iWorld
OTT, FAST, and freemium: Streamers sketch the new rules for India’s content boom
MUMBAI: In India’s digital bazaar, content might be king—but figuring out how to sell it is the real blood sport. At IndianTelevision.com’s 21 Video and Broadband Summit 2025, the panel “Streaming and Distribution: Serving the Right Mix” brought together a lively brigade of streaming leaders to unpack how OTT, aggregators, and even Doordarshan’s new digital avatars are reshaping content distribution for the next three years.
Session chair IndianTelevision.com Group founder, chairman & editor in chief Anil Wanvari guided a sharp conversation with Amazon MX Player director & head of content Amogh Dusad, Chana Jor director & CEO Pratap Jain, Shemaroo COO – digital Saurabh Srivastava, Prasar Bharati deputy director general Amit Kumar, and Jojo App founder Dhruvin Shah on what the future of streaming might really look like—and it wasn’t all glamour and glossy originals.
Shah said they started with an ad-supported (AVOD) model because jumping straight into subscriptions would have sunk them. “Even with bigger value propositions, if we had slapped a price tag on day one, I don’t think we would have been where we are,” he confessed. Today, Jojo boasts over 5.5–6 million downloads and an emerging subscription base, with one paid user for every three free users.
Srivastava remained cautious. While Shemaroo has built a direct-to-consumer OTT business, he acknowledged syndication continues to outpace subscription revenues. “In India, what should happen and what is happening are two different things,” Srivastava said, backing AVOD and hybrid models for immediate scalability. About 70–75 per cent of Shemaroo’s OTT revenue today still flows from its D2C subscription play, with Gujarati and Hindi content split evenly.
Jain described aggregation as a double-edged sword. “Yes, you can scale fast through partnerships, but your net ARPU drops,” he admitted. Still, Chana Jor, live on Watcho and Airtel , boasts 40,000 direct paying users and around 400,000 downloads.
Kumar meanwhile shared how their ‘Waves’ OTT platform—spun off from Doordarshan—was engineered differently. “We avoided brand confusion by keeping Waves separate from DD and AIR,” he said. Targeting a freemium model, Waves already hit three million downloads with a bold aim of 10 million by year-end. Unique shows like Kisan Cricket League and Kheton ke Khiladi are designed to tap the farmer and rural youth demographic, blending sports, farming and ground-level engagement.
Monetisation challenges loomed large. Kumar flagged low CPM rates in India, high ad-serving costs, and patchy ad inventory. He suggested innovations like offering micro-credits to users to ease small-ticket payments and boost transaction volumes in TVOD models.
The panel agreed: Indians don’t mind watching ads—evidenced by YouTube’s Indian dominance and DTH models— but purely ad-funded OTT isn’t a silver bullet. Subscription and freemium hybrids are the future, with content quality and clever marketing crucial to success.
In a land of one billion screens, it’s not the platform with the loudest ad campaign that wins. It’s the one that convinces a user to stay—and maybe, just maybe, pay.
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.
