After Videos, Now Audio Streaming Giants Turn To Originals To Capture Indian OTT Market Music streaming platform Gaana announced the launch of its exclusive line-up of podcasts and shows
By Shreya Ganguly •
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With the increasing demand for OTT services and original content, music streaming-giant Gaana has announced the launch of its exclusive line-up of podcasts and shows. According to the company, this is a part of its aim to provide a diverse range of original audio content by the end of FY 2021.
For this segment, shows & podcasts in multiple languages across categories such as comedy, bollywood, devotional, news, kids, motivational, astrology, business, lifestyle, culture and self help will be available on the platform. According to the company, several shows including "Ummeed' with Zakir Khan, "Confessions' with Sunny Leone and "Life ki Ranneeti' with Rannvijay Singha will go live on Gaana within this month.
"Shows & Podcasts have the potential to be among the most popular mainstream non-music genres in our country owing to the diversity of our audience. At Gaana, we have been investing steadily in this space, and have now taken it up a notch with our Original Shows & Podcasts that would engage our users with interesting content that will inform, entertain and enthral them in more ways than one," said Gaana CEO Prashan Agarwal.
Competing With Spotify
With the launch of original podcasts, Gaana will be competing with Sweden-based music streaming giant Spotify. In November, media reports revealed that Spotify has launched India-focused podcast originals.
According to reports, Spotify is slated to launch its first three India focused original podcasts on December 3rd including cricket themed"22 Yarns with Gaurav Kapur', fiction thriller "Bhaskar Bose' narrated by RJ and actor Mantra, and "Love Aaj Kal' by Aastha & Ankit. The company has also announced that it will ensure better discovery of the content, data, and monetisation for the podcast creators.
Growth of OTT Space In India
Deeper penetration of the internet and smartphones have drastically changed the way content is being consumed . Video and audio content has moved from TV and radio to mobile phones and tablets.
According to a report by Redseer, the Indian OTT market is projected to grow 80 per cent from 170million in 2019 to 300 million by 2022. According to the PwC report, India is the world's third largest podcast market after the US and China
Video streaming companies such as ZEE, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, and Voot is also looking to capture the market with originals. Recent reports revealed that Netflix India clocked in a revenue of INR 466.7 crore for FY19 with a net profit of INR 5.1 crore and original content for India has been a major factor behind this growth.
