Profits Earned By The OTT Platforms Before And Post Pandemic?

If the last decade was about multiplex and theatres, 2020 emerged to be the year for OTT entertainment. With all cinemas and multiplexes having to remain shut for most parts of the year, people stuck in their homes all around the globe turned towards their personal screens in the hope of some escape from the monotonous reality. 

The pandemic acted as a catalyst. Due to the lockdown, there was a growth of about 60% of OTT subscribers. They have begun to invest heavily in content creation as they eye a large member base coming from India.   

OTT revolution has come a long way, from just two platform providers in 2012 to about 40 players now. Thus, the crisis even amidst all the chaos did manage to accelerate the process. 

 Let’s look at some of the biggest profit makers among them.

Netflix

Believe it or not but Netflix did struggle to get new users for nearly two years in the US. But just within the first few months into the pandemic and the platform recorded growth in subscribers, a 47% increase in its user. Netflix did not need much to reach its set to target but only a pandemic!

Netflix managed to feature about 36 million paid subscribers, making its overall revenue hike to $7.16 billion and their net income was recorded as $1.71 billion. Setting new records, even with a little rise in their subscription rate they could still pull this off.

The company predicts growth in the second half of the year as well. Besides the release of new seasons of “YOU”, “The Witcher” and “Money Heist”, there are many other Netflix Original films in line too. 

Lionsgate

It is a Hollywood studio with films like La La Land, Wonder, The Hunger Games, etc, under its belt. They launched their video streaming app in India. It offers a variety of Hollywood movies, TV shows, and even web series, including Oscar-nominated and Emmy- awarded titles. 

Though this platform was fairly new in India it still managed to get a number of subscribers pretty close to 30-35 million. Being stuck at home did lead people to have an appetite to consume new and premium quality content.  

Lionsgate had a remarkable revenue of 944 million, for the fiscal year 2020. They are adapting and improvising by releasing their theatrical films on streaming platforms, quite early by cutting down on post-production edits.

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Amazon Prime

Films were made with the concept of receiving a theatrical release and only a handful were specifically made for OTTs. However, when the pandemic hit, things changed for the entertainment industry. 

Amazon came up with a trend of OTT first movies, where they did not wait for the movie to come out in theaters first, but they directly released them on OTT platforms. Movies like Gulabo Sitabo, Shakuntala Devi, Chhalaang, are a few of the many films which premiered on Prime. 

Prime Video has a level of engagement among all its members that plays out well for its growth. It had 175 million subscribers in 2020 and it just crossed over 200 million in the year 2021. Amazon registers revenue over $25 billion from subscription fees itself. 

Disney+ Hotstar

This has it all, from movies and TV shows to daily soaps, sports, animated movies, and even mind-blowing Originals such as Criminal Justice, Hostages, Aarya, and many more. It has everyone covered. 

The subscription base tripled from 8 million to 25 million by the end of 2020, thanks to its IPL coverage. Disney+ Hotstar turned out to be the underdog of OTT platforms. As it manages to surpass the market shares of  Amazon Prime Video (9%) and Netflix (7%) by 24%. 

Revenue reached up to the value of $639 in 2020. Disney+ Hotstar and Netflix lead in the revenue share as they together account for 78% of the total market. 

OOT platforms have made watching films convenient, anyone with a phone and internet can enjoy top-quality entertainment at the comfort of their homes. With all the innovative pricing strategies many OTT players have been able to attract and retain users. Platforms are well responding to all the trends, and this could continue to do well in 2021 too.

Image Source: Google Images

Source: Economic Times, NDTV

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This post is tagged under: Netflix, subscribers, prime video, Lionsgate, Disney+Hotstar, revenue, originals, OTT platforms, pandemic, profits, entertainment, web series, top quality, members, steaming app, theatres

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