The OTT industry has witnessed a breakthrough year and has seen an unprecedented rise in consumption as consumers across the country were restricted to their homes. Indian OTT platforms are no exception to this. ALTBalaji, that positions itself as 'OTT of the masses' because of its Hindi 'masaledaar' content for India and the Hindi-speaking diaspora, has been on top of the charts, attracting significant subscribers.

According to Divya Dixit, SVP of Revenue & Marketing, ALTBalaji, being from the house of Balaji Telefilms, the platform has an advantage unlike no other- of having a deep understanding and familiarity with the viewer's consumption pattern. 

In conversation with BW Marketing World, Dixit spoke about the overall OTT industry, impact of the second-wave on business, relevant & engaging content and more. 

Excerpts:

Q) How has the pandemic re-defined the OTT industry? What overall impact will the second wave have on the business?

With the mini lockdown in place and increased time in hands for our audience, we have witnessed increased viewership and the time spent consuming our content across metros and non-metros. We are currently catering to a user base of 9 million+. ALTBalaji's engagement metrics have risen from 60 minutes in Q3 FY21 to 83 minutes now, and we are seeing a surge in subscriptions again. The second wave has scaled up the OTT content consumption game, making binge-watching the new phenomena.

Q) How do you differentiate yourself in a market which continues to see a surge of OTT players?

Our focus remains on our long-term plan of creating unique narratives and out-of-the-box Indian originals for our masses. Compared to our counterparts, we offer affordable pricing of less than 80 paise per day (Rs 300 per year) at this age and day. Being from the house of Balaji Telefilms, which have been catering to the consumer's ever-changing taste & preferences for over 25 glorious years now, ALTBalaji has an advantage unlike no other of having a deep understanding and familiarity with the viewer's consumption pattern. At ALTBalaji, we have the most extensive Hindi originals library of 79+ Indian originals that enthral the audience. With a plethora of diverse content bouquets spanning multiple genres, our programming has something for everyone.

Q) Take us through your marketing objectives in terms of brand positioning?

ALTBalaji positions itself as OTT of the masses – Hindi Masaledaar Content for India and Hindi Speaking Diaspora. Our numbers support our marketing objective as 59% of our app viewership last quarter came from the Bharat audience (non-metros). With a strategy to focus on youth programming for the country, ALTBalaji's offerings include premium, disruptive content, and original series across genres.

Being an OTT platform, digital is our sell point, and digital medium like social media becomes highly dominant to engage with our audiences. We have been aggressively pushing content through social media while interacting with the users. Influencers outreach is yet another essential element of our strategy where they act as a medium to communicate our message to the audience. We believe that organic noise will far outdo paid noise. Our strategy is simple, PR and social media is for organic acquisition, the noise & the buzz, and what we pay for digital is for customer acquisition. We work using this strategy, and it helps us keep our budget well aligned.

Q) Now that lockdowns are being imposed, what is the engagement that you are seeing on your platform?

As per our Q3FY21 results, we added 22,000 subscribers daily and are currently catering to an active subscriber base of 2.1 million. Our engagement metrics, too, have surged from 60 minutes in Q3FY21 to 83 minutes now in this highly competitive market. With the increase in appetite to consume our mixed bouquet of originals, we are currently witnessing a 15-20% surge in viewership as the time spent consuming our content across urban and tier 2, 3 audiences.

Q) What will stand out for OTT content in 2021?

In the current era of continuous WFH and lockdown status, OTT has earned widespread acceptance globally. Worldwide, the over-the-top (OTT) market registered a revenue of nearly $110.1 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to grow at a 19.1% CAGR surpassing $438.5 billion by 2026, according to a report by Research Dive. “Content gone digital” is the mantra that has gripped the globe and is driving the growth and revenue in double digits.

Competition across the OTT landscape is ever increasing, with everyone trying to enter the audience's minds. As per our analysis, the popular genres on our platforms across socio-economic and demographics include a healthy mix of crime thrillers, murder mystery, romance, youth drama, comedy, among others.