What are Indians watching on OTT? Netflix, Prime Video, JioHotstar, Zee 5, SonyLIV reveal the shows, languages and formats winning viewers

As we slowly get ready to welcome the New Year 2027, one thing will remain constant: entertainment, entertainment and entertainment. Over the ten months of 2026, we all watched numerous movies, new seasons of our favourite shows, and new series across languages. Every night after a hectic day at work, or every weekend, was packed with new OTT releases. So, this time, we dive in and ask: what did Indians actually watch on OTT in 2026?

The Economic Times Digital went ahead and talked exclusively to giant OTT platforms of India - Netflix, JioHotstar, Prime Video, SonyLIV and Zee 5 to find the answer to this question.

Well, the answer goes beyond big stars, expensive productions and popular franchises. Indian viewers are increasingly exploring stories across languages, moving between different genres and discovering content in formats that were once considered niche. From rooted family dramas and crime thrillers to reality shows, Korean dramas, anime and micro-dramas, the past 10 months give a glimpse into how viewing habits are changing.




According to the Ormax OTT Audience Report 2026, India's OTT audience grew by 11% to 664.9 million in 2026, from 601.2 million in 2025. The report defines an OTT audience as anyone who watched at least one online video, free or paid, during the past month. It also estimates that the average Indian OTT viewer spends 14.9 hours per week watching online video, including content on social media, micro-drama platforms and FAST channels.

The report estimates that India's connected TV (CTV) audience has reached 206.9 million, marking 60% growth over the 2025 figure of 129.2 million. Meanwhile, active paid OTT subscriptions, including those accessed through telecom bundles and OTT aggregators, stand at 172.6 million, up 16% from 148.2 million in 2025.

But what do these numbers tell us about the stories people actually want to watch? The conversations with OTT platforms pointed towards a common finding: there is no single formula for attracting Indian audiences.

Are Indian viewers looking beyond their own languages on OTT?

For years, language was often used to categorise content and its potential audience. A Hindi show was expected to find its primary audience among Hindi-speaking viewers, while a Tamil or Malayalam film was largely associated with its home market. Streaming is steadily challenging those assumptions.

Prime Video says more than 60% of its customers stream content in four or more Indian languages. The platform believes viewers are increasingly following stories rather than limiting themselves to the language in which they are told.

"What has genuinely stood out is how viewers are no longer choosing content by language, genre, or even screen. They are following stories. A viewer in Coimbatore is watching a Hindi crime thriller. A viewer in Delhi is discovering a Tamil sci-fi series," Nikhil Madhok, Director and Head of Originals, Prime Video (SVOD) and Amazon MGM Studios India, said.

The platform said that Inspector Rishi, a Tamil series that became its most-watched Tamil Original, had attracted substantial viewership from outside Tamil Nadu. It also cited Cheekatilo, a Telugu crime-suspense drama that was the most-streamed South Original movie on the platform in its launch week.

According to Nikhil Madhok of Prime Video, authentic storytelling, strong performances and localisation helped such titles reach viewers beyond their original markets. The platform offers subtitles and dubbing in 10-plus languages across 240 countries and territories.

JioHotstar has observed a similar shift. The company said approximately 40% of viewership for its South catalogue now comes from outside the southern region of India. Examples include Dridam, which found audiences beyond Kerala; Pritam and Pedro recorded high viewership in Karnataka.

The JioHotstar spokesperson explained that language remains important, but it is no longer necessarily a barrier to discovery.

"If anything, language matters more than ever and is not a barrier anymore," the spokesperson said, adding that emotion and universal themes, followed by the story and cast, help content travel across markets.

SonyLIV also shared examples of cross-language viewing, including the Tamil film Maanaadu, the Malayalam film 2018: Everyone Is A Hero, the Telugu original Brinda and the Marathi original Manvat Murders, all of which attracted interest among Hindi-speaking audiences.

For Zee 5, the growing willingness to explore unfamiliar languages presents an opportunity to expand its audience. Kavveri Daas, Business Head - Hindi Zee 5 & Chief Channel Officer, &TV, said local languages contribute 53% of the platform's subscription growth.

However, she stressed that localisation involves more than translating dialogue.

"The humour has to land, the emotion has to travel, and the authenticity of the original world must remain intact. The challenge is to make a story feel accessible without diluting what makes it distinctive," Daas said.

Netflix's numbers also underline the international reach of Indian-language stories. According to the platform, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films featured in its Global Top 10 Non-English Films list for 39 of the 52 weeks in 2025. These titles reached country Top 10 lists in 59 countries outside India during the year.

Netflix also reported that Made in Korea became the first South Indian title to reach #1 on its Global Top 10 Non-English Films list and entered its Top 10 lists in 54 countries.

The trend and data suggest that language can give a story its identity without necessarily limiting its audience.

Can smaller stories compete with big-budget productions on OTT?

When the report Ormax OTT Audience Report 2026 was released, the second question which came to mind is: does a bigger-budget project guarantee more viewers? Streaming platforms say it does not. While large-scale productions continue to attract attention, smaller stories built around familiar settings, distinctive characters and relatable experiences have also found audiences.

Prime Video’s Nikhil Madhok cited Panchayat as an example of a show rooted in a specific world has made a huge cultural impact despite its modest scale. The platform contrasted it with The Revolutionaries, a large-scale period drama, to explain why different kinds of productions can coexist.

"Budget and cast come later. If the story is compelling, we determine what it needs in order to be told well," he said.

The platform also pointed to the popularity of its returning shows and newer titles. More than 60% of its Original series have returned for multiple seasons, while Dupahiya, a debut creator's first show, earned a returning season.

SonyLIV shared a similar view, citing Gullak, Undekhi and Maharani as examples of shows that have built audiences through their characters and narratives rather than production scale alone.

"A bigger budget can give a production scale, but it cannot guarantee a bigger audience," Sony Pictures Networks India said in its response to ET Digital.

The company added that franchises still have a role to play. Its Scam franchise allows it to tell different stories under a familiar identity, while retaining elements that audiences recognise.

“What matters is being clear about who the content is for and what makes it distinctive. In a market with so much choice, spending more does not automatically mean audiences will watch more.”

Zee 5's Kavveri Daas believes the challenge is to offer different kinds of stories rather than search for one winning genre or production formula.

"The opportunity is no longer to predict one winning formula, but to build a portfolio of stories that can create a strong enough reason for different audiences to care," she said.

JioHotstar also pointed to the performance of rooted stories, including Chiraiya, Thukra Ke Mera Pyaar, Pritam and Pedro and Hunkkaar. Its South-language titles, such as Sambhavam, Thaai Kizhavi, Vaazha 2 and Dridam, were cited as examples of stories that found audiences without necessarily being the biggest productions in their markets.

The company argued that the real distinction is not between big and small productions, but between stories that offer something distinctive and those that rely on familiar formulas.

At the same time, established franchises have not lost their appeal. JioHotstar pointed to Drishyam 3 as a recent hit in theaters, while Prime Video highlighted the ongoing success of Panchayat and Mirzapur.

Netflix audiences have also returned to familiar worlds. Maamla Legal Hai Season 2 debuted in the Global Top 10 Non-English TV list and reached #1 in India, following the first season's 23 weeks in India's Top 10.

It’s not that people have lost interest in big productions or in familiar franchises. The key takeaway here is that platforms believe audiences are willing to explore new stories when they offer compelling characters, fresh perspectives or a world worth revisiting.

Are micro-dramas and reality shows changing OTT viewing?

The boom in streaming has also created room for formats to cater to different viewing habits. Besides the usual films and long-form series, reality television, micro-dramas, short-form stories, Korean dramas and anime are attracting interest.

The Ormax OTT Audience Report 2026 identifies micro-dramas, K-dramas and anime as the fastest-growing content formats, with audience growth of 50%, 48% and 32%, respectively.

JioHotstar said the growing appetite for shorter content prompted its launch of Tadka, its micro-drama offering focused on snackable, mobile-first, vertical storytelling. The company also reported momentum for K-dramas and anime, while maintaining that long-form series, premium films and unscripted shows continue to attract viewers.

"The common thread is variety and quality," the JioStar spokesperson said. "Audiences are increasingly format agnostic; they will give a micro-drama, an anime, a K-drama or a 50-episode rooted series their time if the storytelling gives them a reason to."

Prime Video’s Nikhil also stated that there’s a growing appetite for international content and pointed to its partnership with Korean platform CJ ENM as evidence of its investment in that interest.

The popularity of reality and unscripted entertainment offers another insight into what viewers want from streaming. JioHotstar said Hindi unscripted content alone reached 1 billion viewers, with 460 billion minutes viewed this year. It cited Laughter Chefs, Splitsvilla, Bigg Boss and Roadies as titles that viewers watch, revisit, clip and share.

The platform also highlighted examples of The Traitors, Alliance and Rise & Fall, alongside its efforts to develop new homegrown intellectual property.

SonyLIV, meanwhile, believes the viewing experience increasingly extends beyond watching a programme. It pointed to interactive features associated with Kaun Banega Crorepati, Shark Tank India's 'Be A Home Shark' and Wheel of Fortune's 'Spin Along', which allow audiences to participate in the shows.

“A few years ago, we tended to look at viewing preferences through fairly established categories. Today, audiences are discovering content across languages, genres, and formats, often without making those distinctions,” SonyLIV said.

Connected TVs are contributing to this shift as well. According to the Ormax report, India's CTV audience has reached 206.9 million, up 60% from 129.2 million in 2025. The FICCI-EY 2026 report, cited by Prime Video, estimates 68 million connected TV households in India, with OTT viewing on CTV at 85 hours a month compared with eight hours for linear TV.

Prime Video said shows such as Panchayat, Adarsh Baal Vidyalaya, The Traitors and Alliance have connected with families and groups watching together.

Zee 5, too, sees short-form discovery and long-form viewing as complementary habits. Kavveri Daas said a viewer might discover a story through a 30-second clip before deciding to watch the full narrative on a television screen. She added that AI, personalisation and features such as Clips can help viewers discover content they may not have actively searched for.

Netflix's 2026 performance has further examples of the range of genres finding audiences. Operation Safed Sagar spent four consecutive weeks at #1 in India, appeared in the Global Non-English TV Top 10 for four weeks and reached Top 10 lists in 40 countries during its peak week. Taskaree: The Smuggler's Web became the first Indian series to debut at #1 on Netflix's Global Non-English TV list and recorded 16 million views in H1 2026.

Meanwhile, Kohrra Season 2 with 1.6 million views and 7.7 million hours watched stayed in the Global Top 10 for two weeks straight. Lock Upp: Sach Ya Sazaa, the reality show, garnered over 125 million viewing hours in the first six weeks.

Challenges aheadIndia's expanding OTT audience also means platforms have to compete harder for viewers' time. According to the Ormax report, the average Indian OTT viewer spends 14.9 hours a week watching content on streaming services, social media, micro-drama apps and FAST channels. Adding all of this, the estimate is 517 billion hours of viewing time across India every year.

With content available across multiple services, getting viewers to start a show is only part of the challenge. Platforms also have to give them a reason to return.

Sony Pictures Networks India said the competition for attention has become more intense as viewers can move from one piece of content to another almost instantly. It pointed to long-running shows such as Kaun Banega Crorepati, as well as newer formats such as Family Full House with Rohit Sharma and the series Real Kashmir Football Club, as examples of how different kinds of content can appeal to audiences.

Prime Video’s Nikhil described India as an "and, not or" market, where different viewing models and services can coexist. Its strategy is to bring subscription video-on-demand, advertising-supported video, movie rentals, 30+ add-on subscriptions and theatrical films through Amazon MGM Studios into one entertainment hub.

JioHotstar, meanwhile, is exploring ways to reach viewers across different screens and viewing occasions. It cited the availability of Laughter Chefs and Bigg Boss on linear television and digital platforms, as well as the introduction of MaxView to Khatron Ke Khiladi, as examples of adapting content to how audiences choose to watch.

The platform also said it is exploring interactive experiences such as voting, live chats, trivia games and meme creation to encourage participation.

For Netflix, the wider impact of a show can extend beyond viewing figures. The platform said Musafir Cafe, which remained in India's Top 10 for six weeks, was followed by travel and lifestyle coverage of its Mussoorie filming location, Jharipani Castle. Reports also noted Musafir Cafe-inspired cafés coming in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The series has been renewed for a second season.

Similarly, Netflix said Heeramandi actor Taha Shah's Instagram following grew from 183K to 2.1M within four weeks of launch. Such examples underline how streaming titles can generate conversations and interest beyond the platform itself.

For all five services, however, one lesson keeps emerging, as Nikhil rightly puts it, “There is no single Indian OTT viewer. The same person watches a Tamil thriller solo on their phone during a commute, a family comedy on the living room TV after dinner, and a dubbed Korean drama on the weekend. The lesson: build for the diversity of how India watches, not for averages.”

As the JioHotstar spokesperson put it, "You can't create for a screen or a medium; you create for a person, and that person now moves fluidly across everything available to them."

That may be the clearest picture of India's OTT audience in 2026. Viewers are not necessarily choosing between Hindi and regional content, established franchises and fresh stories, or short videos and long-form series. They are moving between all of them, depending on what catches their attention.

In a nutshell, the challenge for streaming platforms is to understand that variety doesn’t mean every viewer wants to see the same thing.