iWorld
India’s OTT video market to reach $3 bn in 2022; estimated to double by 2027: Report
Mumbai: India’s OTT video market will reach total revenues of $3 billion in 2022 and is expected to more than double to $7 billion by 2027, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA).
In the recent analysis, MPA looks at the online video and broadband distribution trends in the Asia Pacific (APAC) market.
The online video market in APAC is expected to grow 16 per cent year-on-year to reach $49.2 billion by the end of 2022. MPA forecasts that the industry will continue to grow by 8 per cent YoY to reach $72.7 billion by 2027.
Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) is expected to contribute 50 per cent to overall revenues, followed by user-generated-content (UGC) advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms which will contribute 37 per cent and premium AVOD that will contribute the remaining 13 per cent.
“APAC’s largest markets including India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Thailand will be increasingly important to global platforms,” observed MPA executive director Vivek Couto. “Each of these markets require local content and distribution strategies with long-term investment.”
The APAC region remains the largest contributor to global online video customers and its users are emerging as a significant contributor to revenue growth. In its recent quarterly results, streaming giant Netflix reported a loss in subscribers in every market (United States-Canada, Europe Middle East and Africa, Latin America) except APAC where it reported paid net additions of one million.
Also Read: Netflix to launch cheaper ad-supported plan for early 2023
Indian Scenario
As per the analysis, India’s OTT video market is in the second phase of its growth as competitive intensity is set to grow between global giants and newly capitalised local players. Telco reach remains critical in the market along with AOVD business models and low-average revenue per user (ARPU), high volume SVOD services.
In terms of SVOD business, Netflix, Disney and Amazon lead, with the three players having 56 per cent aggregate of the APAC market excluding China in 2022. Netflix will have 33 per cent share followed by Amazon Prime Video at 12 per cent and Disney+ including Disney+ Hotstar at 11 per cent.
Netflix’ s share of online video subscription revenues has declined from 35 per cent in 2021 while Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar services are building scale, local content investment and monetisation in markets such as Australia, India, Indonesia and Thailand while also expanding in high ARPU, strong local markets such as Japan. A third of Disney+ revenues come from India, however, where it has recently lost digital rights to the highly successful Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket franchise to Viacom18.
Prime Video leads the Japan SVOD category while also growing rapidly in India and is now set to expand in key Southeast Asia markets in the fourth quarter 2022.
In India, new local players with deep pockets are gearing up to grab market share, led by a newly recapitalized Viacom18, backed by strategics Reliance, Bodhi Tree and Paramount while domestic incumbents Zee and Sony are merging to create a strong TV/online video business.
Going forward, Viacom18’s new streaming platform, leveraging IPL cricket and local entertainment, will emerge as an important player in the AVOD space in particular, grabbing material share over time as it leverages massive reach via Jio mobile and connected TV.
Ad-supported SVOD models will launch across Asia Pacific in 2023-24, led by Netflix and Disney+.
Broadband distribution landscape
The total addressable market (TAM) for high-speed broadband continues to expand rapidly in Asia Pacific with greater 4G, 5G and fiber-enabled connectivity.
Excluding China, the combined 4G and 5G users will reach 78 per cent of the population across APAC in 2022 while fiber-driven fixed broadband penetration will reach 31 per cent.
Teclos, connected TV (CTV) operators and pay TV operators remain important aggregators of SVOD, freemium and AVOD services, contributing between 20 to 80 per cent to OTT video platform reach, depending on the market.
The rising CTV penetration and big screen consumption of online video content is helping fuel advertising growth across YouTube and premium SVOD platforms, led by broadcast video-on-demand (BVOD) players in particular, while also bolstering demand and monetisation at SVOD platforms.
“Investors are increasingly focused on enhanced scale, improved monetization and real profitability across global, local and regional online video platforms. In this context, the role of Asia Pacific continues to have a critical role in the future of the global online video industry,” said Couto.
iWorld
Applause Entertainment partners with Story TV for premium microdramas
Collaboration to produce and adapt content for mobile-first audiences starting 2026.
MUMBAI: Applause Entertainment just shrunk the drama screen because when stories fit in your pocket, even the biggest plots feel like a quick binge. Applause Entertainment, the Aditya Birla Group-backed content powerhouse behind hits like Black Warrant, The Hunt, Criminal Justice and Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, has entered an exclusive partnership with Story TV, India’s leading microdrama platform, to create a slate of premium short-form series for mobile-first viewers.
Under the agreement, the two companies will co-produce new-age microdramas across multiple genres. Story TV will also acquire rights to Applause’s romantic-thriller series Hello Mini and adapt it into a vertical microdrama format.
Story TV, which launched in July 2025, has quickly become a dominant player in the microdrama space with a library exceeding 1000 titles in romance, thriller, action and family drama across Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. The platform ranks as the second most downloaded entertainment app worldwide, according to Sensor Tower data.
Story TV founder and CEO Saurabh Pandey said, “As an early entrant into microdramas in India we are at the forefront of blending storytelling and technology to expand this emerging format into mainstream territory. Our partnership with Applause Entertainment will further expand the audience of microdramas with a focus on premium storytelling that is yet to be seen in the Indian entertainment industry.”
Applause Entertainment chief business officer Prasoon Garg added, “At Applause, our focus has always been on building strong stories across formats. As newer storytelling formats like microdramas gain momentum, we see value in engaging with them through meaningful collaborations. Our unique partnership with Story TV enables us to explore this emerging space alongside a platform that has demonstrated strong understanding of the format and its audiences.”
The tie-up positions both companies to capitalise on the rapid rise of bite-sized, vertical content tailored for smartphone consumption, where attention spans are short and global reach is instant.
In a screen-sized world where stories now race against the scroll, Applause and Story TV aren’t just making microdramas, they’re proving that the smallest screen can still deliver the biggest emotional punch, one vertical episode at a time.
