Becoming video consumers isn’t something new for us, we are watching cinema since 1880s, watching television since 1940s and consuming digital streaming from the very beginning of this century.

The new in the visual field is the dominance of OTT media services for the last decade. In the last few months, OTT has increased exponentially setting new records.

OTT or over-the-top service means when content is delivered directly through internet and not in a traditional way like through cable, cassettes, DVDs or theatre. The market of such online services is growing every day.

2020 is emerging as a year for OTT media services, where a number of factors have contributed.

YouTube was launched in February, 2005. It gave people a platform to upload, share and watch videos. Netflix entered video streaming market in 2010 changing the course of VOD (video on demand) and launched its service in India in January 2016.

Netflix has been the biggest player for online video streaming for long but now it is facing competition from number of other players like Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple+, Hotstar etc.

BIG Flix was India’s first OTT platform which was launched by Reliance Entertainment in 2008. Ditto TV and Sony Liv followed the course around 2013.

At present, India has more than 40 OTT content providers including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, Zee5, AltBalaji, Sony Liv, MX Player, Voot, Apple+, YouTube, Mubi and many more.

The number of OTT video platforms, at world level as well as in India, is increasing day by day. Networks like HBO, Discovery and NBC are also launching their own online services, whereas, Apple and Disney have already joined the league few months ago.

Covid-19 induced quarantine and lockdowns affected all kind of industries. The films and television industry was no different. But OTT platforms gained large popularity through number of subscriptions and revenues during this time.

Netflix gained around 16 million new paid subscribers and also saw a surge in its stock price which was so unlike other industries during the time of a global pandemic.

Other platform also followed this pursuit. Hotstar (now Disney+Hotstar) is India’s most popular platform which has more than 150 million subscribers.

It also offers freemium (that is some of its content is available free on application) and is popular among serial and sports viewers in India.

Platforms like Zee5 and Voot have experienced the drop in viewership where customers complained about poor service or not very impressive original content. It proved that “Content is the King” and if companies want to survive this new market, their services should be over the top.

OTT services like Airtel Xtream, Jio TV, Vodafone Play etcetera, which are provided by telecom servers in India, are also making this market more close-packed.

Increasing smartphone and internet penetration is a big booster for OTT media services. There is a change in behavioural pattern of people with the insertion of new technologies and new media, including digital consumption.

People love the idea of having access to media anywhere and anytime. Variety of content and total control over content provided by these platforms, is something that television cannot compete with.

These platforms are growing from small mobile screens to large TV screens. A large number of people are seriously considering or already replacing their set-top-boxes with smart TVs or extensions like Fire Tv.

Movies, which were previously only distributed by theatre, are now encountering new ways to make an impact on these video streaming services.

Theatre infrastructure which is a source of income for more than 2 lakh people in India is facing new challenges.

Direct-to-Digital release of a number of movies, like Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi, Ponmagal Vandhal; during lockdown is raising questions for film and cinema industry.

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The OTT vs Theatre debate is just beginning. Personalisation techniques used by online platforms to understand their user base is also a thing but not for traditional cinema or television.

Advertisement by OTT platform in India has increased by 31% in first quarter of 2020.

Last year Netflix and MX player were two top advertisers during Q1.

Hotstar has been an aggressive advertiser during Q1 and Q2 for last couple of years, because of Indian Premier League which didn’t happen this year because of the pandemic.

But this year they are replaced by Zee 5 and PTC play followed by Amazon Prime Video and Voot.

Increasing popularity of OTT video platforms due to special perks, their dominance over Films, TV and advertisement industry (specially for the last few months) and big new entry every few months is enough to tell that 2020 is a year for such platforms.

An industry which is mere 5-year-old in India is becoming a challenge for century old industries, says a lot about the path of growth OTT industry is on.

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