Can Streambox strike big in a slow CTV market?

For people watching several paid as well as free OTT video streaming apps, cable TV and other online channels on multiple devices, the struggle to manage and pay for their entertainment\infotainment content is real

For people watching several paid as well as free OTT video streaming apps, cable TV and other online channels on multiple devices, the struggle to manage and pay for their entertainment\infotainment content is real. Add to this the cost burden of internet-enabled smart TV and various OTT subscription plans. To solve this, TV industry veteran Anuj Gandhi’s start-up venture Streambox Media unveiled its new smart TV ‘Dor’ in Mumbai on Tuesday that offers a single sign-in, single subscription and a unified interface (UI) for more than 20 apps and 300 channels making content discovery easy. Backed by Micromax Informatics, Stride Ventures and Nikhil Kamath, Dor has integrated the cost of a smart TV and content services and uses a new Operating System (OS).

Can Streambox strike big in a slow CTV market?

Prime Video, JioCinema, Disney+Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLiv, Shemaroo, Sun Nxt, Hoichoi, Lionsgate Play, YouTube and Fancode are among many other OTT services, gaming apps and live channels available on Dor through a monthly subscription plan. For starters, a 43-inch Dor QLED TV is available on Flipkart for an upfront ₹10,799 activation fee including first month’s subscription for all the apps and channels. For the next 11 months, the entire content is available at ₹799 a month after which you can choose from customized packages.

“Initially, we want to familiarize people with our ecosystem. But thereafter they are free to opt for packs of their choice,” Streambox founder Anuj Gandhi told Mint. “We’re not competing with aggregators like Tata Play Binge, Airtel Xstream OR OTT PLAY (from HT Media Ltd) but with other connected TV (CTV) manufacturers. However, we are not selling but renting the TV,” Gandhi said.

Dor is entering an already crowded smart TV market with hundreds of big and small manufacturers selling internet-enabled connected TVs at varying price points depending on the size, technology and the brand. “The CTV market itself has plateaued after the explosive growth post-covid,” said Samaksh Ahuja, product category chief (TV and home appliances) at Panasonic India.

The market is inundated with players as entry barriers in the category are low, Ahuja said. “But the churn is high except for the top 7-8 players (Sony, Samsung, LG, Panasonic etc.) who remain constant,” he said.

The number of CTV households in India is stuck at 45 million even though there are 800 million internet users, Gandhi said. He attributes the sluggish growth to steep smart TV prices which Dor hopes to make accessible through subscriptions. The brand is eyeing tier 2 and tier 3 town consumers initially. Gandhi expects smart TV homes to touch 100 million in five years.

By and large, the connected TV makers are split across three big Operating Systems (OS): Google’s Android TV (which Panasonic India uses), Samsung’s proprietary OS Tizen and LG’s webOS. “From OTT streaming and from a connected home standpoint, I think all these platforms have reached a certain stage of stability and maturity,” Ahuja said.

However, Dor has launched with a new OS, which Gandhi said is very intuitive and it could be India’s play globally. The Dor investment is aligned towards the creation of a new voice, Panasonic’s Ahuja said. “They probably want to do something disruptive by creating a new OS which gives users a better experience than the existing operating systems. They think it might be a game changer. But what exactly that new OS can deliver remains to be seen as some of the existing systems like Google’s are fairly evolved in their offering of television, and they keep making changes to improve that,” he said.

Meanwhile, if Dor units get big numbers, it could make money from advertising too, much like Samsung or Xiaomi smart TVs which not only sell space on their landing page but on other free streaming channels too. “When you switch on your smart TV, the first page belongs to the TV maker which he can hawk for advertising. Smart TVs are advertiser friendly as the households can be sharply targeted,” said Russhabh Thakkar founder of Frodoh World, an ad tech platform for CTV advertising. Every TV brand can take its own positioning depending on its user profile and advertisers can reach out to middle income or super premium customers,” said Thakkar, who has partnered with 180 TV manufacturers making 32 to 55-inch devices targeting small towns.

The current CTV slowdown isn’t a challenge, he said. As linear TV viewing goes down, CTVs are a big opportunity.