iWorld
OTT, FAST, and freemium: Streamers sketch the new rules for India’s content boom
MUMBAI: In India’s digital bazaar, content might be king—but figuring out how to sell it is the real blood sport. At IndianTelevision.com’s 21 Video and Broadband Summit 2025, the panel “Streaming and Distribution: Serving the Right Mix” brought together a lively brigade of streaming leaders to unpack how OTT, aggregators, and even Doordarshan’s new digital avatars are reshaping content distribution for the next three years.
Session chair IndianTelevision.com Group founder, chairman & editor in chief Anil Wanvari guided a sharp conversation with Amazon MX Player director & head of content Amogh Dusad, Chana Jor director & CEO Pratap Jain, Shemaroo COO – digital Saurabh Srivastava, Prasar Bharati deputy director general Amit Kumar, and Jojo App founder Dhruvin Shah on what the future of streaming might really look like—and it wasn’t all glamour and glossy originals.
Shah said they started with an ad-supported (AVOD) model because jumping straight into subscriptions would have sunk them. “Even with bigger value propositions, if we had slapped a price tag on day one, I don’t think we would have been where we are,” he confessed. Today, Jojo boasts over 5.5–6 million downloads and an emerging subscription base, with one paid user for every three free users.
Srivastava remained cautious. While Shemaroo has built a direct-to-consumer OTT business, he acknowledged syndication continues to outpace subscription revenues. “In India, what should happen and what is happening are two different things,” Srivastava said, backing AVOD and hybrid models for immediate scalability. About 70–75 per cent of Shemaroo’s OTT revenue today still flows from its D2C subscription play, with Gujarati and Hindi content split evenly.
Jain described aggregation as a double-edged sword. “Yes, you can scale fast through partnerships, but your net ARPU drops,” he admitted. Still, Chana Jor, live on Watcho and Airtel , boasts 40,000 direct paying users and around 400,000 downloads.
Kumar meanwhile shared how their ‘Waves’ OTT platform—spun off from Doordarshan—was engineered differently. “We avoided brand confusion by keeping Waves separate from DD and AIR,” he said. Targeting a freemium model, Waves already hit three million downloads with a bold aim of 10 million by year-end. Unique shows like Kisan Cricket League and Kheton ke Khiladi are designed to tap the farmer and rural youth demographic, blending sports, farming and ground-level engagement.
Monetisation challenges loomed large. Kumar flagged low CPM rates in India, high ad-serving costs, and patchy ad inventory. He suggested innovations like offering micro-credits to users to ease small-ticket payments and boost transaction volumes in TVOD models.
The panel agreed: Indians don’t mind watching ads—evidenced by YouTube’s Indian dominance and DTH models— but purely ad-funded OTT isn’t a silver bullet. Subscription and freemium hybrids are the future, with content quality and clever marketing crucial to success.
In a land of one billion screens, it’s not the platform with the loudest ad campaign that wins. It’s the one that convinces a user to stay—and maybe, just maybe, pay.
iWorld
Parineeti Chopra hosts new parenting series Mom Talks on Zee5 and Bullet
Celebrity parents share honest stories in 9-episode show launching 4 April 2026.
MUMBAI: Parineeti Chopra is stepping into a brand-new role not on the big screen, but as the warm, relatable host helping parents navigate the beautiful chaos of raising children. Bullet microdrama and Zee5 have announced the launch of Mom Talks, a fresh content-led IP hosted by the popular actress. The 9-episode series brings together celebrity parents including Imran Khan, Neha Dhupia, Vikrant Massey & Sheetal, and Gauahar Khan & Zaid Darbar to share candid, real-life perspectives on everyday parenting.
Positioned as a high-engagement format, Mom Talks taps into the growing demand for authentic and credible parenting content. It also offers seamless, contextual integration opportunities for brands. The series is backed by a strong lineup of partners including Johnson’s Baby, GSK, Aveeno Baby, Mini Klub, Titan Eye+ and Cordelia Cruises.
Bullet microdrama app, co-founder & chief business officer Azim Lalani said the show exemplifies how content is evolving towards more rooted, sustained engagement. “It’s about bringing content that people come back to, while creating a natural space for brands to be part of the narrative,” he noted.
Mom Talks creator Bullet head of AVOD & partnerships Munaf Merchant explained the core idea, “We wanted to build a safe, honest, one-stop destination for parents seeking real answers to everyday questions.”
The first episodes will stream for free on ee5 AVOD starting 4 April 2026, with new episodes dropping every Friday and Saturday. The series will also be available on the Bullet microdrama app.
Speaking about their association, Peeyush Unikkat from Johnson’s Baby highlighted the brand’s focus on supporting modern parenting journeys, while Aakash Mehta from GSK emphasised the show’s role in making important health conversations more relatable for new parents.
In a digital space often filled with filtered perfection, Mom Talks promises something refreshingly real honest conversations, celebrity insights, and practical wisdom, all wrapped in Parineeti Chopra’s engaging presence. For Indian parents, this could be the parenting series they’ve been waiting to binge.
