Regional OTTs: Market rapidly rising as native audiences demand for local language

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 brought on a lot of unfortunate consequences. But amidst the chaos and uncertainty brewed a new relief in the form of regional entertainment. While people remain locked behind doors, new doors towards the viewing of vernacular and diverse content opened. Investors and producers saw a huge opportunity and landmine of growth and began tapping into the rising demand for local language content especially through over the top (OTT) digital platforms and regional content. Now, various reports from trusted sources suggest that regional OTT is here to thrive, not just survive. Here is how regional OTT is steadily and rapidly capturing the Indian market and fulfilling the need for local language content.

By creating original and nuanced content

In the last two years, we have seen an exponential rise in the number of regional OTT platforms. Local OTT platforms were created by enthusiastic investors that saw the lack of vernacular content on leading streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Hotstar and decided to bridge the gap by launching their own platforms. For instance, there is Aha for Telugu, Planet Marathi for Marathi, AaoNxt for Odiya, Koode for Malayalam, and so on. These platforms not only air dubbed versions of mainstream content but produce their own original short and long-form content like web series and movies to cater to the demand for local language content. By paying attention to the nuances and subtle differences, these specialized platforms help regional audiences connect more with their culture, heritage, and mother tongue.

By offering affordable subscription plans

Most OTT platforms work on the Transactional video on demand (TVOD), pay per view (PPV) model, and the subscription video on demand (SVOD) model. These are the most mutually beneficial ways for subscribers to stream content on OTT platforms. OTT players are bringing in audiences from tier II and tier III areas because they are catering to their monetary budgets and offering a convenient and trustworthy user experience. Compared to the charges of popular streaming networks and the costs of cable/ TV, OTT applications are offering affordable annual, quarterly, and monthly subscription plans, and becoming more appealing to the general public. Often, some platforms even offer discounts like reduced charges to students or specific bank account card holders.

By tying up with broadband/ cable

While smartphones are becoming the obvious choice for streaming content because of the ease of using them on the go and the affordability factor, many OTT companies are also realizing the importance of cable usage in specific parts of India. In many rural areas, TV remains the foremost mode of entertainment. To increase their reach to the deeper native locations, OTT networks are partnering with cable and broadband distributors to make their content more accessible. Companies are also keeping in the mind the paying capacity of their demographic and coming up with subscription costs that make it easy for users to subscribe to a particular channel. They are curating features that offer more value to users like a download, offline viewing, and even gaming options.

By increasing their global reach

Another smart move by regional OTT companies is venturing into international markets. Of course, there is immense scope for growth in the country itself as there are vernacular language natives every few 100 kms. But specific companies are targeting local language speakers despite the location. For instance, there is a huge audience of Bengali speakers not only in the North east and West Bengal but also in Bangladesh. There is a chunk of Malayalam natives in the Middle east. Banking on the local demographic spread across the globe, regional OTT players are expanding their viewership beyond borders. These moves show how serious the regional OTT sector is in developing and distributing local language content for their audience.

To conclude:

Regional OTT companies are booming and are expected to outdo Hindi language viewers by 50% by the year 2025 (according to a report by FICCI-EY). This is because regional OTT companies are listening to the demands of their audience and actively working to fulfil them.

The author is the CEO and Founder, AaoNxt, leading OTT platform. Views are personal. 

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