Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li>A comparison of the platform’s viewership in May 2019 to May 2020 sees the streaming platform garner 60% increase in viewership across non-metros.</li><li>The cities that raked in a two-fold growth in May compared to the same month last year include Patna, Ranchi, Shimla, Jodhpur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Gaya, to name a few. </li></ul>With the number of digitally connected audiences consuming content in Hindi rising, this emerging trend in the country has helped ALTBalaji scale new heights. The platform’s viewership rose exponentially in May 2020 compared to the figures from May 2019. As per data collected from more than 1800 cities and towns, ALTBalaji garnered a 60% rise in viewership and a 21% growth in MAU (Monthly Active Users). With the Hindi market booming and content consumption headed for sharp growth, these numbers are a growing testament to ALTBalaji conquering the important HSM audience based in Bharat. The cities that raked in a two-fold growth in May compared to the same month last year include Patna, Ranchi, Shimla, Jodhpur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Gaya, to name a few. These cities are yet another indicator of the Hindi language subset growing faster than any other spoken language in the country, which represents an increase in new users being added to the user base at a rapid pace. These numbers further attest to an industry report by KPMG titled - ‘Unravelling the digital video consumer’ whose findings reveal that 64% of India’s digital video consumers prefer consuming content in Hindi. On the growth, Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO, ALTBalaji, and Group COO Balaji Telefilms said, “This rise in viewership is a growing testament to the huge untapped Tier 2,3 &amp; 4 markets for OTT players. At ALTBalaji, we are focusing on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi speaking markets and cement our position as a leader in this segment. By tapping into these hinterlands, we’ve realized the growing demand for Hindi originals that those audiences find immensely relatable. This has helped us understand our viewers better and led to us curating more engaging and entertaining offerings that resonate with them.” With a vast library of 60+ originals across genres that cater to all kinds of audiences, the shows at ALTBalaji are a mix of thriller, drama, romance, youth drama, horror, comedy amongst others. Each show present on the platform or in the pipeline has been created keeping in mind the audience’s interest across demographic and sociographic segments. Romantic dramas like ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain’, ‘Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat’, ‘It Happened in Calcutta’, ‘Baarish’, ‘Dil Hi To hai’ etc enjoy a growing fandom amongst women in the 25-45 years TG. While on the other hand, thrillers like ‘Apharan’, ‘Ragini MMS’, ‘Code M’ are consumed by men in the 22- 45 age bracket. In addition to the above, shows such as ‘Mentalhood’, ‘The Test Case’, ‘MOM: Mission Over Mars’, ‘Bose: Dead/ Alive’, ‘The Verdict - State vs Nanavati’ are being consumed extensively by urban Indians across all age groups.

ALTBalaji sees a 60% increase in viewership and 21% growth in MAUs, led by non-metros

<ul><li>As we enter a new year, we wanted to understand what to expect from the Over-the-top (<keyword id="1245953" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott" source="Orion">OTT</keyword>) industry in 2022.</li><li>In today's feature, we speak to industry experts who share their thoughts on what this year has in store for us.</li></ul>After 2020 we had hoped that 2021 would bring us some respite from the pandemic. However, things were challenging for a large part of the year. With many of us stuck within the four walls of our house for the most part of the year, OTT platforms sometimes became the only source of entertainment in our lives. Not only did 2021 see the launch of a lot of big-budget originals on various OTT platforms, a lot of movies like Sardar Udham Singh, Mimi and Shershaah launched on these platforms. Content producing companies put their best foot forward and created award-winning shows that won both commercial and critical acclaim. There has been a visible increase in investments in content production, a trend that is here to stay in 2022 as well. A recent joint report by industry body CII and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) stated that the Indian OTT sector is currently in the scaling stage with strong subscription growth and high investment in premium as well as original content. The Indian OTT sector is one of the most competitive amongst emerging markets with over 40 players. While there have been debates about more and more people moving away from TV, Mandeep Kohli, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group India states that we are still some time away from that happening at a large scale in India. “The share of traditional media is slowly declining with increased digital adoption but there is still high headroom for penetration with only 54% of Indian households having a pay TV connection compared to more than 70% in China. For many households, TV continues to be the center of the home and a significant part of family time,” said Kohli, Managing Director and Partner, Boston Consulting Group India. The report further stated that the industry is at a scaling stage currently and has the potential to become a $13-15 billion industry by 2030. To understand what the new year has in store for us, we spoke to a few of the most important voices from India’s OTT industry, along with some of the biggest content production houses. Here is what they had to say about what lies ahead: Manish Kalra, Chief Business Officer, <keyword id="6245082" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee5" source="Orion">ZEE5</keyword> India The already-growing online media and entertainment business received a major boost with the black swan event that the Covid-19 pandemic was, setting a new growth trajectory in the last year. The audience adopted a more digitally advanced way of entertainment, something that went beyond the conventional mediums, leading to mass adoption of OTT platforms which resulted in a surge in both viewership and watch-time. This pandemic-induced growth in demand for quality content led to an increased focus on storytelling across languages leading to the creation of extensive and expansive content libraries. People also became more open to sampling diverse content from different languages and were keener to opt for the living room experience thanks to the increased adoption of connected devices. This growth of the connected devices ecosystem has made OTT a preferred choice not only for personal but also for family consumption. At ZEE5, we have seen a 3X growth in the viewership on connected devices. The rise in power-packed dynamic storytelling and the rise of connected devices has led to the advent of the ‘Home Box Office’ which is a trend that is here to stay. While we grew 200% this year at the back of an aggressive slate of content line-up and hyper-personalization, we aim to make deeper inroads into Indian homes going into 2022. Sameer Nair, CEO, <keyword id="1322450" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="applause-entertainment" source="Orion">Applause Entertainment</keyword> <div type="image" title="IMG_8153 (1)" msid="88694220" hostid="261"></div> I believe the biggest emerging trend for the streaming industry in 2022 and beyond is the increasing flattening of the Earth, with both geographical borders and language barriers breaking down as internet connectivity reaches the remotest audiences. Our audiences, both local and global, have become smarter, more perceptive and way more critical; this requires us as Content Creators and Distributors to significantly improve the quality of our storytelling, of our productions and of the consumer experience we offer. Authentic, rooted stories that have a universal appeal can and will breakout to reach audiences globally. The more we collaborate with talent from diverse cultures and geographies, the richer we will become as storytellers. The ‘One Planet One Species Shared Cultures’ is an idea whose time is truly upon us. Divya Dixit, SVP, Marketing &amp; Revenue, <keyword id="4241922" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="altbalaji" source="Orion">ALTBalaji</keyword> With the traditional marketing budgets on a decline and digital and influencer marketing taking center stage, there are many trends, however interrelated, that we will see emerging in 2022. The digital audiovisual industry will explode; according to Bain and Company, India's online video user base has increased to more than 350 million people, growing 24% in the last three years. Influencer marketing will rapidly move to include micro-influencers and not just be dependent on Celebrity influencers, thereby also promoting UGC. Video marketing, live streaming will give rise to Social commerce and tier 2 and 3 cities will claim the growth chart curve. With all these interrelated events/trends triggering off, Users will expect personalized experiences which will be offset by deeper integration of ML, which will give rise to AI usage; however, the world of marketers will also see a more focused emerging curve towards Organic retention – CRM, surveys, retention tools, recommendation cycles, SEO, UI/UX as Google continues the stance of stopping 3rd party cookies by end of 2023. Manjit Sachdev- Head – Originals, Voot and Voot Select, Viacom18 Digital Ventures <div type="image" title="Manjit Sachdev _Head Content at VOOT AND VOOT Select" msid="88694240" hostid="261"></div> After an unprecedented 2020, with an acceleration in the growth of OTT platforms, 2021 was a year for creating milestones in curating unique and enthralling stories for the audience. Now as we step into 2022 with hope and resilience, the OTT sector will witness an increase in the demand for personalized and purpose-driven content. Given the increasing competition in the OTT space, staying relevant and purposeful is most critical. Considering the changing realities in today's times, having a purpose-driven story telling approach is the way to go. Content with purpose has the power to travel beyond boundaries, spread values, knowledge and positivity and build deeper engagement with subscribers. This trend will act as a key differentiator in changing behaviours. Megha Tata, Managing Director, South Asia, Discovery, Inc As SVOD continues to grow aggressively, we are seeing an increasing number of audiences now willing to pay for good content. I believe a right combination of compelling content and pricing would be the key in attracting a bigger share of consumers into the SVOD world next year. Also, differentiated programming will add to a player’s competitive advantage in the midst of most mainstream players offering similar content. This is a trend familiar to what we saw even broadcast channels go through. I believe some players will be able to carve out a niche for themselves, while most streaming catalogs will end up resembling each other. Rishi Negi, COO, Banijay Asia 2020 was a game changer for the whole world, we strategized a smooth transition to the streaming era and the year 2021 was about sustaining the positive change and envisioning the prospects of growth. With changing narratives and experimental content taking a lead, along with the fact that the data &amp; streaming charges have dropped, has resulted in the content reaching a much bigger audience. I anticipate the year 2022 to be vibrant with original productions, compelling storytelling and some path-breaking performances. Fighting the content inflation with a wide variety of exceptional chronicles intertwined with existing catalog shows in this post-pandemic world, viewers are streaming more than ever. With nominal data plan and streaming charges, content is reaching even the darkest corner of the world. Considering the pace of content transmission, at Banijay Asia, we have become more aggressive towards producing content that delights the heartland of India. We see a hike in demand for stories which are untold, female centric and with CTV on the rise, we anticipate growing interest in regional unscripted content in 2022. While we have seen this trend kickstart already with our Tamil unscripted show The Survivors as it received unparalleled response from the audience and our hinterland drama Matsya Kaand recently crossed a 100M views on <keyword id="2214311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mx-player" source="Orion">MX Player</keyword> within a month. These numbers affirm that the trendsmap that we're following leads to a sustainable future. Given these past two years have been a real tester, we have pushed through every possible challenge posed by the virus this year and successfully produced shows for the streaming giants and kept the show running. While we have covered grounds with our scripted, non-scripted, international format adaptation, book adaptations, in the upcoming year, we aim to keep up with our pace and keep reinventing our ways. To sum it up, we are thoroughly looking forward to 2022 to be a year full of exciting and enthralling projects to keep our audiences engaged and invested. Rohit Jain, Managing Director, <keyword id="193261" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lionsgate" source="Orion">Lionsgate</keyword> South Asia and Networks, Emerging Markets Asia 2022 is going to be an exciting year for OTT players as the content pipeline will be stronger than ever. While the pandemic has leapfrogged growth in terms of viewers and subscription we expect 2022 to further amplify the reach and will witness growth not only in the metros but also in tier II &amp; tier III cities. Today’s viewers are constantly looking for edgy and unique stories. We have always said premium content is the ultimate winner. The OTT industry will have to concentrate on quality content over quantity of content. Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media The media and entertainment industry has been making rapid strides in the interior of India. Regional markets are becoming the industry’s point of convergence as the digital infrastructure expands across the length and breadth of the country. Content houses and creators are going vocal through local, thereby, making homegrown, high-quality content available at the click of a button. Going further, consumption of entertainment, in addition to audio and video, will be extended to varied mediums, such as gaming. As the Indian online gaming sector is witnessing tremendous growth in 2020 it sets a tone that gaming will be the next big thing. The industry will witness a rapid rise in the use of AI and ML to create a customised and personalised experience for audiences. This makes industry consumer friendly; not just that, it helps in massive consumption and double consumer engagement. Hiren Gada, CEO-Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd <div type="image" title="Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd." msid="88726664" hostid="261"></div> With regional internet penetration growing at a rapid pace, localization of content and OTT apps are going to be one of the emerging trends to look out for. Content that was earlier restricted to just Bollywood and Hollywood is getting extended to other native languages and it is going to play a key role in attracting new consumers and in supporting other industries such as dubbing and subtitling that will further boost the content bank. Other than localization, we will also see content being offered across other segments that include devotional, and kids’ categories. As we see new OTT apps being launched almost every month with multiple paying models, the consumers will have more flexibility and power to make their own choices. With increased smartphone adoption along with affordable data, mobile penetration of the OTT will see more focus. Mobile-centric plans have been introduced by most OTTs today to cater to the Millennials and GenZs who have the hunger to consume content but not the deep pockets to pay. This space will continue to grow with the increased bundling of OTT by telecos. Additionally, the arrival of 5G which is most likely to take off this year will be a game-changer not just for the OTTs but also for the consumers. It will enable faster connectivity, accessibility to content and further enhance the viewing experience with reduced buffering issues, and an uninterrupted real-time streaming experience. Shailesh Kapoor, The Founder &amp; CEO, Ormax Media The last two years have been exceptional for the OTT market in India, aided in no small measure by the lockdowns. As things begin to get back to normal, the question that we will hear a lot more in 2022 is: Where is the next level of OTT growth in India going to come from? The category has grown at an estimated 30-35% in its user base and more than 50% in paid subscriptions over the last two years. But these growth rates are not sustainable in the long run. Platforms will have to look for offerings that are both compelling and distinctive, to get new subscribers in a category that will continue to grow, but at more modest levels of 15-20% per annum. Crossover content, be it Indian (such as Jai Bhim) or foreign (such as Squid Game or Money Heist), will play an important role in this regard. The language barrier has been broken considerably by the OTT medium, and with dubbing and subtitles available in many languages for all major shows and films now, platforms cannot stick to single-language, homogenous offerings anymore. We can expect more language-led experimentation, both in content acquisition and presentation."

Where the Indian OTT industry is headed in 2022

<ul><li><keyword id="1245953" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott" source="Orion">OTT</keyword> had a watershed year in 2020 and the growth continued in 2021. Most reports are predicting that OTTs growth is here to stay.</li><li>Homegrown <keyword id="959269" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott-platform" source="Orion">OTT platform</keyword> <keyword id="4241922" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="altbalaji" source="Orion">ALTBalaji</keyword> has been witnessing healthy growth on the back of its differentiated, localized content with a mass appeal.</li><li>We speak to <keyword id="3381161" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Divya-Dixit" source="Orion">Divya Dixit</keyword>, SVP - Marketing &amp; Revenue, ALTBalaji to take a look at ALTBalaji’s journey so far and the factors that have helped it woo audiences in a space that is increasingly becoming cluttered.</li></ul>It won’t be an exaggeration to say 2020 was a watershed year for the Over-the-Top (OTT) industry. With people being stuck at home, yearning for fresh content with nowhere to go, OTT platforms came to the rescue. Most platforms witnessed an uptick in its uptake, with people spending more and more time on the platforms. According to a recent report by FICCI and the Producers Guild of India, around 148 million Indians subscribed to online curated content platforms. Another report by RBSA Advisors also predicted that India's video OTT market may hit $12.5 billion by 2030 from around $1.5 billion in 2021 owing to access to better networks, smartphones, and digital connectivity. The pandemic no doubt has given the industry a boost and most platforms are doing all they can to woo consumers. While competing with each other for producing and licensing better, more differentiated content, last year also made most of these platforms realize that consumers are wanting to watch local content and most platforms have been investing on producing local and regional content. Within the OTT space in India, homegrown platform ALTBalaji has been witnessing a healthy growth in the past few years. The 4-year-old platform said recently that it is currently catering to an MAU base of over 10 million, having sold 2.9 million subscriptions in H1 alone. The platform is also seeing an audience engagement metrics of 83 minutes per day. While witnessing good growth from non-metro cities in India, ALTBalaji also recently announced its partnership with Telenet to further its reach into Nepal. We recently caught up with Divya Dixit, SVP - Marketing &amp; Revenue, ALTBalaji to take a look at ALTBalaji’s journey so far and what has helped it woo audiences in a space that is increasingly becoming cluttered. Excerpts: Q) It's been over 4 years since the launch of ALTBalaji. Can you walk me through a few of the highlights? ALTernative content being the core ethos of the group, ALTBalaji completed four glorious years of entertaining the audience with their non-stereotypical and out of the box storytelling. Currently catering to an MAU base of over 10 million, we have sold 2.9 million subscriptions in H1 alone, in this highly competitive Over-The-Top business. The platform also sees an audience engagement metrics of 83 minutes per day, with different genres catering to varied audiences. At ALTBalaji, we constantly sought innovation in content, technology as well as marketing. With a library of around 90 original shows on the app and yet many more to be released, our content library has received accolades for its disruptive work and also seen the engagement time grow to over 83 minutes since the last quarter. As a result, there has been a steady upward growth for the past two years. Furthermore, being one of the most economically viable OTT platforms in the country, catering to almost all sections of society with a varied genre of shows, the various web series on the digital platform have received recognition from IMDB in terms of the ratings and numbers. Our recent action-thriller web series Cartel with an IMDB rating of 8.2; Broken But Beautiful 3 with 8.7; Mai Hero Boll Raha Hu with 8.7; Apharan with 8.3, The Test Case with 8.4 and Bose with 8.8 are some of the shows which have received rave reviews and numbers. With the growth of technology, penetrative pricing and tailor-made content for audiences, ALTBalaji has seeped into the country's hinterlands. We worked quickly and identified the needs of the hour, leading to shows that made impact and kept people entertained right in their homes. Q) Considering how people have been stuck at home since last year, they are still looking for entertainment and looking for it on OTT. How did you strengthen your content offering in the last 1.5 years to create an edge for yourself in the market? While the pandemic added to the platform's growth, ALTBalaji's journey over the past four years has been ever-growing. Engagement time has exponentially increased and subscriptions continue to grow at a steady pace. Many variables decide viewership, ranging from the technology available to the preferred content to the time people had in hand. So fortunately, from the platform's perspective, there has been no dip in the number of viewers. Cities like Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata with a 2.19%, 1.32%, and 0.99% growth YOY are among the few major cities that have added to a significant expansion in ALTBalaji's subscribers in the past year. We have been quick to understand that content is the deciding factor to draw in more viewers. So, it was essential to personalize content as per the viewer's preferences, which we constantly work on. The most crucial part our strategy is our out-of-the-box narratives. The content itself is tailor-made to attract larger audiences. We believe in creating shows that appeal across segments and narratives out of the box or unexplored. Recent shows like The Married Woman, Broken But Beautiful 3, and Cartel have been making headlines, and we are ecstatic with the response. Broken But Beautiful 3 set benchmarks with 180 million viewers and 220 million impressions with an innovative marketing strategy. Other notable shows like Crashh, Mai Hero Boll Raha Hu, His Storyy and Cartel have given ALTBalaji an edge over most platforms. Q) What sort of investments are you putting in on acquiring new content, producing them yourself? OTT content consumption has witnessed a steady growth throughout and will continue to do so on its own. However, the lockdown period has scaled up the OTT content consumption game, and I believe now is the time for OTT platform players to sit back and rethink their strategy. ALTBalaji has always sworn by original content. The platform churns out unique content and gives a launchpad to many aspiring talents across the board. Since our launch in 2017, we have ensured that our costs are restricted to Rs 150-Rs 160 crores per annum, out of which content cost has been around Rs 110 crore. Also, we aren't in the business of acquiring content. It is because we've mastered the art of making content at one-third the price that our peers are spending. In the year 2021 alone, the platform launched 20 original shows, and many more are in production Q) What kind of growth did you witness last year after the lockdown? Have you been able to retain the growth? The pandemic has scaled up the OTT content consumption game and ALTBalaji has seen a significant rise in engagement levels. ALTBalaji has seen a 15-20% growth in its viewership numbers; however, the lockdown increased subscribers from the Hindi heartlands. With the increase in appetite to consume our diverse library of originals and our shows catering to the mass audience, we have 59% of our viewership coming from the non-metros. While cities like Lucknow, Ludhiana, and Guwahati saw a huge increase of 189.84%, 106.50%, and 108.41%, respectively, Srinagar, Shimla, and Ranchi weren’t behind either, with an uprise of 103.81%, 103.05%, and 192.01%, as compared to ALTBalaji's viewership from these cities in 2020. 18% of our overall traction comes from the global audience, without any aggressive marketing. ALTBalaji established a precise positioning of 'OTT of the masses' with Hindi Colloquial Content for the Bharat audience and Hindi Speaking Diaspora. Q) With multiplexes opening up, do you think the growth for your platform will stagnate? What is your customer retention strategy? OTT has created new opportunities for content distribution across geographies. Viewers have adapted to the flexibility of time, convenience and choice of watching content. 2020 certainly acted as a catalyst in transforming the audiences' content consumption habits, converting fence-sitters and one-time visitors to subscribers, thereby increasing the overall subscription base and engaging more with the existing ones. Furthermore, the low cost of mobile network and affordable smartphones have revolutionized the OTT video streaming industry. In conclusion, surviving the market demands despite the opening of theatres is possible with affordable pricing, diverse content bouquet, buffer-free experience, and immersive innovations. Going out to mingle and unwind by watching movies is still a part of our culture and hence multiplexes will always remain important. Q) From a marketing perspective, what are you doing differently to be top of mind in the consumer's mind? Going ahead, what will your key areas of focus be? Our digital strategy covers all the bases when it comes to youth-friendly platforms. We have realized that influencer engagement is the way to go in this time &amp; age. Our romantic series Broken But Beautiful 3 have been picked up as a case study since the show achieved 180 million viewers with 220 million impressions through our marketing campaign. We also partnered with short format apps for youth oriented UGC, multiple digital payment gateways for our various youth-centric brands to ensure the audience has the smoothest experience possible. In 2020 alone, ALTBalaji has partnered with almost 25-30 brands for each of our show release that enabled incredible growth for both parties. We have a robust analytics platform with a live dashboard that provides us information on views and engagement along with the socio-economic and demographics of our viewers to generate behavioural consumption patterns to sharpen our retention strategy. What works optimally for us is to focus on consumer segmentation, mapping audience behaviour, focused customer retention, optimizing customer life cycle, and progressive strategies for onboarding new consumer segments; who are new to the internet or women in smaller markets, etc. Besides Instagram and Twitter, we also actively use WhatsApp to engage with our users. To further penetrate the Hindi heartlands, we will simplify our UI/UX by bringing in voice search, one button click registration, and easy payment modules in retail and digital. We foresee that we can target growth in the youth segment, over and above male and female target audience aged between 20-40 years. Vocal for local is sure to make it big in 2021. Gamification and Virtual reality, along with social commerce, will be the next big consumer engagement drivers on OTT. Q) Since digitization has sped up since the lockdown, how are bringing in new users? How are you reaching out to audiences deeper in the country who are also hungry for good content? Massification of content has been our goal right from the very beginning, and that shall see us lay further impetus towards expanding our content library. The various genres that we dabble into have massive scope for OTT players to explore the segment and expand their footprint by tapping into Tier II and Tier III markets. In parallel, we are continuously improving our UI/UX to ensure easier subscription, voice search, vertical video formats and a more effortless viewing experience for our audiences. The data analytics combined with targeted marketing also allows us to acquire customers lower than the industry standards. We also intend to extensively leverage data for predication analysis on the shows as the library expands, which feeds back into the content teams, enabling them to take sharper decisions on content creation Q) How are you making the platform more user-friendly, technologically more stable to be on the same level as a few of the global OTT players? The entry of new players in the OTT landscape or the rising influence of an existing player does not bother us. We welcome competition. It expands the consumer base and brings in new business opportunities and strategies. ALTBalaji also tied up with Amazon Pay and MobiKwik, two of the most trusted and convenient payment options for online transactions making the app more user-friendly, especially at payment and checkout. The tie-up with Amazon Pay enabled the subscribers to win up to Rs 50/- cashback while MobiKwik gave subscribers up to 10% cashback, credited to the users' wallets in under 24 hours. With these offers, subscribers will have no difficulty switching over to these safer and quicker, one-click transaction options for all future purchases. A buffer-free experience and immersive innovations are constantly worked upon. To further penetrate the Hindi heartlands, simplifying our UI/UX further, by bringing in voice search, one button click registration, as well as simpler payment modules in retail and digital is what we will be looking to innovate constantly

Over the years, we've mastered the art of making content at one-third the price that our peers are spending: Divya Dixit, ALTBalaji

<ul><li>The pandemic saw OTT pick up traction, which has prompted brands interested in reaching the elusive demographic to consider subscription video-on-demand streaming platforms. </li><li><keyword id="3381161" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Divya-Dixit">Divya Dixit</keyword>, SVP - Revenue &amp; Marketing at <keyword id="4241922" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ALTBalaji">ALTBalaji</keyword> pens down benefits of exploring SVOD. </li></ul>In the current era of continuous WFH and lockdown status, OTT has earned widespread acceptance globally. Worldwide over-the-top (OTT) market registered a revenue of nearly $110.1 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to grow at a 19.1% CAGR surpassing $438.5 billion by 2026 according to a report by Research Dive. “Content gone digital” is the mantra that has gripped the globe and is driving the growth and revenue in double digits. The pandemic saw OTT pick up traction, which has prompted brands interested in reaching the elusive demographic to consider subscription video-on-demand streaming platforms (SVOD) that are ad free platforms. SVOD will be the prime driver of revenue, increasing at a 30.7 percent CAGR from US$708 million in 2019 to US$2.7 billion in 2024, according to a report by PWC on Global Entertainment and Media Outlook. The report also stated that India is the fastest-growing OTT market at 28.6 percent CAGR; to become the sixth-largest market in 2024. As per the same report, India's OTT market to overtake South Korea, Germany, and Australia and become the sixth-largest market in 2024. Since many streaming platforms are ad-free; product placements, brand integrations, and co-promotions are becoming significantly more important. Branded integration goes further as a strategy since it allows the brand deeper engagement with the platform audience as well as a longer shelf time as well as being endorsed by celebrities, thereby also gaining audience attention and trust. The massively aggressive world of brand marketers is thus now actively engaging with SVOD platforms as well. The PwC Global Entertainment &amp; Media Outlook for the year 2020-2024 indicates that for the first time, subscription video-on-demand revenues have surpassed box office revenues with the closure of cinema halls and multiplexes due to the pandemic. With the aid of research and brand recall tactics, predicting viewership before shows launch can help marketers decide where to place their bets. The focus is now shifting towards the dashboard that recognizes the audience's behaviour, the engagement metrics, the shows binged, what's on the audience watch-list, etc. The possibilities of gauging behavioural data through data science are endless. It's essential to be a part of the consumer journey right from the beginning as the AI can map content according to their watch patterns and preferences, thereby enhancing their engagement experience. With segment-specific content usage, brand associations and hyper-personalization are leveraging analytics and trying to personalize the communication, thereby leading to an enhanced and engaging experience with our subscribers. Parallelly, brand partnerships have also helped OTT apps increase visibility to the audience, amplifying the platform presence and creating a revenue model, however the model is still an evolving process. It is a highly crucial time for marketing innovations as the opportunity to get discovered today is more significant than it has ever been before. Brands looking to cement their market position in a post-lockdown digital-first world must speed up their digital efforts by creating an engaging digital ecosystem as essential to their business strategy. With timing being the tight ropewalk between the winners and losers, for players focusing on this, now is the time to take that leap. The current era is perfect for responding and rethinking how we market and connect with our audiences in this new digital landscape. As the race to grab audience loyalty intensifies, every OTT platform's fate and success will be decided on how they acquire new subscribers, retain what they have, and at what cost. These three fundamental elements will drive every single decision made by players in the streaming video industry.

SVOD and brand partnership: A successful revenue model

Homegrown OTT platform <keyword id="4241922" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ALTBalaji">ALTBalaji</keyword>, known for its <keyword id="9150642" type="AGENCY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hindi-Originals">Hindi originals</keyword>, which has sold over 16 lakh subscriptions in the third quarter, said that their focus in the coming time is going to be the "electrifying market" of next billion internet users hailing from the <keyword id="6357660" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="hindi">Hindi</keyword> heartlands across the Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities. IANSlife spoke to <keyword id="158783" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nachiket-Pantvaidya">Nachiket Pantvaidya</keyword>, Group COO, <keyword id="5214" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Balaji-telefilms">Balaji Telefilms</keyword> and CEO, ALTBalaji to know about their digital presence and expansion. Excerpts: Q. 2020 was the <keyword id="10949416" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott-boom">OTT boom</keyword>, for India and the rest of the world, how did your <keyword id="10949417" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="platform-catch">platform catch</keyword> and utilise this wave? Pantvaidya: ALTBalaji's content line-up for the year is geared for the Bharat audience, who comprise 59 percent of the viewership on the <keyword id="235499" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="APP">app</keyword>. The platform continues to see very strong engagement metrics that include watch time that remains close to an hour-a-day mark, despite the plethora of competing content. As per the Q3 FY21 results, ALTBalaji is adding over 20,000 to 22,000 subscriptions a day in this extremely thriving OTT business. We sold 1.6 Mn+ subscriptions in the third quarter on the back of a super-strong content lineup, and a strategic increase in marketing spend. The OTT platform also saw multiple new shows being added, taking the total number of shows on their platform to 77, which makes it one of the most diverse OTT platforms with content catering across demographics as per the viewers' choice. Q. What are some top OTT trends/viewer preferences you have witnessed over the past year? Pantvaidya: OTT platforms have started experimenting with varied genres of content, which has led to the growth and expansion of web business. OTT has gained significant momentum, the credit for which to an extent goes to digitization, affordable internet plans, rise in smartphone consumption patterns, among other factors. India is not only one of the fastest-growing media and entertainment markets globally but is also well poised to keep this momentum ablaze. It will make India and the globe at large, more digital-savvy; creating a larger sample size of the audience for the content, whether originals, movies, news, music, or sports, available on OTT platforms. Q. What are ALTBalaji's content production and curation strategy? Where does the focus lie and why? Pantvaidya: With the next billion internet users hailing from the Hindi heartlands across the Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities, we are focusing on this electrifying market. Showcasing a high sense of pro-activeness in the situation, we were able to do many marketing innovations over the past few months. This has helped us curate more digital touchpoints that help us reach out to our viewers in a host of interactive and engaging ways and uplift their viewing experience. There is a huge churn issue in the OTT industry. What works optimally for us is to focus on consumer segmentation, mapping audience behaviour, focused customer retention, optimizing customer life cycle, and progressive strategies for onboarding new consumer segments; who are new to the internet or women in smaller markets, etc. Our content strategy has always been aimed at mass India across segments of the audience and continues to do so, however, our content today allows people to do family viewing as well as individual viewing as per each individual's taste &amp; preference. With a strategy to focus on youth programming for the country, ALTBalaji's offerings include premium, disruptive content, and original series across genres. With originality, courage, and relentlessness at its core, ALTBalaji's range, stands out for being avant-garde, non-conformist, inclusive, effervescent, and has something for everyone. Q. The market now has many big and small players vying for consumer attention. What do you think is the future of OTT in India? Pantvaidya: As per a report by PwC on Global Entertainment &amp; Media Outlook: 2020-2024, India is the fastest-growing OTT market at 28.6 percent CAGR; to become the sixth-largest market in 2024. At ALTBalaji, we intend to be the dominant player catering to this market especially tier II, tier III towns, and hinterlands at price points that reflect affordability desired by them and testified basis our consumption data from these markets for 77 shows over the last three years. In the upcoming quarter, we will focus on building a content bouquet that serves inclusive and individualistic viewing, for which, we have ramped our production machinery to be able to create at least 40 shows a year targeted at these markets. We have also created an efficient model to manage costs at less than one-third of what the market spends today while continuing to reign as a leader in the number of original show launches. We believe that we can target growth in the youth segment in mass India over and above male and female target audience aged between 20-40 and intend to double our direct subscriptions to double-digit figures in the coming year. While the pandemic year 2020 redefined how content will be consumed  the year 2021 will chart new business alliances and revenue models for platforms to acquire direct subscriptions. Due to the Covid-19 impact, new consumers are coming from the heartland and we are riding that wave. The report from FICCI and E&amp;Y has predicted 30-35 million paying subscribers on OTT platforms alone in the year 2021, and we are excited about carving a substantial pie out of the same. 2020 has also played a catalytic process in putting us on track to become the first profitable OTT platform, and we seek to break even and become an Rs 150 crore entity with at least 100 original shows by 2021. To further penetrate the Hindi heartlands, we will work on simplifying our UI/UX further, by bringing in voice search, one button click registration, as well as easy payment modules in retail and digital. Q. The Indian diaspora makes for a significant chunk of your viewers. Does that influence your approach? Pantvaidya: At ALTBalaji, we have always focused on massification and dominating the Hindi-speaking markets. Our goal to curate clutter-breaking and relatable content has been consistent right from the very beginning, and we shall continue to massify our content across urban and rural India. 59% of our consumers are from the non-metro and tier 2/tier 3 towns and cities, and this rise in viewership over the past few months is only going to see us work towards entertaining the Bharat audience with new exciting offerings in the months to come. We have always believed in creating diverse shows with stories that are unique, untold, and undiscovered. Over the past couple of years, we have taken narratives on the screen that no one would dare explore. Providing a healthy mix of genres to the viewer, each of our shows has been made keeping in mind their interests, amongst other crucial parameters. Q. What's next for ALTBalaji? Pantvaidya: ALTBalaji has been working towards its goals and is the first OTT platform already on the road to profitability. With our costs getting controlled and the loss margin further reducing at the end of the current fiscal, we are aiming to break even soon. Our shows, which even launched 3 years ago, are still popular amongst audiences and relevant even in today's date. In addition to that, we cater to a diverse set of audiences across the length and breadth of the country. A host of our Hindi offerings have also been dubbed in Indian and International languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bhasa, Arabic, etc. amongst others. We shall continue to focus on expanding our language content library in the coming years. For the upcoming year, ALTBalaji has an exciting pipeline, consisting of multiple shows such as The Married Woman, Apharan 2, Broken But Beautiful 3, The Test Case 2, PuncchBeat Season 2, Hum se Humsafar, Cartel, His Storyy, and many more. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-adds-3-times-more-subscribers-than-reliance-jio-vodafone-idea-turns-positive-for-the-first-time-in-15-months/articleshow/81562851.cms">Airtel adds 3 times more subscribers than Jio while Vodafone Idea gets net addition first time in 15 months</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/amazon-wipro-consumer-and-ascent-capital-invest-in-beauty-brand-myglamm/articleshow/81563765.cms">Amazon, Wipro Consumer and Ascent Capital invest in beauty brand MyGlamm</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/japan-is-the-only-country-that-does-not-allow-same-sex-marriage-within-the-g7/articleshow/81563467.cms">Japan’s same-sex marriage ban ruled ‘unconstitutional’ as India’s LGBTQ community waits in hope</a>

AltBalaji plans to capitalise on the next billion 'electrifying' internet users from the 'Hindi heartlands'

<ul><li><keyword id="4241922" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ALTBalaji">ALTBalaji</keyword>, from the home of Indian television queen Ekta Kapoor, and Zee’s OTT platform <keyword id="6245082" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZEE5">Zee5</keyword> have announced a content partnership. </li><li>With the partnership, the two platforms will co-create content for users. </li><li>This comes at a time when both Netflix and <keyword id="758541" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Prime">Amazon Prime</keyword> are encouraging more and more Indian content on their platforms.</li></ul>Homegrown <keyword id="5293670" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="OTT-platforms">OTT platforms</keyword> ALTBalaji and Zee5 have teamed up to co-create content which will be available for streaming on both platforms. As per the agreement, they will co-create over 60 original Hindi series. ALTBalaji and Zee5 are backed by large media companies – ALTBalaji is the web initiative of soap opera queen Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms. And, Zee5 is the OTT platform of Subash Chandra owned Zee Group, which has over 45 channels across languages in India. Both Ekta Kapoor and Subhash Chandra are giants of the television space who lack a similar might in the online streaming space. 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[
<div class="flourish-embed" data-src="visualisation/547673"></div>
]]></cdata></div>





 Content wars Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are producing India content, wooing its audiences with path-breaking content. Some of their series like Sacred Games, Leila, Made in Heaven and 4 More Shots Please enjoy the same popularity as top-rated TV shows in India. Hotstar which leads the race with its sports programming and screening of globally popular shows like Game of Thrones, also recently put out an Indian adaptation of the popular US show The Office. Zee5 and ALTBalaji both have struck a chord with Indian audiences with their Hindi TV series programming. Now, they want to launch Hindi web series together, and catch younger audiences into the net, and move into the sweet spot created by OTT giants. But in a price sensitive market like India, content is not the king. Zee5 comes with a subscription plan of ₹99 a month, whereas ALTBalaji offers subscription at ₹100 for three months. Bringing them both together, will bring in savings and convenience to the audience. OTT giants too have been coming up with schemes that do not cut into the pockets. Amazon Prime offers a monthly plan of ₹129, and recently announced a 50% cashback for those between the age of 18-24. Netflix too, which is the most premium service in the market, announced a ₹199 mobile-only subscription plan. Here is how much top OTT platforms cost: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Subscription </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Netflix </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Hotstar </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">ZEE5 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Amazon Prime Video </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Monthly </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹500-₹800 (across plans) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹299 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹99 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹129 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Yearly </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹6,000-₹9,600 (no annual plan discount) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹999 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹999 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹999 </td></tr></tbody></table> “Over time, we have seen a steady increase in viewership of regional original content and this partnership will be a great opportunity for our viewers to enjoy the best of both worlds – the one created by ALTBalaji and us. We believe, this will be a game-changer for both – the industry as well as the audiences,” said Tarun Katial, CEO, ZEE5 India.

Indian OTT platforms ALTBalaji and Zee5 team up to take on Hotstar, Netflix and Amazon Prime

<ul><li>In our latest series, we look at different industries to understand what was 2020 like for them and to crystal gaze into the upcoming year, and identify some of the trends that will set the tone for 2021.</li><li>During the past few months of the global pandemic, people staying at home around the world have turned to various streaming services for entertainment. </li><li>With the coronavirus still around, we speak to OTT players to find out what would 2021 look like for the industry. </li></ul>Better connectivity, cheaper devices and even cheaper data plans have been aiding the growth of India’s over-the-top (OTT) industry over the past few years. However, 2020 became a year when more and more people came onto the digital ecosystem, thanks to being stuck at home during the lockdown. With people barely moving out of their houses, they turned to the digital world for their daily fix of entertainment. Also, people were more open with experimenting with different platforms. If an IBEF report is to be believed, the OTT sector in India saw a 30% rise in the number of paid subscribers, from 22.2 million to 29.0 million between March and July 2020. There was a visible increase in the time people were spending on most platforms. It therefore became important for platforms to come up with differentiated, fresh content that would help them stand apart. Owing to the fact that multiplexes were shut for months, many platforms also started launching movies directly on digital. Consumers have been happy for the most part. As we enter 2021, expectations from the sector are high. With the coronavirus still around, many people will continue staying in. So what will this mean for the OTT sector in 2021? Will more and more people continue coming onto platforms, and prefer to pay for the content that they like? How will OTT platforms be able to ensure consumer stickiness? What are a few trends that will stand out in 2021? We reached out to a few experts from the industry and here’s what they had to say. Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global: <div type="image" title="Archana Anand zee5" msid="79998579" hostid="261"></div> I see two key themes that swung into prominence in 2020 emerging as key drivers of the <keyword id="9056838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott-industry">OTT industry</keyword>’s skyrocketing growth in 2021. With the lockdown, we’ve seen a trend of people across the globe warming up to the idea of paying for quality content, and also being willing to commit to annual subscription packs where they see value. I see this trend only accelerating in 2021, leading to strong SVOD growth. This has also been a year where international content has gained massive traction across markets. With ZEE5 and other OTT platforms offering dubbed and subtitled content, enabling people in one geography to seamlessly access stories from any other, content is now truly democratized. Storytelling is increasingly blurring boundaries and storytellers are finding newer audiences beyond their own borders. I think 2021 is going to be the year that international content comes into even greater prominence as online audiences literally discover a world of new content via their OTT platforms. Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment Limited: <div type="image" title="Hiren Gada, CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment Limited" msid="79995505" hostid="261"></div> 2021 is going to be an exciting year as OTT is already riding the wave of increased data consumption and internet penetration in the small towns and rural India. The year gone by also saw some great innovations and developments in the OTT space. From direct-to-digital releases to the increasing growth in the regional content, this year has bolstered the growing popularity of OTT to an all-time high. One trend that is expected to take centre stage is highly localised and regional content. The key to ace the trend is to have an in-depth understanding of the traditions and culture of the viewers. Understanding the deep-rooted connections our viewers have with their mother tongue, we have developed a strong regional strategy for Shemaroo across all our platforms. We have a huge content bank that ranges from Bollywood, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Kids, Devotional, and various specialised trays. Content companies saw a huge change and spike in the content viewing pattern of the audiences during the lockdown. Our regional offerings saw an impressive surge in viewership especially in the Gujarati category with viewership as high as 102% in the peak months of the lockdown. While Bollywood is our mainstay, our teams have been constantly acquiring and upgrading our regional offerings, so our audiences have something new every time they tune in. We aim to make it a more robust and comprehensive pick for any consumer who wishes to enjoy varied regional content. Ferzad Palia, Head, Voot Select, Youth, Music and English Entertainment, Viacom18: <div type="image" title="Ferzad Palia." msid="79995514" hostid="261"></div> Year 2020 saw the OTT category driven by groundbreaking storytelling and macro factors resulting in significant growth for SVOD services. Viewers’ willingness to pay for quality content is now well established. However, around 65% of subscribers are still from Top 10 metros. 2021 will buck this trend and see the Premium OTT Category in India expand its footprint outside of the top 10 metros, heralding the next phase of growth for the category. Karan Bedi, CEO - MX Player: <div type="image" title="Karan Bedia Mx player" msid="79998628" hostid="261"></div> Video streaming has become the primary mode of entertainment for most digital consumers across India this year. With this backdrop, India is set to become a key market for growth in OTT video in 2021. This will lead to an avalanche of new unique original content for these audiences as they have very little to watch on TV. In this situation, marketers are also increasingly aware of where their money works best, and would like to focus on those mediums, namely digital and OTT. Divya Dixit, SVP, Marketing, Analytics and Direct Revenue, ALTBalaji <div type="image" title="Divya, altbalaji" msid="79995519" hostid="261"></div> Digital is an ever-evolving medium and when it comes to OTT players, competition across the industry is soaring high with everyone at their toes trying to secure their places in the minds of consumers. While the pandemic of 2020 redefined content consumption, the year 2021 will chart new business alliances and revenue models for platforms to acquire direct subscriptions. The report from FICCI and E&amp;Y predicted 30-35 million paying subscribers on OTT platforms alone in the year 2021, and we are excited about carving a substantial pie out of the same. Our objective has always been content massification and with the next billion internet users set to hail from the Hindi heartlands, India’s digital industry promises a host of fresh avenues to explore and expand. The soon-to-arrive 5G networks will only work as an important factor for OTT platforms to scale further heights. Prime Video India spokesperson: “2020 has been a very exciting year for us at Prime Video India – at a time when a large section of customers, looking for high quality entertainment, are turning to streaming video - we launched 18 direct-to-digital movies (across 5 Indian languages) and 8 Indian Amazon Original Series, in addition to several Global Originals and hundreds of licensed and exclusive titles. One of the most consistent trends we observed in 2020 is that great content transcends geographical barriers. Indian stories are traveling across the globe - 1 out of 5 viewers of Indian Originals are from outside India. Both Four More Shots Please! and Made in Heaven were nominated for the International Emmy Awards, a testimony to local, authentic stories finding a global audience. Our first slate of DTS movies received close to 50% (and sometimes more) viewership for titles in Indian languages from customers outside the home states. Our Bollywood direct-to-service movies were block-buster hits - Gulabo Sitabo and Shakuntala Devi have been our most-watched movies on Prime Video in India as well as the most-watched Hindi/ Bollywood Movie outside India. Localized content not only helps us remain relevant, relatable but eventually also helps in widening audience reach - we also see global shows going deeper in India. We released Parasite with Hindi subs in India and that opened viewership to a whole new audience. We also dubbed some of our popular Global Amazon Originals like Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and more recently, the second season of the The Boys in Indian languages, leading to more people discovering and watching these titles. This gives us an insight that customers are ready to watch content that has originated from any part of the world, if the story and the characters resonate with them.”

OTT: The trends to watch out for in 2021

<ul><li>According to an ET report, <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>’s Jio has slowed down its plans to acquire and produce original content for web series and films are pending management approval </li></ul><ul><li>Jio which also has plans to go public to raise money, is awaiting some fund flow before it can get into the business. </li></ul><ul><li>Jio’s content platform Jio Cinema is miles away in popularity from the reigning trio—Netflix, Amazon Prime and <keyword id="2739840" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hotstar">Hotstar</keyword>. </li></ul><keyword id="6354504" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>’s plan was never to just sell data, but to take over the entire content universe. In fact, long before it launched in the 4G services, <keyword id="6355199" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> was a part of a multi-layered deal between Network 18 and Enaadu TV, adding scores of movies, TV series along with news channels under its fold. Yet, it looks like its core telecom business has taken precedence over its plans to grow in the content space. According to an Economic Times report, Mukesh Ambani’s Jio has slowed down its plans to acquire and produce original content for web series and films are pending management approval. These plans are on hold until funds flow into this business. As content business is capital intensive, Jio which also has plans to go public to raise money, is awaiting some fund flow before it can get into the business. “The plans are ready and the teams are in place, but the hold-up is in the investments (into Jio) ,” sources told Economic Times. This is in spite of Mukesh Ambani’s statement at the annual general meeting last year. Their video consumption went up to 3.4 billion hours per month from 1.6 billion hours in 2018. “Doubling of these metrics at such scale is truly unparalleled. Our customers are actively engaged with us for more than 290 minutes per day on an average,” Ambani said at 2018 AGM. It is only natural that he brings this content viewership also home, into his own apps to create more value. But that dream is a bit far off. <keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword>, Amazon &amp; Hotstar Jio has made few strides in the OTT space, after it acquired music app Saavn in 2018, and also saying that it would invest $100 million in it. The merged entity now has since been rebranded as JioSaavn, which claims to have 50 million songs in its kitty. Jio also has its own content platform, Jio Cinema which has movies along with TV series and clips. In spite of showcasing old TV series, movies and even new-age web series produced by AltBalaji, it is miles away in popularity from the reigning trio—Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar. In addition, international content providers or OTT platforms are also going the extra mile to produce original India content, making it tougher for a newer Indian player to hold attention. These international players are putting money and star power behind their original content. While Netflix launched Leila starring Huma Quereshi in addition to ultra popular Saif Ali Khan-starrer Sacred Games and movies like Chopsticks which starred Abhay Deol, Amazon Prime too has spent millions on its new-age web show called Made in Heaven, Mirzapur after Four More Shots Please. Hotstar too launched its original series Hostages starring Tisca Chopra and Criminal Justice with actor Vikrant Massey. It is also doing an Indian version of popular US show The Office in Hindi. With this kind of money flowing into original content, delayed plans may affect Jio’s plans to have a lion’s share of digital offerings in the market.

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio’s plan to take on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar has to wait

<ul><li>Even after the record growth witnessed by streaming services in India, the question remains whether these platforms can retain the massive lockdown gains </li><li>With streaming services under pressure to provide new content frequently and producers trying to not lose money in films, web premiers might be another new normal. </li><li>Moreover, a KPMG report suggested that OTT platforms should look at gaming as an extension to their ecosystem offerings. </li></ul>Streaming services are the only bright spot for the millions who are isolating at home during lockdown. With ample leisure time and fewer options, usage of streaming platforms surged. Most of the 35 streaming giants in India — <keyword id="3960758" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-Prime-Videos">Amazon Prime Videos</keyword>, <keyword id="6245082" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZEE5">Zee5</keyword>. Voot, Hungama, AltBalaji, MX Player — witnessed a record growth fueled by quarantine. The Big Boost During the lockdown, there was a 265% increase in OTT traffic since February last week — in spite of the drop from HD to SD, according to Internet Exchange operator DE-CIX. The five services that gained the most are Amazon Prime Videos, Netflix, Youtube, Zee5 and Hotstar. Disney+ — which was launched soon after India locked itself down —<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/08/disney-has-more-than-50m-subscribers/"> added 8 million users </a>within a week. Whereas, Netflix India — which was earlier losing to the homegrown market — too <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/exclusive-app-tracking-data-for-netflix-reveals-the-countries-where-usage-spiked-in-march-and-suggests-strong-viewership-heading-into-q1-earnings/articleshow/75162782.cms">saw at least an 8% growth in Q1FY20 driven</a> by its cheapest mobile online plan at ₹199. Zee5, a homegrown OTT platform, saw 36% growth during the lockdown. Whereas its foreign arm, <keyword id="7124509" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ZEE5-Global">Zee5 Global</keyword> saw a 60% surge in users across the world including the Middle East and Canada. Alt Balaji, yet another homegrown platform, saw a 60% growth in its subscription. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">OTT services </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Change in viewership due to Covid-19 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Netflix India </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+8% in Q1 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zee5 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+36% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hungama Play </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+20% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Eros Now </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">+70-100% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">MX Player</td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">130% surge on engagement </td></tr></tbody></table> A short-term spike or a long-term gain A<a href="https://rollingstoneindia.com/how-the-coronavirus-is-impacting-audio-and-video-streaming-in-india/"> Nielsen report</a> predicted that lockdown can trigger a 60% rise in content consumption in India. Even after the record growth witnessed by streaming services in India, the question remains whether these platforms can retain the massive gains post lockdown. Hence, when Netflix recently said it added a record 15.8 million paid subscribers globally, it also added that it is treating it as “<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/21/neflix-q1-earnings/">a short-term spike” and the growth will gradually decline. </a> A KPMG report, however, believes that OTTs are likely to see continued accelerated growth. "While the same levels of consumption may not be achieved once we overcome this pandemic, there is definitely a new and higher normal that is likely to be established when it comes to time spent on OTT platforms," Girish Menon, Partner and Head, Media and Entertainment, KPMG in India told Business Insider. Moreover, Menon believes consumers are likely to develop a habit of consuming video online during lockdown which would later drive subscription growth. However, According to Karan Bedi, MX Player, OTT platforms might witness some immediate dip post lockdown, but the overall base and average time spent would continue the rise. With shooting of new TV series being delayed and movie theatres closed, services with large, legacy libraries and fresh content, have an inherent advantage. “A new normal has been witnessed as consumers adapt to the evolving situation of the pandemic. We feel this pattern will stay as it is in the post-COVID-19 era as well and perhaps there will be some incremental change in the overall user growth,” Aparna Acharekar, programming head of ZEE5 India. Ferzad Palia, who heads Voot Select in India too thinks the same. Rohit Paranjpe who heads SugarBox Networks believes new content will continue to enthuse people. The pressure on OTT services to release new content more frequently may also go up. Also, OTT players too should not be happy just retaining users and will have to engage them more. Apart from films, KPMG in a report suggested OTT platforms look at gaming as an extension to ecosystem offerings. “OTT will look to bring their consumer’s value in other areas: from aggregating other third party content providers who are not competing with them to promoting and pushing other adjacent services, like fitness and food delivery apps, and education platforms,” said Lior Friedman, VP - global partnerships and strategy at Amdocs Media. Directly onto OTT platforms With streaming services under pressure to provide new content frequently and producers trying to not lose money in films products, web premiers might be a new normal. Lakshmi Bomb featuring Akshay Kumar might release on Disney+Hotstar. MUBI is premiering Pablo Larrain’s film ‘Ema’ in India, UK and Ireland on May 2. Whereas, Zee5 is also considering premiering movies directly on its platform in the near future. AB Anni CD will be yet another film to be released directly on Amazon Prime Videos. Akshay Bardapur, the producer of the movie that stars Amitabh Bachchan said, “We didn’t want to keep audiences from watching two megastars. Also, it made sense to recover losses by selling content to the OTT.” But big-budget movies are preferring to hold back. Recently, the makers of Ranvir Singh starrer movie ‘83 said they will release the film in theatres first even <a href="https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/ranveer-singhs-83-to-not-release-on-ott-platforms-makers-aim-for-theatrical-release/articleshow/75401861.cms">if they had to wait for six or nine months. </a> “While producers of movies that have a reasonable budget may experiment with releasing movies directly on OTT platforms or opt for a pay-per-view model, bigger films are unlikely to be released until later this year or next year,” says Neeraj Roy, founder and CEO of Hungama Digital Media. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/cinema-halls-may-not-open-in-india-until-june-end/articleshow/75407053.cms">Cinema halls may not open in India until June end</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/lockdown-watchlist-want-to-binge-watch-a-show-that-lasts-a-week-try-these-long-running-shows-on-netflix-amazon-prime-disney-hotstar-and-others/articleshow/75173116.cms">Lockdown Watchlist: Want to binge-watch a show that lasts a week? Try these long-running shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar and others</a>

Streaming platforms who are on a new high — are hosting web premiers and might even expand to gaming

<ul><li>Apple’s new video streaming service, Apple TV Plus, will launch on November 1 at a price of ₹99 per month. </li><li>Apple TV Plus monthly subscription in India is 72% cheaper than the US subscription that costs $4.99.</li><li>Non-Apple device users can also access the service via Amazon’s Fire TV Stick. </li></ul>Apple TV Plus is going to launch on November 1 and the company has a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/netflix-disney-and-roku-tumble-after-apple-announces-its-streaming-service-will-be-cheaper-than-rivals/articleshow/71072368.cms">new found sensitivity for prices</a> in India. In the US, a monthly subscription to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apples-streaming-service-apple-tv-plus-will-cost-just-5-a-month-when-it-launches-november-1/articleshow/71071470.cms">Apple TV Plus</a> will cost $4.99 (₹358) but in India it will only cost ₹99 ($1.38) — that’s 72% cheaper. 
 
 <div type="image" title="appletv4_edited" msid="71074731" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Apple CEO Tim Cook announces the launch date for Apple TV Plus&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 Apple TV’s aggressive pricing is also mindful of the fact that Disney+ is slated to go live the same month on November 12 at $6.99 per month. In India, Disney’s content will be available through Hotstar at no extra charge since Hotstar is a subsidiary of Star India, which, in turn, is owned by Disney. It’s emulates <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/spotify-vs-apple-music-vs-netflix-vs-amazon-prime-prices/articleshow/68297160.cms">Spotify’s strategy</a> when it launched in India earlier this year. A monthly subscription to the music streaming service costs ₹199 versus $9.99 (₹700) in the US. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apple-music-spotify-jiosaavn-gaana-subscription-price-in-india/articleshow/68737328.cms">Apple Music</a> undercut that as well with a monthly subscription pegged at ₹99. Apple TV Plus’ monthly subscription is cheaper than other players already present and popular in the market like Hotstar Premium, Amazon Prime and Netflix. Amazon Prime, the cheapest of the three, costs ₹129 per month. But it’s unlikely to lose its popularity since it comes bundled with a subscription to Amazon Music. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/hotstar-vip-subscription-plan-price-features-original-content/articleshow/68532179.cms">Hotstar</a>, who recently increased its subscription prices, costs ₹299 month — thrice the price of Apple TV Plus. The fact that Apple’s streaming service is cheaper than Netflix should come as no surprise though. Netflix is currently the most expensive streaming service in India prices that start at ₹499 per month for single screen viewership. Netflix does offer a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/netflixs-cheapest-ever-subscription-announced-at-199-for-mobile-users-in-india/articleshow/70359879.cms">mobile only plan</a> at ₹129 but that — again — is restricted to a single screen and exclusively for smartphones. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Service </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Subscription per month </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Apple TV Plus </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹ 99 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Zee5 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹ 99 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Sony LIV </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹ 99 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Eros Now Premium </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹ 99 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Eros Now Plus </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹ 49 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Amazon Prime </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹ 129 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Hotstar Premium </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹ 299 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Netflix </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Starting at ₹ 499 per month </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">ALTBalaji </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">₹ 34 (at a quarterly subscription of ₹100) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">MX Player </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Free </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Voot </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;">Free </td></tr></tbody></table> You don't necessarily need an iPhone or an Apple device for Apple TV Plus One of the main barriers for Apple, in any market, has been that its services are usually restricted to within the Apple universe. You normally need an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/this-is-the-iphone-11/articleshow/71071731.cms">iPhone</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apple-just-unveiled-a-new-10-inch-ipad-launching-later-this-month-for-329/articleshow/71071358.cms">iPad</a>, or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/i-tried-apples-recently-updated-mini-mac-and-its-the-way-to-go-if-youre-looking-for-macos-desktop-on-a-budget/articleshow/68473050.cms">Mac</a> to fully enjoy what Apple has to offer. But, when it comes to Apple TV Plus, users will also have access to the service via the Amazon Fire TV Stick thanks to the partnership between the two companies. And, if you are thinking about picking up any new Apple device in the coming months — the company is offering one year of free subscription with every new purchase of an iPad, iPhone, Mac or Apple TV. Apple TV Plus Shows A few of the trailers of Apple’s new TV shows like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-creator-of-the-battlestar-galactica-reboot-is-back-with-an-apple-exclusive-show-about-a-world-where-america-never-quit-the-space-race/articleshow/69641035.cms">For All Mankind</a>, Dickinson and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apple-just-released-a-cryptic-new-teaser-for-its-upcoming-tv-show-starring-jennifer-aniston-and-steve-carell-and-people-are-completely-bewildered/articleshow/70649975.cms">The Morning Show</a> were released during the WWDC event. According to the company, they have cumulatively been viewed over 100 million times. 
 
 <div type="image" title="appletv3_edited" msid="71074753" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;List of shows available exclusively on Apple TV Plus&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 Apple also debuted the trailer for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/miscellaneous/apple-just-announced-a-slew-of-original-tv-shows-check-them-out/slidelist/68570117.cms">See</a> during the event starring the Game of Thrones star, Jason Mamosa. 
 
 <div type="image" title="appletv2_edited" msid="71074767" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Apple CEO Tim Cook debuts the trailer for See, an upcoming TV show on Apple TV Plus starring Jason Mamosa&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 "Our mission for Apple TV Plus is to bring you the best original stores from the most creative minds in television and film," said CEO of Apple Tim Cook during the launch event. Apple isn’t afraid to spend Apple had earlier set aside $1 billion for original content. But, according to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/4f7f4326-c2bf-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9">Financial Times</a>, that budget has now ballooned to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apple-is-reportedly-dropping-billions-of-dollars-on-its-big-push-into-tv-which-is-expected-to-launch-in-november/articleshow/70757228.cms">$6 billion</a>. Services has been a big revenue generator for Apple this past year. During the June quarter, Apple hit a new record will all-time high revenue of $11.5 billion from services alone — a yearly growth of 13%. "Our strong services performance was broad-based; we set new all-time records for AppleCare, music, cloud services and our app store search ad business and achieved a new third quarter revenue record for the App Store," said Cook during the earnings call. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/netflix-disney-and-roku-tumble-after-apple-announces-its-streaming-service-will-be-cheaper-than-rivals/articleshow/71072368.cms">Netflix, Disney, and Roku tumble after Apple announces its streaming service will be cheaper than rivals</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Apple-has-unveiled-its-long-awaited-streaming-TV-service-Apple-TV-Plus-Heres-how-it-compares-to-the-other-big-streaming-services-from-Netflix-to-Prime-Video-/articleshow/68583699.cms">Apple has unveiled its long-awaited streaming TV service, Apple TV Plus. Here's how it compares to the other big streaming services, from Netflix to Prime Video.</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/These-are-Apples-new-iPhones-the-iPhone-11-iPhone-11-Pro-and-iPhone-11-Pro-Max/articleshow/71071793.cms">These are Apple's new iPhones: the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max</a>

Apple TV Plus will be cheaper than Amazon Prime, Hotstar, and Netflix in India

<ul><li>Apple’s new video streaming service, Apple TV Plus, launched today at a subscription ₹99 per month.</li><li>Apple TV Plus monthly subscription in India is 72% cheaper than the US subscription that costs $4.99.</li><li>While Apple TV’s subscription is cheaper than Amazon Prime, <keyword id="2739840" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hotstar">Hotstar</keyword> and Netflix — its library is currently limited to eight shows.</li></ul>Apple TV Plus launched in 100 countries today, including India. But unlike other countries, the subscription for Apple’s new OTT service is only ₹99 per month. The company has had a tough time breaking through to the Indian market when it comes to iPhones because the exuberant prices. But with Apple TV Plus, the company has a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/netflix-disney-and-roku-tumble-after-apple-announces-its-streaming-service-will-be-cheaper-than-rivals/articleshow/71072368.cms">new found sensitivity for prices</a> in India. At ₹99 ($1.38), Apple TV Plus’ monthly subscription is 72% cheaper in India as compared to in the US where its launching at $4.99 (₹358). The aggressive pricing is also mindful of Disney Plus’ upcoming launch that’s slated to go live on November 12 at $6.99 per month. In India, Disney’s shows will be available to users through Hotstar since it’s a subsidiary of Star India, which, in turn, is owned by Disney. Apple TV Plus is cheaper but limited At ₹99, Apple TV’s subscription undercuts most of its competition — Amazon Prime, Hotstar, and Netflix — in the country. But it’s not without its drawbacks. Instead of having a large library of shows, Apple TV Plus has only <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/even-at-only-5-per-month-apple-tv-plus-is-a-terrible-deal-compared-to-competitors-like-netflix-hulu-or-hbo/articleshow/71825569.cms">eight shows up for grabs right now and no licensed content</a>— a severe limitation. It doesn’t help that those shows aren’t getting the best response <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/apples-the-morning-show-is-being-called-brutally-dull-and-underwhelming-by-critics-despite-its-lavish-300-million-budget/articleshow/71794929.cms">from critics</a>. Initially, Apple had set aside $1 billion for original content. But according to the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/4f7f4326-c2bf-11e9-a8e9-296ca66511c9">Financial Times</a>, that budget has now ballooned to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apple-is-reportedly-dropping-billions-of-dollars-on-its-big-push-into-tv-which-is-expected-to-launch-in-november/articleshow/70757228.cms">$6 billion</a>. The company has also promised to bring a host of new shows to its service in the near future. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Service </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Subscription per month </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Apple TV Plus </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 99 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Zee5 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 99 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sony LIV </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 99 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Eros Now Premium </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 99 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Eros Now Plus </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 49 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amazon Prime </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 129 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hotstar Premium </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 299 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Netflix </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Starting at ₹ 499 per month </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">ALTBalaji </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 34 (at a quarterly subscription of ₹100) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">MX Player </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.98958pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.98958pt;vertical-align:top;background-color:#ffffff;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Free </td></tr></tbody></table> Apple’s approach to pricing emulates what <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/spotify-vs-apple-music-vs-netflix-vs-amazon-prime-prices/articleshow/68297160.cms">Spotify</a> already did earlier this year with its music streaming service. At ₹199 per month in India versus $9.99 in the US , the price for Spotify’s monthly subscription is 70% cheaper. In comparison, Netflix is currently the most expensive video streaming service in India at ₹499 per month for single-screen viewership. It offers a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/netflixs-cheapest-ever-subscription-announced-at-199-for-mobile-users-in-india/articleshow/70359879.cms">mobile-only plan</a> at ₹129 but that — again — is restricted to a single screen and exclusively for smartphones. On the other hand, it has a lot more content to offer as well — not just international but localised shows. Netflix’s original shows like Sacred Games, Delhi Crimes and Ghoul have been appreciated by audiences and critics alike. Amazon Prime, the cheapest of the lot, costs ₹129 per month and can also boast of localised and original content like Made in Heaven, Mirzapur and Breathe. In addition to the shows, Amazon Prime’s subscription also allows you to shop with special offers and gives users access to Amazon Music. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/hotstar-vip-subscription-plan-price-features-original-content/articleshow/68532179.cms">Hotstar</a>, who recently increased its subscription prices, costs ₹299 month — thrice the price of Apple TV Plus. You don't necessarily need an iPhone or an Apple device for Apple TV Plus There may be hope for Apple yet since its overcoming one of the primary barriers for most users — they don’t need an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/this-is-the-iphone-11/articleshow/71071731.cms">iPhone</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apple-just-unveiled-a-new-10-inch-ipad-launching-later-this-month-for-329/articleshow/71071358.cms">iPad</a>, or <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/i-tried-apples-recently-updated-mini-mac-and-its-the-way-to-go-if-youre-looking-for-macos-desktop-on-a-budget/articleshow/68473050.cms">Mac</a> to access Apple TV Plus. Apple’s partnership with Amazon will allow owners of the Fire TV Stick to access the service on television sets. Otherwise users can always view content via the official site, tv.apple.com. Anyone who’s in the market for a new Apple device will get a one year of free subscription to Apple TV Plus bundled with their purchase. <keyword id="8086181" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="apple-tv-plus-shows">Apple TV Plus Shows</keyword> A few of the trailers of Apple’s new TV shows like <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-creator-of-the-battlestar-galactica-reboot-is-back-with-an-apple-exclusive-show-about-a-world-where-america-never-quit-the-space-race/articleshow/69641035.cms">For All Mankind</a>, Dickinson and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/apple-just-released-a-cryptic-new-teaser-for-its-upcoming-tv-show-starring-jennifer-aniston-and-steve-carell-and-people-are-completely-bewildered/articleshow/70649975.cms">The Morning Show</a> were released during the WWDC event. According to the company, they have cumulatively been viewed over 100 million times. Apple also debuted the trailer for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/miscellaneous/apple-just-announced-a-slew-of-original-tv-shows-check-them-out/slidelist/68570117.cms">See</a> during the event starring the Game of Thrones star, Jason Mamosa. "Our mission for Apple TV Plus is to bring you the best original stores from the most creative minds in television and film," said CEO of Apple Tim Cook during the launch event. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/the-morning-show-director-pushes-back-on-reports-of-a-300-million-budget-for-the-apple-tv-series-calling-them-way-overblown/articleshow/71844196.cms">'The Morning Show' director pushes back on reports of a $300 million budget for the Apple TV series, calling them 'way overblown'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/even-at-only-5-per-month-apple-tv-plus-is-a-terrible-deal-compared-to-competitors-like-netflix-hulu-or-hbo/articleshow/71825569.cms">Even at only $5 per month, Apple TV Plus is a terrible deal compared to competitors like Netflix, Hulu, or HBO</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/apples-the-morning-show-is-being-called-brutally-dull-and-underwhelming-by-critics-despite-its-lavish-300-million-budget/articleshow/71794929.cms">Apple's 'The Morning Show' is being called 'brutally dull' and 'underwhelming' by critics despite its lavish $300 million budget</a>

Apple TV Plus launches at ₹99 per month to undercut competition in India but only has eight shows to offer

Mumbai, Apr 12 () The transition from the magic of the big screen experience, complete with popcorn, candy and push back chairs, to the small screen has been rapid as audiences adapt to life under lockdown and filmmakers resize their offerings in keeping with the times. With the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, cinemas have downed their shutters and digital platforms are stepping up to meet the growing entertainment demands of millions of people across the world and in India spending their days confined to their homes. The trend is clear. The fear of the pandemic, which has infected more than 8,000 people and claimed at least 273 lives in India, could stay for maybe months after it abates. And audiences are unlikely to get back to the theatre in a hurry.Reading the writing on the screen, production houses and distributors have already moved their big screen releases to digital platforms.Irrfan's much awaited "Angrezi Medium" released on March 13 but theatres were already closing everywhere by then and the film was in the theatres for just a day. The movie is now available on newly launched Disney+Hotstar.Similarly "Bamfaad", which marks the debut of Paresh Rawal's son Aditya is available on ZEE5.In India, home grown digital platforms are reaping the benefits of the transition."Voot Select is seeing a definite surge in the uptake of subscribers. It is about 2.5 to 3 times higher than what we had estimated. But this growth cannot be attributed to increased consumption alone. The fact of the matter is Voot Select is a very new service - only three-week-old," said Ferzad Palia, head - Voot Select, Youth, Music &amp; English Entertainment Viacom18.Aparna Acharekar, programming head, ZEE5 India, said the platform is diversifying its content and even making it free."Through our initiative of #BeCalmBeEntertained, we have made a host of content available free for viewers. We also launched our Original 'State of Siege: 26/11' which garnered a fantastic response from the audience as well as critics."Besides "Bamfaad", which released on April 10, it also has a Short Film Festival coming up on April 15. The world, added Nachiket Pantvaidya, group chief operating officer, Balaji Telefilms and CEO of ALTBalaji, is facing a humanitarian crisis with most countries under lockdown to ensure the safety of their citizens."In the current scenario, we are encouraging our viewers to stay safe in self-isolation for which we shall continue to serve quality entertainment at the most optimized data usage," Nachiket told .Nachiket, who did not divulge data on the increase in subscriber count, added that they are urging subscribers to make the switch to SD (Standard Definition) from HD (High Definition)."While we have witnessed an increase in viewership and the time they spend consuming our content, our main objective is to ensure uninterrupted entertainment to their screens."Will all this forever change the way people consume content?That's the question uppermost in the minds of industry insiders as people settle into a lockdown routine and prepare for an extension. India has been under a lockdown after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on March 24."Cinema is a habit, if you break a habit for four-six months, you'll get a lot of people dissuaded to come to cinemas. Even if there is a reduction of 15-20 per cent of the footfall, which is anyway on a decline, cinema is going to be badly hit," Bihar-based exhibitor Vishek Chauhan told . The shrinking gap between theatrical releases and their debut on streaming platform has left cinema hall owners and exhibitors worried about their future."With everyone quarantined, digital platforms are "taking us by the throat and pushing down their content every week", Chauhan said. According to him, the comfort of OTT platforms poses a threat to the theatrical viewing experience because it's an "antithesis to appointment cinema". "Theatrical viewing is fixed at a particular time, a location, which isn't the case with OTT. You can watch unlimited content online using free data. This is a huge crisis we will face. It's not like the gates will open and people will throng our premises." "Imagine if I were Netflix or Amazon and made an offer to the makers of 'Sooryavanshi' to release it digitally, paying whatever amount they think they could've earned in theatrical, How long will Karan Johar, Rohit Shetty hold back?"There has been a substantial investment in the film and it's costing the makers interest on a daily basis as we speak," Chauhan said. "Sooryavanshi" is the third film in Rohit's cop universe after Ajay Devgn's "Singham" and Ranveer Singh-starrer "Simmba". The film was supposed to release on March 24 but has been postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic. Raj Bansal, senior distributor and exhibitor, said China, where the pandemic began, recently opened theatres but not many turned up. "That's such a clear indicator of where we stand today. No one is coming to cinema halls. At least that won't be on people's mind right now," said Bansal, director of Entertainment Paradise, a three-screen multiplex in Jaipur. Internationally, too, Disney, which recently launched its streaming service in India with Hotstar, has put some of its movies directly on Disney+. The titles include "Frozen 2" and "Onward" which arrived for home viewing faster than they would have had the cinemas been open.In an interview with Barron's, Disney's executive chairman Bob Iger said they were considering putting a few of their movies on the streaming platform."There are some we've decided to put on Disney+. We already announced one, Artemis Fowl, that would have been released in theaters. Others we've simply delayed. In some cases we've moved things onto Disney+ faster than we would have. 'Frozen 2' was one of them, but 'Onward' would be the biggest example. It was in theatres when this happened," Iger said when asked about films already in production. Similarly, Universal put "The Hunt" on streaming while Focus Features' made "Emma" available for early streaming. Dispelling the gloom, PVR Cinemas CEO Gautam Dutta said he is not worried about the future of theatres and considers the lockdown due to pandemic a challenging but short term problem. In an interview to recently, Dutta said, "Out of home entertainment is not just about watching movies. It is about eating out, about socializing, holding hands and creating memories. Once the lockdown is over and the situation improves, people will return to cinemas," he said. KKP BK MIN MINMIN

You Searched For "altbalaji viewership" and got 12 results

ALTBalaji sees a 60% increase in viewership and 21% growth in MAUs, led by non-metros

BI India Partner

Where the Indian OTT industry is headed in 2022

Samarpita Banerjee

Over the years, we've mastered the art of making content at one-third the price that our peers are spending: Divya Dixit, ALTBalaji

Samarpita Banerjee

SVOD and brand partnership: A successful revenue model

Guest Author

AltBalaji plans to capitalise on the next billion 'electrifying' internet users from the 'Hindi heartlands'

IANS

Indian OTT platforms ALTBalaji and Zee5 team up to take on Hotstar, Netflix and Amazon Prime

Sanchita Dash

OTT: The trends to watch out for in 2021

Samarpita Banerjee

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio’s plan to take on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar has to wait

Katya Naidu

Streaming platforms who are on a new high — are hosting web premiers and might even expand to gaming

Preeti Soni

Apple TV Plus will be cheaper than Amazon Prime, Hotstar, and Netflix in India

Prabhjote Gill

Apple TV Plus launches at ₹99 per month to undercut competition in India but only has eight shows to offer

Prabhjote Gill

COVID-19 changes cinema game from big to small screen

PTI

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides