As connected televisions gain momentum in Indian households and reach critical mass, YouTube is sharpening its focus on live content, from sports and comedy to award shows, India managing director Gunjan Soni told Moneycontrol in an interview.
"We see live as a core part of what will happen on YouTube, especially on the large screen. In the Indian context, I think it also goes beyond the large screen in terms of consumption," Soni said.
This move reflects YouTube’s ambition to position itself as the "new television" for consumers in India and globally, offering more personalised and interactive experiences.
Connected TV has been YouTube's fastest growing screen in India for the last five years. As of April 2025, YouTube said it reached over 75 million people aged 18 and above in India on connected TV, with more than half of watch time spent on content that is 21 minutes or longer.
What is YouTube’s strategy around live events?
Earlier this week, the Google-owned video platform said it had secured exclusive global streaming rights to the Oscars, Hollywood’s most prestigious night, for a five year period starting in 2029, a move that will end a more than 70 year run on broadcast television.
In addition to streaming the main Oscars ceremony for free, YouTube will also feature red carpet coverage, behind the scenes content, and Oscars nomination announcements.
This type of supplementary content around major live cultural events helps the video platform build a longer-term fandom, Soni said.
"Take cricket, for example. Even when the live action itself is not directly on YouTube, fandoms are being built because the teams create their own content and drive conversations on the platform. We see the same thing happening for other types of live content as well, whether it is the extension of an event’s IP, which allows for a lot of shoulder content and behind the scenes videos," she said.
Soni added, "It’s almost like you do something live, but rather than it being a blip that is over quickly, you can start building excitement even before the event using supplementary or archival content, across both short form and long form videos. We are seeing interesting IPs being created on the back of live events."
Also Read: YouTube unveils India-first separate ad targeting for urban and rural audiences
How is YouTube India building a new distribution model for film releases?
Another major push for YouTube is its experimentation with creating a "meaningful distribution alternative" for production houses and studios, unlocking new revenue opportunities around movie releases.
A key pilot for this strategy was its partnership with the popular actor-filmmaker Aamir Khan. His latest film, Sitaare Zameen Par, was made exclusively available on YouTube on a rental basis across India and 38 international markets following a theatrical run, bypassing traditional streaming platforms.
“The capability of doing pay-per-view has existed for some time, and we already have a fairly extensive library of content. The core of this innovation, or the new distribution thinking, is around using a windowing strategy to help expand reach and create a new sliver of the pie for production houses,” Soni said.
The YouTube India chief noted that while India's movie industry produces "fantastic and huge volumes of content", the country's theatre infrastructure has not kept pace with the volume of the releases or the size of the available market.
"The ambition is to meaningfully create multiple ways to use the larger distribution reach of our platform to enable people who do not have access to physical screens to watch content using their own living room screens, or the theater in their pocket," she said.
While Soni did not disclose specific details on the pilot’s performance, she said the company is seeing a "very healthy pipeline" for the strategy.
“You will also see further experimentation across windowing and across different types of monetisation beyond just pay per view. Ultimately, our role is to create as many flexible models as possible and let content or IP holders choose how they want to use them," she added.
Also Read: YouTube deepens creator-led commerce push in India with Nykaa, Purplle
How is the rise of connected TVs helping YouTube’s subscription business?
The rapid rise of connected TVs has also emerged as a key catalyst for YouTube’s subscription business in the country, Soni said.
"It's a huge and growing opportunity, and we definitely see a shift towards more paid models, whether it's subscriptions, pay-per-view, or fan funding. With a young, digitally savvy, and discerning audience, people are willing to pay for high quality content," she noted.
In September, YouTube extended its low-cost Premium Lite subscription tier pilot to users in India as part of the video platform's efforts to ramp up subscriber base in the country.
Priced at Rs 89 a month, Premium Lite will allow viewers to watch ad-free videos across categories such as gaming, comedy, cooking or learning. However, subscribers will continue to see ads on music content, music videos, and Shorts. The plan also does not allow background playback or offline downloads.
In May, Moneycontrol reported that YouTube is also piloting a new subscription tier in India, France, Taiwan, and Hong Kong that lets them share their Premium or Music Premium membership with another household member.
The two-person YouTube Premium subscription tier is being offered in India at a monthly price of Rs 219, while the Music Premium is available at Rs 149 during the pilot.
In India, standard YouTube Premium plans start at Rs 89 for students, Rs 149 for individuals, and Rs 299 for families. Music Premium plans begin at Rs 59 for students, Rs 119 for individuals, and Rs 179 for families. In March, YouTube announced it crossed over 125 million subscribers globally across Music and Premium services.
Overall, Google parent firm Alphabet has surpassed 300 million paid subscriptions as of October 2025, with YouTube and Google One as key drivers.
The video platform has also signed distribution partnerships with companies like e-commerce marketplace Flipkart, bundling YouTube Premium with the Flipkart Black subscription, Soni said.
Why is India central to YouTube’s growth strategy?
India is YouTube's largest market, with over half a billion users. It is also a crucial region for the platform's future growth.
In May, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced an investment of Rs 850 crore over the next two years to further accelerate the growth of India's burgeoning creator economy. He also said that the Google-owned platform has paid over Rs 21,000 crore to Indian creators, artists, and media companies in the last three years.
Last month, YouTube stated that the platform's creative ecosystem contributed over Rs 16,000 crore to India's GDP last year and supported more than 930,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
Over 15,000 channels in India have more than one million subscribers as of December 2024, more than double the number from two years ago. Over 15 percent of watch time for content produced by channels in India comes from outside of the country.
In 2024, more than 65,000 Indian channels earned over Rs 1 lakh, and the number of YouTube channels making Rs 10 lakh or more in revenue increased by more than 10 percent year over year, the company stated.
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