OTT (Over The Top) media service can be defined as:
a media distribution practice that allows a streaming content provider to sell audio, video, and other media services directly to the consumer over the internet.
Circumventing traditional TV viewing by using a Chromecast, Roku, apps within your Smart TV, mobile or tablet, and even games consoles creates new hurdles for advertisers, but offers some huge potential too. Viewers are engaged, and more accurate targeting and reporting is also available when compared to traditional TV advertising options.
To emphasise the importance of this growing trend, it's time for some statistics:
- Over 60% of US households access content streamed through an internet-connected TV or device.
- Between 2017-2018, streaming media device shipments will increase globally by 11.1%, and by up to 28% by 2021 (SNL Kagan).
- One-third of American households watch only VOD.
- eMarketer estimated 22.2 million cord-cutters ages 18 and older, a figure up 33.2% over 2016.
- When watch an "on demand" program, ad content is generally very well-received. It’s a full-screen experience, so there’s nothing else detracting from the programming or the ad.
- Completion rates for CTV viewing are currently at 98% for pre-roll and mid-roll ads.
The main driver of complexity in digital advertising and measurement is often the wide range of ever-diversifying devices people use to access content. With the explosion in connected devices, new variations appear almost daily. DeviceAtlas helps you stay on top of this shifting landscape by:
- Identifying and verifying OTT originated traffic
- Targeting campaigns to OTT viewers
- Providing additional targeting criteria for advertiser
- Adding decisioning criteria for ad delivery
- Enabling cross-device measurement
As of today, DeviceAtlas has hundreds of distinct OTT devices in its database, from set top boxes to tablets, smartphones, Smart TVs as well a plethora of different games consoles. Our database is kept up to date so every new device is available to you. Knowing which device your audience is using can help you refine your message and ensure maximum engagement for your OTT advertising campaign.
The below lists the device types used for determining ad impression origin, and follows OpenRTB specification.
Device Type |
Definition |
Example devices |
Set Top Box |
An OTT device which connects a TV to the internet to provide smart TV functionality. |
Chromecast, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV etc |
Smart TV |
A TV with an embedded browser or other means of connectivity to the internet. |
Samsung, Sharp, Smart TVs etc |
Games Console |
A device that is designed primarily for playing games. |
Xbox, Sony Playstation etc |
Media Player |
A device which is primarily used for consumption of digital media. |
Amazon Echo, Apple iPod Touch |
Mobile Phone |
A mobile device for which one of the primary functions is making phone calls. |
Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S9 etc |
Tablet |
A mobile device with a large touchscreen display. |
Apple iPad, Amazon Fire 7 (2017) etc |
Here are some User Agents you might expect to encounter when dealing with such OTT devices. We've included many common, household-name devices such as Chromecast, Apple TV, Xbox One and Playstation 4.
Set Top Boxes User Agents
Chromecast |
Mozilla/5.0 (CrKey armv7l 1.5.16041) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/31.0.1650.0 Safari/537.36 |
Roku Ultra |
Roku4640X/DVP-7.70 (297.70E04154A) |
Minix NEO X5 |
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 4.2.2; he-il; NEO-X5-116A Build/JDQ39) AppleWebKit/534.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Safari/534.30 |
Amazon 4K Fire TV |
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.1; AFTS Build/LMY47O) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/41.99900.2250.0242 Safari/537.36 |
Google Nexus Player |
Dalvik/2.1.0 (Linux; U; Android 6.0.1; Nexus Player Build/MMB29T) |
Apple TV 5th Gen 4K |
AppleTV6,2/11.1 |
Apple TV 4th Gen |
AppleTV5,3/9.1.1 |
Smart TV User Agents
Samsung Smart TV |
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Tizen 2.3) AppleWebKit/538.1 (KHTML, like Gecko)Version/2.3 TV Safari/538.1 |
Samsung Smart TV |
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Tizen 2.3; SmartHub; SMART-TV; SmartTV; U; Maple2012) AppleWebKit/538.1+ (KHTML, like Gecko) TV Safari/538.1+ |
24-inch LG Smart TV |
Mozilla/5.0 (Web0S; Linux/SmartTV) AppleWebKit/538.2 (KHTML, like Gecko) Large Screen Safari/538.2 LG Browser/7.00.00(LGE; 24LF4820-BU; 03.20.14; 1; DTV_W15L); webOS.TV-2015; LG NetCast.TV-2013 Compatible (LGE, 24LF4820-BU, wireless) |
60-inch LG Smart TV |
Mozilla/5.0 (Web0S; Linux/SmartTV) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) QtWebEngine/5.2.1 Chr0me/38.0.2125.122 Safari/537.36 LG Browser/8.00.00(LGE; 60UH6550-UB; 03.00.15; 1; DTV_W16N); webOS.TV-2016; LG NetCast.TV-2013 Compatible (LGE, 60UH6550-UB, wireless) |
65-inch LG Smart TV |
Mozilla/5.0 (Web0S; Linux/SmartTV) AppleWebKit/538.2 (KHTML, like Gecko) Large Screen Safari/538.2 LG Browser/7.00.00(LGE; 65LF6300-UA; 04.00.30; 1; DTV_W15M); webOS.TV-2015; LG NetCast.TV-2013 Compatible (LGE, 65LF6300-UA, wireless) |
Sony Bravia 4K Smart TV |
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; BRAVIA 4K 2015 Build/LMY48E.S265) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/41.0.2272.101 Safari/537.36 OPR/28.0.1754.0 |
48-inch Sony Bravia Smart TV |
Opera/9.80 (Linux armv7l; Opera TV Store/6222) Presto/2.12.407 Version/12.50 Model/Sony-KJ-48W700C SonyCEBrowser/1.0 (KJ-48W700C; CTV/PKG2.401JPA; JPN) |
Toshiba Smart TV |
Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Linux; ja-jp; DTV; TSBNetTV/T3E01CD.0203.DDD) AppleWebKit/536(KHTML, like Gecko) NX/3.0 (DTV; HTML; R1.0;) DTVNetBrowser/2.2 (000039;T3E01CD;0203;DDD) InettvBrowser/2.2 (000039;T3E01CD;0203;DDD) |
Philips Smart TV |
Opera/9.80 (Linux armv7l; HbbTV/1.2.1 (; Philips; 40HFL5010T12; ; PHILIPSTV; CE-HTML/1.0 NETTV/4.4.1 SmartTvA/3.0.0 Firmware/004.002.036.135 (PhilipsTV, 3.1.1,)en) ) Presto/2.12.407 Version/12.50 |
Game Consoles User Agents
Nintendo Wii U |
Mozilla/5.0 (Nintendo WiiU) AppleWebKit/536.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) NX/3.0.4.2.12 NintendoBrowser/4.3.1.11264.US |
Xbox One S |
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; XBOX_ONE_ED) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/51.0.2704.79 Safari/537.36 Edge/14.14393 |
Xbox One |
Mozilla/5.0 (Windows Phone 10.0; Android 4.2.1; Xbox; Xbox One) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/46.0.2486.0 Mobile Safari/537.36 Edge/13.10586 |
Playstation 4 |
Mozilla/5.0 (PlayStation 4 3.11) AppleWebKit/537.73 (KHTML, like Gecko) |
Playstation Vita |
Mozilla/5.0 (PlayStation Vita 3.61) AppleWebKit/537.73 (KHTML, like Gecko) Silk/3.2 |
Nintendo 3DS |
Mozilla/5.0 (Nintendo 3DS; U; ; en) Version/1.7412.EU |
Main Image By Matthew Keys via Flickr.