Some consolidation efforts are underway in the streaming content space as smaller platforms struggle with rising costs and programming clutter in what has so far largely been a fragmented industry.
Shemaroo Entertainment has acquired the library of regional platform OHO Gujarati, while Vibhu Agarwal-owned Atrangii OTT has tied up with Amazon MX Player for distribution. Saregama India acquired a majority stake in digital entertainment company Pocket Aces Pictures in 2023. In October, Amazon said it acquired certain assets of MX Player, including the MX Player app, a free streaming OTT service.
Experts say these efforts were inevitable because far too many entities were struggling for user attention with no real differentiation. Be it library acquisition or distribution deals, these are steps towards a maturing, less fragmented industry.
“It reflects the larger reality of the content business today. Demand for content is strong, but the business needs sharper monetization, capital discipline and long-term conviction,” said Saurabh Srivastava, chief operating officer - digital business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd.
What this signals is a maturing of the content business, Srivastava added. A few years ago, scale was often pursued with each platform trying to build everything on its own. What’s happening now is a more measured approach of assessing how existing strengths can be combined to deepen consumer value and improve monetization.
“For ShemarooMe, the OHO Gujarati library acquisition was less about adding volume and more about making the proposition more rounded. ShemarooMe already had strong depth in Gujarati content. What OHO brought was a complementary layer through popular Gujarati web series. This strengthens retention and improves the lifetime value of a subscriber. Increasingly, monetization conversations are moving in that direction,” Srivastava added.
Wider reach
Vibhu Agarwal, founder of Hari Om OTT and Atrangii OTT, said the company’s content will stream on Amazon two months after it debuts on its own platforms, giving them a wider reach and bringing in newer audiences. However, the intellectual property (IP) rights rest with them.
“The content industry is finally admitting that organic growth alone cannot win the monetization game. When you can acquire a proven library of 30-plus original series and 450-plus actors' worth of work rather than build it from scratch, the RoI math changes completely,” said Suyash Lahoti, a partner at Wit & Chai Group, a marketing agency.
Experts emphasize that for both sides, these equations can work well when they unlock value that may have been harder to realize independently. For one party, it can mean wider distribution, stronger monetization or access to a larger consumer base. For the other, it can mean faster expansion of content depth, audience relevance and retention.
There is also the reality of clutter. Consumers do not subscribe to platforms for abundance alone. They stay for relevance. That changes the thinking on partnerships and acquisitions.
Dr Ameya Sunildatta Bal, assistant professor in the department of mass communication at Somaiya School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Mumbai, said the OTT ecosystem is transitioning from platform expansion to content aggregation.
Smart moves
“Acquisitions like Shemaroo-OHO Gujarati and Saregama-Pocket aces are strategic moves to own culturally rich and rooted IP and pre-existing digital audiences and communities. These are smart moves which reduce content discovery challenges in a saturated market and also improve monetization via multi-platform distribution,” Bal said.
According to Rajat Agrawal, chief operating officer at Ultra Media & Entertainment Group, this trend is driven by the need for digital transformation, monetization strategies, and adapting to changing consumer preferences. Also, strategic partnerships and acquisitions enable companies to diversify revenue streams through subscriptions, ads, and licensing.
Amit Dhawan, co-founder of Crack’d, a marketing and content agency, said there is likely to be deeper consolidation, rise of IP-first strategies, and hybrid models where companies act as both studios and distributors, which brings better monetization and sharper audience targeting but also reduces room for smaller players and creative risk-taking.
“This reflects a clear shift from scale-led growth to efficiency-led growth. Instead of investing heavily in building content from scratch, platforms are acquiring or partnering for existing IP, audiences and distribution strength, reducing cost and time to scale,” said Mitchelle Rozario Jansen, senior vice-president, business strategy and growth at White Rivers Media, a digital marketing agency.
The industry is entering a phase of measured consolidation and collaborative growth, with more partnerships, co-productions and shared content models. The focus is shifting from volume to efficiency and differentiated storytelling, she said.