MUMBAI: With the number of digitally connected audiences consuming content in Hindi rising, this emerging trend in the country sees ALTBalaji, one of the country’s leading homegrown OTT platforms, yet again scale new heights. Owing to the rapid internet proliferation and digitization in the hinterlands, this demand for Hindi originals has seen the platform’s viewership rise exponentially in May 2020 compared to the figures from May 2019. As per data collected from more than 1800 cities and towns, ALTBalaji garnered a 60 per cent rise in viewership and a 21 per cent growth in MAU (Monthly Active Users). With the Hindi market booming and content consumption headed for sharp growth, these numbers are a growing testament to ALTBalaji conquering the important HSM audience based in Bharat.
The cities that raked in a two-fold growth in May compared to the same month last year include Patna, Ranchi, Shimla, Jodhpur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Gaya, to name a few. These cities are yet another indicator of the Hindi language subset growing faster than any other spoken language in the country, which represents an increase in new users being added to the user base at a rapid pace. These numbers further attest to an industry report by KPMG titled - ‘Unravelling the digital video consumer’ whose findings reveal that 64% of India’s digital video consumers prefer consuming content in Hindi.
On the growth, ALTBalaji CEO and Balaji Telefilms group COO Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “This rise in viewership is a growing testament to the huge untapped Tier 2,3 & 4 markets for OTT players. At ALTBalaji, we are focusing on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi speaking markets and cement our position as a leader in this segment. By tapping into these hinterlands, we’ve realized the growing demand for Hindi originals that those audiences find immensely relatable. This has helped us understand our viewers better and led to us curating more engaging and entertaining offerings that resonate with them.”
With a vast library of 60+ originals across genres that cater to all kinds of audiences, the shows at ALTBalaji are a mix of thriller, drama, romance, youth drama, horror, comedy amongst others. Each show present on the platform or in the pipeline has been created keeping in mind the audience’s interest across demographic and sociographic segments. Romantic dramas like Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, It Happened in Calcutta, Baarish, Dil Hi To hai etc enjoy a growing fandom amongst women in the 25-45 years TG. While on the other hand, thrillers like Apharan, Ragini MMS, Code M are consumed by men in the 22- 45 age bracket. In addition to the above, shows such as Mentalhood, The Test Case, MOM: Mission Over Mars, Bose: Dead/ Alive, The Verdict - State vs Nanavati are being consumed extensively by urban Indians across all age groups.
