Not very long ago, online video in India was synonymous with Google’s video platform YouTube.

This platform was also the place that offered sanctuary to those who were rejected by broadcasters but continued to dream of big things for the content they created. This phenomenon saw a breed of entertainers emerge - we know them today as digital content creators.

Today, however, after over a decade during which there was

hardly any serious rivalry in this market, competition is pouring in from every side. There’s arch-nemesis Facebook, an oft-bashed yet popular video destination for brands. And there’s a bunch of new digital platforms that threatens to rival YouTube India, each in its own small way. Broadcasters are going to town promoting their own video-on-demand mobile apps; consequently, YouTube is losing its crown as the destination for ‘catch-up TV’.

At present, YouTube India claims a year-on-year growth of about 80 per

cent in terms of watch-time (the time people spent on watching a video) and about 90 per cent for content uploaded. Sure, YouTube is too large to suffer any instant dent, but over time, could the collective exodus of content – and with it, eyeballs and advertisers – have a cumulative effect on the platform? After all, a consumer can only download these many apps on her mobile.

Over to Satya Raghavan, head of content, entertainment, YouTube India to answer some questions. Edited Excerpts from an interview:

If you were to revisit YouTube’s 11-year-long stay in India so far, would you see clear phases of growth? What might they be?

In India, we have had two phases. The first one is clearly till 2013 when the majority of the content on YouTube was catch-up television, movies, music, news, sports and things like that. Post 2013, the true ‘original content creator revolution’ began. Around 2014, the first set of comedy creators – guys like AIB and TVF – started to emerge. Their videos started to become popular and people like you and me started thinking, ‘Hey, wait, it’s normal

“In India, we are still toddlers”

1 6 afaqs! Reporter, July 16-31, 2 0 1 6

Google’s video platform finally has competition. Need team YouTube worry? By Anirban Roy Choudhury

RAGHAV BAHLFOUNDER, QUINTILLION

INTERVIEWSATYA RAGHAVAN Head of Content, Entertainment, YouTube India

“It is good forthe creators of content if they

make more money elsewhere.”

1 7afaqs! Reporter, July 16-31, 2 0 1 6

people who’re becoming popular on YouTube.’ So pre-2013 and post-2013 are two distinct phases of growth for YouTube India.

YouTube’s recent tie-ups with content creators like OML (Only Much Louder), Culture Machine, Qyuki and TVF to create original content seem like a direct reaction to broadcasters taking their TV content onto other platforms (like Hotstar, Voot, Sony Liv, Spuul, Ditto, NxtGtv, Ozee) because they believe your monetisation rates are too low...

Not really. These people were always there on the platform and they are an integral part of our ecosystem. Working with them is business as usual.

But yes, what we did differently last year after seeing the rise in comedy content was that we started a show called Comedy Hunt where our top comedy content creators called for the next generation of the same. We partnered with OML for this. This year we are partnering with Qyuki to start something called Jammin’, which will be in the original music space.

It is good for the creators if they make more money elsewhere. We feel happy whenever a content creator gets a good deal. We don’t believe in holding people on the platform and preventing them from going away. They are entrepreneurs, they own their channel, and can use it the way they want. Besides getting revenue, building a community is also very important for them.

Who will hold the IP to these aforementioned shows? What is the business model of these associations?

The IP will be with the content creators.

Anything that goes on YouTube is done via a sponsor or advertiser-driven model. We do the sales of the properties – we go to the advertisers and tell them about the association we’re doing and discuss the deliverables. There’s a lot of target inventory that advertisers can use. Consider Laughter Games, a recent innovation. We had nine comedy web series launching at the same time – two on Culture Machine channels, six on OML channels and one independent channel. The advertisers (Mirinda and Kit Kat) were present on all nine channels. This is 100 per cent share of voice for them.

YouTube has reigned unchallenged for years and now suddenly it seems to be under

attack from every conceivable direction. Facebook, Amazon, Snapchat, Netflix, Twitter – everyone wants a piece of the action in digital video. Why now? And do you see them as playing the same game as you?

I would not know the motivations of others to launch their platforms. We are focused on doing our thing and are least worried about new platforms being launched. But it’s great that so many platforms are looking for Indian content creators. It’s a great moment for the creators and the consumers.

For the creators, the scale of engagement with YouTube is drastically different from that with other platforms. They are doing a show a year on other platforms, but are doing things with YouTube every

single day.Our creators are also present on

social platforms, and we see creators using those platforms to bring traffic to their channels on YouTube. And since the format is native, the algorithms don’t affect them.

Our approach is just to continue doing what we have been doing. Give creators a platform and help them become brands.

If you had to convince content creators to come to YouTube and not go somewhere else, what would your pitch be? How is all this competition affecting YouTube’s attitude to business?

I don’t think YouTube needs to pitch to content creators at all… We don’t pitch to any content creator to stay on our platform.

The competition is not affecting our business model at all. We will continue to not restrict our content creators in any way.

Facebook defines a video view as anything that is watched for three seconds. Agencies, advertisers and even members of the media, are questioning this. Why is YouTube silent? Why doesn’t it

challenge Facebook on this?Advertisers have faith in our

proposition. I would not like to comment on or challenge Facebook’s three-second model or any other model of any other platform.

Alright, let’s talk about YouTube, then. How have marketers in India reacted to YouTube’s new six-second ad format? How are they using it?

It’s been two quarters since we launched it. The six-second bumper ad format is working well in India. Brands are using it to create impact. The YouTube consumer expects great content, be it creator’s content or an advertisement. The six-second bumper ad offers quality ad content. It’s too soon to say the format has reached its full potential, but it’s being received well.

What do you think are the biggest challenges for YouTube India given the current online video ecosystem?

The biggest challenge at this moment is to ensure that every connected consumer gets to access all the available content on the platform. The other challenge is to get creators from across the country.

Which brings us to the issue of connectivity. In the background of the unhappiness with 3G speeds, do you think 4G will really make a big difference to video consumption?

Everything depends on connectivity. With this evolution of 4G a whole lot of people will have access to good connectivity, which they will use to access platforms like YouTube. I think there will surely be a surge in consumption.

In terms of content, creators and consumption, how is the Indian digital video market different from other major markets?

India is the only country where you will find so many languages. Regional language content will spell some great success stories in the next five to six years in India.

Right, but isn’t content in regional languages mostly limited to TV shows and movies?

Actually, growth in the regional language market is following the same pattern that content in the Hindi market did. That is, first traditional media content comes to YouTube because broadcasters distribute and promote it, and then there’s a wave of original content creators putting

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“I don’t think YouTube

needs to pitchto content

creators at all...”

media

regional content onto the platform. We’re not surprised; we were expecting this to happen.

Where is the India market headed? Is there a certain standard pattern in which markets across the world are evolving? Is the pattern of video viewing/profile of viewers different on the smartphone versus the desktop?

In India, we are still toddlers. The opportunity to grow is huge. Broadly, India is following global patterns.

Yes, mobile is a key medium here and a lot of our thinking will be around it. Right now, a little over 55 per cent of our (YouTube India’s) consumption happens on mobile. It mirrors the smart phone revolution in India.

While the profile of viewers is the same across mobile and the desktop,

we see some differences in usage. For instance, many youngsters are using the offline feature by downloading videos on their mobile through wi-fi and watching them later. Now with the Smart Offline feature, they can queue videos for download and watch them at night when the data cost is low.

Cooking recipes, uncensored comedy, independent musicians, content for kids – where do you see the next pool of content creators coming from? What will the next big thing on YouTube be?

The verticals we’re focused on include traditional media content like catch-up television, movies, music, news and sports, as well as native content created around genres like comedy, kids, food, independent/original music, lifestyle, short films and

web series. Women’s lifestyle is dominated by beauty while men’s lifestyle is ruled by tech and gadget-related content.

You never know what can emerge as the next big thing and that is the beauty of the platform. Globally, ‘kids un-boxing’ is big (that is, videos of children opening up boxes!)… We haven’t seen anything of that sort in India as yet but I won’t be surprised if we do, because kids-related content is big in India.

Lastly, video consumption in India is galloping but is content creation able to keep pace? Have the rules of successful content creation changed? What’s your advice to creators?

Create content that’s conversational and interactive. It is also important to have a consistent upload schedule.

Even for us, it’s important to have content that’s sustainable. It’s important to make sure the creators we work with release videos regularly. n

anirban.choudhury@afaqs.com

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Star is now launching two new channels Star Sports Select HD 1 and Star Sports Select

HD 2 for its international sports portfolio. The channels will telecast neither cricket, nor kabaddi, as it aims for uninterrupted coverage of international sports. To start with, Star will have BPL, Bundesliga, and Formula 1.

“We recognise the passionate international sports fans in India, and Star Sports Select HD and Star Sports Select HD 2 are all about giving due consideration to those fans,” says Nitin Kukreja, CEO Star Sports. He further adds, “Apart from that, it’s also about celebrating their fandom and passion and giving them lots more which we could not over the last three years.”

Star Sports Select HD channels will launch in the first week of August, and will be available on all major DTH and cable platforms.

Select was launched in India by Star as its third English movie offering in the form of Star Movies Select HD. The brand, which described itself as a ‘premium’ channel, was launched last August (2015). A year later, Star is now launching two new Select products to support the Sports offering.

So, from movies to sports? “It’s an extension of the Star Sports brand, yes, it’s a fact that it happened to be in the movies space, too, but it

caters to a select group there as well. It is called Select because there is a distinct set of people versus those who are watching kabaddi or cricket. And, there will be a clear differentiation on what these channels show vis-a-vis the rest of the channels,” Kukreja adds.

“We will telecast as many as 300 BPL matches this time; we will show lots more of the formula One coverage, as well as the Grand Slams (lawn tennis),

and the Bundesliga coverage. We will also have international talk shows, as well as home-grown ones,” says Kukreja as he shares the programming strategy.

Besides ad rates and revenue, it is creating consumer value. “Once

star sports

Sporting a New LookStar Sports Select HD 1 and Star Sports Select HD 2, the two new channels Star is launching, will telecast only international sports. By News Bureau

you create consumer value can you then start creating monetising value,” believes Kukreja.

The channel will promote the launches with aggressive cross platform marketing. “The metro cities will play an important part, and will be the centre of our target, but apart from the metros, we will also focus on footballing zones such as the North-East, West Bengal, and Kerala. We will launch the campaigns this week, and will announce that there are two channels launching exclusively for this fan base,” he adds. n

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“We will telecast as many as 300 BPL

matches this time.”NitiN KuKreja

Star Sports Select HD channels will launch in the first week of August

“It’s important to make sure the creators we work

with releasevideos regularly.”