In 2018, streaming video surge in India will go even more regional

Much has already been written about how digital video became mainstream and the media landscape changed forever in 2017. The ubiquitous smartphone, reduced data prices, better networks, availability of premium content for free (read ad-supported) and of course changing consumer habits have played their role in this.
 
How is the streaming video market evolving in 2018? I have listed six trends that we see shaping the market over the next couple of years.
 
Streaming video will only go one way—even more regional and vernacular: The biggest growth in media consumption in India has happened, when one publishes or programmes in local language. Print, radio and TV have seen this and streaming video is no different. For example, VOOT already gets 25 per cent of its consumption on regional languages and we have a target of taking it to 40 per cent in the next 12-15 months. It’s not just content that will go regional, but the entire user experience itself will change to be available across local languages. This will include navigation, meta data and search.
 
Advertisers will plan for video (not just TV or streaming): The big change on the anvil is the measurement of streaming video by industry body BARC. This will not only give a 3rd party/neutral and comparable measurement for these OTT services, but will also enable one to compute unduplicated reach among each other. Most importantly BARC will enable a unified view of TV+streaming for content and audiences. This will truly unlock the advertising value for the large streaming services like VOOT.
 
Disruption on the big screen via high speed wired broadband + affordable streaming devices: The advent of 4G and cheap smartphones changed the video consumption landscape forever in India, making mobile the first screen for many. The impact is huge for a country dominated by single TV homes (95 per cent). And while streaming video (via mobile) is projected to reach 500 million over the next three-four years, the next big tsunami may be not very far away. 100 mbs+ speeds for wired broadband services to power your smart TVs and streaming sticks/boxes are here and will soon be widely marketed. These services allow you to stream HD (and even 4k) quality video on your large screens at affordable prices (Rs 500-2,000 per month). This backed by affordable streaming boxes/sticks (starting at Rs 3,000) can convert any TV to be smart.
 

Gaurav Gandhi, Chief operating officer, Viacom18 Digital Ventures

All about speech and assistants: There is little doubt that the future interface for most internet-enabled devices will be voice-enabled. Conversational UIs will dominate across services and benefit digital video immensely, especially as entertainment crosses literacy boundaries. The mobile phone (800 million) already reaches more than TV does, and smartphone penetration (300 million) is growing very fast. As services go deeper, they would need local language UIs and then eventually conversational UIs. Instructing your phone/app to search for your favourite show in your own language will be a mainstream activity. Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri and Cortana are all set to make our lives and content viewing much easier and more fun.
 
Super-apps, OEM aggregated services will make discovery and viewing easy: Internet has spoilt you with choice. There is much to watch but it is across apps. How do we make this easier-from search and even subscription points of view? Super-apps (that integrate with several key apps-either for search or subscription) will emerge. The OEMs (particularly of smart TVs and streaming devices) will integrate the key apps and make search for content easy.
 
On smart TVs, live linear and on-demand will seamlessly co-exist on TV apps of broadcasters.
 
How about making every consumer a distributor of content?
 
While we are still in the early days of streaming video impacting viewing behaviour, another digital distribution model could come up. Using blockchain (yes, blockchain), we could create an “Amway of content distribution”. Users will be incentivised to distribute paid content and rewarded for the entire chain’s uptake of the show/film. Public ledger (via blockchain) will enable trust and common record keeping. A commission structure will incentivise distribution and DRMs will ensure content safety and piracy prevention. We may not see this fully shaping up in 2018, but early experiments are set to start.