NEW DELHI, Sept 26 — In India, sport is known to draw crowds, and the streaming market is benefiting from this enthusiasm, with cricket in particular among the most-watched programs, according to the latest report from Media Partners Asia.

It’s a game that streaming is already winning. Revenue from premium video-on-demand services in India jumped by 38 per cent in the first half of 2024, up from US$760 million (RM3.1 billion) in the first half of 2023 to US$1 billion a year later, according to a report from Media Partners Asia.

While local drama and romance productions are popular with subscribers to streaming platforms, sports lead the way with nine of the 15 most-watched titles. And in the sporting arena, cricket seems to be particularly popular, with the Indian Premier League 2024 and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 topping the list.

"After a turbulent 2023, total SVOD subscriptions rebounded from 110 million to 120 million in the first half of 2024. India’s total addressable market of affluent audiences continues to expand, with Netflix and Prime Video capitalising on this trend through investments in local originals and films.

"Together, these platforms accounted for nearly 70 per cent of SVOD revenue in the first half of 2024.

"Meanwhile, Jio Cinema’s launch of an affordable plan has further broadened the SVOD audience, incentivizing more users to pay for streaming content,” said Media Partners Asia, quoted by Variety.

Netflix leads the way with 38 per cent of SVOD revenue, while Indian streaming service Jio Cinema follows with 36 per cent. "India led the charge with a robust 12 per cent growth, driven primarily by sports content, while Indonesia followed with a solid 5 per cent increase. Korea, the Philippines, and Thailand managed modest gains, whereas Malaysia and Vietnam experienced contractions due to challenging advertising markets,” reads a news release.

With Disney+ set to join forces with India’s Jio, these two streaming players could well dethrone the current leader. Between them, they account for 70 per cent of all revenue generated in the premium VOD category.

In the first half of 2024, 8 trillion minutes of content were streamed in India between January and June, claims the report. With 92 per cent of all consumption, YouTube came out on top, leaving 8 per cent to the so-called "premium” platforms. With 645 billion minutes streamed, freemium platforms come out on top in that particular market segment, with a 92 per cent share of viewing time.

"Subscriber growth momentum will continue in 2H 2024, driven by aggregation and deeper partnerships with telcos, pay-TV operators, and OEMs. In addition, with the onset of the festive season, advertising spending should be robust in Q4 2024. However, with no major sports events, spending will shift toward tentpole non-fiction shows on premium VOD platforms, with a significant portion moving back to high-reach UGC platforms,” said MPA India vice president Mihir Shah, quoted by Variety.

And the trend isn’t unique to India. In the USA, streaming is also increasingly focusing on sports and local teams. — ETX Studio