Unlike many OTT players in the country, Lionsgate Play has been targeting urban audiences instead of the masses, and has largely kept away from regional language content and live sports. Can this strategy for India work in the long run?
Amit Dhanuka (left), Executive Vice President with Rohit Jain (right), MD, Emerging Markets Asia, Lionsgate. Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India
On December 16, Lionsgate Play completed its two-year anniversary in India. The platform has taken a very different approach as compared to most other OTT platforms in India. The platform wants to focus on a niche market with English-language content, while investing in Hindi originals. “The last two years have been nothing short of magic. In the last year, we must have premiered close to 60 shows and movies, we've had fantastic traction from subscribers,” says Rohit Jain, MD, Emerging Markets Asia, Lionsgate. Like in broadcasting, he explains, “You will still need a bouquet of providers to offer you different things for different requirements—from Indian Premier League (IPL) to daily soaps. It will still take five to six different players to then cater to these needs.” The platform hopes to tap into the gaps in the market.
In India, their prime target market is mostly the top 50 cities. “In a world where everybody is trying to go after the masses, we are happy focussing on the top 50 [cities]. Good quality content does travel down, so our content today is being watched in over 3,000 cities in India.” Globally, this play has worked well for the company. “We want to be sharp about our target audience and be relevant to them,” he adds. Lionsgate Play, which goes by Starz and Starz Play globally, has roughly 40 million subscribers worldwide with a presence in over 55 countries.
Jain claims that in terms of their English offerings, Lionsgate Play would be amongst the top three streaming services in the country right now. Though English language content is a strength area for the platform, they are now investing big time in Hindi originals. Jain reckons, “We are doing our bit but in a measured way. Our focus is to create premium, cinema scale content that appeals to our audiences who are between the age group of 25-45.”
So far they’ve launched three series: Urban slice of life comedy Hiccups & Hookups, intense young adult drama Jugaadistan, and the bromantic hangover of four boys Feels Like Home. Recently, Lionsgate India Studios announced a few Hindi original films as well including Letters to Mr Khanna starring Neetu Kapoor, Sunny Kaushal and Shraddha Srinath and Nausikhiye directed by Santosh Singh starring Abhimanyu Dassani, Amol Parashar and Shreya Dhanwanthary.
Also read: How digital video streaming is becoming popular across generations