INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 New Regional Flavours, More Entertaining Content

INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 New Regional Flavours, more Entertaining Content

INDIAN TRENDS 2018-19 Relevant Statistics & Insights from an Indian Perspective.

Prologue

Digital technology has steered the third industrial revolution and inﬂuenced human civilization as a whole. A number of industries such as Media, Telecom, Retail and Technology have witnessed unprecedented disruptions and continue to evolve their existing infrastructure to meet the challenge.

The telecom explosion in India has percolated to every corner of the country resulting in easy access to data, with Over-The-Top (OTT) media services changing how people watch television. The Digital Media revolution has globalized the world with 50% of the world’s population going online and around two-thirds possessing a mobile phone. Social media has penetrated into our day-to-day life with nearly three billion people accessing it in some form.

India has the world’s second highest number of internet users after China and is fully digitally connected with the world. There is a constant engagement and formation of like-minded digital communities. Limited and focused content is the key for engaging with the audience, thereby tapping into the opportunities present, leading to volumes of content creation and bigger budgets.

MICA, The School of Ideas, is a premier Management Institute that integrates Marketing, Branding, Design, Digital, Innovation and Creative Communication. MICA offers specializations in Digital Communication Management as well as Media & Entertainment Management as a part of its Two Year Post Graduate Diploma in Management. In addition to this, MICA offers an online Post-Graduate Certificate Programme in Digital Marketing and Communication. These programmes provide a holistic understanding of the digital environment with insights into digital companies and platforms, and their strategies and innovations. This has enabled MICA to remain at the forefront in addressing the needs of a complex, ever-changing global market and consumer environment, and in preparing future leaders for a digitally enabled world.

The Over-The-Top (OTT) Report developed by MICA, is thus an endeavour in this direction. The report encompasses in-depth research and analysis from an Indian perspective and is one of its kind. Happy reading!

Dr. Shailendra Raj Mehta President and Director, MICA, The School of Ideas.

Dean’s Message

The global trends in Media and Entertainment (ME) sector are rooted in digital transformations - new technology, tools and platforms, increasingly driven by locally and globally diverse consumer preferences. There is a great creative and business opportunity for local language speciﬁc and culture appropriate content innovations, and expanded usage of digitally enabled platforms relevant for diverse audience connect in various parts of the world.

Media and Entertainment companies are developing and integrating digital strategies, especially content based story telling in order to connect better with digitally-enabled consumers to create meaningful experiences and long-term relationship. MICA has been one of the ﬁrst academic institutes to: recognise the global disruption; promise of the digital revolution; and power of leveraging the associated transformation. We have incorporated and mainstreamed the digital transformation and ME sector management learning in the school curriculum, as well as develop a business management specialisation in this area.

In addition to business management, strategic marketing, brand management, marketing analytics, corporate and culture communication subjects, the institute now offers a specialization in Digital Communication Management as part of its two year Post Graduate Diploma in Management/Communications Programs (PGDM and PGDM-C). Another shorter online Post Graduate Certificate Programme in Digital Marketing and Communication is also offered regularly. We are also developing deep relationships and partnerships with Media and Entertainment Industry leaders for short-term courses, executive learning programs, knowledge co-creation and cutting edge analytical research.

These programs provide all participants a holistic understanding of the digital environment, and they learn about digital companies and platforms, strategies, marketing, communication, innovations - in order to gain a thorough grounding of consumer insight mining and engagement - critical in learning the most eﬀective ways of connecting industry and consumers worldwide.

MICA’s Media and Entertainment Management Specialisation is responsive to the industry that is particularly impacted by the digital disruption and oﬀers an increasingly attractive career path for the next generation creative and analytical managers and leaders.

Through such creative and collaborative initiatives, MICA as an institute continues to remain at the forefront in addressing the needs of a complex, ever-changing global market and consumer environment, and prepares our future leaders for the digitally enabled world.

Preeti Shroﬀ, PhD Dean - MICA, The School of Ideas.

Foreword

Media and Entertainment industry has seen a big push over the last few years due to the growth of digital consumption. Digital domain has been growing at a fast pace. Consumption habits and patterns are transforming over years. Factors like easy access to internet, cheap smart phones, additional screens, aﬀordable data plans, and higher bandwidth availability have been responsible for such transformation. India has become a competitive market for average bandwidth availability per user. The cost of accessing content has also drastically fallen in the last couple of years.

Over the Top (OTT) platforms have redeﬁned their purpose and need for the consumers over the years. The growing popularity of on demand content have given a push to language content creators with more proliﬁc and relatable content. We at MICA found the need to study the trends of OTT content and consumption, and hence this report. While OTT players are thriving to achieve their best, there was a need to understand the dynamics of each platform from consumption, content, cost, revenue, and connections point of view.

The report has illustrations, interviews, insights, graphs, trends, data points, and analysis of OTT platforms. India has a variety of OTT players operational. We have received very encouraging feedback from the readers of the report last year. In addition, to the content of last year we have added newer platforms, and news apps as well. This will help the reader look at the diﬀerent category in a more holistic way.

This report is a step towards making an exploration in the space of OTT platforms. Technological developments will continue to enhance the consumption experience. The growing demand of content will further enable the content strategy teams to identify relatable local content on these global platforms. This report gives you a comprehensive understanding of who consumes what, on which platform, how and most importantly why. Happy reading!

Dr. Darshan Ashwin Trivedi, Editor Indian OTT Platforms Report and Adjunct Faculty, MICA, The School of Ideas.

Preface

It has been almost a year since we released the ﬁrst volume of the INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT. The overwhelming response that we have received on the ﬁrst volume from the media fraternity, the entertainment industry, and especially the leaders of various OTT platforms is the motivation behind the second edition of this report.

With this edition, we continue our in-depth eﬀorts in mapping, analyzing, and decluttering the enfolding story of the Indian OTT industry.

While the continuing meteoric growth of the Indian OTT industry is almost mirroring the steady expansion of the global industry, it is peculiar in many ways. As we predicted in the ﬁrst volume, all major players have turned their focus towards acquiring and dishing out more and more regional content. This trend is likely to continue in the coming years, as the players look to make their regional oﬀerings full spread to include news, movies, devotional, business, kids, etc. categories.

Another trend that's likely to intensify in the coming year is the innovative use of interactivity coupled with live content. Sports, news, and reality shows already enjoy a sizable share of the Indian audience. And the OTT platforms are smartly integrating interactivity and marketing them aggressively to lure the TV audience to the platforms.

Apart from analyzing the exciting trends within the OTT industry, this report also explores a few other players like The Times of India, Flipboard, In Shorts etc. Players who don't strictly fall in the OTT category and yet they compete for the same audience and often with overlapping content. However, they are positioning themselves as a boutique oﬀering catering to a targeted audience.

These are exciting times for both the content creators and consumers. I hope you enjoy reading the report as much as we have enjoyed putting it together.

Chirag Dagli Director - Communication Crafts

Message From CMES

We are delighted to introduce the second edition of MICA’s OTT report- an initiative of the Centre for Media and Enter- tainment Studies (CMES).

CMES - an initiative of MICA, aims at bridging the gap between Academia and the Media & Entertainment industries through research-based solutions for enduring contemporary issues and problems. While focusing on academic research related to the Media and Entertainment sector, the Centre is also focusing on grooming talents with industry orientation, at its core. The Centre is working primarily at creating innovative and collaborative platforms for academia, industry, researchers and policy makers to ﬁnd high-end research-based solutions for everyday challenges of the Media and Entertainment sector.

In addition, the Centre has collaborated with media houses for creating media management case studies for academic and industry knowledge sharing.

Oﬀering a training platform for students, practitioners and professionals to become the future Media and Entertain- ment industry leaders of India, CMES is MICA’s quest to demystify the unique identity that ‘academia’ and ‘industry’ holds, as one is ‘the other’ for another. The Centre, in a nutshell, is an attempt to break the silos and bring both ‘academia’ and ‘industry’ together and provide a platform where knowledge is generated to sustain practices along with innovation research and collaborations.

Through this report, we have tried to showcase the changing ecosystem of the OTT in Media and Entertainment sector, in India and the opportunities that await the content creators and platforms. We are certain that the report will provide great insight to all readers both in the industry and academia.

Prof. Santosh K Patra Dr. Bhaskar Das, Head, Centre for Media and Mentor, CMES Entertainment Studies (CMES)

Index

THE DIGITAL DISRUPTION IN THE MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY 14 YouTube 20 Hotstar 32 JioTV & JioCinema 40 Voot 44 SonyLIV 50 Amazon Prime Video 56 Netﬂix 62 Zee5 68 Airtel TV 74 Hungama 78 ALTbalaji 82 YuppTV 88 Eros Now 92 TVFplay 98 Viu 104 MX Player 108 Ullu 114 ShemarooMe 118 Sun NXT 122 Hoichoi 126 Addatimes 130 OTT Watch List 132 Regional Content on YouTube 136 NDTV 182 Twitter 186 Times Of India 192 Dailyhunt 196 Flipboard 202 Google News And Weather 206 In Shorts 210 UC News 214 The Hindu 218 The Economic Times 222 Expert View Points 225 14 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 OVERVIEW The future of for OTT platforms across the world looks bright with a steady competition from linear TV. To adapt itself to the transformation TV has started innovating by adopting the new age digital platforms to reach out to the audience. Over the last one decade, the traditional linear television promise included OTT platforms as a part of their strategy for future survival. According to AIB Research, the over-the-top (OTT) video market across the world will continue to grow at a brisk pace and with a surge compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10 percent through 2022, the OTT market will generate a massive $51.4 billion.

Subscribers enjoy the lower cost of OTT options, as well as the lack of long-term commitments. In North America and Europe, pay TV providers are adding OTT options to prevent customer churn. Some pay TV operators have created virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) options, also known as skinny bundles, as a lower-cost path for subscribers1.

Globally even while TV has started showing a little decline, in number of subscribers OTT has shown a clear increase in subscription. The average revenue per user (ARPU) for pay TV is expected to go down to four times that of OTT in 2020, from six times that of OTT in 2017. Thus with increasing number of subscribers the OTT players are marching towards heading solid numbers to the revenue in the times to come. The global content scenario is at a fast pace getting redefined from sourced content to produced content. "The gloves are off," Convergence Research declares. "Amazon, Apple, DAZN, Facebook, Google and Netflix all have the money muscle to finance their own productions or outbid on programming including major sporting franchises. Following the owned content promised alongwith the OTT platforms owned by the broadcasters, going forward fewer content deals between programmers and independent OTT providers would take place2."

The revenue for the global OTT monitoring and compliance market is expected to increase from $62.0 million in 2018 to $149.7 million in 2024, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8 percent over the forecast period. Over the top (OTT) monitoring and compliance (M&C) solutions often overlap with complementary software solutions, such as quality of experience (QoE) and quality of service (QoS) measurements for the distribution of video over streaming services. Most OTT monitoring and compliance vendors have proprietary software and use a combination of servers, network routing, and intelligent software to notify streaming services about the quality issues in real-time3.

1https://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/News/Online-Video-News/OTT-Market-Growing-at-10-Worldwide-Totaling-$51B-in-2022-125023.aspx, accessed 28 May 2019. 2https://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/News/Online-Video-News/In-U.S.-OTT-Revenue-Grew-41-While-Pay-TV-Grew-1-in-2017-124478.aspx, accessed 28 May 2019. 3https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190516005740/en/Global-149.7-Mn-OTT-Monitoring-Compliance-Market, accessed 28 May 2019. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 15 Consumers are demanding and wanting a personalized video viewing experience with a large variety of content available to them on their devices to be viewed in their own convenient time. The video streaming services have revolutionised to cater to these needs of the viewers. The videos that are watched online could be in any of the diﬀerent format or basically a revenue model.

The OTT SVOD market is expected to increase due to growth in GDP per-capita, increase in number of smartphone users, worldwide internet penetration, etc. Yet the market faces some challenges such as, content piracy, censorship, low internet speed, etc. With technological innovations like block chain, 5G services, and local CDN networks these challenges will no more remain like challenges. Massive investments in content globally

Globally players are realizing importance of creating curated content, in line with viewer preferences. As a result traditional players as well as digital natives are making signiﬁcant investments to build their content pipeline. Players like Netﬂix invest aggressively to Hours Spent in Top 5 Video Streaming Apps match 3x the investment made by Two Year Growth top players like Amazon Prime and 50B Hulu. (BCG December 2018). The +105% average money spent on content for 2016 OTT platforms is higher than the 40B 2017 average content cost for television in 2018 emerging markets like India. 30B

+130% Time spent on Video Streaming Apps +95% 20B globally went up 140% in 2018 vs. 2016 in countries like Australia, India, +155% 10B Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand. +110% +95% +115% +100% It shows the consumption habits +110% shifting from desktop and television 0 to mobile. (App Annie, The state of India Brazil Japan France

the mobile 2019) Canada Germany South Korea United States United Kingdom Note: Android phone Source: App Annie, The state of the mobile 2019

16 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 For India the highest consumed platform is YouTube followed by the Amazon Prime and the three Indian platforms HotStar, JioCinema and Voot. YouTube has its monopoly across diﬀerent markets.

2018 Top 5 Video Streaming Apps by Time Spent

China India Brazil US South Korea Japan Germany France UK Canada

Tencent Video YouTube YouTube YouTube YouTube YouTube YouTube YouTube YouTube YouTube

iQIYI Hotstar Netflix Netflix Afreeca TV niconico Netflix Netflix Netflix Netflix

YouTube Amazon Amazon Youku JioTV Kids Hulu Twitch Prime Prime myCANAL BBC iplayer Twitch Video Video

Amazon Twitch Amazon YouTube bilibili Prime pooq AbemaTV Twitch Twitch BBC Sport Prime Kids Video Video

Amazon Amazon Globo Play Imgo TV Voot Twitch oksusu dTV BILD Molotov Prime Prime Video Video

Note: Android phone Source: App Annie, The state of the mobile 2019

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 17 Rise in Capacity of spend for Video Streaming Apps for the consumers

App store consumer spending Live has been a strong promise in the through subscription spending grew past year. Cricketing seasons, news 285% worldwide in the top 5 video content or shows like ‘Game of streaming. Netflix was the top app by Thrones’ streamed live was a strong annual consumer spend in nearly attraction for consumers. every country where it has its Broadcasters have a new weapon for presence and nearly every time linear television called live content period from 2016 to 2018.The launch streamed on OTT platforms. The live of Disney’s streaming service Disney+ promise is expected to push the is set to disrupt the market in 2019 consumption for informative, across the globe. As compared to the newsworthy, timely content ideas. other countries the capacity of Events like elections and terrorists spending for Indians have been the attacks created a lot of content which highest. did rounds on various OTT platforms. Consumption of video content on For India 2018-19 has been an News OTT platforms has increasingly exciting year as far as OTT content been substituting the need for text industry is concerned. The previous content consumption. The domain year saw an influx of content with promise for OTT content, it being a various kinds of content offerings personal medium has also been sex across platforms. For the first time and violence; something that the Indian OTT markets looks promising mainstream is unable to provide in and ever booming. The past year also the mainstream Indian television. welcomed new platforms like Ullu, Indian platforms like ALTBalaji and Shemaroome, MXPlayer and more. Ullu played to the promise and This is the best time for OTT attracted eyeballs. International platforms as there is a sudden growth platforms like Netflix and Amazon of platforms, with more investments, also kept attracting Indian viewers more content, more consumers and with their promise of ‘non-family more revenue. viewing content’.

Television content has been the biggest category of consumption over Growth in Consumer Spend in Top 5 Video Streaming Apps the past one year. The viewers 2016 vs 2018 appreciated Indian soap operas and long form narratives. There is no negative growth in television viewing 600% over the last year, thus catch up viewing is one of the strongest 500% promises of OTT oﬀerings. 400%

300%

200%

100%

0 India Brazil Japan China France Canada Germany South Korea United States United Kingdom Note: IOS and Google Play Stores; China is IOS only Source: App Annie, The state of the mobile 2019

18 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Another striking thing that was The content ecosystem for OTT observed was that platforms that platforms continued to grow in the came into being recently or are trying last year with co-existence of to strengthen their library are crowdsourced content, independent dependent on already existing library content, studio produced content, of content that was first aired on film content, TV content to acquired Indian television. India has hundreds content. The market is ripe and is of channels, contributing hundreds of waiting for a big push with new thousands of hours of content every entrants waiting to crack the Indian year. Content has proved its worth on territories. The consumer on OTT one platform, is syndicated to platforms is a global Indian another platform, thus rehashed consumer. There is a complex mix of content is still in demand. Content is glocal socio cultural insights that the flowing like water across the OTT players have been following, platforms, and consumers are which is a reflection of the consumer sampling it across platforms. There of today. has been a dearth of freshly created content with strong fandom. Thus Radio brought in the promise of audio-visual content is rapidly proving music on the go. It delivered the to be platform agnostic. As against promise of music content this, there will be a strong demand of consumption for decades. The freshly created content specific to emerging OTT platforms were OTT platform. The originally observed engaging the younger produced content for the platform consumers with a high consumption. will define the growth of a particular The content market is awaiting a big OTT platform. transition. The linearity of consumption is getting redefined. Following the availability of internet The narratives are getting shorter. through mobile phones at a massive The series seasons were seen getting scale and low rates, the internet dark realigned to international standards zones, especially the semi urban and of one hour and ten episodes. rural areas have got access to content. Many of these users are first While many different content ideas generation OTT content consumers. were tried, content like Black Mirror: Since these areas are non urban Bandersnatch with interactive areas, which are supposed to have an narrative was a true innovation for inflow of mainstream content, the viewers. This may attract more and new consumers have been attracted more Indian content creators to to regional content. A combination of redefine their narrative style. Looking regional promise on an AVOD at how the gaming and live content platform works very well for such streams are growing, emerging tech regional markets. India is also about driven content like nonlinear content, narratives, there are far more untold interactive narratives, multiple stories in these regional markets, platform narratives, immersive compared to those in the content will be explored by the mainstream Indian content markets. content creators in the time to come. Once these will be told, the Indian Since many new platforms are content market will become truly dependent on syndicated content for dynamic in the years to come. their volume, the original content with pave the way for new engagement tactics.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 19 20 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS YouTube Originals are available to subscribers of YouTube Premium account. Although the 79 odd shows span seven Launched May 7th 2008 (India Launch) diﬀerent languages1, English content makes up 86% of the Originals. ARRived, a music reality show featuring the Owned by legendary AR Rahman became India’s solo entry, debuting Google (Alphabet Inc.) in November 2018. Headquarter San Bruno, California, United States Google Play Store Downloads 5 billion+ (for YouTube), India is YouTube’s 100 million+ (YouTube Go and YouTube Music), 50 million+ (YouTube Kids) fastest growing market Unique Users 274 million (March 2019) with 265 million Reach monthly active users2. 93.4% (March 2019) Average Minutes/visitor 7.4 minutes (March 2019) Revenue Model Share of YouTube Originals by Genre AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) Comedy Documentary Drama Family

Reality Action Animation Sciﬁ and Fantasy YouTube’s seamless, user-friendly interface adds to the customer experience. It has a Trending section for music,

7% gaming, news, and movies that have become viral. Its 2% Library and History sections allows its subscribers to quickly access previously. Users can compile their own 8% playlists and catch the trending songs on YouTube Music. 32% Key YouTube Features

Channel Name Subscribers (as on April 2019)

YouTube Music 105 million+ 23% YouTube Movies 79.2 million+

YouTube Sports 75.6 million+

YouTube Gaming 82.1 million+ 15% 5% YouTube Spotlight 28 million+ 8% YouTube Live 9.7 million+

Source: https://www.youtube.com/, Accessed May 2019.

1 English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Turkish 2 https://musically.com/2019/04/11/india-is-youtubes-fastest-growing-market-with-265m-monthly-users/, accessed 28 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 21 The YouTube Share of YouTube Originals By Language 1% 3% Music app 3% 3% 2% 2% registered English 3 million Spanish downloads Korean French within the ﬁrst German week of its Japanese 3 Turkish launch in India . 86%

The YouTube Kids app curates child friendly content for the under 18 audiences. Other noteworthy feature Source: https://www.youtube.com/, Accessed May 2019. is the YouTube Creators Academy and YouTube for Artists, which guides 5 budding YouTubers and Artists Top 10 Subscribed YouTube Channels in the World respectively to launch and grow their Channel Name Subscriber Count (as on April 18, 2019) channels’ subscriber and viewership 94.6 million base using YouTube’s monetization T-Series and Analytics features. There is a PewDiePie 94.3 million YouTube TV feature oﬀering live TV 5-Minute Crafts 53.9 million from 70+ networks, however this is only accessible to subscribers in the Canal Kondzilla 48.5 million

United States. SET India 46 million

Justin Bieber 44.3 million 85% users accessed Cocomelon-Nursery Rhymes 44.3 million YouTube on the WWE 42.1 million mobile phone4 Dude Perfect 41.3 million

The Top 10 subscribed YouTubers in HolaSoyGerman 38.8 million the world include independent Source: socialblade.com, Accessed May 2019. YouTube creators (PewDiePie, HolaSoyGerman), music and entertainment labels (T-Series, Justin Bieber), sporting content (WWE), and kids’ content (Cocomelon-Nursery Rhymes).

3 https://musically.com/2019/04/09/youtube-music-hits-3m-downloads-in-one-week-in-india/, accessed 28 May 2019. 4 http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2019/apr/09/85-users-access-youtube-on-mobile-phones-1962290.html, accessed 28 May 2019. 5 This excludes YouTube’s own channels such as YouTube Music, YouTube Movies etc.

22 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Top Subscriber based across Unlike the international territories, YouTube Catagories in India in 2018 (in million) where native content creators like Pewdiepie triumph corporate labels on YouTube, it is largely the Music 340.67 established entertainment labels that command the stronghold among Entertainment 226.17 Indian channels.

News & Politics 111.94 Based on its review of 2900 Indian YouTube channels’ views and subscribers, Data analytics ﬁrm Films 108.49 Vidooly reveals that music, entertainment, and news formed the Comedy 101.57 top three subscribed categories on YouTube in 20186.

Education 74.68 A single video in the

Kids 74.06 entertainment category gets 10,000 7 People & Blogs 55.19 views on an average

How-to & Style 52.54 The Top 10 subscribed YouTube channel conﬁrm this claim; the T-Series currently label towers over Food 36.29 YouTube as the most subscribed channel globally. Besides the Science & Technology 32.07 predominance of Hindi, subscription of Punjabi and Bhojpuri channels like Speed Records and Wave Music also Animation 18.86 ﬂourished. YouTube has also become the go-to zone for children, with Health & Fitness 12.44 ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes & Kids emerging the most subscribed Indian 8 Sports 6.41 educational channel . Three of its videos have already surpassed the billion mark9, an unprecedented Auto & Vehicles 5.44 achievement for an Indian YouTube channel. Travel & Events 5.01 60% of the watch Pets & Animals 4.14 time on YouTube is happening outside Gaming 2.73 the six metro areas10.

Source: Vidooly Analytics

6 https://qz.com/india/1527590/t-series-chuchu-tv-amit-bhadana-won-indian-youtube-in-2018/, accessed 28 May 2019. 7 https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/53164_ChuChu-TV-on-YouTube-is-the-most-watched-channel-in-education-category-Vidooly-Report, accessed 28 May 2019. 8 https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/53164_ChuChu-TV-on-YouTube-is-the-most-watched-channel-in-education-category-Vidooly-Report, accessed 28 May 2019. 9 Johny Johny Yes Papa and Many More Videos; Phonetic Songs with Two Words – A For Apple; Surprise Eggs Nursery Rhymes, accessed 28 May 2019. 10 https://musically.com/2019/04/09/youtube-music-hits-3m-downloads-in-one-week-in-india/, accessed 28 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 23 Over 250 Top 10 Subscribed Indian YouTube Channels Channel Name Subscriber Count (as on April 18, 2019) million people T-Series 94.6 million watched music SET India 46 million 11 Zee Music Company 35 million on YouTube Zee TV 26.6 million

Music content, from either movie Sony Music India 24.7 million soundtracks or independent artists, Wave Music 23.7 million made majority of the top watched ChuChu TV Nursery Rhymes & Kids 23 million Hindi content on YouTube. An exception includes Jingle Toons’ Hindi Goldmines Teleﬁlms 22.6 million nursery rhyme for children. A Speed Records 22.5 million separate section in this report Shemaroo Filmi Gaane 22.4 million highlights the most watched YouTube content in the various Indian regional Source: socialblade.com, Accessed May 2019. languages besides Hindi. According to Google, 97% of the content consumed on YouTube is in the regional languages12.

Popular Hindi YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial music video from the 2017 Bollywood ﬁlm Tiger Zinda Hai Music Swag Se Swagat Song featuring Salman 20-Nov-17 739 million 739 million YRF (Soundtrack) Khan and Katrina Kaif. Singers: Vishal Dadlani, Neha Bhasin

Song by Neha Music Zee Mile Ho Tum Kakkar from the (Album/ 27-Jun-16 723 million 3.7 million Music Reprise Version album Fever. Independent) Company

Nani Teri Morni Animation/ Jingle Nursery rhymes 11-Mar-16 644 million 1.4 million Ko Mor Le Gaye for children. Kids Music Toons

24 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Ustad Song by Rahat Rahat Fateh Music Rahat Fateh Ali Khan Ali Khan - (Album/ 8-Jun-14 651.7 million 2.4 million Fateh from the album Zaroori Tha Independent) Ali Khan Back 2 Love. PME

Oﬃcial music video from the 2017 Bollywood ﬁlm Badri Ki Dulhania Badri Ki Dulhania Music featuring Varun 6-Feb-17 549.5 million 1.3 million T-Series Title Track (Soundtrack) Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. Singers - Dev Negi, Neha Kakkar, Monali Thakur, Ikka.

Oﬃcial music video from the 2016 Bollywood ﬁlm Baar Baar Dekho featuring Music Zee Music Kala Chashma Katrina Kaif and 26-Jul-16 537.5 million 1.4 million (Soundtrack) Company Sidharth Malhotra. Singers - Amar Arshi, Badshah, Neha Kakkar.

Official music video from the 2016 Bollywood film Nashe Si Chadh Music Befikre featuring 18-Oct-16 523.8 million 1 million YRF Gayi Song (Soundtrack) Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor. Singer – Arijit Singh

Oﬃcial music video from the 2017 Bollywood ﬁlm Tiger Music Dil Diyan Gallan Zinda Hai featuring 2-Dec-17 509.1 million 2.2 million YRF Salman Khan and (Soundtrack) Katrina Kaif. Singer: Atif Aslam

Oﬃcial music video from the 2019 Bollywood ﬁlm Simmba featuring SIMMBA: Music Ranveer Singh and 5-Dec-18 503.5 million 2.7 million T-Series Aankh Marey (Soundtrack) Sara Ali Khan. Singers: Neha Kakkar, Kumar Sanu, Mika Singh

Oﬃcial music video from the 2018 Bollywood ﬁlm Satyameva Jayate Music DILBAR Lyrical featuring Ranveer 9-Jul-18 499.1 million 1.9 million T-Series (Soundtrack) Singh and Sara Ali Khan. Singers: Neha Kakkar, Kumar Sanu, Mika Singh

Source: https://www.youtube.com/, Accessed May 2019.

11 A billion screens of opportunity: India's Media & Entertainment sector (March 2019, p. 113, Rep.). (2019). New Delhi: FICCI and Ernst & Young LLP. 12 A billion screens of opportunity: India's Media & Entertainment sector (March 2019, p. 112, Rep.). (2019). New Delhi: FICCI and Ernst & Young LLP.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 25 The beauty of YouTube is the High-Traction YouTube Channels by freedom it oﬀers its creators from Independent Content Creators Based in India across the world to display their Subscribers Total Views opinions/talent/experiences, be it Channel Name Content Type (as on April 18, 2019) (as on April 18, 2019) cooking, singing, stand-up comedy, skits, make-up tutorials, challenges BB Ki Vines Comedy 13.4 million 1.69 billion etc., and become social media Technical Guruji Tech 12.4 million 1.15 billion inﬂuencers. Sandeep Maheshwari Inspirational 9.9 million 530 million There are over Vidya Vox Music 5.7 million 606 million Nisha Madhulika Food 6.9 million 1.2 billion 1200 Indian FactTechz Science 9 million 635 million YouTubers with Shruti Raj Anand Beauty 3.6 million 559 million Aayu and Pihu Show Kids 2.2 million 576 million 1 million+ Rohit Khatri Fitness Fitness 3.2 million 177 million subscribers13. LiveToDance with Sonali Dance 1.7 million 237 million CarryisLive Gaming 1.9 million 171 million

Dhruv Rathee Politics 1.8 million 100 million

AVRprankTV Pranks 5 million 560 million

Sarpmitra Akash Jadhav Animals 1.9 million 284 million

Swami Ramdev Spiritual 2.1 million 275 million

Farming Leader Agriculture 1.5 million 122 million

Sejal Kumar Fashion 1 million 124 million

Wiﬁstudy Education 7.6 million 748 million

Source: https://www.youtube.com/, Accessed May 2019.

13 http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2019/apr/09/85-users-access-youtube-on-mobile-phones-1962290.html, accessed 28 May 2019.

26 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 With 500 million users expected to YouTube consume video entertainment in GroupM is the India by 2020, the popular brands too remained the have raised their stakes in digital largest buyer advertising to reach out to largest platform consumers. The top ten ads on of YouTube in YouTube in 2018 together made up 16 for digital 18 million hours of watch time and India . over 423 million+ views15 . advertising14.

Top Watched Advertisements on YouTube – 2019

Company Category Name of the Commercial Views (as on April 19th, 2019)

Hyundai Celebrating 20 Years of 222 million Automobile Brilliant Moments

Samsung Bixby Voice Assistant-MND 201 million Samsung Tech mother helps daughter with #VoiceForever

Make up oﬀ in 1 swipe with Garnier India Beauty Garnier Micellar Water - 73.4 million Now at Rs.175 for 125ml

Get Phone se loan in 3 simple steps Indiabulls (Dhani) Finance 63.7 million directly in your bank account.

Honda Automobile Honda New Corporate TVC 53.8 million

Kwality Wall's Food New Kwality Wall’s Family Packs 48.7 million

Tata Motors Automobile Reach For A Dream | 46.9 million #ChaseTheSupermoon

#MoveForward with Uber - Badhte Transportation Consumer Uber Chalein Feat. Virat Kohli 37.5 million

OPPO F7 - Real Support Oppo India Electronics 31.9 million Makes Real Hero

iPhone - Unlock - Apple Apple Tech Video Unavailable

Source: https://www.youtube.com/, Accessed May 2019.

14 A billion screens of opportunity: India's Media & Entertainment sector (March 2019, p. 117, Rep.). (2019). New Delhi: FICCI and Ernst & Young LLP. 15 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/youtube-unveils-the-top-indian-ads-watched-in-2018/67023205, accessed 28 May 2019. 16 https://www.televisionpost.com/groupm-is-the-largest-buyer-of-youtube-in-india-mark-patterson/, accessed 28 May 2019. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 27 Political Advertising on Social Media: Over 3.76 crores were by political parties in advertising on Google and aﬃliated platforms like YouTube.

#BharatWins: T-Series Vs Pewdiepie

Swedish YouTuber Pewdiepie, the longstanding highest subscribed YouTuber in the world, went into a full-blown online battle with T-Series, India’s top music and pop culture brand, after the latter’s subscription count threatened to end his reign. Variety deemed the situation akin a ‘cultural war’ for YouTube, pitting a native content creator against a corporate label. The tussle saw Pewdiepie aiming diss tracks against T-Series, subsequently banned in India after the Delhi High Court order, T-Series launching a #BharatWins campaign on social media, and countless memes and jibes traded by fans of both. Finally, in 2019, T-Series beat Pewdiepie and became the most subscribed channel on YouTube.

Subscribers (as on April 18th, 2019)

PewdiePie – 94.38 million T-Series – 94.63 million

Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party spent INR 1.48 crores, followed by The Ruling Party Bharatiya Janata Party (INR 1.21 crores)17.

The Battle Between T-Series and Pewdiepie

100 93.36 92.23 90 79.41 80 78.35 70 66.59 63.79 61.85 60 57.37 58.82 64.17 55.99

50 50.86 40 40.58 30 31.28

20 25.43 20.76

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Source: socialblade.com

T-Series Pewdiepie

17 https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/bjp-leads-in-advertising-on-google-youtube-with-rs-1-21-crore-spend/story-pvZoP28DRIm0R5fTobVsWO.html, accessed 28 May 2019.

28 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 YouTube Total Unique Visitors (000) Between April 2018 and March 2019

Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population

300000 274249 273788 273188 273965 274030 254947 255464 256892 257157 256381 257392 256590

250000 252827 254303 43758 44403 41563 237377 236930 237853 237503 236885 237574 237290 200000

150000

100000

50000 44217 38553 38690 38450 39310 39552 38427 37845 45146 253770 252969 254660 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Key Measures of the Platform most of the internet users are on the YouTube recorded 274 million total platform, saturating the growth poten- unique viewers in March 2019, tial. 144177 million minutes were occupying a 93.4% reach. The change spent on the platform in total, with an is limited since last March because average of 7.4 minutes per visitor.

Change in Total Unique Viewership Between April 2018 and March 2019

Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change

Total Digital Population 2,29,443 2,74,030 19%

Mobile 2,12,648 2,54,660 20%

Desktop 33466 41563 24%

Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 29 YouTube Mobile App March 2019

Total Unique Total Average Minutes Media Visitors (000) Minutes (000) per Visitor

YouTube 249,954 128,164,304 512.8

YouTube Music 11,219 109,286 9.7

YouTube Studio 4461 163,005 36.5

YouTube Go 2772 197,788 71.3

YouTube Kids 1217 247,292 203.3

YouTube Gaming 1135 15,520 13.7

Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019

YouTube’s consumption heavily tilts terms of the unique visitors. YouTube towards mobile app, which has a Kids meanwhile shows a high usage of 512.8 minutes per visitor. audience stickiness despite having Among YouTube’s other oﬀerings, the relatively lower total unique visitors. mobile app of YouTube Music leads in

YouTube Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 1161 6-14 1054

15-24 71685 15-24 33004

25 - 34 57559 25 - 34 30379

35 + 49667 35 + 29521

All Males 180072 All Females 93958

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Consumer Demographics YouTube remains skewed towards Males between 15-34 Consumption male audiences, with its male-female drive 47% of the overall consumption ratio of 66:33 consistent with the on YouTube. previous year.

30 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Asia-Paciﬁc is the second largest Ad Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019) Recent Region % Comp Europe 28.8 Developments Asia Paciﬁc 24.8 Latin America 16.8 Features North America 14.8 Both the free and paid versions of Middle East-Africa 14.8 YouTube Music launched in India in March 201918.

For the week April 5th-11th 2019, three World Metrix Indians featured (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, among the Top 10 March 2019) Global artists in Top ad categories Most advertised on Music – Alka Yagnik, Retail Multi-Category Media & Entertainment Retail Neha Kakkar, and Education Search/Navigation 19 Computers & Technology Entertainment Kumar Sanu . Travel Service

YouTube is deepening its investment in interactive originals and live specials20.

YouTube is pushing back on its paywall content. It unveiled in May 2019 nine new original programmes, which will be available free this year21.

As a countermeasure to problematic user-generated content on YouTube22, the company plans to hire human raters to evaluate the content, understand local tastes, and improve the platform’s recommendation engines. This will be implemented in US ﬁrst then expanded to 20 other countries23.

YouTube made up 40% of the digital revenues for music labels24.

18 https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/youtube-music-youtube-premium-debut-in-india-3639551.html, accessed 28 May 2019. 19 https://charts.youtube.com/charts/TopArtists/global, accessed 28 May 2019. 20 https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/youtube-ben-relles-interactive-original-content-1203184576/, accessed 28 May 2019. 21 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/media/youtube-unveils-nine-new-originals-for-free-streaming/69158608, accessed 28 May 2019. 22 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/business/youtube-ceo-susan-wojcicki.html, accessed 28 May 2019. 23 http://www.forbesindia.com/tech/news-analysis/youtube-ceo-susan-wojcicki-says-borderline-videos-are-a-big-pain-point-on-the-platform-6470741.html, accessed 28 May 2019. 24 A billion screens of opportunity: India's Media & Entertainment sector (March 2019, p. 205, Rep.). (2019). New Delhi: FICCI and Ernst & Young LLP. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 31 32 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS Hotstar, India’s largest OTT streaming service largely relies on Star India’s enormous content library. Its audience base Launched primarily views either sports or catch-up TV entertainment. February 2015 The 12 web-exclusive shows are majorly in Hindi and Owned by English with a larger share of comedy, romance, and drama Novi Digital Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. genres. (Subsidiary of Star India Pvt. Ltd, now owned by The Walt Disney Company) Headquarter Mumbai, Maharashtra Total Downloads 350 million1 Share of Hotstar Originals by Language Google Play Store Downloads English Hindi Tamil Telugu 100 million+ Subscribers 700K paid subscribers as of July 20182 7% Unique Users 6% 128.5 million (March 2019) 27% Reach 43.8% (March 2019) Average Minutes/visitor 13.4 minutes (March 2019) Popularity Rankings No 1 both by downloads and monthly average users and No 2 in Revenue for apps in entertainment (MAU)3 (App Annie) Revenue Model 60% AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)

Source: Hotstar.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://www.headlinesoftoday.com/tech/tech-news/hotstar-to-ramp-up-its-original-content-invest-rs-120-crore.html, accessed 29 May 2019. 2 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/companies/hotstar-gets-rs-516cr-valued-at-rs-1850cr/articleshow/65394288.cms, accessed 29 May 2019. 3 A billion screens of opportunity: India's Media & Entertainment sector (March 2019, p. 113, Rep.). (2019). New Delhi: FICCI and Ernst & Young LLP. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 33 Hotstar is believed to The eighth and final season of Game of Thrones was simulcast have 69.4 percent of on Hotstar in India6. video streaming app Following the outstanding performance of its sporting content, Hotstar launched Roar of the Lion on Hotstar downloads share in the Specials in March 2019, which features cricketer MS Dhoni. 4 The docuseries narrates the aftermath of the spot-fixing Indian OTT market . scandal faced by Chennai Super Kings in 2013.

The third season of fan-favorite On Air with AIB premiered Original web-exclusive content is definitely on the cards for last September. The comedy troupe offered a hard-hitting Hotstar, which has remained conservative in this regard social commentary on issues ranging from fuel hike to fake compared to the competitors Netflix and Amazon Prime. It news. The second season of another comedy Better Life has tied-up with the content house Applause Foundation had an August premiere. Both shows were Entertainment and 15 major filmmakers including Salman discontinued the platform after one of the cast members Khan, Shekhar Kapoor, and Nagesh Kukunoor mainly for faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment5. The drama productions in over seven languages7. The Indian fourth season of AIB offshoot Abish Mathew’s popular remake of the hugely successful BBC series The Office is YouTube comedy talk show Son of Abish premiered on underway. Hotstar in April 2018, with celebrity guests like Miss Malini and Vicky Kaushal. Hotstar had a In dramas, the trailer of Vikrant Massey and Jackie Shroff starrer Hindi drama Criminal Justice premiered in March record-breaking 11.2 2019. It is an adaptation of an eponymous British mini-series and is expected to premiere on 5th April. million concurrent viewership during India Share of Hotstar Originals by Genre

Comedy Drama Sports vs New Zealand T20 8 Documentary Romance 2019 .

25% 42%

17% 8%

Source: Hotstar.com, Accessed May 2019.

4 VentureBeat. (n.d.). Share of app installs in streaming market across India as of March 2018, by company. In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved April 2, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/915772/india-share-of-app-installs-in-streaming-market-by-company/., accessed 29 May 2019. 5 https://www.ﬁrstpost.com/entertainment/naveen-richard-sumukshi-suresh-on-better-life-foundation-cancellation-one-should-recognise-other-artistes-eﬀorts-5431561.html 6 https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/game-of-thrones-season-8-india-simulcast-hotstar-2015758, accessed 29 May 2019. 7 https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/upheyJzwLPEBLd8Ec4c65O/Hotstar-adds-to-streaming-drama-with-originals.html, accessed 29 May 2019. 8 https://entrackr.com/2019/02/hotstar-streaming-11-2-mn-viewers/, accessed 29 May 2019.

34 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Top ten sports by growth Other Offering TV and cinema potential to grow revenues globally Hotstar has the latest content of 30 content make up 80% TV channels, of which 11 are sports, under Star Network. A Select Picks of Hotstar’s viewership 1. Esports feature handpicks content for users. while the remaining It offers movies in nine languages 20% registered from ranging dramas, thrillers, kids, docu- sports10. 2. Football/Soccer mentary etc. HOOQ offers Hotstar Premium subscribers access to the Hotstar’s other key attraction is the 6000 hours of Hollywood content 14 sports ranging from established from Sony Pictures, Miramax, Lions- categories like cricket and Formula 1 3. Basketball gate and Warner Bros. Nine language to rapidly emerging ones like options are available9. e-sports11.

4. Mass participation sports Hotstar bagged 135 million viewers in the ﬁrst three days 5. Boxing/ martial arts of the VIVO IPL 201912. For IPL 2018, a turnout was over 6. Rugby 202 million.

Hotstar’s total unique viewers have 2018. With a viewership reach of 7. American football risen by 792%, from 14.4 million in 43.8% in March 2019, the platform March 2018 to 128 million in March had almost half the share as YouTube 2019. There have been ups and as compared to 2017-18 where it downs throughout the period, with bested a 30% share at its peak. This is 8. Cycling dips as high as 25% (between May impressive considering Hotstar has and June 2018) witnessed along with only had 4 year-run compared to gains ranging anywhere between 4 to YouTube’s 12-year reign. 19255 9. Tennis 270%. Total unique visitors on mobile million minutes were spent on the has also seen substantial gains platform in March 2019, with an during the period, with the share of average of 13.4 minutes per visit. mobile audience far surpassing Engagement on smartphones is 10. Cricket desktop ﬁgures from 60-65% in much higher at 145.2 minutes per March 2018 to 93-95% post May visitor.

Source: indiesport.com., Accessed May 2019. Hotstar Total Unique Visitors Multi Platform (000) Between April 2018 and March 2019

Mobile App Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population

150000

125254 128523 119252 121779 120000 114006 102003 101130 108667 94726 92315 93699 96149 90832 86095 95832 89290 90000 90298 86116 88691 86166 87000 86432 78919 72647 80561 82935 80051 78435 74631 68303 71672 72323 65439 60000

33889 30000 25788 7486 10290 10546 9475 6806 6266 5641 7911 7067 7885 8078 8329 4230 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

9 Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi, English, Kannada, and Gujarati, accessed 29 May 2019. 10 http://thesiliconreview.in/media-and-entertainment/hotstar-plans-to-invest-rs-120-crore-into-original-content, accessed 29 May 2019. 11 https://www.insidesport.co/esports-poised-to-break-1bn-barrier-in-2019-report/, accessed 29 May 2019. 12 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/hotstar-rolls-out-tvc-for-vivo-ipl-2019-campaign-koiyaarnahifar-95788.html, accessed 29 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 35 Sporting events have majorly Season 6, Indian Super League 2018, contributed to Hotstar’s spike in T20 International, and the recently viewership. The distribution tie-ups concluded 2019 Indian Premier with leading telecom operators like League, in addition to the numerous Airtel and Jio as well as the lowering of bread and butter GEC dramas under Hotstar’s annual subscription plan, the Star banner, continued to sustain the launch of the sports only Hotstar in the coming months. subscription pack at INR 299 per year prior to the Indian Premier League Another notable phenomenon is the 2018 (IPL) tournament contributed to 2588% boom in Hotstar mobile app the exceptional numbers in May viewership, from a mere 4 million 2018, with an expected post-IPL fall in visitors in March 2018 to 108 million the viewership. in March 2019. Besides the various telecom tie-ups ﬂourishing consump- Properties like the 2018 Asia Cup, tion of the Hotstar mobile app, user Bigg Boss Telugu shored up engagement has also been driven viewership in September. Adding through interactive in-app features HOOQ’s 6000-hours of content like Watch’NPlay during IPL13, library in October, Koﬀee With Karan

Change in Total Unique Viewership Between April 2018 and March 2019

Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change

Total Digital Population 14,441 1,28,523 792%

Mobile 9444 1,21,779 1189%

Desktop 6398 10290 61%

Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019

Consumer Demographics Hotstar’s demographic tilt to male men’s interest genre, is likely one of audiences remains unchanged, who the contributing factors. The 15-24 made up 69% of the platform’s age group remains the largest consumption in March 2019. The viewers among both females and sports heavy content, generally a males.

Hotstar Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 236 6-14 121

15-24 36137 15-24 16654

25 - 34 28440 25 - 34 13348

35 + 23815 35 + 9772

All Males 88628 All Females 39895

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

13 https://yourstory.com/2018/04/what-driving-hotstar-record-viewership-ipl-2018, accessed 29 May 2019.

36 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Consumption of Hotstar is the highest in the Asia Pacific region. Ad Metrix North America emerged as the third largest market with Star India (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, network pulling off its shows from March 2019) cable TV in the US and Canada and Most advertised on making Hotstar the exclusive Top ad categories: streaming destination14. Online Media Entertainment Consumer Goods Multi-Category Computers & Technology News/Information Recent Retail Search/Navigation Developments Education Services Features In a first, Hotstar put the IPL and other sports behind an annual INR World Metrix 299 paywall with 10-minutes of free viewing15. (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019) Hotstar VIP subscription service gives users exclusive access to Hotstar Region % Comp Specials content and Star network Asia Pacific 87.4 serials before the scheduled televi- Middle East-Africa 6.7 sion timing. Users under this service North America 4.2 can avail a Pay By Cash option. Europe 1.5 Hotstar All Annual Sports will be automatically updated to this plan without additional charge16.

In eﬀorts to boost advertising revenues, Hotstar introduced age, gender, and demography based targeted advertising for the IPL 2019. Its digital streaming partners include Amazon Pay, Swiggy, and Maruti Suzuki among others17. To boost user engagement during the event, a live comments feature and a VR game have been launched as well.

14 http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/star-india-us-hotstar-ott-channel, accessed 29 May 2019. 15 https://www.televisionpost.com/star-to-monetise-ipl-on-hotstar-with-a-mix-of-subs-ad-rev/, accessed 29 May 2019. 16 https://inc42.com/buzz/hotstar-launches-new-subscription-service-hotstar-vip/, accessed 29 May 2019. 17 https://www.livemint.com/industry/media/hotstar-to-introduce-targeted-ads-during-ipl-2019-1551998257957.html, accessed 29 May 2019. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 37 Funding and Revenues Hotstar received INR 516 crore in funding from Star US in July 201818 and INR 1066 crore from both Star India and Star US in March 2019. It fetched revenues of INR 569 crores in the quarter ending June 201819. These investments might come in the aid of the INR 489 crore losses incurred by the company in 2016-1720. The streaming giant is investing INR 120 crore towards original content 21.

Hotstar believes its AVOD-SVOD blended model and mass subscription service are its winning strategies22.

Partnerships Hotstar partnered with South East Asian streaming service HOOQ in October to widen its content library. HOOQ, a relatively minor player in the Indian market, now reaps beneﬁts of Hotstar’s extensive reach23. This development comes at a time when Hollywood cinema contributed a healthy 10% of the total Indian ﬁlm business in 2018.

18 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/hotstar-gets-rs-516-crore-valued-at-rs-1850-crore/articleshow/65396201.cms, accessed 29 May 2019. 19 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/media/hotstar-gets-fresh-funds-of-rs-1066-crore-from-star-india-and-star-us/68418280, accessed 29 May 2019. 20 https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/hotstar-gets-a-dose-of-capital-2018-sees-infusion-of-74-million/1516687/, accessed 29 May 2019. 21 https://www.headlinesoftoday.com/tech/tech-news/hotstar-to-ramp-up-its-original-content-invest-rs-120-crore.html, accessed 29 May 2019. 22 https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/streaming-firm-hotstar-sees-blended-revenues-as-winning-strategy-2852521.html, accessed 29 May 2019. 23 http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/hooq-hotstar-enter-unique-strategic-partnership-181009, accessed 29 May 2019. 38 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 The way people are consuming entertainment across the globe is changing rapidly. India is no different. Thanks to inexpensive smartphones, cheaper data, and wider 4G networks, an ever increasing number of people are consuming content on digital screens across the country, and more specifically on mobile.

At Hotstar, we believe in delivering a path-breaking experience to our viewers, and the fact that we clocked viewership of 300+ million during the IPL this year over last year’s 202 million is a testament to our growth. We even blew past our own global record with 25.3 million simultaneous viewers during the India vs New Zealand semi-ﬁnal match in the ICC Cricket World Cup. Be it the ability to provide glitch-free live sports streaming for millions simultaneously, augmenting the experience with gaming and social features through Watch-n-Play, or re-imagining storytelling through our Hotstar Specials - we're constantly pushing the boundaries on bringing the best experience to our users and with that continue to set new benchmarks for video streaming.

Not only is Hotstar the largest premium entertainment platform in India or the leading destination for sports, it is a platform that is truly for every Indian. Today we have over 100,000 hours of content across languages, while our platform itself is available in 8 Indian languages. The Hotstar VIP subscription helps us get one step closer to the audience by bringing them the latest Hotstar Specials in 7 languages, early access to their favorite television content, and all live sports. With Hotstar Specials we aim to bring alive disruptive, authentic and larger than life stories that are created by some of the best storytellers of India. We want to allow for great creative expression that is not restricted to formats or genres and are excited by the endless opportunities of storytelling that spans the length and breadth of the country.

But for us, it doesn’t stop merely at bringing content to a single window; it goes beyond. Our ability to make it engaging and interactive is what truly redeﬁnes the way people are consuming content. At Hotstar, we believe the future of TV has not been invented yet.

Varun Narang Chief Product Oﬃcer, Hotstar

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 39 40 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Oﬀerings JioTV SNIPPETS JioTV has not ventured into original content and instead provides its subscribers with an assortment of Live (600+) Launched September 2016 and HD (100+) channels, on the go, over their internet-enabled devices. Users have options of content in Owned by 15+ languages and the freedom to pause over live Reliance Jio Infocomm broadcasts as well as catch-up with shows up to seven days Headquarter Mumbai, Maharashtra Network Subscribers 280 million+1(Dec 2018) TV Channels by Language Revenue Model Bundled free for and exclusively Hindi Gujarati Bhojpuri Bengali for Jio subscribers.

Assamese English Urdu Tamil Punjabi Odia Marathi Malayalam JioTV Kannada Others (French, Nepali) Google Play Store Downloads 100 million+

6% Unique Users 2% 74.5 million (mobile app; March 2019) 4% 2% Reach 27.9% (mobile app; March 2019)

33% Average Minutes/visitor 107.9 minutes (mobile app; March 2019)

20% Popularity Rankings No 2 by downloads and No 3 by monthly average users for apps in entertainment (MAU) (App Annie)

0% 5% 1% JioCinema 10% 6% Google Play Store Downloads 50 million+ 4% 3% 4%

Source: JioTV App, Accessed May 2019.

1https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom-news/jio-added-8-56-million-users-in-december-vodaidea-airtel-lose-users/ articleshow/68081995.cms?from=mdr, accessed 29 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 41 JioTV features the best of channels JioTV Channels by Genre covering categories like entertainment, News, Sports, Kids, Regional2 amongst various others. 5% News The choices in channels as well as 9% Kids telecast of the most popular shows in India like Kumkum Bhagya, Taarak Entertainment Mehta ka Ooltah Chashmah and live 8% 8% 34% Sports cricket and tennis3, have captured the 1%1% attention of many Indian households. Devotional 2% 2% Between August and September 2018, users were unable to view any Lifestyle

Zee Entertainment channels on JioTV 10% 10% Movies due to pricing disagreements between the two players. 4% Music Subsequently, a renegotiation deal 6% Business brought back all 37 Zee 21% Entertainment channels as well as the Infotainment addition of the Zee5 app content on JioTV4. Source: JioTV App, Accessed May 2019. Key Measures of the Platform JioTV’s total unique visitors improved JioTV Total Unique Visitors (000) from 31.1 million viewers in March Between April 2018 and March 2019 2018 to 74.5 million in March 2019, a 139% change. JioTV currently has a 100000 reach of 27.9%, nearly half of the video OTT market leader Hotstar. A total of 8037 million minutes were 85321 consumed in March 19, with a strong average of 107.9 minutes per visitor. 80000 76836 75441 74895 74503 71044 72646 69313

70161 69118 67894 66917

60000 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

2 https://www.medianama.com/2018/09/223-jiotv-hotstar-india-cricket-matches/, accessed 29 May 2019. 3 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/mobile/reliance-jio-star-signs-5-yr-deal-to-offer-india-cricket-matches-on-jiotv/65901365, accessed 29 May 2019. 4 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/zee-channels-back-on-jiotv/articleshow/66140339.cms, accessed 29 May 2019. 42 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Offerings – JioCinema Recent JioCinema subscribers presently have access to syndicated original matter Developments from independent content houses like AltBalaji7, Eros Now, Filter Copy, JioTV Play Store Voot, and Arre. The company also offers over 1 lakh+ hours of content downloads have including movies, 140+ television doubled in the last shows, trailers, music videos, short one year. clips etc. These are available in Hindi, English, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Partnerships Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Punjabi. Reliance Jio has made significant JioCinema also has a JioKids section investments in sports content. In which hosts a wide variety of September 2018, it struck a 5-year animated shows and movies, kid deal with Star India giving its users friendly movies, nursery rhymes that access to live cricket broadcast of have both of entertainment and matches of all formats organized by educational -values. the BCCI. JioTV users also have the exclusive advantage to view the live streaming of the Vivo IPL 2019 Recent matches free via Star India services on Hotstar5. Developments Partnering with Jio allows access to its Partnerships vast subscriber base. In addition to its As on December 2018, JioCinema partnerships with content house added Disney content to its shoulder, Arre, JioTV has fresh content thus expanding its content stream streaming in from Q India (QYou into the Marvel, Lucas and Pixar Media), currently showing Curly Tales universe. An update to the JioCinema and Home Cooking Show6. app has a designated Disney division, which is accessible once users share the link with a minimum of five friends over social media8.

Reliance Jio, in association with Intex Televisions, launched a range of brand new 4K Television models towards the end of 2018 wherein the television have an inbuilt Jio Cinema app9.

5 https://www.medianama.com/2018/09/223-jiotv-hotstar-india-cricket-matches/, accessed 29 May 2019. 6 https://www.televisionpost.com/qyou-launches-india-service-on-jiotv-signs-up-new-content-partners/, accessed 29 May 2019. 7 https://www.datareign.com/reliance-jio-altbalaji-original-content-jiocinema-jiotv.html, accessed 29 May 2019. 8 https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/jiocinema-to-host-content-from-disney-india/67277255, accessed 29 May 2019. 9 https://www.bgr.in/news/intex-4k-uhd-smart-tv-launched-november-2018-integrated-jio-cinema-app-price-starts-rs-52990/, accessed 29 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 43 44 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS Voot has 16 Originals on its platform, largely in the genres of comedy and drama followed by reality and romance. Launched While the shows were exclusively in Hindi last year, this March 2016 year’s additions include Kannada and English language Owned by content as well. Viacom 18 Headquarter Voot has commissioned Mumbai, Maharashtra Total Downloads around 18 hours of 115 million+1 3 Google Play Store Downloads drama content this year . 50 million+

On the heels of the popularity of Indian talk shows offering Unique Users a candid glimpse of the lives of Bollywood celebrities 22.5 million (Koffee With Karan), Voot launched Feet Up With the Stars. Average Minutes/visitor Hosted by the renowned fashion stylists and fashion 3.8 minutes (Mobile app only; March 2019) director Anaita Shroff Adajania, it has featured guests like Radhika Apte and Ayushmann Khurrana. Popularity Rankings No 7 by downloads and No 8 in monthly average users for video app in Share of Voot Originals by Genre entertainment (MAU)2 (App Annie)

Comedy Romance Reality Revenue Model Drama Talk Show AVOD (Soon to Be Freemium)

27% 20%

20%

27%

Source: Voot.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://www.medianama.com/2019/01/223-network18-earnings-q3fy19/, accessed 25 May 2019. 2 A billion screens of opportunity: India's Media & Entertainment sector (March 2019, p. 113, Rep.). (2019). New Delhi: FICCI and Ernst & Young LLP. 3 https://tbivision.com/2018/12/04/viacoms-voot-joins-the-premium-ranks/, accessed 25 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 45 Comediga and Just Car Caralli mark Voot’s foray into the Content Viewing Share on Voot much underserved Kannada market space4. Just Car Caralli features interviews with well-known celebs like Rashmika Catch-Up Content Voot Original + Kids Content

Mandanna and Rakshit Shetty. Meanwhile, Comediga is a Shoulder Content (e.g. Bigg Boss & Roadies Digital Exclusive) stand-up comedy series oﬀering a platform for regional talents like Sunetra Pandit and Pavan Venugopal.

In News! Well-known 20% Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi marks his Voot debut in the upcoming 60% 20% Original series .

To diversify its content pool, Voot launched Original short ﬁlms in February 2019 as part of ShortCuts, produced by Tipping Point, Viacom18 Studios’ digital content arm. Over 12 shorts have been uploaded yet. The stories are hyped as ‘edgy and provocative’ and are ready to rival similar Source: TBVision.com, Accessed May 2019. oﬀerings by competitors like ALTBalaji etc5.

Voot Originals forms a minor viewership share on the platform as compared to the catch-up content and the ‘shoulder content’ (i.e. extra footage from popular TV shows like Roadies and Bigg Boss uploaded on Voot as digital exclusives)6.

Millennials Drive the Digitals: The millennial-driven MTV has 400-450 million consumers on TV, with 100-150 million using their digital service, VOOT7. Over 8.5 billion minutes of MTV content were consumed on Voot in the last 12 months8.

Other Oﬀering Voot oﬀers its viewers the content library of Viacom18, which includes catch-up TV of 11 entertainment channels and 16 news channels. Eight language options are available9. Voot also has video content from independent media companies Vice Media and Firstpost.

Rise of the Gully Boy: Vice Media’s ﬁrst documentary Kya Bolta Bantai? premiered on Voot and chronicles the rise of gully rap in India10.

4 https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/indian-streaming-platforms-original-production-1203166281/, accessed 25 May 2019. 5 https://www.televisionpost.com/voot-to-launch-12-short-films-in-feb-produced-by-tipping-point/, accessed 25 May 2019. 6 https://tbivision.com/2018/12/04/viacoms-voot-joins-the-premium-ranks/, accessed 25 May 2019. 7 http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2019/mar/17/tv-turns-interactive-to-bring-home-genz-1952208.html, accessed 25 May 2019. 8 https://www.televisionpost.com/gen-z-offers-opportunities-for-more-content-diversity-increased-localisation/, accessed 25 May 2019. 9 Hindi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali 10 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/vice-indias-first-documentary-kya-bolta-bantai-to-premiereon-voot-90805.html, accessed 25 May 2019.

46 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Viewing Share on Voot The platform has also streamed e-sports, an thriving sports category, bringing to India gaming festivals like DreamHack, ESL Pro League Odense 10% 2018. However there events were mired by reports of poor quality of streaming11, the inappropriateness of the platform for such content etc.12.

45% Hindi Voot movies includes popular Hindi English titles such as Bajirao Mastani and

Regional Airlift. Voot Kids meanwhile features children’s most beloved characters like Rudra, Motu Patlu, and Chhoti 45% Anandi and also includes a small collection of kid’s movies.

Key Measures of the Platform Traﬃc on Voot has tapered down in 2018. While the previous year Source:https://www.televisionpost.com/voot-might-launch-subscription-service-in-next-4-5 witnessed a 160% yearly change in -months-akash-banerji/ (Figures are approximate) unique visitors, this year marked a 42% rise with 22.5 million visitors in March 2019 (a 7.7% reach), as Total Unique Visitors Voot (000) compared to 15.8 million in March Between April 2018 and March 2019 2018. Voot is used majorly on mobile

Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population devices (90%), with more than 4/5th of visitors accessing via the Voot 35000 32470 mobile app. A total of 1716 million 31023 30800 minutes were consumed in March 30000 28975 29696 2019, averaging at a low 3.8 minutes 24815 24672 28041 27851 25000 23217 26266 23299 22562 22532 per visitor. A better performance was 22291 22004 24161 23997 observed for the mobile app, at 94.9 19235 21942 22092 22400 20000 21214 20457 20235 20270 20774 18584 average minutes per visitor. 17421 16904 17032 17816 17352 16962 15000 16279 14366 Some months in 2018 namely 10000 April-May, July, and 5000 3491 3229 3379 3352 3643 3515 2754 2435 2573 2382 2097 2146 September-October, brought a rise 0 in the traﬃc. The season three of the Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 hit youth-based series Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan, the 19th IIFA Awards, and Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Bigg Boss 12 all premiered during these months.

Change in Total Unique Viewership Voot’s traﬃc suddenly dip in 2019 Between April 2018 and March 2019 and the lack of tent-pole projects of the scale of Bigg Boss 12 might Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change explain this phenomenon.

Total Digital Population 15840 22532 42%

Mobile 13801 20774 51%

Desktop 2668 2146 -20%

Mobile App 11651 16,962 3%

Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019

11 https://www.talkesport.com/news/how-india-experienced-esports-in-2018-talkesportrewind/, accessed 25 May 2019. 12 https://www.talkesport.com/onpoint/dreamhack-mumbai-a-dream-which-couldnt-come-true/, accessed 25 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 47 Consumer Demographics Voot Audience March 2019 Unlike its competition, Voot witnessed a greater traction in female Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000) visitors as compared to male (45:54) with the 15-24 age group leading 6-14 26 6-14 32 close to half the consumption. The platform includes for its female 15-24 4525 15-24 5986 audiences a range of highly watched 25 - 34 3461 25 - 34 3520 GECs particularly on Viacom 18’s Colors. An example of this is Silsila 35 + 2208 35 + 2775 Badalte Rishto Ka, which was moved All Males 10220 All Females 12313 to Voot in November 2018. Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Recent Developments Ad Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, Features March 2019) Voot plans to launch a subscription service and live-streaming of Top ad categories entertainment channels in the Computers & Technology pipeline. The live TV for entertainment Online Media shall be behind the paywall13. Retail Consumer Goods Education Voot plans to expand both the Hindi and regional bouquet of Voot Originals. Among the upcoming offerings is the thriller drama The Sawaikar Case, starring acclaimed actor Atul Kulkarni14. World Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, From being an entirely advertisement March 2019) driven platform, Voot will roll out a Region % Comp low-cost freemium model by mid-201915. The paywall will include a Asia Pacific 96.5 dedicated product for Voot kids that North America 1.3 shall be education-focused. Voot caters primarily to the Asia-Pacific region. In future, Voot aims to have 60% catch up content and 40% of exclusive and original content16 by adding new content every 4-6 weeks17. It also hopes to expand into over 20 countries with a strong diaspora18.

International Markets Voot made its debut splash in the UK market in November launching 18 multi-lingual web series as well as news content to target the 1.825 million Indian diaspora19.

13 https://www.televisionpost.com/voot-might-launch-subscription-service-in-next-4-5-months-akash-banerji/, accessed 25 May 2019. 14 http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/voot-taps-marathi-ﬁlm-industry-talent-for-the-sawaikar-case-190228, accessed 25 May 2019. 15 https://tbivision.com/2018/12/04/viacoms-voot-joins-the-premium-ranks/, accessed 25 May 2019. 16 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/catalyst/inside-the-content-factory-at-voot/article24885091.ece, accessed 25 May 2019. 17 https://www.televisionpost.com/voot-might-launch-subscription-service-in-next-4-5-months-akash-banerji/, accessed 25 May 2019. 18 https://tbivision.com/2018/12/04/viacoms-voot-joins-the-premium-ranks/, accessed 25 May 2019. 19 https://www.ﬁrstpost.com/business/viacom18s-adverting-led-video-on-demand-platform-voot-to-enter-uk-market-in-november-to-launch-18-premium-web-series-5087361

48 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 With a library of 60,000 hours of content, the consumption on VOOT has grown signiﬁcantly from 34 million+ active users to currently 55 million active users. Our average time spent has also continued to grow and with over 100 billion minutes of watch time we are the 2nd largest Premium Indian AVOD platform. The next milestone is to reach 100 million MAU. Bespoke content and personalized distribution are the key pillars to driving reach and the growth of the platform going forward. We at VOOT are investing substantially in content and you will see an upscaled and immersive content pipeline coming up on VOOT. We have already announced over 30+ premium marquee originals expected to be launched through the year. We have also set up a dedicated Engineering and Technology centre at Bangalore to improve UI/ UX and personalisation.

Sudhanshu Vats Group CEO & MD, Viacom18

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 49 50 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS SonyLIV has 72 shows in its Web Originals section. This marks a minor increase in the catalogue of 20% since last Launched year. Many of these shows are not exclusively January 2013 commissioned or distributed by SonyLIV platform and are Owned by partnerships with independent content factories like Arré, Sony Pictures Networks India The Comic Wallah, Café Marathi etc. They are available for viewing in their entirety on latter’s standalone websites or Headquarter YouTube. 60% of the content tread the popular genres of Mumbai, Maharashtra comedy, drama, and romance while nearly 30% comprises Google Play Store Downloads non-ﬁction reality entertainment and lifestyle videos such 50 million+ as cooking, travel etc. Unique Users 24.5 million (Mar 19) SonyLIV struck a deal with the YouTube content channel TVF to launch the second season of its high-traction show Tripling1. Reach 8.4% (Mar 19) Another content house Dancing Shiva showcased the second season of its well-received All About Section 377, Average Minutes/visitor 2.7 minutes (Mar 19) retitled Still About Section 377 on the platform; the dramedy shatters some of the myths surrounding the Country Focus LGBT community. Investments were also made towards India Marathi web content through the shows Full Tight and Popularity Rankings #Founders. The OTT platform prioritizes high-quality writing 7th - Monthly Active Users, 2 and visual engagement over bold and sensational content . 5th - Downloads and 9th - Revenue for apps in entertainment Web Originals on SonyLIV by Language (MAU) (App Annie) Revenue Model 2% AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand) 15% SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)

8% Hindi

1% Kannada

English

Marathi

74% Gujarati

Source: SonyLiv.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://www.televisionpost.com/tvf-partners-sonyliv-for-second-season-of-web-series-tripling/, accessed 25 May 2019. 2 https://www.iwmbuzz.com/digital/personalities-digital/48573/2019/01/28, accessed 25 May 2019. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 51 The Rising LGBTQ+ Representation on Indian OTT Media

There has been a spike in the conversation around the LGBTQ+ community following the promising verdicts both in Section 377 and the Rights of Transgender Persons. Many of the OTT streaming services have taken cognizance of these developments and are increasingly featuring LGBTQ+ characters as protagonists on OTT shows. SonyLIV’s Still About Section 377, ZEE5’s 377 Ab Normal, Amazon Prime Video’s Four More Shots Please! and Made in Heaven, Netﬂix’s Sacred Games, Voot’s Untag, and ALTBalaji’s Romeo and Jugal are notable names.

Share of SonyLIV by Genre

3% 3%

14% 27% Comedy Romance

Lifestyle Drama

Reality 14% Horror

Thriller

Travel

23%

15% 1%

Source: SonyLiv.com, Accessed May 2019. 70 million viewers tuned in to SonyLIV to watch the FIFA World Cup 20183.

SonyLIV Total Unique Visitors (000) Between April 2018 and March 2019

Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population

40000 35673 34969 33868 35000 32181

30000 32997 32364 32028 28105 27517 26042 24579 23552 23734 28793 25000 26659 23700 20000 22924 22783 21411 21326 15733 15000 14456 10000 5481 4734 3651 3504 2890 4048 5000 2629 2349 1817 2797 2183 3393 1605 1736 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

3 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/sports/record-70-million-viewers-watched-ﬁfa-world-cup-on-sonyliv/articleshow/65032935.cms, accessed 25 May 2019.

52 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Other Offerings Key Measures of the Platform The additional features of SonyLIV SonyLIV’s total unique visitors include Live TV for 29 channels, a changed by 366% from 5.2 million in host of sports, 700+ movies in 8 March 2018 to 24.5 million in March languages, 500 hours of Starz and 2019. The app has a reach of 8.4%, a Lionsgate premium original series as mighty rise compared to 1.9% share part of ‘LionsgatePlay’, 8000+ hours of the universe in March 2018. of food-related videos, limited fitness SonyLIV’s user engagement fell from and kids’ content, among others. 4.5 minutes to 2.7 minutes per visitor Leading English news channel over the period and totaled to 1655 Republic TV and international fashion minutes in March 2019. Mobile users, channels of Fashion TV partnered who contributed over 87% of the with SonyLIV to provide their content traffic, spent an average of 70.1 on the platform4. Sports accounts for minutes; the engagement was higher around 35-40% of SonyLIV’s content. on the mobile app at 80.8 minutes.

SonyLIV’s oﬀerings are partially free SonyLIV had a massive upsurge in and partially behind paywall. visitors between April and July 2018 with the FIFA World Cup 2018 playing pivotal part a in this traction.

Change in Total Unique Viewership Between April 2018 and March 2019

Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change

Total Digital Population 5279 24579 366%

Mobile 3534 22783 -3%

Desktop 2254 2183 545%

Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019

Consumer Demographics SonyLIV continues to be a audience share. The 15-24 age group male-driven platform thanks to its in both genders formed 45% of the sporting content, with a male-female viewership, followed by 35+ age ratio of 68:32 in March 2019. Thanks group. Females above 35 comprised to the platform’s conscious attempts a healthy share of the traﬃc. to boost its female viewership, the proportion of female visitors has increased since last March 2018, where it comprised merely 21%

Hotstar Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 48 6-14 8

15-24 7491 15-24 3526

25 - 34 4914 25 - 34 1242

35 + 4229 35 + 3121

All Males 16682 All Females 7897

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

4 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/sonyliv-and-republic-world-announce-strategic-tie-up-to-expand-digital-presence-89767.html, accessed 25 May 2019. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 53 SonyLIV’s base is primarily in the after acquisition of media rights for Asia-Paciﬁc region. Middle East-Africa events such as T10 Cricket league emerging a minor market, particularly and the like.

Ad Metrix

(ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019)

Top Ad Categories for SonyLIV.Com Consumer Goods Telecommunication Finance Computers & Technology Automotive

World Metrix

(ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019)

Region % Comp Asia Paciﬁc 94.3 Europe 0.8 Middle East-Africa 4.3

Recent Developments Features SonyLIV bundled its live sports into its hours of Lionsgate’s premier existing INR 499 subscription plan content7. and also introduced sachet packs at INR 29 per week5. SonyLIV partnered with the Califor- nia-based leading mobile marketing SonyLIV is working platform CleverTap to improve user experience through video push notiﬁ- towards raising the cations that lets viewers view video female viewership previews in push notiﬁcations even 8 as well as further its when the screen is locked . penetration into SonyLIV also teamed up with Amagi non-metro and to utilize its Thunderstorm cloud-based platform for targeted 6 regional markets . OTT dynamic ad insertion9.

Partnerships Indian ISP provider ACT Fibernet SonyLIV and Lionsgate partnered to partnered with SonyLIV to oﬀer the launch Lionsgate Play in November former’s customer base across 16 2018 which gifted SonyLIV users 500 states access to SonyLIV’s content10.

5 https://www.televisionpost.com/sonyliv-brings-live-sports-under-its-existing-subs-plans-launches-sachet-subs-pack-priced-at-rs-29/, accessed 25 May 2019. 6 The hindu business line: SonyLIV keen to woo more women watchers (2019). . Chatham: Newstex. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/ docview/2171476010?accountid=82913, accessed 25 May 2019. 7 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lionsgate-india-and-sonyliv-partner-to-launch-lionsgate-play-premium-offering-300742378.html, accessed 25 May 2019. 8 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/clevertap-and-sonyliv-partner-to-improve-user-experience-with-video-push-notifications-300768707.html, accessed 25 May 2019. 9 https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/18/09/r12344295/sonyliv-partners-with-amagi-to-further-grow-ott-ad-revenues, accessed 25 May 2019. 10ACT fibernet partners with SonyLIV to strengthen its OTT offerings. (2018). Voice & Data, Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2158158887?accountid=82913

54 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 2018 has been a phenomenal year for SonyLIV where we scaled up our offerings across sports and English content driving a dramatic rise in viewership. FIFA 2018 was an iconic event for us that fetched us a record breaking 70MN viewership, the highest ever for football in India. Cricket continued to be a crowd puller four us with India series of South Africa, England and Australia garnering 25 MN, 30 MN and 50 MN viewers respectively. Interestingly, we managed to develop sizeable interest for even non-cricket sports over last year like Basketball with 1.6X jump in viewers and a 7X jump in time spent on the sport along with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that witnessed a 3X growth in viewership. But our benchmarks weren’t limited to content only. Our consumer engagement initiatives delivered stupendous results, led by KBC Play Along that fetched 69.8% participation from beyond 6 metros with a remarkable high in the Hindi belt. We managed to garner 600 MN interactions last season and hope to double the count this time. With a 3X increase in monthly active users, we kickstarted 2019 with absolute aplomb. Early on, we expanded our services in Tamil and Telugu announcing 4000 hours of content across both languages spanning web originals, films and TV shows. Adding to our extensive portfolio of originals, we launched a slice of life series Gullak in Hindi that gained favour amongst the audience. Continuing with our efforts of being digital pioneers, SonyLIV also announced the launch of India’s biggest OTT gaming destination with Multiplayer Video Quiz, Augmented Reality formats and games on SPN’s most popular shows ever. SonyLIV’s consumer footprint today extends to Middle East with services across UAE, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain. For the ease of our consumers and convenient in-app purchases, we have partnered with a host of brands like BHIM, Google Pay, Paytm, Phone-Pe and PayPal. Today, SonyLIV is one of the leading apps in India to cross the landmark of 100 MN downloads on Play Store. Moving forward, we will continue to innovate the digital streaming experience further and diversify our content portfolio to stay ahead of the curve.

Mr. Uday Sodhi, Executive Vice President and Head - Digital Business Sony Pictures Networks (SPN)

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 55 56 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS “India has the biggest Launched December 2016 set of originals for Prime Owned by Video outside of the US.” Amazon Headquarter - Jennifer Salke, Head, Amazon Studios Seattle, Washington, USA Google Play Store Downloads 100 million+ Share of Amazon Prime Originals By Genre Unique Users Action Comedy Documentary Drama 23.1 million (Mobile App Only; March 2019) Reality Romance Kids/Animation Horror Reach Science Fiction/Fantasy 8.6% (Mobile App Only; March 2019) Average Minutes/visitor 96.3 minutes (Mobile app only; March 2019) 10% Popularity Rankings No 10 by downloads and No 4 in 27% monthly average users for video app in entertainment (MAU) (App Annie) 17% Revenue Model SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)

2% 2%

2% 22% 10%

Source: primevideo.com, Accessed May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 57 There are close to 100 originals on Amazon Prime Video, a Amazon Prime Originals by Language rise of 53% compared to previous year ﬁgures. English Japanese Hindi

The nine Indian series are primarily dramas, with three German Spanish series in particular – Made in Heaven, Mirzapur and Four More Shots Please – becoming the talk of the town in recent months. Made in Heaven, created by one of India’s most 2% 2% promising duo Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, takes us 8% through the murky secrets of Big Fat Indian weddings and oﬀers a sharp commentary on caste, gender, and sexuality. Four More Shots Please! is similarly set in an urban backdrop of South Mumbai and follows the lives of four women who 12% bond over drinks. Mirzapur meanwhile is a heated crime drama set in the heartlands of Uttar Pradesh. Following rave reviews, the shows have been renewed for a second run1 2. The pool of new originals also includes the stand-up comedy reality show Comicstaan and the Shilpa Shetty-hosted dating reality show Hear Me. Love Me. See Me. 76% Amazon Prime

India New Originals Source: primevideo.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://www.equitybulls.com/admin/news2006/news_det.asp?id=247590, accessed 24 May 2019. 2 https://www.easterneye.biz/zoya-akhtar-conﬁrms-season-2-of-made-in-heaven-2/, accessed 24 May 2019.

58 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Comicstaan became the most watched Amazon Prime Original series in its ﬁrst week in India3.

Among the International Originals on Amazon, the majority of the series continue to be English, with top shows including the award-winning comedy Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the Julia Roberts thriller Homecoming, the WWII inspired dystopian saga The Man In the High Castle, among others. An abundance of crime and thriller dramas was observed. The platform has also upped its investment in the international distribution of Japanese content4 that includes an assortment of dramas (Tokyo Girl), reality series (Documental), action (Amazon Riders) and romance (Fukuyadou Honpo: Kyoto Love Story).

Amazon Prime Video bought the digital rights of Yash Raj Films’ Thugs of Hindostan for INR 70 crore5. The ﬁlm premiered on the digital platform ahead of its TV release6.

Other Offerings Racing Ahead: Amazon Prime bought the digital rights of 13 of the Top 25 box office grossers released between June 2017-June 2018, much ahead of Netflix and Zee6.

Top television content on Amazon Prime Video include The Oﬃce, The Vampire Diaries, Downtown Abbey, Two Broke Girls, etc. Standup comedies like Zakir Khan: Haq Se Single, Chacha Vidhayak Hain Humare also witnessed high binge watching.

Local content accounts for 70% of the overall Prime Video programming in India7.

3 https://www.televisionpost.com/comicstaan-becomes-most-watched-original-series-on-amazon-prime-video/, accessed 24 May 2019. 4 https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-04-20/amazon-makes-kamen-rider-amazons-happy-marriage-shows-available-in-200-countries/.130637 5 A billion screens of opportunity: India's Media & Entertainment sector (March 2019, p. 87, Rep.). (2019). New Delhi: FICCI and Ernst & Young LLP. 6 https://www.televisionpost.com/amazon-prime-video-premieres-thugs-of-hindostan-ahead-of-tv/, accessed 24 May 2019. 7 https://www.emarketer.com/content/ﬁve-ways-amazon-is-betting-big-on-india, accessed 24 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 59 Amazon Prime Video has a stellar roster of movies in 10 languages8. Did You Know? Amazon Prime Critically acclaimed and commercially successful ﬁlms both premiered on Video is the cheapest priced in the platform including titles like Raazi, Arjun Reddy, Tumbbad, K.G.F.: India. Indian customers pay Chapter 1, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, Bey Yaar, and A Quiet Place, among 86.4% less for a monthly others. It has spent a considerable amount in buying the digital rights of subscription of online streaming the regional cinema like Suriya’s 11 Thaanaa Serndha Koottam and platform Amazon Prime Video . Kadaikutty Singam. The platform also has regional dubbed versions of popular Hollywood content.

The large catalogue of kids’ content Change in Total Unique Viewership on Amazon Prime proceeds from the Between April 2018 and March 2019 insight that kids are major consumers of digital content9. Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change Ultimately, the video content on Amazon Prime Video and the music Mobile App 6372 23101 263 content of Amazon Music help leverage the overall customer Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019 engagement with the Amazon website10.

Key Measures of the Platform Prime Video Total Unique Visitors (000) Statistics for Amazon Prime Video are Between April 2018 and March 2019 available for the mobile app only. Amazon Prime Video has cut through 30000 the competitive Indian OTT space, 26926 capturing 8.6% share of reach in 25261 24764 24233 March 2019 with 23.1 million unique 25000 26140 viewers. Its share of reach boomed 22462 23101 22516 by 242.2% since March 2018, when 6.3 visitors accessed the platform 19686 21967 20000 marking a 263% rise. An average of 18566 96.3 minutes were spent per visitor, 19202 totaling to a consumption of 2224 minutes on the app. 15000 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

July 2018, a high performance month, Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 marked the premiere of seven titles as part of Prime Day, including Raazi, the Hindi blockbuster helmed by Alia Bhatt; Comicstaan, a stand-up comedy competition which went on to become the most watched Original series on Prime Video in its ﬁrst week of streaming in India; 102 Not Out, Transformers: The Last Night, and Dunkirk, among others12. Similarly, November 2018 marked the addition of a Hindi-language user interface for India and more importantly the debut of Mirzapur.

8 Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi, English, Kannada, and Gujarati 9 http://kidscreen.com/2019/04/02/how-are-kids-watching-content/, accessed 24 May 2019. 10 https://www.fortuneindia.com/enterprise/amazon-india-up-and-running/103083, accessed 24 May 2019. 11 https://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/india-cheapest-country-to-watch-amazon-prime-video-know-interesting-facts-118112100358_1.html 12 https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2018070352714/amazon-india-to-launch-raazi-comicstaan-for-prime-day.html#axzz5nmnqMIS0, accessed 24 May 2019.

60 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Prime Video Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 NA 6-14 NA

15-24 7367 15-24 2352

25 - 34 5349 25 - 34 2159

35 + 4041 35 + 1832

All Males 16758 All Females 6344

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Consumer Demographics Prime Originals to begin production Visitors were largely males (72.5%) in in India, Japan, UK, Spain, Mexico, the month of March 2018. The 15-34 Germany, and Italy13. This includes 6 demographic formed upward of 70% Indian Originals, like the Akshay of the audience share for Amazon Kumar starring action adventure Prime Video for both genders. series The End (working title), the crime thriller The Last Hour, among Recent Developments others. Regionalization is on the cards Amazon Prime Video announced in with Tamil and Telugu Originals February 2019 that it has green-lit planned14. more than 20 new and returning

Akshay Kumar is believed to have received a fee of INR 90 crore for his Prime debut in the upcoming thriller The End15.

Amazon Prime Video made inroads in Partnerships the Kannada market starting It was announced in March 2019 that November 2018 with the launch of India Nirvana Postpaid customers can popular Kannada ﬁlm titles16. enjoy a free 1 year subscription of Amazon Prime Video18. Amazon Prime Video plans to add TV channels in India under the section India-based Vu Televisions has Amazon Prime channels. Subscribers in-built Amazon Prime Video app on 7 will have to pay per channel in of its newly launched Pixelight and addition to the INR 999 annual UltraSmart TV models19. subscription cost to view this content17.

13 https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/amazon-prime-announces-20-new-shows-including-6-indian-shows-from-anushka-sharma-ali-abbas-zafar/ story-y9n9oSstOePMCKaslL0UPM.html, accessed 24 May 2019. 14 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/amazon-prime-video-to-raise-india-game-with-original-shows/68279641, accessed 24 May 2019. 15 https://www.ibtimes.co.in/akshay-kumar-being-paid-whopping-rs-90-crore-feature-amazon-prime-video-series-793510, accessed 24 May 2019. 16 https://www.apnnews.com/amazon-prime-video-adds-kannada-content-to-further-expand-its-regional-content-portfolio/, accessed 24 May 2019. 17 http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/amazon-prime-video-to-add-tv-channels-in-india-190309, accessed 24 May 2019. 18 https://www.news18.com/news/tech/idea-cellular-oﬀers-one-year-free-amazon-prime-with-nirvana-postpaid-plans-2070125.html, accessed 24 May 2019. 19 https://www.ﬁnancialexpress.com/industry/technology/vu-launches-new-tvs-with-built-in-amazon-prime-video-starting-at-rs-14500/1538028/, accessed 24 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 61 62 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS Netflix India’s arsenal includes a 1000+ Netflix Originals (includes series and films)2 3. This formidable oeuvre spans Launched January 2016 (India) across high-octane political dramas (House of Cards), science fiction (Black Mirror), documentaries (Gaga: Five Owned by Foot Two), crime sagas (Narcos: Mexico), romance (Meteor Netflix Inc. Garden), animation (Disenchantment), and reality Headquarter entertainment (Queer Eye). Mumbai, Maharashtra (India operations) Google Play Store Downloads 500 million + Wall Street analysts Subscribers 148.9 million (globally)1; predict Netflix to 0.5 million+ subscribers (mid-2018) Unique Users spend USD 15 billion 15.5 million (March 2019) 4 on content in 2019 . Reach 5.3% (March 2019) Average Minutes/visitor 24.1 minutes (March 2019) Share of Netflix Originals by Genre Popularity Rankings 12th by downloads, 9th in monthly average users and st 10% 1 by Revenues for video app in entertainment (MAU) (App Annie) 5% Revenue Model 31% SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) 5%

4% Comedy Reality

2% Documentaries Romance

Crime/Thriller/Mystery Sciﬁ and Fantasy 15% 15% Drama Action/Adventure

Horror Animation

Source: Netﬂix.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/netflixs-india-content-spends-helping-subscriptions-watch-time-growth/68919496, accessed 24 May 2019. 2 Source: https://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/839338?so=az, accessed 24 May 2019. 3 Netflix Originals might be defined as either 1) A series or film commissioned or produced by Netflix 2) A show or film where Netflix holds exclusive international streaming rights 3) A show or film co-produced by Netflix with another network or company or 4) A continuation of a previously cancelled show or film. The term ‘Netflix Original’ might also extend to shows and films which are only accessible on the Netflix platform in a respective country. Source: https://www.whats-on-netflix.com/news/the-four-types-of-netflix-originals/ 4 https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/netflix-content-spending-2019-15-billion-1203112090/, accessed 24 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 63 Netflix has invested heavily in the Netflix plans to release its first Indian comedy genre (31%). A massive preschool animated series Mighty Little collection of stand-up specials of Bheem in 2019, made by the creators beloved humorists across the globe; of the mega-popular TV animated this sub-genre of comedy has strong series Chhota Bheem9. popularity and profit potential at a lower investment compared to genres India recorded its like drama or action5. Australian first case of performer Hannah Gatsby’s Nanette was one such highlight in 2018. While ‘Netflix Addiction’ this genre is largely dominated by when a Bangalore-based international comedians, Indian stand-up acts that have found a spot on individual sought Netflix include Vir Das and Aditi Mittal. help at an addiction centre after spending Two of every seven to ten hours 10 three viewers of daily watching Netflix . Netflix Originals is dominated by Netflix’s Sacred international content, with Indian media making up a mere 1.5% of the Games were Netflix Originals. This content has been praised for serving different genres and from outside having sophisticated production values and mature and performances that can India6. appeal to audiences across the globe. A key property that has been the talk of Netflix has popularized the non-fiction the town since its release is the genre of documentaries and crime-drama Sacred Games. docuseries7. Many of them are based on notorious crimes (The Netflix has announced Disappearance of Madeleine McCann), 10 new Indian original controversial personalities (Wild Wild Country), and music stars (Taylor Swift films to be made in Reputation Stadium Tour). India in the genres

The animation content under Netflix drama, science fiction, Originals includes popular content for thriller, horror, kids (Boss Baby: Back in Business), comedy and a host of manga series (Violet 11 Evergarden) and content meant for romance . One of the adults (F is for Family, Bo Jack collaborators is the Horseman). Animation is heavily consumed on the platform, with 60% of Shah Rukh Khan Netflix’s audiences watching kids’ owned Red Chillies shows, and Netflix plans to spend 11% Entertainment which of its overall content budget ($1.1 billion) this year on the genre8. will be producing Class Although there are no local Netflix of '8312. Original animation content currently,

5 Source: https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/netflix-dave-chappelle-trevor-noah-1201998372/v, accessed 24 May 2019. 6 A billion screens of opportunity: India's Media & Entertainment sector (March 2019, p. 124, Rep.). (2019). New Delhi: FICCI and Ernst & Young LLP., accessed 24 May 2019. 7 https://www.crimsonhexagon.com/blog/documenting-the-rise-of-documentaries/, accessed 24 May 2019. 8 https://www.fastcompany.com/90326878/how-netflix-plans-on-owning-your-kids-screen-time, accessed 24 May 2019. 9 https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2018110654074/netflix-to-release-mighty-little-bheem-in-2019.html#axzz5jfJQ4Q3U, accessed 24 May 2019. 10 https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/17/health/india-netflix-addiction-treatment-intl/index.html, accessed 24 May 2019. 11 https://www.livemint.com/industry/media/netflix-announces-10-new-indian-original-films-1555312397706.html, accessed 24 May 2019. 12 https://scroll.in/reel/920142/netflix-karan-johar-shah-rukh-khan-shashanka-ghosh-indian-original-films-2020, accessed 24 May 2019.

64 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Netflix has invested in Originals on female-centric issues, including Lust Stories, an anthology film exploring female sexuality, the Oscar-winning documentary-short Period. End of Sentence on breaking the taboos around menstruation, and the Shefali Shah-starrer Delhi Crime, based on the notorious 2012 Delhi rape case. Netflix Turns Radflix! Bollywood actor Radhika Apte notably became a subject of memes after appearing in multiple Netflix productions (Lust Stories, Sacred Games, Ghoul). As a response, Netflix released its own spoof video Omnipresent.

Following the nation’s demand for regional entertainment, the platform released the Priyadarshan-directed Tamil drama Sometimes. Netﬂix has announced Baahubali: Before the Beginning, the prequel of the blockbuster ﬁlm franchise Baahubali13.

Other Offerings Netflix has series spanning several genres such as action & adventure, thriller, romance, reality TV etc., 3500+ movies in seven languages and child-centered content. Popular syndicated series include The Office (U.S.), Friends, Parks & Recreation, Grey’s Anatomy, and New Girl14. Four of the five biggest ever box office Indian films15 are available on the platform. The Sandra Bullock starrer Bird Box was streamed by 26-45 million accounts in its first week16. Netflix also acquired the worldwide rights to Mowgli, the 2018 live-action remake of the classic Jungle Book series17. Viacom announced content partnership with Netflix for both movies and kids’ content18. Key Measures of the Platform At 15.5 million, Netflix’s total unique visitors almost tripled in March 2019 compared to its performance in March 2018, registering a reach of 5.3%. The unique visitors estimate is conservative compared to the period between July 2018 and January 2019, where the platform estimated between 20-25 million visitors.

13 https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/beginning-netflix-announces-prequel-baahubali-series-91288, accessed 24 May 2019. 14 https://www.recode.net/2018/12/21/18139817/netflix-most-popular-shows-friends-office-greys-anatomy-parks-recreation-streaming-tv, accessed 24 May 2019. 15 Dangal, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, Secret Superstar, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, accessed 24 May 2019. 16 https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/bird-box-ratings-netflix-nielsen-1203102316/, accessed 24 May 2019. 17 https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/27/17622446/netflix-mowgli-movie-warner-bros-andy-serkis, accessed 24 May 2019. 18 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/viacoms-netflix-deal-highlights-its-content-strategy/67854267, accessed 24 May 2019. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 65 On an average, Netflix pulled in a figure of 19.4 million between April The iconic show Friends is now 18 and March 19. 2047 million minutes were spent on Netflix in streaming only on Netflix in March 19, averaging 24.1 minutes per visit. India. It was previously available 19 Not surprisingly, mobile performance on Hotstar and HOOQ . picked up faster than desktop, and have approximately 84:16 ratio in Change in Total Unique Viewership consumption. However, consumption Between April 2018 and March 2019 share through mobile devices has been on a gradual decline since August 2018. In March 2019, 117.7 Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change minutes were spent on an average per visitor on mobile. Total Digital Population 5396 15501 187

April to July 2018 have been high Mobile 3719 12198 228 performance months in terms of monthly growth in subscribers, Mobile App 1150 9748 748 peaking in July (25.4 million). During these four months, some of its Desktop 2183 3799 74 particularly created a splash, including Wild Wild Country, a Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019 documentary on the controversial spiritual leader Osho; Lust Stories, an anthology film on modern Netflix Total Unique Visitors (000) relationships from the perspective of Between April 2018 and March 2019 Indian women; and 13 Reasons Why Season 2, a teen drama about the Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population suicide of a high-school student. The 30000 July premiere of Netflix’s flagship 25481 24882 Indian Original Sacred Games 25000 22928 23376 21429 21244 accounts for the crest in viewership. 20269 19965 22779 19480 20000 18559 The partnership with Airtel and 18471 19957 17296 15554 15501 Hathway Broadband supplied a 16103 17930 14283 17010 15000 12897 12926 11989 12198 steady flow of viewers. Dec 18-Jan 19 11016 12234 14303 11849 13915 brought a spike through international 12937 10000 9435 12406 9748 content like Bird Box and Black 9467 9469 7658 4320 4547 3799 3601 3661 3563 3574 4097 4089 Mirror: Bandersnatch. succeeding 5000 2574 3015 2131 months, Netflix’s introduction of a low cost plan for mobile-only users holds 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 promise. Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Viewership on Netflix’s mobile app has averaged at around 63% during the year. Nevertheless, Netflix should Netflix Audience March 2019 incentivize its mobile app usage since Males, TUV Females, TUV the average time spent on the app is Age Group (000) Age Group (000) the greatest among devices (145.8 minutes). 6-14 73 6-14 32 15-24 5333 15-24 1158 Consumer Demographics Despite investing in female-centric 25 - 34 3528 25 - 34 1520 content, Netflix’s demographic was 35 + 2242 35 + 1615 heavily skewed towards male audiences like most other streaming All Males 11176 All Females 4325 platforms. This is very different from Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 its demographic profile in territories like United States, where greater gender parity has been achieved20.

19 https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/friends-netﬂix-india-now-streaming-hooq-hotstar-2015779, accessed 24 May 2019. 20 http://www.businessofapps.com/data/netﬂix-statistics/, accessed 24 May 2019.

66 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 World Metrix

(ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019) Region % Comp North America 29.5 Latin America 26.8 Europe 25.8 Asia Paciﬁc 10.9 Middle-East Africa 7

India stands the 10th cheapest among 24 nations in terms of the Netflix monthly subscription plans. 72% of the unique visitors in March Partnerships 2019 were men, within which the Netflix partnered with Hathway to 15-24 age group dominated nearly offer its content on Hathway’s set-top 50% of the share. Interestingly, Netflix boxes24. It also tied up with internet saw a greater traction among older service provider Atria Convergence female viewers; the 35+ age group Technologies to expand payment and made the largest share of visitors, cashback offers for users across followed by 25-34. Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad25. Netflix’s penetration is greater in Western markets such as the United The Indian unit of States, Latin America, and Europe. Netflix made a net Recent profit of INR 20.2 lakh for 2017-1826. Developments Samsung Galaxy S10 phone users having Vodafone networks with Netflix reportedly purchased a Vodafone RED postpaid subscription 1.5-lakh sq ft office space in of at least INR 499 per month get Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in one-year free subscription of Netflix27. Mumbai last December and plans to Similarly, Airtel Postpaid and V-Fiber double its employee base in the broadband users will get 3 months of country21. Netflix subscription free of cost28. Features Netflix plans to introduce an INR 65 Within 6 months weekly and INR 250 monthly plan for of subscription, its mobile-only users22. 42% of Netflix Netflix is testing compressing accounts’ primary technologies to improve viewing viewings became experience on slower internet 29 connections23. connected TVs .

21 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/people/netflix-cmo-kelly-bennett-international-originals-vp-erik-barmack-to-leave-the-company/68315845 22 https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/netflix-tests-rs-65-weekly-rs-250-monthly-plans-in-india/story/334127.html, accessed 24 May 2019. 23 https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/netflix-indias-abhishek-nag-on-streaming-challenges-connected-tvs-and-local-stories-190405 24 https://www.livemint.com/Companies/lDobr6N6IVBiBNd70bjcqM/Netflix-partners-with-Hathway-Broadband-in-India.html, accessed 24 May 2019. 25 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/act-fibernet-announces-strategic-partnership-with-netflix/68297193, accessed 24 May 2019. 26 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/netflix-india-makes-profit-in-its-1st-year/articleshow/66423533.cms, accessed 24 May 2019. 27 https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/vodafone-of fers-one-year-free-netflix-subscription-with-samsung-galaxy-s10-phones-here-are-all-details-1499693-2019-04-11, accessed 24 May 2019. 28 https://www.digit.in/news/telecom/airtel-and-netflix-announce-strategic-partnership-in-india-free-3-month-netflix-subscription-availab-43093.html, accessed 24 May 2019. 29 https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/netflix-indias-abhishek-nag-on-streaming-challenges-connected-tvs-and-local-stories-190405

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 67 68 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 ZEE5 is one of the fastest growing OTT platforms in India. ZEE5 launched in February 2018 with 8 original shows, which has boomed to 87, by mid-2019. With the launch of SNIPPETS 72 original shows recently3, ZEE5 gives strong competition to existing OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Launched February 2018 The Originals are available in nine languages , led by Tamil Owned by and Hindi. ZEE5 has dubbed majority of its content in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) regional languages4 to maximize viewership. 39 of the ZEE5 Headquarter Originals are films, which includes both full-length and Mumbai, Maharashtra short films, most of them in Hindi and Tamil. The platform offers majority Originals in the genres of drama (33%), Google Play Store Downloads thriller (27%) and comedy (18%). 50 million+1 Unique Users ZEE5 targets 20x-30x 26.2 million (Mar 19) Reach increase in subscriptions 8.9% (Mar 19) 5 Average Minutes/visitor by 2020 . 3.2 minutes (Mar 19)

Two Originals that made waves on ZEE5 last year include Popularity Rankings th Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone, based on 10 - Monthly Active Users, 6th - Downloads (Ann Annie)2 the life of adult ﬁlm actor turned Bollywood sensation Sunny Leone, and Rangbaaz, Revenue Model AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) ZEE5 Originals by Language TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand) SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)

2% 2%

35% English Hindi

Marathi Telugu

Kannada 40% Tamil

Bengali

2% Punjabi 4% Malayalam 6% 1%

Source: Zee5.com, Accessed May 2019.

1ZEE5 - Movies, TV Shows, LIVE TV & Originals (2019, April 18), Retrieved April 18, 2019. 2As per App Annie’s report on the top video OTT apps of 2018 3https://zeenews.india.com/television/zee5-to-come-up-with-72-new-shows-2180319.html, accessed 30 May 2019. 4Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Telugu and Hindi 5http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/zee5-targets-20x-30x-increase-in-subscription-numbers-in-next-one-year-190219, accessed 30 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 69 a crime thriller starring Saqib Saleem ZEE5 Channels by Genre that struck a chord particularly with audiences from Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh6. 6%

ZEE5 roped in popular Bollywood Action 27% actors like Kunal Khemu and Arjun 18% Rampal for the thrillers Abhay and Comedy The Final Call respectively. The Drama platform’s marquee original POISON is a eleven-episode crime thriller Reality series and boasts of actors like Tarun Romance Virwani, Arbaaz Khan, Freddy 7 Daruwala & Riya Sen . ZEE5’s Bengali 9% RomCom Original Sharate Aaj, features well known actor Parambrata Thriller 6% 33% Chattopadhyay.

1% ZEE5 is big on regional originals, releasing shows like D7 and Kalavu in Tamil, Mirror and Aarpoo in Source: Zee5.com, Accessed May 2019. Malayalam, and Sex, Drugs and ZEE5 Total Unique Visitors (000) Theatre and Hutatma in Marathi. Between April 2018 and March 2019

Some ZEE5 Originals like Badnaam Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population Gali bring to screen less-discussed issues in the Indian society like 30000 surrogacy8. 25886 26232 25000 23551 24285 24754 21030 20447 19622 20223 The platform has been constantly 18944 22281 20000 19508 working to layer their offering with a 18992 19668 19315 18358 17433 17565 range of high-octane Originals, 15000 13434 13061 16623 17427 14744 14959 handpicked movies and our 8526 9894 13857 10000 12334 11992 12623 ever-popular TV Shows, across 9014 7583 8619 languages and genres for the global 3765 5000 6345 9 5474 1931 1833 audiences . 1353 1803 1511 1488 1600 1539 1220 0 1526 1153 1089 Other Offerings Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 With 12 navigational and featured languages10 and 1.25 lac+ viewing Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 hours across 90+ live TV, catch up TV, 500+ television shows, 3,500 films, 4,000+ music videos, lifestyle shows, news, children's programmes, exclusive short series and 35+ acclaimed plays, ZEE5 offers a vast library of entertainment in languages that resonate with Indian audiences.

6 http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/zee5-targets-20x-30x-increase-in-subscription-numbers-in-next-one-year-190219, accessed 30 May 2019. 7 https://www.glamsham.com/en/zee5-launches-a-dark-thriller, accessed 30 May 2019. 8https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/patralekhaa-divyendhu-come-together-for-badnaam-gali-a-digital-ﬁlm-on-surrogate-mothers/ story-B9dSZ3lvvbysh1Yd7NB5CM.html, accessed 30 May 2019. 9https://www.digitalstudiome.com/broadcast/31342-zee-announces-lineup-of-original-shows-on-zee5, accessed 30 May 2019. 10English, Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati & Punjabi

70 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Key Measures of the Platform drastically between June-August 2018 ZEE5 witnessed a 164% change in as the ZEE5 Original Karenjit Kaur – unique visitors, from 9.9 million in The Untold Story of Sunny Leone and March 2018 to 26.2 million in March Zero KMS and the movies Veere Di 2019, with audiences crossing the 20 Wedding, Parmanu premiered. million mark in October 2018. 90%+ During this period, Airtel also visitors accessed the platform on partnered with ZEE5 to offer the mobile phones. The mobile app latter’s exclusive content on Airtel TV. usage has exponentially risen during Viewership jumped the 25 million the 1-year period, from 26% of the mark in December 2018 and later in viewership in March 2018 to 73% by March 2019 as Rangbaaz, the Marathi March 2019. Original Sex, Drugs, and Theatre, and The Final Call and the blockbuster Viewers spent a total of 2165 minutes films Simmba and Uri – The Surgical on the platform in March 2019, Strike elevated ZEE5’s content averaging 3.2 minutes per visitor. The bouquet. Vodafone Idea also average minutes per visitor was snagged a deal to offer ZEE5 content higher on mobile (84.5 minutes) and on Vodafone Play and Idea Movies mobile app (101.5 minutes). and TV apps.

April 2018 saw a spike in the Consumer Demographics viewership with the streaming of Life ZEE5 has more or less gender parity Sahi Hai Season 2, Tamil series in viewership in March 2019, with American Mappillai, and the Hindi 56% male and 46% female visitors. dubbed Columbian drama Pablo The audiences were evenly divided Escobar, The Drug Lord. Following a among 15-24, 25-34, and 35+ age dip in May, the viewership rose brackets for both genders.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 71 Ad Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019)

Top Ad Categories Zee5.Com Consumer Goods Online Media Retail Computers & Technology Travel

World Metrix

(ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019)

Region % Comp Asia Paciﬁc 95.3 Europe 0.9 Middle East-Africa 1.8 North America 2.0

Recent Developments

ZEE5 is said to launch 5 originals the Jio KaiOS feature phones and Mi namely Skyﬁre, Auto Shankar, LED TV14 15, and Vodafone-Idea to Thiravam, Jadu Kadai and provide content on Vodafone Play Natasaarvabhowma11. and Idea Movies and TV16.

A mobile-only subscription plan is on With the aim to bringing transparency the cards that proposes to be 30% in the performance of advertising on cheaper compared to existing the platform, ZEE5 partnered with subscriptions and targets in MOAT and Nielsen Digital Ad particular regional content users and Ratings17. Tier II and III markets12. International Expansiont Partnerships and Zee5 Global has expanded to 190 Distribution territories and it offers content in 17 ZEE5 and Gaana come together to languages – including Malay, Thai, offer free subscriptions to users. Bahasa, German and Russian – Users of both platforms will benefit besides 12 Indian languages18. from the library of ZEE5 comprising movies, original shows and TV shows, Starting April 1st 2019, Malaysian and Gaana’s music library13. audiences can access Zee Tamil exclusively on ZEE5 platform both as ZEE5 partnered with Reliance Jio and live-TV and catch entertainment19. Xiaomi making the app available on

11 Retrieved from Zee5 website on May 15, 2019https://www.glamsham.com/en/zee5-launches-a-dark-thriller 12 https://www.businessinsider.in/netflix-hostar-amazon-prime-face-new-threat-from-zee5-language-specific-subscription-plans/articleshow/68886964.cms 13 https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/zee5-and-gaana-come-together-to-offer-free-subscriptions-to-users-94607.html, accessed 30 May 2019. 14 https://www.bgr.in/news/zee5-to-be-available-on-reliance-jios-kaios-powered-feature-phones/, accessed 30 May 2019. 15https://www.adgully.com/zee5-partners-with-xiaomi-s-mi-tv-81237.html, accessed 30 May 2019. 16https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/vodafone-idea-zee-ink-content-deal/68466096, accessed 30 May 2019. 17https://bestmediainfo.com/2019/04/zee5-partners-with-moat-and-nielsen-dar-offers-measurability-in-ott/, accessed 30 May 2019. 18https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/unlocking-the-best-of-indian-entertainment-for-the-world-zee5-global-unveils-its-content-in-5-new- international-languages-892193281.html, accessed 30 May 2019. 19https://www.exchange4media.com/media-tv-news/zee-tamil-brings-the-best-of-tamil-content-to-malaysia-exclusively-on-zee5-95503.html, accessed 30 May 2019.

72 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 The video viewing industry has shown the ﬁrst signs of real breakout in the past few quarters. Real investment and focus has ﬁnally started to move towards digital video streaming. This is not at the back of having a tick box in the digital space, but making some serious strides on building for Indian users through technology, data and content. Understanding Indian user segments, their uniqueness, their needs, their challenges, their consumption habits. The widespread growth of internet has contributed in enabling Indians to make more conscious choices of what they want to watch and when. The viewer is constantly adapting and changing in terms of their preferences, with the digital viewer seeking real, relevant, resonating content every day and these can only be achieved through research and deep diving to formulate exciting original content.

Riding on this strong insight, ZEE5 built a strong pipeline of original content in 2018 by launching quality and engaging Original content almost on a weekly basis. We are seeing the traction for our digital original content build-up which was further commended by the positive response we received for Rangbaaz, our biggest original after Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone.

We launched ZEE5 with an aim to be a one-stop digital destination which addresses the entertainment demands of a new India that is digital savvy and globally connected, yet fundamentally rooted in its culture. With ‘Language’ as the core proposition embodied across the entire content and user experience, ZEE5 truly caters to an Indian audience without boundaries. Moreover, having multiple touchpoints across devices with features like personalization, voice search and language enabled search helps oﬀer a seamless experience to our users.

Our robust content catalogue is getting us immense traction and spike in numbers from audience across the globe. We have at least one original web series come out in six diﬀerent languages each month on an average – Marathi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam besides Hindi spanning across genres like biopics, docu-dramas, sci-ﬁ, thrillers, rom-coms among others.

Tarun Katial CEO, ZEE5 India

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 73 74 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS Airtel TV has no original content of its own at present. However, it more than makes up for this with tie-ups with Launched December 2017 some of the biggest VOD services have ensured the latest series and 10000+ movies of ZEE5, Eros Now, Hotstar, Owned by HOOQ, and ALTBalaji, and the regional players Hoichoi, and Bharti Airtel Ltd. Fastfilmz are available on the app. Additionally, NDTV and Headquarter Airtel struck a partnership whereby the world’s first live New Delhi channel NDTV Hop was launched for the millennial audiences. Exclusively for Airtel TV users, NDTV Hop covers Google Play Store Downloads news, Bollywood, fashion, technology etc. These include 50 million+ shows like Convo, Deal Le Ke Dekho, and Ambika Anand. Unique Users The ZEE5 Originals and NDTV Hop is currently accessible 14.5 million (Mobile App) on Airtel TV Premium accounts. Moreover, Live TV is offered for 360 channels comprising news, entertainment, Reach 93.4% (March 2019) devotional, kids etc. This include 53 HD channels. Average Minutes/visitor 35.8 minutes (Mobile App) Share of Airtel TV Originals by Genre Popularity Rankings Hindi Malayalam Bhojpuri 4th - Downloads, th English Bengali Punjabi 6 - Monthly Active Users for video app in entertainment Tamil Marathi Gujarati (MAU) (App Annie) Telugu Oriya Urdu Revenue Model Kannada Assamese French Bundled free for Airtel subscribers.

1% 1.5% 1.5% 3% 3%

29% 4%

14%

10%

14%

Source: Airtel App, Accessed May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 75 AritelTV Total Unique Visitors (000) Key Measures Between April 2018 and March 2019 of the Platform

For Airtel TV, Comscore data is 20000 16988 available between May 2018 and 15909 March 2019. There were 14.5 million 14447 15043 15083 14527 15000 13438 13079 visitors on the platform in March 13812 2019, and the platform has huge potential to further its consumption 10000 11951 10243 among the 340 million+ subscriber base of Bharti Airtel. 521 million 5000 minutes were consumed during the month averaging at 35.8 minutes per 0 visitor. 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Consumer Demographics Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 74% of the unique visitors in March 2019 were males, largely in the 15-24 bracket. Females above 35 also Airtel TV Audience March 2019 showed promise as an audience. Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

Recent 6-14 NA 6-14 NA Developments 15-24 4,771 15-24 920 25 - 34 3,200 25 - 34 1,178 Features Airtel TV Premium was launched in 35 + 2,829 35 + 1,629 October 2018. This subscription All Males 10,800 All Females 3727 includes access to 300 exclusive titles and a 10,000+ catalogue of TV shows, Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 live channels, and films1. Airtel TV Premium is free of cost for all the Partnership Airtel subscribers with an ARPU2 of Partnered with Zee5 to offer its INR 100 or more on mobile. A content on Airtel TV Premium starting campaign titled #AirtelThanks was October 20186. Also struck a content rolled out in this regard; besides free partnership deal with the regional Airtel TV Premium subscription player Hoichoi for all Airtel TV users7. access, other notable freebies include three months Netflix subscription gift NDTV and Airtel TV forged a content for Airtel Infinity Postpaid subscribers, partnership and launched NDTV Hop, which can be availed through Airtel TV the world’s first live channel that’s and MyAirtel app. Similarly, users exclusive for Airtel users, in October committing a minimum of INR 199 2018. The channel is available over per month get the free ZEE5 smartphones in a portrait mode and premium content access3. primarily targets millennials with eight fresh hours of programming each The desktop version of Airtel TV day8. began in April 2019. The content was accessible only to select users under early access program4 until May 2019, where it made its full-fledged debut5.

1 https://beebom.com/airtel-launches-airtel-tv-premium-subscription-with-access-to-exclusive-content/, accessed 30 May 2019. 2 Average Revenue Per User 3 https://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/news/airtel-thanks-benefits-flipkart-offer-4g-smartphone-cashback-1931135, accessed 30 May 2019. 4 https://www.newsbytesapp.com/timeline/Science/44140/198306/airtel-tv-launched-for-desktop-how-to-use, accessed 30 May 2019. 5 https://gadgets.ndtv.com/telecom/news/airtel-tv-web-live-tv-movies-shows-testing-2033554, accessed 30 May 2019. 6 https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/airtel-partners-zee5-flipkart-netflix-to-offer-data-content-benefits-to-select-users/66182167, accessed 30 May 2019. 7 https://www.adgully.com/airtel-and-hoichoi-partner-to-bring-hoichoi-content-on-the-airtel-tv-app-81900.html, accessed 30 May 2019. 8 https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/airtel-ties-up-with-ndtv-to-offer-exclusive-content-on-airtel-tv/66214401, accessed 30 May 2019. 76 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 77 78 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS Currently, Hungama Play hosts three original Hindi/Hinglish drama series and one Marathi comedy. Mid-2018 saw the Launched July 7th 2015 release of, Hankaar, on the underworld in Mumbai, and Damaged, a crime thriller starring Amit Sial of Mirzapur and Owned by Inside Edge fame1. Towards the end of 2018, the series Bar Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Code debuted also stars television personalities Karan Headquarter Wahi and Akshay Oberoi2. Hungama Play’s first regional Haryana original Padded ki Push up released in October 2018 and is a Marathi comedy. Google Play Store Downloads 5 million+ “Marathi happens to be Unique Users 7 million (March 2019; For Hungama.com) one of the most Reach 2.4% (March 2019;For Hungama.com) consumed languages on Average Minutes/visitor its video streaming 4.5 minutes (March 2019;For Hungama.com) Revenue Model SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) platform”. TVOD (Transactional Video on Demand) – Neeraj Roy, Managing Director and CEO, Hungama Play3.

1 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1748072/, accessed 30 May 2019. 2 https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/sponsored-entertainment/bar-code-show-hungama-play-episodes-video-5404509/, accessed 30 May 2019. 3 https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/tMP4TFCU1UFzkL8vuO77WP/Opinion--Regional-shows-get-a-push-on-digitalplatforms.html, accessed 30 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 79 Consumer Demographics Other Oﬀering Hungama Play oﬀers access to 7500+ 4 Hungama Audience March 2019 movies in 11 languages and 1500+ hours of TV in English and Hindi5. Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000) Key Measures of the Platform 6-14 17 6-14 8 Note: Data is available for the overall Hungama.Com platform and not for 15-24 1931 15-24 1117 Hungama Play exclusively.

25 - 34 1346 25 - 34 1130 Total unique visitors changed by 35 + 1063 35 + 432 217%, from 2.2 million in March 2018 All Males 4357 All Females 2687 to 7 million in March 2019 and claimed a reach of 2.4%. 90% of the Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 visitors accessed Hungama via mobile devices. A total of 95 million Total Unique Visitors Hungama.com (000) minutes were consumed in March 19, Between April 2018 and March 2019 averaging 4.5 minutes per visitor. Mobile consumption was relatively Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population higher at an average of 14 minutes

12000 per visitor. 10521 10399 9594 9464 10000 9122 9117 8429 9785 8994 9444 7805 8000 8288 8229 8468 7044 8025 5992 5592 7047 5602 6000 6448

5296 4000 4866 4763

2000 1142 789 977 1066 1066 1103 867 603 822 853 956 704 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

4 English, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Bhojpuri and Oriya 5 Google Play Store description

80 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Change in Total Unique Viewership Between April 2018 and March 2019 Recent

Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change Developments

Total Digital Population 2224 7044 217 Features Hungama play is working on expanding their library of original Mobile 538 704 31 shows by introducing content in Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Kannada and Desktop 1816 6448 255 Bengali6.

Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019 Partnerships and Distribution Hungama Play partnered with TCL Electronics and Shareit to make its content available on their TVs and World Metrix app respectively7,8. (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019) Indian football fanatics in January 2019 welcomed Hungama Play’s Region % Comp partnership with Veqta Sports for the Europe 3.4 live screening of Coppa Italia, Italy’s Asia Paciﬁc 69.4 annual tournament played between North America 6.1 78 football clubs for which Veqta Middle East-Africa 20.3 sports is the oﬃcial sponsor9.

Indian consumers surﬁng the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation website (IRCTC) for railway enquiries can soon Ad Metrix experience audio and video content (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, provided by Hungama Play over 10 March 2019) IRCTC’s chatbox Disha .

Top ad categories

Retail Computers & Technology Telecommunications Online Media Automotive

6 https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/tMP4TFCU1UFzkL8vuO77WP/Opinion--Regional-shows-get-a-push-on-digitalplatforms.html, accessed 30 May 2019. 7 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/tcl-to-invest-20-cr-in-india-in-q2/article26945438.ece, accessed 30 May 2019. 8 https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/54145_SHAREit-collaborates-with-Hungama-Play-to-widen-content-oﬀering, accessed 30 May 2019. 9 https://www.insidesport.co/veqta-sports-hungama-join-hands-to-live-stream-coppa-italia/, accessed 30 May 2019. 10 https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/inc42-epaper-inc/hungama+joins+hand+with+ai+startup+corover+to+oﬀer+music+service+on+irctc-newsid-112037534

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 81 82 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS ALTBalaji is one of India’s leading platforms focusing on delivering purely original content. Since the past year, the Launched April 16th 2017 (India) number of original shows have gone up by 34% with 29 original shows, some shows revived for their second or third Owned by seasons. The content primary caters its offerings to three Balaji Telefilms Limited audience segments – dramas (Kehne Ko Humsafar Hai) for Headquarter women between 20-40, male-centric content (Gandi Baat), and Mumbai, Maharashtra tent pole projects for international audiences (The Test Case). Paid Subscribers 1 ALTBalaji has released multiple comedy series include 13.1 million (as on February 2019) 3 stand-up comedy in five languages featuring talents like Google Play Store Downloads Suresh Albela and YouTube star Manoj, and comedy sketches 10 billion+ in Marathi performed by Bharat Ganeshpure and Sagar Karande. The Bengali original, Dhimaner Dinkaal stars Saswata Unique Users 4.4 million (March 2019) Chatterjee, who famously played one of the antagonists Bob Biswas in the super hit Hindi film Kahaani. This show is dubbed Reach in five other languages4. Ssumier Pasricha and his widely viral 1.5% (March 2019) social media character Pammi Aunty have also joined the Average Minutes/visitor comedy cart on ALTBalaji’s Pammi Aunty #MumbaiDaSiyappa; 20.3 minutes (March 2019) on the show Pasricha essays multiple characters. Popularity Rankings ALTBalaji Original Shows by Genre Number 3 Top Grossing OTT Video Streaming Apps (App Annie2) and Romance Drama Youth Stand up Shows Among 10 Top Grossing Comedy Erotica Supernaturals & Thrillers Revenue Model Freemium, SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)

17% 19%

14%

22%

11%

Source: ALTBalaji.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/altbalaji-guns-for-6x-revenue-growth-to-add-200-hours-of-original-content-in-fy2020-190417, accessed 21 May 2019. 2 https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/altbalaji-guns-for-6x-revenue-growth-to-add-200-hours-of-original-content-in-fy2020-190417, accessed 21 May 2019. 3 Gujarati, Tamil, Hindi, Punjabi and Telugu 4 Tamil, Arabic, Malayalam, Telugu and Bahasa Malaysia REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 83 Ssumier Pasricha was awarded the Video Inﬂuencer of the Year at the vIDEA 2019 video media awards5.

ALTBalaji Originals also renewed for new seasons include Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, Dil Hi Toh Hai, Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, and Gandi Baat. The platform has upped their game in terms of star cast, roping in for their new additions Kay Kay Menon (The Great Indian Dysfunctional family), Shreyas Talpade (Baby come Naa), Mahie Gill and Arunoday Singh (Apaharan), to name a few. Some upcoming Originals include the romance-drama Baarish, starring Sharman Joshi and Asha Negi, the mystery thriller Boss – Baap of Special Services with Karan Grover and Sagarika Ghatge6, and the comedy thriller Fixer.

ALTBalaji has emerged as the adult alternative to its family-friendly sister on television Balaji Teleﬁlms, with the edgy and erotic content like Gandi Baat and X.X.X.– Uncensored pulling in massive viewership. The latter show was initially planned for the big screen but released as a web series, with an eye-catching description cautioning the viewers to ‘Watch responsibly’. The web series Ragini MMS Returns, part of the super-hit horror erotica franchise Ragini MMS, is renewed for a second season and reportedly led by Sunny Leone7.

5 https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/mtv-bags-the-video-agency-of-the-year-award-altbalaji-wins-the-ott-platform-of-the-year-at-videa-2019-119042300259_1, accessed 21 May 2019. 6 https://www.indiatoday.in/television/web-series/story/boss-teaser-out-karan-singh-grover-and-sagarika-ghatge-win-hearts-with-their-amazing-chemistry-1475296-2019-03-11, accessed 21 May 2019. 7 https://www.indiatoday.in/television/web-series/story/after-karenjit-kaur-sunny-leone-to-play-lead-in-ekta-kapoor-s-web-series-ragini-mms-2-1498271-2019-04-10, accessed 21 May 2019.

84 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 ALTBalaji Total Unique Visitors (000) X.X.X.– Uncensored Between April 2018 and March 2019 required some of its Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population female cast mem-

8000 bers to sign a nudity 8,9 7000 clause . 6042 6000 5138 Other Offerings 5000 5565 4368 4425 4466 Looking beyond their ever-growing 4852 4183 4000 4410 4065 ALTBalaji originals, viewers may also 3956 4010 2860 3620 3155 stream MTV’s Box Cricket League and 3000 2485 2141 2093 2702 Balaji Telefilms’ Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2 2361 2882 2000 2018 1564 1627 1445 1913 1716 on the platform. 14 Balaji Telefilms 1477 1517 1460 1445 1276 1349 1000 1064 1051 1042 333 548 484 469 produced movies ranging from 186 269 168 155 133 197 213 183 0 comedy, horror, action, and drama Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 are available for viewing.

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Key Measures on the Platform ALTBalaji’s performance improved considerably compared to its ﬁrst Change in Total Unique Viewership year, where the total unique visitors Between April 2018 and March 2019 had fallen by 78% over the year. In 2018, ALTBalaji witnessed a 386% Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change change in the visitors and ended up with 4.4 million visitors in March Total Digital Population 918 4466 386% 2019. The average unique visitors during the year were 3 million, and Mobile 788 4065 416% the traﬃc accelerated substantially after December 2018. More than Mobile App 494 3155 539% 90% visitors accessed ALTBalaji via mobile devices, which witnessed a Desktop 174 469 170% massive rise in the total unique visitors over the year. 129 million Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019 minutes were consumed in total during March 2019, averaging at 20.3 minutes per visitor. Mobile engagement for this period was lower at 8.7 ALTBalaji Audience March 2019 minutes. Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000) The high-traction months of April-May 2018 and October 6-14 10 6-14 16 2018-January 2019 witnessed a 15-24 1420 15-24 385 lineup of releases including Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Gandii Baat, Kasautii 25 - 34 1111 25 - 34 311 Zindagii Kay, Broken But Beautiful 35 + 587 35 + 626 and Apharan.

All Males 3128 All Females 1338 Consumer Demographic Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 The ratio of male-female visitors on ALTBalaji was 7:3 in March 2019. The largest demographics were males between 15-34 and Females above 35.

8 https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/sunny-leone-nudity-clause-ekta-kapoor-sex-sexuality-xxx-expose-247822-2015-04-09, accessed 21 May 2019. 9 https://www.mid-day.com/articles/after-kyra-dut Change in Total Unique Viewership t-xxx-gets-three-more-beauties-on-board/16169180, accessed 21 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 85 Recent With 13.1 million subscribers at Developments present, ALTBalaji’s base has Features grown by an astonishing ALTBalaji backtracked on kids’ content due to its incompatibility with 991.67% between Q4 FY18 and ALTBalaji’s 18+ image as well as the high costs incurred on animation10. Q4 FY19. ALTBalaji launched the campaign #breastbuffer for raising awareness ALTBalaji Subscribers in (in millions) FY18 FY19 about breast cancer. The campaign execution included a creatively 15 13.1 designed logo appearing between episodes reminding viewers to check 10.5 for breast lumps. Besides, artists 10 from television and films were roped in, including Yogita Bihani, Sagarika, Mahie Gill and Hina Khan11. 5.33 5 3.4 ALTBalaji snagged the best OTT Platform of the year at the Video 1.2 0.15 0.31 0.52 Media Awards and Summit 2019 0 (vIDEA 2019). In addition, White Rivers Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Media received the Best Video Content for a Social Media Marketing Campaign Source: Balaji Telefilms Quarterly Report for their marketing campaign for the ALTBalaji Original Apaharan12.

Partnerships ALTBalaji Subscribers revenues FY18 vs FY19 (in Crores) Strategic content partnerships with free channels and telecom apps like Jio, 30 28.1 Airtel, and Vodafone contribute close to 70% of ALTBalaji’s viewership13. 20 Mid 2018 saw a strategic partnership signed between ALTBalaji and

YuppTV expanding the former’s 10 7 viewership among Indian expats living across the globe looking for South Asian content14. 0 Financial Performance FY18 FY19 Q1-Q3 Balaji Telefilms invests INR 100-150 crore each year on ALTBalaji15. Notwithstanding the high costs involved, ALTBalaji is reaping the benefits of Indian audiences’ growing likelihood to pay for streaming content. The platform is set to witness a 6X growth in subscription revenues. It earned close to INR 28.1 crore in the three quarters of FY19, and INR 8 crore in Q3 itself. This is a remarkable gain compared to its INR 7 crore INR in its first year of launch16.

10 https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/we-would-rather-create-ips-than-acquire-titles-says-altbalaji-ceo/1545669/, accessed 21 May 2019. 11 http://www.adageindia.in/digital/altbalaji-launches-breastbuffer-to-spread-awareness-around-breast-cancer/articleshow/69009716.cms, accessed 21 May 2019. 12 https://www.videaawards.com/winners/, accessed 21 May 2019. 13 https://www.fortuneindia.com/enterprise/altbalaji-building-a-business-for-the-future/102826, accessed 21 May 2019. 14 https://www.medianama.com/2018/05/223-altbalaji-partners-with-yupptv/, accessed 21 May 2019. 15 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/altbalaji-aims-to-break-even-in-the-next-3-years/articleshow/65414425.cms, accessed 21 May 2019. 16 https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/altbalaji-guns-for-6x-revenue-growth-to-add-200-hours-of-original-content-in-fy2020-190417 86 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2018 ALTBalaji rocks Hindi speaking Indian audience, with the largest range of Hindi Original exclusives. Smartly distributed to reach every device with a very affordable price. Be it romance, thrill, comedy, drama – for the man, the women or the young Indian, in two years it is the leading subscription based service and in the top 3 across all app-stores, by gross revenue. With award winning content, it is nurturing a rapidly growing binge watching Indian market place. Pioneered by Ekta Kapoor from the leading content powerhouse house of Balaji Telefilms, ALT adds to the commanding. Mr. Sunil Lulla Former Group CEO | Balaji Telefilms

ALTBalaji is gunning to break even by 2022.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 87 88 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS YuppTV has not added new Originals over 2018 and continues to run the four Telugu originals on its channel – Launched October 14th, 2015 (India) 703, Endulika, Hey Krishna and Mana Mugguri Love story. Owned by Other Offerings YuppTV YuppTV.com, headquartered out of Georgia, U.S.A, caters Headquarter to the Indian diaspora living in 190+ countries across the Hyderabad, Telangana (India Operations) globe. YuppTV offers only select content for its Indian users. Total Downloads 15 million+ YuppTV (India) offers close to 240+ Live TV channels, 2000+ Google Play Store Downloads movies and 180+ TV shows in 13+ languages1. YuppTV 10 million+ works on a Freemium model where the YPass subscription unlocks the entire catalogue of YuppTV and makes it ad Unique Users free and accessible on multiple devices. 3.7 million (March 2019) Reach The catch-up TV bouquet has soared from 39 channels last 1.3% (March 2019) year to 260 today. Live sports channels are no longer offered on the platform unlike the previous year. Average Minutes/visitor 1.9 minutes (March 2019) Live TV Channels on YuppTV By Language Revenue Model AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) Telugu Tamil Malayalam Kannada

Gujarati Marathi Punjabi Bengali

20% 23%

4% 25%

16%

Source: YuppTV.in, Accessed May 2019.

1 Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Oriya and Bhojpuri

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 89 Live TV Channels on YuppTV by Language Apart from the regularly telecast TV shows, YuppTV features popular web

1% series from independent content 2% 2% houses like Arre, Blush, and Midnight 8% Grindhouse. Adding to the regional News canvas are content by the production

31% Entertainment ﬁlms Rascalas, Put Chutney and 10% Madras Metre. YuppTV Bazaar also Spiritual continues to host an assortment of Music features by ScoopWhoop, Being Indian. Movies

Business & Finance Key Measures of the Platform 19% YuppTV has a limited reach of 1.3% in Knowledge the Indian market, with 3.7 million

Fashion & Lifestyle users visiting the platform in March 27% 2019. This figure is 88% greater than its March 2018 performance (2 million). YuppTV’s unique visitors only crossed the 3 million mark towards Source: YuppTV.in, Accessed May 2019. the end of 2018. Mobile traffic accounted for the majority share of Change in Total Unique Viewership the traffic (an average of 89%), with Between April 2018 and March 2019 almost no growth in Desktop visitors. A total of 53 million minutes were Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change spent on YuppTV in March 2019, with a low average of 1.9 minutes per visit.

Total Digital Population 2021 3798 88% Mobile usage was relatively greater at 14.2 minutes per visitor.

Mobile 1689 3410 102%

Desktop 441 449 2%

Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019

Total Unique Visitors/Viewers on YuppTV (000) Between April 2018 and March 2019

Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population

4000 3798

3500 3057 2998 3028 3005 3410 2841 3000 2676 2491 2366 2815 2823 2500 2318 2692 2663 2649 2047 2053 2390 2000 2268 2055 1901 1763 1500 1739

1000 558 457 328 348 362 336 377 449 500 264 274 220 218

0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

90 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 YuppTV Audience March 2019 Consumer Demographics Male audiences, who made up nearly Males, TUV Females, TUV 79% of the total viewers in March Age Group (000) Age Group (000) 2019, are primary viewers of YuppTV.

6-14 0 6-14 8 Over 40% of the male viewers aged above 35. Meanwhile female viewers 15-24 771 15-24 342 between 15-24 showed greater

25 - 34 937 25 - 34 211 activity on the platform. 35 + 1293 35 + 237 Recent All Males 3001 All Females 798

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Developments Partnerships YuppTV.com bought the rights to Ad Metrix VIVO IPL 2019 for the second consecutive year for viewing in (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, Australia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, March 2019) South/Central America, Southeast Asia, Europe and Malaysia. This Top ad categories on YuppTV is most content is currently inaccessible to YuppTV.Com advertised on Indian audiences2. Telecommunications News/Information Computers & Technology Entertainment In May 2018, YuppTV.com joined Finance Multi-Category arms with ALTBalaji to stream the Retail Services latter’s original content on existing Media & Entertainment Navigation subscribers of YuppTV. These programmes are exclusively available to the south Asian subscribers accessing the application across the World Metrix globe except for the Indian (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, subcontinent3. March 2019) Towards the end of 2018, YuppTV Region % Comp partnered with India’s premier MSO4 Asia Paciﬁc 63.9 7Star to provide subscribers with an Middle East-Africa 24.9 Android-based hybrid set top box. Europe 6.1 This box will bridge the growing gap North America 5.1 between cable television and on demand video and give customers an additional ease of watching their favorite TV shows apart from the diverse catalogue of on-demand videos5.

2 https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2019/03/26/yupptv-acquires-ipl-cricket-digital-rights-bt-for-the-uk/, accessed 21 May 2019. 3 https://www.medianama.com/2018/05/223-altbalaji-partners-with-yupptv/, accessed 21 May 2019. 4 Multiple System Operator 5 https://www.pcquest.com/yupptv-introduces-android-based-hybrid-set-top-box-supports-ott-dvb-c-iptv/, accessed 21 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 91 0092 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 20182019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS Eros now oﬀers 28 original shows, all in Hindi. For the site primarily known for its cinema content, it comes as no Launched surprise that Bollywood news and gossips dominate, 2012 followed by comedies and thrillers. Eros Now launched Owned by seven new web-series in FY 2018-19, signiﬁcantly in the Eros International Plc genres of dramas and crime-thrillers. Headquarter Mumbai, India Eros Now witnessed a Google Play Store Downloads 10 million+ 25% rise in average Subscribers 142 million (15.9 million paid)1 subscriber session time. Unique Users 2.3 million (March 2019) Genre share of the original Reach 0.8% (March 2019) shows of Eros Now Average Minutes/visitor Drama Bollywood news and gossips Lifestyle 1.5 minutes (March 2019) Thriller Adventure Animation Comedy Revenue Model SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)

25% 29%

11% 7%

7% 3% 18%

Source: erosnow.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190221005491/en/Eros-International-Plc-Reports-Quarter-FY-2019, accessed 22 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 93 Side Hero, an eight-part comedy web series on actor Kunaal Roy Kapur’s life launched in September 2018 as is the ﬁrst Eros Now Original ﬁctional series2.

Metro Park, launched in March 2019, captures the story of a Gujarati family settled abroad. The show, starring Ranvir Shorey, has received industry acclaim3 and a pan-Indian potential4.

Eros Now also cashed in on the popularity of sports content with the show Behind The Stumps, a comedic talk show sometime around the Indian Premiere League (IPL) and featuring members of All India Bakchod (AIB) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) cricket team. Eros plans to invest INR 350 to 490 crore on original content annually5.

Eros Now was into limelight in recent months for their series Modi: A Common Man’s Story, based on the life of the current Prime Minister of India. The strategic timing of the series, around election time, led to severe opposition from Opposition parties6, with the Election Commission of India ﬁnally deciding to ban the drama until further notice7.

The newly introduced Eros Now Quickie features short form original content and has four shows each with 10 episodes8.

Eros Now digital premieres of Happy Phirr Bhaag Jayegi and Manmarziyaan had an impressive average of 75 minutes of session time.

Eros Now has the biggest catalogue of movies & music in several languages9 10. This includes 12,000 digital titles spanning movies, television shows, and music videos and over 2.5 lakhs music tracks. In Q3 FY19, they released one ﬁlm or digital premiere on Eros Now weekly, added 165 music videos and 445 movie titles.

46 movies had their digital premiere on Eros Now between Q1 and Q3 2019, with 19 premiering in Q3 itself11.

2 https://bestmediainfo.com/2018/09/eros-now-launches-its-ﬁrst-original-show-side-hero/, accessed 22 May 2019. 3 https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-ranvir-shorey-s-metro-park-a-quirky-take-on-desis-settled-overseas-2725776, accessed 22 May 2019. 4 http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2019/mar/27/metro-park--is-akkarakazhchakal-made-for-a-larger-audience-1956332.html, accessed 22 May 2019. 5 https://www.livemint.com/industry/media/eros-now-ties-up-integration-deal-with-uk-based-virgin-media-1551429841179.html, accessed 22 May 2019. 6 https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/entertainment/with-an-eye-on-lok-sabha-polls-eros-now-to-stream-web-series-on-pm-modi-in-april-3704771.html 7 https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/election-commission-bans-pm-narendra-modiu-web-series-modi-journey-of-commonn-man-eros-now/story/338842 9 Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali, accessed 22 May 2019. 10 https://erosnow.com/about_us (May 6, 2019), accessed 22 May 2019. 11 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190221005491/en/Eros-International-Plc-Reports-Quarter-FY-2019, accessed 22 May 2019. 94 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2018 Current Trending Content on Eros Now

Movie Name Language

Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi Hindi

Kintu Golpo Noy Bengali

Housefull 3 Hindi

Goliyon ki Raasleela: Ram-leela Hindi

Song Name Movie

F for Fyaar Manmarziyaan

Ding Dang Munna Michael

Main Sharabi Cocktail

Ghani Bawari Tanu weds Manu Returns

Source: erosnow.com, Accessed May 2019.

Total Unique Visitors Eros Now (000) Between April 2018 and March 2019

Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population

4000 3634 3558 3500 3036 3451 3340 3000 2849 2740 2692

2775 2316 2370 2500 2667 2488 2431 2030 2000 1807 2161 2176 1897 1495 1500 1680 1142 1000 1271 952 321 332 310 500 256 220 251 248 212 227 180 187 152 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

The platform has blockbuster films Eros Now had 2.3 million unique like Happy Bhag Jayegi, visitors and a reach of 0.8% in March Manmarziyaan, Bajirao Mastani, Tanu 2019. 90% of the platform’s traffic is Weds Manu, etc. and titles across 10 on mobile devices. Its performance Indian regional languages. The digital ranged between 1.1 and 3.6 million on-demand platform has a collection over the year. User engagement of international shows, which air on reached 12 million minutes in March the Pakistani channels Hum TV and 2019, averaging 1.5 minutes per ARY TV. visitor. Mobile engagement was slightly higher at 4.7 minutes per Key Measures of the Platform visitor. %Change in Viewership Data between March 2018 and March Consumer Demographics 2019 has not been given for Eros 80% of the audience on Eros Now in Now as only Desktop data was March 2019 were males. Among available for this entity on Comscore males, the 25-34 age group formed until March 2018. Therefore the largest audience base; among comparing it with its March 19 females, it was the 35+ bracket. performance, where multi-platform figures are provided, would give a skewed representation.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 95 Eros Now Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 14 6-14 0

15-24 474 15-24 140

25 - 34 840 25 - 34 114

35 + 567 35 + 221

All Males 1894 All Females 475

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Ad Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019)

Top ad categories on Eros Now is most ErosNow.Com advertised on Online Media Multi-Category Finance News/Information Public Service Services Automotive Entertainment Retail Search/Navigation

World Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019)

Region % Comp Asia Paciﬁc 74.3 Middle East-Africa 14.5 North America 8.8

Eros Now’s 15.9 million paid subscribers for the Q3 FY19 is a 218% growth year-over-year. Registered users exceeded 142 million, a 78% increase compared to the previous year12.

Recent Developments Partnerships Globally, the digital & ancillary Eros Now signed up several business of Eros International partnerships over 2018 with Dialog generated $35.6 million in revenue in Axiata PLC, FreeCharge, BSNL, Xiaomi Q3 FY19, a growth of 31.4% over last India, iQui, FashionTV, and E-Vision, quarter, and represented a expanding Eros Now’s distribution record-breaking 46.4% of their total globally as well as adding to its revenues in the same period. content portfolio13 14 15 16 17.

12 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190221005491/en/Eros-International-Plc-Reports-Quarter-FY-2019, accessed 22 May 2019. 13 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180628005749/en/Dialog-Partners-Eros-Give-Sri-Lankans-Regional, accessed 22 May 2019. 14 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/eros-now-and-xiaomi-mi-tv-enter-into-distribution-partnership/articleshow/65012299.cms 15 https://www.televisionpost.com/eros-now-inks-content-licensing-deal-with-chinas-iqiyi/, accessed 22 May 2019. 16 https://erosplc.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/eros-now-enters-strategic-partnership-fashiontv, accessed 22 May 2019. 17 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181002005614/en/Eros-Strengthens-Presence-MENAPartnering-E-Vision-%E2%80%98eLife, accessed 22 May 2019.

96 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2018 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 97 98 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS TVFPlay presently has 16 TVF originals, majorly comedies. New episodes were released in 2018 of popular titles such Launched as the spoof Barely Speaking with Arnub and the 2012 lighthearted Tech Conversations With Dad. The second Owned by season of road-trip dramedy Tripling premiered in 2019. The Viral Fever (TVF) Operated by The upcoming Kota Contagious Online Media Network Pvt. Ltd Headquarter Factory is shot entirely in Mumbai, Maharashtra Google Play Store Downloads black-and-white. 5 million+ The content house is charting into the drama territory, with Unique Users two new shows launched in the past year – the family 1.7 million (March 2019) dramedy Yeh Meri Family, starring Mona Singh of Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin fame, and the recently premiering millennial Reach 0.6% (March 2019) drama The Insiders. The trailer Kota Factory on the lives behind coaching institutes also released in April 19. Average Minutes/visitor 4.3 minutes (March 2019) TVF offers a host of other short-form snackable content for Revenue Model a quick laugh. The Qtiyapa feature currently has 65 sketch AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) comedies, 34 uploaded since 2018. Public figures such as and Branded Content Narendra Modi, Kangana Ranaut, and Virat Kohli, all have been lampooned in rip-roaring skits. Youth-centric skits on college exams, parent-teacher meetings, and encountering one’s college crush ensure instant traffic.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 99 Total Unique Visitors TVFPlay (000) TVF and Between April 2018 and March 2019

Girliyapa Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population

4000 launched three 3826 3500 3583 3327 3082 3124 3000 shows in 2900

2500 2256 2174 1967 2128 1980 December on 2055 2000 1775 2067 1862 1773 1813 1743 1813 1409 1675 1500 1631 Snapchat’s 1157 1330 896 887 1056 1000 827 824 1021 1024 500 114 714 326 Discover – Style 678 247 183 157 163 114 94 79 137 135 118 118 0 0 0 Wagon, Gossip Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 Girl, and What Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 1 a Player . Change in Total Unique Viewership Between April 2018 and March 2019

There are 81 clips and 11 shows in the Screen Patti section of ‘new-age’ Mar-2018 Mar-2019 % Change comedy aimed at male audiences. The snappy videos are centered Total Digital Population 697 1773 154% around diverse topics ranging from PubG to road trip, ‘bhai-bhai’ (male Mobile 563 1675 198% bonding), date with an entrepreneur etc. Recent releases include Desktop 175 118 -33% Weekends, on the plight of millennials in workplace and the Valentine’s Day Source: ComScore MMX % Change Media Trend Report, March 2019 special Hum Tum. Celebrities such as the cast of Badhaai Ho, comedian Zakir Khan, and Manoj Bajpayee have guest appeared in the Screen Patti videos.

TVF’s Original for MX Player I'mMature broke new ground as India’s ﬁrst-ever and only series nominated for CanneSeries (Top 10 Web-Series) at Cannes International Series Festival 2018.

1 http://www.uniindia.com/tvf-launches-3-new-shows-on-snapchat/entertainment/news/1426821.html, accessed 23 May 2019.

100 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 The Girliyapa offerings have doubled Key Measures of the Plaform since 2017, with its quirky TVFPlay’s performance far better in female-centric content 2018 compared to the previous year, conceptualized around India’s Next where the total unique visitors Top Model, What Happens in a plummeted since its 2017 debut. Bachelorette Party, Unfair & Lovely, While the platform only crossed the Pregnancy Ka Side Effects, etc. New million mark once in 2017, a high of on the block are the shows Girls 3.8 million visitors was witnessed in Hostel, launched in collaboration with July 2018 following which it has not Whisper, and Mr. and Mrs., which fallen below one million. In March fetched the Best Writing (Comedy) 2019, it charted 1.7 million unique award at iReel Awards 20182. visitors, a 154% change since March 2017. TVFPlay has a reach of 0.6%. The Timeliners, also a part of the TVF More than 90% of the visitors network, has expanded its library accessed via mobiles, 80% of whom massively in the past year, airing 57 used the TVFPlay app. 23 million videos to date. The lifestyle channel minutes were spent on the platform, targets the millennials with trending averaging at 4.3 minutes per visitor. content – ‘Types of Guys on a Date’, Engagement on the mobile and ‘Indians and Cars’, ‘Famous Bollywood mobile app were slightly better at Scenes: Mirzapur Style’, to name a 11.1 minutes and 13.7 minutes. The few. Notable shows by this venture best performing months of include Engineering Girls, a show on July-August 2018 saw the release of three plucky women transitioning the TVF Original Yeh Meri Family. from college to the hectic world of startups and internships; TTL Socials, Consumer Demographics a music show featuring upcoming Males comprised 3/4th of the traffic artists; and School Days. on TVFPlay in March 2019. TVFPlay stuck a chord with younger TVF also sponsored the Virat audiences, with the 15-24 age group Kohli-led Royal Challengers Sports comprising 53% and 75% of the male Drink Bold League, the snippets of and female audiences respectively. which are available on TVFPlay3.

TVFPlay Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 3 6-14 0

15-24 716 15-24 317

25 - 34 353 25 - 34 100

35 + 276 35 + 8

All Males 1348 All Females 425

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

2 http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/sumukhi-suresh-and-girliyapa-create-their-mark-at-news18com-s-ireel-awards-2018-180910 3 https://www.insidesport.co/royal-challenge-sports-drink-returns-with-unique-platform-for-cricket-fans/, accessed 23 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 101 Ad Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019)

Top Ad Categories forTVFPlay.Com Media and Entertainment Online Media Finance Consumer Goods

Recent Developments

Partnerships TVF plans on 20 originals including its sibling dramedy Tripling. Unlike its regional series and a Bollywood earlier season, the new episodes will feature film in 2019-2020. It wants to not be available on TVF’s YouTube focus on the South Indian markets by channel. Meanwhile, Yeh Meri Family launching shows in Kannada, Telugu, is available on Netflix. and Tamil, and might consider content in Gujarati. Also planned is a TVF largely works on branded content foray into genres like drama, model. For its show Yeh Meri Family, it romance, and thriller4. partnered with Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) with the content As a content house, TVF broadens the educating its viewers on the benefits distribution of its shows through its of mutual funds while remaining deals with established OTT players. engaging as a standalone series This year, it joined hands with the nevertheless5. The two companies newly launched platform MXPlayer to had collaborated previously on the stream The Insiders as an MX second season of The Timeliners’ hit Exclusive. It similarly struck a deal with web series The Aam Aadmi Family6. SonyLIV, a family-oriented platform Kota Factory forged a deal with the apt to stream the second season of learning platform Unacademy.

Existing investor Tiger Global pumped in USD 6 million (INR 41 crore) into TVF. It raised the funds at an estimated post-money valuation of USD 40 million (INR 270 crores), lower than its previous valuation of USD 61 million (INR 419 crores).

4 https://www.televisionpost.com/tvf-plans-to-launch-20-originals-including-first-feature-film-regional-shows-in-2019/, accessed 23 May 2019. 5 http://www.socialsamosa.com/2019/01/content-marketing-case-study-yeh-meri-family-tvf-amfi/, accessed 23 May 2019. 6 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/the-viral-fever-partners-with-amfi-for-dramedy-web-series-yeh-meri-family-90812.html, accessed 23 May 2019. 102 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 103 104 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS Viu is on its way to double its Originals for the Indian market since last year, with 35 offerings currently viewable on its Launched platform. With considerable efforts towards regionalizing March 4th, 2016 (India Launch) its offerings as compared to the other OTT platforms, Viu’s Owned by Originals are in six languages. Vuclip Headquarter Nearly half of the media is in Hindi, followed by Telugu, Singapore Tamil, and Kannada. Apart from the six new Hindi additions, the Tamil content in particular has been the focus this year, Google Play Store Downloads with rib-tickling upbeat comedies like Madras Mansion, Nila 5 million+ Nila Odi Vaa, and Door No. 403, and non-fiction content like Unique Users Love 36 and Naughty Nights with RJ Vignesh. The Malay 625K (March 2019) market was also forayed with the release of the neo-noir thriller Devoted starring the eminent character actor Reach Sharnaaz Ahmad. 0.2% (March 2019) Average Minutes/visitor Genre-wise, a medley of dramas and comedies have been 3.8 minutes (March 2019) added to last year’s fray of talk shows and thrillers. Fresh Revenue Model seasons were launched of the popular shows like the AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand) coming-of-age story Love, Lust, and Confusion, the SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) romantic dramedy Pelli Gola, and the cricket chat show What The Duck. Millennials are primarily the target1.

1 https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/viu-launches-in-tamil-market-with-millennial-focused-fresh-content-91242.html, accessed 24 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 105 Total Unique Visitors Viu (000) Viu plans 100 Between April 2018 and March 2019

Tamil originals Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population

1200 in the next 1085 2 1000 three years . 854 800 760 664 688 642 625 581 556 Other Oﬀerings 600 664 363 464 589 Viu includes 50+ sterling Korean 422 256 497 374 422 497 dramas and 400+ movies popular 400 522 230 197 225 333 among audiences across the country. 187 172 174 225 200 174 392 197 0 0 0 0 0 Key Measures on the Platform 0 Viu has been unable to widen its Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 presence in the Indian market since Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 last year. When comparing its performance in March 2018 and March 2019, the unique visitors have Live TV Channels on Viu By Language reduced by over 46%, from 1.1 million to 625K. It crossed the million mark only once this year in February 2018 and had 600K unique visitors on an average. This ﬁgure is slightly better 20% 23% than last year, where the average unique visitors were 415K. Interest- Comedy ingly, while some months saw a great- Drama er share of users accessing Viu via Entertainment mobile, desktop performance proved Horror better in other periods. 4 million Reality minutes were consumed in March 17% 2019, with an average of 3.4 minutes 17% Talk Show per visitor. Thriller

11% 6% 6%

Source: erosnow.com, Accessed May 2019.

2 https://www.fortuneindia.com/enterprise/viu-is-betting-big-on-regional-content/102632, accessed 24 May 2019.

106 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Viu Video Audience March 2019 Consumer Demographics Female and male viewers equally Males, TUV Females, TUV consumed Viu in March 2019. More Age Group (000) Age Group (000) than 3/5th of the male audiences

6-14 7 6-14 NA were in the age group of 15-24. Females above 35 were the largest 15-24 214 15-24 63 users of Viu in this period.

25 - 34 75 25 - 34 25

35 + 25 35 + 216 Recent All Males 321 All Females 304 Developments Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Features Content-wise, Viu plans to foray into the Malayalam, Bengali, Punjabi World Metrix market in the future. iB Cricket Super Over League, a (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, virtual cricket tournament, streamed March 2019) on Viu3.

Region % Comp Viu envisions to Asia Paciﬁc 68.9 have 100 million Middle East-Africa 29.8 North America 0.5 users globally in the next 3-5 years4

3 http://www.uniindia.com/sehwag-mccullum-face-oﬀ-in-ﬁrst-match-of-ib-cricket-super-over-league/business-economy/news/1530886.html, accessed 24 May 2019. 4 https://www.fortuneindia.com/enterprise/viu-is-betting-big-on-regional-content/102632, accessed 24 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 107 108 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content MX Player oﬀers 15 original shows, seven of which are talk SNIPPETS Shows, followed by drama and romance. Most of the originals Launched are in Hindi followed by Tamil. The content in available in 10 July 20111 (Launched as an oﬄine music app); other languages namely Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, February 2019 (OTT streaming platform) English, Tamil, Bengali, Punjabi and Malayalam. MX Player is focusing on long-form content that are 20-60 minutes per Owned by episode and 10-20 episodes per season. Times Internet (Times Group) Headquarter New Delhi Times Internet Google Play Store Downloads purchased MX Player for 500 million+2 Subscribers a whooping INR 1000 350 million3 5 Unique Users crore . 106.4 million (Mar 19) Share of MX Player Originals by Language Reach 36.3% (Mar 19) Hindi Kannada Marathi Average Minutes/visitor Telugu English Tamil 1.6 minutes (Mar 19) Bengali Punjabi Malayalam Revenue Model AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand)4 7%

7% The talk show Famously Filmfare features inside talks and gossips involving famous personalities of the regional ﬁlm 7% industries6. 33%

20%

6% 7% 7%

Source: MXPlayer.in, Accessed May 2019.

1 Google Play store 2 Google Play store 3 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/times-internet-buys-mx-player-for-rs-1000-crore/articleshow/64773344.cms, accessed 30 May 2019. 4 https://timesoﬁndia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/mx-player-oﬀers-premium-shows-for-free/articleshow/68071496.cms, accessed 30 May 2019. 5 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/times-internet-buys-mx-player-for-rs-1000-crore/articleshow/64773344.cms, accessed 30 May 2019. 6 Malayalam, Punjabi, Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 109 MX Player has 600 million users globally7.

Given the current election euphoria in the nation and staying true to their promise of ‘Jaisa Mann, Waisa Manoranjan’ aka ‘every entertainment’, MX players launched a campaign #ElectionsOnMX8. It also produced an election-centric satirical series on political news Kiski Sarkar, hosted by India’s most loved stand up artists such as Anirban Dasgupta, Rahul Dua, Rahul Subramaniam etc. The famed content house Viral Fever launched An MX Original Series – I'mMature. The show earned critical acclaim and has been renewed for a second season9. I'mMature has received 21 million+ views as of today10.

I'mMature became India’s ﬁrst-ever and only series to be nominated for CanneSeries at the Cannes International Series Festival 201811.

Other Offerings MX Player is the first and only Indian entertainment platform combining offline video playing capabilities, online video streaming and music streaming (via Gaana) in a single app to offer the most well-rounded mobile entertainment experience12.

MX Player includes web shows, TV, news, movies, music, sports, and other content. Its web shows include MX Originals and 100K hours of licensed material from Sony, ALTBalaji, Arre, TVF, Dice Media, OML, etc13. There are two MX Exclusive shows, namely The Insiders, in partnership with TVF, and Tathastu with Aree. Catch up TV of seven channels are available.

MX Player has a vast library of films in Hindi and English and several regional languages14. Along with TV and films, the app has collaboration with seven different sports promotion companies like Cricbuzz, ESPN, UFC, and so on.

6 Malayalam, Punjabi, Kannada, Bengali, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu 7 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/times-internet-acquires-mx-player/articleshow/64771142.cms, accessed 30 May 2019. 8 https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/mx-player-unveils-multi-genre-mx-originals-96120.htm, accessed 30 May 2019. 9 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/news/immature-season-2-renewal-details-revealed/articleshow/68718478.cms, accessed 30 May 2019. 10 https://www.mxplayer.in/show/watch-immature-series-online-00fefdd91f5216e6ebd9a7bfb68cb83d, accessed 30 May 2019. 11 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/the-viral-fever-launches-an-mx-original-series-immature-94761.html, accessed 30 May 2019. 12 //economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68072724.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst, accessed 30 May 2019. 13 https://yourstory.com/2019/03/app-fridays-mx-player-one-stop-entertainment-vijlmcidn9, accessed 30 May 2019. 14 Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi and Gujarati

110 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Key Measures of the Platform MX Player captured 106.4 million Recent unique visitors in March 2019, within two months of its launch as a video Developments OTT service in India. This ensured an Features audience reach of 36.3%, and 12951 MX Player plans to add features such minutes spent on the platform during as support for games and LinkedIn the month averaging at 1.6 minutes listing suggests. The company is per visitor. User engagement on the hiring games engineers to device 2D mobile devices, used by 99.5% of the games, which would be solely for visitors, was far higher at 122 minutes Android users15. per visitor.

Consumer Demographics 75% of the visitors on MX Player in March 2019 were males. Within this demographic, the 15-24 and 25-34 age groups were the largest audience. A similar trend was observed among females, although the proportion of female visitors in the 25-34 age bracket were almost as high as the 15-24 group.

MX Player Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 6 6-14 32

15-24 37805 15-24 10479

25 - 34 26887 25 - 34 10015

35 + 15905 35 + 5293

All Males 80603 All Females 25819

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Ad Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019) Top Ad Categories for MX Player Health Computes & Technology Public Services Education Media & Entertainment

15 https://gadgets.ndtv.com/games/news/mx-player-to-add-support-for-games-linkedin-listing-suggests-2031779, accessed 30 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 111 With over 400 Mn internet users and the ever-increasing demographics whether it is women, millennials or themes smartphone penetration in India, there has emerged a like freedom of expression, nostalgia, political thrillers, large underserved audience that wants entertainment historical fiction, and larger than life dramas. We’ve that appeals to them. At MX Player, our goal is to cater to already gone live with 10 MX Originals within 2 months of this emerging need through our promise of launch and over the next 12 months, we are looking at “Everytainment” - entertainment for every need, want or launching around 20 more such originals across multiple mood. genres and languages while creating an enticing brand for advertisers. MX Player is the largest local video player in the world and is now emerging as a preferred destination for Another area of growth for us lies in the regional content entertainment which combines offline video playing space. On MX Player, we have content across 10 capabilities, online video streaming & music streaming – languages and we have undertaken marquee projects like all on one common platform. Currently, we have 75Mn Queen (a political drama) and Ponniyin Selvan (historical daily active users and at 175Mn monthly active users with saga) in Tamil as well as 2 web series each in Telugu, a user profile that is a representation of the demographics Marathi, Bengali and Bhojpuri along with 1 web series of the country. each in Kannada, Punjabi and Gujarati. These series are in the pipeline as part of our original programming to cater We already have more than 1,00,000 hours of to regional audiences. entertainment with our library of licensed content from some of the biggest players in the industry which The product has been built from scratch with a simple and encompasses over 100 web series (one of the largest intuitive interface and offers sub-one-second latency to its catalogues of Indian web series), 650+ TV shows, 5Mn+ viewers, which translates to instant streaming. By using Music Videos, the best of international combat & fight massive scale datasets, MX Player has created a sports and over 100+ International Shows across regions, world-class recommendation and personalization engine. moods, genres, and languages. This gives us a scale that is By far, it is the only platform to build such an engine unparalleled for an advertising-based video on demand in-house, which sets it apart from the competition. platform. Additionally, MX Player is leading the way in video tech by building better compression algorithms to optimize Second screens are also becoming first screens very streaming on the top of global compression standards like quickly; a single TV cannot cater to every member in a H-265. More so, the app is built keeping low-to-high end household anymore and second (or third and fourth) devices in mind and works well for the fluctuating network. screens are making content accessible at all times – giving audiences choice and convenience. Our trailblazing journey has just begun, and you will see a lot more from us in the immediate future - be it from the We offer our audiences premium content crafted for content front, tech/product or marketing innovations. them, for free. We are creating stories for different

Mr Karan Bedi CEO, MX Player REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 113 114 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Ullu launched at a heavily discounted subscription plan of INR 36 per year. It caters to a ‘massy’ audience majorly with SNIPPETS erotic and suggestive content within many of the series1. Launched December 2018 Original Content Owned by Ullu Digital Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Ullu’s content features Jaypeeco Infotainment prominently among Headquarter New Delhi content most Google Play Store Downloads 1 million+ downloaded on the Unique Users torrent websites 1337x2. 1.2 million (March 2019) Reach 0.4% (March 2019) Share of Ullu Originals by Language Average Minutes/visitor 12.9 minutes (March 2019) English Hindi Tamil Telugu

27%

60%

Source: Ullu app, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://timesoﬁndia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/now-streaming-is-steaming/articleshow/68757213.cms, accessed 28 April 2019. 2 https://www.outlookindia.com/magazine/story/entertainment-news-formula-erotica/301188, accessed 28 April 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 115 The platform has 15 web originals in Most Watched on Ullu Hindi, which comprise dramas, Views thrillers, and comedies. Examples Name of the Show Genres include Halala, on the controversial (as on April 2019) practice of Nikah Halala among Series Wanna Have a Good Time Comedy-Drama, Erotic 1.6 million certain Muslim sects; Dubeyji and the Boys, an erotic comedy on struggling Singardaan Drama-Romance, Erotic 1.2 million actors moonlighting as call-boys to Bribe Drama, Fantasy 102K pay oﬀ their rent; and Dance Bar, a Short Films Ghapa Ghap Comedy, Suspense, Erotic 1.5 million suspense involving a business tycoon and a bar dancer. The content is Mallika Erotic, Fantasy 182K dubbed in seven other languages Name of the Song Name of the Show namely Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Album Songs Kya Baat Hai Dance Bar 27K Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, and Kannada.

Other Oﬀering Ullu Total Unique Visitors (000) Ullu’s syndicated web series includes Between April 2018 and March 2019 Still About Section 377, a Dancing Shiva Productions on acceptance of Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population same-sex relationships; Maid in India, 2000 a series by Web Talkies that also airs on SonyLIV, etc. There are 10 short 1615 ﬁlms, of which Ghapa Ghap, with its 1500 1639 1238 suggestive title and poster, has garnered maximum eyeballs. Ullu 1278 1000 additionally features the music videos of the soundtracks of certain web series. 500

Key Measures of the Platform 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 52 0 Data for Ullu is available for the Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 period of February and March 2019. Ullu performed exceedingly well for a Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 nascent app, crossing the million mark within two months of its release. As on March 2019, it had Ullu Audience March 2019 close to 1.2 million total unique users and claimed a reach of 0.4%. The Males, TUV Females, TUV users spent a total of 27 million Age Group (000) Age Group (000) minutes averaging at 12.9 minutes 6-14 NA 6-14 NA per visitor. The traﬃc was almost entirely on the mobile, where the 15-24 863 15-24 213 average minutes per visitor clocked at 25 - 34 192 25 - 34 1 21.2 35 + 9 35 + 0

Consumer Demographics All Males 1064 All Females 214 Ullu resonated largely with males, who were upward of 80% share of Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 the unique visitors. This comes as no surprise considering the adult content on Ullu is largely male-centric. The 15-24 age demographic formed the largest audience share.

116 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 117 118 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS Shemaroo offers original shows under its ‘Bollywood section’. Unlike competing mainstream OTT platforms, Launched ShemarooMe Originals are primarily non-scripted content February 2019 centered on the Bollywood offerings1. Owned by Shemaroo Entertainment The OTT platforms offers 20 original programs, 80% in Headquarter Hindi, followed by Marathi and Gujarati. Mumbai, Maharashtra Google Play Store Downloads Comedy Big on 1 Lakh+ Revenue Model ShemarooMe: 80% of Freemium (AVOD and SVOD) ShemarooMe Originals are comedic spoofs of the Bollywood content.

ShemarooMe Originals by Language

Biography Comedy Cooking Show Talk Show

10%

80%

Source: shemarooent.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/shemaroo-launches-video-streaming-app-shemaroome-for-android-ios-and-web-1993166, accessed 15 May 2019. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 119 The sole scripted series Manatlya Mana is a rom-com featuring popular Marathi actors Sonalee Kulkarni and Siddharth Chandekar. Besides, Shemaroo Gujarati airs a cookery show.

Other Offering Shemaroo's extensive library offers 3500+ movie titles and 1,000 hours of non-film content2 3. The cinema ranges from classics (Mughal-e-Azam, Mother India, Disco Dancer) to newer films (Jab We Met, Hunterrr, Ankhon Dekhi). , Some classic series from the 90s like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi and Zabaan Sambhalke are also offered.

The devotional section features content live streamed from religious locations such as shrines. In March this year, the platform curated a 30-day series on Kumbh Mela4.

ShemarooMe it has more than 150 hours of content for children5. Besides the ﬁlms, famous Gujarati and Marathi theatre plays are also available on the platform. Recent Developments Partnership Shemaroo Entertainment partnered with leading telecom player Vodafone Idea to provide ShemarooMe’s content to Vodafone and Idea users6. It also acquired 50% stake in Dominiche Productions, whose 400 hours of content covering predictions, numerology, tarot card reading, vastu shastra, is now available on ShemarooMe7 8. The company has announced that its association with Amazon to expand its distribution via The Amazon Fire Stick TV9.

Expansion Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. announced its entry in the US market, which enables the ShemarooMe app to widen its accessibility to the US market10.

2 The movies are available across Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, and Bengali. 3 https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/shemaroo-launches-video-streaming-app-shemaroome-for-android-ios-and-web-1993166, accessed 15 May 2019. 4 https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/trends/digital-entertainment-rural-market/story/341986.html, accessed 15 May 2019. 5 https://gadgets.ndtv.com/entertainment/news/shemaroo-launches-video-streaming-app-shemaroome-for-android-ios-and-web-1993166, accessed 15 May 2019. 6 https://www.themobileindian.com/news/vodafone-idea-partners-with-shemaroome-to-oﬀer-video-content-to-its-users-25438, accessed 15 May 2019. 7 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/shemaroo-acquires-50-stake-in-dominiche-productions/articleshow/68889013.cms, accessed 15 May 2019. 8 https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/entertainment/video-streaming-platforms-focus-on-category-building-to-tap-into-niche-genres-3857741.html, accessed 15 May 2019. 9 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/shemaroome-app-associates-with-amazon-ﬁre-tv-stick-96229.html, accessed 15 May 2019. 10 https://www.roi-nj.com/2019/04/18/lifestyle/shemaroo-entertainment-enters-u-s-market-with-hoboken-based-streaming-service/, accessed 15 May 2019.

120 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Shemaroo has been an early adopter in the migration of of individuals consuming video content online in India is the industry from physical to digital formats. We were one expected to grow to more than 500 million by 2020 and of the early companies in the media industry to realise the reach over 700-800 million by 2023. This exponential potential of the digital medium in the early 2000’s and growth in the online video consumption will be primarily continue to innovate in this space. With increasing driven by consumers from smaller towns and rural areas. smartphone penetration, cheaper mobile data and rising ShemarooMe aims to reach out to these masses even internet speed, the digital arena will be a significant beyond metros whose content preferences are not growth driver in the coming years. To bank on this limited to the niche English speaking consumer. With opportunity, we launched ShemarooMe, a proprietary customised offerings on the slate, ShemarooMe will suit video streaming app with content across genres and the different content preferences of every Indian. Also in languages from Shemaroo’s extensive library. This is in line order to further expand our consumer base and cater to with our aim to significantly increase our B2C presence in the growing demand for Indian content globally, the next few years through innovative product offerings ShemarooMe has been launched in the US. addressing the evolving entertainment needs of consumers. The launch of our OTT app is a significant step SheamarooMe fits in seamlessly in our ‘Digital journey’ towards our exciting B2C and digital journey. We aim to which already includes some of our other established remain focused on offering compelling content to cater to businesses like YouTube monetization and Digital evolving consumer preferences. syndication. We crossed more than 1.2 billion views in the month of March 2019 on YouTube across all our channels. ShemarooMe is a comprehensive OTT app for the Indian Also we continue to offer compelling content to leading market with a diverse and exclusive content offering for an players in the Digital space like Amazon Prime, Reliance Jio, audience looking for Indian video content across YuppTV, Vuclip, Etisalat and telcos such as Vodafone and Bollywood, Gujarati, Marathi, Devotion, Punjabi, and Kids Idea. genres to cater to the needs of all age groups. The number

Hiren Gada CEO, Shemaroo Entertainment Limited

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 121 122 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Oﬀerings SNIPPETS Sun NXT comprises over 50K hours of content including 4000+ movies, shows from 42 live channels, music content, Launched th comedy content, and catch up TV. June 12 2017 Owned by Of the 42 live channels, 13 are in Tamil, 11 in Telugu, 9 in Sun TV Network Limited Kannada, 8 in Malayalam, and 1 Bengali. The platform Headquarter includes music videos of the latest albums in the regional Chennai, Tamil Nadu languages as well as comedy clips of popular comedians such as Santharam and M.S. Narayana. Google Play Store Downloads 10 million+ Sun NXT has gradually begun using its platform to premiere Unique Users new content. For instance, the trailer of the song ‘Simtaan- 162K (March 2019; Desktop Only) garan’ from the Tamil ﬁlm Sarkar starring superstar Vijay premiered an hour ahead on Sun NXT. Reach 0.1% (March 2019; Desktop Only) Average Minutes/visitor 274.4 minutes (March 2019; Desktop Only) Revenue Model SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand)

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 123 Key Measures of the Platform Sun NXT Total Unique Visitors Mobile App (000) Only Desktop data is available for Sun Between April 2018 and March 2019 NXT. The total unique visitor changed by 26%, from 129K in March 2018 to 250 162K in March 2019, averaging at 205 198 146K during the year. The user 200 189 187 engagement was very high, averaging 169 162 at 274.4 minutes per visitor and 146 totaling to 35 million minutes in 150 141 March 19. 107 98 97 100 Consumer Demographics 79 Sun NXT had a male: female ratio of 60:40 in March 2019, with 15-24 age 50 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 group comprising 50% of the demographic in both genders.

Sun NXT Audience March 2019

Recent Males, TUV Females, TUV Developments Age Group (000) Age Group (000) 6-14 NA 6-14 NA Services 15-24 50 15-24 34 Sun network launched in the Bengal market with Sun Bangla. 25 - 34 25 25 - 34 9

Partnerships and Distributions 35 + 23 35 + 21 Sun NXT partnered with telecom All Males 98 All Females 64 giant Vodafone Idea to provide its Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 content on the apps Vodafone Play and Idea Movies and TV app.

Achievements Company representatives state that Sun NXT crossed the 1 million paid subscriber mark in Q3 2018. Monthly subscription revenues are estimated at INR 5 crore1.

Future Plans Sun NXT is in the last stage of closing the deal with Reliance Jio to make the content available on Jio TV.

1 https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/sun-tv-network-to-expand-presence-in-ott-business-eyes-revenue-growth-119031200592_1.html, accessed 29 April 2019.

124 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 125 126 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS 26 Original Shows; 500+ Bengali movies; 1000+ Bengali Songs Launched September 2017 Oﬀerings Owned by 26 Shows (All in Bengali) and 9 original ﬁlms. Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF) Headquarter Hoichoi is the one of the lone players operating exclusively Kolkata in the regional space. The platform aims to be a ‘360 degree entertainment’ for the 250 million Bengalis globally1. Google Play Store Downloads 1 million+ Comedy (Mismatch, Japani Joy), thriller (Dark Web, Unique Users Paranoia), detective (Byomkesh, Bouma Detective), and 140K (March 2019; Desktop Only) erotica (Charitraheen) genres are the main draw of Hoichoi. Average Minutes/visitor 6.4 minutes (March 2019; Desktop Only) Many of the shows are female-driven (Astey Ladies! Dupur Revenue Model Thakurpo, Charitraheen), and include female ensembles SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand), (Astey Ladies! Bou Keno Psycho?). The Raima Sen-starrer Pay-per-View for Movies Hello! features a love triangle albeit in this case the wife has a mistress.

Share of Web Original Series on Hoichoi by Genre What’s in a Name?

Comedy Detective Horror Non-Fiction The word Hoichoi Crime Drama Mystery Romance Thriller means ‘fun and entertainment’ in

27% 27% Bengali.

4% 8%

4% 15% 4% 7% 4%

Source: Hoichoi.tv, Accessed May 2019.

1 https://yourstry.com/2018/09/meet-hoichoi- regional-language-ott-platform-redeﬁning-innovation, accessed 15 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 127 Hoichoi features prominent actors platform is also behind the worldwide in March 2018 to 140K in March from the Bengali fraternity including digital premiere of Bengali movies 2019. A total of 2 million minutes Raima Sen (Hello!) and Anirban such as Criss Cross, and Byomkesh were consumed in March 19, Bhattacharya (Byomkesh). The Gowtro. It features the oeuvre of averaging 6.4 minutes per visitor. avant-garde filmmaker Q, most legendary filmmakers from the Traffic grew between May-June 2018 recognized for his controversial film Bengali soil – Satyajit Ray, Rituparno with the streaming of Laboratory, a Gandu, has created a ten-episode Ghosh, and Mrinal Sen. Hoichoi has a Hoichoi Original film based on a mystery series Taranath Tantrik for collection of movies for kids including popular story by Rabindranath Hoichoi. Haami and Amazon Obhijaan. Tagore, and the second season of the highly popular adult-comedy series Other unique original series includes Prominent writers in the Bengali Dupur Thakurpo. Similarly, August Magic #hoyejak, a non-fiction canon have inspired some of the 2018 saw the digital premiere of the entertainment featuring TC The original content, such as Sharadindu superhit Bengali film Haami. The Mentalist. Bandyopadhyay (Byomkesh) and November-December period marked Rabindranath Tagore (Laboratory). the release of the Original series Hoichoi has nine original films in Hello Season 2 and the film Dhanbad Bengali, mainly dramas (Bobbyr Key Measures of the Platform Blues. Bondhura, Borodin) and romance Comscore data for Hoichoi is (Ami vs Tumi, Shesh Theke Shuru). available only for the Desktop. Consumer Demographics Distinguished artistes included More than 75% audience on Hoichoi Kaushik Sen, Moomoon Sen are Hoichoi witnessed an 85% growth in were in the age group 15-34 associated with these works. The traffic from 76K total unique visitors

Hoichoi Audience March 2019

TUV Age (000)

6-14 0

15-24 56

25 - 34 52

35 + 32

All 140

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Hoichoi Total Unique Visitors Mobile App (000) Between April 2018 and March 2019

300 265

250

200 184 171 163 153 140 150 128 134 128 120

95 100 74

50 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

128 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Recent Developments Services Hoichoi announced in September 2018 that it would an additional 100 hours of original content including 30 web series and 12 movies. It also plans to raise its movie catalogue from 500 to 800 movies2.

The Hoichoi Top Up Cards payment method allows oﬄine payments. This is available across stores in tier-II and tier-III cities, which comprise 40% of the platform’s audience3.

Partnerships and Distribution Hoichoi partnered with telecom giant Vodafone Idea and Airtel to provide its content on the apps Vodafone Play and Idea Movies and TV app4 and Airtel TV5. It is also available across Android TV and Roku streaming device.

Achievements Hoichoi ranked the 8th position in the top 10 grossing entertainment apps on iOS6.

Hoichoi won ‘Silver’ in the ‘Regional Content Creator of the Year’ category at the StreamCon Asia 2019.

Future Plans Hoichoi is eying the 180 million Bengalis residing in Bangladesh and the Middle East with homegrown titles.

Hoichoi plans to introduce Pay Per View to allow viewers to stream the latest movie content for two weeks since its theatrical release. This can be a game-changing initiative.

Hoichoi expects to break even in the next four years.

2 http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/ hoichoi-is-now-available-on-android-tv-globally-and-roku-in-the-us-190225, accessed 15 May 2019. 3 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/hoichoi- announces-100-hours-of-original-content--92149.html, accessed 15 May 2019. 4 https://telecom.economictimes.inditimes.com/news/ vodafone-idea-partners-with-regional-content-provider-hoichoi/67253908, accessed 15 May 2019. 5 http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/airtel-partners-bengali- ott-platform-hoichoi-181123, accessed 15 May 2019. 6 https://www.televisionpost.com/svfs-hoichoi-among-top-10-grossing-entertainment-apps-on-ios/, accessed 15 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 129 130 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content Original Content SNIPPETS 23 original shows plus movies, music and sports content predominantly in Bengali. Launched November 2016 Oﬀerings Owned by Addatimes has 23 original shows (19 exclusively in Bengali; Addatimes Media Pvt Limited 4 in Bengali and Hindi). Headquarter Kolkata Share of Web Original Programming on Addatimes by Genre Google Play Store Downloads 0.1 million Biography Comedy Crime Detective Revenue Model Drama Lifestyle Music Reality SVOD (Subscription Video on Demand) Romance Shorts Talk Show

Formerly oﬀering Bengali content only, Addatimes has 4% 5% branched out and now oﬀers Hindi-language content 4% through the shows like The Senapatis - Rise of Bengal's Ganglord (1971-1984) which it claims have performed well. 18% 13% The platform features an assortment of genres ranging dramas, comedies, detective, talk shows, lifestyle etc. thus making it a true ‘adda’ for regional entertainment. Other popular shows include Feluda, on Satyajit Ray’s famous 4% 4% eponymous creation, Khyapa, a coming of age story, and 4% Baba Thake Bashai, a family drama.

9% Addatimes had the world digital premiere of the critically 9% acclaimed Bengali ﬁlms Pupa and Sahaj Paather Gappo.

Recent Developments

26% The CEO Rajiv Mehra claims the app has over 30000 subscribers (July 2018) and should break even by 2021.

Source: Addatimes.com, Accessed May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 131 132 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 OTT Watchlists

Name of the Platform Details

Launched by the preeminent DTH player Dish TV in the Q3 FY2019, Watcho features original shows and live TV, unlike its counterparts like Airtel TV, which rely on syndicated content. The platform is free for Dish TV and d2h subscribers for the initial six months, and for three months in the case of non-Dish TV customers1. The subscription costs are nominal.

Watcho streams 11 originals under its Premium membership, with a bend towards comedies (Chhoriyan, Masala) and dramas (Sindrella, Daughter of Prasad). The Spotlight section brings onboard around 475 digital inﬂuencers and rising creators from the world of fashion (Shruti Watcho TV Anand), culinary arts (Ritu Daman), poetry (Amandeep Singh), ﬁlm-making etc. for bite-sized content. Vote the Hell, a standup comedy themed around politics comes at the opportune moment of the general elections 2019 and is likely to catch viewers’ attention.

Other features include Live TV for 80 channels, movies in ﬁve languages2, 10 original short ﬁlms, and 15 plays.

Google Play Downloads – 50K+

Following suit of its competitorAnimated Amazon’s nursery foray into rhymes video very OTT popular space (Infobells-Bangla,with Amazon Prime Video, Flipkart Bengali Indian e-commerce giant FlipkartINRECO may launch Bengali its Children’s own OTT Songs,content Jugnu platform Kids) in . two years3. Bangladeshi singer Arman Alif very popular

On April 12, 2019, Disney announced its entry in the OTT space with entity Disney+. Disney+ is set to arrive in November 2019 worldwide. It will have 500+ movies and 7,500+ TV shows from Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television, including content from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Disney+ exclusives are also in the pipeline. The OTT shall compete with the Disney+ giant existing players Netﬂix and Amazon Prime. Disney will likely launch Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu — as a bundle. Users will able to stream content from Disney Plus for a starting price of USD 6.99 (approx. INR 480) per month. The preponderant Indian streaming giant Hotstar plans to air Disney+ content, and localize it through dubbing and subtitling.

There were reports in January 2019 that Paytm, India’s leading mobile payments and ﬁnancial Paytm services, might be entering the video OTT service space in the near future4.

Supriya Sahu, the Director General of Doordarshan, spoke about the public broadcaster’s plans to enter the OTT space with its iconic content library5.

Doordarshan, in collaboration with The Department of Science and Technology, also launched the Doordarshan OTT platform India Science in January 2019 for the dissemination of scientiﬁc awareness particularly with Indian perspectives, ethos, and cultural milieu.

Google Play Downloads – 5K+

One of the foremost players today in the Marathi news genre on television, Saam TV of the Sakal Group announced last August that it would launch its news app and OTT platform in six months and Saam TV would be speaking to Hotstar, Whatson etc. for content. The app is presently available on Google Play Store however no video OTT content exists as of now.

1 https://trak.in/tags/business/2019/04/18/dish-d2h-challenges-hotstar-netflix-with-their-own-ott-app-watcho-has-content-war-been-triggered/, accessed 23 April 2019. 2 Hindi (and Hindi dubbed South movies), Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam. 3 https://www.medianama.com/2018/12/223-flipkart-video-streaming-service/, accessed 23 April 2019. 4 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/paytm-plans-entry-in-content-space-as-fight-for-consumers-share-of-wallet-and-time-intensifies/ articleshow/67524560.cms?from=mdr, accessed 23 April 2019. 5 https://www.indiatoday.in/television/web-series/story/doordarshan-plans-to-have-its-own-ott-platform-1433982-2019-01-18, accessed 23 April 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 133 134 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 KEY REGIONAL VIDEO Introduction OTT PLAYERS There are namely three major video OTT players that focus almost exclusively on Indian regional languages and markets. These are Hoichoi, Addatimes, and Sun NXT. The former two specialize in Bengali content; Bengali cinema itself has had a rich and longstanding heritage and therefore it doesn’t come as a surprise that two regional players have emerged to capture the digital space with an array of original shows that resonate with the Bengali segment.

Similarly, Sun TV network holds a monopoly in the broadcasting space in the four Southern markets – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. Its OTT launch Sun NXT mainly features its entire content library and oﬀers catch-up TV services. With the promising performance of the digital platform’s subscription revenues, the channel plans to foray into original content in the near future.

It remains to be seen if these regional players can maintain their niche and ﬁnd avenues for expansion amidst growing competition from the dominant players in the video OTT space who have realized the potential of regional entertainment and are gunning for their market share.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 135 136 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REGIONAL CONTENT ON YOUTUBE

Regional is Our Analysis – The New National Entertainment Triumphs 80% of the 50 top subscribed Introduction channels in the 10 major regional There is a steady but assured languages3 were expansion of regional content with entertainment-related, followed by the increased penetration of news (Odiya, Kannada, Malayalam, internet in rural India1,2. and Marathi) and lifestyle. Three of the regional channels have By 2021, out of 829 signiﬁcantly surpassed the 10 million mark – Speed Records million Internet (Punjabi), Wave Music (Bhojpuri), users, 429 million will and T-Series Apna Punjab (Punjabi).

be from small-town 75% of the top 10 high-traction and rural India while content in the 10 major regional 400 million will be in languages are music-related, either the soundtracks of feature films or the big cities (Ernst songs by independent artists. Songs and Young). 95 per from film soundtracks were more popular in Bhojpuri, Odiya, cent of all video Kannada, Malayalam, and Tamil. consumption in India Independent artists’ music caught is in regional on more in Punjabi, Gujarati, and Marathi. The remaining 25% were languages (KPMG) made up by animated nursery rhymes in regional languages OTT platforms have taken note and (particularly those of infobells), and upped the ante of their regional movies. Punjabi and Telugu content offerings. Uday Sodhi, Sony Pictures were most watched among the Networks’ digital business chief languages. says: "75 per cent of the emerging Internet users consume content in These videos were uploaded their local language” (Hindu between 2010-2019, with 29% alone Business Line, 2018). uploaded since 2018 indicating the rising consumption of regional YouTube, the unrivalled leader in content. the digital realm, has a plethora of Indian regional offerings in languages such as Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Kannada, and Punjabi (Bhattacharyya, 2018).

1 Bhattacharyya, A. (2018, Jul 20). Our scale of content creation is diﬀerent from other video OTT players, says entertainment head of YouTube india. Financial Express Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2072307035?accountid=82913, accessed 27 April 2019. 2The hindu business line: Talking in tongues (2018). . Chatham: Newstex. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/2099183264?accountid=8291, accessed 27 April 2019. 3Selecting 5 high-traction videos in each language by subscriber count., accessed 27 April 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 137 Language Overall Observations

Content from the blockbuster Marathi movie Sairat, either oﬃcial Marathi music videos of its soundtrack or fan renditions, were among the top watched Marathi content.

Odiya Ollywood singer Humane Sagar’s songs extremely popular.

Animated nursery rhymes very popular (Infobells-Bangla, Bengali INRECO Bengali Children’s Songs, Jugnu Kids) . Bangladeshi singer Arman Alif very popular

Gujarati Popularity of Independent artists (female – Geeta Rabari, Kinjal Dave and male – Jignesh Kaviraj, Parth Chaudhary)

Popularity of Independent artists (male dominance – Guru Randhawa, Punjabi Harrdy Sandhu, Jass Manak)

Animated nursery rhymes (infobells – Tamil) and Tamil ﬁlm music popularity (superstar Dhanush)

Animated nursery rhymes extremely popular (infobells – Telugu). Telugu Hindi dubbed versions of Telugu ﬁlms also consumed.

TRIVIA: T-Series launched ‘Stage Works’, an educational institute for North Eastern Languages the fashion, music, ﬁlm and other performing arts, in Guwahati to encourage talents in the North East.

138 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Top YouTube Videos by Language

Language Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Official Video of the Song Zingaat from the Blockbuster 2016 Marathi Movie Zee Zingaat Music Marathi Sairat sung by Ajay 14-Apr-16 160.4 million 582K Music Official Full Video (Soundtrack) and Atul Gogavale. Marathi TRIVIA: Sairat is the highest grossing Marathi film to date.

Rangabati is Odisha’s most popular folk song from the Sambalpur region. Coke Studio India, a series which Rangabati - Ram features live Sampath, Sona studio-recorded Mohapatra & music performances Music Odia Rituraj Mohanty - by various artists, 3-Jul-15 38.8 million 205K Coke Studio (Album/ Coke Studio@MTV re-interpreted the vIndia Independent) Season 4 song as a beautiful bi-lingual conversation of Sambalpuri & Tamil. Singers – Sona Mohapatra, Tony & Rajesh, and Rituraj Mohanty.

Eagle Music dedicated the Music Bengali song Eagle Music Bengali Oporadhi (Album/ 26-Apr-18 210.9 million 1.1M Oporadhi sung by Video Station Independent) Arman Alif for Ramadan 2018.

Music Video from Maari 2 2018 Maari 2 sung by Music Wunderbar Tamil 2-Jan-19 237.3 million 1.6 million Rowdy Baby actor Dhanush and (Soundtrack) Studios Dhee.

Penance is a 2016 Malayalam short ﬁlm which deals with the social responsibility Penance that a person should Malayalam Malayalam Movie/TV 10-Jun-16 162.7 million 70K Film Patients possess in the society. Shortﬁlm A possible reason for the high views is the thumbnail which is a suggestive visual.

Oﬃcial music video from the 2016 ﬁlm Bhojpuriya Raja, sung by Pawan Singh Worldwide Chhalakata Music Bhojpuri and Priyanka Singh. 8-May-16 259.1 million 524K Records Hamro Jawaniya (Soundtrack) Film stars Pawan Bhojpuri Singh and Kajal Raghwani.

Oﬃcial music video of independent song Music Gujarati Rona Ser Ma Re sung by Geeta (Album/ 16-Apr-17 215.5 million 480K Raghav Digital Rabari. Independent)

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 139 Top YouTube Videos by Language

Language Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial music video of the song from the super-hit 2016 movie Kirik Party, Music Paramvah Kannada Belageddu sung by Vijaya 25-Nov-16 74 million 249K (Soundtrack) Music Prakash. Movie stars Rakshit Shetty and Rashmika Mandanna.

Oﬃcial music video Music of single by Punjabi Lahore (Album/ 13-Dec-17 680.6 million 3.2 million T-Series independent artist Independent) Guru Randhawa.

Chal Chal Animated nursery Animation/ Infobells Telugu 18-Nov-16 558 million 1 million Gurram rhymes for children. Kids Music – Telugu

Music video of the Music (Album/ Ashim Assamese TAXI GARI song sung by Nekib 21-March-16 22.1 million 60K Independent) Sarmah and Priyanka Bharali.

Music video of the Music (Album/ Manipuri Bullet Bullet 19-May-18 8.5 million 45K TANTHA song sung by Kabira. Independent)

Video of Abhay and Nepalese Aayush, two Kids vs Alien Nepalese children Miscellaneous ASquare Nepalese 17-May-18 41.6 million 195K Dance Challenge performing the Crazy (Talent) Crew 2018 Frog Dance Challenge

140 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Top YouTube Videos by Language

Language Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Konkani Preparation of a Miscellaneous Shubhangi Konkani 2.6 million 215.5 million 11K Chicken Recipe regional dish. (Talent) Keer

Agarbatti Folk song sung by Music (Album/ Bhili 1-May-18 9 million 10K TECH karu Arjun R Meda. Independent) िहंदी मे

Music Kashmiri folk song Aadil Gurezi Kashmiri DUPTE Nunem (Album/ 31-March-18 8.3 million 58K by Aadil Gurezi. Oﬃcial Independent)

Mizo KIRA A Mizo feature ﬁlm. Movie/TV 25-June-17 3.8 million 8.4K Zochannel

BHOLA Kunkay Inaj Music (Album/ NATH Santali A folk song 10-Nov-17 12.3 million 8.5K Gida Re Independent) MAHTO GODDA

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 141 142 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR MARATHI YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

ABP Majha 24-Hour Marathi News 2.7 million

Sumeet Music Channel for Marathi Folk Music 2.4 million

ZEE24 TAAS 24-Hour Marathi News 2.3 million

Zee Music Marathi Zee’s oﬃcial channel for Marathi music entertainment 2.3 million

Madhuras Recipe Marathi Channel for Traditional Marathi Recipes 1.7 million

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 143 Popular Marathi YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial Video of the Song Zingaat from Zingaat - the Blockbuster Music Zee Music 14-Apr-16 160.4 million 582K Oﬃcial Full Video 2016 Marathi Movie (Soundtrack) Marathi Sairat sung by Ajay and Atul Gogavale.

Hit independent Marathi song sung Music Govyachya by Shubhangi Kedar, 14-Feb-18 95.3 million 324K Jayashri Divekar (Soundtrack) Rajneesh Patel, and Praveen Koli.

Oﬃcial Video of the Song Dewak Kalaji Re from the 2018 Music Dewak Kalaji Re 6-May-2018 67.2 million 249K Video Palace Marathi Movie Redu (Soundtrack) sung by Ajay Gogavale

Independent Aamdar Zalya Marathi Lokgeet Music 11-Dec-2017 63.2 million 91K Sumeet Music Sarkha Vatatay sung by Sankalp (Album/Independent) Gole

Chandoba Chandoba Bhaglas Ka (also sometimes known as Chandoba Chandomama Animation/ Chandoba 12-Mar-16 59.4 million 70K Jingle Toons Chandomama Kids Music Bhaglas Ka Bhaglas Ka) is very popular Marathi Kids song, Balgeet.

Hit Marathi ‘item Shantabai Music song’ composed by 18-Oct-15 58.2 million 82K Sumeet Music Oﬃcial Video (Album/Independent) Sanjay Londhe.

144 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Marathi YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial Video of the Song Sairat Zaala Ji from the 2016 Music Sairat Zaala Ji Blockbuster Marathi 9-Jul-18 499.1 million 1.9 million T-Series (Soundtrack) Movie Sairat sung by Ajay Gogavle and Chinmayi Sripada.

Mamachya Gavala Jauya is an animated version of a song for Mamachya Animation / children about 19-May-16 52.3 million 79K Jingle Toons Gavala Jauya Kids Music travelling on a vacation to meet loved ones.

Hit independent Marathi song sung Music Govyachya by Shubhangi Kedar, 14-Feb-18 95.3 million 324K Jayashri Divekar (Soundtrack) Rajneesh Patel, and Praveen Koli.

Features a 5 year old Zing zing Zingat singer Amit Phulore Music Sangeet Amit Phulore singing the hit 2016 13-Jul-16 44.3 million 114K Amit Phulore (Album/Independent) (Age 5 Year) DJ songs Marathi ﬁlm Sairat song Zingaat

Sonu Tujha Majhyavar Bharosa Nay Kay is a Hit Sonu Tujha Marathi Music Majhyavar Independent Song 25-Jan-2018 41.6 million 47K Sumeet Music (Album/Independent) Bharosa Nay Kay sung by Bhagyashali Kshirsagar and Ajay Kshirsagar.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 145 146 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR ODIA YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

Sidharth TV High quality Odia entertainment content 2.6 million

Tarang TV Oﬃcial YouTube channel of Odia TV channel 1.7 million

Kanak News Oﬃcial YouTube channel of 24x7 news and 1.4 million current aﬀairs TV channel

OTV Oﬃcial YouTube channel of news channel OTV Odisha 1.3 million

Sidharth Music High quality Odia music content 1.2 million

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 147 Popular Odia YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Rangabati is Odisha’s most popular folk song from the Sambalpur region. Coke Studio India, a series which features live Rangabati - studio-recorded Ram Sampath, music performances Sona Mohapatra & Music Coke Studio by various artists, 3-Jul-15 38.8 million 205K (Album/Independent) India Rituraj Mohanty - re-interpreted the Coke Studio song as a beautiful @MTV Season 4 bi-lingual conversation of Sambalpuri & Tamil. Singers – Sona Mohapatra, Tony & Rajesh, and Rituraj Mohanty.

Hit Odia song sung Hai To by Udit Narayan and Music 25-July-18 28.5 million 81K Tarang Music Premara Rangoli Dipti Rekha for the (Soundtrack) 2018 ﬁlm Blackmail.

Supar Hit Odia Papu An Oriya song sung Music Adhunika II Station 1-Jan-18 23.1 million PoM PoM by Debesh Pati. (Album/Independent) Bazar Jhiati II 54K Creations

Song sung by Indian playback singers Udit Narayan and Hai To Prema Ra Diptirekha for the Music Rangoli - Blackmail upcoming movie 12-Mar-18 23.5 million 94K Tarang Music (Soundtrack) | Studio Making Blackmail. Includes interview snippets with the singers and music director.

Song from the Odia ﬁlm Sundergarh Ra Music Tarang Pyar Wala Hichki 24-May-18 22.9 million 59K Salman Khan sung (Album/Independent) Cine Productions by Humane Sagar.

148 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Odia YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Song from the Odia First Time ﬁlm Laila O Laila Music 26-Dec-17 20.7 million 61K Sidharth TV Gote Jhia Tu sung by Humane (Soundtrack) Sagar & Nivedita.

Song from the Odia Movie Baby sung by Music Amara BABY Title Song 10-Nov-16 20 million 32K Humane Sagar, (Soundtrack) Muzik Odia Chunmoon

Song Pattigala Odiya hero sidhant Pattigala sung by Ira Music & rekha jain's Mohanty from the 23-May-10 19.7 million 3.2K (Soundtrack) 0721213037 hot video 1999 Oriya ﬁlm Maa Pari Kie Heba

‘Item song’ by the Mo Haladi Gina singer Aseema Music Sidharth TV Panda for the Oriya 27-Oct-17 19.2 million 37K (Soundtrack) ﬁlm Bajrangi.

Song by Tarique Aziz Nagin Nagin from the super hit Music 2-Jun-17 19.2 million 37K Tarang TV Oﬃcial Video Song Oriya ﬁlm Sister (Soundtrack) Sridevi

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 149 150 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR BANGLA YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

Zee Bangla Oﬃcial YouTube channel of Bengali GEC 4.5 million

Sony AATH Premium Bangla Entertainment channel 2.7 million

SVF Oﬃcial YouTube channel of East Indian Production house 2.6 million

Saregama Bengali Bengali music channel 1.8 million

Bengali Fairy Tales Kids’ animation channel 1.7 million

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 151 Popular Bangla YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Eagle Music dedicated the Music Eagle Bengali song Oporadhi (Album/ 26-Apr-18 210.9 million 1.1M Music Video Oporadhi sung by Independent) Station Arman Alif for Ramadan 2018.

Rhyme on Lalaji is an animated nursery Animation / Infobells Lalaji Song rhyme to educate 19-May-17 122.8 million 183K kids on cleanliness Kids Music Bangla through humour.

Independent Bengali Music G Series Nesha song sung by Arman 20-Aug-18 68.9 million 68.9K (Album/Independent) (Music) Alif

A coming-of-age story of a cheerful filmy girl called Boni who is strongly influenced by films Rajjotok | to such an extent Bangla Serial | that she equates her Movie/TV 26-Dec-15 59.2 million 24K Zee Bangla EP 542 - Webisode real life situations with a film. This particular clip is a romantic scene between the protagonists.

Bengali animated Animation / Infobells The Monkey Song nursery rhyme for 13-June-16 56.1 million 83K Kids Music Bangla children.

152 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Bangla YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Bengali animated nursery rhyme for INRECO Aye Re children. Sung by Animation / 27-Nov-14 51.9 million 80K Bengali Chhute Aye Antara Chowdhury Kids Music Children Songs and Salil Chowdhury.

Wife caught Inﬁdelity scene husband with from B-movie Movie/TV 28-Apr-17 48.1 million 28K Ultra Regional neighbor Bharja – Bharja – The Wife The Wife Part 3

Naked Short Film with a Binjola (Short Film With Movie/TV 26-Jul-17 46 million 46K message Films Bangla A Social Message)

Independent Music Pammi Tor Mon Paray Bangla Song sung 13-July-18 42.2 million 198K (Album/Independent) Multimedia by Mahdi Sultan

Bengali animated Jugnu Kids - Bangla Upar Pankha Animation / nursery rhyme for 4-Jan-17 42.2 million 54K Nursery Rhymes Chalta Hai Kids Music children. & Baby Songs

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 153 154 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR TAMIL YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

Think Music India YouTube channel for Tamil ﬁlm music. 4.5 million

VikatanTV Channel dedicated to the Tamil language 2.7 million television content produced by Vikatan Televistas.

Zee Tamil Oﬃcial YouTube channel of TV channel Zee Tamil. 2.6 million

Infobells – Tamil Tamil nursery rhymes and educational content for children. 1.8 million

IndiaGlitz Tamil Movies, Interviews, Shooting Spot, Tamil entertainment news. 1.7 million Review,Gossip

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 155 Popular Tamil YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Music Video from Maari 2 - 2018 Maari 2 sung Music Wunderbar 2-Jan-19 237.3 million 1.6 million Rowdy Baby by actor Dhanush (Soundtrack) Studios and Dhee.

Why This Popular song from Music Sony Music 16-Nov-11 177 million 1.3 million Kolaveri Di the 2012 Tamil ﬁlm 3. (Soundtrack) India

The Tamil baby song The Little Boy Animation / infobells video is a depiction 7-Jul-16 139.5 million 136K is Naughty Kids Music Tamil of a playful baby.

The Tamil Rhymes for children collection is all about The Tamil Rhymes Animation / infobells the little baby, its 14-Oct-16 103.2 million 130K and more Kids Music Tamil emotions, naughtiness, daily activities etc.

Lyric Video from 2018 ﬁlm Kanaa sung by Aaradhana Music Kanaa - Sivakarthikeyan, 24-Aug-18 97.5 million 795K Sony Music (Soundtrack) Vaayadi Petha Sivakarthikeyan, and India Pulla Lyric Vaikom Vijayalakshmi

156 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Tamil YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Aalaporan Thamizhan is a song from the 2017 Tamil Mersal - ﬁlm Mersal. Music Aalaporan Music Sony Music by A.R. Rahman. 17-Nov-17 95.6 million 565K Thamizhan (Soundtrack) South VEVO Singers: Kailash Tamil Video Kher, Sathya Prakash, Deepak, Pooja AV.

Title song from the 2018 Tamil ﬁlm Gulaebaghavali sung by Anirudh Music Think Music Gulaebaghavali Ravichander, Mervin 25-Jan-18 95.1 million 402K (Soundtrack) India Solomon. Movie features Prabhu Deva, Hansika Motwani, Revathi.

Lyric video from 2019 Tamil movie Charlie Chaplin 2 sung by Senthil Ganesh & Music Chinna Machan 9-Jul-18 499.1 million 1.9 million T-Series Rajalakshmi. Movie (Soundtrack) stars Prabhu Deva, Nikki Galrani, Adah Sharma.

This Tamil cute baby song for children portrays the common fear Little Kid that the little Animation / infobells 28-Apr-17 80 million 105K on the Road babies have on Kids Music Tamil discovering their own shadow for the ﬁrst time and being scared of It.

The Tamil Rhymes for children Animation / infobells Lazy Boy 2-Jan-15 79.4 million 98K collection is about a Kids Music Tamil Lazy Boy.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 157 158 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR MALAYALAM YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

Asianet Oﬃcial YouTube channel of Malayalam TV 3.5 million GEC channel Asianet.

Oﬃcial YouTube channel of Malayalam TV Asianet News 2.4 million news channel Asianet.

Muzik247 Oﬃcial Youtube channel of Muzik247 1.7 million for Malayalam and Tamil music.

Oﬃcial YouTube channel of Malayalam Manorama News 1.5 million TV news channel Manorama News.

API Malayalam Malayalam ﬁlmed entertainment channel. 1.3 million

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 159 Popular Malayalam YouTube Channels

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Penance is a 2016 Malayalam short ﬁlm which deals with the social responsibility Penance that a person should Malayalam Movie/TV 10-Jun-16 162.7 million 70K Film Patients possess in the society. Shortﬁlm A possible reason for the high views is the thumbnail which is a suggestive visual.

An independent song by American Be Free singer Vidya Vox (Pallivaalu Music which is a remix of 9-Jan-17 129.3 million 906K Vidya Vox Bhadravattakam) (Album/Independent) the Kerela folk song ft. Vandana Iyer Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam.

Song from the 2017 Malayalam Entammede Mohanlal-starrer Jimikki Kammal Music satyam Velipadinte 17-Aug-17 97.9 million 568K Oﬃcial Video (Soundtrack) videos Pusthakam. Singers – Song HD Vineeth Sreenivasan & Renjith Unni.

The song Manikya Malaraya Poovi sung by Vineeth Sreenivasan is Oru Adaar Love from the upcoming Music Manikya Malaraya Malayalam movie Oru 9-Feb-18 87.6 million 830K Muzik247 (Soundtrack) Poovi Song Video Adaar Love. The song is a revised modernized rendition of a Mappila song.

American artist Vidya Vox covers raditional Kerala Boat song Kuttanadan Music Kuttunadan 12-Jan-16 53 million 451K Vidya Vox Punjayile Punjayile, ft Jomy (Album/Independent) George & Shankar Tucker.

160 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Malayalam YouTube Channels

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Video of the Song Jeevamshamayi from the 2018 Malayalam Movie Theevandi Music Goodwill Jeevamshamayi 14-April-18 40.3 million 208K sung by Shreya (Soundtrack) Entertainments Ghoshal & Harisankar KS. Movie stars Tovino Thomas & Samyuktha Menon.

Song Malare is from Anwar Rasheed the 2015 Malayalam Music Premam Malare Jun 20, 2015 39.6 million 147K Entertainment ﬁlm Premam. Singer (Soundtrack) – Vijay Yesudas. Oﬃcial

Luttappi song Animation video Animation / Malayala 7-Jan-13 38.3 million 38K from Mayavi 2 for kids. Kids Music Manorama Songs

Song from the 2017 movie Baahubali 2 The Conclusion. Music Manorama Ore Oru Raja 20-Jul-17 36.2 million 88K Singers – Vijay (Soundtrack) Music Songs Yesudas, Shweta Mohan.

Song from 2015 Malayalam ﬁlm Bhaskar the Rascal I Love You starring Mammootty Music 11-Apr-15 33.1 million 57K Manorama Mummy song & Nayanthara. (Soundtrack) Music Songs Singers – Shweta Mohan, Devika Deepakdev.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 161 162 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR BHOJPURI YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

Wave Music Oﬃcial YouTube channel of Wave Music, 21 million the leading Bhojpuri music record label from India.

Regional division of music company Worldwide 8.3 million Worldwide Records Bhojpuri Records releasing Bhojpuri Films and Music Albums

Team Films Bhojpuri Bhojpuri music entertainment channel. 6.5 million

RCM Music Bhojpuri Bhojpuri music entertainment channel. 3.8 million

RCM Bhojpuri Hit Bhojpuri music entertainment channel. 3.5 million

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 163 Popular Bhojpuri YouTube Channels

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial music video from the 2016 ﬁlm Bhojpuriya Raja, Chhalakata sung by Pawan Singh Music Worldwide 8-May-16 259.1 million 524K Hamro Jawaniya and Priyanka Singh. (Soundtrack) Records Bhojpuri Film stars Pawan Singh and Kajal Raghwani.

Oﬃcial music video from the ﬁlm 2017 Satya, sung by Music Raate Diya Butake1 Pawan Singh & Indu 16-Nov-17 209 million 370K Wave Music (Soundtrack) Sonali. Film stars Pawan Singh and Akshara Singh.

Hindi song Tum Mere Baad Mohabbat Ko Taras Music Tum Mere Baad Jaoge sung by 22-Mar-17 163.7 million 411K Wave Music Bhojpuri singer Anu (Album/Independent) Dubey for her album Pyar Mohabbat.

Oﬃcial music video of the song Piyawa Se Pahile sung by Piyawa Se Pahile Music Ritesh Pandey from 9-Sept-17 148 million 340K Wave Music (Album/Independent) the album Piyawa se Pahile.

Oﬃcial music video from the ﬁlm 2018 Deewanapan, sung by Khesari Lal Yadav Coolar Kurti Me and Priyanka Singh. Music 9-Apr-18 143.8 million 243K Yashi Films Film stars Khesari Lal Yadav and Kajal Raghwani.

Oﬃcial music video from the album Tohar Akhiya Ke Tohar Akhiya Ke Music Kajal Hamar Jaan Kajal Hamar Jaan 9-June-17 127.3 million 145K Bihariwood (Album/Independent) Lai Gayil Lai Gayil, sung by Bhushan Singh and Lovely Singh.

The highest grossing Bhojpuri ﬁlm of 2017 Nirahua starring Dinesh Lal Movie/TV 25-Nov-17 125.5 million 251K Wave Music Hindustani 2 Yadav "Nirahua" and Aamrapali.

Oﬃcial music video from the 2017 movie Dilwala, sung by Music Wave Music Bhatar Katani 4-June-17 117.5 million 137K Khesari Lal Yadav. (Soundtrack) Bhojpuri Movie stars Khesari Lal, Akshara Singh.

1 Wave Music has uploaded two videos of the song Raate Diya Butake with same audiovisual content.

164 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 165 166 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR GUJARATI YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

RDC Gujarati Channel for Gujarati music videos. 4.6 million

Studio Saraswati Oﬃcial Channel for Gujarati entertainment videos. 3.2 million

Oﬃcial YouTube channel for Gujarat’s Popular Raghav Digital 2.9 million Music Label & Production House.

Ekta Sound Channel for Gujarati music videos. 1.7 million

Indian Media House Shemaroo Entertainment’s Oﬃcial Shemaroo Gujarati 1.3 million YouTube channel for Gujarati Entertainment content.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 167 Popular Gujarati YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial music video of Music Rona Ser Ma Re independent 16-Apr-17 215.5 million 480K Raghav Digital (Album / Independent) song sung by Geeta Rabari.

Oﬃcial music video of independent Music Chote Raja 22-Dec-17 152.4 million 375K Raghav Digital song sung by Kinjal (Album / Independent) Dave.

Oﬃcial music video Hath Ma of independent Music 28-May-17 89.4 million 261K Raghav Digital Chhe Whisky song sung by (Album / Independent) Jignesh Kaviraj.

Oﬃcial music video of Music Studio Gujarati Leri La La independent 28-Jul-17 77.8 million 199K (Album / Independent) Saraswati Oﬃcial song sung by Kinjal Dave.

Oﬃcial music video of Music Ma Tara Ashirvaad independent song 18-July-17 74.6 million 181K Raghav Digital (Album / Independent) sung by Geeta Rabari.

168 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Gujarati YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial music video from the 2019 Bollywood ﬁlm Bewafa Simmba featuring Music Tane Dur Thi Ranveer Singh and 19-Dec-17 63.9 million 176K RDC Gujarati (Album / Independent) Salaam Sara Ali Khan. Singers: Neha Kakkar, Kumar Sanu, Mika Singh

Oﬃcial music video of independent Music Gomda Nu Dil 20-Oct-17 53.7 million 150K Raghav Digital song sung by Parth (Album / Independent) Chaudhary.

Oﬃcial music video of Music Studio Mahadev Aayo independent 9-Aug-18 48.6 million 238K (Album/Independent) Saraswati Oﬃcial song sung by Geeta Rabari.

Oﬃcial music video Aaje Taro Samay of independent Music Studio 26-June-18 48 million 163K Kale Maro Aavse song sung by (Album/Independent) Saraswati Oﬃcial Vijay Suvada.

MojMa Oﬃcial music video Music ( Ghate To of independent 19-April-18 45.5 million 203K Raghav Digital (Album/Independent) Zindagi Ghate ) song sung by Kinjal Dave.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 169 170 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR KANNADA YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

Anand Audio Oﬃcial channel of Kannada Music Label Anand Audio. 3.4 million

Zee Kannada Zee’s oﬃcial channel of Kannada GEC Zee Kannada. 2.3 million

Tv9 Kannada Oﬃcial channel of Kannada TV news channel. 2 million

Shemaroo Kannada Indian Media House Shemaroo Entertainment’s Oﬃcial 1.3 million YouTube channel for Kannada Entertainment content.

Public TV Oﬃcial channel of Kannada TV news channel. 1.3 million

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 171 Popular Kannada YouTube Channels

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial music video of the song from the super-hit 2016 movie Kirik Party, sung by Music Paramvah Belageddu 25-Nov-16 74 million 249K Vijaya Prakash. (Soundtrack) Music Movie stars Rakshit Shetty and Rashmika Mandanna.

Oﬃcial music video of the song from the 2018 movie Raambo-2, sung by Music Chuttu Chuttu Ravindra Soragavi 21-Mar-18 71.1 million 179K Anand Studio (Soundtrack) and Shamitha Malnad. Movie stars Sharan and Ashika Ranganath.

Music video of the song from the 2012 ﬁlm Chingari Music Ashwini Bhavana Hot Song 14-May-15 61.5 million 45K released. The ﬁlm (Soundtrack) Media Networks stars Darshan and Deepika Kamaiah.

Making of the song Bombe Helutaithe from superhit 2017 ﬁlm Raajakumara. Bombe Helutaithe Music DBeats Song sung by Vijay 9-Mar-17 59.1 million 196K (Making of the Song) Prakash. Movie stars (Soundtrack) Music World Puneeth Rajkumar, Priya Anand, and Prakash Raj.

Oﬃcial music video Music 3 PEG of Kannada Rapper 13-March-16 56.3 million 202K Chandan Shetty (Album/Independent) Chandan Shetty.

172 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Kannada YouTube Channels

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial Video Song from the 2017 Kannada ﬁlm Anjaniputhraa, sung Music Chanda Chanda by Ravi Basrur and 1-Jan-18 55 million 124K PRK Audio (Soundtrack) Anuradha Bhat. Movie stars Puneeth Rajkumar & Rashmika Mandanna.

Animated nursery rhyme version of the Punyakoti - popular Kannada Animation / Infobells 22-Dec-16 52.6 million 117K Govina Haadu song Punyakoti - Kids Music Kannada Govina Haadu (The Honest Cow).

Oﬃcial Lyric Video from the 2018 Kannada ﬁlm The Villain, sung by Vijay Prakash, Kailash Music Tick Tick Tick 24-July-18 48.8 million 178K Anand Studio Kher, Prem, and (Soundtrack) Siddharth Basrur. Movie stars Shiva Rajkumar, Sudeep, and Amy Jackson.

Thotake Animated Infobells Animation / Kids Music 13-Apr-14 48.6 million 75K Hogu Timma nursery rhyme. Kannada

Oﬃcial music video of Kannada Rapper Music Tequila Chandan Shetty 17-Dec-17 45.7 million 328K Chandan Shetty (Album/Independent) featuring Shalni Gowda.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 173 174 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR PUNJABI YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

Speed Records The biggest Punjabi Music Record label in the world 21.4 million

T Series Apna Punjab Oﬃcial Punjabi channel of T-Series. 14.6 million

Geet MP3 Channel for Punjabi music content. 9.8 million

Oﬃcial channel of White Hill Music and White Hill Music 8.2 million While Hill Production for music and movie releases.

Lokdhun Punjab Oﬃcial channel of Kannada TV news channel. 6.7 million

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 175 Popular Punjabi YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial music video of Music Lahore single by independent 13-Dec-17 680.6 million 3.2 million T-Series (Album/ Independent) artist Guru Randhawa.

Title song from the 2018 ﬁlm Laung Laachi, sung by Music T-Series Laung Laachi Mannat Noor. Movie 21-Feb-18 678.6 million 2 million (Soundtrack) Apna Punjab stars Neeru Bajwa and Amberdeep Singh.

Oﬃcial music video of single by Music High Rated Gabru 3-July-17 634.3 million 2.8 million T-Series independent artist (Album/ Independent) Guru Randhawa.

Oﬃcial music video of single by Music Prada 13-Jun-18 433.6 million 2.9 million Geet MP3 independent artist (Album/Independent) Jass Manak.

Oﬃcial music video of single by Music Daru Badnaam 24-Dec-16 433.5 million 2.6 million VIP Records independent artists (Album/Independent) Kamal Kahlon & Param Singh.

176 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Punjabi YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Oﬃcial music video of single by Music Made in India 5-July-18 376.8 million 2 million T-Series independent artist (Album/Independent) Guru Randhawa.

Oﬃcial music video of single by Music Sony Music Naah 30-Dec-17 349.6 million 2.1 million independent artist (Album/Independent) India Harrdy Sandhu.

Oﬃcial music video of single by 3 Pegg Music T-Series independent 16-Dec-16 345.2 million 1.1 million Sharry Mann (Album/Independent) Apna Punjab artist Parmish Verma.

Oﬃcial music video of single by Music Sony Music Kya Baat Ay 24-Sept-18 327.8 million 2.5 million independent (Album/Independent) India artist Harrdy Sandhu.

Oﬃcial music video of single by Music White Hill Na Ja 20-Feb-17 316.1 million 1.8 M independent (Album/Independent) Music artist Pav Dharia.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 177 178 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 POPULAR TELUGU YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Channel Description Subscribers (as on February 2019)

Aditya Music Telugu music-based channel 8.4 million

ETV Telugu India Oﬃcial YouTube channel of Telugu GEC. 6.4 million

Animated nursery rhymes and Infobells - Telugu edutainment content for children. 6.1 million

Sri Balaji Movies Telugu entertainment channel. 6.1 million

Telugu One Telugu entertainment channel. 4.8 million

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 179 Popular Telugu YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Animated nursery Animation / Infobells Chal Chal Gurram 18-Nov-16 558 million 1 million rhymes for children. Kids Music Telugu

Animated nursery Animation / Infobells Baby Song 21-Aug-14 417.7 million 267K rhymes for children. Kids Music Telugu

3-D animated Veeri Veeri Animation / CVS 3D nursery rhymes 29-Aug-13 316.5 million Feature Hidden Gummadi Pandu Kids Music Rhymes for children.

3-D animated Animation / CVS 3D Edavaku Edavaku nursery rhymes 29-Sept-13 199.5 million Feature Hidden Kids Music Rhymes for children.

Official video of the song from the 2017 film Fidaa, sung by Music Vachinde 23-Sept-17 186.1 million 453K Aditya Music Madhu Priya, Ramki. (Soundtrack) The film stars Varun Tej, Sai Pallavi.

180 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Popular Telugu YouTube Videos

Name of the Video Description Genre Date Published Views (as on April 2019) Likes (as on April 2019) Channel

Official video of the song from the 2017 blockbuster film Baahubali 2:The Music Lahari Music, Saahore Baahubali Conclusion, sung by Daler 18-May-17 135.3 million 327K Mehendi, M.M. (Soundtrack) T-Series Keeravaani and Mounima. The film stars Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, and Tamannaah.

Hindi dubbed version of Telugu Music Goldmines Sarrainodu film 2016 Allu Arjun 26-July-18 128.4 million 372K (Soundtrack) Telefilms starrer feature film Sarrainodu

3-D animated Animation / CVS 3D Chitti Chikamma nursery rhymes 27-April-12 122.4 million Feature Hidden Kids Music Rhymes for children.

3-D animated Jo Achyutananda Animation / infobells nursery rhymes 31-Jan-17 118.9 million 76K Jo Jo Kids Music Telugu for children.

3-D animated Animation / infobells Meow Meow Pilli 3-March-17 118.8 million 163K nursery rhymes Kids Music Telugu for children.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 181 GOOD NEWS

182 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 The Popular section highlights the Most Read and Most Commented stories.

The app includes a Picture-in-Picture update allowing users to view multiple visual content simultaneously.

NDTV Convergence, the digital arm of NDTV, earned more than INR 40 crore in Content revenues in the About SNIPPETS quarter ending NDTV, founded by Radhika Roy and Pronnoy Roy, launched as a television news channel in 1988 and has since become Founded December 31, 2018. It 1988 one of the esteemed news and lifestyle networks in India. signed a massive Its news cluster includes NDTV 24x7, NDTV India, NDTV Owned by five-year INR 300 Profit, while its GEC and lifestyle offerings are NDTV New Delhi Television Limited Imagine and NDTV Life respectively. crore worth Headquarter New Delhi advertising deal with Features The NDTV app offers live TV and radio facility of its news Google Play Store Downloads native advertising channels. The various sections covered include 5 million+ platform Taboola in entertainment, elections, opinion, gadgets, automobile, Unique Users December. sports, city news, food, health etc. 62.9 million (March 2019)

The News Beeps feature summarizes news items in three Reach Key Measures of the Platform 21.5% (March 2019) bulleted points for easy reading. NDTV visitors changed by 27%, from Average Minutes/visitor 49.5 million in March 2018 to 62.9 NDTV Premium option gives high-quality Live TV streams 2.1 minutes (March 2019) million visitors in March 2019 thus and an ad-free experience at INR 300 for half-yearly and claiming a reach of 21.5%. A total of Popularity Rankings INR 550 for yearly subscription. 580 million minutes were spent on 7th by MAU and 11th by Revenues (App Annie) the platform, averaging at 2.1 minutes per visitor. More than 90% of In August 2018, NDTV the visitors accessed via mobile, where the engagement was higher at reported that its Food 7.2 minutes. website is highly Consumer Demographics 65% of the audiences on NDTV in popular with over 12 March 2019 were males. The audience was equally distributed 1 million unique visitors . between the three age segments above the age 15.

Among females, the 35+ demographic took up nearly 40% of the share.

1 https://www.ndtv.com/communication/ndtv-earnings-for-quarter-ending-june-30-q1-2019-1897407, accessed 10 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 183 The Popular section highlights the NDTV Total Unique Visitors (000) Most Read and Most Commented Between April 2018 and March 2019 stories. Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population The app includes a Picture-in-Picture 80000 update allowing users to view 70000 65575 multiple visual content 65115 63294 63976 64824 62984 61222 63160 59121 59140 simultaneously. 60000 57512 53488 61060 61092 59160 58981 60069 59372 58894 50000 55930 53872 55311 55109 49401 NDTV Convergence, 40000

the digital arm of 30000

NDTV, earned more 20000

6230 7579 6011 7322 than INR 40 crore in 10000 5960 5686 4965 5321 5062 5994 5407 5715 Content revenues in the 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 About quarter ending NDTV, founded by Radhika Roy and Pronnoy Roy, launched Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 as a television news channel in 1988 and has since become December 31, 2018. It one of the esteemed news and lifestyle networks in India. signed a massive Its news cluster includes NDTV 24x7, NDTV India, NDTV five-year INR 300 NDTV Audience March 2019 Profit, while its GEC and lifestyle offerings are NDTV Imagine and NDTV Life respectively. crore worth Males, TUV Females, TUV advertising deal with Age Group (000) Age Group (000) Features 6-14 104 6-14 12 The NDTV app offers live TV and radio facility of its news native advertising channels. The various sections covered include platform Taboola in 15-24 13,961 15-24 6,313 entertainment, elections, opinion, gadgets, automobile, December. 25 - 34 13,287 25 - 34 6,623 sports, city news, food, health etc. 35 + 13,172 35 + 9,511

The News Beeps feature summarizes news items in three Key Measures of the Platform All Males 40,525 All Females 22,459 bulleted points for easy reading. NDTV visitors changed by 27%, from 49.5 million in March 2018 to 62.9 Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 NDTV Premium option gives high-quality Live TV streams million visitors in March 2019 thus and an ad-free experience at INR 300 for half-yearly and claiming a reach of 21.5%. A total of INR 550 for yearly subscription. 580 million minutes were spent on the platform, averaging at 2.1 World Metrix minutes per visitor. More than 90% of (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, the visitors accessed via mobile, March 2019) where the engagement was higher at Region % Comp 7.2 minutes. Asia Paciﬁc 76.8 Consumer Demographics Middle-East - Africa 7.8 Europe 4.2 65% of the audiences on NDTV in North America 10.9 March 2019 were males. The audience was equally distributed between the three age segments above the age 15.

Among females, the 35+ demographic took up nearly 40% of the share.

184 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 185 186 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 markets like India particularly pose a challenge due to the widespread use of feature phones and SMS messag- ing, which circumscribe the optimal utilization of the platform and slacken revenue generation.

Twitter has shown an overall growth on the earnings front, earning USD 3.04 billion in revenue, a 25% increase since 2017, and making a profit of USD 1.2 billion as on the year ending December 31, 20182,3. Advertising formed the highest share of the revenues, followed by data Content licensing and other sources. The US About SNIPPETS market contributed over 50% of the Twitter is an American news and pioneering social network- revenues, while the rest came from ing service, which employs the concept of microblogging Founded international territories. The coming 2006 and gives users a maximum of 140 characters (now 280) to year promises to bring in further ‘tweet’ their message. Registered users can either post, like, Owned by earnings, with Twitter making USD or retweet tweets, and the ‘hashtag’ (#) is used to index Twitter 787 million in revenues, an increase topics of keywords on Twitter. The platform rapidly rose to of 18% year-over-year, and a net Headquarter prominence, giving rise to influencers, publicizing news and income of USD 191 million. As for San Francisco, California events, sparking global conversations and spurring revolu- Twitter Communication, the Indian tions. Twitter has 35+ offices worldwide. In India, it is Google Play Store Downloads unit of Twitter, the net profits halved located in Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurugram, and Mumbai. 500 million+ from experts attributing the decline to limited advertiser interest4. To Unique Users boost advertising, the platform made Twitter had 330 million monthly active users globally in Q1 6.1 million (March 2019) 2019. The platform has been showing a downward spiral- in-stream video ads available to all 5 ing growth trend over the years, from double-digit growth Reach advertisers in India since June 2018 . 21.5% (March 2019) figures every quarter until 2012 to a negative performance in 2018. India, despite have 500+ million internet users, Average Minutes/visitor Entertainment Wins! lags behind in usage1 as compared to other countries, with 1.5 minutes (March 2019) April 2019 figures showing that even Turkey, Brazil, Russia Katy Perry has the Popularity Rankings and Saudi Arabia have more monthly active users in 1st by MAU and 4th by Revenues (App Annie) most followed comparison. Twitter’s annual reports state that emerging Twitter account (107.23 million), Number of monthly active Twitter users worldwide From 1st quarter 2010 to 1st quarter 2019 (in millions) closely followed by

350 336 335 former POTUS 327 326 330 330 326 330 318 321 313 317 307 310 Barack Obama 302 304 305 288 300 284 (105.82 million), and 271 255 Justin Bieber (105.32 241 250 231.7 6 218 million) . 204

200 185 167 Features 151 Forty-seven language options are 138 150 available on Twitter including seven 117 7 101 Indian regional languages . 100 85 68 54 49 40 50 30

0 Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1Q4Q3Q2Q1

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Source: Statista 2019

1 https://cfo.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/have-more-ground-to-cover-in-india-says-twitter-cfo/66982204, accessed 10 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 187 markets like India particularly pose a Leading countries based on number of Twitter challenge due to the widespread use users as of April 2019 (in millions) of feature phones and SMS messag-

ing, which circumscribe the optimal Spain 6.34 utilization of the platform and slacken Mexico 7.09 revenue generation. India 7.86

Twitter has shown an overall growth Turkey 8.56

on the earnings front, earning USD Brazil 8.57 3.04 billion in revenue, a 25% Russia 9.91 increase since 2017, and making a proﬁt of USD 1.2 billion as on the year Saudi Arabia 10.19 ending December 31, 20182,3. United Kingdom 14.1

Advertising formed the highest share Japan 38.35 of the revenues, followed by data United States 49.45 Content licensing and other sources. The US About market contributed over 50% of the 0 10 20 30 40 50 revenues, while the rest came from Twitter is an American news and pioneering social network- Source: Statista 2019 ing service, which employs the concept of microblogging international territories. The coming and gives users a maximum of 140 characters (now 280) to year promises to bring in further earnings, with Twitter making USD ‘tweet’ their message. Registered users can either post, like, Most popular media profiles on Twitter in India 787 million in revenues, an increase or retweet tweets, and the ‘hashtag’ (#) is used to index users as of April 2019 (in millions) topics of keywords on Twitter. The platform rapidly rose to of 18% year-over-year, and a net prominence, giving rise to influencers, publicizing news and income of USD 191 million. As for @filmfare (Filmfare) 4.36 events, sparking global conversations and spurring revolu- Twitter Communication, the Indian @ZoomTV (Zoom TV) tions. Twitter has 35+ offices worldwide. In India, it is unit of Twitter, the net profits halved 4.7 located in Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurugram, and Mumbai. from experts attributing the decline @IndiaToday (India Today) 5.15 to limited advertiser interest4. To @the_hindu (The Hindu) 5.27 Twitter had 330 million monthly active users globally in Q1 boost advertising, the platform made @httweets (Hindustan Times) 6.75 2019. The platform has been showing a downward spiral- in-stream video ads available to all 5 @aajTak (Aaj Tak) ing growth trend over the years, from double-digit growth advertisers in India since June 2018 . 7.93 figures every quarter until 2012 to a negative performance @abpnewstv (ABP News) 8.26 in 2018. India, despite have 500+ million internet users, Entertainment Wins! @TimesNow (TIMES NOW) 8.87 lags behind in usage1 as compared to other countries, with @ndtv (NDTV) 11.38 April 2019 figures showing that even Turkey, Brazil, Russia Katy Perry has the @timesofindia (Times of India) 11.76 and Saudi Arabia have more monthly active users in most followed comparison. Twitter’s annual reports state that emerging Twitter account 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 (107.23 million), Source: Statista 2019 closely followed by former POTUS Barack Obama (105.82 million), and Justin Bieber (105.32 million)6.

Features Forty-seven language options are available on Twitter including seven Indian regional languages7.

2 https://s22.q4cdn.com/826641620/ﬁles/doc_ﬁnancials/ar/2018/AnnualReport2018.pdf, accessed 10 May 2019. 3 As compared to a loss of USD 108 million in 2017 4 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/twitter-india-net-halves-to-2-crore-in-fy18/article25372845.ece, accessed 10 May 2019. 5 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/twitter-expands-in-stream-video-ads-to-all-advertisers-in-india/articleshow/64571696.cms, accessed 10 May 2019. 6 Social Blade. (n.d.). Twitter accounts with the most followers worldwide as of April 2019 (in millions). In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved May 10, 2019, from https://ww w.statista.com/statistics/273172/twitter-accounts-with-the-most-followers-worldwide/., accessed 10 May 2019. 7 Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati, Bangla, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu

188 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Most popular television channel proﬁles on Twitter in India users as of April 2019 (in millions)

@StarPlus (Star Plus) 3.06

@MTVIndia (MTV India) 3.55

@vijaytelevision (Vijay Television) 3.82

@CNNnews18 (News18) 4.16

@StarSportsIndia (Star Sports) 4.3

@ZoomTV (Zoom TV) 4.7

@aajtak (Aaj Tak) 7.9

@abpnewstv (ABP News) 8.26

@TimesNow (Times Now) 8.87

@ndtv (NDTV) 11.38

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Source: Statista 2019

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most followed Twitter proﬁle in India with 47 million followers as of April 20198.

While general entertainment content Twitter is making every effort towards may command greater viewership on widening its presence in India, platforms like television, news entities reportedly ‘one of Twitter’s largest gain the largest following on Twitter. and fastest growing audience The top media profiles are Times of markets globally’10. The Twitter Lite India, NDTV, and Times Now; similarly, app – a data saving version of the the most followed television channels Twitter for slower networks – with Twitter handles include NDTV, launched in India in August 201811. In Times Now, and ABP News emerge September, it announced leaders. Nevertheless, celebrities like partnerships with 50 established Shahrukh Khan and Deepika video content collaborators across Padukone claim among the largest the Asia Pacific for live streaming and fan base among Twitter profiles in video highlights programming in India, reinforcing the power of sports, entertainment, and news. entertainment. Twelve of these are Indian partners, including NDTV, Red Chillies Twitter India Entertainment, and Filmfare etc12. launched the social initiative #Powerof18 in November 2018 to encourage the Indian youth in civic engagement in the 2019 elections9.

8 Socialbakers. (n.d.). Most popular Twitter profiles in India as of April 2019, by number of followers (in millions). In Statista - The Statistics Portal. Retrieved May 10, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/827159/india-leading-twitter-accounts-by-number-of-followers/., accessed 10 May 2019. 9 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/twitter-india-launches-powerof18-initiative-for-youth-civic-engagement/articleshow/66589877.cms 10 https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/have-more-ground-to-cover-in-india-says-twitter-cfo/articleshow/66979599.cms, accessed 10 May 2019. 11 http://www.mediainfoline.com/techno/twitter-launches-twitter-lite-google-play-app, accessed 10 May 2019. 12 http://ficci.in/ficci-in-news-page.asp?nid=15298, accessed 10 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 189 Fake News Menace: Twitter Total Unique Visitors (000) A study of over 16K Between April 2018 and March 2019 US Twitter Accounts Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population reveals that a small 80000 fraction of Twitter 70000 61172 59889 60000 57561 56890 57331 users are 53664 52574 54170 50565 52067 52164 50000 56677 48177 57293 54384 53543 53458 responsible for 50598 49638 48778 47057 47767 47909 spreading majority 40000 44644 13 30000 25942 22210 21983 22686 21551 21213 of the fake news . 21031 20600 20747 21111 18611 20377 20000

5611 The ‘fake news’ menace haunts every 10000 4547 4729 4636 4969 4967 4686 4612 5290 5503 5168 5063 social media platform, and Twitter is 0 no exception. Oftentimes, the Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 distortion of facts and statements taken out of context on social media Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 have led to extreme forms of unrest and violence. Twitter is working towards this concern with Twitter Audience March 2019 seriousness14. In a run-up to the 2019 elections in India, it provided a new Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000) dashboard showing the expenditure of political parties on its platform as 6-14 113 6-14 54 well as initiated training for various 15-24 17588 15-24 4593 stakeholders, including Election Commission of India, to flag 25 - 34 14360 25 - 34 7200 suspicious content15.Twitter offered 35 + 11840 35 + 5755 features to users to report misleading information on voting during the All Males 43901 All Females 17602 elections16; however, the delayed rollout of this feature was criticized17. Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Future reliance on artificial intelligence to fight fake news is anticipated18. World Metrix Key Measures of the Platform (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, Total unique visitors reached 61.1 March 2019) million in March 2019, with a 20.9% Region % Comp reach of audiences. A total of 2058 North America 25.3 million minutes were spent during Latin America 13.0 this period, averaging at 1.8 minutes Europe 23.5 per visitor. 90% of the visitors Asia Pacific 26.8 accessed Twitter via mobile, whereas Middle East-Africa 11.3 an average of 40% used the Twitter mobile app. Engagement on the mobile app was much greater at 84.4 minutes per visitor.

Consumer Demographics 70% of the audiences on Twitter in March 2019 were males, with the 15-24 age group comprising 40% of this demographic.Among females, the 25-34 age group had the most visitors, followed by 35+ category.

13 https://www.deccanherald.com/international/few-twitter-users-spreading-714840.html/, accessed 10 May 2019. 14 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/novel-tool-to-monitor-fake-news-on-facebook-twitter/articleshow/66400446.cms, accessed 10 May 2019. 15 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/twitter-to-bring-new-dashboard-for-enhanced-political-ad-transparency-in-india/articleshow/67480268.cms 16 https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2019/strengthening-our-approach-to-deliberate-attempts-to-mislead-vot.html, accessed 10 May 2019. 17 https://qz.com/india/1603632/is-twitter-doing-as-much-as-facebook-on-fake-news-in-india/, accessed 10 May 2019. 18 https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/fake-news-a-multi-variable-problem-there-is-no-one-ﬁx-twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-5442759/

190 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 191 192 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content About SNIPPETS The Times of India is the largest English language daily newspaper in the world, with a massive readership 15.2 Founded million as on Q1 20191. It is the jewel in the crown of the 1838 Times Group, an Indian media conglomerate holding a Owned by stake in publishing, broadcasting, radio, film, and the digital The Times Group domain. Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times Group Headquarter established in 1999, touts itself as India’s largest digital Mumbai (Times of India); products company with 39 key properties2,3, 450 million+ New Delhi (The Times Group) monthly users and 134+ billion monthly minutes spent4. Google Play Store Downloads In its Times Internet Today 2019 report, Times Internet 10 million+ claims its digital news publications collectively touch 265 Unique Users million consumers. The Times of India brings in 200 63.1 million (March 2019) monthly active users, a 44% growth this year5. Reach Times Internet made 21.5% (March 2019) Average Minutes/visitor over INR 1359 crores in 1.5 minutes (March 2019) Popularity Rankings revenues in FY19. 3rd by MAU and 6th by Downloads (App Annie) Features The Times of India website and app gives users a There is a section on video news, which includes original comprehensive and up-to-date access to the latest video content produced by Times of India. LIVE TV is developments in India and worldwide ranging politics, another major feature, giving real-time access to four business, entertainment, lifestyle, opinion, sports, travel, major channels – Times Now, ET Now, Zoom, and Mirror wellness etc. Readers wanting news updates directly Now. The Times Internet Today 2019 Report claims sent to their mails can subscribe to the Times Top 10 Times Now has recently become the second most Newsletter featuring stories that matter. watched digital news outlet. The podcast facility offers news as brief audio segments for on-the-go consump- The website has added several features to build user tion. A Trivia quiz has also been launched to test users’ engagement. The News Briefs encapsulates news pieces knowledge on a wide range of topics. in short and in a flip through format suitable for the app.

Prominent Text-to Speech Times Top 10 Election Podcast Dateline for Support for App News Letter Related Features Older Stories

1 https://www.medianama.com/2019/01/223-network18-earnings-q3fy19/, accessed 14 May 2019. 2 The Times of India, The Economic Times, Magic Bricks, Gaana, MX Player, CricBuzz, Dineout, ET Money, GradeUp, MensXP, TimesPrime, ETPrime.com, IDiva, India Times, CricPlay, Times Card, Times Point, News Point, Coupon Dunia, Navbharat Times, Vijay Karnataka, Ahmedabad Mirror, Ei Samay, Navgujarat Samay, Pune Mirror, Bangalore Mirror, Samayam, Maharashtra Times, Mumbai Mirror, Baazi Now, Willow, Whats Hot, Miss Kyra, Speaking Tree, Times Job, TechGig, Get Me a Shop, ETimes, Gadgets Now. 3 https://www.timesinternet.in/products, accessed 14 May 2019. 4 https://www.timesinternet.in/about, accessed 14 May 2019. 5 Times Internet Today 2019 (Rep.). (2019, April 30). Retrieved https://www.afaqs.com/all/news/images/news_story_grfx/2019/05/54994/Times-Internet-Today-2019.pdf

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 193 Times of India Total Unique Visitors (000) Fake News Between April 2018 and March 2019

Alert: Times Desktop Mobile Total Digital Population Fact-Check is a 80000 70000 63157 60000 63066 fact-checking 53741 51957 52743 51517 53364 51897 49577 49954 49559 50000 48636 47903 53090 51853 52563 53656 51324 51811 49501 49369 48565 49780 initiative to ﬁght 40000 47826 fake news and 30000 20000 misinformation. 10000 265 264 228 220 209 224 237 251 492 241 202 210 0 The Times of India was particularly Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 active during the election period, launching interactive Data Hub for Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 election insights, Campaign Trackers to keep tab on politicians’ activities, and Poll Fantasy Game for making Times of India Audience March 2019 predictions, among others Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000) Modi Meter 18-24 15,584 18-24 6,539 launched around 25 - 34 11,980 25 - 34 5,083 election time to test viewers’ knowledge 35 + 15,836 35 + 8,044 of the present All Males 43,401 All Females 19,665 government’s Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 performance in the past 5 years.

Key Measures of the Platform Total unique visitors were 63.1 million in March 2019, a 29% change since the 49.1 million visitors in March 2018. It had a reach of 21.5%, with 241 million minutes spent on the platform averaging at 1.5 minute per visitor. On mobile, the engagement was slightly higher at 3.8 minutes. Visitors predominantly accessed the platform via mobile (99%).

Consumer Demographics Men comprised nearly 70% of the audience on Times of India in March 2019. The 35+ and 18-24 demographics were most active among both genders.

194 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 195 196 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content About SNIPPETS Dailyhunt formerly launched as Newshunt in 2009 until Virender Gupta, its current Founder & CEO, acquired it and Launched rebranded the company in 2011. In 2015, Goldman Sachs February 2015 Group named Dailyhunt as one of the possible “billion-dol- Owned by lar babies" among India’s internet start-ups1. Today, Verse Innovation Pvt Ltd Dailyhunt is one of India’s foremost news aggregators and Headquarter e-bookstores, sourcing its content from 800-1500+ leading Bangalore, Karnataka news partners and 20,000 stringers2 and using high-end artiﬁcial intelligence to serve personalized content to Total Downloads users3. The Dailyhunt group also owns OneIndia, the largest 160 million+1 Indian language platform for content on the web4. Google Play Store Downloads 50 million+ 100K new articles are uploaded Unique Users on Dailyhunt each day. 65.7 million (March 2019) Reach The company’s president Umang Bedi states that 22.4% (March 2019) Dailyhunt’s mission is to become the largest Indic Platform, which oﬀers the next billion users content in the local Average Minutes/visitor Indian languages that informs, enriches, and entertains. It 4.9 minutes (March 2019) aims to solidify its distribution through partnerships with Popularity Rankings telecom players to come pre-loaded with every possible 1st by MAU and 2nd by Downloads (App Annie) handsets in the nation5.

1 https://www.livemint.com/Companies/T3vGY3fLajXwHulRGxFICP/Alibaba-in-talks-to-pick-up-stake-in-Dailyhunt.html, accessed 15 May 2019. 2 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/this-is-how-homegrown-dailyhunt-is-taking-on-the-google-facebook-duopoly-93028.html, accessed 15 May 2019. 3 http://bwpeople.businessworld.in/article/Umang-Bedi-The-Corporate-Dapper-of-the-Start-up-Industry-/05-11-2018-163673/, accessed 15 May 2019. 4 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/dailyhunt-picks-up-stake-in-oneindia/articleshow/53257575.cms, accessed 15 May 2019. 5 https://yourstory.com/2018/09/dailyhunt-100m-indians-hooked-month-21m-hooked-day-heres, accessed 15 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 197 Virender Gupta and Umang Bedi were awarded the exchange4media ‘Inﬂuencer of the Year’ award in 20186. Features

Dailyhunt Goals for 20207

3X User Base 2X Time Spent 5X Inventory

14 language options are available for viewing the content8. Dailyhunt includes content from partners such as The Asian Age, Republic, The Quint, Financial Express, Orissa POST, DNA, etc. covering beats including politics, entertainment, sports, technology, automobile, lifestyle, horoscope, celebrities, etc. In July 2018, a partnership was announced between Dailyhunt and the long-running Pune-based Sakal Media Group wherein the latter’s hyperlocal content in Marathi would be oﬀered on Dailyhunt’s platform9. The nature of content consumed by users varies by geography; for instance, entertainment content beats all in Telugu, news dominates in Tamil and Bangla, while politics is key driver among Marathi audiences10. To give a personalized experience, users can follow interests based on location (e.g. Bengaluru related news), sources (IBTimes), channels (Live), topics (cricket), and several sources within each sub-section (for instance, Gadget Galiyara within ‘Mobiles and Gadgets’). LiveTV is available for channels like Republic TV, BTVI, India Today etc.

The content can be consumed on Dailyhunt’s platform itself as opposed to being redirected to the source website; this is one of the major contributors to Dailyhunt’s high engagement rate.

6 https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/exchange4media-inﬂuencer-of-the-year-award-conferred-upon-virendra-gupta-and-umang-bedi-92999.html 7 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/mobile/dailyhunt-to-roll-out-pin-code-based-ad-targeting-for-small-businesses-plans-big-app-redesign/65329251 8 Hindi, English, Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Telugu, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Oriya, Malayalam 9 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/dailyhunt-partners-with-sakal-media-group-91267.html, accessed 15 May 2019. 10 https://www.afaqs.com/news/story/53744_Platforms-like-ours-wouldnt-exist-without-our-partners-Ravanan-N-vice-president-content-Dailyhunt, accessed 15 May 2019.

198 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Dailyhunt Financials-A Snapshot

132.9

Revenues 126.23

256.26

Expenses 285.65

11.5

124.02

Losses 159.45

28.6

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

%Gain/Loss FY18 FY17 Source: Statista 2019

90 percent of the outdoor, food, wildlife, science and military in 5 languages11 as a Dailyhunt app Discovery Plus feature available on consumption happens Dailyhunt’s app12. Dailyhunt also endeavors to build up both in non-English professionally and user generated languages. content13. Dailyhunt includes original short form content namely Need To Know and Over 1 billion videos Pro Con Hai. Need to Know ropes in are played on well-known personalities like Dailyhunt every Anuradha Menon, known for her alter 14 ego Lola Kutty, and Danish Sait and month . uses wry humor to educate viewers Advertisements are a key revenue on the various Indian states and their source for any newspaper, which sociopolitical climate etc. Pro Con Hai includes Dailyhunt, contributing close also discusses burning issues such as to INR 279 crore in revenues and state regulations over alcohol anticipated to touch 558-698 crore consumption, Swaccha Bharat by the end of FY1915. The significant Abhiyaan through the blend of traffic coming from smaller towns has animation and satire. inspired the company to use Video content is increasingly gaining pin-code based local targeting across center stage with its booming audio, video, and image formats in 16 consumption especially from the 14 languages , in partnership 17 non-metro sections. Dailyhunt aims with Sunday Mobility . to boost the time spent on video from 10 percent to 50 in 2019. Discovery The #Harbhashaequal ad campaign Communications India partnered launched by Dailyhunt in August 2018 with DailyHunt to offer its short-form endeavored to promote language 18 content under the verticals of equality in India . Catching up to the election fever, Dailyhunt kick started the campaign #KhudKiSochBanao encouraging the public to refrain from blindly following biased media coverage and form opinions through credible and trustworthy sources19.

11 Bengali, English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu 12 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/discovery-partners-dailyhunt-to-showcase-short-form-content/articleshow/68482745.cms 13 https://www.ﬁnancialexpress.com/industry/viral-content-doesnt-mean-scandalous-content-says-president-of-dailyhunt/1259903/, accessed 15 May 2019. 14 https://yourstory.com/2018/09/dailyhunt-100m-indians-hooked-month-21m-hooked-day-heres, accessed 15 May 2019. 15 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/exclusive-dailyhunt-targets-80-100-million-in-ad-revenue-this-ﬁscal/68284319, accessed 15 May 2019. 16 https://dae.dailyhunt.in/help/who-are-we, accessed 15 May 2019. 17 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/mobile/dailyhunt-to-roll-out-pin-code-based-ad-targeting-for-small-businesses-plans-big-app-redesign/65329251 18 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/dailyhunts-digital-campaign-harbhashaequal-aims-to-promote-language-equality-in-india/65362304 19 https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/dailyhunt-launches-election-campaign-dailyhunt-chalao-khudkisochbanao-95189.html, accessed 15 May 2019. REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 199 Due to its widespread consumption, While revenues expanded in India Dailyhunt has garnered attention and the foreign markets US and from several leading investors. The Singapore, the dwindling company raised over INR 106.5 performance in Dubai and Africa hit crores in recent rounds of funding the overall abroad revenues. from backers like Sequoia, Omidyar Network, Falcon Edge, LightVC and Renu Sehgal Trust20,21. Goldman Sachs is also gearing to invest 70 percent of big-time in Verse Innovation Pvt Ltd, the company owning Dailyhunt, Daily Hunt’s raising INR 1224 crore approximately, of which INR 248 crore has reportedly user base been received22. A word is out that Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group emerge from also proposes to acquire 10-12% stake in the company23. Tier 2, 3, and 4 Dailyhunt recorded an increase in the losses in FY18 compared to FY17 towns, and owing to a slight fall in revenues and 24 relatively higher rise in the expenses. rural areas .

Dailyhunt Operating Revenues by Country

75.57 India Total 80.94 7.1 (+)

31.15 Abroad Total 27.1 13 (-)

4.99 US 6.8 36.3 (+)

16.77 Singapore 20.21 20.5 (+)

0 20 40 60 80 100

%Gain/Loss FY17 FY18

Source: entrackr.com, Accessed May 2019. Total Unique Visitors on Dailyhunt Between April 2018 and March 2019

Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population

80000

70000 65790

60000 65352 51359 50000 48454 48222 40642 41998 50547 47815 47587 40000 35533 34984 32014 40129 41441 26838 30000 25860 26052 35321 34590 31491 21258 21921 19849 20379 20542 20097 25739 25940 26628 20000 15736 16487 17199 12162 11234 13207 10000 365 394 449 524 638 655 743 798 880 931 1311 850 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

20 https://inc42.com/buzz/sequoia-omidyar-and-renu-sehgal-trust-invest-3-45-mn-in-dailyhunt/, accessed 15 May 2019. 21 https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/inc42-epaper-inc/dailyhunt+secures+6+39+mn+in+series+e+from+falcon+edge-newsid-96085873, accessed 15 May 2019. 22 https://www.vccircle.com/goldman-sachs-to-make-big-ticket-investment-in-content-platform-dailyhunt/, accessed 15 May 2019. 23 https://www.livemint.com/Companies/T3vGY3fLajXwHulRGxFICP/Alibaba-in-talks-to-pick-up-stake-in-Dailyhunt.html, accessed 15 May 2019. 24 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/mobile/dailyhunt-to-roll-out-pin-code-based-ad-targeting-for-small-businesses-plans-big-app-redesign/65329251

200 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Key Measures of the Platform Consumer Demographics Dailyhunt president Umang Bedi Umang Bedi, President at Dailyhunt, estimates Dailyhunt’s MAU to touch states that 64% of the platform’s 325 million by the end of the FY19, consumers fall under the 35 age and become the largest digital media bracket, while the remaining 36% are platform in India25. between ages 35 and 45. This insight reﬂected in the demographic data on In March 2019, Dailyhunt registered total unique viewership in March 65.7 million visitors, a 106% change 2019. 70% of the audience on since March 2018 ﬁgures (31.9 Dailyhunt were males. million). It had a reach of 22.4% in March 19, with 5801 million minutes spent on the platform averaging at 4.9 minutes per visitor. 99% of the visitors accessed via mobile devices where the engagement was much higher at 88.5 minutes.

DailyHunt Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 236 6-14 121

15-24 7011 15-24 16654

25 - 34 5844 25 - 34 13348

35 + 6989 35 + 9772

All Males 45507 All Females 39895

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Ad Metrix

(ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019) Top Ad Categories for DailyHunt Finance Travel Telecommunication Education Automotive

World Metrix

(ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019)

Region % Comp Asia Paciﬁc 87.1 Middle East-Africa 7.5

25 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/advertising/exclusive-dailyhunt-targets-80-100-million-in-ad-revenue-this-ﬁscal/68284319, accessed 15 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 201 202 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content About SNIPPETS Flipboard is a news aggregation and social media aggregation platform that assembles news on various Founded topics and thus provides something for everyone. 2010 Owned by Features Flipboard, Inc Flipboard allows personalization of media content according to one’s interests and passions, with its compact, Headquarter minimalist interface enhancing the user experience. It California, United States compiles news from several sources around the topics of Google Play Store Downloads interest, with users redirected to the source website upon 500 million+ clicking. News content is available of 30+ regions worldwide. Flipboard allows users to customize magazines Unique Users (March 2019) with their preferred audiovisual and text media, which is 19.3 million shareable with other users on the platform. Reach 6.6% (March 2019) Average Minutes/visitor 3.3 minutes (March 2019) Popularity Rankings 8th by MAU (App Annie)

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 203 Total Unique Visitors on Flipboard Key Measures of the Platform Between April 2018 and March 2019 Flipboard had 19.3 million unique visitors in March 2019, garnering a Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population reach of 6.6%. 121 million minutes

25000 were consumed during this period, averaging 3.3 minutes per visitor. 20727 19785 19841 19199 19335 Usage was predominantly on mobile 20000 18337 17738 17823 17886 20715 17152 17429 19771 16479 19837 19187 19325 devices. Although mobile app saw 17734 17814 17874 17415 18323 17145 negligible visitors, engagement was 15000 16473 high at an average of 21 minutes.

10000 Consumer Demographics 5000 Males comprised 66% of the visitors 1635 1369 1570 1448 1298 1134 1352 1046 805 620 on Flipboard in March 2019. Among 508 884 0 21 24 20 30 27 34 36 23 40 32 29 41 females, the 35+ age group evinced Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 the highest viewership.

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Flipboard Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

6-14 NA 6-14 NA

15-24 4812 15-24 2045

25 - 34 4015 25 - 34 1570

35 + 4042 35 + 2850

All Males 12869 All Females 6466

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Ad Metrix

(ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019) Top Ad Categories for Flipboard Computers & Technology Telecommunications Media & Entertainment

World Metrix

ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019

Region % Comp Asia Paciﬁc 18.2 Middle East-Africa 19.5 North America 47.5

204 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 205 206 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content About SNIPPETS Google News and Weather was a news aggregator by Google, which discontinued in October 2018. Currently, Founded Google Play Newsstand and Google News & Weather are 1998 (Google); 2014 (Launch of Google News and Weather) integrated into Google News. Owned by The updated AI-powered Google News has a For You Google LLC section with the Top 5 stories personalized and selected for Headquarter users based on the users’ location and updates on California, United States previously followed news. The Newscast format puts together all the material around a topic for better viewing. Google Play Store Downloads Lastly, a Full Coverage tab allows users to view the multiple 1 billion+ sources and formats in which stories are presented. Unique Users 7.3 million (March 2019; Mobile devices) Reach 2.7 minutes (March 2019; Mobile devices) Average Minutes/visitor 26.8 minutes (March 2019; Mobile devices) Popularity Rankings 9th by MAU and 9th by Downloads (App Annie)

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 207 Key Measures of the Platform Google News Total Unique Visitors (000) Note: The Comscore data given Between April 2018 and March 2019 represents the platform Google News 8000 7916 (mobile devices). 7595 7397 7314 7088 6935 Google News witnessed a 49% dip in 7000 total unique visitors, from 14.4 million 6362 6319 6610 in March 2018 to 7.3 million in March 6035 2019. A total of 196 million minutes 6000 5954 were consumed in March 2019, averaging at 26.8 minutes per visitor. 5000 4889 Consumer Demigraphics 4000 Over 60% of the audience accessing Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 Google News in March 2019 were men. Among female visitors, the 35+ Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 age group was the most active.

Google News Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000)

18-24 1,403 18-24 818

25 - 34 1,433 25 - 34 687

35 + 1,751 35 + 1,222

All Males 4587 All Females 2727

Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

208 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 209 210 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Swiping left on any piece redirects users to the original source to read the unabridged article.

An Inshorts Poll appears below certain news items encouraging viewers to share their real-time feedback on diﬀerent subjects.

Inshorts became an instant hit among the public and touched operational Content proﬁtability in About SNIPPETS November 2017. In Inshorts, previously News in Short, picks news content across the globe and deftly condenses them to 60 words. Founded December 2018, it 2013 Only information is presented without giving opinions. Two was announced that language options are available – Hindi and English. Owned by Inshorts had doubled Inshorts caters to the premium segment, especially the Inshorts Medialabs Private Limited corporate persons who need quick brieﬁngs owing to its annual revenue Headquarter hectic schedules1. Noida run rate from INR 30 Features Google Play Store Downloads crores to INR 60 App Annie declared Inshorts as 5 million+ crores in last six Unique Users months. The the stickiest news app among the 6.2 million (March 2019) Top 10 News & Magazine platform now targets Reach INR 100 crore Category apps on Android Phone 21.5% (March 2019) revenue rate by end in India in May 2018. Users are Average Minutes/visitor 4 active for an average of 15.4 days 1.9 minutes (March 2019) of FY18-19 . Popularity Rankings per month and 4.3 days per Users can color code the news piece 4th by MAU and 11th by Downloads (App Annie) week2. based on relevance which will allow for personalization of the news content.

Inshorts has 250 advertisers Inshorts Turns to AI including Mercedes, OnePlus, Netflix, Inshorts introduced an artificial intelligence-assisted news summarization on its app using a Rapid60 algorithm. Amazon etc. It has a 50:50 revenue The algorithm, trained using database of more than half a million human-edited Inshorts articles, will enable the ratio between ads and sponsored site to multiply its content output from 10K to 1 lakh a month. It will initially be used for long-tail and niche interest content. The platform has been articles in English, with the top stories remaining human-edited3. extremely innovative in its ad properties. In May 2018, it launched Fact Cards with the Raymond Khadi campaign in which seven interesting facts about fabric weaving were shared in the form of cards, thus innovatively promoting the brand5. In March 2019, Inshorts introduced the Digital Magazine ad format which engages the reader more intimately with the brand story6. Other ad formats tested include Premier ads, notifications, and vertical video, among others.

1 https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/we-make-news-reading-more-convenient-tarun-arora-inshorts-95555.html, accessed 12 May 2019. 2 https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/inshorts-is-the-stickiest-news-app-amongst-top-10-news-apps-687749781.html, accessed 12 May 2019. 3 https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/startups/inshorts-debuts-ai-based-news-summarization-on-its-app/64531038, accessed 12 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 211 Swiping left on any piece redirects InShorts Total Unique Visitors (000) users to the original source to read Between April 2018 and March 2019 the unabridged article. Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population An Inshorts Poll appears below certain news items encouraging 8000 7000 6156 viewers to share their real-time 5968 5673 5651 6121 6233 5452 5934 5422 feedback on diﬀerent subjects. 6000 5657 5118 5645 5076 5076 5444 4874 5365 5299 6197 5071 5109 5055 4860 5571 5603 5000 5425 5392 5480 5257 4963 4979 5019 4739 4831 Inshorts became an 4000 4626 4556

instant hit among 3000

the public and 2000 touched operational 1000 13 22 33 21 34 21 42 38 37 65 53 59 Content profitability in 0 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 About November 2017. In Inshorts, previously News in Short, picks news content Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 across the globe and deftly condenses them to 60 words. December 2018, it Only information is presented without giving opinions. Two was announced that language options are available – Hindi and English. Inshorts had doubled Inshorts Audience March 2019 Inshorts caters to the premium segment, especially the corporate persons who need quick briefings owing to its annual revenue Males, TUV Females, TUV hectic schedules1. run rate from INR 30 Age Group (000) Age Group (000) 6-14 NA 6-14 NA Features crores to INR 60 App Annie declared Inshorts as crores in last six 15-24 2,194 15-24 751 the stickiest news app among the months. The 25 - 34 1,063 25 - 34 270 Top 10 News & Magazine platform now targets 35 + 1,345 35 + 611 Category apps on Android Phone INR 100 crore All Males 4,602 All Females 1,631 revenue rate by end in India in May 2018. Users are Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 4 active for an average of 15.4 days of FY18-19 . per month and 4.3 days per Users can color code the news piece Key Measures of the Platform Consumer Demographics week2. based on relevance which will allow Inshorts had close to 6.2 million More than 70% of the unique visitors for personalization of the news unique visitors in March 2019, a in March 2019 were men, within the content. 194% change since March 2018, 15-24 age segment comprised nearly when visitors equaled 2.1 million. The 50% of the audience. Inshorts has 250 advertisers platform currently has an audience including Mercedes, OnePlus, Netflix, reach of 2.1%, with 388 million A similar case was observed for Amazon etc. It has a 50:50 revenue minutes spent in total averaging 1.9 females, with the 15-24 age group ratio between ads and sponsored minutes per visitor. Engagement on forming largest share of the pie, content. The platform has been mobile devices and mobile app were followed by 35+ demographic. extremely innovative in its ad considerably higher at 62.6 and 74.6 properties. In May 2018, it launched minutes respectively. While mobile Inshorts is currently Fact Cards with the Raymond Khadi app performance was exceptional testing short-form campaign in which seven interesting throughout 2018 averaging 95%, a facts about fabric weaving were slight dip in mobile app visitors was content for shared in the form of cards, thus experienced since February 2019. vernacular audiences, innovatively promoting the brand5. In with the app’s March 2019, Inshorts introduced the The visitors spent over 388 million Digital Magazine ad format which minutes on the platform, averaging at co-founder Azhar engages the reader more intimately 1.9 minutes per visitor. Engagement Iqubal adding that with the brand story6. Other ad on mobile, the predominant device to formats tested include Premier ads, access the platform, was substantially this market preferred notifications, and vertical video, greater at 62.6 minutes per visitor. video compared to among others. text news7.

4 https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-of-brands/inshorts-revenue-rate-more-than-doubles-in-last-6-months-to-rs-60-crore-per-annum/67021922 5 https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/inshorts-launches-fact-cards-with-the-khadi-campaign-89828.html, accessed 12 May 2019. 6 https://www.televisionpost.com/inshorts-launches-new-ad-format-digital-magazine/, accessed 12 May 2019. 7 https://www.ﬁnancialexpress.com/industry/sme/tiger-global-backed-news-app-inshorts-doubles-revenue-rate-in-the-last-six-months/1403410/, accessed 12 May 2019. 212 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 213

UC News was the ﬁrst brand to cash in on the rising fame of YouTuber Bhuvan Bam, famous for his channel BB Ki Vines6.

Short-form video news content prominently features within UC News. This follows the development of UC Browser adding 3.6 crore short-videos to its platform after Content observing a surge in consumption7. Besides a separate ‘Videos’ tab on the About SNIPPETS app, videos also feature atop the UCWeb Inc., a Chinese mobile internet company whose diﬀerent channels like entertainment, ﬂagship product UC Browser is currently the 2nd most Launched fashion, tech etc. The UCShow tab 1,2 June 2016 used browser in India, launched UC News in 2016 . UN lists vertical videos of user-generated News emerged as one of the most popular apps in India, Owned by short video content on the social crossing 100 MAUs in 20173, with its content available in UC Web.in (Alibaba Mobile Business Group) media platform VMate, also owned by over 15 Indian languages4. UCWeb. Headquarter Features Guangzhou, China Google Play Store Downloads Chinese Takeover of Entertainment, sports, 100 million+ Indian Tech! 44 of and lifestyle categories Unique Users the 100 most popular 2.7 million (Mobile App Only; March 2019) Android apps in India are among the most Reach are Chinese8,9,10. 1% (Mobile App Only; March 2019) consumed on the news Average Minutes/visitor Key Measures of the Platform 108.8 minutes (Mobile App Only; March 2019) 5 Note: Comscore data for UC News is app . Popularity Rankings available for the mobile app only. 5th by MAU and 8th by Downloads (App Annie) Share of UC News by Language Total unique visitors on the mobile app stood at 2.7 million in March Entertainment Sports Lifestyle Others There are 30+ channels on UC News including politics, 2019, claiming a reach of 1%. The education, business, humor, health, inspiration, religion, platform’s visitor count has declined etc. Personalization of content is possible by setting one’s over 2018-19 period. own account, selecting channels of particular interest, following accounts to build one’s subscription feed, and The visitors spent a total of 304 bookmarking articles. Users can additionally report or million minutes in March 2019, 27.4% remove possible spam news from their feed. averaging at 108.8 minutes per visitor.

40.2% Consumer Demigraphics UC News had a 3:2 ratio of male and female visitors in March 2019. Men above 35 were the largest audience base among men followed by 25-34

18.6% age group. In the case of women, both 15-24 and 35+ demographics were equally active. 13.8%

Source: ucnews.com, Accessed May 2019.

1 http://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/all/india, accessed 13 May 2019. 2 https://yourstory.com/2018/12/mobile-app-india-loved-2018, accessed 13 May 2019. 3 https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/alibaba-group-s-uc-news-registers-100-million-active-users-in-india-and-indonesia-117041100537_1.html 4 Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, Telugu, Bhojpuri, Odia, Assamese, Manipuri, English 5 https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/indian-smartphone-users-spend-over-1-hour-consuming-entertainment-content-report/66332332, accessed 13 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 215 UC News was the Browser Market Share India

ﬁrst brand to cash in KaiOS Safari Firefox on the rising fame of Opera UC Browser Chrome

YouTuber Bhuvan 80

70 63.23 Bam, famous for his 61.41 61.14 62.91 59.98 6 57.81 channel BB Ki Vines . 60 54.01 50.82 51.91 50.34 48.07 49.03 50 Short-form video news content 40 33.49 33.69 prominently features within UC News. 31.89 31.03 30.76 30 27.02 This follows the development of UC 22.7 20.82 19.28 19.41 19.2 19.24 Browser adding 3.6 crore 20

7.06 6.58 6.46 6.45 7.42 7.2 6.86 6.53 6.23 5.8 short-videos to its platform after 10 5.48 5.08 7 2.58 2.34 2.53 2.49 2.48 2.43 2.59 2.21 2.36 2.47 2.56 2.9 observing a surge in consumption . 2.31 2.21 2.34 2.3 2.45 2.4 2.37 2.27 2.11 2.17 2.25 2.31 0 1.89 1.86 1.76 1.77 2.68 2.9 3.15 3.3 3.52 3.8 3.25 3.19 Besides a separate ‘Videos’ tab on the Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 app, videos also feature atop the diﬀerent channels like entertainment, Source: Statcounter fashion, tech etc. The UCShow tab lists vertical videos of user-generated short video content on the social UC News Total Unique Visitors (000) media platform VMate, also owned by Between April 2018 and March 2019 UCWeb. 8000

Chinese Takeover of 7000 6849

Indian Tech! 44 of 6000 5894

the 100 most popular 5000

Android apps in India 4002 4049 3921 4000 8,9,10 3977 3456 are Chinese . 3156 3000 3220 3100 2529 2795 Key Measures of the Platform 2000 Note: Comscore data for UC News is Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 available for the mobile app only. Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 Total unique visitors on the mobile app stood at 2.7 million in March UC News Audience March 2019 There are 30+ channels on UC News including politics, 2019, claiming a reach of 1%. The platform’s visitor count has declined education, business, humor, health, inspiration, religion, Males, TUV Females, TUV etc. Personalization of content is possible by setting one’s over 2018-19 period. Age Group (000) Age Group (000) own account, selecting channels of particular interest, 15-24 351 15-24 409 following accounts to build one’s subscription feed, and The visitors spent a total of 304 million minutes in March 2019, bookmarking articles. Users can additionally report or 25 - 34 525 25 - 34 294 remove possible spam news from their feed. averaging at 108.8 minutes per visitor. 35 + 808 35 + 407

All Males 1684 All Females 1110 Consumer Demigraphics UC News had a 3:2 ratio of male and Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 female visitors in March 2019. Men above 35 were the largest audience base among men followed by 25-34 age group. In the case of women, both 15-24 and 35+ demographics were equally active.

6 https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/youtube-is-the-future-because-its-freebhuvan-bambb-ki-vines-91339.html, accessed 13 May 2019. 7 https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/uc-browser-bets-big-on-short-videos-for-2019-119031200686_1.html, accessed 13 May 2019. 8 https://thewire.in/world/india-china-technology-trade, accessed 13 May 2019. 9 https://factordaily.com/the-chinese-takeover-of-indian-app-ecosystem/, accessed 13 May 2019. 10 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/of-indias-top-100-apps-44-are-chinese/article26857166.ece, accessed 13 May 2019.

216 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 217

Content About SNIPPETS At 6.2 million, the long-established The Hindu has the second largest readership among English-language daily Founded newspapers in India. Its primary competitors in the print 1878 space include The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Owned by Indian Express, and The Tribune among others. The Hindu The Hindu Group website launched in 1996, followed by the app in 2013. The Headquarter Hindu’s website has won laurels at prestigious events such Chennai, Tamil Nadu as the Website of the Year Awards and the South Asian Digital Media Awards. Google Play Store Downloads 5 million+ Unique Users The Hindu completed 1.3 million (Mobile App; March 2019) 1 Reach 140 years in 2018 . 0.5% (Mobile App; March 2019) Average Minutes/visitor 35.4 minutes (Mobile App; March 2019) Popularity Rankings 10th by MAU and 13th by Downloads (App Annie)

1 https://www.exchange4media.com/media-print-news/the-hindu-turns-140-92196.html, accessed 13 May 2019.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 219 Features The Hindus Total Unique Visitors (000) The Hindu lets users personalize Between April 2018 and March 2019 their home screen contents by both 1500 topics and regions. Categories 1442 covered are national, international, 1392 sports, editorial, entertainment, 1326 1286 1285 education, multimedia, lifestyle, 1258 1260 1259 books, et cetera. 1189 1200

1102 The Hindu has attempted to integrate its print and digital media through 1027 965 Print Play, a feature that scans interactive content on print ads featured in The Hindu. In a bid to 900 Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 attract advertisers, The Hindu signed a two-year partnership with Taboola, Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 a prominent discovery and recommendation platform. The deal allows advertisers to place their The Hindu Audience March 2019 advertisements directly on The Hindu through Taboola. A Taboola feed Males, TUV Females, TUV Age Group (000) Age Group (000) launched on The Hindu’s desktop, mobile web and in-app, shall enable 18-24 558 18-24 257 users to access content including articles, in-feed video and premium 25 - 34 307 25 - 34 67 2 content . 35 + 96 35 + 106

All Males 961 All Females 430 Key Measures of the Platform Note: Comscore data for The Hindu is Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 available for the mobile app only.

Consumer Demigraphics Nearly 70% of the total unique visitors in March 2019 were men. The younger demographic of 18-24 was most active among both genders.

2 https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/the-hindu-signs-exclusive-two-year-partnership-deal-with-taboola-launches-taboola-feed-and-taboola-newsroom- 119021800445_1.html, accessed 13 May 2019.

220 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 221 222 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content About SNIPPETS The Economic Times is the third largest English language daily newspaper in India, with a readership 3.7 million as on Founded 1838 (The Times Group); Q1 2019. It is a part of the Times Group, an Indian media 1961 (The Economic Times) conglomerate holding a stake in publishing, broadcasting, radio, ﬁlm, and the digital domain. Times Internet, the Owned by digital arm of the Times Group established in 1999, touts The Times Group itself as India’s largest digital products company with 39 key Headquarter properties, 450 million+ monthly users and 134+ billion Mumbai (The Economic Times); monthly minutes spent. New Delhi (The Times Group)

In it’s Times Internet Today 2019 report, Times Internet Google Play Store Downloads claims its digital news publications collectively touch 265 5 million+ million consumers. The Economic Times drives the Unique Users business news segment in the country. 35.7 million (March 2019) Reach Features 12.2% (March 2019) The Economic Times provides business relevant news from around the world, including the stock market trends, Average Minutes/visitor personal ﬁnance news, technology news, and features and 1.5 minutes (March 2019) opinions, among others. Its interface is similar to The Times Popularity Rankings of India website and app, with news briefs (segmented into 6th by MAU (App Annie) Morning and Evening), newsletters, Live TV (ET Now), Podcast (ET Radio), and so on.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 223 An ET Prime subscription-only The Economic Times Total Unique Visitors (000) platform gives in-depth analytical Between April 2018 and March 2019 coverage of corporate India by a team of honed reporters, editors, Desktop Mobile App Mobile Total Digital Population and business analysts. 40000 37340 35732 35000 32138 32575 30217 “Alexa, What’s 30000 28143 28452 32525 31225 25574 24862 25120 25000 23181 27873 27966 26145 21399 24424 the Gold Price 23933 20000 22061 20808 21382 18787 Today?” The 15000 17750 10000 5520 5442 5609 6001 5584 5044 4535 4975 4568 5057 4764 5193 Economic 5000 842 900 839 876 860 872 906 843 937 904 1010 986 0 Times is Apr 18 May 18 Jun 18 Jul 18 Aug 18 Sep 18 Oct 18 Nov 18 Dec 18 Jan 19 Feb 19 Mar 19 available in the Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019

Skills section The Economic Times Audience March 2019

Males, TUV Females, TUV on Amazon Age Group (000) Age Group (000) Alexa app. 6-14 98 6-14 NA 15-24 7,615 18-24 4,155 Key Measures of the Platform 25 - 34 8,177 25 - 34 3,712 With a 64% change in total unique visitors, from 21.7 million in March 35 + 8,437 35 + 3,537 2018 to 35.7 million in March 2019, All Males 24327 All Females 11404 Economic Times claims a reach of 12.2%. A total of 2452 minutes were Source: ComScore MMX Multi-Platform Demographic Report, March 2019 consumed in March 2019, averaging at 3.3 minutes per visitor. An average 85% visitors accessed the platform Ad Metrix via the mobile phones. While only a fraction of the visitors used the (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, mobile app their engagement was March 2019) extremely high at 1575.7 minutes Top Ad Categories for The Economic Times is per visitor. The Economic Times most advertised on: Online Media News/Information Consumer Demographics Computers & Technology Multi-Category Men comprised 68% of the total Finance Search/Navigation unique visitors in March 2019. The Travel Retail Retail Financial Services platform was consumed almost equally by all the three age groups (15-24, 25-34,35+). World Metrix (ComScore Desktop Media Overview Report, March 2019) Region % Comp Asia Paciﬁc 82.0 Europe 2.0 North America 10.4 Middle East-Africa 5.4

224 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 225 Content regulations in Indian context have always been in code prohibits any content if; the content deliberately Here are some of the missing link in the entire narrative. Dawn of the news historically. India had primarily three major and maliciously disrespects the national emblem or The regulatory framework will have influence of the larger platforms in the pre-independence era viz. print, radio national flag; content represents a child engaged in real ecosystem of the country. There must be an attention Regulations and feature films. The concept of regulations was always or simulated sexual activities or any representation of the given to pending bills like Communications convergence interpreted from the lens of censorship. The British sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes; Bill, 2014 which is still awaited. This may change the for OTT empire would bring in regulations from the point of view content deliberately and maliciously intends to outrage communication machinery in big way. The bill will replace of controlling freedom of speech and maintaining their religious sentiments of any class, section or community; five existing laws namely -The Indian Telegraph Act-1885, ‘voice’. Newspapers, Magazines, Handbills, Posters and content deliberately and maliciously promotes or Cable TV Networks Act 1995, Indian Wireless Telegraphy many more forms of expression through Print medium encourages terrorism and other forms of violence against Act-1933, The Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act were established during the process of freedom struggle. the State (of India) or its institutions; and content that has 1950 and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act been banned for exhibition or distribution by online 1997. So technically there is a vision of having a single Early Regulations were Press Regulations of 1799 video service under applicable laws or by any court with regulatory authority for all the communication processes promulgated by Lord Wellesley, Press Act was competent jurisdiction and is still running on an OTT in the country. promulgated in 1835 whereas in 1857 the government platform. The code also mentions about how to display passed Gagging Act to have compulsory licensing of age sensitive content on the platform. Further there is The coming 12 months are going to be exciting as far as printing presses and to empower government to control also a provision of complaint redressal mechanism the regulations are concerned. The self regulatory the voice raising against the government. The Press Act of exactly how there is provision for complaint redressal framework is the best for the largest democracy in the 1910, and The Press Emergency Act of 1931 pushed the under the BCCC or NBSA in context of television. The non world. Finally what the current TRAI consultation paper regulations to a newer height. The radio regulations were compliance to the code can be dealt with by involving recommendations comes across, how the OTT platforms under the radar of Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and Indian Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Ministry of will come under the regulatory regime, how the proposed Wireless Telegraphy Act (No 7 of 1933). In case of the All Electronics & Information Technology. bills will impact the functioning and regulation of content India Radio, all the regulations were initially under the ecosystem will decide the way how business will take scope of Indian Telegraph Act’s guidelines. Likewise The spirit of the self-regulatory guidelines are very shape. The VOD OTT space is thriving with possibilities. Indian cinema was monitored under The Indian progressive in nature for a country like India. Britain has Self regulatory guidelines with strictest action for the Cinematograph 1918. in the month of April, 2019 proposed a 100 page white offenders like OfCom or FCC has will be the best way paper with the categories of content that would be forward. Considering the Indian content ecosystem, Indian governed by the new rules that include child television content code is not as liberal as that of Ofcom pornography, revenge pornography, cyberstalking, hate According to the Ficci-EY media and entertainment in the UK and the Federal Communication Commission in crimes, encouragement of suicide, sale of illegal goods, industry report 2019, paid video subscribers grew from the USA. The entire content code of Cable TV Act was sexting by minors, and "disinformation." The proposal around 7 million in 2017 to 12-15 million in 2018, while drafted to put a check on the potential cultural invasion would also try to stop inmates from posting online video subscription revenues grew almost four times in through Foreign Television Programmes (FTP). content in violation of prison rules. 2018 to `13.4 billion. The government is looking forward to regulate online content especially for indigenous The current discussions about content regulations within Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today issued players. It will be interesting to note what government the digital domain are evolving at a fast pace. Globally Consultation Paper on Regulatory Framework for comes up with considering the envelope is being pushed highest usage of content on the internet is within the Over-The-Top (OTT) communication Services. TRAI seeks in the light of bringing content regulations for television, video category, India isn’t and exception there. India has to address which service when provided by the OTT OTT and radio under one roof. TRAI could play an a mix of local, regional, national and international content service provider should be regarded as the same or important role here, but the real problem is the viewers players active in creating content for the world similar to service being provided by the Telecom Service who want to watch unfiltered quality content. community. The discussions around content regulations Providers (TSPs). The current discussion is around the are taking an interesting turn. The Indian viewer is TRAI trying to say that though the OTT platforms provide developing a global outlook. The exposure, taste, similar services, they are unregulated. The point of Dr. Darshan Ashwin Trivedi, consumption pattern and choices reflect the diversity of contention here is that TRAI is trying to bring OTT players Editor Indian OTT Platforms Report and India. Content on internet is connected globally. The under stricter compliances of the law enforcement Adjunct Faculty, MICA, The School of Ideas. IAMAI has just announced the Code for Self-Regulation of agencies like the TSPs. The OTT players have made their Online Curated Content Providers. The content code is stance clear stating they do adhere to the provisions of IT drafted to explore the creativity of content creator. The Act and more.

226 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Content regulations in Indian context have always been in code prohibits any content if; the content deliberately Here are some of the missing link in the entire narrative. the news historically. India had primarily three major and maliciously disrespects the national emblem or The regulatory framework will have influence of the larger platforms in the pre-independence era viz. print, radio national flag; content represents a child engaged in real ecosystem of the country. There must be an attention and feature films. The concept of regulations was always or simulated sexual activities or any representation of the given to pending bills like Communications convergence interpreted from the lens of censorship. The British sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes; Bill, 2014 which is still awaited. This may change the empire would bring in regulations from the point of view content deliberately and maliciously intends to outrage communication machinery in big way. The bill will replace of controlling freedom of speech and maintaining their religious sentiments of any class, section or community; five existing laws namely -The Indian Telegraph Act-1885, ‘voice’. Newspapers, Magazines, Handbills, Posters and content deliberately and maliciously promotes or Cable TV Networks Act 1995, Indian Wireless Telegraphy many more forms of expression through Print medium encourages terrorism and other forms of violence against Act-1933, The Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act were established during the process of freedom struggle. the State (of India) or its institutions; and content that has 1950 and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act been banned for exhibition or distribution by online 1997. So technically there is a vision of having a single Early Regulations were Press Regulations of 1799 video service under applicable laws or by any court with regulatory authority for all the communication processes promulgated by Lord Wellesley, Press Act was competent jurisdiction and is still running on an OTT in the country. promulgated in 1835 whereas in 1857 the government platform. The code also mentions about how to display passed Gagging Act to have compulsory licensing of age sensitive content on the platform. Further there is The coming 12 months are going to be exciting as far as printing presses and to empower government to control also a provision of complaint redressal mechanism the regulations are concerned. The self regulatory the voice raising against the government. The Press Act of exactly how there is provision for complaint redressal framework is the best for the largest democracy in the 1910, and The Press Emergency Act of 1931 pushed the under the BCCC or NBSA in context of television. The non world. Finally what the current TRAI consultation paper regulations to a newer height. The radio regulations were compliance to the code can be dealt with by involving recommendations comes across, how the OTT platforms under the radar of Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and Indian Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Ministry of will come under the regulatory regime, how the proposed Wireless Telegraphy Act (No 7 of 1933). In case of the All Electronics & Information Technology. bills will impact the functioning and regulation of content India Radio, all the regulations were initially under the ecosystem will decide the way how business will take scope of Indian Telegraph Act’s guidelines. Likewise The spirit of the self-regulatory guidelines are very shape. The VOD OTT space is thriving with possibilities. Indian cinema was monitored under The Indian progressive in nature for a country like India. Britain has Self regulatory guidelines with strictest action for the Cinematograph 1918. in the month of April, 2019 proposed a 100 page white offenders like OfCom or FCC has will be the best way paper with the categories of content that would be forward. Considering the Indian content ecosystem, Indian governed by the new rules that include child television content code is not as liberal as that of Ofcom pornography, revenge pornography, cyberstalking, hate According to the Ficci-EY media and entertainment in the UK and the Federal Communication Commission in crimes, encouragement of suicide, sale of illegal goods, industry report 2019, paid video subscribers grew from the USA. The entire content code of Cable TV Act was sexting by minors, and "disinformation." The proposal around 7 million in 2017 to 12-15 million in 2018, while drafted to put a check on the potential cultural invasion would also try to stop inmates from posting online video subscription revenues grew almost four times in through Foreign Television Programmes (FTP). content in violation of prison rules. 2018 to `13.4 billion. The government is looking forward to regulate online content especially for indigenous The current discussions about content regulations within Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today issued players. It will be interesting to note what government the digital domain are evolving at a fast pace. Globally Consultation Paper on Regulatory Framework for comes up with considering the envelope is being pushed highest usage of content on the internet is within the Over-The-Top (OTT) communication Services. TRAI seeks in the light of bringing content regulations for television, video category, India isn’t and exception there. India has to address which service when provided by the OTT OTT and radio under one roof. TRAI could play an a mix of local, regional, national and international content service provider should be regarded as the same or important role here, but the real problem is the viewers players active in creating content for the world similar to service being provided by the Telecom Service who want to watch unfiltered quality content. community. The discussions around content regulations Providers (TSPs). The current discussion is around the are taking an interesting turn. The Indian viewer is TRAI trying to say that though the OTT platforms provide developing a global outlook. The exposure, taste, similar services, they are unregulated. The point of Dr. Darshan Ashwin Trivedi, consumption pattern and choices reflect the diversity of contention here is that TRAI is trying to bring OTT players Editor Indian OTT Platforms Report and India. Content on internet is connected globally. The under stricter compliances of the law enforcement Adjunct Faculty, MICA, The School of Ideas. IAMAI has just announced the Code for Self-Regulation of agencies like the TSPs. The OTT players have made their Online Curated Content Providers. The content code is stance clear stating they do adhere to the provisions of IT drafted to explore the creativity of content creator. The Act and more.

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 227 2nd Screens a Tectonic Shift in Video Content Consumption

Last few years have witnessed a tectonic shift in the way channels. Whether it was making the users play with the video content is being consumed in India. For close to 200 legendary superstar from the comfort of their homes in Mn Cable & Satellite homes we have 360 Mn Smartphone Kaun Banega Crorepati Play Along to getting India’s users. The fact that both the screens (TV as well as favourite comedy King, Kapil Sharma, to his fans’ homes via Smartphone) are in a solid growth trend, makes India a augmented reality to getting fans jamming in a sing along unique market. with their favourite singing Indian idols to making them a content creator for Salman’s Dus ka Dum, we have received With a mere 5 MN individuals projected to be “Digital only” tremendous response to these initiatives. in terms of video consumption in the next few years, we need to clearly look at India as an “AND” market instead of The eﬀort to make TV from a “Lean Back” medium to a an “OR” market. It is seeming to be a dominantly TV + “Lean forward” medium saw an encouraging response. We Smartphone market in near future. have so far, created a user base of 20 Mn+ who have engaged with TV shows via a 2nd screen initiative. At Sony Pictures Network, we have taken many initiatives and steps to tap into this viewer base. We had oﬀered the The technology delivered via the Sony LIV app to millions of viewers sitting at home a chance to “Play-along” with the viewers owning smartphones has helped create a win-win hot seat contestant during Season 9 and 10 of Kaun opportunity for viewers, advertisers, show engagement and Banega Crorepati (KBC). The ability to engage with the show viewer loyalty. using one’s smartphone got a tremendous response from the viewers. Over the two seasons in 2017 & 2018, we saw We see, interactivity as the next leap for video consumption more than 40Mn registrations (596 Mn interactions and across screens (TV as well as Smartphone). There is a large over 47 million hours of time spent. These are unmatched segment of viewers who love to engage and interact while statistics across the world for any form of 2nd screen viewing their favourite content. At SPN, we are betting big interactivity initiative. on it and you would see a host of innovations in the coming months. We, at SPN, saw the un-tapped potential of the power of 1+1 and set up a dedicated team to drive 2nd screen Amog Dusad interactivity initiatives across our shows, genres and TV SVP & Head-Original Content & Partnerships, SonyLIV.

228 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Growing Popularity of Southern Language OTT Content Industry

Expected to be a $5 billion industry by 2023, OTT is Voot and SonyLIV have also caught up, building a rich certainly the future of entertainment in India. While the content pipeline. Some of the noteworthy shows across scale and diversity of Indian entertainment allows the platforms have been Vella Raja, Gangstars on Prime, High coexistence of Films, TV, Digital OTT and other avenues like Priestess, Thiravam, Ekkadikki Ee Parugu, Auto Shankar on Print Media, Gaming etc it is becoming clearer that as more ZEE5, Maya Thirrai on ALTBalaji, Lots of Love, F Buddies on and more of the Indian population is joining the Digital MX Player etc. The 20+ project announcements made in wave, OTT is increasingly becoming stronger and the the last 6 months show that OTTs are bullish on South preferred mode of content consumption across all Indian content and commissioning 30-40% regional shows demographics. alongside Hindi ones. There are some really exciting Tamil shows releasing in the next few months and this trend is All the major OTT platforms starting with Amazon Prime going to get stronger in the next 1-2 years where we will see and Netflix have bulked up their Tamil, Telugu, Kannada a significant number of Tamil, Telugu and even Kannada and Malayalam film libraries in the last one year. The and Malayalam shows. Also, almost all shows being made in theatre to OTT cycle is reducing with Viswasam, KGF and Hindi and other languages will also be getting dubbed in all Lucifer finding OTT release on Prime within 2 months of South Indian languages across all OTTs. In terms of genre, theatrical. Netflix has taken up older blockbusters like Crime, Thriller, Drama, Biographies are taking the centre Kaala, Spyder, Kaththi, Maari, Mersal among others. stage with Comedies and Romances filling up rest of the Likewise, home grown platforms like Hotstar, JioCinema, slate. SonyLiv and MX Player have also been expanding their South Indian film libraries. Going forward, we will witness Kavithalayaa Productions founded by the (Late) Dadasaheb digital surpassing satellite and becoming the primary Phalke Awardee, Dr.K.Balachander in 1981 and an iconic release platform for South Indian films after theatrical. A production house has been at the forefront of this large number of films will find direct-to-digital or post phenomenon, pioneering the creation of a vibrant theatrical digital releases in the next couple of years. eco-system for content production from the South. With an unparalleled legacy of award-winning films and close to With strong budgets backing good stories, appetite for 1000+ hours of quality TV, Kavithalayaa is one of the first versatile and bold content, cinema quality for small screen, South Indian production houses to create original content OTT is a unique model that has truly unleashed the power for the evolving OTT market. Harmony with AR Rahman, its of storytelling by bringing forth a blend of web series first digital venture, launched last year on Amazon Prime, is formats. Existing and new content creators are the highest rated show till date (IMDB rating; 9.1/10) and experimenting with themes, genres and duration formats work on Season 2 is under way. to create a plethora of content for web that is finding takers across languages, regions, age groups, genders, interests Kandaswamy Bharathan and distribution channels. Joint Managing Director, Kavithalayaa Prodauctions (P) Ltd. & Visiting Faculty, MICA & IIM Ahmedabad Platforms like ZEE5 and MX Player, right from their inception, have planned their programming with a significant share of South Indian shows. Others like Prime,

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 229 Data Analytics has always been of crucial importance to any Here are few key examples of the growing use of increasingly important for OTT services. Analytics business, particularly in the Media industry. However, with Data Analytics for the deeper insights : the internet explosion and increasing online presence with • Top Searches from users and leveraging AI for effective The data collected by the OTTs is not only on the viewing Driving freemium and variants of subscription models, the recommendations for content and advertisement patterns of the main content, but also on the Over-The-Top (OTT) are aggressively relying on Analytics. • Click rate for targeted advertisement vs routine advertisement watched completely or skipped. Based on the Future advertisement engine this data, advertisements of similar products start to OTT is a term used for those providers who distribute • User Preferences based on ratings, Postal codes, appear while watching the main content. With Smart TVs content/streaming media directly to viewers, through the Gender, Age, Education, day in a week and Time and increasing use of mobile devices to view the videos; in Internet, bypassing telecommunications and broadcast • Number of users watch a particular content future, a viewer would be able to click on the product television platforms that have traditionally controlled the (entire content vs part content) advertisement of choice and purchase the product distribution of this content. • Average gap between one episode and the next immediately. Data collected and analysed for the click rate • Analytics about When user pause, rewind, fast-forward, on the advertisements would be used to provide targeted The most prominent player in the OTT services market is or stop watching advertisements to the viewers. Netflix with in-excess of 115 million video-on-demand • What devices user use to watch which media (VOD) subscribers. Evolving from DVD to dominance in the • Users’ browsing and scrolling habits One of the important trend that OTT players should watch streaming space, Netflix is “The Uncrowned King” of the • Fashion preferences data within the movies and shows for, is growing Marketplaces for content creators. It has online streaming world. This is attributed to the aggressive and it’s influence on retail potential to flatten the entry barriers and disrupt traditional and intelligent use of data analytics, understanding user media and entertainment business models. Today a small behaviour and their entertainment preferences, diverse However, not all OTTs succeed due to lack of proper data director can create a low budget movie and launch it content library for every interest, excellent pricing, amazing analytics, its reporting, interpretation, appropriate exclusively on Netflix. Similarly, Indian market offers huge OEM partnerships with their widget loaded on every single decisions, and timely execution. Execution of proper data opportunities for vernacular and regional marketplaces. type of devices. This enables Netflix to target audiences analytics on such a humongous amount of information with personalized offers. This helps them improve provides deep insights to the decision makers of OTT to To summarise, data analytics is of great importance to customer experience and customer retention. According to design an implementable strategy with a firm OTTs in enabling them to successfully manage media Juniper Research, Netflix is showing highest customer growth-sustainability plan. content, its quality, increase & retain its customer base; retention in the U.S. and U.K. compared to its rivals. thereby, growing and sustaing in these competitive National and regional OTT players have a unique markets. Other OTTs such as Amazon Prime, Hulu, Viacom-Pluto, opportunity to build market share with the experiments and regional players such as Hotstar, Alt-Balaji, SonyLIV, and innovations backed by analytical data, content caching Nikhil B. Shah Voot (Viacom18) are rapidly growing in regional and global at edge (CDN- to improve the user viewing experience and VP, Cilans Systems markets. reduce the bandwidth cost), and AI based targeted vernacular advertisements. OTTs are stepping up to India is a home for 80%+ non-English-speaking population provide localized content and retain their viewers. AI driven with 50+ languages spoken by one million+. With such a recommendation engines and related analytics (for diverse regional user-base, India offers a mammoth example, how much time users spend on opportunity for the vernacular OTT market. recommendations and what kind of recommendations) are

230 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Data Analytics has always been of crucial importance to any Here are few key examples of the growing use of increasingly important for OTT services. business, particularly in the Media industry. However, with Data Analytics for the deeper insights : the internet explosion and increasing online presence with • Top Searches from users and leveraging AI for effective The data collected by the OTTs is not only on the viewing freemium and variants of subscription models, the recommendations for content and advertisement patterns of the main content, but also on the Over-The-Top (OTT) are aggressively relying on Analytics. • Click rate for targeted advertisement vs routine advertisement watched completely or skipped. Based on advertisement engine this data, advertisements of similar products start to OTT is a term used for those providers who distribute • User Preferences based on ratings, Postal codes, appear while watching the main content. With Smart TVs content/streaming media directly to viewers, through the Gender, Age, Education, day in a week and Time and increasing use of mobile devices to view the videos; in Internet, bypassing telecommunications and broadcast • Number of users watch a particular content future, a viewer would be able to click on the product television platforms that have traditionally controlled the (entire content vs part content) advertisement of choice and purchase the product distribution of this content. • Average gap between one episode and the next immediately. Data collected and analysed for the click rate • Analytics about When user pause, rewind, fast-forward, on the advertisements would be used to provide targeted The most prominent player in the OTT services market is or stop watching advertisements to the viewers. Netflix with in-excess of 115 million video-on-demand • What devices user use to watch which media (VOD) subscribers. Evolving from DVD to dominance in the • Users’ browsing and scrolling habits One of the important trend that OTT players should watch streaming space, Netflix is “The Uncrowned King” of the • Fashion preferences data within the movies and shows for, is growing Marketplaces for content creators. It has online streaming world. This is attributed to the aggressive and it’s influence on retail potential to flatten the entry barriers and disrupt traditional and intelligent use of data analytics, understanding user media and entertainment business models. Today a small behaviour and their entertainment preferences, diverse However, not all OTTs succeed due to lack of proper data director can create a low budget movie and launch it content library for every interest, excellent pricing, amazing analytics, its reporting, interpretation, appropriate exclusively on Netflix. Similarly, Indian market offers huge OEM partnerships with their widget loaded on every single decisions, and timely execution. Execution of proper data opportunities for vernacular and regional marketplaces. type of devices. This enables Netflix to target audiences analytics on such a humongous amount of information with personalized offers. This helps them improve provides deep insights to the decision makers of OTT to To summarise, data analytics is of great importance to customer experience and customer retention. According to design an implementable strategy with a firm OTTs in enabling them to successfully manage media Juniper Research, Netflix is showing highest customer growth-sustainability plan. content, its quality, increase & retain its customer base; retention in the U.S. and U.K. compared to its rivals. thereby, growing and sustaing in these competitive National and regional OTT players have a unique markets. Other OTTs such as Amazon Prime, Hulu, Viacom-Pluto, opportunity to build market share with the experiments and regional players such as Hotstar, Alt-Balaji, SonyLIV, and innovations backed by analytical data, content caching Nikhil B. Shah Voot (Viacom18) are rapidly growing in regional and global at edge (CDN- to improve the user viewing experience and VP, Cilans Systems markets. reduce the bandwidth cost), and AI based targeted vernacular advertisements. OTTs are stepping up to India is a home for 80%+ non-English-speaking population provide localized content and retain their viewers. AI driven with 50+ languages spoken by one million+. With such a recommendation engines and related analytics (for diverse regional user-base, India offers a mammoth example, how much time users spend on opportunity for the vernacular OTT market. recommendations and what kind of recommendations) are

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 231 Australia, the US or Italy. In consuming and discussing India is yet coming to terms with this kind of marketing- it is One of the most interesting things we saw on YouTube media, human beings are surprisingly similar. still considered “out there” and focus is clearly still on the Evolution of recently was how Tesla’s stock fell by 10% in a single trading short term, tactical “conversion driven” marketing. This will day (it subsequently rose) when Elon Musk appeared on Nuance is in. Podcasts and YouTubers have offerings that also change, and all it requires is one brand and one digital the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience Podcast) and smoked a joint- are regularly more than an hour long, helping millions of agency to take the thought forward. Marketing while urbanely answering deep questions about the future people enjoy their lonely drives back from work (bye bye of AI. Apparently, that podcast was enough to send normal radio?) and then we have the IGTV influencers for But perhaps, the world of marketing may need to even with OTT panicked investors into stock selling behavioral change. people who think less content is, actually, more. Perversely, consider a world that goes beyond advertising. In an we live in an age that has both a short and a long attention information symmetrical age, where the consumer knows Platforms Very recently, 19 year old YouTuber James Charles lost over span. The underlying phenomenon that makes both of more than the producer, this is in the realm of the possible. 2 million subscribers within a couple of days because his these things true simultaneously is freedom from a To understand the power of information symmetry that erstwhile mentor called him out over some purportedly supplier driven format. Indian origin people like Lily Singh digital brings to the table, just ask a doctor facing a patient unsavory things he had done. He was also promoting a rival are already owning and claiming this space as their own, who has googled up his disease and potential cures before brand, which his mentor considered a breach of trust. and acceptance by global audiences seems to be easier. meeting him. Closer to home, we have seen similar effects on the AIB India’s IVM podcasts has made a promising start-allowing channel after it was hit by the #metoo movement. The AIB interesting conversations on interests and topics that have That’s why people who talk of digital as another marketing founder, Tanmay Bhatt is desperately making amends by traditionally found no expression in the Saas-Bahu channel don’t really get it. Digital has made and is making apologizing and promising change in order to regain public mainstream offerings. fundamental changes in human behavior. OTT platforms trust. are at the forefront of this change. They say that Media When TV studios and radio stations, geared around the reflects societal changes- but changes to media itself Cancel culture is the popular name for this phenomenon, advertising model, created content, they perhaps always reminds us how rapidly society is changing. Marketing has and no amount of PR/Marketing is going to change this very needed to compromise on the quality, quantity and intent to keep swift pace, and with new ideas. real, and oftentimes disturbing and irreversible trend. It of the content. Marketing has been geared around these exists everywhere, and India is no exception. existing patterns of media consumption, and that security Siddharth Deshmukh blanket is being rudely shaken. This makes the job of Adjunct Faculty, MICA, The School of Ideas. We are also seeing some other real time behavioral marketing in this OTT infested real world both infuriating changes in media consumption. Cutting the umbilical and enchanting. Gone are traditional ways of lighting up cable/satellite cord is a recent phenomenon- when we see reptilian brains into choosing brand X over brand Y. We are entire families check what’s on Netflix/Amazon Prime/other talking, now, both in digital and physical worlds, of bold, OTT platforms before (if ever) going to check what’s new ways of conversing with the sophisticated consumer. happening on normal media. Yes, this behavior is still in its infancy. It has groups of early adopters and innovators who Gillette’s toxic masculinity movement is a great example. are avoiding what’s on normal radio and TV for the fluid Sure, there was an outcry against it (mainly from us content of the new OTT formats. Marketers know that what privileged men), but most people miss the point- the early adopters and innovators do, the rest of the market product was picked up typically by women, as key grocery adopts. They are well aware that this is changing the purchasers, who connected to what the brand was saying. nature of the marketing game, but don’t know how to react There are many more examples of a new kind of “woke” with traditional marketing approaches and tools. Social advertising, centering around movements – some badly media is where these influencers ( those wonderful executed, (the Kendall Jenner Pepsi Commercial that was storytellers amongst the early adopters and innovators) trashed) and some beautifully done (Nike’s running run the roost. It is a global phenomenon. A Game of community) Thrones spoiler is as despised in India as it is in Taiwan,

232 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS REPORT 2019 Australia, the US or Italy. In consuming and discussing India is yet coming to terms with this kind of marketing- it is One of the most interesting things we saw on YouTube media, human beings are surprisingly similar. still considered “out there” and focus is clearly still on the recently was how Tesla’s stock fell by 10% in a single trading short term, tactical “conversion driven” marketing. This will day (it subsequently rose) when Elon Musk appeared on Nuance is in. Podcasts and YouTubers have offerings that also change, and all it requires is one brand and one digital the JRE (Joe Rogan Experience Podcast) and smoked a joint- are regularly more than an hour long, helping millions of agency to take the thought forward. while urbanely answering deep questions about the future people enjoy their lonely drives back from work (bye bye of AI. Apparently, that podcast was enough to send normal radio?) and then we have the IGTV influencers for But perhaps, the world of marketing may need to even panicked investors into stock selling behavioral change. people who think less content is, actually, more. Perversely, consider a world that goes beyond advertising. In an we live in an age that has both a short and a long attention information symmetrical age, where the consumer knows Very recently, 19 year old YouTuber James Charles lost over span. The underlying phenomenon that makes both of more than the producer, this is in the realm of the possible. 2 million subscribers within a couple of days because his these things true simultaneously is freedom from a To understand the power of information symmetry that erstwhile mentor called him out over some purportedly supplier driven format. Indian origin people like Lily Singh digital brings to the table, just ask a doctor facing a patient unsavory things he had done. He was also promoting a rival are already owning and claiming this space as their own, who has googled up his disease and potential cures before brand, which his mentor considered a breach of trust. and acceptance by global audiences seems to be easier. meeting him. Closer to home, we have seen similar effects on the AIB India’s IVM podcasts has made a promising start-allowing channel after it was hit by the #metoo movement. The AIB interesting conversations on interests and topics that have That’s why people who talk of digital as another marketing founder, Tanmay Bhatt is desperately making amends by traditionally found no expression in the Saas-Bahu channel don’t really get it. Digital has made and is making apologizing and promising change in order to regain public mainstream offerings. fundamental changes in human behavior. OTT platforms trust. are at the forefront of this change. They say that Media When TV studios and radio stations, geared around the reflects societal changes- but changes to media itself Cancel culture is the popular name for this phenomenon, advertising model, created content, they perhaps always reminds us how rapidly society is changing. Marketing has and no amount of PR/Marketing is going to change this very needed to compromise on the quality, quantity and intent to keep swift pace, and with new ideas. real, and oftentimes disturbing and irreversible trend. It of the content. Marketing has been geared around these exists everywhere, and India is no exception. existing patterns of media consumption, and that security Siddharth Deshmukh blanket is being rudely shaken. This makes the job of Adjunct Faculty, MICA, The School of Ideas. We are also seeing some other real time behavioral marketing in this OTT infested real world both infuriating changes in media consumption. Cutting the umbilical and enchanting. Gone are traditional ways of lighting up cable/satellite cord is a recent phenomenon- when we see reptilian brains into choosing brand X over brand Y. We are entire families check what’s on Netflix/Amazon Prime/other talking, now, both in digital and physical worlds, of bold, OTT platforms before (if ever) going to check what’s new ways of conversing with the sophisticated consumer. happening on normal media. Yes, this behavior is still in its infancy. It has groups of early adopters and innovators who Gillette’s toxic masculinity movement is a great example. are avoiding what’s on normal radio and TV for the fluid Sure, there was an outcry against it (mainly from us content of the new OTT formats. Marketers know that what privileged men), but most people miss the point- the early adopters and innovators do, the rest of the market product was picked up typically by women, as key grocery adopts. They are well aware that this is changing the purchasers, who connected to what the brand was saying. nature of the marketing game, but don’t know how to react There are many more examples of a new kind of “woke” with traditional marketing approaches and tools. Social advertising, centering around movements – some badly media is where these influencers ( those wonderful executed, (the Kendall Jenner Pepsi Commercial that was storytellers amongst the early adopters and innovators) trashed) and some beautifully done (Nike’s running run the roost. It is a global phenomenon. A Game of community) Thrones spoiler is as despised in India as it is in Taiwan,

REPORT 2019 INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS 233 Research Team Saesha Kini (MICA) Mitali Rozia (MICA) Mansi Shah (MICA) Hilda Harmony (MICA) Leslin Bastain (MICA)

Industry Mapping & Trend Analysis Dr. Darshan Ashwin Trivedi, Editor Indian OTT Platforms Report and Adjunct Faculty, MICA, The School of Ideas.

Data Visualization Chirag Dagli Founder & Director Indian OTT Platforms Report, 2019 Communication Crafts A MICA CMES property

In association with Design, Iteration & Compilation by Jagat Vyas (Communication Crafts) Design & Visualization

Jayesh Davda (Communication Crafts) Design & Visualization

Kruti Patel (Communication Crafts) Co-ordination & Data Support