Subscriptions haven’t even scratched the surface in India, said JioStar's Kiran Mani

Kiran Mani, chief executive officer (CEO), digital, JioStar

While many Indians are binging on streaming content, subscriptions and revenue coming from it have a long way to go in terms of growth, said Kiran Mani, chief executive officer (CEO), digital, JioStar.

The industry must establish a sustainable economic model for subscription, he said while speaking at the Internet and Mobile Association of India’s (IAMAI) 19th edition of India Digital Summit.

"Advertising alone cannot support premium content or great storytelling. Subscriptions haven’t even scratched the surface in India.”

He said, "Of the over 700 million OTT (over the top platform) viewership base, subscriptions account for 60-70 million. The challenge lies in creating relevance and addressing issues like payment gateways, which in India are built for transactions, not mandates. To summarize, we need to unlock better economic models while ensuring sustainability for everyone in the ecosystem," he said.

He further said that digital viewership has exploded. "For those of us who have been around in the old TV or network industry, it’s traditionally been a 100-150 million household penetration market. TV still holds relevance. However, the key part of digital is its addictive nature."

Viewers are emerging from Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns and these are audiences accessing content for the first time via affordable devices like JioBharat priced at less than Rs 5,000, he added. "We live-streamed cricket on JioBharat, and 6 million viewers, who were previously content-dark, joined the platform.”

Mani also added that they tried the Rs 29 price point with JioCinema as the strategy was very clear to go to the consumer directly. "JioCinema grew to 20 million subscribers in less than 6 months, making it the world’s fastest-growing subscription platform. Along with that, we also have the No. 1 subscription platform in Hotstar where we are trying other experiments.”

Digital in 2024 surpassed TV to become the largest segment in India's media and entertainment sector.

The digital ad market in India is now valued at $9 billion. “India’s advertising market is poised for growth because the underlying economic model in India is waiting to explode. However, the current market still operates with archaic practices. Our industry has to change. We cannot come back and use the one-size-fits-all model," Mani said.

He added that digital companies in India have expanded access for small businesses to reach consumers in various ways. Any business that has to do remotely with digital is based on data. "We are at an inflection point in advertising. Technology now enables the seamless integration of consumer, content, and location data to deliver precise, outcome-driven results in real time. The real challenge is how quickly we can align data science with actionable outcomes,” the CEO said.

Kiran who moved back to India after a stint with several global tech companies like Google, where he worked for about 17 years, came back with a hunch, believing that India had probably hit its tipping point in terms of technological significance, consumption patterns, and even economic growth.

“That was the assumption I made, but what I have witnessed in the last 12 months has exceeded my expectations by an order of margin. It’s been an exciting ride. I believe the underlying reasons for much of our success are tied to India's incredible pace of growth," he said.

Mani said he grew up in an India that was always described as a ‘promise waiting to happen.’ “That promise has materialized now, and we are living it. India today is truly a billion-screen connected audience—across small and large screens. The content explosion in India spans sports, entertainment, short-form creators, gaming—every form of content is thriving. Venture capitalists are present in nearly every part of this ecosystem, which is a testament to the growth we are experiencing," he said.