In the era of handheld entertainment, today’s internet users have the world at their fingertips! The upsurge in internet users and the widespread availability of streaming platforms have ignited a content revolution in the Indian media and entertainment sector.
India is on the brink of becoming the largest consumer of digital media and streaming content, with a recent study by Redseer’s Research revealing a dominant landscape of 450-500 million explorers, 300-320 million transactors, and 35-40 million mature users. Projections suggest that India’s volume of mature users is set to surpass that of the USA by 2030, propelling the digital media and entertainment industry, currently valued at $12 billion, to triple in size.
Telecom companies and mobile phones have played pivotal roles as enablers, fostering numerous business engagements. The year 2023 stood witness to a surge in exceptional content on streaming platforms, captivating both domestic and global audiences, courtesy of compelling storytelling complemented by stellar visuals. Another driving force behind this growth has been the localisation of content. Despite discussions about a potential plateau in subscriber growth, the future of Indian digital entertainment appears promising and dynamic.
Some of the major highlights are:
Powerkids Entertainment
In 2023, Powerkids Entertainment collaborated with JioTV and JioTV+ to launch FAST (Free Ad Supported TV) channel in India. JioTV is a Live TV streaming platform – owned by Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries – with 1,000 plus channels in 15 plus languages and 12 genres. JioTV+ on the other hand is the connected device for TV screens that runs on JioFiber and wifi, offering the best OTT packages alongside the linear channels.
This partnership aims to provide Indian kids and teen audiences with a diverse range of content – including animated series and live-action shows. The Kids FAST Powerkids Kartoon Channel features globally popular, handpicked and select content from Powerkids library such as Akira and Mowgli, The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Robinhood, Lassie, The Psammy Show, Dragonero, Jane and Jerry, along with exclusive original and first run content from Kartoon Studios including Stan Lee’s Superhero Kindergarten, Shaq’s Garage, Rainbow Rangers and Roblox Rumble and famous brands such as Angry Birds and Sunny Bunnies comprising educational and entertaining content for children of all ages.
Prime Video India
Prime Video has been actively forging strategic partnerships to enrich its content offerings and solidify its position in the fiercely competitive streaming market.
- Japan’s Anime Times was recently introduced on Prime Video India. The exclusive premiere of Anime Times on Prime Video Channels in India emphasises the platform’s commitment to providing unique and sought-after content to its subscribers. One can enjoy titles such as Spy×Family, Hunter x Hunter, Tokyo Revengers, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Mob Psycho 100, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Goblin Slayer, Zombieland Saga, and more.
- Also, Prime Video India and BBC Studios launched BBC Player and BBC Kids on the OTT platform, bringing British content to the country which can be accessed with an add-on subscription.
- Prime Video partnered with leading Asian entertainment network KC Global Media to launch the Japanese entertainment pack, Animax+GEM, on Prime Video Channels in India. Animax+GEM offers customers a diverse selection of popular Japanese anime, drama, and variety programs with English subtitles from KC Global Media’s linear channels Animax and GEM.
The inclusion of Anime Times, Animax+GEM and BBC content adds variety and depth to Prime Video’s offerings, enhancing the overall streaming experience for subscribers in India.
Furthermore, Prime Video India showcases a commitment to pushing storytelling boundaries and delivering immersive cinematic experiences through the utilisation of cutting-edge technology, particularly visual effects (VFX). Notable examples include the period drama Jubilee, which recreates a bygone era with meticulous detailing, the supernatural original Adhura that employs effects to create a world beyond reality, and Prime Video’s first Tamil original horror series The Village. The platform’s application of VFX extends to recreating historical events, such as portraying one of the worst disasters faced by the city of Mumbai in Mumbai Diaries season two. This innovative use of VFX underscores Prime Video’s dedication to redefining storytelling and creating cinematic experiences that captivate audiences.
JioCinema
Entertainment platform JioCinema forayed into kids entertainment with a dedicated kids and family offering, representing a strategic move to diversify its content offerings and cater to a younger audience. The content spans over 3,000 hours of Indian IPs and franchises from across the world, in more than five Indian languages. This includes kids’ content from Viacom18 – Motu Patlu, Shiva, Rudra, Chikoo aur Bunty, Pinaki and the Bhoot Bandhus, The Twisted Timelines of Sammy & Raj, Kanha – Morpankh Samrat, among others. International content will include series such as Harry Potter, Transformers, HBO Storybook musical, The Looney Tunes Show, Super Mario Bros, Pokémon and movies like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar, Teen Titans Go, Polar Express, Lego Ninjago, The Flintstones, Boss Baby etc.
They also entered into a multi-year partnership with NBCUniversal (NBCU) bringing NBCU films and TV series to India.
NBCU’s portfolio is fueled by Comcast NBCUniversal’s production entities and brands, which include Universal Television, UCP, Universal International Studios, Universal Television Alternative Studio, Sky Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Bravo, and more. NBCU’s programming is available in a Peacock branded on JioCinema’s newly announced ‘JioCinema Premium’ SVOD tier. Here, viewers have access to first-run series like Young Rock, The Lazarus Project, The Lovers, etc.
Netflix India
For Netflix India, audiences enjoyed great stories not only from every corner of the country but also from around the world, thanks to subtitles and dubs in over 35 languages. Locally rooted stories like Kaala Paani (Hindi), Thunivu (Tamil), Leo (Tamil), Kushi (Telugu) and Padmini (Malayalam) have not only resonated with regional audiences but have also garnered attention on a broader scale. Even films initially released in theatres, like RRR (Hindi), a true pan-Indian blockbuster, have sustained their dominance, securing a place in the coveted ‘India Top 10’ for an impressive 25 weeks. Notably, Jawan (all languages included) became the most-watched film in India merely two weeks after its launch on 2 November.
Popular films and series such as Extraction 2 and Stranger Things S4, available also in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu, trended in India for weeks. Going beyond, Indian audiences also embraced French, Japanese and Korean stories, making them the most-frequent non-English titles to appear in ‘India’s top 10’. Over 50 Indian stories in the love story category reached global viewers like never before. Indian films and series consistently featured in the ‘Global Top 10’ for non-English content for 47 out of 50 weeks.
Netflix India received numerous awards on national and global stages. The victory includes the historic win at the 95th Academy Awards for The Elephant Whisperers in the ‘Best Documentary Short’ category. Delhi Crime S2 and Vir Das: Landing earned their fourth consecutive international Emmy nomination, with the latter securing the award in the ‘Comedy Special’ category. Scoop picked up two prestigious Asia Content Awards during the Busan Film Festival and Trial By Fire winning the ‘Best Actress Award’ at the Asian Academy Creative Awards.
Enhancing the existing creative collaborations with Raj & DK and Excel Entertainment, Netflix forged partnerships with some of India’s most celebrated and iconic creators in 2023, such as Yash Raj Films, Hansal Mehta, and Neeraj Pandey. Collaborating with first-time directors such as Yashowardhan Mishra (Kathal), Shiv Rawail (The Railway Men), and Arjun Varain Singh (Kho Gaye Hum Kahan), as well as seasoned creators like Sujoy Ghosh (Jaane Jaan), Vishal Bhardwaj (Khufiya) and Konkona Sen Sharma (Lust Stories 2), they took their stories to over 190 countries.
ZEE5
Post the success of ILT20, Zee5 partnered with Big Bang Media to bring the esports tournament for the viewers free of cost. The platform forayed into the esports streaming space with IESF Big Bang Asia Open 2023. Owing to the popularity, this multi-game tournament with Clash of Clans, Real Cricket, Dota 2 and eFootball streamed exclusively on the platform from 4 March to 2 April 2023.
Zee5’s extravaganza Taj: Divided by Blood season one consisting of 10 episodes starred Dharmendra, Naseeruddin Shah, Rahul Bose, Aashim Gulati, Zarina Wahab, Aditi Rao Hydari and Subodh Bhave among others. This show garnered immense popularity. Created by Contiloe Pictures’ Abhimanyu Singh, the show follows the story of king Akbar and the war of succession amongst his three sons – Salim, Murad and Daniyal. Illusion Reality Studioz (IRS) delivered approximately 2,900 VFX shots with 200 artists for the first season. The timeline also includes more than six months of pre-production work. The second season titled as Taj: Reign Of Revenge returned with the final showdown between Prince Salim and his father Akbar.
QYOU Media India
Creator-driven media company QYOU Media India made its entry into the mobile gaming space with the launch of Q GamesMela. It is its first direct-to-consumer casual mobile gaming app. The move was preceded by the acquisition of mobile game developer Maxamtech Digital Ventures in January 2023.
Also, QYOU Media India’s Hindi general entertainment channel Q TV introduced a unique original series Viral Hua Re, driven by artificial intelligence (AI). Led by a sassy animated AI anchor Viral Bhabhi with her witty one-liners and anecdotes, the show features viral videos sourced from social platforms and spanning genres like comedy, pranks, gags, falls and fails.
Playflix
One Take Media Co’s OTT platform Playflix expanded its content library by offering Korean dramas dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. With a huge bank of 8,000 plus premium Korean episodes including top-rated K-dramas like Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo, She Was Pretty, W Two Worlds Apart, I’m Not A Robot, etc, the platform aimed to cater to the diverse linguistic preferences of its audience.
Playflix is one of the most-sought after OTT apps in India because of its hand-picked International dramas from Turkey, Spain, Russia, Bulgaria and China that are available with English subtitles in languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
In the evolving landscape of Indian digital entertainment, each platform has contributed uniquely, from technological innovations to strategic partnerships and diverse content curation. As audiences embrace these offerings, the industry’s trajectory promises continued excitement and innovation, creating a dynamic tapestry of entertainment experiences for users across the nation.
India’s streaming landscape is witnessing a paradigm shift in consumer behaviour, with filmmakers increasingly opting for OTT-first releases. The trend of personalised viewing experiences is driven by a diverse genre range, high production values, and content accessibility. Notably, India’s mature internet users are poised to lead globally, unlocking unprecedented opportunities in the M&E sector. This transformative era underscores the industry’s adaptability, creativity, and India’s pivotal role in reshaping global digital content consumption.