The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated changes in viewing behavior globally, creating unexpected new trends in how media streaming companies manage their OTT apps

As the number of cord-cutters, -shavers and -nevers continues to grow, and Smart TV app adoption increases, media brands around the world have pivoted to match viewers’ changing habits.

Applicaster, the leading technology platform for simplifying the creation, delivery and management of OTT streaming applications, released 5 new industry trends based on 12 months’ of data from its Zapp platform, used by multiple broadcasting, sports, kids and other leading media brands.

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1.  More TV, Less Mobile

TV-first is the new norm; while media brands added more platforms than ever before to extend distribution to more audiences, the rise of TV apps over mobile apps is a recurring theme.TV platforms were added at a rate of 2:1 over mobile, new digital streamers add an average of 4.3 platforms, with 30% of new digital streamers not launching on mobile at all.

2. Analytics Is King

Analytics integrations increased in volume and scope as streamers seek to better understand their audiences. With nearly 40 analytics plug-ins available across the Applicaster Marketplace, nearly 20% of streamers added an additional analytics provider or more to the ones already integrated, such as Adobe Analytics, Comscore, Akamai, Segment, CoolaData, and regional providers like Gemius.

3. New Category: Consent Management 

Consent management emerged as a category in response to several regulatory changes. Respectively, new tools are available to manage GDPR and other privacy requirements. Media brands, primarily across Europe, are adding Consent Management capabilities to their apps, including newly launched plugins for OneTrust, Didomi and Apple’s App Tracking Transparency on the Applicaster Marketplace.

4. Speed. Speed. Speed. 

The velocity in which media brands launched new apps and made updates has been picking up. Up from last year,OTT apps averaged new releases every 2 months, with the most responsive brands releasing new versions every 1.75 months. Examples of updates include adding podcasting/radio capabilities to both mobile & TV apps, addition of an advertising model and geography-based versions of apps for new markets.

5. Hybrid Revenue Rules

Advertising is the most-used monetization model, but not in isolation. Eighty percent of the time advertising is used as a hybrid with SVOD or other revenue strategy. In the last year, 11% of SVOD-based apps added advertising to their mix. Additional hybrid monetization combinations include sponsorship, PPV, and merch sales. Some broadcasters offer different pricing models in different regions. Additional details are included in Applicaster’s 2021 State of OTT Revenue Study.

“We sit at the unique intersection of technology and media. Our app management platform Zapp powers the streaming businesses for linear and digital broadcasters around the world, and we can spot expansion trends based on how they implement their strategies. Zapp’s pluggable infrastructure and rapidly evolving Marketplace help us to spot new trends as they happen,” said Applicaster’s CEO Ido Hadari. “This business has become incredibly dynamic and keeping a close watch for trends like these hopefully helps media brands continue to drive their strategy successfully in uncharted waters.”

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