Success in OTT market will depend on content strategy

The rising popularity of the Internet and smartphones has transformed consumer behaviour in India. Be it e-commerce, banking or entertainment, there has been a dramatic change in the mindset of consumers. Take the case of how Indian audiences now turn to YouTube for entertainment and not rely only on television.

Audience now prefers watching cricket matches on the go and on their smartphones rather than sitting in front of their TV sets. The audience wants to watch personalised programming - something that is niche - and can be accessed through different devices.

While over-the-top (OTT) service providers dabble with various strategies to make inroads in the Indian market, the key to their success will lie in content. Consumption in this segment will be driven by original content and diversity of the portfolio.

Competition will be driven by content and the kind of spread each player will offer to the consumer. Players will have to cross sell content in terms of offering choices. It is imperative that service providers gain deeper insights into video consumption patterns across devices and incorporate those into their content strategy.

Content is king

Original content will be the tent pole of the business - the flagship for OTT. In India, the OTT space - in terms of content - is driven by movies, original TV shows and sporting events. There is drastic change in the mindset of the consumers, as they don't want run-of-the-mill content but demand premium content.

The biggest pull for customers will be how original is the content. If you look at the existing players and their content strategy, you'll see different approaches to add to their customer base.

For instance, Hotstar doesn't spend aggressively on original content. It has access to the Star network's bouquet of channels and programming and does cross selling extremely well. What Hotstar has also done is that it has made the offering look high-end. Hotstar recently started selling its most popular international TV series and films, largely from the 21st Century Fox library.

Hotstar also smartly chose sport as the key differentiator. In India, cricket is seen as the real deal and they scored by bagging the rights of Indian Premier League. It allowed them to charge towards their advertising inventory and also leveraged it to increase their brand equity.

Balaji Telefilms, which is known for its differentiated content, will also look to push the boundaries with its OTT service offering. What works on TV isn't likely to work on OTT and this is where the likes of Balaji will push the boundaries. The audience is different for OTT and companies will need to keep in mind their taste and preference when offering content.

Viacom 18's OTT offering Voot is targeting consumers through kids' specific programming. What they're also offering is a mix of original and exclusive content in the form of 'mockumentaries' and 'webisodes'.

Netflix, which is known for both licensed and original content, hasn't created any original content for Indian market as of now. Globally, their original content is one of the biggest draws to its existing customer base. Shows like House of Cards or Narcos are wildly popular and are produced only for Netflix.

Data remains critical

In India, most of the players are offering their own set of unique propositions. The critical part, however, will be the speed of data and the accessibility to the consumer. There are several issues with the broadband infrastructure that need to be solved in India. Along with that, there are challenges with payment gateways also which need to be addressed.

OTT players will have to overcome this challenge as there are very few parts of the country where high-speed data can be accessed at all times. With a wider roll out of 4G services expected across the country, consumers will demand better online content. Whether high-speed data manages to penetrate deeper into the country remains to be seen, but the expectation of getting it - and better content along with it - remains strong.

Consumer expectations are rapidly changing in an environment where infrastructural changes are also happening simultaneously. As more people get access to data, their preferences are also evolving. In such a scenario which will soon be driven by intense competition and increasing consumer demand, players who can come up with content that separates from the rest will stand to gain the most.

The writer is Managing Director for Accenture's Communications, Media and Technology operating group in India