Only firms that have scale in content and a technology engine that drives its discovery and monetisation can compete,' explains Vanita Kohli Khandekar.
...of premium video-on-demand viewing in the second quarter of 2025, led by JioHotstar (56 per cent share), with Amazon (Prime Video and MX Player) holding a combined 25 per cent share..
At 250 million unique visitors a month, MX Player has for long been in the same bracket as YouTube (454 million) and Meta (324 million) in reach.
Both sports and digital will drag down the healthy operating margins that entertainment television continues to make.
Disney Star India, bought at a valuation of $15 billion, could be on the block for roughly one-third that amount.
Could it be about clout? Given its size and influence, RIL doesn't need the media for that, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekhar.
The way video is being watched and monetised is changing. This is the first thing that stands out as the penetration of smart TVs continues to rise.
DD Freedish is the 'largest TV platform in India', going to 58 million homes, featuring 70-odd private channels. DD Freedish reaches about 278 million people, and is easily among the top five TV platforms in the world.
As of December 2021, Netflix India stood at an estimated 5 million subscribers against 46 million for Disney+Hotstar and 19 million for Amazon Prime Video.
'Advertising this season will help IPL surpass $550 million in ad revenues, across digital and pay TV.' 'It should still represent a steep loss against annualised 2023-2027 IPL rights fees of $1.2 billion.'
Its success script: Investing more in local content ecosystem; growing its partnership footprint.
With three key subscription drivers -- F1, IPL and HBO -- gone, can Disney+Hotstar depend only on its chart-topping originals like Criminal Justice and Rudra: Edge of Darkness to hit both scale and profitability?
'There is so much talk about Netflix and what they should be doing.' 'In two years, SonyLIV has done what Netflix should be doing.'
Netflix is reminiscent of Star TV in the 1990s: Very Western in its gaze, very expensive, and clueless, notes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
'The opening up of theatres is well-timed to coincide with the festival season and give a big push. We expect box office collections to reach 2019 levels when they stood at Rs 10,000 crore.' Surajeet Das Gupta reports.
Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad account for 33% of the total active paid subscriptions.
Operating margins (Ebitda) for the Indian television sector have fallen from 25 per cent to 13 per cent over the past four years, says a report released by Media Partners Asia.
Kalanithi Maran's Sun Network and Subhash Chandra's Zee Entertainment, the two homegrown media companies, have maintained their number one and two positions, respectively, in the Asia-Pacific pay broadcaster ranks for the second year in a row.
The latest Media Partners Asia analysis on India says TV advertising will grow only 6.5 per cent in 2009, as against 15.6 per cent in 2008. However, MPA expects TV advertising to rebound to 8.7 per cent growth in 2010. Of the Rs 20,000 crore-plus advertising industry, television advertising alone accounts for 45-47 per cent. Overall, MPA predicts that advertising growth may drop to 5.4 per cent in 2009, after a 20 per cent-plus growth in 2006 and 2007.
For years it has been evident that fibre and DTH would give tough competition to cable in India where regulatory overload has mutilated an already warped industry structure. OTT added fuel to the fire. From Rs 27,000 crore in 2010, cable's share of subscription revenues is now estimated at Rs 13,000 crore.
If Indian storytelling can deliver, it can make the entertainment industry an engine of economic growth and a substantial contributor to GDP, says Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
From convincing film-makers to do shows for online, to having a slate with some of the best films and shows, Amazon Prime Video has come a long way since it came to India four years ago.
'In the lockdown, family viewing became even more important.' 'Kids saw adult content and adults saw a lot of kids content.' 'The audience is no longer just the housewife, but the whole family.'
The argument that the pandemic has given a boost to streaming video is fallacious. Only three OTTs saw a rise in viewership; the others fell.
'Why was PKL scheduled bang in the middle of festivals and big film releases?' asks Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
Trai plans to allow consumers to change operators without changing set-top box
Harvard, age and experience have changed Ekta Kapoor in ways that will stand her in good stead as she attempts the biggest transformation Balaji Telefilms has seen.
As returns from fiction fall, broadcasters are experimenting with high-cost programming and new genres to grab more eyeballs. But can production houses rise to the challenge?
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