT app are handling millions of users, low-quality streaming, preventing piracy, payment security, and cross-platform compatibility.
To develop a basic live streaming OTT app it takes around 3-6 months. Whereas developing advanced features like OTT with multiplatform support, AI integration, and advanced security can take up to 9-12 months for development.