OTT (more than the leading) platforms think the tactic to get and stream Bollywood films is paying off. Gaurav Gandhi, director and nation common manager at Amazon Prime Video India, mentioned Gulabo Sitabo and Shakuntala Devi had been the most-watched motion pictures on the platform in the nation. In reality, Gandhi mentioned the films went on to turn out to be the most-viewed Hindi motion pictures by the OTT firm’s international subscribers as well, across 180 nations.
Prime Video’s slate of direct-to-digital regional motion pictures also had been a huge draw, Gandhi mentioned, claiming the 1st set of acquired Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films saw about 50% viewership and even beyond from outdoors the property states.
The firm has acquired 19 (direct-to-digital) films across 5 languages. A huge library of films spanning nine regional languages has helped the platform create up an audience. “Prime Video has played a key role in advancing the windows and getting digital premieres soon after theatrical releases, eight weeks for Hindi and four weeks for other Indian languages. We have one of the largest libraries of new Indian languages movies in the video-streaming space,” Gandhi told FE in an e-mail interview.
The move to also allow buyers to navigate the platform in regional languages (Prime Video supports user interface in 3 regional languages) and adding the characteristics of dubbing/subtitling to international content material additional widens accessibility to the platform. “…we launched Parasite in India with Hindi dubs, opening up viewership to an entirely new set of customers,” Gandhi mentioned.
The OTT firm is gearing up to launch a diverse slate of India originals in the coming years. Nearly 55 original series are in numerous stages of improvement and 31 in diverse stages of production. In 2021, Mumbai Diaries, political thriller Taandav and the second season of The Family Man will be up for streaming by viewers.
“The growth of subscription video-streaming services in India will continue to accelerate rapidly, backed by continued focus on local original content, increasing disposable incomes and growing base of discerning customers,” Gandhi mentioned.
The platform has also gained from Prime’s e-commerce proposition. The lockdown saw numerous buyers purchasing on-line, which includes these from remote towns like Tawang and Mokokchung who subscribed to Prime, providing the OTT player access to untapped markets.
Gandhi mentioned the firm has observed “very strong growth” in absolute viewing hours by Prime members as effectively as a surge in 1st-time viewership. In India currently, Prime Video is watched in far more than 4,300 cities and towns. Priced at one particular of the least expensive prices — `129 per month and `999 annually, Prime Video competes with international players Netflix, Disney+Hotstar and a clutch of homegrown video solutions.
: OTT sector to draft a tool kit to implement self-regulation code
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook