Millennial OTT guidebook: Five regional platforms to look out for in 2023

The past year has seen a stark rise in the emergence of regional OTT platforms and the famous tagline ‘Be vocal for local’ is emerging as a new sentiment. Millennials prefer watching regional content in their mother tongue, which is opening doors for new talent, creative content and interesting story lines. The demand for the rise of regional content can be attributed to digitization, sense of local pride, sharp resonance to the regional sentiments and minimal requirements like a reliable internet connection and viewing device. For millennials, OTT platforms offer quality content without the hassles of fixed schedules, making it perfect for binge-watching.

Reports suggest that the OTT market in minutes of consumption in India has risen from 181 billion to 204 billion minutes in 2021. Another report by MICA suggests a sharp rise in the OTT viewers from 350 million consumers to a projection of 500 million consumers by 2023.

The last year has seen the emergence of several OTT platforms in local languages with some great content and has changed the dynamics of how the new generation in India views entertainment. Let’s have a look.

1. Aha

Aha is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the top streaming service which offers Telugu and Tamil language content. It was launched in 2020 and founded by the famous star Allu Aravind.

Aha has original and grappling content of shows, short films and series and acquired one million subscribers within the first year of its launch. In August, 2021 aha also launched aha kids, a sub-brand for children led content.

2. AAONXT

AAO NXT is the first independent Odia OTT video-streaming platform for Odia web series, original Odia movies, short films, classic Odia movies, Telugu and Tamil movies. It is a one-stop destination for unique Odia Entertainment. It was founded in 2019, by Mr. Kaushik Das to enchant audiences with path-breaking and classic stories of Odisha’s rich culture and distinct heritage. The platform has by far more than 700 short films and 400 odd Telugu and Tamil films. The home-grown brand is winning hearts of audiences with its diverse mix of content and original storytelling. It has a large collection of classic superhits South Indian movies and evergreen playback music videos for different audiences.

3. Spark

Spark OTT platform is the brand new digital streaming platform for digital content in different regional languages. Spark OTT started operations in May, 2015 to deliver entertaining content in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi languages.

It is a unit of the UK-based Incrivel technologies Pvt. Ltd and was founded by the Indian film producer Ram Gopal Varma and entrepreneur Spark Sagar. The OTT platform comes with different subscriptions and supports multiple devices. It has an interesting mix of content with movies, web series and Spark originals for different genres and audiences.

4. BIGFlix

BIGFlix OTT platform is a Reliance Entertainment owned, leading movie on demand service founded in 2012. It is India’s first movie on demand service and offers a wide array of films, web series and short films in different genres like action, comedy, drama, romance etc. in different Indian regional languages like Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Bengali. The digital service offers more than 2000 regional blockbusters and classic movies in high-definition for instant streaming. A BIGFlix membership lets you watch unlimited movies at an affordable subscription price.

5. Hoichoi (Bengali)

The Hoichoi is an Indian subscription video on –demand and streaming service that has exclusive Bengali language content. It has a feature of around 500 film titles and around 1000 Bengali audio songs for global streaming. The Hoichi platform was launched on 20th September, 2017 and is owned and maintained by SVF Entertainment Pvt Ltd with its headquarters in Kolkata, India. It is available on Android, IOS, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV & Android TV. Bengali cinema is enticing, high on cultural index and is known for excellent storytelling, so if you are willing to experience the best of Bengali cinema, Hoichoi is the platform for you.

OTT platforms are used by the Indian population today not only for sheer entertainment but it also encompasses content for health & fitness, education and other sectors. The demand for new and improved regional content is providing lucrative prospects to budding content creators and lucrative subscription plans to consumers. Furthermore, the content in OTT platforms is realistic and relevant and strikes a chord with the new millennials of India.

The author is the CEO and Founder, AAONXT. Views are personal. 

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