And that, I feel, is where both the challenge and the opportunity lie for content creators, producers and OTT platforms. To truly resonate with Indian audiences, we need to create entertainment that reflects this amazing diversity within our society. It’s not enough to cater to broad categories; creators must understand the nuanced preferences and cultural touchstones that define different segments of the population. We need to think of not one – but catering to various segments of India! This means investing in diverse stories, experimenting with regional languages, and embracing new and exciting genres and formats—all enhanced by cutting-edge technology to elevate the experience further.
Growth Beyond Metros: The Next Wave
The next wave of OTT growth is emerging from smaller cities, with Disney+ Hotstar at the forefront. Supported by the rapid penetration of mobile and internet services in rural markets, this shift is revolutionising the digital landscape. The power of digital content to unify India’s diverse population is unparalleled. Major events like the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 underscored this fact, with millions tuning in from various regions and demographics. This impact was especially noticeable in non-metros, where nearly half of Disney+ Hotstar’s reach came from Tier 2 cities and beyond during this tournament. Interestingly, people across age groups have embraced the OTT wave with nearly 40-45% viewers belonging to the age group of under 24 years, 30% from 25-35 year old age group and remaining ~25% of viewers from 35+ age group.
Democratising Content: Free Mobile Streaming
In a country that breathes entertainment and is shaped by a culture surrounded by stories and iconic moments from various genres, streaming platforms have become one of the biggest binding agents in this vast and diverse nation. Recognising this, Disney+ Hotstar made the bold move to stream not just sports events but a variety of content for free on mobile devices. This initiative dramatically expanded the platform’s reach, allowing fans from diverse backgrounds to engage with their favourite shows and movies. By offering free mobile streaming, Disney+ Hotstar not only broke down financial barriers but also set new records in concurrent viewership during major events like the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Additionally, 1 out of 3 Disney+ Hotstar cricket viewers on the platform also watched entertainment content. Alongside the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Disney+ Hotstar also introduced a new content strategy by releasing their series ‘Gunaah’ for free on mobile and will continue to release more free content to cater to the many Indias!Embracing Hybrid Models: Freemium Strategy
With its freemium model, Disney+ Hotstar strikes a balance between ad revenue and subscription offerings. This strategy has proven successful, particularly during high-profile events. The platform’s ability to attract massive viewership while providing free access on mobile devices has set new standards in the streaming industry. The success during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and the recent ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 is a testament to this strategy. We are a firm believer that if you focus on the user and engaging her, the revenue will follow.
A Platform of Choice for Advertisers
Disney+ Hotstar drives significant value for advertisers through its high-quality content and freemium strategy across sports and entertainment. The platform offers a wide variety of ad formats, multiple targeting options, and reaches highly engaged users, making it a preferred choice for advertisers looking to maximise their impact. The ability to blend advertising seamlessly with content has created a win-win scenario for both viewers and advertisers.
Taking Content to All of India
Keeping the viewer at the heart of its content strategy, Disney+ Hotstar consistently enhances its extensive library with top-notch global and local content selections backed by strong consumer insights. The platform continues to strike a good balance between sports and entertainment content and viewers who come in to watch high-impact sports events stay on for highly engaging entertainment offerings. This approach ensures a broad appeal across different viewer segments, catering to diverse tastes and preferences. We’ve observed that more than 50% of consumption of dubbed international content comes in the local languages. So, when your favourite Super Hero fluently speaks Telugu, it’s not just a marketing gimmick – it’s a testament to the unifying power of language in the ever-evolving landscape of Indian entertainment.Over the last year, we have witnessed a 2x increase in viewership of our Hindi shows and movies such as 12th Fail and The Night Manager across Tamil and Telugu speaking regions owing to the availability of dubs in both languages.
Deep Regional Focus: Engaging Diverse Audiences
Disney+ Hotstar is intensifying efforts to deliver content in multiple Indian languages, supporting originals in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. With hits across languages and genres, the platform is seeing significant success in regional storytelling. This regional focus ensures that content is accessible and relatable to a wider audience, reinforcing the platform’s commitment to diversity. Notably, in 2023 nearly half of Hindi users on Disney+ Hotstar significantly consume South Indian content. In fact, Telugu productions like Salaar and Veera Simha Reddy have found immense success in Hindi-speaking markets. Manjummel Boys, Aavesham and King of Kotha in Malayalam are other examples of this.
In the last two years we have actively dubbed two-thirds of the titles (65%) launched on Disney+ Hotstar into non-primary languages to cater to the diverse audience set across the country. The availability of Hindi content dubbed into regional languages, for example, has increased the reach of Hindi content like “Brahm?stra: Part One – Shiva”, “Aakhri Sach” and “Babli Bouncer” across regional markets. It also helped that these movies featured popular regional megastars like Nagarjuna and Tamannaah Bhatia which further added to their appeal. Another example of this is “12th Fail” which became our most-watched film in 2023. In fact, dubbing international titles, especially Marvel franchises, in local languages has significantly enhanced their appeal, and further helped in expanding the platform’s reach.
Interactivity and Innovation: Blending Tech and Storytelling
With shows like ‘Koffee With Karan’ and ‘The Legend of Hanuman’, Disney+ Hotstar is blending technology and storytelling through innovative formats of animation, CGI, interactivity and more. These interactive and immersive experiences not only captivate audiences but also set new benchmarks in digital entertainment. Disney+ Hotstar’s efforts in making a variety of content accessible to all have strengthened this unity, showing that technology can bridge divides and bring people together over a shared love for both entertainment and sports content. For LIVE cricket, the platform has brought forth accessibility features like the Indian Sign Language feed and an Audio Descriptive feed, MaxView (vertical viewing), optimized data saving and more.
As we move forward, we remain focused on the billion plus Indians and the many Indias. The lessons learned and innovations introduced contribute towards shaping the future of streaming in India, making it more inclusive and engaging than ever before. Whether it’s sports, movies, or TV shows, the commitment to delivering a diverse and high-quality viewing experience that caters to everyone across the country is paramount. After all, the path to success in India’s dynamic media landscape lies in celebrating and harnessing the country’s inherent diversity. It’s a challenge that requires creativity, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to authenticity. But for those who rise to the occasion, the rewards—both in terms of audience appreciation and market share—can be extraordinary.
(The author is Head of Disney+ Hotstar)
