OTT TV: How is it Being Adopted in Asia?

                                        Photo credit: Jazz

“Today, TV has evolved from a world of limited options to one of almost unlimited choices" [1]

The pre-eminent global supplier of video cloud services, Brightcove Inc., (BCOV), has just released its 2018 Asia OTT Television Research Report, which it conducted in association with the international data and analytics group, YouGov. The study covered 5,000 respondents who were polled in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, India and Hong Kong [1].

How Consumers Respond to OTT TV Services

The research strategy was conducted in order to ascertain the way in which consumers are responding to OTT television services, and to put the spotlight on: viewers' favourite platforms, the way they normally consume TV media; their acceptance of ads; their payment preferences; and the factors which propel them to sign up, or cancel their subs [1].

                                           Photo credit: Broadpeak

"TV is disrupting the idea of traditional broadcasting and redefining itself in the process, and streaming is the catalyst for this evolution" [1]. 

The General Manager of Asia at Brightcove, Ben Morrell, stated that: "the future of TV is OTT, and fundamentally, it will be defined by what the viewer wants, exerting a strong influence on how media companies package, deliver and monetise their content" [1]. 

Research Summary:

• 27% of viewers state that one of the main reasons behind signing up to OTT TV, & staying with it, is the mobile access, bearing in mind Asia's mobile centricity [1]. 
• As soon as trail consumers become subscribers, 4 key aspects play a part in their retention: the the content library, the price, the quality the user experiences on their mobile, and the platform's accessibility on their mobile [1].
• The value proposition to get non-subscribers to sign-up means that the price point should be cheaper than existing pay TV services, & must not be too expensive [1].
• 29% of respondents said that free online streaming sites [such as OONA], were their preferred choice for watching films. Films are the anchor content for OTT platforms [1].
• Consumers in Asia are happy to look at one to three adverts. "With OTT, the consumer general expectation is for more content & less ads, with 23% stating that they would rather pay a lower fee & watch some ads" [1].

OONA FREE OTT TV - A Case in Point

OONA Free Mobile TV - the cool interactive platform which goes way beyond television and OTT, is rapidly gaining traction for being the future of television. - It is currently set up to provide subscription-free and data-free AVOD interactive entertainment along with its premium options, to 185 million Indonesians, as a result of its partnership with Telkom Indonesia – one the the world's foremost telcom giants, and is on course to provide its revolutionary service to billions of people in other parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, the US and Europe..

OONA offers free to air, OTT, and pay-TV options, and its exciting new concept gives users and content holders 100% control and transparency, and enables viewers to get what they want to watch, the moment they want to watch it, in broadcast quality - anytime, anywhere.

The Next Frontier: Top Quality OTT Streaming

Some platforms, such as OONA, have already set the benchmark for state-of-the-art streaming quality on their go-to-market strategy. -Yet others still have more work to do. Right now, the video market is becoming incredibly vibrant with state-of-the-art innovative services and features. - And it is very likely that the adoption and promotion of cloud based live streaming will rocket up: "from leading-edge adoption to mass consumption in record time—and quality of experience will be the differentiating factor for consumers and providers alike" [2].

Second Rate Quality Will Be Relegated to History

Just as OONA's founder and CEO, leading digital strategist, Christophe Hochart, understands: in order for his and any other OTT TV platform to gain market share, viewers' expectations for live content quality, reliability, interface performance, and convenience, must be met, and if possible, exceeded. After all, viewers who have been used to top quality live content from cable, demand exactly the same: "Gone are the days when the early adopters of live streaming accepted convenience over quality." [2]. Now, OTT viewers want to tick the boxes for all these aspects that a leading service should offer.

OONA viewers are empowered with a personalized AI chatbot, who is there is serve them, and deliver the content and ads they are interested in. They also enjoy the benefits of a user-friendly interactive platform, and have their favourite channels and programs lined up ready and waiting for them. Users can also edit content, and use a variety of fun tools and stickers when they share exciting films and programs, and send messages to friends and family.

OONA - Delivering on Quality, Convenience, & So Much More

In the sphere of live streaming and video on-demand, the definition of a platform's brand is characterised by the quality of the content it provides. To that end, the relevant quality control department must have the best possible proactive tools which are engineered to detect problems prior to viewers witnessing them. Moreover, it must have a system which can continually detect, alert, and report important issues which impact consumers' viewing experience. This is paramount to the reputation of the platform, and delivering first-class CX (customer service) [2]. After all, it is very simple for fed-up consumers to switch platforms within minutes.

Prioritising

Platforms and developers act swiftly when it comes to adding features, services, content and capabilities. However, many fall short when it comes to monitoring and analyzing their streams. - This means that unlike OONA, they are not able to troubleshoot problems as soon as they appear, or guarantee that within reason, their consumers enjoy a non-stop fantastic viewing experience.

Being in the Know

As video monitoring specialist, Dan Murray, notes: "If something goes wrong, the provider's brand will suffer. Compared to the cost of the content... advertising, and marketing... [and] not knowing there's an issue until tens of thousands of customers drop off... instrumenting proper live streaming analysis will allow providers to win the next big opportunity in OTT cloud streaming: the high-quality live broadcast event" [2].

Standing Out From the Crowd

The OONA platform is unique in that it gives its viewers rewards in the form of tcoins (which can be exchanged for branded goods and telcom products), just for watching content and personalised ads; sharing the content they love with friends and family; and interacting with OONA's world first patented AI genie in the app, Siskabot. 

"No More TV Box (Pay-TV) - Viewers Only Need OONA & an Internet Connection on a 3G, 4G or Future 5G Mobile Device"

These days, we all want flexibility. This is a number one consideration with OONA, and its strategy empowers viewers so they can enjoy the freedom of not being tied down with financial commitments to cable companies etc. - In fact, OONA consumers have a whopping five choices:

Option 1

Viewers do not have to pay subscription or data charges. This is because OONA's  AVOD (ad-based live & on demand video service) is completely funded by personalised ads which are regularly updated according to what branded products each individual consumer is interested in at the time. Further, the technology that OONA uses enables first-class digital FTA (free-to-air) broadcasting in a clear (unencrypted) form.

Option 2

OONA's SVOD (subscription based live and on-demand video service), offers viewers the choice of paying for specific premium content on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual basis. 

Option 3 

OONA's TVOD (transaction-based live and on-demand video service), provides a pay-per-view option. So for example, if a couple just want to enjoy a newly released premium film on the odd Friday night or weekend, then they do not have to sign up for an extended period of time, and be burdened for paying for more content than they really want, like they would have to with other platforms.

Option 4

Viewers can unlock premium content by using their tcoins (OONA's virtual currency rewards which can be used for telcom products, branded goods, discounts, meals and other fun things). These tcoins are easy to accrue from watching various channels, looking at ads, sharing content with friends and family, and interacting with OONA's AI Genie in the app, Siskabot. They are stored in a virtual wallet.

Option 5

Premium pay-TV content can be easily included in the user's telcom data plan bundle.

In summary, OTT is the future of TV, and it is the viewers who will define it. To that end, it is essential that companies follow the lead of cutting-edge platforms such as OONA, which provides broadcast quality, offers flexibility to suit all consumers' needs, and delivers and monetizes their content in a winning way.

References

[1]. Digital TV News (2018). "Brightcove releases research on OTT TV adoption in Asia." http://www.digitaltvnews.net/?p=31159   Accessed 30 Aug. 2018.

[2]. Murray, Dan (2018). “The Arrival of OTT Live Video.” Streaming Media.
http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/The-Arrival-of-OTT-Live-Video-126589.aspx Accessed 30 Aug. 2018.