Broadcasting Industry And OTT

Broadcasters are adapting to premise cloud for storage. Application-based content production tools for quick technology upgrades and streamlining production process are slowly being considered by broadcasters. With IP-based workflows already a norm, enabling various production activities like editing on cloud will help in high level of automation. Immersive video is a trend revolutionizing conventional consumption patterns for digital advertisers, content owners, publishers etc. albeit at a slower rate of adoption in India. In India, sports and news content is already available on VR.

Data collected from TRP and BAR-o-meters are analyzed to study viewership patterns, regional traffic, and language preferences. Media planning is thus more efficient and optimal with multiple data points to channel budgets and campaign strategically. Watermarking media assets not only protects them from illegal distribution but also enables seamless tracing of perpetrators. Content owners and broadcasters are waking up to this need with rising cyber threats and tendency for piracy and loss of revenue.

Major factors influencing the growth of the market include growth of TV households and appetite for entertainment, rising need for viewing content on multiple devices and mediums, demand for regional content, and the recent digitization mandate and interconnection regulations and tariff orders. The restraints include lack of awareness regarding piracy and legality of OTT channels, frequent revision of regulations and policies, availability of FTA channels and high cost of digital subscription. The major challenge is to address the need of multiple devices and multiple format driven audiences who are also interested in regional and local flavored content. Digitization and emergence of OTT services have resulted in the advent of new opportunities to improve penetration and expand monetization capabilities. The stakeholders in the broadcast industry are leveraging new age technologies such as cloud and AI to enable this transformation.

For the most leading broadcast networks in India, OTT distribution is the primary focus for growth for the next 3 years. They are building their strategies around content production, geographic expansion, platform expansion, and partnerships across the ecosystem to leverage the strengths of one another. With rural data now available from Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), advertisers are tapping into this market and catering to their needs and preferences. Regional content remains highly under-served, with limited channels and production of shows. However, this rising trend is gaining precedence among producers and broadcasters, with renewed investment on unconventional, youth-centric content in vernaculars. Broadcasters need to shift their focus to catering to this audience by producing or curating more local content. It will give them a higher reach and addressability with a diverse portfolio and content library.

India is a highly fragmented market, with very few national players, largely comprising DTH companies. The current digitization mandate has led to significant consolidation over the past few years and reduced the landscape from 6000 MSOs to 1384. The market will see further consolidation in the near future. Smaller operators are either being squeezed out of the market or bought over by larger operators. For example, the proposed consolidation of major participants namely Dish TV and Videocon d2h. Consolidation in OTT market in the next 3 years will pave way for higher content repository and distribution capabilities. Though AVoD is here to stay, SVoD will gain traction to provide high quality content and improve ARPU. India is characterized by population with diverse financial, political, social, and cultural needs. Thus, for the next 10 to 15 years, TV will coexist with OTT video or any other video viewing platforms. Understanding this trend, OTT video service providers are partnering with DTH operators to reach the end consumers and give them a flavor of OTT video.