Ride On The Profitable Wave of Video Streaming With An Netflix-Like App

The success of Netflix can be attributed to two things: the content and the change of lifestyle. Blockbuster stuck to its old ways disregarding the fact that the internet speeds were growing and people were no longer in a mood to rent DVDs. The success of Netflix initiated proliferation of a lot of businesses that offered video streaming service. Even a few big names like Amazon and Disney have ventured into a space that they are never familiar with.

This has only gone to prove that the video on demand and OTT platforms have a lucrative market ahead. The shutting down of movie theaters because of the pandemic has further strengthened the stance and success of video streaming apps.

The market and the future

The VOD market size was about $55 million in 2019. In the next five years, it is expected to grow with a CAGR of over 15%. The APAC market is expected to register a CAGR of about 19%, which is substantially higher than the rest of the world.

With this projection, the market value of video on demand is expected to breach the $175 billion mark in 2026. Factors like growing internet speeds, increased adoption of smart television, and the penetration of smartphones in the most unexpected countries are expected to contribute to this growth.

The landscape

Maybe Netflix has established a considerable extent of monopoly over this space. However, there are many alternatives that exist in the OTT realm, and it also shows that there is considerable room for new players to hit the market and find success.

Amazon Prime Video

When we take into consideration the monthly active users (MAU), Netflix is just about 1.8 times higher than Amazon Prime Video. In addition to providing users with good quality original content, Amazon Prime also provides certain additional benefits as it is associated with an e-commerce giant. Among the many benefits that Amazon Prime provides include faster shipping and subscription to Amazon Prime music. This has led about 26% of the internet users in North America to prefer using Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime also provides a 30-day free trial.

Home Box Office (HBO)

While Amazon might be a new player in the space of videos, Home Box Office has been existing as a television channel for quite some time. Some of the most popular shows like Game of Thrones have been offered by HBO. Needless to say, the platform is known for its extremely high-quality content and its unique features. Although it is a bit more expensive than its competitors, it has been the choice for people who prefer to watch quality shows and movies.

Hotstar/Disney

Where else can you expect franchises like Star Wars, Pixar, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe to converge? Disney has already established a name for itself in the show business, and with its Disney+ video streaming platform, it is only strengthening its position. Its affordable rates and the availability of classics make it an amazing Netflix alternative.

Hotstar caters to one of the most voluminous entertainment industries in the whole world: India. The platform offers more than 2000 Indian movies along with a wide selection of television channels. Due to the population in India, and the growing internet/smartphone adoption, Hotstar has been steadily growing.

Hulu

Hulu is the second-biggest name in the OTT world after Netflix, and it can be understood by the fact that the platform holds the second-highest MAUs versus Netflix. A lot of incredible shows like South Park and CSI are a part of the visual arsenal of Hulu. Although Hulu is available for free, the interference and intrusiveness of ads persuade people to go for that subscription model that costs a measly eight dollars per month.

YouTube

It might be surprising to find YouTube on this list as it cannot be considered a direct competitor of an OTT platform like Netflix. However, when we take into consideration the number of watching users it steals from video on demand, YouTube stands at a staggering 3.5 times higher than Netflix in terms of monthly active users.

YouTube has its own paid version called YouTube premium that gives access to a few original and exclusive video content. In addition, the premium subscription of YouTube also gives users access to all the usual content on YouTube. Perhaps it is the variety and the non-committal nature of videos that make users prefer YouTube. You can exclusively watch a few bloopers or a few scenes from a show instead of watching the entire video. Needless to mention, there are some videos that do not need a story to be entertaining… Like funny cat videos for example.

The parallel and successful existence of all these video channels only goes on to prove that the market is wide open not only for a specific niche of entertainment but even for general videos. This is probably the right time for an aspiring entrepreneur to invest in video streaming app development.

The relevance of a Netflix Clone

Anything said, the difference between the video platforms lies in the content they provide and not in the way they function! Every on-demand video platform will have to offer services like search, scheduling, and listing of favorites. If we were to look at it from an alternate perspective, a person who intends to start a video streaming service can opt for a Netflix clone app.

Going for a white label Netflix clone will ensure that the entrepreneur will not need to focus on the technology whose skeleton remains a constant across multiple platforms. Instead, they can focus on creating great content that will be enjoyed and consumed by the users. It is to be remembered that a person only has about 24 hours in their day and they will need to accommodate everyday activities like work and sleep. It is the magnitude with which you capture the remaining time of the user that spells the difference between mediocrity and success.

Conclusion

As you may have inferred from both the success and failure of a few businesses and brands, great content is the key to making a name and profit in the OTT space. Therefore, it is vital for you to start small and focus on “depth“ rather than width. Once you have identified your niche and the specific geography you will be focusing on, all that is left for you to do is get in touch with the company that specializes in the development and customization of an OTT platform like Netflix.

The company will take care to understand your requirement and build features like segmenting of shows, search, review and rating, and even recommendations based on artificial intelligence. Once you have everything set in place and once you have figured out the way to host your video content in such a way that it does not cost any hiccups during streaming, you can now start to market your new OTT platform, so you find it mentioned along with big names like Netflix, YouTube, and Hulu.