Unraveling the Vast Potential of India's OTT Market.
Going by the simplest definition available on the web, OTT platforms are those which distribute content over internet or telecom services rather than traditional cable or radio broadcast based on terrestrial or satellite transmission. Indian consumers had their first experience with subscription-based video streaming when DTH player Tata Sky Ltd first launched its Showcase service in India in 2006.
Subscribers could rent a movie for the entire day and with the fees added to the Tata Sky subscription plan. The entry of brands like Eros Now, Spuul , Reliance BIG Entertainment Pvt Ltd (BIGFlix) (Reliance Entertainment) in 2012 and SonyLIV in 2013 played a crucial role in keeping the growing digital user base hooked to the screens. Since then, there has been no stopping for the Indian OTT industry since then.
The rise of players such as Disney+ Hotstar , ZEE5 , Netflix , Amazon Prime , as well as regional players like Hoichoi , SunTVNxt, Ullu among others have been phenomenal.
Indian OTT Industry: A Comparison
While international players with deep pockets have been spending massively to boost their library or add regional content, Indian players have managed to maintain an upper hand in terms of number of subscribers.
For instance, Netflix has around 182 Mn+ global subscribers, and in India, it is said to have close to 3 Mn subscribers. Without an ad-based tier, Netflix is on the backfoot compared to Disney-owned Hotstar. Hotstar claims a subscriber base of 8 Mn+ and the launch of Disney+ Hotstar has given it a massive content boost as well.
Many Indian players such as ZEE5, Voot, Eros Now are also expanding to global markets. The Indian audience is price sensitive and the average ticket size per subscription is low, considering many individual subscribers tend to share the subscription account with friends and relatives. In UK, US, Canada and European markets, not only there is a significant audience of Indian origin, but these markets are more mature to explore subscription-based models.
The purchasing power is also higher, whereas password-sharing is less prevalent in such markets. The average revenue per user, therefore, is also higher in these countries in comparison to India.
But none of these markets offer as big an opportunity as India in terms of volume and addressable base. As the infrastructure and market matures, OTT players will find average revenue per user growing to meet the western markets, in pockets of India.
The Big Market Opportunity
With high bandwidth internet, low mobile data tariffs and access to the best smartphones and upcoming technologies, the urge to consume content on-the-go is growing faster than most content creators can keep up with. This has opened up an ever-rising opportunity for over-the-top (OTT) streaming players in India for both B2B and B2C segments.
According to the data released by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in April 2020, India had over 504 Mn active internet users, five years and older.
Path To Profitability for Audio Streaming OTT Players In India
Video Streaming
Landscape & Business Models
The Big Battle: Indian Vs International OTT Platforms
According to BCG and CII report, titled ‘The trillion (and growing) touchpoint story recognizing the monetization conundrum’, the average digital video consumption in India has witnessed a 2X growth in the last two years. As per the same report, 11 minutes per day, the average time spent in video consumption by Indians increased to 24 minutes per day.
With monthly subscription plans as low as INR 99 (INR 49 for regional players), internet data plans and smartphones becoming cheaper by the day, there is no stopping for these players.
The fight between local and international players is on many fronts. Producing local content, building India-specific content libraries and exploring regional markets is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to monetizing the price-sensitive Indian audience.
At the same time, digital platforms are in a cold war with rapidly emerging OTT platforms backed by telcos such as Reliance, Airtel as well as traditional DTH players like Tata Sky and Dish TV.
Battle #1: Paywall Vs Free Customers
Battle #2: Subscription Vs Free Vs Freemium Models
Battle #3: Monetization Vs Bundled Content
Price Plans and Content Offering of Key Video OTT Players In India -
But this strategy does not seem to work well for most. To survive, either they have to let go of the monetization or the unique user base share.
Netflix which initially came with an INR 799 per month subscription plan was forced to retreat and offer more affordable plans, which are still the most expensive among all players.
Amazon Prime Video, despite being one of the key players in the international OTT video segment, is building partnerships with telcos to distribute its content to a larger audience.
A key advantage for Prime Video is the allied services provided by Amazon Prime such as priority delivery, ad-free Amazon Prime Music and more.
Telcos are monetizing their own online video streaming platforms as well while also backing independent platforms. The same is true for DTH players like Tata Sky.
Bundled Online Video Content Offers by Telcos and DTH Players
Price Plans and Content Offering by Key Video OTT Players In India
Deep Dive Into OTT Players Streaming Vernacular Content
Vernacular content is the latest gold rush in the Indian tech startup ecosystem. Whether it is regional language content or Indian language movies, TV shows and podcasts, there’s no doubt that the huge section of the Indian population that doesn’t use English primarily is a mega-market – larger than most countries even.
According to the 2001 census, India has accepted 23 languages (including English) as part of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India. Psychologists believe emotional “thinking” is an individual’s true first language which needs his mother tongue to express further. Perhaps this is the reason India has a wide landscape of players offering regional content since ages.
Vernacular Landscape of India
The massive 68.64% of India’s 1.3 Bn population living in rural and semi-urban areas and consuming content primarily in native languages has become the quest for the Indian companies, particularly in the broadcasting, media and entertainment space.
That said, when it comes to video streaming, platforms adopting regional languages in addition to Hindi and English were expected and seen as a natural progression.
As of today, 30% of Indians consume content on OTT in their preferred language, which is other than English and Hindi, according to a study.
Of late, Hotstar, Amazon Prime. Netflix, Voot, SonyLIV, YouTube, ZEE5, MX Player, MUBI, JioCinema have emerged as key players in the regional video content streaming industry.
Also, players like ManoramaMax, Hoichoi, Addatimes, Prime Flix, Ullu, Sun NXT are capitalising on core regional content. To be noted, core regional OTT video platforms do not offer content in English languages, but only the default display language in most platforms is English.
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Out of the total 35 OTT video streaming players in India, over 30 players offer some content in regional languages.
OTT Players Offering Regional Language Content
Factors Fueling the Growth of Vernacular Content
Content Offerings and Segmentations
Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali are the most-preferred languages among the OTT video streaming players, after Hindi of course.
Here are some other insights:
India’s Video OTT Landscape for Kids
Entertainment & Education Platform That Keep Indian Children Occupied During Lockdown
Big Content for the Little Ones
Well, most urban Indian parents have long been awake to the potential of new-age learning and entertainment offered by digital media. Moving online has been both inevitable and a blessing of sorts to expose children to content that matches international standards.
For parents from Tier 2 and 3 India, this was an opportunity to provide a quality education that only city kids usually enjoyed. This can be substantiated by the growing number of edtech startups in India.
According to DataLabs by Inc42 ‘The Future Of India’s $2 Bn Edtech Opportunity Report 2020′, there are a of total 4,450 edtech startups operating in India currently with BYJU’S, Unacademy, Vedantu, Toppr and Eruditus being the most funded ones.
The exposure to online learning came with increased viewing time for video streaming and all manner of multimedia content.
“The top Indian OTT platforms have capitalized on the growing appetite for content created for kids or children in India. With children being avid adopters of videos and TV shows, kids' entertainment has become an important demographic for many video streaming players in India,” said Aparna Acharekar, programming head, ZEE5 India.
Even if parents go back to being strict about screen time once all this is over, weaning kids off-screen may be challenging, thus making the digital kids’ entertainment and education or rather an edutainment space an even more viable option for advertisers to cash in.
Kids-Related Investments by Global Tech & Content Platforms
Increased Adoption During Lockdown
The time spent on OTT streaming has increased significantly. Overall, the content consumption across most platforms, including OTT, podcast, gaming have seen an average increase of 30-60% since early March, when schools shut down, as per our conversations with the industry.
Voot Kids
Hungama Kids
“The main factor that has helped us see such numbers is surplus and evergreen content. We have consciously focussed on producing content that has a longer shelf life,” said Amar Deshpande, cofounder, Gaatha Story
ZEE5
As the lockdown progressed, parents were on the lookout for something that provided a break from screens, which has brought music and podcasts to the fore. The largest podcast apps are already available on iOS or on Android devices.
Podcast platform Gaatha Story typically witnesses a drop in listenership by 5% to 7% in the summer months for the past four years. However, this year usage has doubled. Podcast platform Aawaz which was launched in 2019, also saw an increase of 15% in consumption of kids-centric content since lockdown.
“The initial traction came from the metros since they were the first to start practicing social distancing, but soon we started noticing similar growth from other centers as well,” said Neeraj Roy, founder & CEO, Hungama Digital Media. “The main factor that has helped us see such numbers is surplus and evergreen content. We have consciously focused on producing content that has a longer shelf life,” said Amar Deshpande, cofounder, Gaatha Story
Kids Content & The Screen Time Concerns
Average Time Children In Asia-Pacific Aged 4 To 6 Spend On TV, Internet, Books
India’s Video OTT Landscape for Kids
Just like how TV became a part of the lives of kids in the 90s, digital media is here to stay in the 21st century and is only going to evolve as it enters the lives of the children today. Even if offices open up and normalcy is restored to a large extent, the fear of letting children out may linger much longer than any lockdown. So, the focus may soon shift from engagement and entertainment to meaningful connections but with checks and balances.
Future Trends
Home Entertainment Will Become More Immersive When it comes to TV viewing at home, there are certain limitations. At the maximum, the DTH players like Tata Sky have been able to switch people from SD to HD. This is the prime reason people have been inclined to watch movies on a larger screen in cinema halls with 3D and 4D support.
As highlighted by Girish Menon, partner and leader – media and entertainment, KPMG India, outdoor entertainment options including – films, events, theme parks – particularly in Covid-19 hotspots could see lingering risk aversion even in the medium term.
With AR/VR devices already available at affordable prices, and smart TVs making their way into households, it will not be an exaggeration to say if the users start experiencing hi-intensity advanced versions of their favorite movies and web series genres at their home. Most used advanced technologies in digital video making:
“The depth of the experience that you’re able to provide within personalized viewing at home, versus what you’re able to do in movie theatres has always been challenging because you can’t do it at scale. But if you do it on an OTT platform, the experience can be scaled across the country. So the evolution of technology in video will benefit the larger OTT ecosystem in a big way,” said Hussain.
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