Demand for South content rising, Krishnan Kutty

With the rising demand for South Indian stories, leading OTT platform Zee 5 Hotstar is focusing on South Indian movies and series. The company plans to invest ₹4,000 crore over the next five years for this initiative. Additionally, it aims to release 1,500 hours of new South content in the next 12 months.

According to Krishnan Kutty, Head of Cluster Entertainment (South) at Zee5 Hotstar, the viewing time for South content has increased by 70 percent, higher than the national average. South content is now setting new trends, with a large number of viewers actively watching it.

Krishnan noted that South content also sees higher subscriptions, more active users, and greater TV connect usage. In this context, Zee5 Hotstar on Tuesday announced 25 new South titles, including original shows, movies, and series.

Along with South content, OTT platform usage is rapidly growing across the country. Zee5 Hotstar’s recent move is expected to increase the demand for regional content. While there is some impact on English content views, specialized regional content can effectively fill the gap. Notably, platforms like Zee5 target Tier-2 and Tier-3 regions by providing culturally rich local content.

According to Ormax Media, OTT users in India have increased by 9.9 percent this year.