Impact – 22 July 2018

21

July 22> 2018 [ impactonnet.com ]

FEATURE

ORIGINAL CONTENT SET TO BE KEY

GROWTH DRIVER FOR INDIAN OTT

INDUSTRY, PROJECTED TO REACH

` 5,595 CRORE IN REVENUES BY 2022,

ACCORDING TO PWC REPORT

ALL FOR

ORIGINAL

Original content will

be the game-changer

for OTT platforms in

the coming years

OTT’s focus would

be driving towards

expanding regional

content library in

order to increase

market-share

Vernacular users

will be more than

2.5 times of English

Internet user base

by 2021

Improvement in

mobile devices

technology and

Internet connectivity

to aid growth

OTT will slowly

become a preferred

medium for film

premiers over TV

BY SAMARPITA BANERJEE & CHRISTINA MONIZ

(With inputs from BERYL MENEZES & SIMRAN SABHERWAL)

ith an increase in the
number of Internet
users and thereby an
increase in the demand
for variety in the online
video consumption space, original content
is likely to be the key growth driver for
the Over-The-Top (OTT) industry in the
coming years. A recent report by Deloitte
states that close to Rs 3,300 crore has been
set aside by top OTT players for creating
original video content in the near future.
If you have been in Mumbai, Delhi
or Bangalore in the last couple of weeks,
chances are you would have come across
one or many billboards announcing the
launch of Sacred Games, Netflix’s first
Indian original. Industry sources peg
that Netflix has spent anywhere between
Rs 5-6 crore promoting the series. It has
also already announced its next original,
Ghoul, a horror series featuring Radhika
Apte. Even Amazon Prime Video has
gone all out to promote its just-released,
unscripted original stand-up special series,
Comicstaan. That these platforms are
spending big bucks on promoting their
original shows is proof that there is merit in
the findings of these reports.
PWC’s latest Global Entertainment &
Media Outlook 2018-2022 states that the
Indian OTT market is growing at a CAGR
of 22.6%. It also states India will move into
the top 10 largest global OTT video markets
in 2022 with revenues to the tune of Rs
5,595 crore.
Currently, the Indian streaming market
is roughly pegged at $300 million with 30
OTT players. While Hotstar is far ahead in
the OTT race with an estimated 150 million
monthly active subscribers, it is followed
by VOOT, Amazon Prime Video, Sony LIV
and Netflix. And most of the top players
seem to have hit the consumer’s sweet
spot - they are all introducing an array of
originals to keep the binge-video-watching
generation happy.
Considering that Deloitte’s report also
projects vernacular users to grow to more

than 2.5 times the English Internet user

base by 2021, OTT players have identified

vernacular content as something that will

drive growth for them and have already

started working on creating content to

reach out to targeted regional markets.

ORIGINAL CONTENT: A

KEY GROWTH DRIVER

When most OTT platforms first made

their entry into the market, they started off

with catch-up shows. However, the entry

of global players like Netflix and Amazon

Prime Video that brought with them a

plethora of rich, original content, has now

compelled existing Indian players to move

beyond just catch-up, syndicated and

licensed content.

Over the past year, ever since telecom

operators, primarily led by Jio, brought

down data costs, there has been a significant

shift in the content consumption pattern,

with more content being increasingly

consumed on Digital screens which has led

to individual focused programming.

For a platform like Voot from the

Viacom18 stable, catch-up content

continues to stay important. However,

it is original content that brings in new

viewership and growth while helping the

platform stay relevant. Monika Shergill,

EVP and Content Head, Viacom18 Digital

Ventures says, “We were the only network

OTT service that launched with original

shows because we were very clear that a

significant number of audiences, between

20 to 30 million people, are already

disengaged from TV content. They are very

actively forcing new content and storyline

and disruptive story-telling because Digital

is becoming their native medium. When

Voot started out, original content was a

differentiator for us, but now, original

content has become an absolute must for

anybody who wants to be at the top of

the game.” Voot currently has 33 million

monthly active users.

When Balaji Telefilms launched its OTT

platform ALTBalaji in 2017, they did so