Streaming industry shifts to consolidation mode amid rising costs, competition and clutter
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Some consolidation efforts are underway in the streaming content space as smaller platforms struggle with rising costs and programming clutter in what has so far largely been a fragmented industry.Shemaroo Entertainment has acquired the library of regional platform OHO Gujarati, while Vibhu Agarwal-owned Atrangii OTT has tied up with Amazon MX Player for distribution. Saregama India acquired a majority stake in digital entertainment company Pocket Aces Pictures in 2023.
In October, Amazon said it acquired certain assets of MX Player, including the MX Player app, a free streaming OTT service.Experts say these efforts were inevitable because far too many entities were struggling for user attention with no real differentiation. Be it library acquisition or distribution deals, these are steps towards a maturing, less fragmented industry.“It reflects the larger reality of the content business today.
Demand for content is strong, but the business needs sharper monetization, capital discipline and long-term conviction,” said Saurabh Srivastava, chief operating officer - digital business at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd.What this signals is a maturing of the content business, Srivastava added. A few years ago, scale was often pursued with each platform trying to build everything on its own.
What’s happening now is a more measured approach of assessing how existing strengths can be combined to deepen consumer value and improve monetization.“For ShemarooMe, the OHO Gujarati library acquisition was less about adding volume and more about making the proposition more rounded. ShemarooMe already had strong depth in Gujarati content.
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