We don’t look at the business with TV and digital demarcation: Jyoti Deshpande, Viacom18

Viacom18 doesn’t look at the business with TV and digital demarcation. Rather, it focuses on leading the disruption with an aim to grow video, be it a TV or digital platform, Jyoti Deshpande said on Thursday at the “Future of Video India” conference in Mumbai. 

Organized by Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), the event saw the attendance of top executives of leading streaming platforms such as Prime Video, Viacom18, Disney+Hotstar, SonyLiv and Ad Tech firms like PubMatic, Magnite and Samsung Ads. The conference sought to discuss pressing issues of the streaming industry, which grew exponentially during the pandemic but now the growth engine has slowed down. 

In a conversation with Louis Boswell, CEO of AVIA, Deshpande explained why Viacom18 was still straddling both the linear and digital landscape even as it had announced it would be a digital-first media company. According to her, linear and digital both share the same business models, revolving around subscription and advertising and serving video content.

When asked about the prospects of Connected TV growth in India, Deshpande raised concern over the lack of entry-level CTV. “The idea is to slash down the price. Where is the entry-level connected TV? However, anybody who is upgrading from normal TV will upgrade to connected TV,” she said. 

Deshpande also spoke about the importance of the rigour of storytelling, the acquisition of content from multiple producers across regions and countries, use of technology, and AI to make consumers' journeys easy and keep them entertaining. 

Sushant Sreeram, Country Director, Prime Video India, discussed how OTT has emerged as the Catalyst for Change in India's storytelling ecosystem, providing a level playing field for content creators and talent, and creating new revenue streams for the Indian film industry.

Sajith Sivanandan, Head, Disney+ Hotstar India, shared insights on how after witnessing rapid growth in recent years, the OTT market in India has entered a transformational phase which calls for an ingenious approach to the manner in which streaming platforms need to innovate for growth. He also explained Disney+ Hotstar’s regional strategy and priorities for growth in the coming year.

The panellists also discussed profitability, ARPU, sustainable monetisation models, and changes in the Indian SVOD market. Monetisation is a big challenge for OTT players due to rising content costs, stiff competition and economic downturns that have forced many consumers to avoid having subscriptions and rather rely on ad-supported (AVoD) models, stakeholders said. 

India currently has over 100 million SVOD subscribers and this number is estimated to increase at a CAGR of 17% to reach 224 million by 2026, according to a 2022 report by Deloitte. But there is still a large number of consumers who do not want to pay for content. Industry leaders discussed various ideas to sustain growth which ranged from having a strong content bank to strengthening ad-supported platforms to the bundling of apps and rationalization. 

Content piracy also emerged as a major pain point for all OTT players. “We can never stop piracy completely, but can only minimize it with the use of several layers of protection,” says Manish Verma, Head, SonyLiv Technology. 

Vynsley Fernandes, Whole-time Director, Hinduja Global Solutions, CEO, NXTDIGITAL, in a discussion with Karan Taurani, SVP, Elara Capital, discussed the present status of linear cable distribution and bundling of apps by MSOs for rationalization. 

Clare Bloomfield, Acting Chief Policy Officer of AVIA and Anjan Mitra, India Consultant of AVIA were present on the occasion along with several other industry leaders.