65% of Video Consumption Coming from Rural India Courtesy of Affordable Data Plans from Jio

The video streaming market in India has exploded — thanks to Reliance Jio — with 65% of video consumption coming from rural India that has only 40% Internet connectivity, says TV Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum (BIF). According to him, the viewing habits have changed and digital service providers — from Netflix to Hotstar — are bombarding users with original videos-on-demand, threatening the very existence of Cable TV with a set-top box.

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“Unlike the common thought that urbanites are watching more content online, 65% video consumption is coming from the rural parts of the country thanks to cheap data plans, especially from Reliance Jio, and affordable smartphones. Those who cannot afford to buy a smart, connected TV are now streaming OTT content on phones,” Ramachandran told IANS.

Popular Indian digital service providers like Hotstar, ALT Balaji, Zee5, Voot, BigFlix, Sony LIV, Eros Now — apart from the global giants like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video — have flooded the smartphone screen.

There are currently more than 32 online content and video streaming platforms in the country and the market is expected to hit $5 billion by 2023, according to the global management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Riding the popularity of ultra-cheap data packs offered by Reliance Jio, which has amassed 280 million subscribers in a short time, India has emerged as the country that provides mobile data at the lowest rate in the world.

On a question about the debate of providing a “level playing field” between the telecom service providers (TSPs) and digital service providers, Ramachandran said it holds no merit. “Telcos have the network and data while OTT players are software-driven platforms. Telcos need to build a synergy with OTT players. There is no question of ‘level playing’ field as these are two different entities.