The Growing Trend Of Regional Content On OTT Platforms

The new era of content is here and it is here to stay!! The shift to digital content is not an alien concept but what is fascinating is the changing trend within the digital content on Indian OTT platforms.

Gone are the days when people watched content on television along with a varied audience of different age groups sitting together. The urban families have access to their own devices now where they watch content based on what they prefer.

This shift to individual viewing is what led to the advent of the regional content boom in digital and it didn’t take long for OTT platforms to start working towards this growing change.

New strategies by Netflix and Amazon Prime video include generating local and regional content for Indian audiences and well, they are not the only ones doing this.

Amazon committed on investing $300 million for creating original content in Hindi and other regional languages.
Apart from Amazon, video streaming service Viu has started offering service in Telugu after Hindi and Tamil

Experts say that the streaming platforms have realized the potential of regional languages whose speakers are spread across the world. For instance, ALTBalaji’s Tamil show Maya Thirrai witnessed viewership across the Middle East, US, and UK which house huge sections of Tamil population.

 “Regional content definitely gives better uptake in terms of engagement, people usually take half the time to lap up regional content (as compared to Hindi or English).”

As per estimates, the OTT market is currently valued at $280 million with nearly 100 million subscribers, and it is poised to grow at 35 per cent year-on-year.

Hotstar, Voot, Amazon Prime Video, Sony Liv, and Netflix are the top OTT platforms in India.

With trends changing at such speed, it is extremely difficult to predict the trends that take place in the digital content but one thing for sure and that is, the audience now knows what they want and the platform that delivers the most shall stay in the long run.

What do you have to say about this? Do you think this growing trend of regional content will sustain the wrath of this industry? Share your views with us in the comment section!!

Indian OTT Platforms Taking Over Our Love For Cinema?

Weekend plans are now switching from ‘Let’s go for a movie’ to ‘what are we binge watching?’
Dates are now changing from ‘Movie at 8:00pm’? to ‘Netflix and chill?’.
Are Indian OTT Platforms taking over our love for cinema? Is the convenience of having access to media taking the old school charm of theatres away?

About 77 percent consume media on mobile devices, as a price war triggered by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. made data cheaper and faster. Average monthly data consumed by a user nearly tripled to 3.9 GB in 2017, and EY expects it to more than quadruple to 18 GB in five years. 

Bollywood and the regional movie industry is now trying to fend off the digital challenge by seeking an eight-week exclusivity for theaters before movies are available on streaming platforms and television


Videos account for more than half of India’s internet traffic and that’s “just going to explode”, Archana Anand executive vice president & head of digital at ZEE5 India, said in the report. “We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.”

What is it about OTT platforms that is gradually taking away India’s love for its beloved film industry? These platforms have not only made media more convenient but have also encouraged regional content which the audience finds more relatable now.

From brilliant star cast to more sensible content without the interference from censorship, there is nothing that the OTT platforms does not have to win over the cinema industry.

The question is, will the OTT magic stay in the long run as well? Or will we get back to worshiping Bollywood like we always did?
Are the OTT platforms here to stay for good? Are they the future of Indian media? The fact that there is no censorship could either be a blessing or a curse. Now, we need to wait and watch how well the OTT platform deals with the freedom that digital media brings with itself.

Let us know how you feel about this in the comment section below.