If you are familiar with watching any kind of videos, and you haven’t been living under a rock, then you know that the world of internet-connected TV (or CTV) is huge. With the explosion of YouTube, Twitch, Netflix, Hulu, and all the other streaming video services, there is endless content for CTV. All of it is being leveraged to make money through video monetization. There are many good sources for information on monetization – for example, you can check out VlogBox.
One of the biggest drivers for video monetization is advertising. Getting ads into videos requires applications. This means that there are huge opportunities for app developers to create apps for CTV and video monetization platforms. The sales and usage of apps used in CTV and over-the-top (OTT) programmatic advertising have grown by triple digits within the last year.
What technology uses CTV applications?
There are a number of different hardware devices that are internet-connected and are used to view video content. Aside from computer-type devices (desktops, laptops, tablets), the major hardware in the CTV space are televisions (obviously), Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. TVs account for the largest portion of the market (around 40%), with Amazon and Apple around 20% each, and Roku also around 20%.
Within the CTV application space, there are a number of different types of apps. Video distribution platforms use different apps to support their systems and address different consumer needs. The big streaming services need apps for their multichannel programming distribution, while the free streaming services need different software to support their video distribution technologies. Many of the CTV devices utilize advanced menu management systems, and some providers deliver applications to consumers for distribution of their video services. There are even audio service apps, such as for playing music or listening to podcasts.
What is driving this growth?
The number one factor driving the growth of CTV is the increase in the number of devices that are connected and used to view videos. This has caused a commensurate growth in industries adjacent to these connected devices, and specifically connected TVs. It is estimated that well over 75% of the households in the United States have at least one CTV or OTT device. In the recent past, mobile app development was king, but CTV and OTT app development is quickly gaining ground.
The pandemic has also boosted the usage of CTV overall. With more people staying home, CTV viewership reached over 3.5 billion hours a week. As the pandemic has led to a great increase in the number of long-term work-from-home employees, this will continue to bolster CTV usage ongoing. This bodes well for the video monetization services as well as the CTV app development industry.
The future of CTV app development?
CTV-channel development and advertising are continuing to expand at a rapid pace. Technology will always move forward, and it looks like the viewing on connected devices is going to do nothing but get bigger. This leads to increasing opportunities for advertisers to build video monetization services, as well as more channels for video distribution. All this guarantees that these industries will have a growing need for CTV application development.
If you are looking for niches to develop in, then gaming and entertainment are and will always be huge. If you are not into gaming or general entertainment, then kids’ content and lifestyle are rapidly expanding verticals across CTV platforms. Faith-based channels are another fast growth area because local churches and faith organizations have discovered that streaming is a great way to get their message to their members, as well as to expand their congregations.
The advertising spending on CTV is forecasted to more than triple by 2024. This underscores the need for video content creators and app developers. These industries are still relatively new, and early entrants to the CTV development arena still have a chance of becoming industry pioneers, similar to what happened with the mobile app and YouTube video booms. There is a vast universe of opportunities; CTV developers have unprecedented opportunities to define their path and create unique market-leading products.
