ALTBalaji, the digital platform of Balaji Telefilms, will launch 32 original shows in four languages this year, said Nachiket Pantvaidya, Chief Executive Officer.

Speaking to BusinessLine at the launch of its first Tamil serial, Maya Thirrai , Pantvaidya said of the 32 shows planned, around 24 will be in Hindi and the rest will be in Tamil, Bengali and Telugu. Each show will have 10-15 episodes of 20 minutes each.

“We are planning another Tamil show for the second half of 2017,” he added. Additionally, there are plans to dub Hindi content in regional languages by September 15. The company has invested close to ₹150 crore, most of which will be spent on creating original content. The ALTBalaji app, which was launched last month, has seen 2 million downloads so far, he said. “Our revenue model is subscription based, and we expect to break even in three years,” he added. There are three subscription models — at ₹100, ₹180 and ₹300 for three months, six months and a year, respectively.

Talking about the over-the-top content (OTT) market, Pantvaidya said smartphone penetration and cheap data connection are driving the segment. Around 125 million people have access to mobile internet, and close to 75 million use e-commerce platforms for shopping. “We estimate 25-50 million people to look for video content, and that is our target audience,” he added.

Original content

Most of the content available now are either English series or rehash of what people watch on TV. Pantvaidya said the point is to create content that are not available on TV and keep viewers hooked at the same time. The company plans to do that by creating original content in regional languages on topics that resonate with young users.

“Creating original content is the only way to survive in this space, where the competition is intense.”

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