



OTT enters mass era: Why family-friendly TV shows now rule India's streaming charts
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Mass-market television shows that cater to families and universal audiences are topping OTT viewership charts, proving that streaming has now entered what experts refer to as a period of ‘massification’ with the medium no longer restricted to urban, upmarket audiences. According to media consulting firm Ormax, the list of top 10 most-watched OTT properties in India for the week ended 8 February included titles originally made for TV such as Naagin season seven on JioHotstar (4.5 million views), Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah on YouTube and SonyLIV (3.8 million views) and Pati Brahmachari on the YouTube channel of Dangal TV (3.1 million views).
Experts said this has more to do with who is now watching OTT and less to do with tastes changing overnight. The early phase of streaming in India was urban, English or Hindi-first and driven by originals. That audience is largely saturated.
Now, OTT has become the default screen for a much wider group—families, older viewers and people who were earlier loyal to TV. “As OTT penetration deepens beyond metros, this phase can fairly be described as one of massification, not because audience tastes are being diluted, but because a much larger and more diverse cohort is entering the OTT ecosystem. These viewers are seeking stories that feel familiar, emotionally rooted, and easy to engage with," said Raghavendra Hunsur, chief content officer at ZEE5 and ZEEL (Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd).
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