Dish TV ventures into OTT segment with the launch of Watcho

Dish TV ventures into OTT segment with the launch of Watcho

New Delhi: Dish TV on Thursday forayed into online Video on Demand segment by launching OTT (over-the-top) platform 'Watcho’, and expects to have 10 million userbase within a year, said a top company official.

Essel Group's DTH arm is targeting the young millenial tech-savvy generation across the country, and as per its strategy it will offer short format contents, which are economically viable along with user-generated platforms in languages such as Hindi, Kannada and Telugu.

Besides, the company also plans to add contents on its platform in other regional languages, including Bhojpuri and Gujarati, to expand in the OTT market.

The company will provide OTT service to its existing DTH subscribers of Dish TV and D2H brands, which are estimated to be around 23 million, free as of now.

The OTT platform will synergise with the existing DTH platform as this would help to control churning rates and benefit the customers, which now prefer to consume entertainment contents on the go, Dish TV India Executive Director & Group CEO Anil Dua said.

"It would help us to grow the basic platform with its active base much more strongly because it would block one more exit route.

"This is meant to strengthen the existing platform rather than creating a new platform," Dua told PTI. The move will also help Dish TV to have presence in both the mediums - the traditional DTH and fast-growing online streaming market.

"We aim to reach over 10 million users in the first year itself," Dua said, adding that the company is also looking to have a preferred network partner for its OTT platform.

Watcho will offer over 1,000 hours of library content, including movies and short films.

Its subscribers can also enjoy their favourite TV shows and popular drama series through live or catchup TV. According to a Boston Consulting Group report, Indian OTT market is rapidly growing and has potentials to reach USD 5 billion by 2023, helped by access to affordable data, mobile penetration into rural markets etc.

The number of players in the Indian OTT market had grown from 9 in 2012 to 32 players in 2018.

Rural India will play a big role in OTT consumption as 48 per cent of India's Internet users (about 650 million by 2023) are expected to be from this area, the report said.

Major players in the domestic OTT market are Netflix, Amazon Prime, ALT Balaji, Sony Liv, Eros Now and Hotstar.

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