iWorld
Ormax Media has released a whitepaper titled ‘English Content in India: No Longer Niche’
Mumbai: Media insights firm Ormax Media has released a whitepaper titled ‘English Content in India: No Longer Niche’, which reveals how English content has managed to grow its audience base, and move from niche to mainstream in recent years, especially with the rise of OTT consumption in India. The whitepaper, commissioned by Sony Pictures Television (SPT), is based on extensive audience research conducted by Ormax Media in 2022. The findings reveal that that the size of the English (and other international languages) audience in the OTT category stands at a healthy 85.2 million adults (15 years and above). Of these, 42.7 million are SVOD (pay) audiences, up from only 19.1 million before the pandemic – a staggering growth of 124 per cent in less than two years.
Ormax Media conducted a nationwide audience research comprising of focus groups & in-depth interviews (40) and online surveys (1,400), covering a mix of metros, mini-metros and small towns across India.
The whitepaper highlights salient features of English content that differentiate it from Indian content, such as imaginative concepts, better graphics & VFX, attention to details, unpredictable plot points, realistic storytelling and consistent quality across seasons. The findings of the report also challenge the myth that English content only targets a niche audience in India and is not a subscription driver for pay platforms. The whitepaper explains how the rise of dubbing, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and other Indian languages, has been instrumental in unlocking a huge market for English content in India, outside the six metros, where such content has traditionally been watched.
Some important highlights of the whitepaper:
1. There’s been a staggering 124 per cent growth in the English content SVOD audience in India since the start of the pandemic.
2. 65 per cent of urban Indian SVOD audiences (15 years and above) are watching English content, in English or in a dubbed language of their choice. The availability of English content in Indian languages has helped fuel its consumption over the last two years.
3. English content features high on the list of subscription drivers, highlighting its ability to drive SVOD subscriptions & retention.
4. A segment of young audience (median age 25 years), “Lockdown Millennials”, have started watching English content on OTT in the last two-three years, and are sampling a wide variety of formats and genres, beyond just tentpole properties.
5. Nine English SVOD originals crossed the 10 Mn viewer mark in India in 2022, compared to five in 2021 – underscoring the consumption growth in the category.
Speaking about the findings of the report, Ormax Media, founder & CEO Shailesh Kapoor said, “Over the last two decades, there has been a popular perception in the Indian M&E industry that English content is niche and targets only a segment of the Indian audience within the upper echelons of the socio-economic spectrum. However, the growth in the consumption of locally dubbed English content has made the ‘language factor’ virtually non-existent over recent years. This report offers a reality check to all stakeholders who still consider the English content audience a small market.”
Sony Pictures Television VP distribution Sonika Bhasin said, “There has been a significant evolution of the English content category in India, from the days of solely being available on linear television, to the current rise of streaming platforms. We wanted to understand this evolution, so that we can engage in more informed conversations with our business partners. We believe there is tremendous opportunity to further grow this market given the appeal English content has in the OTT space.”
The whitepaper ‘English Content in India: No Longer Niche’, can be downloaded here.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
