Divya Dixit on ALT Balaji’s success march through Hindi-speaking hinterlands

It has been a satisfying year for ALTBalaji. During the year, the homegrown streamer launched about 19 shows this year in spite of lockdown-induced production issues. It has endeared itself to the Hindi-speaking markets with relatable content, which ensured 100% year-on-year growth in hinterland markets. Currently catering to an MAU base of 10+ million, ALTBalaji has sold 2.9 million subscriptions in H1 alone with an audience engagement metrics of 83 minutes per day. “Our ability to churn out new content quickly has been an asset. The platform also sees a deep audience engagement as well as audience retention owing to the diverse content bouquet of different genres catering to varied audiences at a very reasonable pricing strategy,” said Divya Dixit, SVP, Marketing & Revenue, ALTBalaji, in an interview with adgully.com. According to her, the Hindi hinterlands are the major contributors to the growth in ALTBalaji's subscriptions, with its content strategy and pipeline addressing these masses for the future. Excerpts:

How has 2021 been for ALTBalaji? What were the key trends that shaped the streaming ecosystem?

The year 2021 has been quite a whirlwind of a year for everyone, including ALTBalaji. Currently catering to an MAU base of 10+ million, we have sold 2.9 million subscriptions in H1 alone, in this highly competitive OTT business. The platform also sees an audience engagement metrics of 83 minutes per day, with different genres catering to varied audiences. At ALTBalaji, we constantly sought content, technology, and marketing innovation. Most of our audiences come from Hindi-speaking markets, which, in turn, pushes ALTBalaji to provide their audience with the blockbuster entertaining content they want to watch, whenever and wherever.

Out of our extensive list of shows, the highest-rated and most-watched series consist of ‘Cartel’, ‘The Married Woman’, ‘Broken But Beautiful 3’, ‘Girgit’, ‘Puncch Beat Season 2’, ‘His Storyy’, ‘Main Hero Boll Raha Hu’ and many more. Our recent action-thriller web series ‘Cartel’ was rated at 8.2; ‘Broken But Beautiful 3’ at 8.7, and ‘Main Hero Boll Raha Hu’ at 8.7 on IMDB. Our romantic series ‘Broken But Beautiful 3’ have been picked up as a case study since the show achieved 180 million viewers with 220 million impressions through our marketing campaign. With 89+ originals, the shows cater to all kinds of audiences with a mix of thriller, crime, drama, romance, youth drama, horror, comedy and more. The year 2021 saw the rise in short-format videos which became extremely popular, and it appears as if they are here to stay. OOH and influencer engagement has increased comparatively. Multiple brand partnerships are a trend ALTBalaji has spearheaded this year and is something we look to experiment with constantly.

What was the USP that differentiated you from the rest?

We work very hard on our content library and constantly strive to upgrade, and we have always believed that content is king. Our ability to churn out new content quickly has been an asset. We launched about 19 shows this year despite production issues due to lockdown. The platform also sees a deep audience engagement as well as audience retention owing to the diverse content bouquet of different genres catering to varied audiences at a very reasonable pricing strategy. The Hindi hinterlands are the major contributors to the growth in ALTBalaji’s subscriptions, and ALT content strategy and pipeline will address these masses for the future. ALTBalaji has always striven for content democracy.

While we saw a spike in numbers coming from Hindi-speaking markets, including Lucknow, Indore, Ludhiana, Bhopal, Guwahati, Raipur, Mohali, Jalandhar, to name a few, we also observed an increase in consumption in metros like Delhi. ALTBalaji’s relentless efforts to make the content relatable to everyone has further increased its viewership in other regions previously untouched by OTT. As a result, we have seen a 100% year-on-year growth in the hinterland markets.

What are your plans, including content strategy, for 2022? How important is it to explore new genres and audiences to stay ahead of competition?

We are always on the lookout for new talent and open to narratives that send out important social messages as well ALTBalaji has an advantage unlike no other of having a deep understanding and familiarity with the viewer's consumption patterns. We have multiple kinds of programming target groups. One for female audiences, specifically in the drama genre for the urban masses including, ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain’, ‘Baarish’, ‘Crashh’, ‘Mentalhood’, etc. For the underserved male audiences between 18-40, who only love sports on digital platforms, we offer unique content like ‘Apharan’, ‘Bichhoo ka Khel’, ‘Love Scandal Doctors’, ‘Bang Baang’, to name a few. Shows like ‘MOM: Mission Over Mars’, ‘Code M’, ‘The Test Case’, ‘Bose: Dead v/s Alive’, ‘The Verdict - State v/s Nanavati’ are for the third segment, the urban Indian and international audiences and then the underserved youth with shows like ‘Dev DD’, ‘Puncch beat’, ‘Class of 2020’, ‘Medically Yourss’,  ‘Crashh’, etc.

We will always track the latest trends and the shifts in consumer behaviour to expand and innovate our portfolio via our digital mapping and retention tools and strategies. Also, simplifying and easing the user experience will remain a top priority.