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SONYLIV OTT: FIX VALUE PROPOSITION OR REPOSITION1

Abhimanyu Goel and Pravat Surya Kar wrote this case solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to
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In May 2023, Sony Pictures Networks India, promoted Danish Khan to business head of SonyLIV.2 The
latter was a major player in over-the-top (OTT) services delivering streamed content via internet-connected
devices in India. Khan, a media and entertainment sector veteran,3 had been overseeing SonyLIV’s
operations for the last four years. In 2020, he had altered the pricing strategy and content portfolio and
relaunched the platform as SonyLIV 2.0. Those initiatives increased its monthly active users four times and
grew the top line by 300 per cent.4

However, the digital media and entertainment industry in India was dynamic. Significantly, the subscription
video on demand (SVOD, or advertisement-free) sector of the OTT video streaming market was growing at
a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 20 per cent, much faster than the US and China.5
In addition, there was a vibrant advertising video on demand (AVOD, or advertisement-plus) sector in the
country.6 Further, short-form video apps were also growing at a CAGR of 34 per cent. This growth potential
had attracted many players, and the industry was highly competitive. Accordingly, critical concerns for OTT
platforms in India were commercial viability and monetization.7 The reasons for elusive profitability in the
industry were high customer acquisition costs, acquisition/creation, and content distribution.

Against this backdrop, Khan’s new mandate was to focus exclusively on digital offerings and expand the
domestic and international market share of Sony Pictures Networks India.8 9 However, should SonyLIV
have reviewed the customer segment(s) it was targeting? Should it have reviewed its content strategy and
pricing model? Should SonyLIV have become advertisement-free like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video
India, or should the platform have collaborated with rival platforms and offered more content to a larger
audience with an advertisement-plus model?10

SONYLIV

SonyLIV, launched in 2013, offered subscribers access—on internet-connected devices—to television

channels such as SONY, SAB, and MAX of the Sony Pictures Networks India group (Exhibit 1).11 In 2016,
the app started offering access to live content, and licensed TV shows and movies via its library. This was
done in response to increasing competition in the Indian OTT space as Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix

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entered the market.12 In 2018, SonyLIV made a deal with Lionsgate and embedded the latter into the
SonyLIV interface.13

By 2019, SonyLIV was streaming live channels of other networks, including news channels. The platform
also won the broadcast rights to several sporting tournaments, including Indian cricket, the FIFA World
Cup, and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. SonyLIV also had an impressive library of critically
acclaimed international series such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Community, and Planet Earth. Original
SonyLIV productions were offered advertisement-free.14 In June 2020, SonyLIV launched a new logo, user
interface, and original titles.15 The platform closed March 2022 with $143 (₹1,200 crore)16 in revenue and
a healthy operating profit.17

INDIA OTT MARKET—AN OVERVIEW

In April 2023, the Indian OTT market was valued at $1.26 billion (₹10,500 crore). It was expected that by
2024, this value would increase to $1.44 billion (₹12,000 crore) and further increase to $3.6 billion (₹30,000
crore) by 2030, representing 20 per cent growth on a year-on-year basis.18 According to other estimates, it
could grow to $12 billion (Exhibit 2). Indians spent over 25 billion hours consuming entertainment content
on apps in 2022, which was at least three times that of the US.19 In the Indian OTT market, the
advertisement-free sector contributed almost 67 per cent of the total revenues.20 It should also be noted that
as of June 2023, India had 46 OTT providers, and this number was only poised to grow.21

Market insights had also shown that Indian OTT customers were willing to watch content across multiple
platforms, opting for the flexibility that came with lower prices. In a nutshell, India was a value/price-
sensitive market. Out of the 438 million viewers of OTT platforms in 2022, 130 million belonged to the
advertisement-free segment.22 The revenues from advertisement-free segment in India were expected to
grow at a CAGR of 19 per cent to reach $2.9 billion, and advertisement-plus revenues could reach $2.42
billion by 2027 at a CAGR of 16 per cent.

OTT Market Trends

Karan Taurani of Elara Capital suggested, “In India, OTT players should adopt freemium, with low [average
revenue per user] for subscription, given consumer price sensitivity. However, a pure AVOD model may not
work well, as digital advertising in India is dominated by social media, search (including YouTube), and
commerce. The latter commands ~75% share in India’s digital advertising as of [2022].”23 On the other hand,
a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Boston Consulting Group stated that SVOD platforms
would make up 55–60 per cent of OTT revenue in India by 2030. The market in India was estimated to grow at
a 20–23 per cent CAGR to from $2.6 billion in 2022 to $11–$13 billion in 2030, wherein the SVOD segment
would grow from 85–90 million subscriptions in 2022 to 160–165 million subscriptions in 2027.24 Finally,
according to a Deloitte Consulting report, “The overall OTT space in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of
more than 20 per cent to reach $13−$15 [billion] over the next decade. Whereas the SVOD market is expected
to grow to $2.1 [billion] from the current $0.8 [billion] over the same period.”25

OTT Customer Segments in India

The OTT customers could be segmented based on various criteria, such as preferred language, time of day,
and content genre (Exhibits 3 and 4). The following is a multicriteria segmentation of consumers for two
major verticals of OTT platforms in India (Exhibits 5 and 6).

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Advertisement-Free Customer Segments26

New to OTT: This segment consisted of an older audience that was still coming to terms with consuming
streaming content. They mostly consumed long-form OTT content, limited to select big films and shows.
Their preferred content genres were comedies, suspense, crime thrillers, and legal dramas.

Hindi language content consumers: These were well-to-do (upmarket) individuals in the Hindi-speaking
regions of India whose preferred content genres were comedies, suspense and crime thrillers, legal dramas,
and content dealing with college students, youth, and social messages.

South Indian languages content consumers: These individuals preferred watching content made in the South
Indian regional languages, especially films. Fifty-three per cent of this segment resided in the five southern
states of India. Their preferred content genres were comedies, suspense and crime thrillers, legal dramas,
science fiction, action, and inspirational content.

Addicted to streaming content: This segment was dominated by males. Their affinity was toward content
across platforms in multiple languages, formats and genres. Their preferred content genres were comedies,
suspense and crime thrillers, science fiction, superheroes, action, knowledge-driven videos, and live sports.

Consumers of global content: This segment comprised younger men who preferred watching English-
language and other international content. This was the core viewer base for Netflix and Disney+ Hotstar’s
Marvel content. Their preferred content genres were science fiction, suspense and crime thrillers, comedies,
superheroes, action, cartoons, and anime.

Advertisement-Plus Customer Segments27

Knowledge and excitement seekers: This was a predominantly male segment that mostly consumed online
videos. Their preferred genres were news, sports, action, and knowledge videos.

Family woman: This segment was dominated by older women (mean age 33.3). This segment watched
online videos primarily on YouTube and had a very low affinity for long-form fiction content on OTT
platforms. Their preferred genres were knowledge videos related to education, health, and food.

South Indian languages content consumers: This segment preferred watching content made in the South
Indian regional languages. A significant portion of this segment was in the five southern states of India and
mostly skewed towards the smaller towns. Their preferred genres were comedies and music.

Ready to switch to SVOD: This was a young audience (mean age 23.4). This segment had a high affinity
for web series and other forms of digital entertainment. These were variety seekers, ready to make the
switch to paid services. They had the highest consumption of English-language content among all genres.

Traditional TV viewers: This segment was older than the rest (mean age 35). Their online video
consumption was limited to short videos and catching up on TV content in the online space. They had a
limited interest in web originals. They preferred TV shows and reality shows.

The above outlines the diversity and complexity of the OTT landscape in India. This was possibly why
many OTT players simultaneously offered multiple subscription models.

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OTT Subscription Models

The revenue streams for OTT platforms in 2023 were digital advertising and subscriptions. This had led
the industry to adopt a four-model pricing strategy. The SVOD model allowed users to access the content
available on the platform for a regular fee (subscription) for a stipulated period.28

The AVOD model allowed users to access content for free. Advertisements were the platform’s revenue
source, and the user had to sit through targeted promotions while consuming the content (similar to
broadcast television).29 The benefit of an AVOD model for consumers was that they could access the
content at no charge. At the same time, it enabled the OTT platforms to increase reach and allowed brands
to access diverse demographics. As of December 2022, the advertisement-plus segment made up 69 per cent
of the digital video universe in India.30

Freemium was a blended OTT business approach that amalgamated elements from AVOD and SVOD
models. Catch-up TV shows were typically accessible without charge on those freemium platforms
supported by the television broadcasters in India, such as Disney+ Hotstar, SonyLIV, JioCinema, and
ZEE5.31 There was also a category called transactional video on demand (TVOD).32 In this model, the
platform allowed users to buy content in a pay-per-view mode. Unlike the SVOD model, users only got
access to the content they had paid for and not the platform’s entire catalogue.

KEY COMPETITORS OF SONYLIV

There were five major competitors of SonyLIV in the Indian OTT space (Exhibit 7):33

Disney+ Hotstar: It offered a combination of free, VIP, and premium membership and provided access to
all the channels owned by the Star television network, such as Star World, Star Plus, etc. Users had the
option to create a free account on Hotstar and access content with advertisements, whereas a Hotstar
premium subscription provided an ad-free experience along with exclusive international movies and TV
shows. As of 2022, Hotstar had amassed a subscriber base of 44 million. In the advertisement-free category,
it was among the most preferred OTT platforms, and in the advertisement-plus space, it was the most
preferred platform for the consumer segment categorized as “Ready to Switch to SVOD.” 34

Amazon Prime Video: Owned and operated by Amazon.com Inc., Amazon Prime Video was a streaming
platform that offered a diverse collection of movies and television shows in India. With a subscriber base of
20 million, India was one of the largest markets for Prime Video. Since 2018, Amazon Prime Video has been
producing original content. Since Amazon Prime Video was primarily an advertisement-free service, which
was available only by subscribing to Amazon’s Prime service, it was not the preferred OTT destination for
India’s advertisement-plus consumers. However, in the advertisement free space, it was extremely popular,
and its subscriber base, which was second only to Disney+ Hotstar, was a testament to that fact.35

Netflix: The global OTT giant entered India in January 2016. Its unique selling proposition had been original
movies and television shows. Netflix had made its highest investment in India to produce more original
content. Netflix positioned itself as a premium content provider and was a lot costlier than all of its
competitors. However, Netflix recently discounted its pricing in India in response to the lack of subscriber
growth compared to its other major markets. Dynamic pricing by other Indian players had also led to Netflix
not meeting its subscription growth targets. Netflix had 6 million subscribers in India thanks to its premium
subscription rates. It was patronized by the advertisement-free segment and “Consumers of Global Content.”36

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ZEE5: Zee Entertainment Enterprises owned and operated ZEE5.37 The network had launched India’s first
domestic Hindi language satellite channel in 1992 and launched India’s first premiere movie channel in
1995.38 It offered both original and library content in 12 languages. The platform gave access to over 90
live television channels as well as more than 1,250,000 hours of content in languages such as English,
Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, and Punjabi.39

JioCinema: Launched in 2016 to cater to Reliance Industries’ Jio mobile subscribers, JioCinema’s content
library encompassed a wide range of media content, including movies, TV shows, web series, music videos,
documentaries, and sports.40 The platform offered more than 100,000 hours of content across languages such
as English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi, Telegu, Bengali, Gujarati, and Punjabi. The platform was owned
and operated by Viacom18, a joint venture between Paramount Global and Jio’s parent company, Reliance
Industries.41 In August 2023, Voot, Viacom18’s OTT platform, officially merged with JioCinema.42

Reliance was an Indian multinational conglomerate that stood as the foremost public company in India in
terms of market capitalization and revenue.43 JioCinema had been making great strides in getting consumers
onto its platform. Its wide and extensive content library had ensured that it was quite popular in the
advertisement-plus space among the knowledge and excitement seeker segments, as well as consumers
looking for content in the southern languages of India. Exhibit 8 shares the subscription models and service
offerings of the leading OTT players.

Select Generic Competition

Media consumption was done across various avenues such as films, television, radio, online gaming,
animation and visual effects, live events, out-of-home media, and music. The following is a brief discussion
on select digital competitors of OTT platforms.

Video on Demand (VOD)

The era of traditional TV changed with the advent of VOD.44 It revolutionized the user experience because
people could download video content anytime and watch it at their convenience. This was enabled by cable
services that gave their subscribers the option to record their favourite shows at the press of a button on the
remote control or even pay a nominal fee and watch videos on demand.45 In India, direct-to-home providers
like TataSky and Airtel provided such services at a premium fee to their subscribers. OTT and VOD services,
despite overlaps, represented distinct facets of digital content delivery.46 YouTube was the most prominent
example of a VOD platform. It provided advertisement-free service via Youtube Premium, advertisement-
plus in the form of user-generated content, and TVOD in the form of film purchases and rentals, and
livestreaming of events.47 As per a report by EY and FICCI, in 2022 alone, 120 million homes had pay TV.48

Gaming Platforms

The Indian online gaming industry had grown at a CAGR of 28 per cent. It reached ₹16,428 crore in 2023
and was expected to reach ₹22,243 crore by 2028.49 This massive boost was due to the widespread
penetration of smartphones and great improvement in internet connectivity across the country. The COVID-
19 pandemic was also a growth driver for mobile downloads for people seeking digital entertainment.
India’s population was young and still growing, and preferred local gaming content. Furthermore, India
being a mobile-first market, 94 per cent of the gamer base was engaged in mobile gaming.50

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THE WAY FORWARD

In light of the above, there were a few options that SonyLIV might adopt to expand its domestic and
international market share. One of the routes that SonyLIV could choose was altering the pricing strategy,
introducing higher subscription rates, and turning its fortunes around. It could decide to become a purely
advertisement-free platform. Then, the advantage would be predictable and recurring revenues. The profit
margins could be higher (compared to platforms that did not have a subscription fee). The advertisement-
free model would also allow OTT platforms to maintain a better and more curated audience base and keep
the platform advertising-free. Netflix and Amazon Prime India were examples of this model. However,
would the subscribers agree to pay for content they were accessing (mostly) free of cost?

A second option for SonyLIV was to revamp its content, i.e., market offerings. It was already offering
licensed or commissioned big-ticket original content similar to Netflix, Amazon Prime India, and Hotstar.
The improved content, however, entailed additional costs with respect to licensing and production. Though
its content offering was on par with the competition, as seen in Exhibits 4 and 5, SonyLIV was not a top
preferred content destination for advertisement-free or advertisement-plus customers. This was a major
point that needed to be corrected if the platform was to make any progress in its desired goals. One way
was to consider aggressively expanding into India's regional language content space. Maybe a foray into
content in Malayalam, a major South-Indian language, would help the platform gain more subscribers not
just in India but also in the Middle East and North Africa.51 The platform had already expanded into Tamil
language content, targeting the South Asian countries with a Tamil-speaking population.

SonyLIV had rebranded and repositioned itself in 2019. Was it time for the platform to consider consolidation
or partnering as a strategy? Partnering could help each platform to offer new content in addition to cross-
promoting each other’s offerings. Consolidation would give access to an additional subscriber base, adding
more variety to the content library while providing access to new technologies, thereby offering a competitive
advantage.52 In 2021 Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited announced it was going to merge with Zee
Entertainment. However, due to various complications, the actual merger was delayed.

In this context, SonyLIV had to decide on a course of action quickly or become one of the many casualties
of a hypercompetitive industry. What course of action should SonyLIV adopt, considering the challenges
OTT platforms face in India?

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EXHIBIT 1: CULVER MAX ENTERTAINMENT PRIVATE LIMITED

Sony Pictures Networks India is the brand identity of Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited, which is an indirect wholly owned
subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation, Japan … The Company reaches out to over 700 million viewers in India and is available in
167 countries … The Company is in its 28th year of operations in India. Besides having overseas subsidiaries, it has a subsidiary,
MSM-Worldwide Factual Media Private Limited, and an affiliate, Bangla Entertainment Private Limited, in India.*

The company owns and operates television channels ranging from entertainment, movies, music, sports, and special events to family
comedy. Culver Max Entertainment’s consolidated revenue from operations in the fiscal year 2022 was INR 6746.3 crore.†

Sources: *“Who We Are,” Sony Pictures Networks India, accessed October 28, 2022,
http://www.sonypicturesnetworks.com/overview; † Javed Farooqui, “SPNI’s FY22 Consolidated Revenue Surges 21% Due to
Strong Ad Revenue Growth,” Exchange4Media, July 5, 2022, http://www.exchange4media.com/media-tv-news/spnis-fy22-
consolidated-revenue-surges-21-due-to-strong-ad-rev-growth-121184.html.

EXHIBIT 2: MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT MARKET PROJECT IN INDIA

M&E sector Status in 2022: $26–$29 billion Projected growth by 2030: $55–$65 billion
Expected to reach $11–$13 billion, with a
OTT market Estimated at $2.6 billion
CAGR of 20%–23%
OTT subscriptions 85–90 million To grow to 160–165 million
Projected to grow to $11–$12 billion, with
TV market Valued at approximately $9 billion
a CAGR of 3–4%
Expected to reach $8–$11 billion, with
Gaming market Estimated at $2.6 billion
mobile gaming leading
Theatrical film market $1.5 billion Projected to grow to $3–$4 billion
Animation and VFX sector NA Expected to reach $4–$5 billion

Notes: CAGR = compound annual growth rate; M&E = media and entertainment; OTT = over-the top; VFX = visual effects.
Source: Lata Jha, “Subscriptions to Make 60% of OTT Revenue by 2030: Report,” Mint, November 16, 2022,
www.livemint.com/industry/media/subscriptions-to-make-60-of-ott-revenue-by-2030-report-11668592606910.html.

EXHIBIT 3: LANGUAGE PREFERENCES FOR ONLINE VIDEO CONSUMPTION IN INDIA

Language Percentage
Hindi 64%
Tamil 11%
English 6%
Kannada 4%
Telegu 5%
Bengali 4%
Marathi 3%
Others 3%

Source: KPMG, Unravelling the Digital Video Consumer, September 2019, 21, accessed December 29, 2023.
https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2019/09/ott-digital-video-market-consumer-india.pdf.

EXHIBIT 4: PREFERRED TIME SLOTS FOR ONLINE VIDEO CONSUMPTION IN INDIA

Time slot / Self-employed—small Self-employed— Public/private

Unemployed
Customer segment and medium business large business sector employee
7 a.m.–10 a.m. 12% 15% 25% 14%
10 a.m.–6 p.m. 28% 41% 29% 29%
6 p.m.–8 p.m. 30% 29% 34% 33%
8 p.m.–11 p.m. 44% 42% 48% 53%
11 p.m.–7 p.m. 15% 11% 14% 15%

Source: KPMG, Unravelling the Digital Video Consumer, September 2019, 26, accessed December 29, 2023.
https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2019/09/ott-digital-video-market-consumer-india.pdf.

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EXHIBIT 5: SEGMENTS OF ADVERTISEMENT-FREE CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION

South Indian
Hindi language Addicted to
language Consumers of
Segment New to OTTs content streaming
content global content
consumers* content
consumers
Share 23% 22% 21% 18% 16%
M: 57% M: 60% M: 54% M: 71% M: 77%
F: 43% F: 40% F: 46% F: 29% F: 23%
Demographic
Median age: Median age: Median age: Median age: Median age:
35.6 29.2 30.8 28.6 24.4
Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar
Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar
Preferred MX Player Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime Amazon Prime Amazon Prime
OTT Amazon Prime Video
Video Video Video
Video Netflix

Notes: * In the last census collected in 2011 by the Government of India, nearly 55 per cent of the Indian population reported
Hindi as their mother tongue or second language; F = female; M = male; OTT = over-the-top.
Source: “Segmenting Indian SVOD audience,” Ormax Media Pvt. Ltd., June 16, 2022, https://www.ormaxmedia.com/insights/
stories/segmenting-indian-svod-audience.

EXHIBIT 6: SEGMENTS OF ADVERTISEMENT-PLUS CUSTOMERS IN INDIA

South Indian
Knowledge and
language Ready to switch Traditional TV
Segment excitement Family woman
content to SVOD viewers
seekers
consumers
Share 25% 21% 20% 18% 15%
M: 82% M: 33% M: 53% M: 55% M: 68%
Demographic F: 18% F: 67% F: 47% F: 45% F: 32%
Median age: 28.8 Median age: 33.3 Median age: 28.6 Median age: 23.4 Median age: 35.6
Preferred
JioCinema YouTube JioCinema Disney+ Hotstar JioCinema
OTT

Notes: F = female; M = male; OTT = over-the-top; SVOD = subscription video on demand.

Source: “Segmenting Indian SVOD audience,” Ormax Media Pvt. Ltd., June 16, 2022, 2–3, https://www.ormaxmedia.com/insights/
stories/segmenting-indian-avod-audience.

EXHIBIT 7: SUBSCRIBERS OF INDIAN OTT PLATFORMS AS OF MARCH 2022 AND 2023

Subscribers 2022 Subscribers 2023

Platform
(millions) (millions)
Disney+ Hotstar 47.5 44.2
Amazon Prime Video 20 20
Netflix 5 6
SonyLIV 12 12
Jio Cinema 9 10
ZEE5 7.5 7.5

Sources: “Top 10 OTT Platforms in India by Subscribers and Price List 2023,” Bollymoviereviewz, accessed August 2, 2023,
https://www.bollymoviereviewz.com/2022/02/top-ott-platforms-in-india-by-subscribers-price-list.html; “JioCinema’s Gain Is Disney
Hotstar’s Loss, Latter Loses Over 4 Million Subscribers in 3 Months”, India Today, May 12, 2023,
www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/jiocinemas-gain-is-disney-hotstars-loss-latter-loses-over-4-million-subscribers-in-3-months-
2378198-2023-05-12; Vikas SN, “Disney+ Hotstar Loses 12.5 Million Subscribers in its Biggest-Ever Quarterly Drop,” Moneycontrol,
accessed August 23, 2023, https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/disney-hotstar-loses-12-5-million-subscribers-in-its-
biggest-ever-quarterly-drop-11137771.html; Abdul Haleem Sherif, “How Amazon Prime Video Plans to Win India’s OTT Market with
MX Player Purchase,” Outlook India, accessed August 22, 2023, https://business.outlookindia.com/news/how-amazon-prime-video-
plans-to-win-india-s-ott-market-with-mx-player-purchase--news-272649.

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EXHIBIT 8: OFFERINGS OF KEY INDIAN OTT PLAYERS AS OF 2023

SonyLIV Advertisement-Free Tariff Details

Plans and prices Features Screens and quality

LIV Originals and movies, SonyLIV Premium
Live TV channels, international shows and
Premium annual: ₹999
Hollywood movies 2 screens
Premium half-yearly: ₹699
South Indian shows and films 5 profiles
Premium monthly: ₹299
Live sports, ads in live sports and TV channels
Offline downloads
Original shows and movies
TV channels and reality shows 1 mobile phone
Mobile only: ₹599
Live sports 720p video output
South Indian shows and films

Disney+ Hotstar: Advertisement-Free Tariff Details

Plans and prices Features Screens and quality

All content (movies and shows) ad-free
Original series and movies
International shows and Hollywood movies 4 screens
Premium annual: ₹1,499
Bollywood movies 4K
Premium monthly: ₹299
South Indian shows and films Premium
Live TV and sports with ads, HD content
Downloading for offline viewing
All content (select content with ads) 2 screens
Super annual: ₹899
No downloading for offline viewing Full HD

Amazon Prime Video India: Bundled with Prime Membership

Plans and prices Features Screens

All video content + Amazon Music, Prime Delivery,
Prime Gaming, Prime Reading, and Prime
Advantage
Annually: ₹1,499
Early access to sales/promotions on Amazon
Quarterly: ₹599
shopping Any number
Monthly: ₹299
Original series and movies
International shows and Hollywood movies
Bollywood movies and South Indian films
Downloading for offline viewing
All video content + Prime Delivery
Lite annually: ₹999 Without Amazon Music and downloading for offline 2
viewing

Netflix India: Tariff Details

Plans and prices Features Screens and quality

1 screen
480p
Mobile monthly: ₹149
Tablets and mobile
Netflix Original series and movies phones only
International shows and movies 1 screen
Basic monthly: ₹199
Bollywood movies and South Indian films 720p
Downloading for offline viewing 2 screens
Standard monthly: ₹499
HD
4 screens
Premium monthly: ₹649
UHD

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EXHIBIT 8 (CONTINUED)

ZEE5: Advertisement-Free Tariff Details

Plans and prices Features Screens

Annually: ₹499 Original series and international shows and movies 1
Annually: ₹699 Bollywood movies and South Indian films 2
Download option for popular movies and shows
Annually: ₹999 Users can stream even on low bandwidth 4
HD content available (720p)

JioCinema: Advertisement-Free Tariff Details

Plan and price Features Screens

International shows and movies
Bollywood movies and South Indian films
Annually: ₹999 4
Watch on any device
Highest video and audio quality

Sources: Source: SonyLiv website, accessed May 27, 2024, www.sonyliv.com/subscription; “How Can We Help You Today,”
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ENDNOTES
1
This case has been written on the basis of published sources only. Consequently, the interpretation and perspectives
presented in this case are not necessarily those of Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited or any of its employees.
2
SonyLIV is an over-the-top video streaming platform owned by Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited.
3
“Danish Khan to Take Over as Business Head for SonyLiv, Studio Next,” Outlook India, May 15, 2023,
http://www.outlookindia.com/business/danish-khan-to-take-over-as-business-head-for-sony-liv-studio-next-news-286397.
4
“SPNI Strengthens Its Focus on Digital and Hindi Language Entertainment; Makes Strategic Leadership Changes,”
TellyChakkar, May 15, 2023, https://www.tellychakkar.com/tv/tv-news/spni-strengthens-it-focus-digital-and-hindi-language-
entertainment-makes-strategic.
5
Boston Consulting Group and Meta, Seeing the Big Picture: Harnessing Digital to Drive M&E Growth, March 2023, 10,
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/india-seeing-the-big-picture-harnessing-digital-to-drive-m-e-growth.
6
“India OTT Market Report 2023: AVOD/Advertising Model Accounted for ~45.30% of Revenue of Video OTT Players FY2023
—Forecast to 2028,” PR NewsWire, December 15, 2023, https://ians.in/pr-wire-detail/india-ott-market-report-2023-
avodadvertising-model-accounted-for-4530-of-revenue-of-video-ott-players-fy2023-forecast-to-2028-15-12-2023.
7
Aditi Gupta, “Consolidation of OTTs to Lower Losses: Will More Make It Merrier?” Exchange4Media, July 26, 2023,
https://www.exchange4media.com/digital-news/consolidation-of-otts-to-lower-losses-will-more-make-it-merrier-128230.html.
8
BE Staff, “SPNI Makes Strategic Elevations,” ET Brand Equity, May 15, 2023,
https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/the-people-report/spni-makes-strategic-elevations/100244977.
9
Kyle Peterdy, “Ansoff Matrix—The Product/Market Expansion Grid,” Corporate Finance Institute, accessed August 4, 2023,
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/management/ansoff-matrix/.
10
Gupta, “Consolidation of OTTs to Lower Losses.”
11
Gaurav Laghate, “Sony Launches Digital Entertainment Platform SonyLiv,” Business Standard, January 29, 2013,
https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/sony-launches-digital-entertainment-platform-sony-liv-113012200570_1.html.
12
Abhimanyu Mukherjee, “OTT and Its Evolution in the Indian Market,” KIIT School of Management, July 18, 2021,
https://blog.ksom.ac.in/2021/07/ott-and-its-evolution-in-the-indian-market/.
13
Akhil Arora, “SonyLIV Thinks It Offers ‘A Great Experience’ but Does It, Really?” Gadgets 360, September 2, 2019,
http://www.gadgets360.com/entertainment/features/sonyliv-india-live-sports-free-premium-tech-troubles-quality-originals-tvf-
crime- patrol-2094434.
14
Arora, “SonyLIV Thinks It Offers ‘A Great Experience.’”
15
Vanita Kohli-Khandekar, “How SonyLIV Beat Netflix and Amazon,” Rediff, July 7, 2022,
http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/how-sonyliv-beat-netflix-and-amazon/20220707.htm.
16
INR = ₹ =Indian rupees; ₹1,200 crore = US$1.44 billion. (US$1 = ₹83.12); 100 crore = $1 billion.
17
Kohli-Khandekar, “How SonyLIV Beat Netflix and Amazon.”
18
M. Ramesh, “Indian OTT Market Set to Reach ₹30,000 Crore by 2030,” Hindu BusinessLine, April 20, 2023,
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/indian-ott-market-set-to-reach-30000-crore-by-2030/article66760012.ece.
19
Ashish Pherwani “Windows of Opportunity: India’s Media & Entertainment Sector—Maximizing across Segments, EY, April 2023,
78, https://www.ey.com/en_in/media-entertainment/windows-of-opportunity-indias-m-e-sector-maximizing-across-segments.
20
Tanushree Basuroy, “Revenue Share of Video Streaming Market India from 2018 to 2022, With a Forecast until 2027, By
Segment,” Statista, accessed February 15, 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1401639/india-video-streaming-revenue-
share-by-segment.
21
Barry Elad, “Top 10 Indian OTT Platforms Statistics,” Enterprise Apps Today, January 3, 2023.
https://www.enterpriseappstoday.com/stats/indian-ott-platforms-statistics.html.
22
Lata Jha, “Streaming Platforms Take to Hybrid Model for Price-Sensitive Consumers: Report,” Mint, February 28, 2023,
https://www.livemint.com/industry/media/streaming-platforms-take-to-hybrid-model-for-price-sensitive-consumers-report-
11677561438307.html.
23
The News Desk, “Exclusive–KaranView | Karan Taurani: Free Content Would Lead to Higher Losses for OTT Platforms and Lead
to Consolidation,” MediaBrief, June 9, 2023, https://mediabrief.com/karan-taurani-free-content-would-lead-to-higher-losses-for-otts/.
24
Lata Jha, “Subscriptions to Make 60% of OTT Revenue by 2030: Report,” Mint, November 16, 2022,
www.livemint.com/industry/media/subscriptions-to-make-60-of-ott-revenue-by-2030-report-11668592606910.html.
25
Gargi Sarkar, “Disney+ Hotstar’s ARPU Declines Due oo Lower Per-Subscriber Ad Revenue,” Inc42, November 9, 2022.
https://inc42.com/buzz/disneyhotstar-overall-subscription-reaches-61-3-mn-achieves-5-qoq-growth/.
26
“Segmenting Indian SVOD Audience,” Ormax Media Pvt. Ltd., June 16, 2022,
https://www.ormaxmedia.com/insights/stories/segmenting-indian-svod-audience.
27
“Segmenting Indian AVOD Audience.”
28
Gupta, “Consolidation of OTTs to Lower Losses.”
29
Sundaravel E. and Elangovan N., “Emergence and Future of Over-the-Top (OTT) Video Services in India: An Analytical
Research,” International Journal of Business Management and Social Research 8, no. 2 (2020): 489–99,
https://doi.org/10.18801/ijbmsr.080220.50.
30
“India’s OTT Universe: The Growth Story,” Ormax Media, December 15, 2022,
https://www.ormaxmedia.com/insights/stories/indias-ott-universe-the-growth-story.html.
31
KPMG, Unravelling the Digital Video Consumer, September 2019, 5, accessed December 29, 2023,
https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2019/09/ott-digital-video-market-consumer-india.pdf.
32
Sundaravel and Elangovan, “Emergence and Future of Over-the-Top (OTT) Video Services in India.”

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33
Webmanager, “Why are the OTT Platforms Ruling the Media and Entertainment Industry?” Brainium, October 21, 2020,
https://www.brainiuminfotech.com/blog/ott-platforms-ruling-the-entertainment-industry/.
34
“Helpdesk,” Hotstar, https://help.hotstar.com/in/en/support/solutions/articles/68000001237-new-disney-hotstar-subscription-plans.
35
“The Amazon Prime Membership Fee,” Amazon India, https://www.amazon.in/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=
G34EUPKVMYFW8N2U.
36
“Choose Your Plan,” Netflix India, https://www.netflix.com/signup/planform.
37
“Terms of Use,” ZEE5, accessed January 18, 2024, https://www.zee5.com/termsofuse.
38
“Suhani Singh, “Entertainment Inc.: The Story of Zee, One of India’s First Hindi Satellite Channels,” India Today, August 11, 2017,
https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20170821-zee-hindi-tv-channel-subhash-chandra-1028931-2017-08-11.
39
“About Us,” ZEE5, accessed January 18, 2024, https://www.zee5.com/aboutus.
40
“Subscription Plan & Pricing,” JioCinema Help Center, accessed May 27, 2024,
https://help.jiocinema.com/categories/subscription-plan-pricing/644281227c45ab4c46d47609.
41
Ayushi Kar, “Viacom18 Completes Merger of JioCinema and Voot OTT Platforms, Majority Subscribers Transitioned,” Hindu
BusinessLine, August 15, 2023, www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/variety/viacom18-completes-merger-of-jiocinema-and-
voot-ott-platforms-majority-subscribers-transitioned/article67197460.ece.
42
“Voot, JioCinema Merged: Users Now Free to Switch from One Platform to Other,” Business Standard, August 9, 2023,
https://www.business-standard.com/entertainment/voot-jiocinema-merged-users-now-free-to-switch-from-one-platform-to-
other-123080900349_1.html.
43
“Top 100 Stocks by Market Capitalization: BSE Listed Stocks Market Capitalization,” BSE India, accessed September 18,
2023, www.bseindia.com/markets/equity/EQReports/TopMarketCapitalization.aspx.
44
Simi, “VOD vs. OTT: The Difference and Confusions,” Cincopa, May 26, 2021, https://www.cincopa.com/blog/vod-vs-ott-
the-difference-and-confusions/.
45
Simi, “VOD vs. OTT.”
46
“OTT vs. VOD: What’s the Difference?” Castr, May 26, 2023, https://castr.com/blog/ott-vs-vod-whats-the-difference/.
47
“OTT vs. VOD: What’s the Difference?”
48
Pherwani, “Windows of Opportunity,” 19.
49
“India’s Online Gaming Market to Reach INR16,428 Crore in FY23; to Enable 250,000 Jobs in India by 2025: EY Report,”
EY US, press release, September 27, 2023, https://www.ey.com/en_in/news/2023/12/india-s-online-gaming-market-to-reach-
inr-16428-crore-in-fy-23-to-enable-250000-jobs-in-india-by-2025-ey-report.
50
“India’s Online Gaming Market to Reach INR16,428 crore in FY23.”
51
Benita Chacko, “Sony LIV Targets New Subscribers through Regional Original Content,” Afaqs!, January 30, 2023.
https://www.afaqs.com/news/ott-streaming/sonyliv-targets-new-subscribers-through-regional-original-content.
52
Gupta, “Consolidation of OTTs to Lower Losses.”

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