How viewers and platforms are both winning with OTT aggregation in India

In a nation where consumers are known for being price-sensitive, OTT aggregators have played a pivotal role by offering affordability to viewers but also helping over-the-top (OTT) platforms expand their audience base, reaping additional benefits in the process.

Many industry players have highlighted that in India, known for its price-conscious market, OTT aggregators have introduced highly affordable subscription plans. These plans allow viewers to access multiple OTT platforms under one subscription, eliminating the need to purchase separate subscriptions for each app.

Besides popular platforms like Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, JioCinema and Amazon Prime, India also has a bunch of several regional-focused OTT platforms.

However, this abundance also leads to the 'paradox of choice', where individuals may feel overwhelmed by the multitude of options available.

According to a study by Accenture, which surveyed 6,000 consumers across 10 countries, 72% of them experienced frustration when trying to find something to watch. Additionally, 26% of the participants took more than 10 minutes to make a viewing decision.

This situation reinforces the importance of OTT aggregator platforms. In India, various services like Amazon Prime Video Channels, Airtel Xstream Play, Tata Play Binge, Playbox TV, OTTplay and others have entered the scene, contributing to the growth of OTT aggregation.

Manoj Dobhal

Manoj Dobhal, Chief Executive Officer, Dish TV India Ltd, stated, "We perceive the rise of OTT aggregators and bundled pricing as a strategic response to dynamic consumer preferences. For platforms, OTT aggregators simplify content distribution, enhance user experience and enable content expansion without exclusive production.”

Furthermore, he mentioned that the pricing model, in turn, offers a cost-effective solution, boosting subscriber numbers and sustaining viewer engagement. From the audience perspective, they provide a one-stop destination for diverse content, eliminating the need to navigate multiple platforms.

"At DishTV, we are best placed to offer aggregation services due to our wide reach and expertise in aggregating and bundling content. In addition, being a DTH platform, we also offer consumers the flexibility of choosing from different Dish/d2h hardware options – which help rope in not only those with smart TVs but those without it as well. Aggregating and distributing, be it linear or OTT content, thus comes naturally to Dish TV India. Our 3 million plus subscriptions in a notable timeframe is a testimony to that," Dobhal added. 

Uday Sodhi

Uday Sodhi, Senior Partner and Co-Founder, Kurate Digital Consulting, said that aggregators are a new channel to reach out to consumers. Most aggregators have the advantage of a customer relationship or wallet which reduces the friction to acquire a new user.

“Also, some aggregators allow customers to bundle multiple OTT apps and pay a single price much like cable operators do. Overall, this helps acquire more users,” he added.

Karan Taurani

Striking a similar tone, Karan Taurani, SVP- Research Analyst (Media, Consumer Discretionary and Internet), Elara Capital, said that aggregation provides advantages for both platforms and viewers. It enables scalability, a crucial factor in the highly competitive OTT business where content economics remain unproven. Aggregation allows platforms to broaden their opportunities, reaching more customers and expanding advertising revenue without the need for bundling.

“For viewers in price-sensitive India, aggregation offers a significant advantage. Instead of purchasing individual platforms separately, bundling provides a 30-40% discount compared to standard rates. This approach is a win-win for platforms, as it facilitates revenue scaling in a landscape where customer acquisition and content costs are prohibitively high,” he said.

"So, almost 75% of the OTT revenue of subscription by most of the platforms is through bundling and that is the way ahead for a market like India because it is kind of highly fragmented unless we see some kind of consolidation in the medium to long term," he added.

Namita Viswanath

Namita Viswanath, Partner, Induslaw, said that the evolving ecosystem of OTT aggregators and bundled pricing presents a streamlined approach for platforms and viewers alike. For platforms, these aggregators widen their audience base, augmenting subscriber numbers, and reducing customer acquisition costs.

“Simultaneously, viewers benefit from consolidated access, cost-effectiveness and a diverse content library, resolving the paradox of choice. This synergy bridges content visibility for platforms and convenience for viewers, fostering sustainable growth in India's dynamic streaming landscape,” she added.

Chandrashekar Mantha

Meanwhile, Chandrashekar Mantha, Partner, Media and Entertainment Sector Leader, Deloitte India said that a supporting nudge of growth for this sector has also been coming through the OTT aggregators where the proposition is high reach to the OTT players and a reasonable price for the users.

“Diverse plan offerings like only mobile plans, targeting the millennials and GenZ have seen wide acceptance fueling the growth further,” he added.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com