Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😲 Extremely excessive 📺 Internet-delivered media
over-the-top

over-the-top

3 5.7
Delivered over the internet directly to users instead of through cable services
  • adjective
  • /ˈoʊvər ðə tɑp/
  • Specialized
translation icon : por Internet
  • It's really interesting to see these giant companies move quickly because of the impending threat to over-the-top and cord cutting.

But what happens when the cable model unbundles or over the top happens or whatever?

Examples

  • In fact, I increasingly use over-the-top services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, and Hulu Plus.

    Blog text (1)

  • Additionally, 47 million people will watch over-the-top content by the end of this year.

    Blog text (14)

  • In the industry, such content providers are referred to as "over the top" solutions, and they're proving that service providers like Comcast and Time Warner are fast falling behind.

    Blog text (15)

  • "What we've seen is that service providers like Comcast are responding extremely fast to this over-the-top threat from Hulu and Netflix."

    Blog text (15)

  • Sling was the first company to really introduce the idea of place-shifting—that is, watching content at home in a different location—but it's faced strong competition over the years from over-the-top streaming services, TV Everywhere, and a growing list of competitors.

    Blog text (1)

  • More viewers are turning to over-the-top services as an alternative to traditional cable television.

  • The latest series is available exclusively as over-the-top content on streaming platforms.

  • Many consumers prefer over-the-top options because they offer a wider variety of programming without cable subscriptions.

Synonyms

online
vsover-the-top
  • Texting
∞ 1.0

Using the internet to do or get something

is specifically delivered over the public internet bypassing traditional distributors

Surface Forms

over-the-top positive

Morphology

over-the-top = the + top (opaque) = over + the + top

This is a specialized technical term (OTT) whose meaning 'delivered over the public internet' is jargon-specific and not directly inferable from the literal phrase components by an average learner. [Postprocessing: moved 'over' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Over-the-top in tech borrows that same image: the idea is content going 'over' the usual top of TV and phone systems and straight to viewers, so an over-the-top service delivers shows and movies 'over the public internet' without using cable or satellite.