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Part 1 : Understanding the Challenges of OTT Platform Development

Get hold of your OTT Platform Development

Author : Biswarup Dasgupta

Date: 23 February 2024

Venturing into the world of OTT platform development takes lots of effort and planning. There are challenges and hurdles on the way. Considering those challenges and finding a way to deal with them is essential before you really step forward to the world. We will explore the challenges and methods of dealing with them in this blog.

You will likely find multiple hurdles on your way to OTT platform development. However, we will discuss seven significant challenges on your way towards development in two parts. The first part of the blog will cover User Experience, Device Fragmentation, Monetization, and Performance Optimization. Let’s delve deep into the challenges.

User Experience

Have you thought about the frustration that occurs because of endless scrolling? This is just one bad aspect of user experience. Many such OTT development challenges can even lead users to unsubscribe and never stream back.

Challenges:

Difficulty in content discovery because of Poor search functions, unclear categorization, and lack of personalized recommendations
Choppy playback, buffering, and long loading times
Confusing navigation because of different layouts and functionalities
Failing to capture individual preferences and watch history because of limited personalization

Solutions:

Easy user interface design to ensure a harmonious experience across platforms
Adaptive streaming technologies to overcome buffering, playback error, and low video quality
Optimized encoding and transcoding process to deliver a smooth playback experience
Sophisticated recommendation algorithms to provide personalized content recommendations

You must ensure the best user experience while overcoming the challenges to be placed in the OTT business.

Device Fragmentation

Device fragmentation refers to the wide range of devices with varying screen sizes, resolutions, operating systems, and hardware capabilities. With the increasing number of devices available in the market, ensuring compatibility across all platforms can be daunting.

Challenges

Encounter outdated apps incompatible with their devices, preventing access to content or features
Older devices struggle with newer app versions, leading to crashes, glitches, and buffering issues
Limited viewing options because of the unavailability of certain resolution formats across devices

Solutions

Developers need to test their OTT platforms on a variety of devices to ensure compatibility and a consistent user experience
Adapt the user interface and optimize the content delivery for each device to provide a seamless experience
Cross-platform development frameworks to mitigate challenges associated with device fragmentation

Dealing with device fragmentation is crucial and significantly affects user experience.

Monetization

Determining the most effective revenue model and implementing it successfully is essential for the sustainability of your OTT platform.

Challenges

Choosing the right revenue model balancing the revenue generation and user experience
Increased subscriptions leading to subscription juggling or cancellations
Striking the right balance between ads and content
Dealing with pirated content delivery and security

Solution

Implement a subscription-based model while carefully considering pricing, content offerings, and value proposition
Offer flexible subscription plans to attract a wider audience
Implement targeted advertising based on user preferences to improve the ad experience and increase ad revenue.
Implement robust content protection measures, such as digital rights management (DRM) and watermarking, which can help prevent piracy and safeguard your revenue streams

By implementing these factors, you can provide value to your OTT platforms while attracting monetization.

Performance Optimization

Performance optimization ensures a smooth streaming experience for users. Slow loading times, buffering issues, and playback errors can frustrate users and lead to high churn rates.

Challenges

Compress video data, leading to lower resolution and potential pixelation, impacting the viewing experience
Prioritizing loading speed over consistent data delivery, causing buffering and interruptions during playback because of aggressive optimization
Introduction of unintended bias, impacting the way certain content or demographics are delivered because of certain optimization algorithms

Solutions

Choose the right CDN provider and optimize the CDN configuration to improve content delivery speed and reduce latency
Consider encoding parameters, such as bit rate, resolution, and codec, to achieve the best balance between file size and quality
Monitor and analyze performance metrics for continuous improvement
Track metrics such as buffering rates, video start-up time, and rebuffering events to identify bottlenecks and optimize the streaming infrastructure accordingly

Performance optimization is the key to long-term success; regular tracking can be a proven roadmap to your goal.

Conclusion

Developing an OTT platform comes with its fair share of challenges, but these hurdles can be overcome with the right strategies and approaches. Stay ahead of the curve, adapt to changing technologies, and deliver an exceptional streaming experience to keep your users engaged and coming back for more.

We will discuss the other three significant challenges of OTT platform development in the next part.

Stay tuned!

Logituit has been in the business for over a decade now and successfully delivers multiple OTT platform projects to global clients.

To learn more, write to us at [email protected].

Also read:

Developing Apps in a Rapidly Changing Pre-release Ecosystem

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Part 1 : Understanding the Challenges of OTT Platform Development

Get hold of your OTT Platform Development

User Experience

Device Fragmentation

Monetization

Performance Optimization

Conclusion

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