Experts weigh in on the big trends for the OTT industry in 2024

In 2023, the streaming landscape underwent a transformative journey, leaving an indelible mark on the industry’s trajectory. From the rise of local players to strategic manoeuvers by international platforms, the industry witnessed remarkable shifts in market dynamics and consumer behaviours.

Local streaming platforms witnessed a surge in popularity, driven by a keen understanding of cultural nuances and a targeted approach to content creation. From regional languages to culturally resonant narratives, local players carved out a niche, challenging the dominance of global giants. While local platforms flourished, international streaming giants navigated the Indian market with strategic finesse.

During the lockdown period, the streaming industry witnessed rapid growth. And that was understandably expected to slow down in 2023 as OTTs would now need to grow beyond the metros and Tier 1 towns, says Sanjay Trehan, Digital & New Media Advisor.

“While we are seeing flatlining in subscription growth, interestingly ARPUs have not fallen. This is primarily because in India, the subscription charges are already very low as compared to the global context. I think ‘Glocal’ and ‘Big Boys Playing’ are going to be two big themes for 2024, with Sony-ZEE merger and Jio-Walt Disney collaboration consolidating the industry,” adds Trehan.

Regarding the key trends in regional and culturally relevant content consumption among Indian audiences in 2023, he says that regional content consumption along with a spurt in locally rooted content production would definitely grow in 2024. “We are already witnessing this trend. This is aided by many factors: saturation of the metro markets, availability of better bandwidth along with highly cost-effective data rates in rural markets, proliferation of low-cost smartphones, increase in culturally relevant content, dialect-based content growing (case in point: STAGE OTT) and the rising aspirations of people. One study estimates that regional OTT consumption would surpass Hindi by 2025,” notes Trehan.

Tune into tech

The year 2023 witnessed an unprecedented surge in technological advancements that reshaped the way audiences engage with streaming platforms. From the seamless integration of personalisation technologies to the dynamic influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the streaming experience underwent a transformative journey. As we step into 2024, the horizon appears even more promising, with the anticipation of groundbreaking innovations set to redefine user satisfaction and accessibility in the Indian streaming domain.

From curated content recommendations to tailored user interfaces, streaming services leveraged advanced algorithms to understand and anticipate user preferences, creating a bespoke entertainment journey for each viewer. This section explores the key personalisation tech trends that dominated 2023 and how they have elevated the streaming experience for users.

The streaming industry experienced a significant transformation in 2023, driven by advancements in personalisation technology, points out Jay Ganesan, Senior Vice Presidet Sales, APAC, Amagi. These advancements, powered by complex algorithms, have facilitated a more personalised and captivating content experience for users. With growing penetration of CTV in India and more hours spent on streaming to CTV, new formats of content consumption like FAST opened opportunities on personalisation not just in terms of content, but also advertising.

According to Sanjay Binyala, Executive Vice President and Head of DCX - India, Capgemini, 2023 saw personalisation technology significantly change the streaming experience for users.

“By tuning into individual preferences, OTT providers are now able to curate content that resonates well with their viewers’ unique interests. For instance, the sports industry has seen a shift in increased utilisation of OTTs and streaming platforms. As per Capgemini Research Institute’s report, titled Tech in Sports: ‘A whole new ball game: Why sports tech is a game changer’, 84% of sports fans surveyed have stated that technology has elevated their overall viewing experience at home when compared with the in-venue viewing experiences from 2019 to present,” he adds.

AI-ML integration

The integration of AI and ML technologies represented a major milestone in the user experience on OTT platforms, particularly in the realms of content recommendations, points out Jay Ganesan. “These technologies have empowered platforms to analyse large volumes of user data, enabling them to offer tailored content suggestions that enhance user engagement. With more and more viewers coming to streaming not just for “Lean Forward Content”, but also “Lean Back Content”, FAST channels is a growing segment where AVoD and SVoD dominate streaming today. This has opened up new personalisation options in terms of personal Electronic Program Guides, multiple programming grid based on audience profile, etc., which would engage the audience further improving the monetisation opportunities for both content owners and OTT platforms,” he adds.

According to Sanjay Binyala, smart adjustments to recommendations and alerts have helped keep viewers updated with the latest streamed content. He further states that AI and Machine Learning are making these recommendations even more spot-on, hyper-personalising the whole user experience on OTT platforms.

“AI also employs smart optimisation methods to guarantee uninterrupted streaming. By dynamically adjusting video quality in real-time based on network conditions, device capabilities, and viewer preferences, it ensures a seamless experience, overcoming buffering pauses even with fluctuating internet speeds. AI not only benefits users, but also content creators in enhancing their creative process. AI analyses trends, audience preferences, and historical data, empowering creators to make data-driven decisions for captivating content. Capgemini has been enabling this for its clients by leveraging its Data-Driven Customer Experience offer,” says Binyala.

Regulations and more

For streaming platforms in India, 2023 proved to be a challenging yet transformative chapter, marked by significant regulatory changes. As the digital entertainment landscape continued to mature, streaming services faced a myriad of challenges and adjustments in compliance with regulations. From navigating legal complexities to ensuring content resonates with cultural sensitivities, the story of streaming in India is one that unfolds at the intersection of regulation and innovation.

Sanjay Trehan predicts that security, privacy, piracy and policy are the four key challenges that the OTT industry will face in 2024. As the industry grows, he adds, it needs to ensure that the user information remains sacrosanct and user privacy and confidentiality is not breached. “The proliferation of piracy needs to be checked as it eats away a significant portion of the network’s revenue and hurts the industry at many levels. The industry, on its part, needs to self-regulate and adhere to policy directives formed by, hopefully, an industry-government body. The ubiquity of OTT content would also place the additional responsibility on the players to ensure that age-appropriate content and culturally relevant content is aired. Self-regulation by the industry would help in a big way. In all, we are looking at interesting times ahead,” Trehan adds.

What is in store in 2024?

According to Trehan, short-form video and sachet-based entertainment will grow in 2024. “Enhanced personalisation due to harnessing of data analytics and AI and more culturally sensitive/ appealing content will grow. Device-agnostic seamless viewing experience will grow. Ad-supported models may also see growth, as evidenced by Netflix’s plan. However, this could introduce unique challenges and potentially complicate the landscape,” states Trehan.

Looking ahead at 2024, the Indian streaming industry is on the cusp of further evolution through AI-driven personalisation on both metrics above and across linear and VoD and on both content personalisation and ad personalisation, adds Jay Ganesan. He feels that the anticipated advancements in audience behaviour analysis and content creation strategies will harness advanced algorithms to provide even more accurate content suggestions, leveraging a comprehensive understanding of user behaviours and preferences.

The industry, according to Ganesan, will evolve to delve deeper into user data, extracting nuanced insights that enable providers to create content that resonates more effectively with their audiences, and also present audience with applicable channels, VOD content as well as relevant video and in-content advertisements that suit their interests. Overall, he adds, the impact of personalisation tech, AI, and ML in 2023 has been substantial, and in 2024, they are poised to further elevate user satisfaction and accessibility, shaping a more personalised and immersive streaming environment for Indian audiences.

Looking forward to 2024, observes Sanjay Binyala, these transformation technologies are only going to be more advanced. This means OTT providers can tailor shows and movies that hit the mark even more closely for each viewer. This, in turn, will enhance content creation strategies, fostering more engaging and targeted content for viewers.