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Traditional television in India has been forever altered by the rise of OTT entertainment. The emergence and rising popularity of multiple digital platforms has given the second largest population in the world unbridled access to 24×7 hours of entertainment.
The audience has witnessed a shift in terms of content quality and quantity. The impact can be seen in all levels of society with brand marketers even leveraging the in-trend OTT content to push engagement on digital media.
The size of the OTT market in minutes of consumption across India has seen an exponential rise from 181 billion to 204 billion minutes in 2021 alone, according to Consultancy.in
The SattaMatka team at Betway seeks to find it out how OTT platforms have forever changed the media landscape of India.
Viewership of OTT Platforms in India
In the past few year’s digitalization has evolved rapidly. The pandemic is one of the reasons which increased the viewership of OTT platforms in India. In the 15-35 age group the consumption of OTT content is maximum in India. The report generated by MICA’s Centre for Media and Entertainment Studies (CMES):
- OTT consumers will increase tremendously by 2023. Currently, there are 350 million users, which are projected to reach up to 500 million users.
- Disney and Hotstar have 43 million subscribers in India which makes it the most widespread platform in India. While Amazon prime with 17 million subscribers, and Netflix with 5 million subscribers.
- OTT market holds 29 percent of overall viewership where Hotstar is concerned, with revenue of 16 billion rupees in 2020.
- By the end of 2023, 85 percent of Indian subscribers will be internet-ready. Between the age group of 35-44 years are the average OTT paid subscribers.
- Recently when compared to the female audience male audience has increased twofold.
- The consumption of OTT content has been seen to be the highest in age group of 25 to 35, among women. This is even less than 50 percent of overall consumption when compared to males.
Reason for Expansion of OTT Platforms
Its convenience of use is the major reason for the proliferation of OTT on a global level. All you need to have is a high-speed internet connection and a supporting device. There are however three main contributors that drive this expansion.
- The rapidly expanding use of smartphones for digital consumption.
- Getting cheap high-speed internet from service providers like Reliance-jio.
- Easy availability
The adoption of OTT content became more apparent when smartphones reached the rural corners of the country. The Indian audience gained access to high-quality and diverse content that is compatible across devices. SonyLiv and Hotstar captured the audience with regional shows and live sports streaming even before Netflix put on its running shoes in India.
The Impact on different age groups
- The volume of content available across platforms highly benefited children across the country. The availability of free content on major OTT applications has allowed kids to learn as well as entertain themselves digitally.
- The largest audience of OTT in India consists of youth. Be it the entrepreneurs or professionals, almost everyone has adopted OTT as part of their daily life routine. ”Netflix and chill” has made its way into the social lives of people and taken up the role of a friend and entertainer.
Urban v/s Rural
The impact of the OTT platform has been different on the rural and urban population from a broader viewpoint. Around 65 percent of OTT content consumption in India comes from rural parts with only 40 percent of internet connection, which tells volume of the influence of regional language content on the population. Several original productions in a language like Hindi, Bangla, Tamil Telugu, and more has been launched, while other content creators and platform developers have tapped.
Netflix’s INR 199 monthly mobile-only plan is the perfect example of the company’s motive to capture the rural Indian audience.
The expansion of OTT in various fields like edutainment, fitness, health, politics, etc has solidified its future. The Indian audience has started perceiving it as more than just a medium of entertainment, it has opened fresh Avenues for content creators. We can also say that it has become a friend to the lonely and guided like a mentor to the young.
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