Regional OTTs bank on native loyalty as viewership lags behind foreign players

Rajat Agrawal, chief operating officer of Ultra Media & Entertainment Group, said, “While originals from global giants might attract 2-4 million views within a week, regional OTTs often see viewership in the range of a few hundred thousand to one million, depending on the platform and the show. However, exceptions exist when a regional platform produces a highly anticipated or culturally resonant show." Ultra Media & Entertainment Group owns Marathi OTT platform Ultra Jhakaas.

International platforms operate on a global scale with massive marketing budgets and a wider subscriber base, while regional OTTs cater to niche but loyal audiences within specific linguistic or cultural boundaries. Larger budgets for foreign OTTs often translate to higher production quality, drawing a larger audience, Agrawal added.

Entertainment industry experts point out that for regional OTTs, the right metric would be to see how engaged the existing audience base is for a particular show and what the completion rates for a title are.

Kaushik Das, founder and CEO of AAO NXT, an Odia OTT platform, said that weekly viewership for original regional content differs significantly from global platforms, but in ways that reflect the strengths and nuances of regional storytelling.

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“On a weekly basis, our viewership for originals might not match the sheer scale of global hits, but the engagement levels we see—in terms of repeat viewings, community discussions, and feedback—are extraordinary. For example, our original web series and feature films often spark conversations that carry over into cultural events and social media interactions, which isn’t always the case with global platforms," Das said.

A spokesperson for the research team at STAGE, an app for Haryanvi and Rajasthani content, said based on the nature of regional OTTs, the total addressable market is defined differently compared to global streaming platforms, focusing on shared dialects, cultures, socio-political milieus, and everyday life.

“At STAGE, we have 3.5 million subscribers for our Haryanavi and Rajasthani content. Any new original in these languages maximizes our subscriber reach. This success can be attributed to the fact that originals on regional OTTs are specifically produced for regional audiences, addressing their content needs through socio-cultural, mythical, and ritualistic representation," the person added.

To be sure, entertainment industry experts emphasize that for many viewers, especially those in rural or semi-urban areas, regional platforms may be the only source of high-quality entertainment in their mother tongue.

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Further, unlike global platforms that invest heavily in algorithm-driven recommendations, services like AAO NXT take a grassroots approach, engaging directly with audiences through cultural fairs to gather feedback and promote content. The pricing strategy is designed to be affordable for a broader segment of the population.

“Marketing and algorithms play a crucial role in reaching the target audience. Foreign OTTs benefit from large marketing budgets and a significant diaspora audience, allowing them to promote their content globally. For regional OTTs, this places greater responsibility on effective marketing and targeted algorithms to ensure their content reaches the right audience," said Nitin Gupta, chief content officer, Chaupal, a platform specializing in Punjabi, Haryanvi and Bhojpuri content.

Regional OTT audiences largely come from tier-II and tier-III cities. If a regional platform delivers high-quality, engaging content that generates hype, it can lead to a significant jump in viewership, particularly over weekends when audiences are more active, Gupta added.

According to Manpreet Singh Ahuja, TMT (technology, media, telecommunications) sector leader and chief digital officer at PwC India, the audience base of national players like a Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video is 35 million and 20 million, whereas the figure for popular regional OTTs like aha Video (Telugu) and Hoichoi (Bengali) would be 3 million and 6 million, respectively.

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“Even the most popular Telugu and Bengali originals will at best have a (lifetime) viewership base of 4.5 million (on aha) and 8-9 million (on Hoichoi)," said Ahuja. “Among regional markets, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Malayalam are the most popular. Most national OTT players release several originals in these languages, often with substantial budgets and leading actors."

To be sure, the big difference between international and local platforms is that while the former can continually target more subscribers coming in on the back of new launches, the latter look to make new content more engaging for the existing base.

“The audience subset is very different, which is why consolidation is important for discovery of regional originals, such as Prime Video Channels that bundle smaller OTTs along with a Prime Video subscription," said Mehul Gupta, co-founder and CEO of independent digital agency SoCheers.

Sameer Jain, managing director at Primus Partners, a management consultancy firm, pointed out that many regional platforms depend on basic, rule-based recommendation systems instead of utilizing advanced machine learning techniques. This results in a lack of personalized content suggestions, as these platforms often face challenges due to smaller user datasets and less advanced analytical tools.

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Additionally, the development of multilingual content recommendations, such as dubbing or subtitling for diverse audiences, remains inadequate. Consequently, poor content discovery restricts the visibility of new or niche titles, leading loyal users to gravitate towards familiar content and potentially abandon platforms that do not offer curated experiences.

“Regional audiences prefer culturally rooted stories and shorter episodes for weekend bingeing. Unlike foreign platforms, where viewers are drawn to diverse genres, regional viewers tend to gravitate toward relatable themes with native nuances. This enhances loyalty but may limit experimental viewership," said Vipin Unni, chief marketing officer, aha OTT.