96 million active paid OTT subscriptions in India

The Indian OTT audience universe currently has over 353 million (or over 35 crore) people. With a penetration of more than 25 per cent, it means that one in four Indians watched online videos at least once in the last one month, as per the Ormax OTT Audience Report 2021.

Across 40 million-plus paying (SVOD) audiences, there are 96 million active paid OTT subscriptions in the country, i.e., per paying audience member has subscribed to an average of 2.4 subscriptions. Sixty-six per cent of these paid subscriptions are with male audiences.

The top six metro cities contribute 35 per cent to these paid subscriptions. However, they only contribute 11 per cent to the total OTT universe. Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai are the top three cities in this regard, with over eight million active paid subscriptions each.

Speaking about the findings, Shailesh Kapoor, founder & CEO, Ormax Media, the leading media consulting firm, said, “OTT is no longer a niche category, but at 25 per cent penetration, there is still a huge potential to grow the market, especially outside the top cities. We have seen a rise in regional OTT platforms in India over the last year. This report provides market and demographic level data for platforms to make sound investment decisions on regional products, be it a stand-alone app or regional content within a national app.”

Ormax Media conducted the research between May and July 2021, based on a sample size of 12,000 across urban and rural India.

“India’s OTT audience universe is rapidly growing, and an accurate estimation of market size is a crucial strategic component in a growing category. While streaming companies have data on usage and subscription of their own platforms, there is no industry-level audience research available to size and profile the Indian OTT market at large. This research, which will be conducted in the same period every year, aims to plug this significant data gap in the streaming industry in India,” added Kapoor. Afaqs