Mapping India’s OTT Boom: Navigating Challenges and Innovations in 2025 - Part 2

The Indian OTT industry faces numerous challenges, including intense competition from global players, high content creation costs, and regulatory uncertainty. Additionally, infrastructure limitations, such as internet penetration and speed, device compatibility, and digital payment infrastructure, hinder growth. Monetization and revenue challenges, including subscription fatigue, advertising revenue competition, and piracy, also impact profitability. Furthermore, talent acquisition and retention challenges, due to scarcity and competition, affect content quality and innovation. Addressing these challenges is crucial for Indian OTT platforms to succeed and thrive in a rapidly evolving market.

These challenges require innovative solutions and a strategic approach to navigate the evolving OTT landscape successfully.

Also read:

Streaming into the Future: Mapping India’s OTT Boom – Part 1

“Our business philosophy lies in creating content that’s screen-agnostic, language-agnostic, scale-agnostic and genre-agnostic. And that makes us one of the very few in the Indian, regional as well as the global landscape,” says Mrinalini Jain, Group Chief Development Officer, Banijay Asia & EndemolShine India.

She adds that the production house has always maintained a large spectrum of content - from producing the biggest unscripted show on television, ‘Bigg Boss’, to the biggest scripted show for OTT, ‘The Night Manager’.

“While some production houses lean towards a particular format of content, we have always tried to maintain diversity across TV, OTT, scripted, unscripted, focusing on the spectrum for longevity. Of course, budgets have shrunk, and timelines are tight since the market is seeing an unprecedented disruption. All businesses have a cycle. But that’s the mark of a good business strategy - understand the undercurrents of the market and tailor your services to suit the evolving market dynamics,” Jain says.

The OTT ecosystem has seen constant evolution over the last few years, and 2024 was no different, opines Vikram Malhotra, Founder & CEO, Abundantia Entertainment. He feels that as the streaming platforms settle in and set their growth and success objectives, content producers must gear up to meet these evolving demands.

“At Abundantia Entertainment, we view this as a significant opportunity to innovate, streamline, and adapt our content slate and deepen our presence in the streaming universe. With the rising expectations of both platforms and audiences, the demand for high-quality content has led to higher production costs. At the same time, the competition in the OTT space is more intense than ever, which means we must deliver projects that stand out while ensuring they remain cost-effective. We prioritize meticulous planning, leveraging technology to reduce costs and optimizing resources without sacrificing quality,” he adds.

Malhotra points out that when it comes to timelines, there is often pressure to produce content quickly while maintaining the highest production standards. The increasing pace of releases in the OTT space puts additional strain on production schedules.

“To stay ahead, we’ve adopted agile production methods. By breaking projects into manageable phases and using iterative processes, we can ensure that content is delivered on time without compromising creative vision. As for talent, competition is fierce. To address this, we focus on building long-term relationships with both established and emerging talent. We nurture talent by fostering smaller creative ecosystems and collaborations, ensuring a balance of innovation and experience. This approach allows us to deliver top-notch content within budget while meeting the fast-paced demands of the industry with the best talent,” he adds.

In today’s rapidly evolving OTT market, points out Partha Sengupta, Managing Director, Nielsen India, content creators and production houses are navigating uncharted waters.

According to him, the demand for fresh, high-quality content has never been higher, but this surge brings significant challenges: tighter budgets, compressed timelines, and the constant battle to secure top-tier talent. These pressures can stretch resources thin and threaten the creative process.

“This is where Nielsen’s data-driven approach becomes a game-changer. With our Digital Content Ratings (DCR), Nielsen equips creators with precise, real-time insights into audience preferences and engagement. This invaluable data allows production houses to focus their investments on content that truly connects with viewers, ensuring every dollar spent delivers maximum impact. Timelines also become more manageable when decisions are backed by data. Nielsen’s insights help production teams anticipate trends, plan effectively, and avoid costly delays. On the talent front, aligning projects with audience demand creates compelling opportunities that attract and retain the industry’s best creative minds. In a competitive landscape, data-driven strategies are not just an advantage—they are a necessity. Nielsen’s tools empower content creators to overcome challenges, deliver standout content, and thrive in the OTT race,” he adds.

Innovations

The OTT production landscape is set to transform in 2025 with the rise of AI-generated content, short-form videos, and immersive formats. Innovations such as virtual production, interactive storytelling, and advanced AI technologies are expected to disrupt and redefine the industry.

Vikram Malhotra states that the rise of AI-generated content, short-form storytelling, and immersive experiences is undoubtedly reshaping the OTT landscape.

“At Abundantia Entertainment, we view these technological advancements as powerful tools that can significantly enhance, but not fully replace, human creativity. Short-form videos have become a powerful tool for content consumption, especially among younger audiences. This format lends itself well to storytelling that is more direct and bite-sized, allowing creators to explore new narrative techniques or tackle complex topics in a concise, engaging way. Moreover, short-form videos offer the potential for virality, making them highly shareable and enhancing audience engagement. For production houses, short-form content presents both an opportunity and a challenge,” says Malhotra.

As we step into 2025, he adds, AI will become increasingly important in streamlining various aspects of production, from script development and casting to audience analysis and content personalization. “AI can efficiently process vast amounts of data, helping creators identify trends, predict audience preferences, and optimize content strategies—ultimately allowing storytellers to focus more on their craft. At Abundantia Entertainment, we’re committed to leveraging these innovations to push the boundaries of storytelling while staying true to our core ethos: creating stories that inspire and entertain,” concludes Malhotra.

Long-form content requires a strong story arc, character developments, situational relevance and a lot of emotional storytelling, opines Mrinalini Jain. And as such it is still to see if AI can adapt to the emotional quotient required for OTT series.

Of course, she adds, it can aid in improving processes across the value chain of production; it cannot be a dedicated standalone resource.

“We see AI as a key partner from script to post-production, while maintaining the human touch that fuels great storytelling. We are also trying to evolve our processes to work together with technology and see where we land. Our goal remains to deliver content that resonates globally, ensuring Banijay Asia leads in creativity, quality, and relevance,” says Jain.

The OTT production ecosystem in 2025 will undergo a dynamic transformation, driven by advancements in AI-generated content, short-form videos, and immersive storytelling formats, says Partha Sengupta.

These trends, according to him, are reshaping how content is created and consumed, particularly in a market like India, where technological adoption is accelerating.

“AI-generated content is set to streamline production workflows, enabling creators to produce high-quality, personalized content with greater efficiency. This innovation reduces production costs and accelerates time-to-market, giving creators a competitive edge. Short-form videos, fueled by the popularity of platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, will continue to cater to younger, mobile-first audiences, reinforcing their dominance in digital content consumption. Immersive storytelling, through technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), will elevate the viewer experience, creating highly engaging, interactive narratives. These formats are expected to redefine audience expectations, blending entertainment with active participation. Next-generation technologies like virtual production and interactive media are set to redefine content creation and audience engagement. Virtual production, powered by real-time rendering and LED screens, delivers unparalleled flexibility and cost-effectiveness, enabling creators to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. Meanwhile, interactive media—through tools like live polls, Q&A sessions, and real-time updates—transforms viewers into active participants, fostering deeper, more meaningful connections. Nielsen’s data-driven approach will play a pivotal role in navigating these changes. With advanced insights into audience preferences and engagement metrics, content creators can tailor strategies to meet evolving demands, ensuring sustained relevance and competitiveness in the rapidly evolving OTT landscape,” he concludes.