In a recent report by FICCI EY, it has been revealed that the number of paid video subscriptions in India experienced a decline of two million in 2023, coupled with sluggish revenue growth in the segment. This dip is attributed to various factors, including the strategic move to put premium cricket properties behind paywalls, impacting major platforms like Disney+Hotstar.
In 2022, paid subscriptions stood at 99 million across 45 million households, whereas in 2023, the numbers dropped to 97 million across 43 million households. The revenue growth in the paid video subscription segment recorded a modest 6 percent increase, reaching Rs 72.6 billion compared to Rs 68 billion in the previous year.
The FICCI EY report, released on March 5, highlighted the significant drop of around 19 million paid subscriptions on Disney+Hotstar, primarily due to premium cricket content being put behind paywalls. This move not only affected the overall number of subscriptions but also played a pivotal role in the slower revenue growth observed in the segment.
The media and entertainment sector in India witnessed an overall growth slowdown to 8% in 2023, with television lagging behind. Paid OTT subscribers, estimated to be between 86 million and 108 million individuals, also saw a decline, influenced by the fall in paid subscribers and a crackdown on password sharing by certain platforms.
However, the report noted a potential silver lining for Over the Top (OTT) platforms through aggregators. Rising subscription fatigue to multiple platforms has created space for these aggregators, allowing users to discover and view content from various OTT apps in one place. Key players in this space include Amazon Prime Video Channels, Tata Play Binge, OTTplay, Times Group, and Airtel Xstream.
Looking ahead, the report predicts an increase in the number of households with access to video OTTs, reaching 65 million by 2026, with 138 million subscriptions, averaging approximately 2 subscriptions per household. While some platforms explore the advertising video-on-demand route, the report suggests that ad-supported OTT models may not be sustainable due to the high cost of premium content. As a result, it anticipates more platforms rolling out subscription products or subsidizing costs through bundling with data, e-commerce, and other services.
The future may see large platforms launching more affordable packages or aggregators bringing bundled prices down, making them comparable to traditional TV. In this evolving landscape, it is estimated that the number of households paying for one or more subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service could reach 100 million by 2026. The bundling of various OTT platforms by internet service providers (ISPs) and telcos is expected to gain scale, with a crucial emphasis on providing customers with the flexibility to choose different OTT platforms to bundle.
