OTTplay: One Nation, One Subscription

Revolutionizing the Indian Streaming Landscape: Navigating Unity Amidst Fragmentation

Hey Streamers 👋,

A warm welcome to the 30th edition of the “Streaming in India” newsletter, your weekly news digest about streaming players, OTT trends and more in one of the fastest growing video markets! Appreciate your support and in case there are topics that we might have missed out so far, we are open for suggestions and feedback. If you are not already a subscriber, please sign up and join 2,650+ others who receive it directly in their inbox every Wednesday.

This picture pretty much summarizes the week gone by!

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Today’s program:

1. OTTPlay deep dive

2. My Views

And….Action!

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OTTPlay deep dive

• “Binge-watching is such a pleasure. Searching for binge-watching is such a pain” - goes the About Us section on the OTTplay web site - this pretty much summarizes the product’s excellent effort to disrupt the Indian OTT / media & entertainment streaming space by aggregating content and OTT subscriptions from 65+ OTTs in India with a variety (5) of pricing packages including a mix and match of OTTs to cater to specific cohort of audiences - whichever package you choose, you pay one subscription price.

• There is the convenience factor, however the biggest advantage is that you get much better value & deep discounts by subscribing to any of the OTTplay subscription packages versus what you would end up paying by subscribing to each OTT individually.

• OTTplay is owned by media conglomerate HT Media which is an Indian mass media company based in New Delhi, India. It has holdings in print, electronic and digital media.

• HT Media's flagship newspaper is the Hindustan Times, the second most widely read English newspaper in India after The Times of India (read the Times related Streaming in India article here). It also publishes Mint, an Indian financial daily newspaper. Other publications include the Hindi-language daily Hindustan, the Hindi-language literary magazine Kadambini, and Hindi-language children's magazine Nandan.

• HT's online business, is largely handled by Firefly e-ventures internet business, include the flagship web portal Hindustantimes.com, Livemint.com, Desimartini.com, HTCampus.com, and Shine.com.

• Although a public company, HT Media Ltd. is majority owned and controlled by the Shobhana Bhartia (51.4%), public and corporates (30.5%), & other individuals and companies (18.1%).

• Their SMART recommendation engine (Avinash Mudaliar, co-founder and CEO of OTTplay “noted that most of the recommendation engines are metatag oriented, however, what sets OTT Play Premium apart from others is the fact that it relies on super metatags as well as manual editorial input for giving content recommendations to users”) handpicks the movies and shows that match the user’s taste and language preferences by diving deep into the most number of OTT Channels / Platforms.

What You Get

It clearly tells WHAT to watch, WHERE to watch, HOW to watch, and even WHEN to watch! Here are some cool features of the app:

1. SMART TIMING: If you have only 10 minutes, OTTplay will tell you what you can watch in that time. It could be a short film, stand up clip, a series of trailers, or an interview.

2. SMART SEARCHING: Based on the kind of shows or movies the user likes, their recommendation engine searches over 100,000 titles to serve only the best stuff you must see.

3. SMART WATCHING: Most apps just tell you what to watch from the streaming services you have subscribed to, however there’s so much free content you are missing out. The product gives you the best of both worlds.

4. SMART MOODS: There’s no point in watching a grim drama when you need cheering up. Our app lets you take your pick according to your mood.

5. SMART RATINGS: Sometimes even IMDB ratings can lie. Which is why they have a rating of ratings to make an informed choice.

6. SMART EXPERIMENTS: For those who are experimental, the product eggs you on to watch the finest creations beyond movies and shows in languages that take you out of your comfort zone.

OTTplay Premium plans

• The premium plans on OTTplay are available in flavours of monthly, quarterly and annual packages as per below:

MONTHLY

Prices range from Rs. 149 / month ($1.82) for a 5 OTT bundle to Rs. 299 / month ($3.65) for 37. Savings on the highest monthly plan is 91%.

QUARTERLY

Price is Rs. 549 / quarter ($6.69) for 25 OTTs including SonyLIV, Zee5, Shemaroo and a host of marquee regional OTTs such as ManoramaMAX, Nammaflix, Kanccha Lannka etc. Savings of 91% again.

ANNUAL

Prices range from Rs. 699 / year ($8.52) for 12 OTTs to $36.57 / year for 37. Savings on the highest annual plan is 85%.

Insights from OTTplay’s co-founder

Some great insights (Source: Entrepreneur magazine) from Avinash Mudaliar on the business of OTTPlay and how he sees the streaming market in India evolve as they lead the charge on OTT subscription aggregation -

• "From being an OTT recommendation platform to democratising, simplifying and enhancing the OTT experience for users, we've fostered collaboration within the industry and evolved with the times. We understood the need gap for a product that aggregates and curates content for a user, helping them navigate the OTT-verse smoothly and efficiently.”

• “Our notable churn was driven by the "One Nation, One Subscription" concept which played a crucial role in bringing cohesion to the fragmented OTT landscape in India."

• "We're continually expanding our content library through strategic collaborations with OTT platforms. We're cognizant of the fact that we're building a product that caters to evolving tastes and preferences of audiences and attempts to solve a problem that will only get more complex in the future."

• "I envisage an OTT landscape that simplifies user access, curbs fragmentation, and serves up a platter of diverse content via a single, user-friendly platform."

• "We expect that niche and regional content would flourish and there would be a strong focus on catering to diverse audience tastes. Monetisation strategies are also poised to evolve. We may see the emergence of novel pricing structures, such as bundled subscriptions that OTTplay currently offers, aimed at making OTT services more accessible and affordable to a wider audience. Advertising models will also adapt to strike a balance between revenue generation and delivering a seamless user experience.”

My Views

In the dynamic realm of Indian streaming, OTTplay's disruptive strides illuminate a path towards a more cohesive and accessible landscape. As the industry evolves, the aggregation model pioneered by OTTplay signifies a pivotal shift, offering users a seamless and value-driven experience across multiple platforms.

• Aggregation Redefined: OTTplay's innovative approach to aggregating content from over 65 OTTs simplifies the streaming experience, eliminating the hassle of managing multiple subscriptions. This consolidation not only enhances user convenience but also drives significant cost savings.

• User-Centric Experience: Avinash Mudaliar's insights highlight OTTplay's commitment to enhancing the entire streaming journey, transcending mere recommendation. The platform's SMART recommendation engine and personalized features empower users, ensuring tailored content discovery and consumption.

• Unity in Fragmentation: The "One Nation, One Subscription" ethos embraced by OTTplay fosters collaboration within India's fragmented OTT landscape. By bridging gaps and addressing diverse preferences, OTTplay promotes cohesion and inclusivity, laying the foundation for a more unified streaming experience.

• Future Prospects: As the streaming market in India continues to evolve, niche and regional content are poised to flourish. OTTplay anticipates novel monetization strategies, such as bundled subscriptions, to democratize access and cater to diverse audience tastes.

• Strategic Advantage and Challenges: OTTplay's affiliation with HT Media offers a strategic advantage (think bundling itself with newspaper subscription or utilizing HT Media’s other digital destinations for cross pollination etc), yet the absence of major players like Netflix, Prime Video and JioCinema poses a significant hurdle. Nonetheless, OTTplay's journey exemplifies the industry's potential to navigate challenges and deliver a more enriching streaming experience.

As we embrace this era of digital entertainment, OTTplay stands as a beacon of innovation, reshaping the streaming landscape one subscription at a time. With each stride, it propels us closer to a future where quality content is not just accessible but tailored to individual preferences, ushering in a new era of entertainment consumption in India.

That’s all for today folks. If you enjoyed this breakdown, please consider sharing it with your friends and colleagues.

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The OTT content of the week is 3 Body Problem on Netflix. Adding to the geeky thrills this year is "3 Body Problem," an 8-episode, prestige-level adaptation for the debut book of the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" novel series, a New York Times bestselling sci-fi trilogy from Chinese author Cixin Liu and arriving on Netflix beginning Mar. 21, 2024. 

This acclaimed series is an epic examination of Earth's inhabitants as they incite, anticipate, prepare for, and endure an extraterrestrial invasion. Netflix's big-budget sci-fi project from the creators of HBO's medieval fantasy sensation "Game of Thrones" provides fans with a compelling and visually stunning narrative spanning continents and decades, as five brilliant friends make earth-shattering discoveries as the laws of science unravel and an existential threat emerges.

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