Exploring the Expansion of OTT Services in Emerging Markets

Expanding Your OTT Media Services to Emerging Markets

1. Assess Growth Opportunities in Key Regions

You might already sense the momentum building in places where rapid urbanization and affordable mobile data plans have created fertile ground for video streaming services, but pinpointing your exact entry point takes more than knowledge of general trends. You'll need to actually examine the data on user adoption and revenue projections.

Start by conducting targeted market research that goes beyond broad statistics and focuses on regional preferences. For example, there's a strong preference for short-form videos in Southeast Asia, and family-oriented programming is what's wanted in Sub-Saharan Africa. You then dig even deeper: the purpose here is to figure out how to curate and position your library.

2. Look at the Infrastructure and Accessibility Hurdles

When you attempt to roll out your content, you'll quickly realize that the landscape of internet infrastructure is pretty uneven. Rural areas might lag with speed while urban centers have 5G capabilities, but viewers in both will want smooth playback. What you need is a multi-layered content delivery network that can cache videos closer to end-users. This is especially important where viewers rely on prepaid mobile plans and are aware that every megabyte counts toward their monthly allowance.

Integrate adaptive bitrate streaming technologies that automatically adjust quality based on connection strength, so your high-definition episodes don't frustrate users in bandwidth-constrained zones. Also, consider offline download features so viewers with restrictions can download and watch later. This tactic has boosted retention quite a bit for platforms operating in environments with intermittent connectivity.

3. Localize Content and Build Partnerships

To truly embed your offerings in these markets, you'll need to adapt your content in ways that go beyond just adding some subtitles. What makes a story popular in the area you're trying to reach? What local talent might be around who can help you align your content with their societal themes and avoid alienating the audience with what feels like a foreign import that doesn't understand their reality?

4. Optimize Monetization

In optimizing your media, you'll probably also find that a one-size-fits-all revenue model falls short. There's some wide disparity in disposable income and willingness to pay, so maintaining a flexible blend of subscription, advertising, and transactional approaches can allow you to see sustained growth and keep you from alienating potential subscribers who might balk at a model that works well in the US or Europe.

5. Measure and Adapt for Long-Term Success

Once you've launched, you have to track those key metrics, like subscriber acquisition costs, churn rates, and engagement times, and do so across devices. Once you know what works, prioritize that while carefully using A/B testing to try out new things. Tools that automate transcoding and multi-platform publishing can streamline this process.

You can effectively introduce your content to emerging markets, and we have the tools you need to get it done. Contact us at Lightcast.com now for a free demo.