Zee5 to ward off international giants Netflix, Disney by adding more local content

GUWAHATI: Zee5, the top domestic streaming platform will fight off competition from of international giants Netflix, Disney by focusing on local contents.

The domestic company will also improve on its market share by giving lower price options.

“International OTTs have neither legacy nor library with depth,” Chief Executive Officer Tarun Katial told media during an interview.

“We can win this content battle,” he added while highlighting that Zee5 has produced more than 100 original shows in several local languages, which is at least 10 times more than any of its rivals.

International giants from abroad have been competing with each other to capture India’s growing market.

It is worth mentioning that just last year, in a $71 billion deal with 21st Century Fox, the Walt Disney Company is now the owner of Indian TV giant Star, a Mumbai-based media company with dozens of sports and entertainment channels.

Besides Star India, the acquisition has most of Rupert Murdoch’s former empire including 21st Century Fox’s film production businesses, including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Family and Fox Animation; Fox’s television creative units, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21; FX Networks; National Geographic Partners; Fox Networks Group International. The deal also made Disney the owner of Tata Sky and Endemol Shine Group.

Last year, Netflix finally launched the cheapest subscription plan in India on Wednesday.

The plan is worth Rs 199 and is valid for a month.

India is a massive long-term opportunity for streaming-video subscriptions. Subscription video on demand revenue is expected to climb from million last year to billion in 2023. That’s fueled by the continued expansion of internet access, particularly through mobile phones, in the world’s second-most-populous country.

But for Netflix to grab a share of that billion market opportunity, it needs to establish a fan base. It’s increased spending on local content faster than in any other market, but that content doesn’t do it any good if nobody’s watching it and telling their friends about it.

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