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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 distributors ...
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. 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 sto ...
offerings, which are supplements to the programs watched.
Streaming 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 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-1 ...
,
cable channels, 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
17 Live is a global live social entertainment platform, operating in eight different markets across the continents.’
The business was first founded in Taiwan in 2015 by Machi (hip hop group), Jeffery Huang. The company has maintained its leadin ...
*
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
*
Caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...
(2018–)
*
Dailymotion
*
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 Holdin ...
*
DLive
DLive is an American video live streaming service which was founded in 2017. It was purchased by BitTorrent in 2019. Due to the site's lax enforcement of prohibited content guidelines, DLive has become a popular alternative to YouTube and Twit ...
(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) trade name, 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 Facebo ...
) (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) trade name, 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 Facebo ...
)
*
KakaoTV
*
Kuaishou
Kuaishou ( zh, c=快手, l=quick hand) is a users video sharing, 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 engineer ...
*
Likee
*
LINE LIVE
*
LinkedIn Live
*
Livestream
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 no ...
*
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 experts ...
*
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 co ...
*
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
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
(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 technology c ...
) (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
V Live (stylized as VLIVE), sometimes referred to as V App, is a South Korean live video streaming service that allows celebrities based in the country to broadcast live videos such as live chat sessions with fans, performances, reality shows ...
(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 onlin ...
) (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 Haidian ...
*
YouNow
YouNow is a American broadcasting service where users stream their own live video content or interact with the video streams of other users in real time. The service is available on its website, on Android and iOS apps.
As of August 2015, the ...
(2011–)
*
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, 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 ...
(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 sev ...
's
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
) (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
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Azubu
Azubu was a live streaming esports website. In May 2017, it shut down and was succeeded by Smashcast.
History
Azubu was founded in 2012 when Lars Windhorst noticed that children were using live streaming services to watch others play video ga ...
(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 (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 Kilom ...
(2015–2016)
*
Mixer (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, Washing ...
) (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
Smashcast was a live streaming platform that materialised after the merger of Azubu and Hitbox in May 2017.
History
Azubu's acquisition of Hitbox was announced in January 2017. At the time, they announced they were "launch a new platform, focu ...
(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 it ...
*
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 o ...
*
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 distributors ...
*
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 was p ...
*
Major film studios in the United States
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 ...
*
Comparison of video hosting services
The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of current, notable video hosting services. Please see the individual products' articles for further information.
General information
Basic general information about t ...
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Livestreaming
*
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
National Streaming Day is an unofficial holiday occurring on May 20, intended to celebrate streaming media. It was established in 2014 by Roku. In recent years, some streaming services have used the holiday to offer streaming promotions or disco ...
*
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 betw ...
*
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
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Content platforms by monthly active users
Streaming
...
Explanatory notes
References
{{VOD services
Home video
Internet television streaming services