In a landscape that has seen colossal shifts toward digital consumption, India’s streaming market has been an arena of fierce content battles and innovative storytelling. The past year of 2023 has been no exception, bringing forth a myriad of shows and films that vied for the attention and adulation of the Indian audience. Grasping the pulse of this dynamic market, Ormax Media released an enlightening report encapsulating the streaming consumption habits in North India.
Painting a picture of entertainment preferences, the report highlighted the Hindi web series that had viewers glued to their screens. At the helm of this digital wave were series such as ‘Farzi’, an intricate tale of duplicity and strategy, ‘The Night Manager’, an espionage thriller with a Bollywood twist, ‘Taaza Khabar’, a gripping narrative full of unpredictable twists, and ‘Asur Season 2’, which continued its blend of mythology and murder mystery. These shows not only topped the charts but also showcased the diversity and depth of Indian storytelling prowess.
The allure of the silver screen has always held sway, and even in the realm of streaming, cinematic experiences played a starring role. Films like ‘Bawaal’, ‘Bloody Daddy’, and ‘Gulmohar’ broke viewership records, each bringing a unique flavor and proving that eclectic narratives have a home on streaming platforms. Viewers showed a penchant for both high-octane action and poignant drama, demonstrating the versatile tastes of the Indian audience.
Reality television and talk shows also had their moment in the streaming sun. ‘Bigg Boss OTT 2’ captured the nation’s attention with its heightened drama and voyeuristic appeal, while ‘Koffee with Karan Season 8′ continued to serve up celeb revelations and spicy conversations, solidifying their positions as unmissable entertainment.
International content was not just a blip on the radar but a significant contender for Indian viewers’ screen time. Shows like ‘Citadel’, ‘The Mandalorian Season 3’, and ‘Sex Education Season 4’ catered to the growing appetite for diverse narratives from around the globe. What’s more, international streaming films like ‘Extraction 2’, ‘Heart of Stone’, and even the concert feature ‘BTS: Yet to Come’ cemented their global appeal by resonating profoundly with domestic audiences.
Ormax Media’s detailed exploration of the Indian OTT landscape began around 2018-19 and has since become a benchmark for understanding trends and preferences. Their latest offering, “Streaming Originals in India: The 2023 story,” delves into these consumption patterns, examining Hindi language originals and popular international entries. This is achieved through a comprehensive analysis across three critical dimensions – Viewership, Marketing Buzz, and Content Strength. The meticulous methodology that stands behind this survey is thoroughly detailed for anyone keen to dive deeper, available in the report that can be downloaded and scrutinized at leisure.
India has been a crucible of stories for centuries, an affinity that has seamlessly transitioned from oral traditions to the digital stream. The Ormax report not only provides a snapshot of this transition in the past year but also underscores the changing face of consumption, where the line between local and global content blurs, unified by the universal language of compelling storytelling. As platforms jostle to deliver content that captivates and movements like “watch local” gain momentum, the streaming history of India continues to be written with each series, each film, and each unscripted show.
