BackOTTs see viewership, subscriptions stabilize as growth numbers catch up
While OTT streaming platforms witnessed 60-70% growth around May, figures for monthly subscriber rise have now reached around 20%OTT platforms say they will continue to churn out content even as subcriptions stabilise compared to the peak of the covid-induced lockdown
PremiumNEW DELHI: With the easing of curbs on people's movement OTT (over-the-top) streaming platforms say they are bracing for stabilization in subscriptions and viewership compared to the peak of the lockdown. As people are somewhat returning to work, stepping out of their homes and cinemas have reopened, OTT platforms say they will continue churning out content on a regular basis.
The unprecedented rise in subscribers in the first half of the year is gradually catching up with services who are now seeing the growth slow down. With 60-70% growth witnessed around May, figures for monthly subscriber rise have now reached around 20%. Netflix, for instance, reported 2.2 million net additions in Q3 versus 10.1 million globally in Q2.
“It was evident that the huge growth witnessed by OTT platforms over the past few months was due to the lockdown. This phase also converted many fence-sitters into subscribers. Now, the streaming services are making sure that these subscribers are retained for the long term through a pool of immersive content," Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO, ALTBalaji and group chief operating officer, Balaji Telefilms Ltd said. “As we see the country gradually unlock itself, resulting in operations coming back in full swing, people might get busy with their work and social life. But digital content has made its way into the lives of these viewers, and there won’t be much drop in terms of eyeballs," he added.
Vishnu Mohta, co-founder of Bengali streaming service Hoichoi said the covid-19 pandemic brought about a tectonic shift in consumer habits and adoption of digital services by people traditionally hooked to TV or cinema in a matter of months that would have ordinarily taken two to three years. The spurts in subscriber growth may not be happening anymore but existing viewers remain within the new normal.
In its letter to shareholders last month, Netflix said subscriber growth has slowed with 2.2 million paid net adds in Q3 versus 6.8 million in Q3’19, which is primarily due to the record first half results and the pull-forward effect witnessed, where in the first nine months of 2020, the company added 28.1 million paid memberships, which exceeded the 27.8 million that it added for all of 2019.
“The state of the pandemic and its impact continues to make projections very uncertain, but as the world hopefully recovers in 2021, we would expect that our growth will revert to levels similar to pre-covid. In turn, paid net adds are likely to be down year-over year in the first half of 2021 as compared to the big spike in paid net adds experienced in the first half of 2020," the Reed Hastings-owned platform said.
Neeraj Roy, managing director and CEO of Hungama Digital Media that runs the Hungama app said there is unlikely to be a dramatic shift in eyeballs even as cinemas reopen. Hoichoi’s Mohta pointed out that theatrical release only adds to the word-of-mouth and conversation around films, making them bigger propositions for streaming platforms and their audiences.
“There are no major releases scheduled till December and the truth is the top 8-10 platforms in India, both independent and owned by broadcast companies are all geared up for routine content churns and audiences should be fine as long as there is new content available for them," Roy said. On an average, people in India are accustomed to using four to five streaming services, he added.
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