How OTT Services Created A New Market In India?
Currently, there are about 40 providers of OTT media services in India, which distribute streaming media over the Internet. In the fiscal year 2018, the OTT market in India was worth ₹2,150 crores (₹21.5 billion, US$303 million as of 2018), and its value grew to ₹35 billion in 2019.
Introduction
Over the top media services popularly known as OTT media services is a streaming media service offered to the viewers directly through the Internet. It bypasses cable, broadband services, and other television platforms which primarily act as producer or distributor of the shows.
They are typically accessed by websites and apps through Personal Computer, Laptop, Mobile Phone, Tablet, Smart Tv, etc.
Generally, there are 3 types of OTT Platforms
Ad based OTT: In this type of OTT, Platform revenue is generated through advertisements on the website or the application.
Eg: YouTube, MX Player.
Subscription-based OTT: In this type of OTT Platform revenue is generated through monthly subscriptions by the customers.
Eg: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video.
Transactional based OTT: In this type of OTT Platform revenue is generated through the purchase of the individual content.
OTT in India
In India, BIGFlix introduced OTT services in the year 2008.
After BIGFlix, many other platforms Ditto Tv, SonyLiv introduced into the Indian Market.
But, None of them went successful due to the high price of Internet data and Poor quality of connection in India.
The revolution came after Jio introduced its services. Prices of the Internet plans fell drastically and the companies also made their connection better to complete in the cut-throat market.
Slowly slowly the data consumption appetite of consumers increased with affordable plans and better connections. From there onwards, The Internet industry saw a boom in India.
Post Jio revolution, India saw the rise of various OTT Platforms such as Hotstar, Netflix, Sony LIV, Amazon Prime Video, etc.
In my opinion, there are 2 types of OTT providers in India.
One is the original OTT providers who focused their model on the distribution and production of content through their platform like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, MX Player.
Another is the Tv. channels and big production companies who saw the OTT Platform as an opportunity to promote their product in this Internet era. Eg: Hotstar, Sony LIV, Voot, Zee5, etc.
Let’s get to know about these platforms and their role in India in more detail.
Hotstar
Hotstar is an Indian OTT streaming service that works on a freemium based model.
It streams Star shows, Domestic Sports, Original Production, and International Shows.
Hotstar is the dominant player in the Indian OTT Industry.
Previously it was also like a regular platform used to provide shows that use to air in Star India Network. But the real change came into action when they started to stream sports especially cricket in 2017.
As of 2018, with around 150 million active users and over 350 million downloads.
Disney in 2019 acquired Hotstar.
After Disney’s acquisition, They launched Disney+ Hotstar in 2020
Netflix
Netflix is one of the most successful entertainment mass media company which started in 1998. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix in Silicon Valley.
Currently, it’s a streaming platform with unlimited access to films and Tv. series which works on the subscription model.
India has emerged as a crucial content hub for Netflix.
Hastings had said that India is a key part of its international subscription growth and will likely account for a huge chunk of its subscriber base in the future.
But, Netflix’s price is the barrier in the Indian market.
Hence, Netflix India has launched a pack of Rs 199 for single-screen mobile users.
MX Player
MX Player is India’s Largest free OTT Platform which operates on a complete advertisement based model.
It has over 200,000 hours of content. The platform boasts over 275 million monthly active users.
MX Player has its own original production. It has also partnered with other OTT Platforms such as Voot and SonyLiv to stream their content in its platform. It also streams many Regional Shows and Movies in its platform.
Currently, it streams shows in 11 languages.
MX Player has consistently ranked amongst the Top 10 Android apps since 2012 and is available across Android and iOS.
Till now it has raised $110.8 Million in Funding.
Along with these, India had seen the rise of several regional OTT Platforms.
Hoichoi
Hoichoi is India’s first dedicated Bengali OTT platform.
It has launched 30 new shows and 12 original films in Bengali. Along with that it has acquired about 200 Bengali films and dubbed content from English, Hindi, and Arabic.
Sun NXT
Currently, Sun NXT operates in 4 different languages namely Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
Sun Tv network launched Sun NXT platform.
Reports
According to KPMG Media and Entertainment Report 2018, the Indian OTT market is expected to grow 45 percent to reach ₹138 billion by the end of fiscal 2023.
According to a report by Ernst & Young, the number of OTT users in the country will reach 500 million by 2020, making India the second — biggest market after the US.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed the OTT services, types of it, and its market in India. We also had a small introduction to popular OTT platforms in India.
In my opinion, In India OTT will grow in the future due to India’s large population of 1.3 Billion.
Till now mainly the people of tier 1 and tier 2 cities have the access to OTT services. With the increase in penetration of the Internet in Tier 3 cities and villages, A completely new market will be created in the Future.
You can also read more such awesome stories in my Blog- Sanket Mishra.
Thank You for reading the story.
