The ₹ 5,000 Crore Opportunity For OTT

ORIGINAL CONTENT SET TO BE KEY GROWTH DRIVER FOR INDIAN OTT INDUSTRY, PROJECTED TO REACH ₹ 5,595 CRORE IN REVENUES BY 2022, ACCORDING TO PWC REPORT

- Samarpita Banerjee & Christina Moniz

With an increase in the number of Internet users and thereby an increase in the demand for variety in the online video consumption space, original content is likely to be the key growth driver for the Over-The-Top (OTT) industry in the coming years. A recent report by Deloitte states that close to Rs 3,300 crore has been set aside by top OTT players for creating original video content in the near future.

If you have been in Mumbai, Delhi or Bangalore in the last couple of weeks, chances are you would have come across one or many billboards announcing the launch of Sacred Games, Netflix’s first Indian original. Industry sources peg that Netflix has spent anywhere between Rs 5-6 crore promoting the series. It has also already announced its next original, Ghoul, a horror series featuring Radhika Apte. Even Amazon Prime Video has gone all out to promote its just-released, unscripted original stand-up special series, Comicstaan. That these platforms are spending big bucks on promoting their original shows is proof that there is merit in the findings of these reports.

PWC’s latest Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2018-2022 states that the Indian OTT market is growing at a CAGR of 22.6%. It also states India will move into the top 10 largest global OTT video markets in 2022 with revenues to the tune of Rs 5,595 crore.

Currently, the Indian streaming market is roughly pegged at $300 million with 30 OTT players. While Hotstar is far ahead in the OTT race with an estimated 150 million monthly active subscribers, it is followed by VOOT, Amazon Prime Video, Sony LIV and Netflix. And most of the top players seem to have hit the consumer’s sweet spot - they are all introducing an array of originals to keep the binge-video-watching generation happy.