Thanks to the spurt of growth in OTT segment, top players or rather OTT giants like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar are expected to up their investment, both in terms of money and content in India.
According to a tech research firm in London, Omdia, the three OTT players are likely to spend approximately Rs 2824.9 crore or $383 million in India. On the other hand, the Indian OTT players are expected to spend Rs 2080 crore or $282 million on the same.
The report found that huge investments in online mode show the transition of Indian audiences from traditional media to online platforms. Also, given the pandemic, cinemas have been forced to shut down and this pushed the audiences towards OTT content. These factors are expected to push the growth of OTT video during 2021, the report stated.
It was also found that the subscription numbers increased by 50 per cent between 2015 and 2019. This potential has been recognised by the OTT giants and they want to cash in on exactly that, says the Omdia’s report.
The local or Indian players include Eros Now, SonyLIV, MX Player, Voot, ALTBalaji, Jio TV + Jio Cinema, Hungama Play and others.
Collectively, the OTT players are likely to upscale investments to the range of Rs 4905 crore or $665 million in 2021. The report further adds that Indian original content increased exponentially after the US giants Netflix and Amazon Prime Video entered the market. Up until 2017, before the giants produced original content for OTT, the online platform was restricted to television content. In fact, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are the two largest investors in Indian original content.
While the foreign giants are expected to tap into 45% of the market, the local players will dig into the remaining 55% says the London-based research firm.
Omdia is hoping that nearly 400 original titles will release on OTT in 2021 from US and Indian players next year. With Bollywood films being released on OTT platforms, it’s a huge draw for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney + Hotstar states the report. Indian players like Zee5, SonyLIV and Voot Select have also taken to this latest trend says Omdia’s report.