There is a clear change seen in consumer preferences on OTT platforms with more regional content pushed, said Ali Hussein, chief executive officer at Eros Now on Friday.

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Speaking in an interview with CNBC-TV18, Hussein said, “There will be a larger investment in terms of content and then we will build the business over a period, it is about 4-6 quarters phenomenon.”

Lockdown was the first major moment when the country saw an increase in video-on-demand content with home viewership increasing almost three times, he said.

“2020 and the lockdown was the first instance where India saw that move where video-on-demand content started percolating back into the family rooms and home screens. We have had almost 2.5-3 times kind of growth in home viewership.”

The outreach is expanding and we are still in growth mode, Hussein said.

“Secondly, there is penetration that is going deeper into the country. At this stage, we are still in growth mode. At least for the next 18-24 months, it will continue to be investment in building the brand, building the culture of the content, building the entire content slate and then over a period of time subscription numbers start showing.”

From celebrity driven content, now the emphasis is shifting towards the content, he said.

“Transformation in consumer behaviour is happening. Compared to the past when there was a lot of celebrity driven, big star driven content, the story has become a lot more of an essence right now.”

In terms of cash burn and revenues, he said, “We have spent about a billion dollar over a five-year horizon. Average revenue per user (ARPU) that we charge per month is Rs 49.”

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(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)

First Published:Dec 11, 2020 1:31 PM IST