OTT TCO Calculator (Year 1 + Year 2)

Why TCO matters more than the headline price

Most OTT platform demos lead with a headline platform fee. The real cost is usually 2–4x higher by year 2 when you account for apps, support tiers, bandwidth overages, and feature add-ons.

The cost buckets

Platform fee (base)

Monthly or annual SaaS fee for the platform. This is usually the smallest line item.

Apps (build + annual maintenance)

Initial build cost per app (iOS, Android, Tizen, webOS, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV). Then annual maintenance for each. This is often the largest variable cost.

Bandwidth / CDN

Typically charged per GB delivered. Grows faster than expected as your audience scales. Get a per-GB rate and model at 2x and 5x your initial estimate.

Storage

Video storage per GB or per hour of content. Often flat-rated but can add up with large catalogs.

DRM / security

Multi-DRM licensing (Widevine, FairPlay, PlayReady) is usually a separate line item or bundled at a higher tier.

Support tier / SLA

Basic support is often email-only. Phone and dedicated support require a higher tier — sometimes 2–3x the base platform fee.

Add-ons

Advanced analytics, recommendation engine, SSO, FAST module, SSAI integration — these are often gated behind add-on pricing.

Professional services

Implementation, migration, and custom development. Budget 3–6 months of platform fee for a standard implementation.

Year-2 traps (the most common surprises)

• App maintenance increases — some vendors raise app maintenance fees after year 1
• Support tier upgrades — you launch on basic support and need dedicated support once live
• Bandwidth grows faster than expected — model conservatively and get a committed rate
• Feature gating — advanced monetization or integrations move behind a higher tier as your needs grow

Download the TCO calculator — the model as a Google Sheet is available via email. Book a call and we'll pre-fill it with your platform shortlist.