OTT is revolutionising the content landscape by introducing a segment that is simultaneously transformative and additive in terms of depth and reach, according to Kiran Mani, CEO- Digital, JioStar. Applauding production houses and creators for bringing big-screen quality content to small screens and homes, he emphasised that this shift would not have been possible without the OTT revolution.
Internet and Mobile Association of India’s (IAMAI) 19th edition of India Digital Summit (IDS) had Mani and EY India’s Media and Entertainment Leader, Ashish Pherwani discussing ‘Access, Experiences, and Content Innovation: Steering the Next Chapter of Entertainment in India’. The session discussed the opportunity to scale and leverage technology for last-mile access.
Pherwani set the stage by reflecting on the transformative strides made in the industry over the past year. He highlighted the successful launch of JioCinema Premium and the emergence of JioStar as a game-changing move that reshaped India’s digital entertainment landscape.
Mani, who moved back to India after a stint with several global tech companies like Google, where he worked for about 17 years, came back with a hunch, believing that India had probably hit its tipping point in terms of technological significance, consumption patterns, and even economic growth.
He said, “That was the assumption I made, but what I have witnessed in the last 12 months has exceeded my expectations by an order of margin. It’s been an exciting ride. I believe the underlying reasons for much of our success are tied to India’s incredible pace of growth.”
He said he grew up in an India that was always described as a ‘promise waiting to happen.’ Mani added, “That promise has materialised now, and we are living it. India today is truly a billion-screen connected audience, across small and large screens. The content explosion in India spans sports, entertainment, short-form creators, gaming- every form of content is thriving. Venture capitalists are present in nearly every part of this ecosystem, which is a testament to the growth we are experiencing.”
For Mani, the most exciting part is the underlying role that technology is playing, in not only bringing content together but also enabling users to interact with it in unprecedented ways. He stated that many of their successes have been outcomes of these underlying trends.
He further added, “We own the No. 1 and No. 2 user-platforms in India and we do believe that we are unapologetically for India, by India, and of India. We are now hoping to take the content strength and put it in the hands of many more people with access.”
Picking up from Mani’s insights, Pherwani revealed that digital had finally become the largest segment of the Indian M&E sector, and asked Mani if he sees subscription video on demand becoming a mass product. Mani addressed the above and said, “Digital viewership has undoubtedly exploded. For those of us who have been around in the old TV or network industry, it’s traditionally been a 100-150 million household penetration market. TV still holds relevance, and we are proud of our portfolio of channels that cater to this audience. However, the key part of digital is its addictive nature. Last year, the IPL alone saw 600 million viewers coming on the platform.”
What excites Mani most is the emergence of viewers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. “These are audiences accessing content for the first time via affordable devices like JioBharat priced at less than Rs 5,000. We live-streamed cricket on JioBharat, and 6 million viewers, who were previously content-dark, joined the platform.”
In Mani’s view, OTT is opening up a content segment that is both additive and transformative in the form of content depth or reach.
Steering the conversation towards subscriptions, he stated, “Regarding subscriptions, the industry must establish a sustainable economic model. Advertising alone cannot support premium content or great storytelling. Subscriptions haven’t even scratched the surface in India.”
“Of the 700 million+ OTT viewership base, subscriptions account for 60-70 million. The challenge lies in creating relevance and addressing issues like payment gateways, which in India are built for transactions, not mandates. To summarise, we need to unlock better economic models while ensuring sustainability for everyone in the ecosystem,” he asserted.
As Pherwani further directed the conversation towards innovation in subscription pricing, Mani responded by saying, “With JioCinema, we tried the Rs. 29 price point. Our strategy was very clear. The intent was to go to the consumer directly. JioCinema grew to 20 million subscribers in less than 6 months, making it the world’s fastest-growing subscription platform today. Along with that, we also have the No. 1 subscription platform in Hotstar where we are trying other experiments.”
Guiding the conversation to one of the most critical pillars in the media landscape, Pherwani remarked that the digital ad market in India is now valued at $9 billion. He quizzed Mani on how he envisioned advertising evolving in 2025, to which he responded, “Advertising is about reaching consumers and delivering value to advertisers. Our role is to ensure advertisers see impactful returns. India’s advertising market is poised for growth because the underlying economic model in India is waiting to explode. However, the current market still operates with archaic practices. Our industry has to change. We cannot come back and use the one-size-fits-all model.”
Mani further elaborated on the need to marry the heart and science of advertising. He explained, “We are a mass-reach platform. We are also a premium reach platform. At our platforms, we are focused on combining the heart of storytelling with the science of data-driven advertising. Performance marketing has its place, but overstated claims undermine its credibility. Informed, targeted, and outcome-driven marketing is where the real opportunity lies.”
Highlighting the critical role importance of data in 2027-2028, Mani noted, “Digital companies in India have expanded access for small businesses to reach consumers in various ways. Any business that has to do remotely with digital is based on data. We are at an inflection point in advertising. Technology now enables the seamless integration of consumer, content, and location data to deliver precise, outcome-driven results in real time. The real challenge is how quickly we can align data science with actionable outcomes.”
Reflecting on the evolution and impact of content distribution, particularly with the rise of OTT platforms, Mani remarked, “Actually, kudos to the production houses, the creators who decided to bring big screen quality content into small screens and at homes. It could not have happened without the OTT revolution. You would not have been able to see the kind of quality of content coming in. I think there’s many of us, including myself, in the echo chambers and the big households that we live in. There’s an audience which deeply associates with pieces of content like Shiv Shakti and Naagin. Every large piece of content that you see on TV, is representative of having that aspiration come to life. Content shapes societies and aspirations.
When asked whether their innovative content delivery approach was a deliberate strategy or a result of trial and error, Mani pointed to their success with the Olympics. “Our success with the Olympics, where we expanded from a single curated feed to 20 concurrent feeds in six languages, resulting in a 7x viewership increase,” he explained. He emphasised that “Access isn’t just about streaming capacity; it’s about making content relatable.” He also highlighted a key shift, noting that Hindi had surpassed English as the top language for Hollywood content consumption in India.
As the discussion progressed, Pherwani observed that the industry was moving towards a content ecosystem deeply integrated with technology and data. Mani agreed, stating, “While technology cycles come and go, the power of compelling content remains constant. Technology investments are essential- not for their complexity but for the endless possibilities and simplicity they bring to consumers.”
Wrapping up the conversation, Mani shared his success mantra for growth. He said, “We all have a collective responsibility to make the industry more accessible and sustainable. It’s a nurturing and growing market. One has to be deeply invested in it.”
