With convenience and personalised content driving television viewing in most homes, more OTT players are entering into B2B tie up with DTH operators and OEM manufacturers to embed their app into smart televisions and even distribute them through cable distribution networks.

Last week, Eros Now entered into a tie up with LG SmartTV globally to be available on webOS-enabled LG smart TVs worldwide. While Videocon had entered into partnership with SPN-owned OTT platform SonyLiv, nexGTV, an OTT platform too is understood to be collaborating with Den Networks to launch exclusive OTT app — DEN TV+.

Besides being seamless, such partnerships also have data-saving features.

Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital, said, “Smart TVs are increasingly becoming a must-have in every household today. This partnership provides millions of LG smart TV users with unlimited access to Eros Now’s vast library of premium content, as well as a seamless viewing experience for Eros Now users which furthers our vision of being platform agnostic.”

Younchul Park, Director Home Entertainment-LG Electronics India, said, “The market for smart TV is experiencing an upsurge in India. Availability of good content can certainly enhance the overall consumer experience of smart televisions. We are very confident that good content will further drive smart TV sales in India and create a conducive eco-system for us to cater to the ever-increasing demand.”

Earlier this year, Videocon d2h had signed deal with SonyLIV for its HD Smart Connect Set Top Box. It also has a similar arrangement with Netflix.

Saurabh Dhoot, Executive Chairman Videocon d2h, said, “This collaboration would strengthen the entertainment apps available on our HD Smart Connect and provide our customers with a large range of entertainment.’’ According to a KPMG report ‘The Digital First Journey’, an average consumer spends about 3-5 hours on media per day, of which 35 per cent time is spent on digital media consumption on mobile phone. Video currently accounts for almost 50 per cent of the data traffic and is set to increase to 75 per cent by 2020.

Industry watchers note that such tie ups reflect the changing viewing pattern as consumers are becoming screen agnostic and television viewing is no longer a family affair.

They further say that digital video businesses requires high investments, and returns are currently not commensurate given the still evolving business models. Media organisations are currently attempting to bridge the gap between market share acquisition and economic viability.

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