India will be among the top five markets for Lionsgate within the next five years: Rohit Jain, Lionsgate

• Launched formally in December 2020, Lionsgate Play is investing closely not simply on buying edgy, new content material but additionally on localizing the content material accessible on its platform, to make its content material extra accessible.
• Rohit Jain, Managing Director, South Asia and Networks – Rising Markets Asia, Lionsgate shares his enthusiasm concerning the India market and his plans to develop the platform right here, to accumulate an even bigger market share.

Lionsgate Play, which launched in India formally in December 2020, has large plans for the nation. With an enormous repository of world content material, the platform is already constructing on working Indian Originals that it’ll launch later this yr. At the moment, it’s engaged on localizing content material in a number of Indian languages. And regardless of being one of many latest entrants in India, Rohit Jain, Managing Director, South Asia and Networks – Rising Markets Asia, Lionsgate is assured that the platform will be capable of change into one of many high 5 gamers within the nation inside the subsequent 5 years.

Lionsgate Play is backed by Starz, a premium world streaming platforms. The platform is already accessible in 56 nations. Just lately, it introduced its launch in Indonesia and is already eyeing newer markets in South Asia and South East Asia.

Nonetheless, contemplating the actual fact there are a lot of India’s inside India, we requested Jain his technique of cracking the market. When requested if he feels this was a very good time to enter the nation, the place many premium participant have already got a head begin, Jain stated, “In India, in case you have a look at SVOD platforms, there are simply 4-5 established gamers. When you have a look at the US, there are round 80 subscription platforms. Our play worldwide is pure subscription. We really feel India, by way of each subscription and premium content material continues to be an underserved market. We’ve additionally are available in at a time when the enlargement is simply beginning to blow up now. The yr 2000-2005 noticed the large enlargement of cable in India and 2010-15 was all concerning the enlargement of DTH. Now 2020-25 belongs to OTT and we actually are at first of that five-year enlargement section. So in that sense, we’re fairly comfortable about our timing.”
2020 noticed most industries hit a roadblock. Nonetheless, the OTT business did brisk enterprise, due to folks being caught at dwelling and with an urge for food for consuming newer, premium content material. “2020 was a defining yr for OTT. Our sense is, in the beginning of 2020, subscribers in India wouldn’t have been greater than 10-15 million. Nonetheless, by the top of the yr, that quantity was nearer to 30-35 million. I consider the patron adoption for all digital corporations was fast-forwarded by 4-5 years,” he stated.
Jain maintains that the platform’s world technique is kind of differentiated. “Most giant gamers like Amazon, Disney to Netflix and Hulu within the US are going after the household audiences. We’re identified for premium content material which is uber-urban and really edgy and our providing is for younger to mature adults. So in that sense, we change into fairly complementary and will be consumed with different platforms that are nice for household.

Whereas engaged on creating a powerful content material slate, what can even give them an edge, feels Jain, is their efforts in direction of localizing the content material accessible on their platform. “Whereas most of our content material is world, we’re placing substantial investments on localizing the content material in lots of Indian languages,” he stated. “Actually, we have now simply began experimenting in Bhojpuri too,” he added.

When gamers like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video was making an attempt to increase in India, that they had gone large on OOH promoting, whereas additionally utilizing quite a lot of Digital. So what has Lionsgate Play’s technique been? “Now we have used fairly a little bit of OOH and since we actually like sports activities as a medium, we additionally marketed through the India-Australia Collection. After all Digital is the largest medium however we can even be doing a Print marketing campaign that you will notice for the following 2-3 months. So we’re dabbling with totally different mediums at totally different instances and it’s extra of a 360 diploma method for us,” he defined.

So is he focusing rather a lot on numbers? “We definitely have a marketing strategy for India and have a quantity in thoughts. Nonetheless, for our world CEO Jeff, India is one among his 5 key markets so sadly no matter quantity I put shall be in need of his expectations,” he stated with fun. Reacting to the uptake the platform has seen in India to this point, he stated, “There’s large alternative and potential right here and we’re fairly proud of the response we have seen to this point. As we maintain including extra layers of content material, we’ll proceed getting stronger.”

And by when does he consider India will change into one of many high 5 markets for Lionsgate Play? “If we have a look at the 5 yr interval of development between 2020 and 2025, I definitely consider India shall be among the many high 5 markets for us globally,” concluded Jain.