Regional OTTs

As the demand for the local content is gaining momentum, many regional over-the-top (OTT) platforms are eyeing a bigger share of content pie. The availability of regional-based content on OTT platforms has been a boon for viewers in India. It has allowed them to watch content in their own language and to connect with their culture.

India’s video OTT market is expected to touch $12.5 billion by 2030. With increased consumption, it is believed the regional OTT subscription is likely to cross 30 million by the end of 2030.

These platforms offer a wide range of content, including movies, TV shows, web series, and original programming. They also offer content in different genres, such as drama, comedy, romance, action, and thriller.

There are more than 50 OTT platforms in India that upload regional-based content. This is a reflection of the country's linguistic diversity, with over 100 languages spoken in India. These OTT platforms offer a wide variety of content in different regional languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Assamese. Multi-Regional OTT Platform streaming globally are offering entertainment in PUNJABI, HARYANVI & BHOJPURI.

The growth of OTT platforms in India has been driven by the increasing popularity of smartphones and the availability of high-speed internet. This has made it possible for people in India to access a wide variety of content from the comfort of their own homes.

Local OTT platforms were created by enthusiastic investors that saw the lack of vernacular content on leading streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Hotstar and decided to bridge the gap by launching their own platforms.

We would say, good hackers or smart software coders play a vital role in popularizing any software or platform. They do this by making software more stable, reliable, efficient, and user-friendly. Without the hard work of software coders, platform, which runs with the help of software would not be as popular as it is today.

Likewise, we have witnessed an exponential rise in the number of regional OTT platforms. For instance, there is Aha for Telugu, Planet Marathi for Marathi, AaoNxt for Odiya, Koode for Malayalam, Chaupal for PUNJABI, HARYANVI & BHOJPURI and so on. Now, the companies are poised to extend its expertise beyond India and establish a vibrant ecosystem for startups in South Asia.

Going forward, Regional OTT is steadily and rapidly capturing the Indian market and fulfilling the need for local language content. Going forward, the next wave of growth in the OTT landscape will come from tier II, III and IV cities and Indian-language speaking population.

Dr. Deepak Kumar Sahu, President & CEO, VARINDIA