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Amid the ongoing impasse over <keyword id="22586111" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technicians-body" source="Orion">technicians' body</keyword> refusal to work under a particular director for a project, no shooting took place on Monday in any film studio in Kolkata and surrounding areas as directors of <keyword id="117312" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bengali-film-industry" source="Orion">Bengali film industry</keyword> decided to go for an indefinite <keyword id="66308" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cease-work" source="Orion">cease work</keyword> from July 29 in solidarity with the young filmmaker. "There has been no shooting in all the 11 studios of any sort since this morning," a spokesperson of the <keyword id="22586110" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Directors-Guild" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Directors' Guild" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Directors' Guild">Directors' Guild</keyword> said. The technicians' body is also slated to meet later on Monday on their boycott. While producers also came forward in support of directors' demand. Directors Association of Eastern India in a statement on Sunday night said: "In deference to the wishes and sentiments of majority of directors, the association has decided to go for indefinite cease work on shooting floors from Monday (July 29) till the problem faced by directors are addressed in an amicable and proper manner." In a facebook post titled #directorsinsolidarity, prominent filmmakers including Aparna Sen, Kaushik Ganguly, Srijit Mukherjee, Arindam Sil, Indrasis Acharya, Indradip Dasgupta, Kamaleswar Mukherjee, Atanu Ghosh and others said despite the Directors Guild allowing Rahool Mukherjee to helm the shooting of the untitled film (by SVF), the first-day shoot could not take place on July 27 at a city studio as the technicians stayed away. "This was extremely humiliating for directors and actors present at the shooting floor. As demanded by many directors after this development we suggest until the technicians under the federation agree to take part in the shoot accepting Rahool Mukherjee as director, till then we will be forced to go for non-cooperation," the statement said. The directors further asserted federation cannot impose its will in an arbitrary manner without seeking any acceptable solution. "The way technicians of the federation have been forced to non-cooperate with Rahool Mukherjee is ominous for the entertainment industry and insulting for every single director, the statement said. Arindam Sil said: "The ceasework will be only applicable for <keyword id="20256794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengali-film" source="keywords">Bengali film</keyword>, serial and web series shoots." Voicing apprehension that the boycott of the director by technicians and protests by other directors may snowball into a major crisis affecting shoots of films, serials, web series in Bengali film industry, West Bengal Motion Pictures Artists Forum president and veteran actor Ranjit Mallick and secretary Santilal Mukherjee on Sunday requested all sides to sit for talks immediately and thrash out the differences. "Any disruption of shooting will affect actors, directors, technicians, producers - every stakeholder in the industry - which will do no good... We therefore call upon every side to sit for talks for the interest of industry and iron out differences. If required the artist's forum can mediate to resolve the issue. Let's not allow the situation to snowball into a major crisis that will only affect everyone in the industry as well as the audiences," the forum earlier said. The forum is the apex body of actors in the entertainment industry in Bengal. On July 27, despite the clean chit given to filmmaker Rahool Mukherjee by the Directors' Guild allowing him to work as creative producer in an upcoming film, no technician turned up at a Kolkata studio on the first day of shooting. Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India (FCTWEI) president Swarup Biswas said Mukherjee was being debarred from directing films for three months for violating norms by visiting Bangladesh for shooting another movie without intimation to the federation and taking the help of technicians in Dhaka. Biswas told reporters that while it had been amicably decided earlier that Rahool Mukherjee would be the creative producer of the film to be shot from July 27, the call sheet given to them for the shoot still referred to Rahool Mukherjee as the director and he was seen taking every initiative during the shoot. "This was seen as violating the spirit of our agreement and we technicians don't want to work under the instruction of Mukherjee who had not taken any technician from Kolkata to complete 10 days of shooting of an OTT film 'Lohu' in Bangladesh earlier this year," Biswas said. "Mukherjee himself had admitted his mistake at the first meeting with the federation and guild earlier in July but now retracting." The untitled film produced by SVF mired in uncertainty starred Prosenjit Chatterjee, Anirban Bhattacharya and Priyanka Sarkar. SVF which was behind the project had stated that Soumik Haldar would now direct the film while Rahool Mukherjee would be the creative producer. However, most directors in solidarity with Rahool Mukherjee now demanded that he should not be replaced.

Film shooting stops in Kolkata studios as Bengali film industry calls for cease work

<ul><li>OTTs and <keyword id="6383126" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="telcos" source="Orion">telcos</keyword> are at loggerheads on the latter’s proposal to levy fair-share charges on Large Traffic Generators (LTGs).</li><li>LTGs are making no contribution to the development, upkeep and sustenance of quality telecom networks, <keyword id="6373028" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="coai" source="Orion">COAI</keyword> argues.</li><li>Broadband India Forum says the move will adversely impact innovation and violate <keyword id="6391709" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="net-neutrality" source="Orion">net neutrality</keyword> guidelines. </li></ul>Telecom industry body COAI on Tuesday defended its proposal to levy fair-share charges on ‘Over the Top’ or OTT service providers like Disney Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc. It hit out at statements that the move would affect net neutrality and would result in double charges for customers. In the last few weeks, OTTs as well as telco bodies like Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) have been sparring over the latter’s proposal. COAI argues that Late Traffic Generators (LTGs) responsible for 70% of the total internet traffic must make a ‘contribution’ to telcos. LTGs are using TSP networks to deliver their services, but making no contribution to the development, upkeep and sustenance of robust and quality telecom networks across the country – that’s required for catering to the huge traffic being loaded on the networks, the industry body notes, said Lt Gen Dr S P Kochhar, director general of COAI. The net neutrality argument COAI’s sharing proposal has been met with a lot of criticism. The Broadband Forum believes that over-regulation of OTTs would be counter-productive. “It would also adversely impact innovation, lead to discrimination, adversely impact smaller entities and startups, and lead to a violation of Net Neutrality guidelines," said T V Ramachandran, the president of Broadband Forum. Net neutrality is a principle an internet service provider has to give equal access to all sites, apps, content without preferential treatment of any of them. Indian telcos are bound by their license conditions to ensure net neutrality, and will continue to do so, said Kocchar. “COAI affirms that the proposed <keyword id="18830765" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="fair-share" source="Orion">fair share</keyword> charge does not affect access to an open and free Internet. The content and services for consumers would remain fully accessible with no traffic management/differentiation. The price for the traffic paid by end users will not change depending on whether the traffic generator is subject to fair share payments or not, he added. Fair Share approach would incentivise a more efficient handling of data without impairing customer experience, the industry body insisted. COAI also says that OTTs decide traffic volumes delivered as well as compression techniques, i.e., transmitting in standard definition, high definition or ultra-high definition and how to proceed in case of network congestion by reducing the quality of the streaming. Features such as auto-play, continuous-play or advertising automatically provisioned in these services, which result in significant traffic volumes, COAI said. It also said that its proposal intends to exempt startups, MSMEs and small enterprises; and includes only LTGs which generate disproportionately high traffic.

Telecom industry defends ‘fair share charges’ on OTTs proposal; rejects impact on net neutrality

New Delhi, Producer Karan Johar says <keyword id="21144054" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reema-maya" source="keywords">Reema Maya</keyword> of "Nocturnal Burger" fame will direct the series adaptation of his "Student of the Year" franchise. The filmmaker made the announcement on the closing day of the Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) in Chandigarh on Sunday. "Reema Maya will be directing the digital version of 'Student of the Year'. But it will be her way and definitely not mine. "If I'll enter Reema Maya's world then I will make it more of an illusion... I just wanted it to be her voice. She made it her own series," Johar said of Maya, whose acclaimed short "Nocturnal Burger" received its world premiere at 2023's Sundance Film Festival. The filmmaker was speaking at a masterclass session, which was moderated by Namrata Joshi, CIFF Market Projects curator and film critic. Johar directed "Student of the Year", the 2012 movie which launched Alia Bhatt, <keyword id="19946417" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="varun-dhawan" source="keywords">Varun Dhawan</keyword> and <keyword id="19909594" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sidharth-malhotra" source="keywords">Sidharth Malhotra</keyword> into the film industry, under his banner Dharma Productions. Seven years later, "Student of the Year 2" was released as a standalone sequel, directed by Punit Malhotra and featuring <keyword id="19915804" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tiger-shroff" source="keywords">Tiger Shroff</keyword> as well as Ananya Panday and <keyword id="19935383" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tara-sutaria" source="keywords">Tara Sutaria</keyword> in their film debut. The CIFF, which began on March 27, showcased a line-up of over 67 titles, including world cinema, Indian feature films, classics as well as shorts films.

Student of the Year for OTT to be directed by Nocturnal Burger's Reema Maya

<keyword id="19938772" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries-Ltd" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reliance Industries Ltd" meta.hostid="267" meta.entityid="Reliance Industries Ltd">Reliance Industries Ltd</keyword> has won a vote of confidence from global rating agencies <keyword id="20043943" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SP" source="keywords">S&amp;P</keyword> and <keyword id="19950093" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fitch" source="keywords">Fitch</keyword> after its robust earnings in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024, supported its growth aspirations and kept leverage under check. S&amp;P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings in separate notes spoke of its <keyword id="19957744" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="EBITDA" source="keywords">EBITDA</keyword> (loosely known as pre-tax profit) rising in the current fiscal year and next on rising revenue and past investments. "<keyword id="19896380" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries" source="keywords">Reliance Industries</keyword> Ltd's (<keyword id="20002939" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ril" source="keywords">RIL</keyword>) strong earnings will keep leverage in check as the company continues to pursue growth ambitions. We expect the company's debt-to-EBITDA ratio to remain commensurate with the rating (BBB+/Stable/--)," S&amp;P said in a note. The oil-to-telecom-and-retail conglomerate's growth aspirations remain intact, it said, adding the company has ramped up investments in the media business in recent months. In 2024, it entered into binding definitive agreements with The Walt Disney Co for a media joint venture in which RIL will invest Rs 11,500 crore. The company subsequently agreed to buy Paramount Global's 13.01 per cent stake in local entertainment network Viacom18 Media Pte Ltd for about Rs 4,300 crore. "These investments are in line with RIL's strategy to diversify and have a strong presence in a few key industries," the rating agency said. Also, the company received government approval in 2024 to develop gas reserves in the KG-D6 block in the Bay Of Bengal. This could increase the company's gas production capacity by 13-17 per cent. RIL's earlier announced investments include a Rs 75,000 crore expansion plan over five years (starting 2022) for the oil-to-chemicals business. "RIL's earnings will benefit from past investments," S&amp;P said. "We project the company's adjusted EBITDA will rise 2-4 per cent in fiscal 2025 (year ending March 31, 2025)," it added. Just as in the past two years, the digital services segment (Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd) will be the key growth driver, with segment's EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation) increasing 10-12 per cent in fiscal 2025. Reliance Jio's wireless subscriber base and average revenue per user will gain from the company's investments in its 5G network since late 2022. Meanwhile, earnings in the oil and gas as well as retail segments will reap the rewards of increased production volume and a wider retail store network. "The EBITDA improvement that we expect in fiscal 2025 comes after a 14 per cent increase to Rs 1.6 lakh crore in fiscal 2024," it said. S&amp;P saw RIL's rising earnings providing it greater balance-sheet flexibility for growth. "We expect the combination of robust operating performances and continued spending to keep the company's debt-to-EBITDA ratio at 1.8x-2.0x over the next two years. This compares with our estimate of 1.7x for fiscal 2024 and our downgrade trigger of 2.5x," S&amp;P said. RIL's leverage has some distance from the upper end of the company's internal leverage target. RIL has reiterated its intention to keep its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio (by its own calculations) below 1x. The ratio was 0.65x as of March 31, 2024. Separately, Fitch Ratings said RIL's EBITDA net leverage is likely to remain below 1x in the medium term, supported by increasing cash flows and lower capex intensity, even as the conglomerate's absolute capex and investments remain high in the near term. "We expect RIL's EBITDA to increase by 8 per cent year-on-year in the financial year ending March 2025 (FY25) and 14 per cent in FY26, while capex intensity (capex/revenue) is likely to reduce below 13 per cent by FY26 (FY24: 15.3 per cent). Lower capex intensity would be driven by growing revenue and reduction in capex after FY25," it said. Fitch expected the conglomerate's Cash Flow from Operations (CFO) to be sufficient to fund its capex from FY26, which will limit additional debt funding and keep its EBITDA net leverage below 1.0x in the medium term (FY24: 0.9x, FY23: 1.1x). "Fitch estimates RIL's FY24 EBITDA net leverage at 0.9x, better than our expectation of 1.1x, driven by marginally higher EBITDA and Rs 20,900 crore of equity raised mainly from the sale of a stake in a subsidiary, even as its capex remained high at Rs 1.5 lakh crore (FY23: Rs 1.4 lakh crore)," the rating agency said in a statement. It rates RIL at 'BBB'/Stable, one notch above India's rating (BBB-/Stable). "We expect the EBITDA increase in the near to medium term to be driven by the telecom and retail businesses, supported by contribution from the upstream oil and gas segment and marginal recovery in petrochemical spreads in the oil to chemical (O2C) segment," Fitch said, adding EBITDA from digital services, largely telecom, is likely to benefit from a 10-15 per cent tariff hike and 15-20 million of additional subscribers in FY25 (FY24: 482 million subscribers). Digital services EBITDA rose by 13 per cent in FY24, as Reliance added 42 million subscribers and monthly average revenue per user increased to Rs 182. Monthly user data consumption increased by 24 per cent to 28.7 GB, one of the highest globally. Fitch expected retail EBITDA to increase by 20-25 per cent in FY25 (FY24: 28%) as Reliance continues to expand its physical stores and digital channels. EBITDA would be supported by a 22.2 per cent increase in its registered customer base to 304 million in FY24. Also, O2C segment EBITDA is expected to remain above Rs 60,000 crore in FY25 (FY24: Rs 62,400 crore), as a gradual improvement in petrochemical spreads from FY24 lows is expected as a supply overhang recedes. Upstream oil and gas EBITDA should stay at around Rs 20,000 crore in FY25 (FY24: Rs 20,200 crore), assisted by the expectation of a 10 per cent increase in gas production in the first full year of operation of three gas fields in the KG-D6 block, which should offset the potential reduction in price realisation with lower gas prices in international benchmarks. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/jnk-india-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/109597273.cms">JNK India IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jiocinema-introduces-new-ad-free-premium-plans-starting-at-29/articleshow/109581033.cms">An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/ultraviolette-f77-mach-2-electric-sports-bike-launched-in-india-starting-at-2-99-lakh/slidelist/109615934.cms">Ultraviolette F77 Mach 2 electric sports bike launched in India starting at ₹2.99 lakh</a>

Reliance gets thumbs-up from S&P, Fitch as strong earnings keep leverage in check

<ul><li>Streaming services grew at 50-60% during the pandemic, now it’s fallen to around 13%.</li><li>Ad supported models and new regional players are disrupting the market.</li><li>Higher acquisition and production costs and churn are troubling players who are seeing effects of slowdown.</li><li>The original content that’s streaming on OTTs is also falling into a rote, say consumers and film-makers. </li></ul>The year 2020 was a watershed year for many industries, as lockdowns put enormous restrictions on people. Ramesh Bharadwaj was stuck at home waiting for the pandemic to end. To pass time and keep his mind off crazy thoughts, the 27-year-old script writer started watching web series. And he subscribed to more and more OTT platforms to keep himself occupied. “Last year (2022), I realized that I had the big three — Prime, <keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword> and <keyword id="2739840" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="hotstar" source="Orion">Hotstar</keyword>, and one more Telugu OTT. I was spending over ₹5,000 a year on these services. When I came to senses, I retained two and cancelled the rest,” he told Business Insider India. Bharadwaj joins the list of many people who are cutting down on the number of OTT subscriptions. Apart from costs, the screen-time has drastically reduced after they started stepping out after the pandemic. Binge watching is no more in vogue — which is taking the shine off the growth rates of OTT players compared to the pandemic. The ‘cool factor’ goes poof The dullness that’s seeped into the OTTs is not just because of screen fatigue and too many options. The ‘alternate’ content that’s made streaming cooler than TV, is also fast waning. Akshay Bardapurkar, CEO and Founder, Planet Marathi too says that people are moving away because there is nothing exciting to watch. “People want to devote their free time to watching OTTs but the quality of content post-Covid is not up to its mark. You don’t subscribe to OTTs for one series or a movie, you need continuity and that’s seen a downfall post-Covid,” he adds. Bharadwaj too tells that he is watching a lot less of streaming services because there’s nothing exciting to watch. “The last time I enjoyed a series was Khakee and Panchayat Season 2,” he sighs. Experts also say that all the web series are sounding and looking the same too. “The thriller genre is overdone on OTT and they’re falling into a rote. In order to make people watch the next episode, they’re having to invent ‘kicks’ in each episode and extend a story that can be told in 1.5 hours to 4-4.5 hours across eight episodes,” Indrani, a documentary filmmaker tells Business Insider India. “They’re nothing more than sophisticated soaps,” she opines. The growth curve has flattened In 2023, the number of people using OTT platforms increased by 13.5%. While it’s still double-digit growth, it’s nowhere close to the 50-60% seen during the pandemic. OTT players call these reduced growth numbers as signs of stabilization and maturity. “The curve has flattened over time. This had to happen. But we at Hoichoi are seeing some pockets of high growth,” Soumya Mukherjee, COO of regional language OTT player Hoichoi tells Business Insider India. The business is moving but at a much slower pace. “Now, the (OTT) growth is more organic, influenced by factors like cheaper data, content variety and the widespread availability of digital platforms. The fervour witnessed during the pandemic-induced surge has mellowed down to a more gradual pace,” said Sameer Jain, managing director of Primus Partners. Bharat binges but on AVOD model All in all, 423.8 million Indians watch content on an OTT platform. An average user holds 2.8 subscriptions each. And India has over 100 million paid subscriptions in India. Most of the new subscribers are coming from non-metroes. “Metropolitan areas and some smaller urban centers are showing signs of saturation, experiencing minimal growth. Notably, smaller towns and rural areas, where only 23% of the population is engaged compared to the national average of 34%, are driving this growth,” Jain tells Business Insider India. This new-growth patch for OTT is coming at a new business model – AVOD or advertising-based Video on Demand. Popularized by Jio Cinema which offered Indian Cricket World Cup for free with ads, the model involves some ‘free content’ and some ‘premium’ offerings behind a paywall. The large OTTs, which disrupted linear TV, are now being disrupted. “A clear structural disruption for the India content/telecom ecosystem may lead to early consolidation signs for India OTT, strain on global OTT giants (behind the paywall), and India OTT shifting to free offerings,” says Karan Taurani, media sector analyst at Elara Capital, says in a note. Mushrooming and churn During its high-growth phase, many new and regional players have mushroomed thanks to low-entry barriers. India now has over 47 OTT platforms across languages like Haryanvi etc in addition to multiple options in South languages. “The acquisition cost of new customers is very high, and their churn is also very high,” Archana Anand, chief business officer of ZEE5 Global said at an event in November. The average cost of customer acquisition for an OTT platform currently ranges from ₹250 to ₹650, as per Jain. “The growth rate of paid subscriptions decreased by about 20% in 2022 from its peak during the pandemic. Moreover, users are now frequently activating and deactivating subscriptions,” he sums up. Mukherjee too says that there would be consolidation in the sector. “A lot of newer and smaller players will survive only on the aggregator model. And large players and established language players will be able to go on independently,” he believes. Even when it’s becoming difficult to acquire customers, OTT players are having to spend heavily on new shows. In 2022, where spending on original shows alone ranged from $600-700 million, which does include the cost of acquiring movies etc. Most OTT players are now stuck between a rock and a hard place — having to keep churning out new and interesting content for viewers who are not swelling as fast. (This is an article in the ‘Boom to Bust’ series which will discuss post-pandemic trends.)

Boom2Bust: Streaming services slip after their pandemic-highs

Mumbai, Revenue growth for multiplexes will slow down to 10-15 per cent in FY25 from the 20-24 per cent expected in FY24, a domestic ratings agency said on Wednesday. The profit margins will widen marginally, but will continue to be lower than the pre-pandemic levels due to the competition faced by the industry from over the top service providers like <keyword id="19897536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="netflix" source="keywords">Netflix</keyword> and Amazon Prime, the report by <keyword id="19955699" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crisil-ratings" source="keywords">Crisil Ratings</keyword> said. The topline will grow 10-15 per cent to Rs 7,300 crore in FY25, it estimated, adding that in FY24, the revenue growth was higher due to a slew of big-budget releases, especially from Hindi films like Gadar 2 and <keyword id="19897076" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jawan" source="keywords">Jawan</keyword>, it said. The operating profit will grow by 4 percentage points to 14 per cent in FY24 on the rising revenues, and will widen further to 15 per cent in FY25, the agency said. "But that number (margins) will still be lower than the pre-pandemic level of 18-20 per cent, given the competition from Over-The-Top (OTT) content," the report said. The agency said OTT continues to benefit from high-quality and diverse content available on-tap and the competition from such platforms will keep occupancies below the pre-pandemic level going forward as well. Occupancy surged to 25 per cent in FY23 from 16 per cent in FY22, but remained below the pre-pandemic level of 30-32 per cent in FY20 amid increased penetration of OTT, it said, adding that Hindi films significantly underperformed than regional ones. "With movie producers aligning better with audience preferences and a stronger regional film pipeline, occupancies should remain at 26-28 per cent next fiscal and over the medium term," the agency's Director <keyword id="19955698" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="naveen-vaidyanathan" source="keywords">Naveen Vaidyanathan</keyword> said. Continued supply of high-quality movies focusing on the large-screen experience will be crucial to sustain and improve occupancy at multiplexes, the agency noted. The agency's team leader, <keyword id="20763273" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shivaramakrishna-kolluri" source="keywords">Shivaramakrishna Kolluri</keyword>, however, said the slower revenue growth will take the topline to an all-time high, and attributed the same to factors such as addition of screens, rising movie ticket prices amid cost inflation and focus on premium formats. Increasing spends on refreshments following more offerings and menu revisions will also help drive the revenues, Kolluri said.

Multiplexes' revenue growth to dip to 15% in FY25 as OTTs crimp profit margins

<keyword id="19895282" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mumbai" source="keywords">Mumbai</keyword>, As many as 86 per cent of Internet users enjoy OTT (Over The Top) audio and video services, more than half of them from the hinterlands, making it the top use-case for Internet in the country, according to an industry report. The rise of digital entertainment services have been bolstered by the rise of smart TV, smart speakers, firesticks, chromecasts, growing at 58 per cent from 2021 to 2023 as more people are accessing video content over Internet-only devices (208 million) than conventional linear TV (181 million), said a report by the <keyword id="20749434" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="internet-and-mobile-association" source="keywords">Internet and Mobile Association</keyword> and the marketing data and analytics company <keyword id="20200137" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kantar" source="keywords">Kantar</keyword>. The report also finds that rural users are driving all these use-cases, accounting for more than 50 percent of the user base. The report, based on the inputs from over 90,000 households across all the states and Union Territories, barring <keyword id="20039270" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="lakshadweep" source="keywords">Lakshadweep</keyword>, was released at the ongoing India Digital Summit 2024. The second and third most popular use-cases of the Internet are communications with 621 million users, and social media with 575 million users. There were over 823 million active Internet users in the country as of 2023, meaning more than 55 per cent of people in the country have used the Internet last year, which is a modest 8 per cent growth over the previous year. At 442 million, rural users are in a majority, accounting for over 53 per cent of the total user base. From a gender perspective, the male-female ratio of Internet users rose from 71:29 in 2015 to 54:46 in 2023, which is almost at par with the overall sex ratio of the addressable population in the country, says the report. However, the report finds that net adoption growth rate has been decelerating with rural market, which has been driving Internet growth rates for the past many years, slowing down by 11 per cent in 2023 over 2022, pulling down the overall growth rate to 8 per cent. The report further said 57 per cent users prefer to access content in their local languages, with Tamil, Telegu, and <keyword id="19901815" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="malayalam" source="keywords">Malayalam</keyword> having the strongest language preference for content. States with the lowest Internet user base have the fastest growth rates now with Jharkhand (46 per cent penetration) and Bihar (37 per cent penetration) showing above average growth rates of 12 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively.

Most Internet users avail of OTT services; 53% of them from rural areas: Report

After the Internet and Mobile Association of India (<keyword id="149966" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="iamai" source="Orion">IAMAI</keyword>) slammed it for raising the 'revenue sharing' demand for telecom service providers (TSPs), the Cellular Operators Association of India (<keyword id="6373028" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="coai" source="Orion">COAI</keyword>) on Monday said the telcos' demand for reasonable 'usage charge' from OTT providers is fair and rational. The COAI reiterated its position that the demand of telecom operators for a reasonable 'usage fee' from OTT communication service providers for leveraging their networks to provide profitable services would aid in developing the country's digital infrastructure while contributing to the economy. "Certain entities with vested interests are misdirecting the issue of the need for a regulatory framework for the communication OTTs and the need of usage charge to be paid by OTTs to the TSPs, by bringing in the aspect of net neutrality in a misleading manner, to make it a populist issue," said <keyword id="164571" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="lt-gen" source="Orion">Lt Gen</keyword> Dr <keyword id="3200319" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sp-kochhar" source="Orion">SP Kochhar</keyword>, Director General, COAI, without naming the IAMAI. The COAI said that there seems to be a lack of appreciation of the fact that net neutrality pertains to the non-discriminatory treatment of content which has no nexus to the usage fee issue. "Telecom service providers are committed to following the net neutrality principles, as per their license conditions, as also all other regulatory and security compliances which the TSPs undertake to safeguard consumer interest and security -- which OTTs presently do not," it argued. The COAI has been advocating for a model where the sending party network pays (SPNP) model would allow telecom service providers to exploit internet businesses by formalising rent-seeking. "The SPNP model would be a death knell for the digital economy and the creative ecosystem which it sustains," IAMAI had said last week. Calls for an SPNP mechanism have re-emerged even though the demand for telecom services is entirely dependent on the ability of OTT services to attract users. The COAI said that OTT platforms take a free ride on TSP-funded networks "without contributing to the setting up, operating and maintenance costs either directly or indirectly or for the expansion of networks". In fact, many OTT communication players are contemplating/already charging subscribers a significant fee for verified accounts, adding further leads to their revenues. "It is ironic that representatives of entities profiting themselves by levying charges on subscribers while riding free on the telcos' network are stating that paying for usage would effectively raise costs for users," commented Kochhar. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rupee-falls-19-paise-to-82-94-against-us-dollar/articleshow/98265913.cms">Rupee falls 19 paise to 82.94 against US dollar</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-achieves-quantum-error-correction-milestone-says-sundar-pichai/articleshow/98266893.cms">Google achieves quantum error correction milestone says Sundar Pichai</a>

It's fair for telcos to demand usage charges from OTTs says industry body COAI

<ul><li><keyword id="6354504" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio" source="Orion">Reliance Jio</keyword> has removed several of its Disney+ <keyword id="2739840" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="hotstar" source="Orion">Hotstar</keyword> bundled plans.</li><li>The company’s Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans are now down to just two from eleven.</li><li>Viacom18, owned by <keyword id="6355199" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-industries" source="Orion">Reliance Industries</keyword>, acquired the rights for streaming IPL from 2023 to 2027.</li></ul>Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has changed some of its prepaid plans, removing most of its Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans. The telco has brought the Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans down to two from eleven. Reliance Jio had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-launched-new-prepaid-plans-with-free-disney-hotstar-mobile-subscription/articleshow/85824111.cms">partnered </a>with <keyword id="46161" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="disney" source="Orion">Disney</keyword>+ Hotstar to provide access to the popular OTT service bundled with several of its plans, offering subscribers access to the company’s huge collection of shows and movies, including popular Marvel titles, Disney collection and several of the company’s original shows and movies. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Jio reduces Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans to two" comment="subhead" text="Jio reduces Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans to two">Jio reduces Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans to two</cmsannotation> The company now offers only two plans that have Disney+ Hotstar subscriptions bundled – ₹1,499 and ₹4,199. Both plans offer a 1-year subscription to Disney+ Hotstar Premium, the company’s top plan, which is priced at ₹1,499 per year. Earlier, the company offered access to Disney+ Hotstar Mobile and Disney+ Hotstar Premium subscriptions for three months and one year. The ₹1,499 plan also offers 2GB data per day and unlimited calling for 84 days. On the other hand, the ₹4,199 plan offers 3GB data per day for 365 days. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Viacom18 getting IPL streaming rights may be the trigger" comment="subhead" text="Viacom18 getting IPL streaming rights may be the trigger">Viacom18 getting IPL streaming rights may be the trigger</cmsannotation> Apart from its vast library of movies and shows, IPL was one of the attractions of Disney+ Hotstar. The company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/the-ipl-digital-rights-is-helping-mukesh-ambanis-reliance-in-more-than-one-way/articleshow/92389484.cms">lost</a> the digital media rights to the world’s biggest cricket league to Reliance Industries-owned Viacom18. Viacom18 paid a whopping ₹23,758 crore to secure digital rights for the Indian subcontinent for the 2023 to 2027 cycle. While the company has not revealed anything yet, the company may introduce new bundled plans that offer access to IPL matches starting from the 2023 edition. Disney+ Hotstar losing access to IPL may be one of the reasons why the company has decided to reduce its bundled plans. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Telco-bundled OTT platforms dominate the Indian OTT market" comment="subhead" text="Telco-bundled OTT platforms dominate the Indian OTT market">Telco-bundled OTT platforms dominate the Indian OTT market</cmsannotation> According to a report by JM Financial, nearly 85% of all OTT viewership volume in India comes from telco-bundled OTT platforms wherein viewers are not required to pay a subscription fee for the service. Interestingly, the report also adds that Disney+ Hotstar is the only OTT platform in India that has built a large paying subscriber base, meaning this may not significantly impact the company’s viewership. “EY, a consultancy firm, estimates that close to 85% of all OTT viewership volume in India come from telco-bundled OTT platforms, where customers don’t pay for OTT services. Disney+ Hotstar, owned by Disney, is the only OTT platform in India that has built a large paying subscriber base,” JM Financial said in its report. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Airtel and Vodafone Idea continues to offer Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans" comment="subhead" text="Airtel and Vodafone Idea continues to offer Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans">Airtel and Vodafone Idea continues to offer Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans</cmsannotation> While Reliance Jio has removed most of its Disney+ Hotstar plans, telcos like Airtel and Vodafone Idea continue to offer several plans with both Disney+ Hotstar Mobile subscriptions. Business Insider India has reached out to Reliance Jio for a comment on this. The story will be updated once a response is received. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/after-a-credit-card-apple-launches-savings-account-service-in-partnership-with-goldman-sachsheres-what-it-means/articleshow/94852629.cms">After a credit card, Apple launches savings account service in partnership with Goldman Sachs — here’s what it means</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/indian-government-wants-apple-and-samsung-to-quickly-roll-out-the-update-to-enable-5g-support/articleshow/94788906.cms">Indian government wants Apple and Samsung to quickly roll out the update to enable 5G support</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-and-airtel-5g-prices-may-be-affordable-for-now-but-expected-to-increase-after-wider-rollout/articleshow/94636173.cms">Reliance Jio and Airtel 5G prices may be affordable for now but expected to increase after wider rollout</a>

Reliance Jio starts removing Disney+ Hotstar bundled plans ahead of IPL season next year

<ul><li>Prime time shows have over 60% of ‘co-viewing instances’ with families watching TV together. </li><li>TV in India has an unparalleled position as a family entertainment platform, both in terms of price as well as reach, said a <keyword id="45949" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jm-financial" source="Orion">JM Financial</keyword> report. </li><li>Growth in <keyword id="1245953" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott" source="Orion">OTT</keyword> has expanded the overall video consumption, and has not come at the expense of <keyword id="1632453" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="linear-tv" source="Orion">linear TV</keyword>. </li><li>Urban youth with access to wired broadband and proclivity to watch international content are likely to shift exclusively to <keyword id="5293670" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott-platforms" source="Orion">OTT platforms</keyword>, the report said. </li><li>Low cost of pay TV and low wired broadband penetration can work against cord-cutting, the report said. </li></ul>For families across India, prime time is mostly spent in front of their television sets. According to JM Financial, prime time shows have over 60% of ‘co-viewing instances’ – and this is what will keep TVs running in India in spite of the proliferation of OTT, as per the report. In addition to the fact that 98% of Indian homes only have a single TV, low proliferation of wired broadband is also keeping people from making the total shift exclusively to OTT. While India has over 650 million mobile broadband users, it has only 18 million wired broadband connections. “Note, these 18 million connections include small and medium enterprises as well, leaving even lower connections for households. We believe these trends and facts suggest TV screens - and linear TV - will remain the mainstay of India’s family entertainment,” said the report named ‘In the eye of the storm’. It also said that growth in OTT has expanded the overall video consumption, and has not come at the expense of linear TV. Pay TV vs OTT vs Free Dish The cost of pay TV – that’s subscription-based TV viewing – is around $3 per month. In comparison, OTT subscription cost is at least 2.5 times that of pay TV. “TV in India has an unparalleled position as a family entertainment platform, both in terms of price as well as reach,” the report said. In the US, however, where subscribers are shifting away from pay TV to OTT – it’s the exact opposite. While pay TV is at around $100 a month, Netflix subscription plans start at $10 per month. Added to that, wired broadband penetration in the US is at 95%. In spite of the fundamentals that support the long-term prospects of linear TV, it is being hurt by many factors. The usual suspect is OTT, which has been chipping away the top-of-the-pyramid user base off pay TV, who are the best spenders. This is reflected in the 6% decline in pay TV subscribers between 2019 to 2021. During the same period, broadcasters’ subscription revenue declined by 13% and ad revenue too went down by 12% – hurt by lowered FMCG ad spends and pandemic-led troubles. FMCG contributes to 50% of TV ad spends. On the other end of the spectrum, the government's DD Free Dish, a free-to-air <keyword id="6411255" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="dth" source="Orion">DTH</keyword>, too has pulled away millions of subscribers. Against cord-cutting The JM Financial report, however, believes that there is reason to be sanguine. “TV screen’s dominance during prime time coupled with pay-TV’s low ARPU and wired broadband’s lower penetration in India work against cord-cutting,” the report said. Broadcasters have been withdrawing General Entertainment Channels or GECs from DD Free Dish. That could stem the migration of viewers from pay TV. Moreover, it also expects that receding raw material cost inflation and buoyant festive demand could boost ad-revenue growth starting in the second half of the current financial year. “Unlike the general perception, our analysis indicates TV has held on to its share of ad spend while digital has gained at the expense of other media. TV’s wider reach and India’s low ad-spend-to-GDP ratio mean significant headroom for both TV and digital ad-spend to grow,” the report said. Moreover, India still has close to 100 million non-TV households, which provides a long runway for growth. Where are ad volumes going? Ad volumes have been falling differently across channel genres. Free commercial time (FCT) in genres such as English movies and English niche fell sharply even over 2019-21— reflecting the impact of OTT on select genres. The ad volumes of English movie channels declined the steepest at 45% while English niche went down by 29% and that of music channels went down 19%. “Urban youth, the viewership base of English channels on TV, appear to have shifted to OTT with global, on-demand content. Following the same logic, there seems to be a small impact on Hindi GEC (-3% FCT over 2019-21) while <keyword id="42771" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="regional" source="Orion">regional</keyword> genres seem largely unaffected, as of now,” the report said. On the other hand, ad volumes grew in genres like news, Hindi movies, Marathi channels, Tamil channels, Kannada, Bengali and Malayalam. However, ad volume fall in English channels have little effect on overall growth in TV as it constitutes only 1% of overall TV viewership. Even as the urban youth with access to wired broadband, higher spending capacity, and proclivity to watch international and niche content are likely to cut the cords and shift exclusively to OTT platforms, there is a lot of juice left in the linear TV market. “With around 300 million households, a sprawling regional language market, and a diverse cultural background, India offers significant opportunities for all forms of entertainment to co-exist. We believe OTT, pay TV, and free-to-air channels will all co-exist in the country,” the report said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/prime-videos-four-more-shots-please-season-three-to-debut-on-october-21/articleshow/94701251.cms">Prime Video's 'Four More Shots Please!' season three to debut on October 21</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-group-leads-e-commerce-festive-sales-meesho-is-second-largest-contributor-in-order-volume-redseer/articleshow/94701015.cms">Flipkart group leads e-commerce festive sales, Meesho is second largest contributor in order volume: Redseer</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/instagram-is-developing-a-nudity-protection-feature-to-block-unsolicited-nude-photos-in-dms/articleshow/94697784.cms">Instagram is developing a ‘Nudity Protection’ feature to block unsolicited nude photos in DMs</a>

Indians stick to TV for prime time and that's keeping them from cutting the 'cord'

New Delhi, The <keyword id="19899402" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital" source="keywords">digital</keyword> media will potentially overtake television as the leading segment in the <keyword id="20331450" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="media-entertainment" source="keywords">media &amp; entertainment</keyword> sector in 2024 with an estimated size of Rs 75,100 crore, said a joint report from industry body FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and EY on Tuesday. While the Indian Media &amp; Entertainment (M&amp;E) sector grew by 8.1 per cent in 2023, reaching Rs 2.32 lakh crore and is expected to touch Rs 2.55 lakh crore and cross Rs 3 lakh crore mark by 2026, it added. "We expect the M&amp;E sector to grow 10.2 per cent to reach Rs 2.55 trillion by 2024, then grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 10 per cent to reach Rs 3.08 trillion by 2026," the report said. Though in 2023 television remained the largest segment with Rs 69,600 crore, however, it had a degrowth of 1.83 per cent as against Rs 70,900 crore in 2022, it said. While, the digital media in 2023 crossed Rs 65,400 crore and is expected to be around Rs 75,100 crore in 2024, which is ahead of Rs 71,800 crore figure of the television media. The report estimates digital media would be around Rs 95,500 crore in 2026, with a CAGR growth of 13.5 per cent between 2023-26. While TV media would be Rs 76,600 crore, which would be around 20 per cent less than digital media. "In 2024, digital media is poised for explosive growth, potentially overtaking television to become the leading segment of the M&amp;E sector. This surge in digital media is forecasted to propel the M&amp;E sector's growth to a 10 per cent annual rate, crossing Rs 3 trillion (USD 37.1 billion) by 2026," said <keyword id="20331445" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kevin-vaz" source="keywords">Kevin Vaz</keyword> Chairman, <keyword id="20835181" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ficci-media-and-entertainment-committee" source="keywords">FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee</keyword>. This growth is buoyed by a robust digital infrastructure, widespread adoption of OTT platforms, significant growth in the gaming segment, and the availability of cost-effective options for consumers. The report expects digital advertising to grow at a 13.5 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 84,200 crore, on the back of improved governance. According to the report, the connected TV (smart TV) saw a 50 per cent growth as internet penetration continues to rise. "The broadband market is growing with subscription numbers recording 904 million. It is inevitable that smartphone users have grown and consequently, the average usage time continues to rise," it said. However, it also added despite high app downloads of 26.4 billion, India was behind in monetising this potential, with users spending half their time on social media apps. "The year also saw the growth of digital ad spending by 15 per cent, predominantly in search and social media. By 2026, the digital segment is expected to grow to Rs 95,000 crore with an increased focus on governance," it said. The Media &amp; Entertainment sector (M&amp;E) sector, which was around Rs 2.14 lakh crore has grown around Rs 17,300 crore in 2023, led by growth from Digital media, <keyword id="20004573" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="print" source="keywords">Print</keyword>, Online gaming, and Animation and VFX, the report said. "While the sector was 21 per cent above its pre-pandemic levels, television, print, and radio still lagged their 2019 levels," it said. The share of traditional media, which includes television, print, filmed entertainment, live events, OOH (Out-of-home), music, and radio stood at 57 per cent of M&amp;E sector revenues in 2023, down from 76 per cent in 2019, it added. In 2023, TV advertising fell 6.5 per cent due to a slowdown in spending by gaming and D2C brands, which impacted revenues for premium properties. On the print media, the report said it has buckled the global trend and continued to thrive in India. "Advertising revenues grew 4 per cent in 2023, with a notable growth in premium ad formats, as print remained a "go-to" medium for more affluent and nonmetro audiences. Subscription revenues grew 3 per cent on the back of rising cover prices. Digital revenues were insignificant for most print companies," it said.

Media and entertainment industry to cross ₹3 lakh crore in 2026 says FICCI, EY report

<ul><li>India’s fast expanding OTT universe still has just over a 100 million paid subscribers, as per an Ormax report.</li><li>In the last one year, OTT subscriptions have grown 13.5%.</li><li>During the pandemic years, when OTT subscriptions saw a boom, the growth rate was approximately 20%. </li></ul>Almost half a billion Indians (481 million, to be precise) are streaming shows on over the top (OTT) platforms like <keyword id="128682" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="netflix" source="Orion">Netflix</keyword>, <keyword id="758541" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amazon-prime" source="Orion">Amazon Prime</keyword> among others. However, as per Ormax Audience Report 2023, only one in three people are paying for it, as the OTT universe currently has 102 million paid subscribers. OTT penetration in India is at 34% across the country, the report says. It defines an OTT audience as the one who watched at least one online video either paid or free in the last one month. As many as 2.8 people watch an OTT subscription, it reveals. In spite of its good show during the pandemic, the OTT growth might have peaked, believes <keyword id="18337059" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="keerat-grewal" source="Orion">Keerat Grewal</keyword>, head of business development (streaming, TV &amp; brands), Ormax Media. “After the upsurge in the Indian OTT market during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the growth has settled down at more moderate levels. The Indian OTT audience base grew 20% from 2021 to 2022, but has grown only 13.5% over the last one year, highlighting that the category is now past the peak growth phase it witnessed in the two preceding years," said Grewal. Fair share charges? As per Ormax, 102 million Indians are B2C subscribers, who take a membership directly with the OTT platform unlike B2B subscriptions are taken via telecom packs offered by various operators. The substantial number of B2C subscribers throws light on the ongoing feud between OTTs and telecom players on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/telecom-industry-defends-fair-share-charges-on-otts-proposal-rejects-impact-on-net-neutrality/articleshow/104496095.cms">fair-share charges that the </a>latter is demanding from the former. The report does not reveal the number of B2B subscribers of OTTs. Telecom service providers via the industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) have been asking Late Traffic Generators (LTGs) or the bigger OTTs to make a ‘contribution’ to telcos. They argue that LTGs are responsible for 70% of the total internet traffic. “LTGs are using TSP networks to deliver their services, but making no contribution to the development, upkeep and sustenance of robust and quality telecom networks across the country – that’s required for catering to the huge traffic being loaded on the networks,” said Lt Gen Dr S P Kochhar, director general of COAI. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/pvr-woos-netflix-n-chill-crowd-back-to-big-screens-with-its-passport/articleshow/104919450.cms">PVR woos Netflix n Chill crowd back to big screens with its Passport</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/what-do-genzs-think-about-the-number-of-work-hours-in-a-week/articleshow/104874213.cms">My shift is over: Why do GenZs say it, and is it a bad thing?</a>

One in three Indian binge watchers actually pays for content

Just about a year ago, cricket’s biggest franchise, the star-laden Indian Premier League, struck a record $6.02bn broadcast and streaming rights deal for the next five years. This was over twice what it had received for the previous five years but, besides the huge figures involved, the deal also marked the passing of a baton. For the first time ever, the streaming rights for the tournament <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61793888#:~:text=The%20streaming%20and%20TV%20rights,bn%20(%C2%A35.13bn).">cost more than its TV rights</a> ($3.05bn vs $3.02bn, respectively). The deal was not an outlier. Across the world, TV is steadily giving way to streaming video. A month after the <keyword id="6354312" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ipl" source="Orion">IPL</keyword> deal, in July 2022, streaming services <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1118203023/streaming-cable-broadcast-tv">outdid both cable and broadcast TV </a>in the US for the first time. <h2><keyword id="6356028" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sports" source="Orion">Sports</keyword> and <keyword id="1245953" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott" source="Orion">OTT</keyword>: Made for each other?</h2>How sports content is consumed has played a huge role in this switch. Unlike, say, movies, live sports events happen at times when it’s impossible to sit oneself down in front of a TV. OTT platforms, in contrast, let viewers catch the live action just about anywhere, over a variety of devices. But, for increasingly digital-savvy audiences, streaming isn’t just convenient, but also offers them a different viewing experience. While TV puts viewers in the middle of the sporting action, digital streaming platforms go much further. Viewers can now change camera angles or call up replays, match, team and player statistics on demand. Some platforms, like the NFL, now offer a multi-view option, letting viewers watch more than one live game at a time. Internet-enabled Smart TVs complete the cycle, slowly but surely making inroads into the broadcast and cable TV markets. With the roll out of 5G services worldwide, that gap is set to widen, as the possibilities of what streaming platforms can offer increases. <h2>The big boys are already playing. Can smaller OTT players compete?</h2>While purely sports platforms like DAZN and Eleven Sports were the first off the block, big general entertainment players have been quick to hitch a ride on the sports bandwagon. Amazon’s 11 year deal with the NFL, starting 2023, cost it an estimated <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/18/nfl-media-rights-deal-2023-2033-amazon-gets-exclusive-thursday-night.html">$1 billion a year</a>. Disney’s acquisition of ESPN gave it a foothold in the sports TV market, but it is now shifting its focus to making ESPN a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2023/06/01/espn-starting-a-streaming-service-is-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-cable/">completely standalone OTT platform</a>. Most recently, the PGA merging with LIV Golf promises to cause a seismic shift in how golf as a sport is consumed around the world. While it may seem that only brands with deep pockets can corner a chunk of the sports OTT pie, there are ways that every <keyword id="959269" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott-platform" source="Orion">OTT platform</keyword> can successfully monetise live sports streaming. 1) Go beyond the usual suspects: It’s true that hugely popular sports, like football in the US, soccer in the UK and Europe, or cricket in the Indian subcontinent, garner a large viewership. That’s why they command big ticket deals that only OTT behemoths can afford. At the same time, lesser-known sports also command smaller, but intensely loyal audiences, who are often underserved by both TV and OTT. The North American Premier Lacrosse League, for example, has seen viewership increase by 26% in 2022. Its average viewership per game is now nearly 1,60,000 and, with close to 60,000 official downloads, its app was among the <a href="https://boardroom.tv/premier-lacrosse-league-2022-milestones/">top 10 sports apps</a> on the App Store. Meanwhile, the 2023 Cazoo World Snooker Championship clocked over<a href="https://www.sportbusiness.com/news/bbc-sets-snooker-streaming-record-at-historic-world-championship/"> 23 million streams</a> in just 17 days. Tapping into these sports can give an OTT platform a captive audience, since they often slip under the radar of big OTT brands. 2) Get local: While top-tier leagues in any sport hog the limelight, the lower leagues offer huge monetization potential for OTT brands willing to serve them. So, too, do college and school sports events – in fact, the <a href="https://beonair.com/history-of-sports-broadcasting">first live sports event on TV</a> was a college baseball game in 1939. As with lesser-known sports, lower leagues have smaller, but equally ardent fan bases. For a parent, for example, missing a child’s school football game may feel worse than missing a key NFL fixture. Similarly, while India’s soccer standings may not be anywhere near the top globally, its Indian Soccer League is the <a href="https://www.afaqs.com/news/brands-and-sports-marketing/hero-isl-season-7-ends-with-high-viewership-increased-brand-activations">fifth biggest soccer league in the world</a>. Local sports, if tapped effectively, can deliver as well as their national and international counterparts – in soccer-crazy Kolkata in India, ISL viewership has grown by <a href="https://www.afaqs.com/news/brands-and-sports-marketing/hero-isl-season-7-ends-with-high-viewership-increased-brand-activations">85% year on year</a>. And, once in a while, even smaller teams can spring a surprise – little Luton Town, whose stadium holds just around 10,000 people, <a href="https://www.activenoon.com/from-underdogs-to-contenders-luton-towns-remarkable-journey-to-the-premier-league/7125/">is now in the EP</a>L, bringing outsized returns for its backers. 3) Choose an appropriate monetisation model: Sports streaming presents OTT platforms with multiple ways to monetise their content. Sports with large audiences, therefore, may find substantial Pay Per View customers. But this may not be so for a Tier 2 sport or league. In which case, platforms streaming these games could find an AVOD model more suitable. Going further, streaming offers advertisers a big advantage – real time, hyper-personalised and targeted advertising - something that was impossible with linear TV, no matter the amount of interest the sporting event generated. This makes getting a large title sponsor or many brands on board easier, as these brands get a larger ROI than those following a scattergun approach. A mix of AVOD and sponsorship can help small and medium platforms draw in larger audiences, who may not be willing to subscribe to watch a single sporting event. 4) Make data work for you: Tracking linear or cable TV’s viewership and reach is at best an imprecise process, largely dependent on third-party trackers like Nielsen. Streaming services, on the other hand, have a huge advantage over TV, in that they can accurately collect granular data – names, emails, locations, favourite teams, viewing duration and times and much more. This lets them and their advertisers target viewers with razor-sharp focus. So, for example, fans can be offered deals on stadium tickets based on their team preferences. Sports equipment makers and merchandisers can know exactly who is a hardcore fan and tailor their offerings for them. Even offline marketing, like using social media to connect fans with on-ground events like fan meetups or match nights at their local pub can bring in additional revenue for platforms and rights owners. This makes smaller and niche sports streaming extremely attractive for advertisers, as they get good returns for a lesser advertising outlay than major sporting events on linear TV. To sum up, expanding an OTT’s bouquet of offerings to include sports is a strategy that every OTT platform can adopt to maximise its monetisation opportunities. While the OTT industry’s movers and shakers have already made sports their engine of growth, small and mid-sized platforms have inherent advantages – local reach, untapped sports and leagues and the possibilities of hyper-focused advertising – to grab a share of the sports pie. By adopting an optimum mix of monetisation models to draw viewers to them, streaming services can turn sports into a game changer that drives both their short and long term profitability. Disclaimer: This article is generated and published by the Insider Studios team. You can get in touch with them on insiderstudios@businessinsider.in

Monetising sports for sustained growth: A game every OTT platform can play

<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."

You Searched For "ott industry" and got 14 results

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