Mumbai: Today the FTA channels are doing extremely well and channels like The QYOU Media India are giving the consumers of FTA content what they want to watch. Though connected TV is surging due to low data prices and the entry of JIO they are holding the fort. QYOU is now a major player in the digital landscape as well.

As Chief Executive Officer at QYOU Media India, India’s youngest and fastest-growing entertainment network, Simran leverages her experience and insights to provide strategic direction to create new opportunities for the company and drive organizational growth.5

Since her appointment, Simran has built a robust entertainment ecosystem for QYOU Media India. Under her aegis, the organisation has witnessed exponential growth in the industry with numerous milestones. With an experience of over two decades in the media industry, Simran is one of the youngest women in a senior C-level leadership role in India. 

One of the fastest-growing creator-media companies, QYOU Media operates in India and the United States producing, distributing and monetizing content created by social media influencers and digital content stars. In India, under our flagship brand, The Q, curates, produces and distributes premium content across television networks, VOD and OTT platforms, mobile phones, smart TV and app-based platforms. 

QYOU now has 5 emerging content destinations engaging over 125 million Indian households weekly – The Q (mass entertainment), Q Marathi (regional content), The Q Kahaniyan (animated content), The Q Comedistaan (comedy-focused) and our latest Q-GameX (live gaming). Our influencer marketing company, Chtrbox, has been a pioneer in India’s creator economy, leveraging data to connect brands to the right social media influencers. 

Indiantelevision.com in conversation with QYOU Media India CEO Simran Hoon, on their growth and way forward in 2023….

On QYOU Media India as a niche broadcaster and prominent player on the FTA.

When we launched The Q as a Free-To-Air (FTA) channel, there were no challenges but just untapped opportunities. Although there were formidable FTA players, their primary Source of Content was the Pay-TV market. With QYOU Media India, we entered a market that was entirely underserved with good content, particularly the tier-2, tier-3, and smaller towns in India. While the FTA players who arrived earlier than us did have that as a benefit to their offering, I believe that the emphasis was lacking.

At QYOU Media India, we realized the untapped market for good content, particularly digital content. There are regions in smaller towns where digital penetration is high but consumption is still in its early stages and hence, we made it quite clear when we entered the FTA market, that this is where we want to remain. At QYOU Media India, we stepped in to curate content for that untapped market. Our founders, Curt Mavis, and Sunder Aaron envisioned the tremendous potential of this market where 70% of Indians live in smaller towns. The ability to be able to provide them with content that is differentiated was an opportunity that we have capitalized upon.

On NTO 3, connected TV surging, Jio entering the market and with most GEC moving away from FTA where does QYOU stand.

NTO 3.0 is more for what the paid broadcasters need to do, but it is a great opportunity for us, nonetheless. With the implementation of NTO 3.0, the Pay-TV market will undergo a complete rejig. And as we all know, one of the best price points that sell is free. So, for folks like us who are FTA players, it is going to be a huge opportunity. There will be a funnel of audiences with top-end, crème de la crème audiences being in the OTT and connected TV space. The Connected TV space, will funnel down further with TV sets and data becoming cheaper.

Right from choosing one OTT, Pay-TV, or FTA connection or wanting to watch content on a mobile device, everybody in India, at every economic stratum has a choice to decide the content they wish to consume. At the low end of the funnel, Doordarshan FreeDish, a one-time installation is available. While the four channels exited, six more entered to grab the opportunity to expand their portfolio. With content being platform agnostic, distribution is about to become much more democratic.

On the content, line-up to attract non-metro-rural audiences.

Doordarshan Free Dish reaches around 42 million rural homes on which we are available. For the smaller towns, television is one of the largest windows to the world because that's the major source of entertainment. Audiences in these regions prefer to watch content that resonates with their beliefs and values and therefore we aim at providing relatable, resonating content. In terms of genres, they prefer watching content in the comedy genre since it provides respite. Also, in the past two years, with the pandemic and growth in online learning, the urge to learn something through television has attracted audiences in non-metro-rural regions.

On QYOU Media India reaching out to the aspirational market with a different kind of programming and content strategy.

Most of our content comes from YouTube which has a lot to do with influencers and social media content creators, making it an aspiration that we also work on. The influencers, in the comedy space, on our network, are from very small towns who with their entertainment and engaging skills have grown to become equivalent to influencers who are now celebrities. As a result, influencer-driven content is a big aspect for us. We believe that it doesn’t matter where one comes from, one can come from a small town and still be powered by digital content to grow to become the next content creator.

On QYOU Media India upscaling and strengthening its position in the market today, both in linear and digital. 

We aspire to be the next powerful network and I have had the fortune of working with networks when they were at their conceptual stages. At QYOU Media India, all of us have a big dream of being in every aspect of the ecosystem that is evolving in a very different way. There is a whole audience that is cutting the cord and moving on to connected TVs which are still at the top end of the funnel. A connected TV is a perfect hybrid between a linear and a digital platform. With CTVs becoming affordable, the first thing that people will do is get a broadband connection. Considering there are 20 million homes, this space is going to explode. Economic strata will have a big role to play here. With the growth in broadband connection, audiences will have an option of getting FAST channels which are embedded in their television sets.

On pay tv revising rates 

At QYOU Media India, we have a unique proposition in terms of the content we broadcast as opposed to a traditional GEC that airs daily soaps. We are the only ones with a differentiated content strategy and I don’t see us being influenced or affected.

On the reach of linear TV will Connected TV also emerge as a forerunner in non-metros.

Television, as a medium, is going to be completely remodelled. Today, linear television is at the cusp of becoming digitized. While television will continue to remain a gold standard, the question is whether you want to watch it through linear TV or connected TV. Digital platforms, too, are now moving into AVOD. Television isn't going anywhere, it's just a matter of how television is delivered, whether via satellite cable or WiFi. It will always stay as an ‘and’ market.

On consumers still watching Saas-Bahu, your thoughts 

Television, in its new avatar, continues to bring families together. India’s almost 65 per cent of the population falls under the below 35 years of age category and this young population is spending most of their time on digital platforms and have stepped out from watching the typical daily soap content. This is where we as a network differentiate ourselves in terms of catering to this young audience. We want to stick to our content lineup and bring people, who are not a part of the daily soap era, back on television with family-inclusive content. That is the kind of niche we want to be in and keep investing in because it is all about the young population. Young Indian audiences believe in influencers and therefore we have an influencer marketing company called Chtrbox for them. Our target audience indulges in gaming and therefore we have Maxamtech, our gaming platform. We have also got The Q, a Hindi GEC that caters to the Doordarshan Free Dish audiences and we also have Connected TV channels such as Q GameX, The Q Kahaniyan, The Q Comedistaan, and Q Marathi. We get our content from digital platforms, resonating with the youth. We are curating content for them so that they can watch it with their family rather than searching for it.

On the YoY growth 

For the first few years, The Q was just a VOD channel available only on DTH platforms. But our main focus shifted when we joined DD Free on April 1st, 2021. Since then, we have been doubling our revenues year-on-year. And we expect to outperform the market by 30 per cent in the coming year.

On the learnings, you bring from Zee, Sony, and Colors to QYOU Media 

The most important thing I have learned is how the best teams can come together with a very propelling vision of what can be done. A startup culture that is entrepreneurship-driven, high energy and doing or creating something is what excites me. My entire learning has been focused on what it takes to turn startups into successful brands and how it all comes down to people, entrepreneurship and energy. At QYOU Media India, everyone thinks of the company as their own and comes with a common vision.

On the way Forward

We aim to grow into a company that offers everything in the digital space and the creator economy. We already have a television channel in the linear form. We have connected TVs that we are already into; we are into gaming and influencer marketing, too. These are all future directions in which the world is currently moving. Keeping in mind the young population of India, and how they can be entertained, influenced, and educated, that's where we see ourselves going in 2023.