Media aggregation platform

{{Short description|Service to distribute web-based streaming media}}

{{Orphan|date=September 2022}}

A Media Aggregation Platform or Media Aggregation Portal (MAP) is an over the top service for distributing web-based streaming media content from multiple sources to a large audience. MAPs consist of networks of sources who host their own content which viewers can choose and access directly from a larger variety of content to choose from than a single source can offer.{{cite web | url=https://medium.com/@bmobley/over-the-top-of-ott-need-a-map-9931096775c2 | title=Over the Top of OTT… Need a MAP? | date=13 March 2015 | publisher=Medium.com | accessdate=23 March 2015}}{{cite book | title=Building Next-Generation Converged Networks: Theory and Practice | publisher=CRC Press |author1=Al-Sakib Khan Pathan |author2=Muhammad Mostafa Monowar |author3=Zubair Md. Fadlullah | year=2013 | isbn=978-1466507616}} The service is used by content providers, looking to extend the reach of their content.

Unlike multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) or multiple-system operators (MSO), MAPs rely on the Internet rather than cables or satellite. As more network television channels have moved online in the early 21st century,{{cite web | url=http://www.exchange4media.com/59377_ott-platforms-to-be-key-growth-area-for-tv-broadcasters.html | title=OTT platforms to be key growth area for TV broadcasters | accessdate=23 March 2015}} joining web-native channels like Netflix, MAPs aggregate content the way that MSOs and MVPDs have used cable, and to a lesser extent satellite and IPTV infrastructure. There are companies that offer a similar service for free, including Yidio and StreamingMoviesRight, while others charge a subscription fee like as FreeCast Inc's Rabbit TV Plus.{{cite web | url=http://rabbittvplus.com/ | title=FreeCast Inc Rabbit TV Plus | accessdate=23 March 2015}} When compared with MSOs and MVPDs, MAP networks have much lower costs due to lack of physical infrastructure. The majority of revenue from MAP services are retained by the content creators, and revenue is instead collected from advertisements, pay-per-view, and subscription-based content offerings instead of licensing and reselling content. MAP service consumers interact and purchase content directly from its source, without the markup added by a middleman.{{cite web | url=https://www.ncta.com/industry-data | title=NCTA Industry Data | accessdate=23 March 2015}}