Top 5 Business OTT (Over the Top) Video Platforms in 2020

With greater internet penetration and easier access to mobile devices; the demand for Video on Demand (VOD) and Live Streaming services have grown exponentially in the past few years. As per the market research agency Statista, the OTT market is poised to bounce from $84.76 billion in 2019 to over $158 billion in 2024. OTT industry’s revenue has grown exponentially by over fourteen times in the last decade from just $6.1 billion in 2010.

From media houses and news agencies to businesses and social media; the vast spectrum of businesses are now leveraging OTT to reach their target audience in an efficient and secure manner. OTT has not just become an efficient entertainment medium, it is now also used for events, meetings, and eLearning solutions. As a result, several OTT platforms have entered the foray to serve different businesses with video streaming interests.

But who is the best? Which platform offers more value with its features? And what is the most affordable option? We will talk about all of this and more in this blog post to give you in-depth insights about the top 5 OTT video platforms in 2020.

1. Phando

Phando is a highly customizable, secure and user-friendly OTT video platform. Its end-to-end OTT solutions can be leveraged to launch a video streaming platform instantly with zero coding requirement. Phando offers efficient OTT solutions to reach millions of users and monetize Video on Demand (VOD) and Live Streaming services efficiently.

Key Features:

• Monetize your videos instantly through pay-per-view, subscription and paywall models. You can also insert third-party ads to gain access to better video monetization opportunities
• Easily create your own branded platform by playing video on your own website
• Leverage its intuitive dashboard to monitor and manage video library easily from the background
• Phando is powered by HTML5 based Online Video Player that is capable to ensure seamless delivery of videos on mobile devices and multiple platforms
• Get reports and video analytics to monitor billing and subscriber base for ROI analysis. Analyze actionable insights for user response and content production
• Maximize your audience reach through cross-platform multi-device compatibility
• It offers all efficient media management tools including the easy upload, edit, schedule and data analysis of videos
• Leverage its video transcoder to achieve adaptive bit-rate rendering and ensure buffer-free streaming of videos
• Users can also leverage Phando for reliable video conferencing without call drops and minimal data consumption
• It comes equipped with AI-enabled features to make relevant video recommendations and video previews to boost video views and user engagement
• It offers 24/7 robust and reliable customer support

2. Kaltura

Kaltura is a robust OTT video platform that offers a lot of customization capabilities. Its services come with two options; one is an open-source solution that is free of cost however, it requires technical expertise and relevant equipment for deployment. Another one is a fully-hosted cloud video option for people who are not familiar with the open-source deployment but it comes with a price.

Key Features:

• Kaltura is primarily developed for large businesses who are looking for highly customized OTT solutions
• Manage and publish multiple videos via an intuitive interface
• Through its interactive video feature, create immersive video streaming experience for viewers
• Offers easy user experience for webcasting and live streaming of videos
• It comes equipped with Video-integrated Marketing Automation to efficiently track viewer interaction and enable faster conversion rate
• Leverage video call to action and in video forms to enhance ROI
• Kaltura offers robust and efficient integration with any CDN
• It also offers an eCDN solution for secure and reliable video delivery behind the safety of a firewall
• Its Enterprise Content Management video plugins enable easy recording, uploading, management, editing, clipping, transcoding, publishing, sharing, and delivery of high-quality videos

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Also Read: Best 10 Live Streaming Platforms for 2020

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3. Brightcove

Brightcove is a powerful and flexible OTT platform that is capable of handling heavy video streaming requirements. It offers highly customizable solutions where it works closely with businesses to meet specific requirements. The OTT video platform is capable of delivering high-quality video streaming experience on multiple platforms and devices.

Key Features:

• It offers seamless integration with third-party vendors including marketing content management systems (CMS), automation platforms (MAPs), ad management, ad serving, and audience measurement technology among others
• Ensure the streaming of videos with TV-like experience on all devices
• Leverage optimized ad delivery while managing ad blockers
• Brightcove Video Cloud ensures simplified video delivery while ensuring faster launch, smooth experience, and high scalability
• Reach the audience on any type of mobile device through mobile-ready encoding, SDKs, and intelligent device detection
• Leverage robust video CMS to easily manage and search video content
• Easily comply with global launch roll-out schedules and content licensing restrictions
• Use its Quick Publish to ensure the faster launch of live videos clippings on social media and websites
• It offers API-based syndication to deeper integration of videos and metadata in websites
• Leverage adaptive bit-rate streaming to ensure buffer-free streaming of videos in varied internet speeds

4. Livestream

Livestream is one of the leading OTT video platforms that offers the streaming of stunning videos securely and reliably. It was recently bought by Vimeo. The OTT platform offers great Video on Demand and Live Streaming capabilities while staying cost-efficient and offering modern features.

Key Features:

• Livestream offers robust analytics tracking that delivers statistics of streaming videos in real-time. It offers key metrics including the number of people watching the video, geography and device type among others 
• Stream your videos in real-time to other social media platforms including Facebook, Twitch, YouTube and Periscope
• Offers dedicated phone support every time before you start the broadcast
• Efficiently monetize videos through Google DFP ads, pay-per-view, and subscription model
• Leverage interactive polling and Q&A to keep the viewers engaged
• Keep your video streaming safe and secure through password protection, embedding the video stream within the company’s intranet, or make it available only within the business network
• Livestream offers an eCDN that supports seamless live viewing experience. It minimizes the load on the corporate network, reduces bandwidth cost and consumption while maintaining privacy and 
security compliance

5. Panopto

Panopto advertises itself as an efficient, scalable, and affordable OTT video platform. It leverages a modern HTTP for efficient and high-quality Video on Demand streaming. The OTT platform delivers faster video startup time, lesser buffering and high-quality playback of videos in real-time.

Key Features:

• Its proprietary HLS streaming solutions reduce the complexity that comes with scalability. Panopto consolidates video network traffic into HTTP through TCP ports 80 and 443
• It auto-detects the device time every time a video is played to deliver highly optimized video streaming experience
• It offers the transcoding of videos for adaptive bitrate streaming to ensure smoother streaming of videos on varied internet speeds
• Panopto supports RTMP encoders to ensure seamless delivery of live streaming to multiple users
• The OTT platform offers robust integration with third-party CDNs to ensure minimal latency and faster startup of video streaming
• It offers interactive HTML5 video players to offer more immersive video viewing experience
• Offers detailed data reports on viewers’ engagement and actionable insights of viewing behavior to help you chalk out future strategy for marketing and production
• It offers customizable video layouts on mobile devices

Executive Summary

That was all about the top 5 OTT video platforms. So, what makes the best option? That would depend completely on the requirements of your business. Analyze the features of each platform carefully and place them against your requirements. It would help you find out which OTT platform offers the best bang for your bucks.

If you are looking for a highly secure, scalable and reliable OTT platform solution then Phando fits the bill. It offers reliable support and great value for money without compromising the quality of service.