The expansion of the over-the-top or OTT platform in the field of edutainment, health, and fitness has solidified its future in India and opened fresh avenues for content creators.

The audience has lapped it up as more than just a medium of entertainment, as it has become a ‘friend to the lonely and a mentor to the young’, according to the Malta-headquartered Betway.

Lack of regulation

However, lack of regulation over OTT is still seen as a major concern in the typical Indian household. The inability of parents to restrict children from consuming 18-plus content is frowned upon.

While efforts are on to regulate OTT, it is clear that the platform will continue to transform society and have even more significant impact in the coming years, Betway said in a study ( How has the emergence and expansion of OTT platforms affected the Indian audience? ) made available to BusinessLine .

Seismic shift

From Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana (1987) to Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Squid Game (2021), the audience has witnessed a seismic shift in terms of content quality and quantity, Betway said.

The impact has filtered into different levels of society, with brand marketers even leveraging the in-trend OTT content to push engagement on digital media.

According to Consultancy.in, OTT consumption in India has risen from 181 billion to 204 billion minutes in 2021.

Pandemic-led surge

The Covid pandemic alone caused an enormous surge in viewership on OTT platforms in India. Consumption is highest in the 15-35 age group.

However, the road to hitting the five-million mark for Netflix subscriptions was a bit bumpy. While urban areas were adequately familiar with the digital world, rural pockets were still struggling for access.

So, how did the expansion come about? There were two main contributors, points out Betway: rapid expansion of smartphones and their use for digital consumption; and the advent of cheap high-speed internet.

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Compatible across devices

As smartphones reached rural corners, the adoption of OTT widened. Audiences gained access to high-quality and diverse content that was compatible across devices.

Platform developers and producers, on the other hand, started realising the population potential. Even before Netflix put on its running shoes in India, domestic platforms like SonyLiv and Hotstar captured the audience with regional shows and live sports streaming.

Quantum growth

Betway quoted from a report generated by MICA’s Centre for Media and Entertainment Studies (CMES): The country will experience a tremendous increase in OTT consumers by 2023 — from 350 million currently to 500 million.

OTT platforms are blooming

Disney+Hotstar has 43 million subscribers, making it the most widespread OTT platform, followed by Amazon Prime Video with 17 million subscribers, and Netflix with five million subscribers.

Age-wise audience

Hotstar holds 29 per cent of overall OTT viewership. Eighty-five per cent of the subscribers will be internet-ready by the end of 2023.

The average age group of OTT paid subscribers is 35-44. OTT is currently attracting $1 billion funding from venture capitalists and business tycoons.

The male audience has increased twofold, compared to female. Use of OTT platforms is highest among the younger generation. Men in the age group 15-30 consume the most content.

Consumption is highest in the 25-35 age group among women, and that number has increased during the pandemic. But they make for less than 50 per cent of overall consumption when compared to men.

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