OTTs bet heavily on overseas shows to give variety to their original content

Over-the-top (OTT) platforms are increasingly relying on overseas shows to supplement their original content offerings at a time when audience segmentation is an issue owing to the abundance of entertainment options. Disney+ Hotstar has seen success with a number of international titles, including British TV blockbusters such as The Night Manager and Criminal Justice, Aarya, a show based on the Dutch show Penoza, which was nominated for an International Emmy Award, and Bad Cop, a German drama of the same name.

JioCinema has premiered reality shows such as Temptation Island and Bigg Boss OTT, a Big Brother replica. Similarly, SonyLIV has adapted many overseas products for the Indian market, including Israeli series like Your Honour and Fauda. According to experts, OTT platforms are investing in international material since it provides variety to their content lineup, and Indian customers are also interested because they have been exposed to international content in recent years.

They stated that the demand for international material, particularly scripted dramas, on OTT is increasing since it keeps viewers engaged for longer periods of time while also expanding the content collection. Unlike TV broadcasters, which were heavy on licensing non-fiction content, streaming platforms are focused significantly on fiction since digital gives them the ability to experiment with new formats.

"With a powerful consumer data mining engine in place, we discovered that our viewers here had a tremendous thirst for successful overseas shows. It enables content diversity, providing new ideas and concepts, and allowing us to present something distinctive that maximizes audience engagement," said a Disney+ Hotstar spokeswoman. Mrinalini Jain, Group Chief Development Officer, Banijay Asia & Endemol Shine India, believes that adapting successful foreign shows has an advantage because they have a well-established plot to follow.

"While these shows have a legacy and pedigree attached to them, making them a safer bet for investments, the challenge lies in hyper-localizing them as per the Indian market and innovating them for OTT platforms to make them a success, whether it be a scripted or unscripted format," she said. Aradhana Bhola, managing director of Fremantle India, stated that overseas shows are popular in India because they have a proven track record and hence are safer bets.

"Also, the epidemic has increased viewers' exposure to global content. Indians were exposed to a wide range of narratives, including Turkish, Korean, Israeli, and European content, and we ate it up, becoming agnostic of language and geographical barriers," she said. Sunder Aaron, Co-founder of Locomotive Global, stated that OTT platforms are attempting to produce material that has performed successfully on television, such as Bigg Boss or MasterChef. He further said that all of them are trying to attract mass audiences, so it's natural for them to look at what has worked on TV."