There is a genuine need for an OTT aggregator in India: Kunal Dasgupta

US and UK streaming aggregator ScreenHits TV has formed its first joint venture partnership with Vial Content Tech, a company founded by former Sony TV India CEO Kunal Dasgupta and Vivek Gupta. The JV will lead the premium SVOD/AVOD content curator’s expansion in India.

ScreenHits TV app allows subscribers to integrate their existing streaming platforms. Along with its iOS tablet app, the mobile app will have compatibility with Android TVs via Chromecast and Fire TV. Dasgupta spoke to exchange4media about the big opportunity in the OTT aggregation business.

Excerpts:

What was the thought behind this partnership with ScreenHits TV?
We are bringing this ScreenHits TV technology to India. There are lots of OTT platforms and the average purchase of an OTT platform is 2.5 per person which means people are subscribing, but the average is two or three platforms. People are not buying 7 or 8 platforms. There is an opportunity for being an OTT aggregator and provide a single sign-up and a single ID for accessing multiple streaming services. That is what I am bringing to the market. ScreenHits TV is already aggregating OTT content in the US and UK, and they are doing pretty well. In India too, we have so many OTT platforms that there is a genuine need for an aggregator.

Do you think the big OTT platforms will agree to be a part of an aggregator service?
There are platforms like ALTBalaji, Eros Now, Shemaroo who are easy to bundle because they are not getting that kind of traction. Telcos offer reach, but for these platforms, the telco game is very tough to play. The amount that they get from a telco is much less than what they will get as part of bundling.

Tata Sky and Jio Fiber are among the few players who have started aggregating OTT content. What is your offering for the market?
Tata Sky launched the Binge+ set-top box (STB), which offers an array of OTT services. But you need a Tata Sky connection to do that. We will offer the service only on Apple's iOS. We will launch it on Android in future. We feel that iOS has a more evolved audience who are more likely to be willing to experiment with the recommendation engine. Users can move seamlessly from one platform to another without having to switch the platform. We will start with iOS, and then we will add Android over time. The challenge is that these players may not want to give us content for Android platform because all of them are fighting in that big market.

Is the market ready for a service like this?
This software has a utility and people will find it useful. It is like Cred. We have always been paying our credit card bills in different banks, but now Cred has made it easy to pay the bills from a single platform. We are trying the Cred concept, and we will take a small commission, which nobody will mind paying. Going forward, we are going to see another 20 platforms coming to the market, so what will they do? A lot of regional OTT platforms are launching in the market. For them, we can have different regional bundles. It is similar to a cable operator who aggregates content from different broadcasters.

What is your go-to market strategy?
We are going to build technology for the phone or handheld device. We have just signed the contract with ScreenHits TV. Furthermore, we are in the process of setting up back-end infrastructure, which will take us some time. I don't think we can launch for another six months. Simultaneously, we will be initiating discussions with all the players. ScreenHits TV has proven to be effective in Western markets. Sony has already given its Hindi GEC to ScreenHits for international markets. Netflix has confirmed that they will come to us because they have an international partnership.

What will smaller OTT platforms gain from being part of an aggregator service?
OTT platforms in a bundle will surely get some percentage of the revenue whenever a customer comes on board, which will be more than what a telco offers. Initially, we will not sell all the platforms as part of the bundle. Users can add existing Netflix or Amazon Prime Video subscriptions and over this, they can add HBO Max, Lionsgate Play, ALTBalaji etc.

So the smaller platforms can piggyback on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video?

Yes, but Netflix or Amazon Prime Video will not have to offer any discounts. The person who has Netflix or Amazon already has a subscription. It won't be a new subscription. Users will not buy Netflix or Amazon through me. They will get access to other platforms provided they add a Netflix or Amazon account to ScreenHits TV. The other platforms may be free for the first three months, and then it will be paid. Let's say there are bundles today like Lionsgate Play or HBO Max, there may be some audience who want to watch those services, but they won't pay separately for it. Our incentive will be that you can add Netflix or Amazon content and watch those platforms for six months, and then they can start paying.