What IS OTT?
So, what does OTT mean? OTT stands for over the top and refers to video content that is served over the traditional closed television system. Using OTT services users don’t need to subscribe or pay a TV cable company to watch video content as most content is served via the internet.
Although a television that is connected to the internet or laptop, mobile phone, etc. can be used to watch over the top TV, OTT TV boxes are also available. These TV boxes serve as a hub for users to connect to OTT services and function as a mini computer with all the needed specifications, connections, and applications to watch over the top TV.
In terms of OTT TV boxes, they are available almost anywhere and big companies like Amazon even have their own version. Apart from general Android OTT TV boxes, a few popular examples exist including the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku and more.
What IS CTV?
CTV stands for connected TV and is just another term for a television that has an ethernet connection or can connect to the internet wirelessly. This definition or group of devices can also in some spectrums include TVs that are used as displays connected to other devices that have internet access.
CTV with ads vs ctv with no ads
When thinking of streaming services, Netflix is undoubtedly the one that comes to mind first. However, it’s based on a subscription model, rather than ad model. There are however a few streaming services that make advertising a priority instead of gaining subscriptions.
Hulu is one of them. While they do charge users a subscription fee, some of their price plans show ads while other plans have no commercials. Currently more than half of Hulu’s users watch their content with ads which results in 33 million out of 54 million ad viewing users.
Roku is another company that provides an all in one experience through their OTT TV box. With their hardware, users can connect to multiple TV apps such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, YouTube and Roku’s channels. They also show ads and add users to their platform by selling their OTT TV at very low and affordable prices compared to competitors in the market.
Besides these streaming services that include ads, apps for OTT TV boxes and smart TVs that show ads also exist. These include apps like YouTube, Vimeo, and Spotify
Keep in mind that OTT content is usually delivered through CTV. Traditional media services are mimicked very much by OTT services but generally at lower costs as it utilizes the internet. Television experiences of OTT vs. traditional are very similar as well.
Some studies conducted have shown that the user is willing to watch a video ad to continue watching content. With the study, Hulu was used, and more than half of the viewers were willing to accept advertisements.
As with most video advertising, OTT ads can be shown before, during or after watching video content. Mid-roll ads seem to be the most acceptable and popular among users.
Some believe that CTV is the future of advertising and they have a few valid reasons to think so. Start by realizing that OTT services and CTV devices are everywhere. Not only that but the adoption of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are huge in the US and continue to grow in other countries as well. It is estimated that by 2020 more than 75% of families will have TVs connected to the internet in the United States.
It’s also great for targeting millennials who love streaming services like Netflix and are getting hard and harder to advertise to.
Users also don’t mind watching ads through CTV as they know and understand that it’s part of the business model. OTT services are also typically much cheaper than traditional TV which further strengthens the reasoning behind showing ads. It automatically makes ads via CTV devices more profitable for advertisers as well.
BENEFITS OF CTV ADVERTISING
Where are my ads seen? Here is a sample list of sites plus many more
120 Sports | A&E | Select ABC Affiliates | Accent Health | Anthem Sports & Entertainment | AOL | AT&T/DirectTV Now! | BigStar.TV | Bravo | Select CBS Affiliates | CNBC | CNN | Comcast | Cooking Channel | Crackle | Digital Media Rights | Discover Channel | DiscoveryGo | Dish | DIY | DramaFever | E! | ESPN | E.W. Scripps Newsy | Film on TV, Inc. | Flickstream | Flipps Media | Food Network | Select Fox Affiliates | Fox Networks Group | FX Now | Fox News | Fox Sports | Funimation | Future Today Inc. | Gold Line Temangement | Haystack.tv | HGTV | History Channel | Looke Digital | MAZ | Select NBC Affiliates | Lifetime | MTV | NFL Network | One by AOl Ad Network | Oxygen | Plex | PlutoTV | Resignation Media, LLC | Screen Media Ventures LLC | Scripps Network, LLC | Sling TV | Smart Roll Media, LLC | TBS | Time, Inc. | The Weather Channel | TNT | Toon Googles | Travel Channel | TubiTV | Turner Digital | USA | Vevo | Vidillion | WeatherNation | Xumo | Yahoo!