How Shemaroo intends to lock horns with likes of Netflix
Shemaroo Entertainment launched its OTT platform called ShemarooMe back in 2019 when established industry giants like Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, and Amazon Prime Video were vying for their share of attention from Indian audiences. However, ShemarooMe's strategy has a marked difference. It relies on content it already owns instead of investing heavily in developing new shows and movies to woo audiences. Here's how Shemaroo plans to compete.
Shemaroo is a 60-year-old Indian media company that already owns the rights to several films and shows in Hindi and regional languages, including Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, and Bengali. Thanks to this content library, it can captivate a large segment of Indian audiences without significant fresh investment. Additionally, Shemaroo made its content available via telecom companies and international video platforms, too, for Indian diaspora audiences.
ShemarooMe subscriptions would set you back Rs. 999 per year for an all-access pack and just Rs. 499 per year for the regional packs. Shemaroo Entertainment CEO Hiren Gada told Business Today that the important criteria to consider when entering a new business is to analyze scalability and if Shemaroo has "the right to win". However, ShemarooMe has shied away from original content entirely.
ShemarooMe recently launched original content in Gujarati on its platform. Gada explained that the company is identifying other B2C cohorts where Shemaroo could produce original content. He emphasized that the focus is increasingly shifting to regional and devotional content. On May 1, 2020, Shemaroo debuted its broadcast GEC (General Entertainment Channel) in Hindi, Shemaroo TV, and a Marathi movie channel called Shemaroo MarathiBana.
Gada said the broadcast industry is "not so crowded". "The Hindi GEC segment has 14-15 channels and an ad revenue pie of Rs. 7,000-8,000 crore. On the contrary, there are over 35 Hindi movie channels and the ad pie is just Rs. 3,000 crore," he added. He also said that India has approximately 210 million television households so there's room for new players.
The homegrown media company worth Rs. 470 crore expects its broadcast business to substantially supplement revenue in the near future. Gada, however, believes that scaling the digital media business "will take time." That said, the CEO remains confident that the OTT business will be profitable much before the conventional gestation period of five to six years, even without heavy investment in new content.
