OTT subscription revenue grows 42% to $68 mn: RedSeer

Following the Covid-19 lockdown and the subsequent surge in digital content consumption, OTT platforms in India saw 42% increase in revenue, market tracker RedSeer Consulting said in a new report.

According to analysis conducted by the company, the revenue for subscription platforms has grown from $49 million in April 2020 to $68 million in February 2021.

The surge, the company said, comes as new platforms (HoiChoi, SunNXT, and improved Disney+ Hotstar) launched, focusing on specific target audiences, and older ones increased their footprint with more users, new original content, among other things.

As per RedSeer, the average revenue per user declined from $1.63 in April 2020 to $1.58 in February 2021, but the number of unique paying users for the platforms surged 35% to 31 million, resulting in the total revenue increase for the category.

The number of subscriptions held per user also grew 8% to 1.4, it said.

The noticeable growth can be attributed to the Covid lockdown which prompted people to shift to online streaming, spurring a spike in engagement.

In the first three months of 2020, the OTT engagement stood at 181 bn minutes, 175 bn minutes, and 162 bn minutes, respectively. However, during the lockdown, this went up to 211 bn minutes and has largely stayed above 200 bn minutes since then.

Last month, daily soaps’ streaming drove most of the engagement at 69 bn minutes, followed by movies and originals at 38 bn minutes and 31 bn minutes. Most of the daily soaps have been streamed on Voot while Disney+ Hotstar has been the hub for movies.  

Read: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video among 15 OTT players to adopt self regulation code

Apart from the Covid-led tailwinds, OTT platforms were also able leverage partnerships with telecom operators to reach more users. For example, Airtel offers Disney+ Hotstar VIP and Amazon Prime Video subscription with select postpaid, prepaid, and broadband plans, while Jio offers over a dozen subscriptions, including Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar VIP, and Discovery Plus, with select plans of its Fiber service. 

The platforms have also offered discounts and offers with annual plans, resulting in users sticking to their ecosystem for a longer period of time.