How Streaming Services Are Betting On Originals To Capture OTT Market In India According to a report by RedSeer, the Indian OTT market is projected to grow 80 per cent from 170 mn in 2019 to 300 mn by 2022
By Shreya Ganguly •
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Deeper penetration of the internet and smartphones has 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 the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the direct-to-home (DTH) services had an average active subscriber base of 54.26 million at the end of the April-June quarter. This was a 25 per cent drop from 72.44 million subscribers recorded in January-March quarter.
According to a report by RedSeer, the Indian OTT market is projected to grow 80 per cent from 170 mn in 2019 to 300 million by 2022. At a time when several players such as ZEE, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, Voot etc are competing to claim the top position in the market, the streaming companies are increasingly depending on their original content to attract subscribers. Apart from this, e-commerce companies such as Flikart and food-tech unicorn Zomato is also looking to tap into the growing OTT market with their video streaming services.
Here are some of the companies who are aggressively betting on originals to dominate the growing OTT market in India:
Hotstar: According to recent media reports, Star India-owned video streaming platform Hotstar will now make original movies under its Hotstar Special label. First of these films will reportedly be a dark comedy by Vinay Pathak, this will be released on October 18. In January, Hotstar had launched its own original content vertical named Hotstar Specials. According to media reports, the company had also earmarked INR 120 crore for producing original content.
Netflix: In May, reports said that online video streaming giant Netflix had plans to launch 22 original movies and 11 series in India by 2020 as a part of the company's aim to create appealing content from the country. The US company had made its debut in producing local original content in India with crime thriller "Sacred Games', based on a novel by Vikram Chandra.
Flipkart Video Originals: Walmart-owned e-commerce giant Flipkart forayed into the OTT market with "Flipkart Videos' in August. The service has been integrated in the app. Bollywood content and shows from content providers such as Viu, Dice Media, TVF and Arre are available under this service. Recent reports stated that the company launched its original content platform called "Flipkart Video Originals', which will be integrated within the Flipkart Video service. According to the company, production houses such as Studio Next, Frames and Sikhya Productions will be contributing original content across genres and languages to this service.
Zomato: Food-tech giant Zomato announced its plans to launch Zomato Originals in September. According to media reports, 18 original shows will be released under the originals in three months. According to the company, users will be able to watch 3-15 minute videos across shows, recipes and restaurant stories (Sneak Peek) under its "Videos' tab in the mobile app. The company aims to release over 2000 videos including Zomato Originals in India. While the originals will be available for streaming in India, Sneak Peek and recipe videos can be watched from anywhere across the globe.
