MAM
Eros Now Leads All Major OTT Platforms in Market Share of Small and Regional Cities According to New Research
Mumbai: Eros International Plc (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros” or the “Company”), a Global Indian Entertainment Company, announced today that Counterpoint Technology Market Research has recently released an in-depth study on OTT platforms and consumption patterns in India. According to the study, Eros Now has the largest share (59%) of users in the 25-39 age bracket in Tier II/III cities, the highest among all major OTT platforms. In terms of engagement, the study found that Eros Now users had the highest engagement levels compared to other OTT platforms, with 68% of Eros Now users indicating that they watch content on the platform daily. In addition, the survey points out that 9% of Eros Now users watch content on the platform for more than 21 hours per week.
The Counterpoint Research study highlights several interesting trends and data points, including:
· Content from comfort of home: 96% of Eros Now customers prefer watching content at home
· Smart TV – the new choice: Eros Now has the highest percentage of its users watching content on Smart TV with a total of 27% – highest among all other leading OTT platforms
· Demographic trends: Eros Now has the highest share of business owners as users – over 14%
· Importance of Xiaomi: More than half (53%) of ErosNow users in Tier II/III cities own a Xiaomi smartphone.
Rishika Lulla Singh, Chief Executive Officer of Eros Digital, commented on the key trends revealed in the survey, saying, “The Counterpoint survey is proof of the success of our endeavours not only to expand the consumer base but also to strengthen our foothold in the smaller cities of India. Our entry into the rural markets of India has played a significant role in the growth of the OTT industry in the country."
Eros Now continues to thrive through its partnerships in India. Notably, Eros Now has partnered with Xiaomi for pre-installation on Smart TV's in India, a rapidly growing market. Eros Now is currently the only major Indian OTT platform to partner with Apple for its new Apple TV Plus service to be launched globally later this year.
MAM
ASCI study uncovers how Gen Alpha navigates ads in endless digital feeds
‘What the Sigma?’ ethnographic report maps blurred boundaries between content and commerce for 7–15-year-olds.
MUMBAI: Gen Alpha isn’t scrolling through the internet, they’re living rent-free inside its never-ending dopamine drip, and the ads have already moved in next door. The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Academy, partnering with Futurebrands Consulting, has published ‘What the Sigma?’, an immersive ethnographic study that maps how Indian children aged 7–15 (Generation Alpha) consume, interpret and live alongside media and commercial messaging in a hyper-digital environment.
The research draws on in-home interviews, sibling and peer conversations, and discussions with parents, teachers, counsellors, psychologists, marketers and kidfluencers across six cities. It examines not only what children watch but how algorithms, content creators, peers and parents shape their relationship with the constant stream of shorts, vlogs, gameplay, memes, sponsored posts and ‘kid-ified’ adult material.
Five core themes emerged:
- Discontinuous Generation, Gen Alpha is not growing up alongside the internet, they are growing up inside it. Cultural references, humour, aesthetics and language sync globally in real time, often leaving adults functionally illiterate in their children’s world. A reference that lands instantly for a 10-year-old in Mumbai or Visakhapatnam feels opaque or disjointed to most parents.
- Authority Vacuum, Parents and teachers frequently lose cultural fluency in digital spaces. The algorithm responsive, inexhaustible and perfectly attuned to preferences becomes the most attentive presence in many children’s daily lives. Rules around screen time feel increasingly difficult to enforce when adults cannot fully see or understand the content landscape.
- Digital as Society, Online and offline no longer exist as separate realms, they form one continuous reality. The phone is not a tool children pick up; it is the primary social environment they inhabit.
- Great Media Mukbang, Content flows as an ambient, boundary-less, multi-sensorial stream. Entertainment, advertising, commerce, gameplay, memes and vlogs merge into one undifferentiated feed. The line between active choice and passive absorption has largely collapsed.
- Blurred Ad Recognition, Children aged 7–12 typically recognise only the most overt advertising formats. Influencer promotions, gaming integrations and vlog sponsorships often register as organic entertainment. Children aged 13–15 show greater ad literacy but remain highly susceptible to narrative-integrated, passion-driven and emotionally resonant brand messaging. Discernment remains low across the board in a non-stop stream.
ASCI CEO and secretary general Manisha Kapoor said, “ASCI Academy’s study is an investigation into the content life of Generation Alpha not to judge them but to understand them. Their cultural reference points seem disjointed from those of earlier generations. Insights on how they perceive advertising is the first step towards building more responsible engagement frameworks, given that they are the youngest media consumers in our country right now.”
Futurebrands Consulting founder and director Santosh Desai added, “While earlier generations have been exposed to digital media, for this generation it is the world they inhabit. This report explores not only what they watch but how they are being shaped by algorithms, content and advertising.”
The study proposes four adaptive, principles-led pathways:
- Universal signposting of commercial intent using design principles that make advertising recognisable even to young audiences.
- Ecosystem-wide responsibility shared among advertisers, platforms, creators, schools and parents.
- Future-ready safeguards built directly into children’s content experiences rather than as optional background settings.
- Formal media and advertising literacy embedded in school curricula to teach age-appropriate understanding of persuasion and commercial intent.
In a feed that never pauses, Gen Alpha isn’t merely watching content, they’re swimming in an ocean where entertainment, commerce and identity swirl together. The real question isn’t whether they can spot an ad; it’s whether the adults building the ocean can agree on where the lifeguards should stand.
