There are 57 OTT apps and streaming apps available in India right now.
Can you believe such a big number? Because 57 are so many apps that you may not know about many of them.
This is a fact that in the coming time, many of these apps will stop, some will end, some will merge. But there are some apps that will probably remain a favorite for all of us in India and you will always get to see them. Let’s talk about some of them.
Jio Hotstar: The OTT Giant That Nearly Existed
First of all, let’s talk about India’s biggest OTT app that Hotstar & JioCinema could have been made but was not made. That would be Jio Hotstar.
Now you know the story of Jio and Hotstar. Jio’s parent company is Reliance and one of their companies is Viacom 18.
Viacom 18 was merging with Star India. In which the channels of Star, their Hotstar, everything comes under the same umbrella. Because of which, Reliance is owning Colors TV Channel, Star Plus, Jio Cinema and Hotstar.
Hotstar and Jio Cinema were supposed to be a merger between the two, but you didn’t get to see such things. And I think this is fine.
Because if both were to merge, their subscription would not have developed so much. Because both have a common audience and they pay for both. And if they were to merge, many users would have left their hands.
Maybe that’s why they have kept both open to make more money.
Hotstar’s Strategy and Strengths
If we talk about Hotstar, they also have a free subscription. People can watch content for free. Some things are also available for free on Jio Cinema.
But they also produce the premium here today. Both Hotstar and Jio Cinema have very different strategies.
It doesn’t look like they can merge in the future. Because if they were to merge, it would not be good for them. Because both have literally grown a lot.
Hotstar’s user base in India was a little less after the removal of IPL and cricket matches. But Hotstar still has a hold. They also show cricket matches.
They also bring their TV shows that are shown on TV. And the biggest strength with Hotstar is that they bring all the shows and movies of Marvel and Disney. Because of which Hotstar is stuck here.
But in the last few years, Hotstar’s major focus has gone to regional content. The regional content that is made on sound, bring those movies and show them on your platform.
Along with this, they also show the movies of Fox, Star Studios and Cinema Halls on their platform. They acquire the movies of other foreign companies. So this is the story of Hotstar.
Jio Cinema’s Approach and Content
Jio Cinema has a slightly different approach in terms of content. The most viewed content on Jio Cinema is IPL. IPL comes from their most viewed programs. Because whenever there is IPL, Jio Cinema’s viewership always reaches the top. And it also beat Hotstar’s viewership. And the reason behind this is that Jio Cinema was showing IPL for free here. The most viewed content on Jio Cinema after IPL is Bigg Boss.
Bigg Boss is very popular there and its viewership is also very high. Jio Cinema has some other programs and shows.
But they couldn’t create the same impact in the market as their two big entities. Along with this, Jio Cinema has also signed deals with Universal, Peacock and NBC.
Along with this, they also have Hollywood content. For which some people come from time to time. But still, the majority of people don’t consume this content. And along with this, the Indian OTT web shows, series and movies that they have made.
If you have seen them, they are not that popular and their quality is also not that good. The only surprising thing I found was that Jio Cinema’s parent company is somewhere in Jivayakumar 18. Which also has Jio Studios.
Jio Studios produces a lot of films in Bollywood. But the surprising thing I saw is that all their big and hit films of Jio Studios. They never release on their Jio Cinema. They always sell their rights to a third party OTT company.
Netflix & Prime Video
There are only two such OTT companies in the market. Prime Video & Netflix They acquire all the films that come on the OTT network. And the name of these two OTT apps is Netflix and Prime Video.
The story of Netflix and Prime Video is very simple. These two are foreign companies from India. And with the help of Indian producers, they started making content for the Indian audience.
Prime Video had created a series like Mirzapur. And they keep creating a lot of shows. Netflix also creates Indian programs in India. But to attract the Indian audience, they used a simple strategy. That all the people who are making these films.
They will start acquiring them directly here. You understand this. Directly, the movies that are being made in Bollywood are being made in the South.
People started acquiring their OTT rights. And all these films come to Prime Video and Netflix in the market. Because whenever these films come out of the theater.
After that, you get to see it directly on your OTT platforms. Even before many TV channels. The streaming of these films starts happening on Netflix and Prime Video.
Windows, International Reach, and Technology
For Hindi films, normally the window is set to 56 days for the release of the film. After 56 days, you will get to see this film on these OTT platforms. Along with this, for South and regional films.
This window is around 30 days.
I saw the next thing with this. Netflix presents the content at an international level. Around 190 countries below it. But the good thing is that the different content pieces being created in 190 countries. They also reach you.
That’s why the famous shows of Netflix and regional. Where only American shows used to be popular. In today’s time, people like to watch Spanish series.
People like to watch Korean dramas here. Some people like to watch Japanese. Someone likes German shows. And by dubbing all this in Hindi and regional languages.
People are promoting us a lot in India. Because the most important thing for Netflix here is.
To show the maximum content to the people here. And Netflix has helped them with their AI and algorithm. Which gives recommendations to people in a very smart way. In which they have advanced. Along with this, let’s talk about the technology wise.
All the latest technologies. In video and audio. In them, Netflix is much ahead of the rest of the people. And its user interface is also much better comparatively.
Prime Video’s Value Proposition
Talking about Prime Video. It comes with the subscription of Amazon Prime. If you see Amazon Prime, you get a lot of things in it.
Because of this, Prime Video is very valuable to people. Because of which they can consume its content. But Amazon knew that they would have to show free content here.
Netflix has not yet gone into free content. But Amazon has shown this free content with its mini TV. There used to be another OTT app in India. MX Player TV.
Amazon took MX Player. Integrated it into its mini TV. And increased the content of the mini TV. That is, you consume some content for free with the advertisement.
But if you want to see some premium content. For that, you will have to pay some money. And for the people of India, they have developed some premium content here.
In which they have some popular shows. Like we are talking about Mirzapur. We are talking about Panchayat.
We are talking about Patal Lok. These are some of their famous shows. Where Amazon Prime has taken its strong leadership here. Along with this, they also produce shows of global level. And even the biggest creator of YouTube.
They are also releasing a series called Beast Games with Mr. Beast. But yes, their shows are not so big on a global level. So that they can get recognition here. And some of their shows were more popular here. Which were on a global level.
The rest of the show’s response was a little cold in the market. However, the shows they are making for the Indian audience. Their hype remains in the market here. Along with this, Amazon brings rental service in Prime Video. That before streaming in OTT. If you want to watch the film on rent a week or two ago.
Then you can watch that. Along with this, Amazon has partnered with other OTT apps. And brought them under their umbrella. Where they sell their combined subscription. Which includes Discovery Plus, AMC. You can see the OTT apps of other companies at the same place here.
Zee5 & SonyLiv: The Homegrown Players
After this, the next category comes of Zee and Sony. Look, there was news at one time that Zee could be Sony’s merger. But today such a thing is not going to happen. Zee shows the same content that Zee Studios produces.
Especially the content that comes on Zee TV channels. All those things are given to you on Zee5. Along with this, Zee Studios produces some films. Some films that are made.
You get to see those films in Zee5. The way their content is. However, I saw about Zee.
That recently their major focus is on regional cinema. More on regional content. And a lot of South Indian films that live. Y
ou are getting to see more and more in Zee5. Similarly, the story is with SonyLib. SonyLib has seen some success here. With some of its shows. That is, those who used to come on TV. They also show them on their SonyLib app.
Plus, like some of the Sony TV shows. They are also bringing them on their app. As far as talking about. Shark Tank is coming on SonyLib.
Such a scam was their series. They are bringing it. And let’s talk about the movies. So yes, these South Indian movies. They show more and more on their platform. But mostly SonyLib runs. They make some web series of their content.
Plus the shows that come on Sony TV. Even all the TV shows that come. They push here through their SonyLib app. So yes, Sony is also running here. Zee is also running here.
Other Small Apps and Niche Players
But after this, as many apps as come. They are not in such a good condition. And the rest of the apps. That’s why they are surviving in the market.
Because somewhere, sometime. Comes with some bundle. Some Jio comes with their bundle.
Sometimes Airtel comes with their bundle. Along with this, there is Discovery Plus. That too.
If you see, it gives infotainment shows. And the content that comes on Discovery Channel. Many of the things people put on Discovery Plus.
Along with this, I have observed one more thing here. That all the small apps. They are not that popular in today’s time. Like here Lionsgate.
The entertainment company. They had released their Lionsgate play. That’s why Airtel and Jio Cinema. Include it in their bundle in different ways. If you see along with this. You get to see Shima Rumi. And there are many such small apps. Which you get to see as adult apps.
And here the adult content has increased so much that the government has started taking notice and action on them and there are a lot of actions against them. Due to which this type of content, which was increasing by 18 plus in OTT, will now gradually start reducing here, which is a very good thing.
Along with this, I observed one more thing that the Indian government has also brought its own OTT app, which is called Waves, which comes under Prasar Bharti, there are also some shows there, you will get to see old shows like Ramayana and they are very good, but the thing is that there are some trees, some are free, so that is also a new type of thing to see here.
Biggest Competition: YouTube
Along with this, I can tell you that one of the biggest competitors for OTT apps in India is YouTube.
The content library in YouTube is also very big and there is user-generated content here and no company has been able to create its own monopoly in user-generated content. Even all the big production houses constantly release content on YouTube.
Even all the big films come on YouTube first, any Netflix show will come on YouTube first. Although these people are making their shows on Netflix, but they also keep releasing their content on YouTube.
So YouTube is one of the biggest things where OTT apps are directly threatened here.
What Will Happen Next
Along with this, I was talking about 57 OTT apps in the beginning. Look, I can tell you one thing about the future of OTT apps.
Out of 57, at least 30-35 such apps will be completely finished in the coming time. In every market, all the small apps that came later will slowly finish in 1-2 years and the market will be consolidated.
After this, one thing we felt was that OTT apps will replace your TV here, this is not going to happen. The TRP of TV channels is still there, people still like to watch live TV channels.
And the court cutter phase that started in the US is not going to come in India. TV channels will be alive, but there will also be limited TV channels that people will like to watch here.
Along with this, I can tell you one thing that there is going to be a change in the distribution of TV channels and TV.
A company like BSNL is going to start a service like IPTV, where you can use the internet wire to watch live TV channels. They are focusing on IPTV instead of streaming.
Along with this, when the revolution of OTT app came at the time of your pandemic, then it seemed that people would forget to go to the cinema hall, although this is not going to happen.
Cinema hall will be alive, the big movies in the cinema will be released here and people will enjoy going there.
Along with this, there will be a major change that he will wait on OTT to enjoy those films. But many films that are enjoyed with friends in a group, you cannot take it on the mobile phone screen. So in India, OTT apps are working in this way.
However, I have noticed one interesting thing that Jio will continue to run in its own way, Hotstar will continue to run, but what will happen with Prime Video and Netflix? Because in today’s time, these two are such apps that are acquiring new films in OTT.
But in the past few years, there were also problems with them. Many films whose quality was not so good or did not perform so well at the box office, they were also banned from buying these apps. So that’s one thing to see how the future is doing here.
Conclusion
Because Netflix and Prime Video are investing a lot of money in the Indian market. It will be interesting to see what happens with them.
