The entertainment world is changing at a very rapid clip. With the launch of the Disney+ service the world of OTT is truly coming to the fore. With its bundle including Hulu and ESPN for sports it surely is great content package at a attractive price. The market will also see launch of two other OTT packages being launched soon one with HBO as integral part and the other being the CBS/ Viacom offering. In addition we have Amazon Prime, Google as well as Apple Play. Stage is therefore set for a very interesting and a bruising next year where Netflix is likely to be challenged like no other time. Traditional platforms are taking a backseat for time being.
India which rapidly increased its offerings in the OTT play is also likely to see significant activity. If one is to believe a recent survey Disney owned Hotstar owns pride of place on the top having 40% of the market with Amazon and Netflix bring up the next few aspirants. There are a host of other players – Voot, Zee5, Sony Liv, Eros, Mx player and Jio as a consolidated play soon in this space. Many others are in the planning stage. Presently with Sports content specially cricket Hotstar and Sony Liv seem like preffered OTT plays. But things can change…
Content and AI capability will possibly be determinants as to who wins the platform game. But guess who is already the winner? Yes – Content and Content Providers are the real winners. With billions of dollars being planned for acquisition of content there has not been a better time to be in content business.
The other winner is us – the Customers! Hold onto your seats as you are in for best of content that will be on offer. You have a choice befitting a king and with a reasonable cost.
Ofcourse there will be some losers as there are in every sphere. The traditional cable companies and DTH player seem to be now but there will be more. The peak tends to be narrow and only a few will get there. For now let’s enjoy the ride!
eye on media blog 
Presently I am assisting companies in fund raising by way of private equity and structured debt in different sectors and geographies through my strong network of interesting investors based globally.