Regional OTT platforms seek fresh funds to scale up content offerings

Regional over-the-top (OTT) platforms, which cater to audiences in specific languages, are seeking capital to ramp up businesses as growth in their primary markets has plateaued, say industry experts.

Regional OTT platforms like Stage, Chaupal, and Aha are in the market to raise fresh capital. Planet Marathi recently raised $5 million from US private equity firm A & MA Capital.

Last year, Stage raised ₹40 crore in a funding round led by Blume Ventures. Subsequently, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra invested an undisclosed sum in the platform, which has raised close to $15 million till date (as per Tracxn data).

Media expert Rajesh Sethi said investors are showing a keen interest in regional OTT platforms that have established themselves in specific language markets. "However, many regional OTT platforms have plateaued and need to expand into other markets and languages to develop scale. The necessity to scale has prompted regional OTT platforms to scout for fresh funding," he added.

According to the FICCI-EY report on media and entertainment, regional OTT content volumes exceeded Hindi-language content for the first time in 2023.

Akshay Bardapurkar, founder of Planet Marathi OTT, said the recent funding will allow it to diversify its content slate besides investing in marketing and technology.

Chaupal, which has raised $4 million till date (as per Tracxn data), is eyeing a new funding round to fuel expansion into new languages and aid growth. It offers content in Punjabi, Haryanvi, and Bhojpuri languages.

The platform's co-founder Ujjwal Mahajan noted that regional languages have huge diasporic audiences around the world, which presents a huge opportunity to provide these audiences with quality content that is relatable.

"Investors realise that the next phase of growth will come from Bharat, and Bharat speaks in its Maa Boli. This defines the entire thesis for Maa Boli ka Chaupal. Moreover, content costs are way lower for regional languages as compared to mainstream languages," Mahajan said.

Vinay Singhal, CEO and Co-Founder, Stage, which offers Haryanvi and Rajasthani content, said the surge in investor interest in regional OTT platforms in India is due to the vast untapped opportunity in the regional space combined with growing internet and smartphone penetration and the ease of doing digital payments due to UPI.

"This is further fuelled by the rising demand for regional content that resonates with local audiences, as well as the proven success of existing regional OTT platforms," he added.

A case in point is Bengali OTT platform Hoichoi, which has launched in Bangladesh after cementing its position among Bengali audiences in India.