Shemaroo plans Bollywood streaming service, looks past Netflix model

India's media and entertainment market is estimated to expand to more than Rs 2 trillion by 2020 from Rs 1.5 trillion in 2017

Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd has transitioned from renting DVDs to streaming movies online -- while the business model move may sound familiar, the company doesn’t want to be pigeonholed as an Indian Netflix Inc.

Shemaroo holds the rights to 3,500, mostly older Bollywood films, through which it earns TV licensing fees as well as advertising revenue from nearly 40 YouTube channels. While the Mumbai-based company is planning to start its own streaming application in the next six-to-nine months, throwing it into competition with Netflix and at least six other local and international rivals, it doesn’t see this as its endgame.

“Given the opportunities