Revenues from India ’s premium video-on-demand sector surged by 38% to generate $1.04 billion in the first half of this year, compared with $760 million in the first half of 2023. Local content, especially live sports, were the dominant programming categories, across the country’s ad-supported (AVOD), freemium and paid subscription (SVOD) services, according to a new report.
Using data collected by the AMPD passive measurement system, consultancy firm Media Partners Asia , said that 8 trillion minutes of content were streamed in India between January and June. YouTube dominated the Indian streaming landscape, capturing 92% of all online video consumption, while premium platforms accounted for the remaining 8%. Within that premium video segment, with its 645 billion minutes streamed, freemium platforms led with 92% segment viewing time share.
In India’s vast and price sensitive market, premium and SVOD platforms, in particular, still have a tiny market share, but enjoy a high profile due to their disproportionately strong revenues. Sports content attracted the highest number of unique viewers, with nine of the top 15 titles belonging to the sports genre. Cricket was the standout, as IPL 2024 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 were the top two sports properties, driving significant viewership.
This underlines the importance of the dispute between Disney India and Zee Entertainment Enterprises over a collapsed cricket rights deal, and also the regulatory interest in th.