HT MEDIA BRINGS TOGETHER 12 OTT PLATFORMS

HT Media has launched the ambitious OTT Play Premium service which aggregates multiple over the top (OTT) platforms under one roof with a single billing. The service has five subscription plans priced between Rs 999 per year and Rs 1999 per year.
OTT Play Premium has signed content partnerships with 12 OTT platforms, Sony LIV, ZEE5, Lionsgate Play, ShemarooMe, Sun NXT, FUSE+, Tastemade+, Curiosity Stream, Hallmark Movies Now, DUST, DocuBay, and ShortsTV.
HT Labs CEO & Co-Founder Avinash Mudaliar said that the target is to garner 1.5 million paid subscribers by the end of 2022 and then scale it up to 5 million subscribers by 2023. “We want to do at least 1.5 million towards the end of the year and ramp it up to 4-5 million next year,” he told IMPACT
OTT Play, which began as a personalised recommendation engine for movies and shows from 55+ OTT platforms, has 5 million unique visitors. “We are hoping that a part of this base will convert to paying subscribers. OTT Play Premium is a personalised recommendation engine,” he said.
The company will look at acquiring new users through marketing, affiliate, and partnerships. “We will explore every digital aspect to acquire new users. We will keep an eye on the cost per acquisition since we are an extremely numbers focussed organisation. We will also launch a brand-building exercise and that will also translate to conversations.”

As far as subscriber acquisition goes, OTT Play Premium will focus on Metro + Urban audiences. “We want to focus on regional content that’s a very key lever because India is a region-oriented market, but we don’t want to let go of prime paying subscribers,” he noted.
He also hopes to double the count of content partners on the platform going forward. “We want 12 OTT apps to become 25, which will include regional as well as international platforms. We are in talks with Disney+ Hotstar, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video also,” Mudaliar revealed.
Without divulging details, he said that the deal structures vary from platform to platform. 8 of the 12 apps are international with four of them, Hallmark Movies Now, FUSE+, Tastemade+, and DUST, making their debut in India.

Mudaliar said that OTT Play Premium has content for masses as well as classes. “There are so many OTT platforms in India. If we can bundle it all and give it at a price point which makes your wallet happy then we have solved a big problem,” he said.
OTT Play Premium subscription service supports content viewing on all screens and in multiple formats. “We have not launched it for Amazon Fire TV Stick, Android TV, and Apple TV but we will build for it. We will be launching it in a month,” Mudaliar informed.
He also noted that most of the recommendation engines are metatag oriented, however, what sets OTT Play Premium apart from others is the fact that it relies on super metatags as well as manual editorial input for giving content recommendations to users.
OTT Play offers over 25,000 pieces of regional and international content through various streaming services personalised to user preferences. The platform, Mudaliar said, has access to the entire library of on-demand and live TV content for all 12 OTT platforms.