OTT platforms seek revenue boost by streaming paid content for free on YouTube

Zee premiered Barzakh, a Pakistani TV drama on both the Zee Zindagi YouTube channel as well as behind paywall on the OTT platform ZEE5. Full episodes of TV shows on the Sony Entertainment network are available on YouTube and the company’s video streaming app SonyLIV.

While some see free YouTube streaming as taking away from paid memberships, others consider it a viable supplementary model, given that revenue-sharing terms with YouTube often make sound business sense. They also believe the target audience for the two platforms don’t overlap.

“YouTube is one of the largest reach accumulating platforms in India and has a significant share of the advertising pie. Thus, the content monetisation opportunities it offers are immense," said Saurabh Srivastava, chief operating officer, digital business, at Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd.

He said India is a low average revenue per user (ARPU) market for both advertising video-on-demand (AVoD) and subscription video-on-demand (SVoD).

“Thus, mostly content needs multiple content pipes and at times it requires simultaneous presence on multiple platforms to reach the intended audience," Srivastava said.

Longer-term outlook

In a consumer landscape that is vast and varied, many content monetisation models exist and continue to grow, he said.

“There is no singular strategy that fits all content publishers and platforms. We have a significant YouTube presence and find the platform to be a brilliant way to engage and entertain our audience," Srivastava added. “At the same time, our OTT platform, ShemarooMe, continues to offer a pure SVoD proposition built with a neatly distinct strategy. This requires a longer-term outlook of returns on investment for content and the development of a consumer business."

Nitin Gupta, chief content officer of Chaupal, a platform specialising in Punjabi, Haryanvi and Bhojpuri content, said the company’s priority is to always get subscriptions through its app.

“We do utilise YouTube, but mainly to promote our content. We put long watches on YouTube for our exclusive original content pieces, but only after a certain period of time, which is a minimum period of nine months," Gupta said.

Experts said YouTube is a bigger funnel that helps supplement revenue. Partho Dasgupta, managing partner of Thoth Advisors and former CEO of BARC India, said companies are able to negotiate good deals with YouTube and there are more eyeballs hooked.

Ad-based revenue

“The presumption is the two platforms (YouTube and the company’s own OTT) don’t cannibalise each other," he said, adding that subscription numbers of many of these services only run into a few millions.

Rajat Agrawal, chief operating officer of Ultra Media & Entertainment Group, said YouTube is an ad-supported model and revenue is generated through advertisements based on views, impressions and engagement.

“It is a volume-driven platform where higher viewership translates to higher ad revenue. The advantage of YouTube is its massive reach and ability to cater to audiences who prefer free content," Agrwal said. “However, the revenue generated per view there is generally lower compared to a subscription model."

Ultra launched two OTT platforms recently – Ultra Play, which features old movie classics, and Ultra Gaane, which hosts old songs. Much of this content is also available on YouTube.

On the other hand, in the case of SVoD platforms, revenue is earned through subscriptions: both predictable and stable revenue as users pay a recurring fee.

“SVoD models generally have fewer users compared to free platforms like YouTube, but they offer higher ARPU. YouTube may not necessarily take away from SVoD offerings if both are positioned correctly. In fact, YouTube can serve as a marketing tool to attract a broad audience and then funnel them to premium content on the SVoD platform," Agrawal added.