Increasing internet penetration driving demand for OTT services

With the increasing penetration of the internet and smartphones, the viewership of online content is surging sharply. As per the World Bank, the number of internet users across the world increased from 34.2% of the global population in 2012 to 51.1% in 2019. Nowadays, consumers can easily access over-the-top (OTT) content via internet-connected phones (both iOS and Android mobile phones), set-top boxes, tablets, gaming consoles, desktops, laptops, and smart TVs. Moreover, the average time spent by people on smart devices is growing rapidly, as people are now able to view content easily and with minimal latency on their smart devices, owing to the high internet penetration.

Furthermore, the internet is greatly impacting the consumption and distribution channels for media. With the development of advanced technologies such as optical fiber, 5G, and 4G/LTE networks and increasing network coverage, the consumption of data is soaring across the world. Furthermore, the greater usage and portability convenience of tablets and smartphones coupled with their various enhanced features such as the ability to stream and download high-quality content is also positively impacting the worldwide consumption of OTT content.

Hence, with the growing penetration of the internet and smartphones, the consumption of content developed by various OTT platforms is growing rapidly. Besides, the rising demand for video-on-demand (VoD) services, especially in developing countries, is also fueling the popularity of OTT services across the globe. Due to the aforementioned factors, the global over-the-top (OTT) services market revenue grew to $91,881.6 million in 2020 and the market will advance rapidly from 2021 to 2030, as per the forecast of P&S Intelligence, a market research company based in India.

Across the globe, the demand for OTT services was found to be the highest in North America in 2020. This was primarily because of the fact that the people residing in the regional countries were able to pay for the subscriptions of various OTT platforms, on account of their higher disposable income in comparison to the individuals living in other regions. Furthermore, the high internet penetration also contributed toward the expansion of the North American OTT services market in the past. In the upcoming years, the demand for OTT services will soar in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Hence, it is clear that the increasing penetration of the internet, growing usage of smartphones, mushrooming demand for VoD, and increasing popularity of video streaming will propel the requirement for OTT services all over the world in the forthcoming years. Open PR