Trends that dominated the FTA space in 2022

Television continues to remain the largest and most popular media platform in India, both in terms of reach as well as consumer engagement in terms of time spent. According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) TV Universe Estimates, TV reached 210 million households in 2020, translating into approximately 900 million individuals watching TV. This massive user base vastly outnumbers any other media platform in the country, demonstrating the broad reach that TV enjoys. 

According to KPMG Analysis of 2022, TV penetration in India is estimated to reach 76% in 2026 compared to 70% in 2020, with both FTA and Pay TV registering strong growth. The analysis further estimated that 248 million households would be consuming linear television in 2026. While this growth will be divided between Pay TV and Free to Air (FTA), the sheer geography and growing economic power of the mega Indian states comprising the burgeoning Hindi heartland will make the once under-indexed audience segment the focus of brands and marketers to communicate their messages.

The last year witnessed the following trends that dominated the FTA space to lead its way to glory:

Original content gaining momentum within the FTA space

General entertainment channels (GECs) in the pay TV and FTA space have built themselves on content that circles around family drama, mythology, fantasy, crime fiction, and reality entertainment. Having gained a strong foothold in the hinterlands along with suburban centers, 2022 witnessed channels in the FTA space, introducing Indian viewers to a new style of storytelling with original content. Earlier, it was a norm for these channels to run older content, however, FTA channels have been lately changing the norm and building their content library with a slew of originals across genres and languages. And while there will always be an audience for family dramas and soaps that run on TV for decades, there already is a visible shift in consumption and viewership patterns wherein viewers are looking for more from Hindi GECs. This will further propel the advertising for these channels. The analysis done by KPMG India highlighted that the scale at which original content for TV is produced, in Hindi and other regional languages, is far higher than that acquired or created by OTT platforms - i.e., approximately 1,00,000 hours per annum for TV compared to 2,500 hours for OTT.

Increased competition from digital; leading to the growth of FTA channels

The FTA category is a keenly watched space and one in which every TV network would like to be present. 2022 witnessed FTA channels’ growing phenomenon and therefore more and more new entrants introduced channels in the category. Broadcasters in the FTA space continued to launch new channels as television viewership remained strong, despite the growing popularity of video-streaming services. While the migration of viewers to over-the-top (OTT) video streaming is undeniable, the FTA space saw scope to expand for the bottom-funnel or mass-market viewers, many of whom still live in single television households. Everyone has realized that rural India is growing, incomes are rising and television is the only form of entertainment there. While a lot of these people are buying phones, TV is a family-binding activity. If the FTA broadcasters can further innovate and continue to ride on the bandwagon to cater to their audiences, there will be a real opportunity at play. The channels that have entered the market will continue to expand, and further see growth at least for the foreseeable future.

Heightened focus on DD Free Dish 

DD Free Dish already has a huge penetration, and it will continue to grow. 2022 further saw heightened focus with DD opening up fresh licenses starting from April 01, 2022. The space witnessed a surprising exit of the four big channels and a remarkable debut of another six, making the space a tad bit crowded yet competitive. Over a period of time, FTA channels have managed to grab a slice of the viewership pie. According to data reported by the rating company Crisil Research, in FY21, DD Free Dish enjoyed a subscriber base of 40.41 million, while all the other DTH operators put together, have 69.57 million. DD’s high rural viewership makes it a focal point for broadcasters. DD Free Dish still has space to grow as it caters to a certain kind of audience that Pay TV is unable to reach. 

The year ends thankfully with the sector getting more airtime from content creators, programmers, and marketers as the fertile FTA space is where there will be many more green shoots to watch out for in 2023. The space will witness new concepts and storylines across genres. The FTA space will have to re-strategize to showcase content that is not just original and relevant but also interactive and engagement-driven. 2023 will witness broadcasters realigning their goals, understanding these changing patterns, and adopting agile approaches for development.

(The author is the CEO of QYOU Media India.)