"Over-the-top," or OTT, describes how a video service delivers its content: directly over the internet, bypassing the cable box, satellite dish, or broadcast antenna that traditionally sat between you and the network. The term itself comes from that idea — the content travels "over the top" of the existing cable infrastructure instead of through it.
What "Over-the-Top" Actually Means
OTT is a delivery method, not a specific app or service. Any video sent directly over a regular internet connection — rather than through a cable company's dedicated line or a satellite dish — counts as over-the-top. The name reflects the original cable-industry perspective: this new kind of service rode over the top of the cable network's own infrastructure, delivered by a third party the cable company had no control over.
The category emerged in the mid-2000s as broadband internet and cloud computing made it practical to deliver high-quality video at scale without owning any physical distribution network — early examples that established the model include YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu.
How OTT Differs From Cable and Satellite
Cable and satellite both depend on dedicated infrastructure built specifically to deliver television — a coaxial line run to your home, or a dish with a clear view of the sky. OTT skips that infrastructure entirely and uses the same general-purpose internet connection you already have for everything else.
That distinction is what separates OTT from an "IPTV" service in the strictest technical sense, even though the two terms get used loosely and often overlap in practice: both deliver video over the internet, but OTT specifically emphasizes bypassing the traditional cable/satellite gatekeeper, while IPTV more narrowly refers to the technology of transmitting TV signals as internet data. In everyday use, most people treat the terms as describing the same shift — away from dedicated broadcast infrastructure and onto the open internet.
Cord-Cutters, Cord-Shavers, and Cord-Nevers
OTT's growth created its own vocabulary for describing how people relate to traditional pay-TV:
- Cord-cutters — people who cancelled a cable or satellite subscription entirely and moved to OTT services instead.
- Cord-shavers — people who downgraded their pay-TV package rather than cancelling it outright, while adding OTT services alongside it.
- Cord-nevers — people who never signed up for cable or satellite at all, going straight to OTT and internet-based options.
These categories matter less as strict labels and more as a way to describe a real spectrum: OTT isn't an all-or-nothing switch, and plenty of households mix a smaller cable package with one or more OTT subscriptions.
What OTT Looks Like in Practice
In practice, OTT covers a wide range of services beyond just on-demand libraries — it's the same underlying delivery model behind live-channel streaming, sports broadcasts, and IPTV subscriptions, not just services like Netflix. If you're trying to understand the specific types of apps within that OTT category — on-demand libraries versus continuous live-channel feeds — our breakdown of streaming apps covers that distinction in more depth.
For live channels specifically delivered this way, a broader OTT/IPTV subscription like GetTV.online bundles 40,000+ live channels and 150,000+ movies and series into one internet-delivered service, without the dedicated cable or satellite infrastructure.
FAQ
What does OTT stand for?
Over-the-top. It describes video delivered directly over the internet, bypassing the cable, satellite, or broadcast infrastructure a traditional TV provider would otherwise control.
Is OTT the same as streaming?
OTT is a specific type of streaming — internet-delivered video that bypasses traditional pay-TV infrastructure. "Streaming" is the broader technical term for delivering video over a network in general.
What's the difference between a cord-cutter and a cord-shaver?
A cord-cutter cancels cable or satellite entirely and relies on OTT services. A cord-shaver keeps a smaller pay-TV package while adding OTT services alongside it, rather than dropping cable completely.
Do I need special equipment for OTT services?
No dedicated infrastructure like a satellite dish is required — OTT works over your existing internet connection on devices like smart TVs, streaming sticks, phones, and tablets. GetTV.online's free trial is one way to test that on your own setup.