A new in depth review of the Over The Top (OTT) TV and video markets is suggesting that Android based system are likely to prosper in this fast moving sector and in particular, the report highlights the advantages of the PeerTV system over the many other manufacturers vying for sales in the market.

The OTT TV market is certainly booming – recent launches by Bahraini telecoms and internet group Batelco, Australian broadcasters Globecast, Mexican technology conglomerate Total Movie and OSN pay TV network all reveal the range of organisations  who now feel confident they can monetise a user driven content led subscription model. Key to the success of many of these offerings however will be the ease with which users can adopt the new hardware needed to receive the subscription service, which is often a set top box.

The Noa TV Technologies report released last month looked at the market both from the perspective of underlying operating systems and at the individual offerings currently available from six established vendors. The research concluded that Android’s dominance in the smartphone market is likely to spread into the OTT arena due to its ability to be customised, multi-platform adaptability, fast and stable operating characteristics and finally the fact that it is used and trusted by a far larger audience than Apple, Windows or Linux in the mobile space, where Android based units hold around a 68% share (2013 IDC research.)

Carl Hibbert, head of entertainment content and delivery at Futuresource Consulting thinks “The proliferation of internet enabled devices, OTT services and cloud-based systems has been pushing the threat of cord cutting up the agenda for multi-system operators like Comcast, UPC and Virgin Media. Multimedia home gateways are increasingly a new weapon of choice for operators to stem subscriber churn, offering subscribers new services and more efficient delivery of video to secondary screens in the home and on the move."

One of the key factors behind the expected growth of the global set top box market, according to researchers TechNavio, is the increasing demand for HD units. Demand for this new generation technology is balanced globally, with key markets being Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Media experiences today are based on personalisation, immediate gratification and an insatiable thirst for variety, exclusivity and original programming. Consumers are rapidly becoming accustomed to expect everything everywhere, as high performance mobile and an increasingly fast and effective internet allows for delivery of video and audio content to a wide range of devices both inside and outside the home. Over The Top content providers have set the bar for customer experiences on the web and are rapidly translating those same experiences to a wide range of devices including mobile, tablets and TVs, with the OTT market now worth well over $8 billion as at the end of 2012. The market is currently experiencing explosive growth, with hundreds of players both large and small  active in the market pursuing different strategies at different stages along differing parts of the value chain. As content providers get on board and appreciate the significance of the new distribution channels, so OTT is set to continue to grow.

Fresh announcements by AIM listed OTT hardware and software specialty PeerTV illustrates this well – the company has recently signed set top box supply contracts with major national broadcasters targeting both Russian and Polish viewers worldwide, giving content providers for these markets the tools to allow them to push subscription sales in a range of international markets, opening up new subscriber based growth. It has also just announced significant US and Irish market equipment deals too.

Key to the success of such initiatives is the usability, flexibility and reliability of the hardware and software platforms, so PeerTV’s Android powered OTT product was only rolled out after a comprehensive six month live market trial. The PeerTV platform benefits from having been an early adopter of Android, so it is ahead of the pack with developmental experience. Added to this, the system is compliant with a host of international standards including TR069, TR135 and TR111, UP&P and DLNA.

Alexander Cofman head of client products at Kartina TV, the Russian broadcaster and a user of PeerTV technology highlights the “graphics performance, easy user experience, fast channel zapping and Skype support, as well as the ability to customise the platform to our own requirements” as key benefits.

Successful vendors of OTT delivery systems will need to pay close attention to the unique needs of the marketplace, continuing to deliver a flexible platform that can be customised both by the end user and by corporate buyers of the system.  OTT systems such as PeerTV are expected to be bought by ISPs, ethnic TV service providers, content providers, cable operator, mobile operators, the hospitality sector, hospitals and academic institutions.