The 'Linearisation' of Streaming

As OTTs rush for reach and scale, the online video business is becoming more like TV

- VANITA KOHLI-KHANDEKAR

Shah Rukh Khan was the highlight of the February 3 event announcing Netflix India's slate of 26 shows and films for 2025. It includes his son Aryan's directorial venture, The Bastards of Bollywood, season three of its Emmy award-winning show Delhi Crime, the second seasons of Kohrra and Rana Naidu, among others.

But arguably the most interesting piece of programming will be the World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, on April 1. "Every single format of WWE will be available in India, whether it is Raw, NXT or SmackDown. After the US, India is the most important market for WWE," says Monika Shergill, vice-president, content, Netflix India.

WWE, which had about 50 million Indians glued to its formats in 2019, is not just an expensive and massy piece of programming. It is also an indicator of where the Indian streaming market is headed—towards scale, reach, and profitability.

"There was so much consolidation over the last 15-24 months," says Deepak Dhar, group CEO Banijay Asia and Endemol Shine India (the media and entertainment company that has produced Bigg Boss, MasterChef, Khatron Ke Khiladi, etc).

Reliance acquired a bevy of businesses that rolled three OTT brands—Disney+Hotstar, Voot and JioCinema—into JioHotstar. As telcos pruned their bundles, subscribers fell from about 112 million in 2022 to 96 million in 2023, going by Media Partners Asia data. Most large OTTs right-sized their budgets, keeping expenditure on content more or less stagnant. It was chaotic, but these 24 months have separated the "men from the boys," says Vijay Koshy, president, TVF (Panchayat, Gullak, Kota Factory, etc).

The churn has been good for the ₹35,600 crore (ad plus pay) streaming video business. In 2024, subscribers grew to 125 million. That is an audience of roughly 375 million Indians.