The Rise of India’s $4.5B OTT Empire
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- Published 02 Jan 2026
India’s entertainment habits have changed forever.
From binge-worthy shows to cricket to podcasts, more than 70 OTT platforms have quietly taken over every screen, every language, and every mood across the country.
But what is OTT?
OTT (over-the-top) means watching shows and movies directly on the internet. OTT platforms deliver video, audio, and other digital content online. This means no dish antenna and no cable operator involved.
And over the past few years, India has embraced every form of OTT possible.
Subscription-led services like Netflix and Prime Video, ad-supported giants like YouTube and MX Player, pay-per-view options like Google TV and Apple iTunes, and hybrid models like JioHotstar together built a new digital universe that fits every wallet and preference.
The scale of this universe is enormous.
India’s OTT market stands at $4.5 billion in 2024, reaching 41% of the country’s population. More than half of all streaming content consumed today is in regional languages, proof that entertainment no longer speaks just one tongue.
Even telecom players have stepped in as OTT super-aggregators, with platforms like Airtel Xstream and JioTV+ collapsing dozens of apps into a single discovery layer.
The country now hosts 601.2 million OTT viewers. Out of these, 148.2 million are paying subscribers, signalling a shift from casual browsing to committed consumption.
Connected TV, once considered a premium niche, is expanding rapidly too, with 129.2 million users and 35-40 million homes streaming content on large screens.
Subscriber growth tells an even deeper story.
India’s OTT base grew from 353.2 million in 2021 to 423.8 million in 2022, then to 481.1 million in 2023. It touched 547.3 million in 2024 before crossing 601.2 million in 2025. Even at this scale, year-on-year growth continues strongly, ranging between 10% and 20%.
This surge was inevitable.
India now has more than 70 crore smartphones and over 100 crore internet users.
Cheap data, faster networks, 5G rollouts, AI-led recommendation engines, and post-pandemic digital habits all pushed streaming into daily life.
Add 90 crore+ millennials and Gen Z users craving quick, personalised, always-available stories, and OTT became the natural home for India’s entertainment appetite.
Competition in this space is intense.
YouTube dominates with a 37.7% market share, followed by JioHotstar at 23.3%. Netflix holds 7.6%, with Amazon MX Player, Sony LIV, and Zee5 making up the rest as per FY25 revenues.
What India watches reveals even more.
Drama, crime, thrillers, and action dominate with a combined share of 60%. Romance accounts for 14%, comedy for 10%, reality and documentaries for 12%, and horror and others for the remaining 4%.
The country’s storytelling pulse is fast-paced, emotional, and increasingly regional.
And the future? Even bigger.
India’s OTT market is expected to grow to $27.2 billion by 2033 at a 19.7% CAGR.
Paid video subscriptions could rise 30% by 2027, with 65 million video-OTT households and 21 million audio-OTT subscribers projected within the same period.
All signs point to one conclusion: India is moving toward an always-on, always-streaming world where convenience, choice, and personalised entertainment are becoming the new normal.
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