An
over-the-top media service
An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributor ...
is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributors of such content. Most of these services are owned by a
major film studio
Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, th ...
. Some streaming services started as an add-on to
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
offerings, which are supplements to the programs watched.
Streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
is an alternative to file
download
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...
ing, a process in which the end-user obtains the entire file(s) for the content before watching or listening to it.
A client end-user can use the
media player, computer, mobile phone, and smart TV to start playing
digital video
Digital video is an electronic representation of moving visual images (video) in the form of encoded digital data
Digital data, in information theory and information systems, is information represented as a string of discrete symbols eac ...
content before the entire file have been transmitted. Users will need an
Internet connection
Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...
to stream or download video content. Users lacking compatible hardware or software systems may be unable to stream or download certain content.
Streaming video on demand
More than 100 million subscribers
50–99 million subscribers
20–49 million subscribers
1–19 million subscribers
Fewer than 1 million subscribers
Free, Ad-Supported Television (FAST)
Streaming television
The following services are owned and operated by
television networks
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...
,
cable channel
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
s, or other
conglomerates in that market. They are major content producers, and their streaming services serve as the primary means of distributing the content that often first airs on their networks or channels.
Streaming music/audio on demand
Internet radio
Livestreaming
Active services
*
17Live
*
AcFun
*
AfreecaTV
AfreecaTV ( ko, 아프리카TV, short for "Any FREE broadCAsting") () is a P2P technology-based video streaming service. It is now owned and operated by AfreecaTV Co., Ltd. in South Korea after Nowcom's AfreecaTV Co., Ltd and ZettaMedia split in ...
*
Bigo Live
Bigo Live is a live streaming platform owned by a Singapore-based Bigo Technology, which was founded in 2014 by David Li and Jason Hu. As of 2019, Bigo Technology is owned bJOYY a Chinese company listed on the NASDAQ.
Bigo Technology has dev ...
*
Bilibili
Bilibili (stylized bilibili), nicknamed B Site, is a video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view and add overlaid commentary on videos. Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili began to expand to a broader audience from its ori ...
*
Caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class. It is mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally as a Nootropic, cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional perfor ...
(2018–)
*
Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution vid ...
*
DouYu
DouYu () is a Chinese video live streaming service. The site is the largest of its kind in China with 163.6 million monthly active users in 2019,
more than the 140 million monthly active users of Twitch.
In July 2019 DouYu International Holding ...
*
DLive (owned by
BitTorrent) (2017–)
*
Facebook Live
Facebook is a social-network service website launched on February 4, 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The following is a list of software and technology features that can be found on the Facebook website and mobile app and are available to users of t ...
(owned by
Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms, Inc., (file no. 3835815) doing business as Meta and formerly named Facebook, Inc., and TheFacebook, Inc., is an American multinational technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. The company owns Facebook, Insta ...
) (2015–)
*
GoodGame (2008–)
*
Huya
*
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
(owned by
Meta Platforms
Meta Platforms, Inc., (file no. 3835815) doing business as Meta and formerly named Facebook, Inc., and TheFacebook, Inc., is an American multinational technology conglomerate based in Menlo Park, California. The company owns Facebook, Insta ...
)
*
KakaoTV
*
Kuaishou
Kuaishou ( zh, c=快手, l=quick hand) is a users short video-sharing mobile app, a social network, and video special effects editor, based in Haidian District (Beijing), developed in 2011 by Beijing Kuaishou Technology, by engineers Hua Su (宿� ...
*
Likee
*
LINE LIVE
*
LinkedIn Live
*
Livestream
*
NaverTV
*
Niconico
*
OK.ru
*
OnlyFans
OnlyFans is an internet content subscription service based in London, United Kingdom. The service is used primarily by sex workers who produce pornography, but it also hosts the work of other content creators, such as physical fitness exper ...
*
Patreon
Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a com ...
*
Pixiv Sketch
*
SHOWROOM
A plumbing fixture showroom, Canada, 1921
A showroom, also referred to as a gallery, is a large space used to display products, entertainment or visual arts.
Marketing location
A showroom is a large space used to display products for sale, suc ...
*
Steam.tv
*
TikTok/Douyin
*
Triller
The trillers are a group of passerine birds belonging to the cuckooshrike family Campephagidae partially making up the genus '' Lalage''. Their name come from the loud trilling calls of the males. There are about 12 species that usually exist ...
*
Twitch (owned by
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
) (2011–)
*
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
*
VK
*
V Live (owned by
Naver Corporation
The Naver Corporation is a South Korean internet conglomerate headquartered in Seongnam that operates the search engine Naver. Naver established itself as an early pioneer in the use of user-generated content through the creation of the online ...
) (2015–)
*
Youku
Youku Tudou Inc. (formerly Youku Inc.), doing business as Youku (), is a video hosting service based in Beijing, China. It operates as a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding Limited.
Youku has its headquarters in the Sinosteel Plaza in Haid ...
*
YouNow (2011–)
*
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
(owned by
Alphabet Inc.
Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was created through a restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015, and became the parent company of Google and se ...
's
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
) (2005–)
*
YuppTV
YuppTV is an over-the-top (OTT) content provider for South Asian content including live television and films with recording and storage features. YuppTV allows broadcasters and content providers to reach an audience, and allows consumers to vie ...
Former services
*
Azubu (2012–2017)
* CaveTube (2011–2016 or 2017)
* Colon (2018–2019)
* Cube TV (2018–2019)
* FAN LIVE (2016(?)-2018)
*
FRESH LIVE (2016–2020)
*
Hitbox
Collision detection is the computational problem of detecting the intersection of two or more objects. Collision detection is a classic issue of computational geometry and has applications in various computing fields, primarily in computer gr ...
(owned by Azubu) (2013–2017)
*
Houseparty (2016–2021)
* Huomao (2014–2021)
*
Justin.tv
Justin.tv was a website created by Justin Kan, Emmett Shear, Michael Seibel, and Kyle Vogt in 2007 to allow anyone to broadcast video online. Justin.tv user accounts were called "channels", like those on YouTube, and users were encouraged to ...
(owned by Twitch Interactive/Justin.tv, Inc) (2007–2014)
* KingKong (2018–2020)
*
Meerkat
MeerKAT, originally the Karoo Array Telescope, is a radio telescope consisting of 64 antennas in the Meerkat National Park, in the Northern Cape of South Africa. In 2003, South Africa submitted an expression of interest to host the Square Ki ...
(2015–2016)
*
Mixer
Mixer may refer to:
Electronics
* DJ mixer, a type of audio mixing console used by disc jockeys
* Electronic mixer, electrical circuit for adding signal voltages
* Frequency mixer, electrical circuit that creates new frequencies from two signals ...
(owned by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
) (2016–2020)
* Panda.tv (2015–2019)
*
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position.
In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
(owned by
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
) (2015–2021)
* Play2Live (2017–2019)
* Quanmin.tv (2015–2018)
*
Rabb.it (2014–2019)
*
Smashcast (2017–2020)
* Stream.me (2015–2019)
* StreamCraft (2018–2019)
See also
*
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
*
Video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
*
Over-the-top media service
An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms: the types of companies that traditionally act as controllers or distributor ...
*
Direct-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy w ...
*
Major film studios in the United States
*
Comparison of video hosting services
*
Livestreaming
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but n ...
*
Livestreamed news
Livestreamed news refers to live videos streams of television news which are provided via streaming television or via streaming media by various television networks and television news outlets, from various countries. The majority of live news s ...
*
National Streaming Day
*
Television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...
*
List of content platforms by monthly active users
This is a list of top 100 content platforms services by monthly active users (MAU):
See also
* List of social platforms with at least 100 million active users
This is a list of social platforms with at least 100 million monthly active use ...
Explanatory notes
References
{{VOD services
Home video
Internet television streaming services