Defining the Future Of OTT: The Origins Of OTTPlay OTTplay is a films and TV shows recommendation engine, started in 2020, which has evolved into a one-stop destination to stream content, read news, reviews and features, listen to podcasts, play quizzes and more.
By Kabir Singh Bhandari •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
OTTPlay is a films and TV shows recommendation engine, started in 2020, which has evolved into a one-stop destination to stream content, read news, reviews and features, listen to podcasts, play quizzes and more. The OTTplay Premium subscription offers content from up to 12 streaming platforms, both regional and international – SonyLIV, Zee5, LionsgatePlay, SunNXT, Docubay, ShemarooMe, Curiosiosity Stream, Hallmark Now Movies, Fuse+, Dust, and Tastemade+.
OTTPlay was founded by Avinash Mudaliar, and is a product of HT Labs (part of HT Media) established specifically for innovation in the digital space. With 10 million+ users as of October 2022 with more than five times the click-through rate when compared to the other competitors in the industry, they have also recorded a consistent rise in these metrics each month. Additionally, the tech community and critics have recognised their efforts and have awarded them numerous awards for UI/UX, tech stack, and recommendation engine.
"OTTplay has acted as a platform for discovering niche OTT platforms and their unique content offerings for content enthusiasts. And the editorial acumen can be established from the fact that major production house quotes OTTplay's ratings in their trailers and promos alongside all other established publications," Mudaliar told us.
"We do not believe in reinventing the wheel each and every time. If we come across an issue there could be ready-made solutions already available at our disposal. Additionally, we go fast to go slow. This basically means that when it comes to hiring, we pick the best candidates after a rigorous process, while also conducting peer reviews. We're a product+tech company by DNA and we don't look at it as a coding or an infra model," Mudaliar further added, commenting on their tech and team.
In the case of OTTplay, they are competing with multiple industries at once- whether it be the publishing industry, the OTT industry or the recommendation engines for content, which makes it an exciting prospect. For the next two years, their aim is to focus on just two things, onboarding more OTT partners for OTTplay. For OTTplay in particular, they shall be connecting with different OTT players across languages and industries.
The author can be reached at bkabir@entrepreneurindia.com and Instagram.com/kabirsinghbhandari
