Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for OTT devices and services estimated at US$77.1 billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$217.5 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 18.3 percent over the analysis period, a new study from Research and Market stated.

Video, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 18.7 percent CAGR to reach US$133.7 billion by the end of the analysis period.

Consumption of online video grew dramatically over the past few years due to availability of quality and engaging video content on highly successful video sites such as YouTube, Hulu, Vimeo and Netflix among others.

Currently, a significant portion of video consumption is emanating from smartphones and tablet PCs, which offer on-to-the-go video viewing at the convenience of the user.

The US market is estimated at $31.1 billion in 2021, while China is forecast to reach $27.9 billion by 2026.

The OTT devices and services market in the US is estimated at US$31.1 billion in the year 2021. The country currently accounts for a 33.4 percent share in the global market. China, the world’s second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$27.9 billion in the year 2026, trailing a CAGR of 22.2 percent through the analysis.

Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 15.8 percent and 16.5 percent, respectively over the analysis period.

Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 16.5 percent CAGR while the rest of the European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$33 billion by the year 2027.

One of the important drivers driving the market`s growth is the developing media and entertainment industry, as well as the increasing usage of smart computing devices around the world. Growing consumer inclination towards online streaming is driving product demand significantly, in turn accelerating the OTT market growth, a statement from Research & market said.

Moreover, rapidly increasing online communication platforms with advanced technologies that provide customized and personalized consumer involvement is driving the demand for OTT services. The significant growth of the global OTT market during the pandemic times is expected to continue post COVID-19 as well.

This trend would be supported by increasing implementation of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for gaming applications on smart devices, in order to provide players with real time experience while playing games.

In addition, rapid growth of the next generation 5G cellular network service is expected to drive increased adoption of OTT services for consumer entertainment over the next few years. These advanced network services would deliver much faster and more reliable cellular data speed and enable better 4K video streaming with improved video quality.

The ever-increasing penetration of high-speed Internet connectivity, unlimited wireless data plans, and the widespread availability of public wi-fi have proven to be the driving force behind the rise in OTT demand in developing countries.

Developing countries, which previously lagged in the earlier network deployments in the past, are also making development of 5G-network infrastructure a national priority now, despite their difficulties in terms of affordability over the near-term.