Multiple OTTs on a single platform will be a big game changer in 2023: Avinash Mudaliar

The year 2023 has started on a rollercoaster note, with an accelerated adoption of generative AI, AI chatbots, and digital innovations. This is bringing in new operational efficiencies, stronger strategies, a far greater emphasis on building deep bonds with various stakeholders and consumers. In keeping with the current market ecosystem, technology and a human approach are seen as going hand in hand.

As part of our annual TRENDING NOW series, Adgully has been approaching key industry leaders to Crystal Gaze into 2023 to highlight the major trends and developments that they see dominating the industry in the year ahead.

In conversation with Adgully, Avinash Mudaliar, Co-founder and CEO of OTTplay, speaks about the shift towards regional content on OTT platforms, sector-wise expansion of OTT platforms, significant increase in subscribers, OTTplay’s major focus areas in 2023, and more.

Key trends dominating the OTT industry in 2023

India’s OTT market is witnessing a shift towards regional content, with recent reports suggesting that regional OTT platforms are expected to dominate the Indian market in 2023 and beyond. According to a report by FICCI-EY, regional OTT companies are booming and are expected to outdo Hindi language viewers by 50% by the year 2025. This trend is in line with what we have observed in the last two years, and we see it continuing to gain momentum in 2023. This shift towards regional content has led to the emergence of more regional OTT platforms, with India currently having over 60 OTT platforms.

Furthermore, there is a growing trend of sector-wise expansion of OTT platforms, such as sports and education, with dedicated platforms being developed to cater to specific audiences. At OTTplay, we are well aligned with the trend to providing a comprehensive and diverse range of regional content, ensuring that users have access to the best and most varied entertainment options in their preferred language.

Major expectations from 2023

In the year ahead, we expect the OTT sector to witness a further increase in subscribers and continue its growth trajectory. We anticipate that the OTT industry will continue to develop in the year ahead, with a significant increase in subscribers. According to industry estimates, the Indian OTT sector’s subscriber base is expected to increase to 50 million by 2023, increasing the business’ potential to reach a value of Rs 12,000 crore by the end of 2023.

With the growing popularity of regional programming, we expect additional OTT services tailored to specific regional audiences to emerge. With the rising popularity of regional content, we anticipate more OTT platforms to emerge, catering to specific regional audiences. Additionally, as the number of OTT platforms increases, we expect to see more bundling and aggregation of services to make it easier for consumers to access a variety of content. This trend towards bundling is likely to be led by the telecom sector, with companies such as Airtel and Jio or in the private sector, like OTTplay, who are already offering bundled OTT services. We also anticipate more offerings of multiple OTT platforms on a single platform, which we believe will be a big game changer in 2023.

In terms of content, we expect OTT platforms to continue investing in original content production and collaborate with traditional broadcasters to offer a wider range of content. Finally, we expect to see a continued focus on improving the user experience and offering more personalized recommendations to keep subscribers engaged.

Key focus areas for OTTplay in 2023

In 2023, OTTplay’s major focus areas will be on acquiring more OTT platforms to provide a wider range of offerings to our end-users. We want to ensure that our subscribers have access to ample titles and content from different industry sectors like sports, education, and entertainment. We aim to create a great user experience by providing a good mix of regional and national content, including Bollywood Hindi-driven content, local language-based content, live channels, sports, and international content.

Additionally, we plan to focus on subscription growth and provide our services at the lowest possible rates in the market to remain competitive. Our goal is to expand our platform to about 25 OTT platforms by the end of the first quarter of 2023. We have already onboarded three new OTT platforms, including FanCode and Manorama Max, in the first quarter and are in the process of onboarding more.

We believe that with our focus on acquiring more platforms and offering a wide range of content, we will be able to achieve our targets and provide a great viewing experience to our subscribers.