How to Develop a Streaming App like HiTV

Thanks to streaming app development services, the fun and memories of enjoying television can be cherished again.

Who doesn’t love watching TV series, shows, anime, cartoons, and movies? Undeniably, watching content on our oldest video medium, the television, is always a great source of entertainment.

Remember the time when we relied on this single source of entertainment to watch whatever they were telecasting according to their schedule? Honestly, it was frustrating sometimes!

With video streaming apps such as HiTV, we can enjoy what we want unlimited times and from anywhere. On HiTV, we get access to a vast collection of dramas, movies, web shows, and much more.

This industry is known as the “over-the-top” or OTT platform industry. The apps used in the OTT industry are video streaming apps. These video streaming apps provide unlimited content access to users. They just need to log in to the app using their smartphone or laptop, and the content is ready to watch. The HiTV app offers a huge range of content, including Korean, Chinese, and Japanese dramas, and more.

That’s why many businesses, traditional content providers, publishers, and entrepreneurs are considering making money in this market. The market is growing at a great pace, so it could be a great opportunity as well. In this article, we will go through various aspects of how to develop a video streaming app like HiTV.

What is the HiTV Video Streaming App?

HiTV is an on-demand online digital video streaming app. This app lets users watch their preferred series, TV shows, episodes, local dramas, live shows, etc., on any device, such as smartphones, PCs, and tablets. Smart TVs would also be available for entertainment. If you want the same type of video streaming app development, you need to have a word with a Video Streaming App Development Company.

Advantages of Online Video Streaming Applications:

Let’s have a quick peek at the advantages of online video streaming applications:

1. More Convenience:

Unlike traditional TV channels, there are no contractual obligations demanded by HiTV and other video streaming apps. Users can discontinue video streaming services at any time. The users also have the flexibility to stream their favourite shows and movies anywhere and anytime. All they have to do is log their account into the device and experience high convenience at their fingertips.

2. Seamless Connectivity:

To smoothly stream the video streaming app content on your device, all you require is a seamless internet connection, which is easily available these days. Furthermore, today’s advanced video streaming apps are adapting to the available internet speed. Thus, there is minimal interruption in the content delivery.

3. Wider Choice:

The foremost benefit of apps like HiTV over traditional TV channels is that the users have thousands of options for movies, dramas, and other forms of content from a single platform. Users can search for and access TV shows and movies at any time to watch them easily.

4. Accessibility to Multiple Devices:

Most video streaming apps provide multiple device login features so that users can enjoy their favorite shows on any device. Whether it is a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or SMART TV, there will be no hindrance in watching content or even the same show.

5. Lower Cost:

The users are only required to pay a monthly subscription, and now they are free to watch an unlimited amount of content. Due to this, not only HiTV but many other video streaming apps are in huge demand. Video streaming apps have gained huge momentum in the entertainment segment.

6. Users’ Data Insights:

The analytical tools integrated into the video streaming apps can analyse users’ habits, behaviours, preferences, purchasing patterns, and favourite content. This will help video streaming apps identify new areas for improvement and offer exclusive deals or combo offers to motivate users.

How does a video streaming app like HiTV work?

This works, actually, very simply for streaming apps like HiTV; the steps can elaborate on it:

1. Subscription and setup plan:

There are many plans and subscriptions to choose from. Users need to choose one, and after that can log into the device.

2. Content Delivery:

After a subscription is purchased, users can access various genres, including TV shows, movies, series, news, and live sports.

3. Adaptive Streaming:

This allows people to use the app regardless of their internet speed. That is, the quality of the video will adjust as per the Internet speed.

4. User Interface:

A good user interface is required for a person who does not know technology to access any feature of the app.

5. Playback and other characteristics:

Users can watch live-action shows, pause, fast-forward, rewind, and skip forward. Advanced features include access from different devices and switching between these devices as the user desires.

Essential Features for Video Streaming Apps like HiTV:

The features play a paramount role in determining the success of a video streaming app. The content algorithm based on users’ interests helps a lot in identifying the right content for users. Here are some essential features that you must implement while developing a video streaming app:

a. User Registration and Profile Management:

The first features of live streaming app development, such as HiTV, are user registration and profile management. In this feature, you should focus on the smooth onboarding of users with minimal details so that they don’t get overwhelmed by the form.

Integration of social media platforms for registration and signup will make user onboarding easier.

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b. Advanced Search:

Search is probably the first feature by which the users start interacting with an app. Since there are thousands of content files present on the entertainment streaming app, it is essential to implement an advanced and intuitive search functionality.

It will help users to find their favorite shows easily based on parameters like genre, language, country of production, etc.

c. Payment Gateway:

All video streaming apps mostly earn revenue through a subscription model, i.e., the users have to pay first for a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription. After successful payment, they can watch the content they like. To facilitate successful payments, you are required to integrate reliable and secure payment gateways. When the users are given different payment options that are fast, the bounce rate on the app is reduced.

d. Watchlist:

Another prominent feature to include during video streaming applications is a watchlist. In this section, the users can add programmes or series they wish to watch later. It eliminates the hurdles of searching for the same show again and again on the app and positively improves user experience.

e. Social Features:

As humans are social animals, and millennials & Gen-Z are social app generations, it becomes important to allow these people to share their favourite shows on social media apps.

Adding social features also helps market the trending or newly released video content.

f. Multi-language Support:

The video streaming app shouldn’t be limited to one or two languages if you want to cater to a global audience. The multi-language feature is essential in today’s global world, where people are watching Korean, English, Spanish, German, and other countries’ web series. The multi-lingual feature will enable your mobile streaming app to reach greater demographics and increase your business revenue.

Key features of the HiTV app include:

• Vast content of dramas, movies, and shows from various Asian countries
• Content is available in multiple languages for a global audience
• Smooth playback and visuals in high-definition
• Offline downloads to watch later
• Intuitive design and easy-to-use interface

How to develop a Video Streaming Mobile App like HiTV?

You are required to follow a strategic methodology to create a streaming app like HiTV. There are vital pointers and several steps that you have to follow throughout the whole process. Here are the major steps:

1. Identify Your Niche:

Firstly, you have to determine what type of content you want to stream on a video-streaming app. There are various types of content that you can stream on the app. Some of the popular types of content are Entertainment, Fitness, Education, Drama, Thriller, etc.

2. Choose the Content Availability:

Since the content is the core of your video-on-demand app, you have to identify how you will publish the content on your app. Are you going to use videos from other media houses by purchasing copyrights? Or will you create your own content?

What we suggest is a partnership with media houses, which would be a better option as you are just beginning your online video streaming app journey. Once you start getting traffic and making revenue, you can adopt your own content strategy.

3. Choose the Monetisation Model:

Since you are investing considerable time and money in your app, it is obvious that you should think of a revenue model. There are multiple monetization models that you can implement in video streaming apps:

a. Pay Per View:

In this model, the customers have to pay for every video they want to watch. If your aim is to broadcast live streaming, trade shows, sports events, and more, then you can opt for this model.

b. Advertising:

It is a simple revenue model that many mobile apps adopt to make money. You just charge other companies or products for using your app to display their advertisements. It will yield a huge amount of money if you have a vast audience on your app.

c. Subscription:

Subscription is the core business model of a video streaming app. In this model, you charge a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee to the users who watch content on your app. The users get access to all the content and library of your app. This model is great if you regularly release new content on your video streaming app.

4. Hire a Video Streaming App Development Company:

This is the most crucial step in your app development journey. You have to hire mobile app developers who can understand your requirements and have the relevant skills & experience. The mobile app development company should have the resources, tech infrastructure, and experience in similar projects.

We always recommend outsourcing the technical app requirements, as it will give you leeway to focus on business requirements. Furthermore, a mobile app development company will give you a better solution than your in-house team.

5. UI/UX Design:

The designers will create wireframes and UI/UX screens for your app. The design should be attractive to make users land on your app. The UI/UX focuses on how to make the user experience more pleasant.

6. Development:

After the designs are complete, the developers will start working on them. The frontend developers will work on the user interface part and ensure that every element of the screen works as it is supposed to.

The backend developers, on the other hand, will develop all the features & functionalities of the app. They will work on the admin panel, database, cloud infrastructure, and other aspects of the app.

7. QA Testing:

The QA engineers have to ensure that there are no bugs remaining on the app before it goes live. They will rigorously test the app on various platforms and devices to check for errors and fix them.

8. Deployment:

Once the QA team signs off, the app will go live on popular app stores like Google Play Store or Apple App Store. The developers will ensure that there is no issue with the code during deployment.

How much does it cost to develop a Video Streaming App like HiTV?

There are many factors that influence development costs. Some of the major influencing factors are:

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a. Platform of the App:

Generally, the development cost of Android app development is lower than that of iOS app development. However, if you are going for both iOS and Android, then we strongly recommend cross-platform app development through React Native.

b. Features And Tech Stack:

When the number of features and functionalities is high, the number of development hours will increase, which further increases the development cost.

c. Location of the development team:

This is the most crucial factor that can impact the overall cost of development. The development rates are different for various geographical locations. If you hire a mobile app development company from North America, Europe, or Australia, then they will charge you an hourly rate of $80-$120 per hour.

However, if you hire mobile app developers from Southeast Asian countries such as India, China, or Vietnam, then they will charge you $25-$50 per hour. Such a huge difference in hourly rates will save thousands of dollars in the overall project.

Conclusion:

We have discussed a few aspects of video streaming app development in this article. The entertainment industry is expanding. There are a variety of live-streaming apps in the market. Still, it is far from saturation and has huge opportunities. All you need is to find the right mobile app development company that can develop your app in the right direction.

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