Online TV market set for massive growth in India

Experts believe the opportunities in the online TV market in India is set to explode. Its growth has been driven by the wide availability of low-cost smartphones and rapidly improving coverage of mobile networks across the country, as 4G rolls out across major cities. 

Video content today accounts for roughly 40% of all mobile-data traffic in India. According to industry analysts, the demand for OTT video (Over the Top or online videos) will see a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 83% in the next five years. Speaking about the Chennai office’s role in its operations, Pan-India and globally, Ramesh Srinivasan, CEO, Ooyala, says, “Chennai is one of the top locations for technical talent in India. Our new office here will be instrumental in expanding the company’s global presence, providing another local team to support our growing Asia-Pacific customer base, and helping accelerate the rapid pace of innovation within the company. It will primarily be a R&D centre for us.” 

He adds, “We serve some of the largest media companies in India such as Star India and Viacom18. The latter uses Ooyala Pulse, our premium ad-server, to manage and deliver video ad campaigns across its new OTT service called Voot.” 

Elaborating on the growth potential of the online video industry, and the opportunities the company foresees, Srinivasan tells us, “Data from Ooyala’s latest Global Video Index report suggests that mobile viewing now represents 48% of all online view statistics, up 14% from a year ago and up 129% from 2014. Also, nearly one in five (18%) of all mobile views are now on tablets, marking the third consecutive quarter of growth for tablet viewership. The fragmentation of video viewing has caused an enormous challenge for content providers.” 

He goes on to say, “Today, they need to produce content that reaches millions of viewers consuming video on a deluge of different platforms and devices, deliver high-quality experiences on each one, monetise the content as well as measure audience engagement to make better decisions about their video business in the future. Ooyala helps large-scale broadcasters, operators, media companies, enterprises and brands tackle such challenges.”