iWorld
Indian OTT audience: Young, urban and male-dominated
MUMBAI: India has seen a healthy growth of OTT audience in the last few years. Yet, brands and OTT service providers know very little about the demographics of their fast-increasing audience. How many are they in number, where do they exist, how do they watch, which genres of content do they prefer, are all important questions that can help in decision-making in the areas of content selection, target audience choice, media planning, market research and brand communication.
To fill this knowledge-gap, Ormax Media has released its OTT Audience Report: 2019, with a large sample size of 10,000 over the period of May-September 2019. The report puts the regular OTT (online video content) audience in India at 76.5 million. The study defined ‘regular OTT audience’ as someone who watched two or more hours of OTT content every week.
While the report confirms many of our perceptions about the Indian OTT audience, it also throws many new and interesting facets of its demographics.
The report finds that Mumbai and Delhi lead with 3 million regular OTT audience each, followed by Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Surat, Chennai, Pune & Jaipur.
Earlier in June, a study by Counterpoint Research found that tier I cities bring in 36 per cent of the audience and the top five metros account for 55 per cent of OTT users in the country.
The audience, however, is heavily male-dominated. As many as 66 per cent regular OTT audience are men while only 34 per cent are women. ALT Balaji’s GandiiBaat emerged as the most male-skewed show, while Amazon Prime Video’s Mind The Malhotras emerged as the most female-skewed show, the study finds.
The OTT audience, expectedly, is also young. Nearly 60 per cent of the regular OTT audience is below the age of 30, 21 per cent are in the age group of 31-40 and 20 per cent in the 41+ age group.
Among the OTT platforms, YouTube emerged as the most-preferred OTT brand, followed by Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hotstar closely vying for the second position.
The report also highlights how solo consumption is still the dominant viewing behaviour seen in the OTT category, with 82 per cent audience typically watching online videos alone. Hindi emerges as the most preferred language of online video consumption at 62 per cent, followed by English at 22 per cent, while regional languages, led by Telugu and Tamil, control the balance 16 per cent share.
Speaking about The Ormax OTT Audience Report: 2019, Ormax Media CEO Shailesh Kapoor said: “OTT is an emerging and fast-growing category in India. While individual platforms have a lot of data on their own audience, there is little industry-wide understanding available on who the OTT audience in India exactly is, how many are they in number, where do they exist, how do they watch, which genres do they prefer, what are their subscription triggers, and many other such questions that are extremely relevant to any OTT business. This report, which will be an annual feature, answers many such questions in a manner that’s highly actionable.”
iWorld
Prime Video drops trailer for Lukkhe, a rap crime drama starring KING in his acting debut
Eight episodes of revenge, redemption and hard-hitting rap arrive on the streaming platform on 8th May
MUMBAI: Prime Video has unveiled the trailer for Lukkhe, an eight-episode musical action drama built around the world of rap, crime and bruised relationships — and it has done so in suitably loud fashion, launching it at a live concert in Mumbai featuring electrifying performances by KING, Amira Gill, Akshath, Raashii Khanna, Ruaa Kayy and RUTVXK. As if that were not enough, the show’s music album was also dropped at the event, in collaboration with exclusive music streaming partner Amazon Music and music label Warner Music India.
The series is directed by Himank Gaur and produced by Vipul D. Shah and Rajesh Bahl under the banners of Optimystix Entertainment and White Guerrilla LLP. It is created and executive produced by Agrim Joshi and Debojit Das Purkayastha.
The cast is the talking point. KING, the acclaimed Indian rapper and songwriter, makes his acting debut as MC Badnaam, a performer consumed by rivalry and hunger for recognition. Raashii Khanna, returning to Prime Video after Farzi, plays Gurbani. Palak Tiwari, making her streaming debut, plays Sanober. Lakshvir Singh Saran plays Lucky. The ensemble also includes Nakul Roshan Sahdev, Kritika Bharadwaj, Shivankit Parihar, Yograj Singh and Ayesha Raza Mishra in pivotal roles.
The trailer plants its flag squarely in the tension between MC Badnaam and his rival MC OG, played by Parihar, while threading in the love story between Lucky and Sanober. The soundtrack, which spans hard-hitting rap anthems to emotionally charged melodies, is as much a character in the show as any of its leads.
Gaur was candid about what drew him to the project. “Lukkhe gave me a chance to dive into a world that’s loud, emotional, and constantly on edge,” he said. “What stayed with me was how every character is chasing something personal, and music becomes their way of expressing it. Working with this cast, especially KING in his debut, along with Raashii, Lakshvir, and Palak, was incredibly rewarding because they brought honesty that elevated every moment.”
Khanna reflected on her character with evident relish. “Playing Gurbani in Lukkhe was a really intense and fulfilling experience,” she said. “What I found most interesting was how her strength comes from something deeply personal, which shapes every decision she makes. It was about finding that balance between vulnerability and grit.”
KING, stepping in front of the camera for the first time, was characteristically direct. “Stepping into Lukkhe as MC Badnaam has been a defining moment for me,” he said. “What drew me in was how real his hunger and need to be heard felt. It’s something I connect with as an artist. Bringing music into his journey made the experience even more personal.”
Tiwari described the role as a first on multiple fronts. “It was my first time working with Prime Video, and the whole experience felt new and creatively satisfying,” she said. “Being part of a story that has both intense and heartfelt moments, along with a team that brought so much honesty to it, made this journey truly memorable.”
Saran, for his part, zeroed in on what made Lucky tick. “Lucky is someone who’s trying to move forward while still carrying the weight of his past, and that push-pull made him really interesting to explore,” he said. “There’s a sincerity to his journey that I hope people connect with.”
Lukkhe premieres on Prime Video in Hindi on 8th May, across India and in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. In a streaming landscape drowning in crime dramas, this one is betting that putting a rapper at its centre – and meaning it – is enough to cut through the noise. On the evidence of the trailer, it might just be right.
