The television industry has seen its viewership increase, more particularly on free-to-air television, as content quality is not far from what pay TV channels offer and also because the mandatory digitisation in the country is making price-sensitive consumers opt for less expensive options. How do the Indian media groups implement new strategies to remain competitive?

Besides this, competition in the TV industry has increased in recent months with the entrance of more free-to-air channels and new international players such as Amazon and Netflix. To face this competition, and follow the digital consumption trend, media groups have decided to shut down some of their TV networks and switch all of their content towards their online platforms. This was the case of Zindagi, the premium Hindi entertainment channel of Zee TV. In June 2017, Zee TV announced that all of Zindagi’s catalogue would only be available through its video-on-demand (VOD) platform, Ozee. Meanwhile, Sun TV Network chose to increase its content distribution on other devices by launching Sun NXT, an online platform where viewers can watch their favourite TV programmes anytime, anywhere and on any device.

Increasing the availability and distribution of content is one of the many dynamics media groups should have to stay competitive. Besides doing this, some media groups have entirely revamped their TV channels, such as Star India which just recently renamed and rebranded its 2nd general entertainment TV channel and relaunched it as “Star Bharat”. Star India, not only modified the name and logo of the TV channel, but also modified its editorial line and TV scheduling.

All of these changes were made by adding local elements with which Indian audiences could identify. For instance, Star Bharat came up with a strong editorial line that linked traditions and modern entertainment by preparing the musical show “Om Shanti Om”, a mix of devotional music with trendy music. Zee TV, instead, bet on an already locally established production by launching “Kumkum Bhagya”, the spin-off of its popular series “Kundali Bhagya” and relying on an established fan base

The content offer has intensified as the prime-time slot has increased with the addition of an early prime time slot (starting at 6pm) that goes on until midnight. Thus, broadcasters have entered a competition that requires the production of “original” content to attract audiences. For instance, Zee TV recently launched “Bhootu”, a series that tells the story of Pihu a seven-year-old girl who looks for her mother not knowing she is herself death.

Likewise, other broadcasters are betting more on visual effects such as Sony Entertainment Television which recently launched “Vighnaharta Ganesha”, a mythological drama production that is using Motion Capture technology for television for the first time. Due to its rapidly growing economy, large population, the multitude of languages and the emerging middle class, India is one of the most attractive markets. With more than 670 million potential viewers and 153.5 million households measured, it is the 2nd world TV market.

To find out more about the Indian TV market, Eurodata TV Worldwide offers an in-depth analysis report called “TV Market Analysis report – Focus India”. For further information on this report, please contact us!

Source: Eurodata TV Worldwide - Relevant Partners / NOTA International TV Trends.