Mumbai: Launched in 2020, video-on-demand streaming service Aha, which provides 100 percent Telugu content, has created its own space in the minds of audiences. Aha, which was dependent on the subscription video on demand (SVOD) model for revenue, has decided to go 'hybrid'. Subscribers will now decide if they want to watch more ads or in limited numbers.

After establishing its dominance in Telugu (regional) content, the company is ready to galore opportunities and expand to the Tamil market. In Telugu alone, the company has been able to create more than 1,000 hours of programming on the platform.

Opportunities in AVOD model

The advertising-based video on demand is a fast growing market where subscribers access free content. Moreover, the platform leverages advertising revenues to support the service. Speaking in this context during a round table virtual conference recently, Aha senior vice president, content & non-subscription revenue business Vaasudev Koppineni said, "The next big opportunity for growth comes from these AVOD consumers, which is 10x or more than what the paying subscription market is, so it also opens gateways to a great opportunity for a platform to run into profitability as well."

The two major focuses that Aha keeps in mind are that they don't want their audience to have any bad experiences while watching the content, and they don’t want to bombard their customers with 10 or 20 different ads in a short period of time.

Aha is giving the consumer the choice to select whether to go for an ad-free plan or to go for an ad-based plan. Aha's vice president and head of non-subscription revenue, Nitin Burman said that they understand that there will be a certain set of users who are ready to pay a premium and get an ad-free experience on their content.

Adding further, Nitin said, "We also want to come up with live commerce. There, by watching content, you will be able to buy a specific item. We will have that technology where you can click on those shows and directly buy them from an e-commerce partner. We will be offering all those to our consumers as well as to the advertisers to reach out to engage with the consumers."

The company has 10 million monthly active subscribers and an overall of 30 million downloads of the company's app. They also have two million YouTube subscribers as well.

Focus on advertisers  

Aha currently has 50 advertisers, including FMCG players like Sprite, Dabar, ITC, HUL, etc., and technology players like Instagram, Zepto, Swiggy including others. Some advertisers such as Sprite, MTR Masala, and Himalaya are integrating advertising into shows.The company anticipates an ad revenue contribution of 15-20 per cent.

Nitin explained how it will work from an advertisers' point of view and how regional ads are working for them: "Advertisers also want to reach out to the regional audiences," he said.

He expressed that the buying capacity and the market are not just located in the top eight cities but also beyond that. "That's where the focus has shifted from just going to the urban audience but also to the regional platforms to reach out to these regional audiences," he said.

Nitin further added, "This itself has given us the confidence to go on a hybrid future model. Today, what has happened is that after the success of two years and getting two million plus paid users, it has opened eyes for a lot of competitions to actually start targeting Telugu and Tamil audiences as well on all their platforms."

Future of OTT

Nitin believes that the future of OTT in India is definitely a hybrid because, at the end of the day, every business has to break even and has to profit to become profitable as well. "Clearly, the future is hybrid. And with 5G coming, the consumer base is going to increase in this market. So to reach out to that consumer base, the wallet is limited to what they are spending right now. So to get that share, each player is going to come up with a hybrid model where they will want to reach out to premium users as well as to entry-level users with both offerings," said Nitin.

Vaasudev added, "You have to give the consumer the convenience in the room who wants to continue to watch content that somebody wants to add to the experience. They should pay for an upgraded experience. If somebody wants to watch the content with a premium, you should be able to go and give it to them in the way they want to, and if there is a consumer who doesn't want to pay that premium, but wants to consume content with ads, then you should technically go ahead and do that. So, I think it is all about the convenience of the consumer."