Interactivity in OTT: keeping your audience engaged – Part 1

When were you last watching a film or TV series wishing a character hadn’t made that poor choice which ultimately, led to their downfall? I think we’ve all been there, the moment of “Oh no, I wouldn’t have done that!”, speaking out loud, as if our voice would have an influence on the outcome – but what if it did? Interactivity within streaming is giving viewers that choice.

The power to choose a character’s fate, the path they take, and the decisions they make. Much like the choose-your-own-adventure style of game, it’s exactly this gamification of VOD (Video-on-demand) assets that some streaming platforms are utilising. This development within the OTT space presents benefits and challenges, as well as further data for the platform about their audience.

It’s not only this form that interactivity can take in its application, as a stream no longer must be a one-way flow of information. Engaging the viewer can be achieved through the integration of audience commentary, live data in sporting events, polling, interactive advertising, social application and much more. Think, for instance, of e-commerce applications, where viewers can sign up for services and make purchases while viewing content. These all lead to a much more active viewing experience, and a chance for broadcasters to bring their wealth of content into the digital world. Let’s have a look at some of the most exciting examples of interactivity in the OTT space, happening right now.  

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Interactive storytelling

Netflix is a key player in interactivity in the OTT space, leading the way in the application of interactive storytelling. The popular on-demand platform has been experimenting with implementing interactivity in their VOD content for several years, notably upon the release of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Lately, Netflix has expanded its interactive titles, with a trivia-based show called Cat Burglar. Viewers must answer questions correctly to help Rowdy the Cat evade Peanut the Security Pup to steal some prized paintings. This gives the viewer an added responsibility and level of involvement by creating an active viewing experience. We all love trivia - as showcased by the popularity of game shows on TV today - but what could interactivity do for the digitisation of these shows? Food for thought.

Clickable overlays

The integration of clickable overlays in video is a great way to integrate e-commerce opportunities naturally, no matter what business model you choose to deliver your VOD or Live content. Recent years have seen the incorporation of AI technology to make these overlays interactive and contextually relevant to the content being viewed.

One example is ITV introducing shoppable TV during an episode of Love Island last summer - shoppable TV allows the viewer to purchase items related to the content their viewing, without interrupting the viewing experience. This created a great e-commerce opportunity to target viewers intelligently, with contextually relevant products. It’s possible to apply this in other formats of content, for example, giving the viewer the ability to buy the same shoes as their favourite artist during a live-streamed concert – all immediately available for purchase within the stream. We make it possible for any customer to implement an SVOD, TVOD, or AVOD model through dedicated modules that sit within Media Manager, the powerful backend that manages content for distribution.

We’ll be following up this series with a second part, where we’ll conclude our examples of interactivity and provide some closing thoughts.