The (potential) disruption of 💻"Over-the-Top"📱Streaming has been considered as game-changing that entire conferences are dedicated to and even named after this new "thing.". But what is "OTT" at its core: merely another distribution medium, an innovative business model, an entirely new mindset, or all the above?
Earlier in November, I attended the SportsPro OTT Summit 2019 in Madrid. With the event now in the rear-view mirror, attending only five sessions during the event has certainly been less than I aimed for. However, building personal relationships and exchanging thoughts with like-minded people for 48 hours straight was probably the even more gratifying experience. And I also recognized quickly that these five sessions were more than enough for coming up with 5️⃣ top-of-mind thoughts on my flight back from Madrid to Berlin -- which provide an answer to these fundamental questions:
💬 Direct-to-Consumer vs. Wholesale 📲
Is it worth for rights owners to disrupt the current (and profitable) B2B2C marketplace in favor of any ambitions in the direct-to-consumer space? In any case, they have to make a decision when it comes to the way of monetizing their IP.
💬 What actually is OTT? 🤔
If "Over-the-Top" is merely another distribution channel, and even the most traditional legacy players in the sports broadcasting market started to serve digital distribution to reach the consumer on their preferred platform, is everybody an "OTT" now?
💬 Big Tech's Role in Sports Broadcasting 🧐
YouTube has seemingly found its niche in the sports broadcasting marketplace, and it is not what rights owners hoped it would be (and probably less significant than many have thought).
💬 Commodity vs. Differentiators 🌟
How can rights-holding broadcasters still distinguish their streaming services in the eye of the consumer as much of the technical infrastructure gets commoditized?
💬 Fighting Piracy - Protection or Innovation? ☠️
Is the lack of product innovation the real cause for piracy and would be much more effective in fighting it compared to over-investing in content protection?
☝🏼 FINAL OVER-ARCHING THOUGHT
"OTT drives fragmentation. People like aggregation. It will return."
Check out my answers to these questions in today's blog post!
Editor Note:
This column was first published on Unofficial Partner, the Sports Business Podcast Company that helps clients use sport to tell stories to a business audience. Check out their podcast on 🎧Apple or 🎧Spotify, it's highly recommended!
