iWorld
Covid2019 a disruptor for digital content delivery
MUMBAI: It's not easy to cope with the rising anxiety and uncertainty while sheltering-in-place. Fortunately, there is a huge amount of content available online that keeps everyone entertained and informed. With the exponential rise in content consumption, the tech teams of over-the-top (OTT) platforms and publishers have taken up important roles to serve consumer needs along with the help of content distribution networks (CDNs). However, the challenges of delivering content have risen during the Covid2019 crisis due to the overwhelming surge in consumption, a panel comprising industry experts during a virtual discussion agreed.
The panelists included Viacom18 Digital Ventures technology and engineering head Mohit Srivastava, EPIC ON COO Sourjya Mohanty, The Indian Express CTO Amardeep Vishwakarma, Asianet News Media and Entertainment assistant director of technology Anoop Mohan, Quintype head of engineering Rashmi Mittal, Snapdeal CTO Prashant Parashar, Simsim CTO Gaurav Kalra, Limelight Networks product management senior director Michael Milligan, VideoTap founder and CEO N Dilip Venkatraman, Limelight Networks India sales director Ashwin Rao and Kavasam Konnect chief information and technology officer Koushik Ramani.
The panel discussion, on the importance of CDN for data and video explosion in the post-Covid2019 world, was organised by Indiantelevision.com and moderated by its founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.
Srivastava said that consumption has gone up exponentially both for AVOD and SVOD models on VOOT; the latter has seen really skyrocketing growth.
Mohanty also mentioned that its two OTT platforms have been doing really well. It has witnessed consumption going up 3-4x many days. He also added that along with more consumers, they have received more consumer insights too during this period.
Vishwakarma also added that traffic has increased 2x across its platforms. Although it's not inclined too much to video, people are consuming available static content on websites.
Mohan also spoke about a 2-2.5x growth across Asianet platforms. While it serves in seven languages, growth is occurring in each. It has also started producing Covid2019-related content to avoid fake news.
Mittal also added that the number of page views has doubled for its client publishers. On the other hand, Ramani said that it's leveraging social media platforms more as its OTT platform is not fully launched yet.
Snapdeal recently entered the video content space. Parashar said that during the lockdown, when non-essentials were not being shipped, it wanted to engage customers and started using video for that. Kalra, too, acknowledged that there has been an impact on the business as commerce is not happening. Hence, its focus has deviated more towards content.
Parashar said that they have to put more efforts to deliver similar quality content at a lesser speed of data used by consumers. He brought up an important aspect that CDNs have not focused highly on mobile devices while Indian consumers mostly consume content on smartphones. According to him, it is the right time for CDN players to innovate on the mobile side of videos and images and optimise for the newer economy in the post Covid2019 world.
“A lot of time we experience that video delivery is not as optimised as you would expect for mobile platforms. As new content is not being created, content consumption has spread out quite a bit. As a result, it is putting pressure on CDNs in terms of efficiency. Hence, it has become tough managing traffic,” Srivastava added. Mohanty also agreed that this has been a key challenge: reduction of latency and better response time.
Limelight Networks' Milligan noted that although smartphones are heavily dominating the Indian market, the Indian audience is also watching content on connected devices. “It's not only about the mobile experience, but content providers also have to think of connected devices. So, as a content distributor you have to find out how you can give the best experience on both,” he added.
Mohan also revealed that as Asianet users are in tier-III cities and rural areas, where consumers use a lower version of Android, it created a multi-CDN strategy. It reached out to different CDNs to see how it can optimise them and deliver content faster.
However, publishers in the panel said that CDNs have been very helpful to deliver static content during this crisis taking up a lot of load. Their challenge was another: the decline in ad revenue despite growing consumption.
iWorld
Frodoh, Chaupal introduce non-intrusive first-screen ads for OTT platforms
New ad-tech layer unlocks revenue without interrupting OTT viewing
MUMBAI: Frodoh has partnered with regional OTT platform Chaupal to roll out what it calls an industry-first “first-screen” monetisation framework, aimed at helping subscription-led streaming services generate additional revenue without interrupting content viewing.
The new model focuses on connected TV home screens, introducing ad formats that sit within the discovery layer rather than the content itself. In simple terms, viewers may notice subtle brand placements while browsing, but once they hit play, the experience remains ad-free.
The technology is designed to tap into high-attention areas such as session depth, viewing intent and discovery behaviour, turning previously unused interface space into monetisable real estate. For OTT platforms, this opens up a fresh revenue stream without diluting the premium experience that subscribers expect.
Chaupal chief executive officer Sandeep Bansal said the move balances growth with user trust. “By partnering with Frodoh, we are introducing a sophisticated ‘first-screen’ monetisation layer that integrates seamlessly into our UI, ensuring discovery remains native and non-intrusive while keeping content consumption ad-free.”
From Frodoh’s side, the pitch is clear: expand the ad pie without cluttering the screen. Frodoh founder and chief executive officer Russhabh R Thakkar said the framework creates a new category of advertising by unlocking high-visibility home screen inventory that was previously untapped.
Industry watchers see this as part of a broader shift in OTT monetisation strategies, especially as subscription platforms look to diversify revenue without risking churn. With connected TV usage rising steadily, the home screen is quickly becoming the next battleground for attention.
If the model scales, this partnership could signal a subtle but significant shift in how OTT platforms monetise, proving that sometimes, the most valuable ad space is the one you see before the show even begins.
