India is a country known the world over for its vibrant culture. The Hindu religion and centuries-old traditions have impacted its music and storytelling in a big way. Without question, for much of the second half of the 20th century, Bollywood dominated the Indian entertainment landscape, taking people’s attention away from folk theater and classical dance performances, via narrative tales set on the silver screen, booming with spectacle. Radio and television also left their mark on the 20th century, through serialized dramas and broadcasts of the nation’s most popular sport – cricket.
As the 21st century rolled around, a dramatic shift started to occur, fueled by technological advancements. As internet penetration started to increase in India in the mid-2010s, mobile data prices went down, and Chinese smartphones flooded the market, how people choose to pass their time changed. This especially held for younger demographics, which quickly adopted social media platforms, and hubs like Instagram and YouTube birthed a new type of celebrity, the influencer kind.
Today, reliable gaming platforms like Big Boost are all the rage among Millennials and Gen Z Indians, who are also heavily into watching streaming video and eSports, and have refocused their attention from Bollywood stars to digital content creators. Below, we analyze the dynamics of the digital entertainment sphere in India, what platforms have captivated residents, and what we can all expect next from this arena.
The Rise of OTT Services & Social Media
In the rest of the world, services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video get called streaming ones, and they were previously named VOD, or video on demand. Yet, India chose to call platforms that feature streaming videos through paid or ad models OTT, or Over the Top, a term that notes that these get offered on top of an existing internet service. So, they bypass traditional national satellite and cable operators to deliver TV-like content.
Globally, VOD or OTT did not become a major fad until the second half of the 2010s. The same trend pattern was visible in India as well, where streaming platforms did not see rapid expansion until the very end of the last decade. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime entered this market in 2016, but neither is the top player here, as this honor is carried by JioHotstar, which is now the world’s second-largest streaming platform, with the majority of its user pool being based in Asia, primarily India and Indonesia.
The country saw a massive spike in OTT service usage during the COVID pandemic, when this global crisis shut down Bollywood productions and theaters for several months. At this time, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook all gained traction, with many celebrities becoming active there to maintain their popularity, and various creators emerging who created sketches, commentary videos, and the like. What is interesting about India is that despite a sizable population of gamers, Twitch is somewhat niche here, with YouTube Gaming and Loco, a local platform, seeing better viewership numbers in the world’s most populous nation.
Digital Content Trends
The debut of 4G in India proved to be a significant game-changer, and the arrival of 5G a few years back just sent digital entertainment to a whole new level, solidifying its dominance and affecting TV audience numbers. Naturally, short-format video is now king, and due to the absence of TikTok in the country, following its 2020 ban, Instagram Reels have emerged as the main short-form juggernaut, boasting the highest engagement rates, followed by YouTube Shorts, and Indian apps like Josh, Moj, and Chingari. The latter excel in regional language content, and they have user pools that consist primarily of non-metro area residents.
Micro-dramas that have episodic storytelling are also exploding in India, generating significant interest on platforms like Hoichoi and Zee5. They are something new and appeal to younger viewers by presenting relatable narratives.
Stats show that Indians seem to care more about watching content in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, and other regional languages, and these types of videos are responsible for longer view times.
Interactive gaming for real money, and the skill-based kind, is thriving right now, with monetization of digital content being heavily reliant on advertising across virtually all genres. It seems that young adults are not as willing to pay for a subscription and are more supportive of ad models.
Rising Digital Platforms in India
In 2025, Disney and JioStar created the rebranded OTT service JioHotstar, which has been a staggering success. It claims that going by its internal records, it has now amassed over five hundred million active monthly users, many of which use it to watch cricket and Bollywood movies.
The mentioned Moj, Josh, Hoichoi, along with aha, which focuses on Telugu/Tamil films, and Sun NXT are too gaining steam in different regions. The same goes for MX Player and SonyLIV, which gain views through sports and original content.
CSpace is also an interesting case. Launched in 2024, this is an OOT platform created by the Government of Kerala. It was the first streaming service of its kind in the country, functioning under a PPV – pay-per-view model, and it is distinct in that it gives creators a 50% revenue share.
Projections for the Future
India’s immense mobile-centric youth make it a prime spot for digital entertainment expansion, with Redseer Strategy predicting its media and gaming market will triple in size by 2030. It is not unreasonable to assume that streaming alone will double, with increased focus on local content and AI personalization. Smart TVs are seeing growing sales, and this will obviously help. For the near future many foresee India moving into Broadcast-OTT hybrids for the delivery of entertainment content of the traditional kind.
Some fear that regulatory moves made in recent years concerning gaming could impact the growth of this sector. There was a ban on loot boxes here, and changes were made regarding the taxation of lotteries and online gaming. Nevertheless, many are confident that the popularity of these will not be affected in the long term, despite these bumps in the road.
Photo by VAZHNIK:
