Are the OTT Platforms reshaping the future of the telcos?

Ever since the popularization of the OTT platforms, India has been gracious in adopting this new platform for its daily entertainment dosage. But ever since the national lockdown due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole country has welcomed the OTT platforms with wide-open arms. Even the OTT platforms are catching the fancy of the regular TV viewers. In fact, as per a report by the EY-FICCI, it is said that by 2020, 10% of the total TV subscription market in India would be of OTT.

This automatically means that the telecom industry will become a thriving industry in the next few years. The industry is the primary player in the distribution and consumption of OTT content. Therefore, it can be safely assumed that the OTT platforms will play a key role in reshaping the telcos.

For the last six months, the country consumed increasing data each day as work-from-home became the new ‘normal’. The children too have been heavily dependent on the internet as they have been taking their daily school lessons online. Other than this, even the big movies are releasing on the OTT platforms. With no certainty of the opening of the movie theatres and plexes, every major release is slated to happen on the OTT platforms. All of these have contributed to a sudden sharp rise in data consumption throughout the country.

How the telecom industry is tapping into the high demand for data?

In a study, it is seen that India is one of the top markets for entertainment apps and platforms. Therefore, it is a no-brainer that the various telecom services are offering plans which integrate the country’s newfound fondness for OTT platforms and TV streaming services.

Several major telecom services have adopted a fresh path to integrate the services of the OTT platforms. For example, Reliance’s Jio brand launched a broadband service, JioFiber, the subscription to which guarantees membership of multiple OTT platforms. Airtel too followed a similar path with Xstream Bundle. The Xstream Bundle promises customers of blazing speed, unlimited data, access to almost all the OTT platforms and content, etc.

Besides the above, these telecom services are also offering a first of its kind 4K TV box. These set-top boxes not only are used to deliver better quality audio-visual content but also can transform a non-smart TV into a smart one. More so, these brands have tapped into the general trend of the exponential rise in the demand of OTT platforms.

The major telecom services, sensing a golden opportunity, have been working incessantly to make data and entertainment accessible to all. Through their plans and services, they are aiming to capitalize on this stupendous data consumption growth. They are simultaneously looking at ways to make data more accessible to people in the long term.

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