Govt support for OTT assured
India will have more than 500 million online video subscribers by FY 2023 making it the second biggest market in the world after China, said a report on India’s OTT market at FICCI FAST TRACK INDIA 2019 in Mumbai on 5 Sept 2019.
As per the study, 87% of users in India consume their content on mobile phones, on average spending 70 minutes per day on OTT platforms.
The government will provide necessary support and improve Ease of Doing Business for over-the-top (OTT) and video on demand (VoD) media platforms, assured Kaustubh Dhavse, Joint Secretary designated as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra
Speaking at the fourth edition of FICCI Knowledge Series: ‘FAST TRACK INDIA – Maximizing the Content Value Chain’, Dhavse said, “This event gives the government an understanding of the digital space very closely. It helps us create an enabling ecosystem so that people across value chain benefit from the incentives of the government.”
“India is one of the fastest growing entertainment and media market globally and is expected to keep that momentum,” said Rishika Lulla Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Eros Digital.
“As data and digital infrastructure has become exceedingly accessible even in small cities of India, the market for OTT has widened enormously. At Eros Now, we strive to constantly engage the existing consumers and expand our reach by offering new and innovative services,” said Lulla.
“With consumption now going mass and viewers spending close to 8.5 hours a week on online video, we see a homogenous pattern of consumption emerging cutting across age groups, income levels and professions,” elaborated Girish Menon, Partner & Head Media & Entertainment, KPMG in India.
The varied and innovative offerings blended with superlative services will let OTT platforms cater to the growing market.
Eros Now, which is known for its extensive movie library apart from offering originals, digital movie premieres and short-format content ‘Quickie’, has been a leading OTT platform satiating increasing consumer demands across device forms like Smart TVs, tabs and so on.
The KPMG and Eros Now study highlights several interesting aspects of the Indian OTT market:
Love for films: Indians continue to love their movies and movie related content; 30% of the respondents prefer watching movies on OTT platforms.
Original content as a differentiator – Original and exclusive Indian content is one of the biggest drivers in the OTT space. Quality Indian narratives are traveling beyond the South Asian audiences around the world. The massive base of digital content consumers prefers new stories that this country must tell.
Online video transcending geographies – Distribution ecosystem is set to become stronger. Role of value chain partners like OEM, DTH, ISPs and Telcos is likely to grow as creators look at multiple avenues to reach the end consumer.
Innovations in pricing to boost subscriptions – New user profiles indicate that companies have to focus on smaller towns and rural markets as a sustainable business model would need to be anchored by small town viewers and eventually subscribers.
Fostering multi-format consumption and engagement – Short-format video content, movie premieres, documentaries, original music and other formats enable OTT players to engage diverse sets of online video consumers. Today, audiences look forward to enjoying varied content formats on digital platforms.
In order to cater to consumer demands, Eros Now plans to invest to create new original shows for their platform. It has also introduced ‘TV Se Pehle’, wherein movies premiere on the platform prior to their satellite broadcast and started to offer original short-format content.
Soon, Eros Now plans to launch over 50 short form original series under its ‘Eros Now Quickies’ category. The premium Indian OTT player’s several strategic brand associations has enabled the app to be available in smaller towns of the country and in over 135 countries across the globe. fiinews.com
