The major OTT channels in India are Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and JiOHotstar. There is these days a quiet revolution in India’s watching habits — regional OTT platforms. Once these were considered niche players. However, these days they are gaining ground. They are not restricted to the volume of content, but extend themselves to loyalty, cultural resonance and reach. The audience of language OTT channels has expanded to other languages — Malayalam thrillers are watched in North India, Bengali Social dramas are watched in Karnataka, and Tamil shows are watched in Gujarat. The whole country is becoming the market, not just one particular state.
Some regional OTT channels are Hoichoi in Bengali and Hindi. It is mainly watched in India and Bangladesh. It has 15 million subscribers. Aha is Tamil, Telugu channel watched in India but also reaches the US and Canada. It has 15 million subscribers. Chaupal is for Punjabi, Haryanvi and Bhojpuri audience. Though primarily watched in India, in a tie-up with Zee5 Global, it is watched in the US. SunNXT is watched by the Southern states, but its viewership extends to Hindi, Bengali, Marathi and English knowing audience. It also reaches Sri Lanka, S.E. Asia, Western Asia and the US. Planet Marathi has reach in India, US, UK and UAE. ManoramaMax in Malayalam is mainly watched in India and GCC countries.
Regional OTT channels are rewriting the rules. What matters is how they are different in terms of intimacy, language, character and place. The storytelling resonates with the audience.
A work of art could be local in theme but could be international in appeal.
Leave a Reply