

The great Indian OTT reset: why original shows are dwindling
streaming business is unsold inventory and falling acquisition prices, as studios are sitting on hundreds of crores of ready‑to‑release films and 40‑45 web series that no buyer wants.OTT revenues in India are estimated to be around ₹37,000 crore, in a mix of advertising and subscriptions.Meanwhile, the overall content spend has been halved and per‑episode costs are now benchmarked against TV rates, forcing producers to do more with less. Plus, the number of Indian originals has gone down, with many creators switching back to feature films, because a premium series can take over a year to develop.The rapid commissioning spree also created a shortage of experienced writers, directors and crew, hurting quality and making it difficult to scale new projects.Still, 2025 has witnessed intense licensing wars for theatrical releases.
According to primary market research and media services provider Chrome Data Analytics & Media, Netflix acquired rights to 84 movies, while JioHotstar, including Disney and Marvel titles, licensed 127 movies.“The OTT market isn’t slowing, it’s recalibrating. Our data shows rising content supply and aggressive licensing activity across platforms.
The shift is toward sharper positioning, regional depth and disciplined monetization with streaming now firmly embedded in the broader cinema economy,” said Pankaj Krishna, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Chrome Data Analytics & Media.Calling the decline in OTT originals a result of market correction and consolidation, Pratap Jain, founder and CEO, Chana Jor OTT, said that after a phase of aggressive commissioning during 2020-2023, platforms are now prioritizing profitability over expansion. The focus has shifted from scale to sustainability.
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