Singapore: Netflix and Amazon are battling a dizzying array of homegrown outfits, from Bollywood producers to broadcasters, for dominance of India's streaming market, a key target as growth in Western countries slows.
As more Indians shift to viewing movies and shows online, industry revenues from streaming in the country are set to jump from $500 million in 2018 to as much as $5 billion in 2023, according to Boston Consulting Group.
With many Western markets saturated and Asia's top economy China effectively closed off to foreign streamers, a nation of 1.3 billion where phone ownership is forecast to rocket makes for a tantalising prize.
"India is super important, for both Netflix and Amazon," Tony Gunnarsson, a streaming analyst from consultancy Ovum, told AFP at the recent Asia TV Forum in Singapore.
"Netflix... need to continue to generate new subscribers, and there is no better place than India." But the US giants face tough competition in the vast, ethnically and religiously diverse country where the streaming scene is rapidly evolving.
There are dozens of subscription streaming services in India, according to Ovum, and some domestic outfits have more experience in producing content tailored for local audiences and in the country's myriad languages.
A major player is Hotstar -- originally a homegrown outfit which later became part of the Disney empire -- which has attracted an army of followers in part by streaming Indian Premier League cricket matches live.
Other Indian rivals include ZEE5, run by major broadcaster Zee Entertainment, and ALTBalaji, the video-streaming service of Bollywood producers Balaji Telefilms.
As well as offering their services direct to consumers, streamers are bundling their content with mobile phone services in a bid to broaden their reach. Netflix, the world's biggest subscription streaming service, has made expanding in India a priority and aims to attract 100 million subscribers in the country -- an ambitious goal given analysts estimate it will only reach about seven million this year.
The company made a mark with its first Indian original "Sacred Games", a hugely popular series about a troubled police officer starring top Bollywood actors, and has a slate of new productions in the works.
They plan to invest 30 billion rupees ($420 million) in Indian content in 2019 and 2020.
"This is India's golden age of entertainment," Srishti Arya, Netflix India's director of international original film, told AFP.
"There are so many opportunities in streaming, creators are not restricted by length, duration." Fellow US titan Amazon also has a strong foothold in India with its Prime Video service and, like Netflix, typically appeals to wealthier urbanites who want to see Western as well as Indian content.
