Indians have an insatiable appetite for entertainment and the social isolation during this pandemic increased the hunger for more. Watching movies of your favorite actors or binge-watching episodes, seasons after seasons, or just refreshing memories with some old movies, OTT is an absolute hit. The ease of watching while at home, on vacation, traveling, or even in the office and not missing any episodes is a welcome change. Adding to it the fast lifestyle of GenNxt, who wants everything at their fingertips, even when and what to watch, has made OTT the In-thing. With multiple choices around content consumption, OTT has been eagerly adopted across geographical and demographic segments. OTT is here to stay.
Rising Trend of OTT
The world has seen an upsurge in OTT platforms in the last couple of years, and the trend is likely to continue in near future. As per a report by PwC, India is the fastest-growing OTT market at 28.6% CAGR and is projected to become the 6th largest market in 2024. A report by Boston Consulting Group tells India’s OTT market is poised to reach $5 billion by 2023.
Over the top or OTT is a term used for a new delivery method of film and TV content over the internet, without the requirement of traditional broadcast, satellite pay-TV providers, or cable. Just a high-speed internet connection, and a device that supports apps or browsers, will take one to the magical world of entertainment. It can be delivered through smartphones, tablets, personal computers, and even smart TVs. The revenue model adopted by the OTTs is the advertising subscription and pay-per-view (PPV) model, which suits the pocket of the general mass.
Capturing The Indian Market
The 1st OTT wave entered the country in 2008 with BIGFlix launched by Reliance Entertainment. Digivive launched India’s first OTT mobile app called nexGTv in 2010 providing access to both live TV and on-demand content. It was DittoTV by Zee and Sony Liv, launched in 2013, that gave a surge to OTTs in the country. Soon after US giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video forayed into the Indian market. Today apart from the top brands, more than 13 regional OTT platforms are streaming some wonderful content.
Bringing In the Regional Flavor
The foremost regional language OTT in India was Hoichoi. More followed like Sun NXT, Aha, Koode, Addatimes, Regal Talkies, Planet Marathi, Oho Gujarati, Reel drama, and many more. These platforms have hugely filled in the gap left by mainstream entertainment. It has touched the audience with original content amalgamating local flavor, giving a tough competition to mainstream OTT players. As per media analysts, in terms of consumption, the regional platform holds almost 40–45 percent share of the overall OTT. The regional players are also going global to cater to the Indian diaspora.
Changing Dynamics of Odia Content Consumption
AAO NXT, launched amidst Covid-19 in December 2020, is the 1st independent OTT of Odisha. It was created to put across the essence of Odisha to the world. AAO NXT strives to reach people desirous of watching quality web series, feature films, short films, and documentaries from their land, in their mother tongue. The strength of AAO NXT is original content, showcasing extraordinary ingenuity by ordinary people. It contents some remarkable awe-inspiring and heart-touching creations by dynamic, creative, and passionately driven people.
