iWorld
OTT platforms go beyond entertainment to score consumers
KOLKATA: Over-the-top (OTT) platforms have come a long way in the country now. Around 2015, these services were mere apps to catch up on favourite television shows and stream live sporting events. Cut to 2020 and the discussion has evolved to whether OTT is a threat to TV. After a transition from catch-up content to premium originals, homegrown OTT platforms are now heading in the direction of being a one-stop shop.
In the last few months, many OTT platforms have enhanced their content catalogue, delving into segments like education and gaming. At the beginning of the year, ZEE5 announced a partnership with Eduauraa. Later, more players like VOOT also took the ed-tech road especially during lockdown thanks to the online learning boom.
While streaming services were already bullish about ed-tech and gaming, the lockdown period pushed them into health and fitness content, accelerating the next transition of those players. Disney+ Hotstar forged partnerships with Brilliant Wellness, Cult.Fit and Sarva recently. Another player VOOT also partnered with Cult.Fit and Isha Foundation.
KPMG India media and entertainment partner and head Girish Menon says that most of the OTT players were already looking at this strategy but the post-Covid2019 change has accelerated it.
“Consumers have been engaging with OTT platforms in a significant manner rather than certain hours. The idea is to increase the number of hours on the app, reduce video churn and increase retention,” Deloitte India partner Jehil Thakkar says.
“For us, constantly enhancing and improving our catalogue is important so that our existing and new consumers constantly keep seeing something new and different on the platform,” Viacom18 AVoD business head Akash Banerji says.
Banerji adds that merely enhancing the catalogue is of no value unless it is also relevant to customers and can drive higher engagement. Moreover, forging partnerships with premium partners is also an important aspect. “We wanted to give something more,” he sums up.
"For any platform, offering good content is more important rather than focusing only on entertainment. The content can educate , inform, entertain consumers. While OTT space has been largely focusing on entertainment, we have to offer more to get consumers back on the platform. Everything a person can do online, we want him to do it on ZEE5," ZEE5 SVoD senior vice president and business head Rahul Maroli says.
He also mentions that when they talk to B2B partners, the latter will partner with an entity where their customer will get entertainment, infotainment, education at the same place. Moreover, as consumer tastes evolve they start moving around new content and that leads to a stronger brand affinity.
While both Banerji and Maroli said they want to “offer more”, they also want to get more consumers.
“They are definitely looking to build an offering which is more comprehensive than pure-play content. The idea is that if you have a consumer who is coming to your app for entertainment, are there other services you can provide to them which will ensure that he continues to spend time and builds on that,” KPMG’s Menon adds. According to him, these deals make sense as an extension of offering rather than starting a separate segment.
While its an offering about consumption right now, commerce around core offering and other deals can also become the norm.
iWorld
Banijay Asia’s The 50 tops OTT charts with 8.1 million JioHotstar views
Reality competition becomes most watched show on JioHotstar in debut week.
MUMBAI: Fifty contestants walked into a palace, but millions of viewers showed up for the drama. Reality competition The 50, produced by Banijay Asia, has emerged as the most watched show on JioHotstar, clocking 8.1 million views in its debut week. The figure, reported by Ormax Media, places the show at the top of the OTT viewership charts and marks a strong opening for the digital reality format.
Adapted from a popular French format, The 50 brings together 50 personalities from television, digital platforms, music and reality shows inside a grand palace setting. Over the course of a 50 day competition, participants form alliances, compete in unpredictable tasks and navigate eliminations as the field steadily narrows.
Guiding the game is a mysterious figure known as The Lion, an unseen game master whose voice introduces twists, challenges and strategic turns throughout the show, adding an extra layer of suspense to the contest.
What distinguishes The 50 from typical reality competitions is its audience driven prize structure. Instead of the winner taking home the final reward, the prize is awarded to one of the winner’s registered followers through the show’s dedicated app. The mechanism effectively turns viewers into participants, allowing fans to have a direct stake in the outcome.
The contestant lineup features a mix of television actors, reality stars and digital creators, including Karan Patel, Urvashi Dholakia, Divya Agarwal, Mr Faisu and Dushyant Kukreja, each bringing their own fan following to the show.
With its blend of celebrity personalities, strategic gameplay and interactive viewer participation, The 50 has quickly carved out a strong foothold in India’s digital entertainment landscape. Its 8.1 million views in the opening week underline the growing appetite for large scale reality formats designed specifically for OTT audiences.
