SMALL TOWNS, BIG BUSINESS

REGIONAL OTTs SUCH AS HOICHOI AND AHA ARE BLENDING LOCAL STORIES WITH SMART BUSINESS MODELS TO TAKE ON THE BIGGIES IN A CROWDED STREAMING MARKET.

- SAMALI BASU GUHA

MOVE OVER NETFLIX and Amazon Prime Video. Whether it’s a Bhojpuri action drama or a Punjabi romantic comedy or a Bengali thriller, regional OTTs such as Hoichoi (Bengali), Aha (Telugu), ManoramaMAX (Malayalam) and Chaupal (Punjabi) are winning hearts and turning small-town vibes into big business.

Regional content volumes surpassed 50% of the total volume in 2023 and are expected to reach over 55% by 2026, says a recent Deloitte report on the online curated content industry in India in 2024.

But then, growing fast also means struggling with rising content costs, pressure on profitability, and stiff competition from both local and global giants. “We've never tried to outspend the giants—we’ve instead focussed on out-engaging them. That’s been our biggest differentiator,” says Vishnu Mohta, co-founder, Hoichoi, and ED, SVF Entertainment.

Since its inception in 2017, Hoichoi has streamed 600-plus Bengali films, and 135-plus original web series, shorts, and documentaries.

Sustainable economics, leaner models, sharper storytelling, and movie acquisitions are driving regional OTTs.

Aha, for instance, has always focussed on giving “audiences a sense of belonging,” says co-founder and director Ajit Thakur. Aha, which caters to Telugu and Tamil audiences, has stayed majorly on the path of subscription video on demand (SVOD). “We started as a subscription-only platform because we were confident of our content offering and positioning. Lately, we have added AVOD (advertising video on demand), which is a more competitive market,” says Thakur.