OTT ("over-the-top") describes any video delivered to viewers across the public internet, riding over the top of an existing broadband connection rather than a managed cable, satellite, or IPTV network. The defining property is that the operator does not own the last mile: the same connection that carries email and web traffic carries the video, so the platform must adapt to unpredictable, heterogeneous networks instead of a guaranteed-bandwidth channel.
That single fact shapes the entire architecture. Adaptive bitrate streaming exists because the network speed changes mid-playback; CDNs exist because one origin cannot serve a global audience cheaply; client apps on every screen exist because viewers watch on phones, browsers, smart TVs, and streaming sticks. OTT is the umbrella that covers VOD, live, linear, and FAST experiences and every business model (SVOD, AVOD, TVOD, and hybrids of them).
For a builder, "an OTT platform" means the full stack: ingest and encoding, packaging and DRM, CDN delivery, monetization and entitlement, playback, and the analytics loop that keeps it healthy.
