Summary

China's over-the-top (OTT) market refers to the delivery of audio, video, and other media over the internet without the need for traditional cable or broadcast television systems. China is second largest in the globally OTT market and has been growing rapidly in recent years. Major players in the market include streaming platforms such as iQiyi, Tencent Video, and Youku, as well as social media platforms such as WeChat and Douyin (TikTok). The industry is dominated by a few large companies and is highly competitive, with each platform offering a wide range of content, including licensed content, original productions, and user-generated content. The OTT market in China is also influenced by government regulations, which can impact the availability of certain content and the overall development of the industry. The China OTT market is expected to continue growing in the future, driven by increasing internet penetration and a growing middle class with high disposable income.

According to the research report, "China over the Top (OTT) Market Overview, 2028," published by Bonafide Research, the market is anticipated to add USD 18.11 Billion by the end of 2028. Due to the increase in the number of digital video consumers, media and entertainment dominated the over-the-top market share and is expected to remain dominant during the forecast period. This will increase demand for OTT services in the media and entertainment industry. However, the communication industry is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period due to an increase in demand for over-the-top services in the telecommunications industry for video calling, voice, and messaging services. During the forecast period, SmartTVs and set-top boxes dominated the market share. Because of the larger screen and easy switching options between cable and OTT platforms. Furthermore, as smartphone penetration increased, smartphones became the second most popular device for streaming OTT platforms. They are also inexpensive, allowing people of all income levels to use smartphones and streaming platforms. During the forecasted period, subscription VOD is expected to manage the market. This is primarily due to an increase in the number of subscribers using over-the-top (OTT) platforms. Furthermore, due to the high demand for advertising videos for product and service promotion, advertisement-based VOD is steadily increasing. The market is divided into personal and commercial user types. The market is expected to be driven by the personal user segment. The growing use of smartphones and tablets, as well as easily accessible internet, raises the market's perception of OTT services for personal entertainment and knowledge.

In China, more than 45% of people watch music videos. More than 25% of people watch a comedy, meme, or viral video. Around 36% of people watch video livestreams. More than 25% of people watch educational videos. More than 33% of people watch sports highlights or clips. Around 30% of people watch Gaming Videos. More than 31% of people watch Influencer videos and vlogs. By age group (16–64), the average amount of time that China users spend each day includes around 5 hours on the internet, around 3 hours on television, around 2 hours for social media, and more than 1 hour listening to music streaming services. In the China OTT market, some of the major reasons for the higher utilization of the internet by the age group of 16–64 include finding information, researching how to do things, finding new ideas and inspiration, staying in touch with friends and family, researching brands, education and study, watching videos, TV shows, and movies, listening to music, researching health issues and products, researching places, travelling, business networking, and many more.
In January 2022, China's total population was 1.45 billion. In January 2022, China had more than 1 billion internet users. At the beginning of 2022, China's internet penetration rate was greater than 70% of the total population. In China, approximately 420 million people did not use the internet at the start of 2022, implying that approximately 29% of the population was offline at the start of the year. In January 2022, China had over 900 million social media users. Internet users in China spend more than 5 hours per day online on average.

During the COVID -19 pandemic, film studios and content creators have been hit hard by cinema complex/hall closures. National producers are increasingly turning to OTT to deal with the situation. The prolonged lockdowns and the current state of the economy have thrown open the doors to the world of entertainment via OTT. People are wary of going to theatres to watch entertainment content, so OTT media platforms have grown in popularity. Netflix, for example, has stepped in to fill the void. To reach viewers, entertainment content producers are turning to OTT service providers. With so many OTT services available to users, it is difficult to attract and retain new subscribers. Customers typically receive free or discounted introductory offers. Subscribers can sign up for a free trial and then cancel when it expires; in the meantime, a lack of new content drives away subscribers and the complex user interface can cause customers to unsubscribe from the service.

Considered in this report
• Geography: China
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

Aspects covered in this report
• China Over The Top (OTT) market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Type:
• AVOD (Advertising-based Video On Demand)
• SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)
• TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand)
• Others

By Device Type:
• Smartphones and Tablets
• Desktops and Laptops
• Smart TVs & Set-Top Box
• Gaming Consoles & Streaming Devices

By Content Type:
• Video Streaming
• Game Streaming
• Audio Streaming
• Communication

By Service Verticals:
• Media and Entertainment
• Education and Learning
• Gaming
• Service Utilities

By User Type:
• Personal
• Commercial

By Component Type:
• Solution
• Services

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, and annual reports of companies, analyzing the government-generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers into regional aspects, tier aspects, age groups, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to the Over The Top (OTT) industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.