Streaming’s small fish stay clear of original content rat race

While top video streaming operators invest heavily in creating original content, several smaller ones, both subscription video-on-demand operators such as Crunchyroll and MUBI and pay-per-view services like BookMyShow Stream, are pursuing a conservative approach, securing content only from third-party sources.

Media experts said the strategy sets them apart in a market with intense competition, escalating costs and a relentless pursuit of talent and script development.

According to Asa Suehira, chief content officer of Crunchyroll, it is all about knowing what customers want—adventure, mystery or fun—and delivering it when they arrive. “We acquire series that we know fans in India will enjoy, and then we explore better ways to serve those fans across touchpoints, be it through local language dubs or maybe even through event experiences. Our success allows us to invest in anime production and the overall anime ecosystem, but it’s not a lever we utilize in marketing or publicly tout,” Suehira said.

The platform, which is looking to expand its offerings, especially through the production of local language dubs in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, has seen sizeable subscription growth over the last year due to a growing library and additional dub offerings, Suehira added. The company sees India as the world’s second-largest anime market after the US and expects 60% of the global growth in the next few years in the category to come from the country.

Anuj Gandhi, the founder of media tech startup Plug and Play Entertainment, said that even if YouTube doesn’t commission its own content, adding content creation is a very expensive exercise. “It’s a bottomless pit, and not everyone can compete in the top league. For some, the aim is just to remain viable,” Gandhi said, adding that a lot of these services would probably see how things go in the short term before evaluating if the strategy is working from an Indian point of view.

Original content production requires massive expenses for talent acquisition, script development and production. As the market becomes increasingly cluttered, the costs of these endeavours continue to soar, making it less accessible for many.

However, the smaller companies believe their engaging and relevant offerings give them a legitimate foothold. Their more streamlined operations allow them to cater to a niche audience in a manner that larger conglomerates often find challenging. By not competing in the race for original content dominance, these services focus on delivering curated, third-party content that appeals to specific tastes and preferences.

Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer of cinemas at BookMyShow, said every streaming platform brings its own unique value proposition to the table. While some prioritize producing original content as a significant part of their strategy, other factors also strike the right chord with consumers.

“The Indian OTT landscape has become a heavily cluttered space, leaving consumers in a perpetual dilemma about how many subscriptions they can realistically manage. This is the challenge we are solving by scaling up the TVoD model in India, which enables the audience to ‘pay for what you watch’,” Saksena said, adding that when coupled with a content library featuring diverse offerings from around the world, the combination has proven effective in driving increased adoption.

Further, the company’s strategy is to provide a personalized and customized library that showcases content from around the world across genres and languages, Saksena pointed out.