iWorld
Indian market has scope for niche OTT platforms despite several challenges
MUMBAI: OTT platforms offering niche content is an emerging trend in the global market. Dedicated content offers brands an opportunity to differentiate themselves in an over-congested market. Currently in India, there’s one such example Veqta, an OTT platform offering sports content. While it is too early to predict such trends in the Indian ecosystem, such a concept definitely offers an opportunity in the market.
With the rise of streamers worldwide, content available on OTT is also evolving gradually. The primary challenge for OTT players is to provide viewers with compelling content, especially when it comes to the SVOD model. When a platform offers niche content, it overcomes the primary challenge of differentiating its position in market.
FishFlicks, an Australian brand, comes with recreational sporting content like fishing and hunting. Such content was picked knowing Australian people’s passion for fishing. Before launching, it was understood that fishing enthusiasts would be excited by the offering. Along with potential in national market, an interest in Australian fishing also fetches certain amount of global subscribers.
Like FishFlicks, there’s another platform called Cyberobics which is basically a virtual fitness world. Today, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a challenge to people across world. Every now and then people browse how to be fit. In such a scenario, Cyberobics offers not just something unique in the entertainment segment but also relevant content of public interest.
“If you are getting a sizeable amount of aggregated audience for a particular niche and then is a potential possibility to look at if there’s a focused platform-specific strategy or brand-specific strategy for that particular niche,” Eros Digital COO Ali Hussein said.
It’s also easier for viewers to find content that interests them since they are already enthusiastic about the content catalogue offered. The bouquet of dedicated content ensures that users don’t give up browsing the platform too soon. Vishnu Mohta, the co-founder of Hoichoi, says that content discovery is less of a challenge on niche OTT platforms as the content is customised to cater to the user’s interests along with the app offering recommendation on what to watch.
A big advantage these platform have is that they evoke a sense of loyalty among users. Since the audience consuming the content is already passionate about the content topic, the affinity for the brand grows easily. Initially, if these platforms opt for the SVOD model, the audience is unlikely to mind paying for the content. However, these platforms have to go a long way to secure sponsorship or get advertisers on board.
While brand loyalty may be easy to acquire, raising awareness about the brand can be a daunting task. Vishnu Mohta says marketing and reaching out to people is always a challenge for these platforms. The advantage, he adds, is that marketing strategies can be focussed on target groups alone. However, with limited amount of subscription revenue, it’s not possible for these brands to bombard customers with great advertisement.
OTT platforms offering sports content will easily have a bigger market, Mohta says. In India, the OTT market has started picking up only in the last two years. It’s very early to predict if it could emerge as a trend. Spuul content head D Girish says, “There has not been enough data to conclude that there’s an upsurge of popularity of such content. Even on television niche content viewership is less than 7%, definitely less than 10%.” He adds that that there is enough scope for these platforms to grow, but it’s still too soon to predict if it will play a significant role.
Hussein and Mohta echo that it will take a few years for the Indian ecosystem to tap into the full potential of the platform. “I think there is an opportunity for niche content because digital video allows niche content to get consumed and discovered. But I think people have to be smart in terms of why they want an OTT strategy, why it is different compared to running a channel on YouTube or Facebook,” says Hussein. “Niche platforms have their USP also. People have a stronger loyalty to these platforms. Niche OTT have a play. I’m not sure about all genres will work or not. There are specific genres like spirituality, devotional can have a play,” he adds.
It will be a challenge for these platforms to survive against larger platforms. Eventually, they may even consider consolidation to ensure a longer innings. Alternatively, larger platforms may acquire the niche platforms if they offer interesting content to attract a wider audience. Perhaps the solution to evading shutting down may depend on the choice and quality of content.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
