Mumbai: The OTT business in India is buzzing with new streamers, niche, and language offerings. However, early players are struggling as heavy content spending isn't matching revenues, and India-specific low pricing hasn't spurred subscriptions. Growth has plateaued as consumers return to post-COVID normalcy, preferring to binge occasionally.
Adding to the churn is the shift towards AVOD by giants like JioCinema, offering premium events like cricket for free, with Disney+Hotstar following suit. This has strained streaming bottom lines. The rise of FAST channels is also causing industry jitters. Vidnet explored the future of the streaming ecosystem.
The panel for this session was moderated by Ernst and Young LLP (Session Chair) partner Raghav Anand along with other panelists like Arha Media & Broadcasting CEO, Ravikant Sabnavis, Chaupal co-founder Ujjwal Mahajan, JOJO App co-founder Meet Kariya, PlayboxTV founder & CEO Aamir Mulani.
Anand set the tone by highlighting the rapid evolution of streaming commerce and its profound impact on brands and OTT platforms. He posed a question to the panelists about how they foresee the evolving landscape of streaming commerce influencing both brands and OTT platforms, and what strategies they deem crucial for effectively leveraging this trend in the coming years.
Mulani shared his perspective, telling the goal of achieving parity with television distribution to enhance cache and development capabilities, “‘The idea is the day we match, 50% of distribution of television, we all be able to have a better cache. We always able to have a better dev. Everything will be smooth.”
Mahajan stressed the importance of engaging content across multiple languages, aligning with theatrical markets, and boosting marketing efforts for major movies, “The power of content lies in its ability to engage audiences. If our platform operates in multiple languages from the start, it aligns well with theatrical markets and boosts existing marketing efforts for major tentpole movies. However, long-term success hinges on digital content.”
Sabnavis said their content strategy's evolution to resonate strongly with cultural preferences, initially focusing on a direct subscription model to build brand loyalty, “Over the last four years, we have honed our content strategy to ensure a strong cultural affinity, making it compelling and unique. Initially, we opted for a subscription model, avoiding partnerships with telecom operators to create a direct brand pull.”
Lastly, Kariya reflected on their app journey from producers to launching a free platform, driven by a desire to support content creators facing challenges.
