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 *

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

) * 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 *

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 * 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 ...

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

) (2015–2021) * Play2Live (2017–2019) * Quanmin.tv (2015–2018) * Rabb.it (2014–2019) * Smashcast (2017–2020) * Stream.me (2015–2019) * StreamCraft (2018–2019)

Explanatory notes

References

{{VOD services Home video Internet television streaming services

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

Streaming music/audio on demand

Internet radio

Livestreaming

Active services

Former services

See also

Explanatory notes

References