Streaming's rush for reach

The "linearisation" of streaming has begun in earnest. On April 1, Netflix will start streaming the World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, in India.

- VANITA KOHLI-KHANDEKAR

This staged, somewhat exaggerated, promotional wrestling drew about 50 million Indians in 2019. Netflix is banking on this "sports entertainment" show, among others, to ramp up its reach (47 million currently) and subscribers (15 million) in the country. Its core remains premium shows such as Delhi Crime or Black Warrant. But the last two years have seen it bring in The Great Indian Kapil Show, Maamla Legal Hai, The Greatest Rivalry — India vs Pakistan, and WWE in its attempts to reach the masses.

Amazon, meanwhile, is expanding content and pricing options across the board to reach every language and income class. Amazon Prime Video began offering other OTT brands such as Lionsgate and manoramaMAX on its platform in 2021. The tally is 25 now. It also offers 8,500 movie titles on rent. In September 2024, it acquired MX Player from Times Internet. Amazon MX Player unveiled a slate of 100 new shows last month with a guarantee that the service will remain free.

SonyLIV, home for cerebral shows such as Rocket Boys and Freedom at Midnight, is using non-fiction fare like Shark Tank and Million Dollar Listing to get to more people. The recent season four of Shark Tank has seen its reach double across 42 tier 2 towns.

Another large OTT has been (reportedly) asking producers to cook up 100-episode shows instead of a 7-10 episode series. Many now stagger episodes in a new season to keep the audience coming or they drop the latest in a show at a fixed time, to encourage appointment viewing, a la TV. Note that habit and appointment make for good advertising rates, much like TV.