OTT means “over the top”. It describes video, audio or messaging delivered straight to you over the open internet, travelling “over the top” of your internet connection instead of through a cable or satellite company’s own TV system. Netflix, Crave, CBC Gem and YouTube are all OTT services. You need only an internet connection and an app; no set-top box from a TV distributor is required.
What “over the top” actually refers to
For decades, television reached homes through a distributor’s own pipe: a coaxial cable network or a satellite dish, controlled end to end by the company that sold you the channels. When video services started reaching viewers through any internet connection, regardless of who supplied it, the industry described them as going over the top of that existing infrastructure. Your ISP carries the data, but it is not the one selling you the programme.
The same term is used outside television. WhatsApp and FaceTime are OTT communication apps, because they carry calls and messages over the internet on top of a mobile or home connection, rather than through the carrier’s own phone service.
OTT vs IPTV: the confusing part
IPTV stands for Internet Protocol Television. In the strict sense used by Canada’s broadcast regulator, IPTV means television delivered over a closed, managed network. The CRTC’s communications market reports use services such as Bell Fibe TV and TELUS Optik TV as examples, where the provider controls the network, the set-top box and the quality from end to end. Netflix and Crave sit in a different category in those reports.
In everyday speech, though, “IPTV” is widely used for something else: live TV channels delivered over the public internet to a player app on a Fire TV Stick, Apple TV or smart TV. Technically, that is OTT delivery of live channels. Both meanings are common, and most of the confusion online comes from people using the same word for both.
| Type | How it reaches you | Who controls quality | Canadian examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cable | Distributor’s coaxial or hybrid network | The distributor | Traditional cable TV packages |
| Satellite | Dish and receiver | The distributor | Satellite TV packages |
| Managed IPTV | IP over the provider’s own network, to its box | The provider, end to end | Bell Fibe TV, TELUS Optik TV |
| OTT | Public internet, to an app on any device | Shared: service, your ISP, your home network | Netflix, Crave, CBC Gem, ICI TOU.TV, YouTube |
For the full meaning of the other acronym, read what IPTV stands for, and for how internet TV works in a Canadian home, What is IPTV?
The kinds of OTT service
OTT is an umbrella. The service models underneath it have their own short forms, which you will see in streaming news and price comparisons.
- SVOD (subscription video on demand): a monthly fee for a library you watch whenever you like. Netflix, Crave, Disney+ and Prime Video are SVOD.
- AVOD (advertising video on demand): free or cheaper viewing paid for by ads. Many SVOD services now also have an ad-supported tier.
- FAST (free ad-supported streaming television): scheduled channels, like traditional TV, free with ads. Pluto TV and many channels inside smart TV menus are FAST.
- TVOD (transactional video on demand): pay per title, to rent or buy a movie.
- Live OTT or virtual pay TV: live channels delivered as an app subscription rather than through a cable box. In the United States this is often called a vMVPD. In Canada, many sports and specialty channels sell their own live streaming apps.
If you are weighing these against each other for your own household, our guide to the best streaming services in Canada compares the main paid and free options.
How OTT video gets to your screen
An OTT service stores or encodes video on servers, often spread across a content delivery network (CDN) so that a copy sits close to you. Your app requests the video in small chunks, a few seconds each. Formats such as Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) let the app switch between quality levels chunk by chunk, so the picture drops from 4K to HD for a moment instead of stopping when your connection slows. That is called adaptive bitrate streaming.
Managed IPTV and cable can use multicast, where one stream feeds every viewer of a channel on the network at once. Public-internet OTT is mostly unicast: each viewer gets their own copy. That is why OTT quality depends on three links you do not all control: the service’s servers, your ISP’s network, and the Wi-Fi in your house. The practical upshot is that a wired connection and enough bandwidth matter more for OTT than for cable. Our guide to internet speed for IPTV gives the numbers per stream, and Wi-Fi vs Ethernet explains why a cable helps.
OTT in Canada: the rules
Canada’s Online Streaming Act, passed in 2023, amended the Broadcasting Act to bring online streaming services within the CRTC’s oversight, with registration and contribution rules for larger services. What it does not do is make streaming technology itself a licensing question for viewers. Watching OTT is legal; what determines whether a given service is lawful is whether it holds the rights to the programmes it distributes. That is true whether the service calls itself OTT, IPTV or anything else. Our article on whether IPTV is legal in Canada covers the details and the court cases.
What OTT means for your household
- You choose the device. An OTT app runs on a smart TV, streaming stick, phone, tablet or computer. No rented box is required.
- You choose the mix. Instead of one bundle, most households now hold several OTT subscriptions and rotate them. Statistics Canada noted in 2025 that consumers often need to subscribe to more than one streaming service, which is part of why streaming costs creep up.
- Your network is part of the product. If the picture stutters, the cause can sit in your house rather than at the service. Basic fixes are in how to fix buffering.
- Live TV is the hard part. On-demand libraries are easy to deliver over the internet. Live channels, especially sport at peak times, are where OTT services differ most in quality.
Where My IPTV Canada fits
We provide live channels and an on-demand library delivered over the internet to player apps on your own devices: in the terms above, a live OTT service, though most people search for it as IPTV. We are a reseller of an upstream service, in business since 2017, with 38,000+ live channels and 250,000+ movies and series; availability of any particular channel varies, so check the ones you need during the 24-hour trial. One screen costs CA$19 for a month or CA$79 for twelve months. Today’s prices hold until January 15, 2027. Eligible new plans carry a 60-day money-back guarantee from first paid activation. Read how it works or see plans and prices.
Frequently asked questions
What does OTT stand for?
OTT stands for “over the top”. It describes content delivered over the open internet, on top of your internet connection, rather than through a cable or satellite company’s own TV network.
Is Netflix OTT or IPTV?
Netflix is an OTT service. It reaches you over any internet connection through an app. In the strict regulatory sense, IPTV means TV delivered over a provider’s own managed network, such as Bell Fibe TV.
Is IPTV the same as OTT?
Not in the strict sense. Managed IPTV runs over a closed network controlled by the provider, while OTT runs over the public internet. In everyday use, though, many people say IPTV when they mean live channels delivered over the internet to an app, which is technically OTT.
What is an OTT platform?
An OTT platform is the service and app that delivers video over the internet, such as Netflix, Crave, CBC Gem or YouTube. It handles the library, the player, accounts and billing.
What is OTT advertising?
OTT advertising means ads shown inside streaming services, such as the ad breaks on an ad-supported tier or a free ad-supported channel. It is often bought alongside connected TV advertising, which targets ads to streaming on TV screens.
Is OTT legal in Canada?
Yes. Streaming over the internet is legal, and the Online Streaming Act brought larger streaming services under CRTC oversight. Whether a particular service is lawful depends on whether it holds the rights to the content it distributes.
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