18th Parallel: Surfing the wave of shift from Linear TV to OTT
By: Akshata Shah
Tags: Freelance Content Writer, Content Writing, Press Release, OTT, Linear Tv

Did you know that television watchers have gone down 55% since OTT platforms were introduced? This statistic was given by Accenture 2017 Digital Consumer Survey. This nosedive in numbers only strengthens the foreseen vision of the media entertainment industry by 18th Parallel. 18th Parallel is a Pune-based tech company, which is trying to make this transition of media consumption as seamless as possible.

“We are seeing it, not just in India, but all over th globe”, says Nishith Shah (CEO, 18th Parallel). “There are a number of viable reasons causing this big shift towards OTT; some of which include personalization of content, quality-centric content, as well as a vast sea of choices.”, he continued. He also stated that the freedom of browsing at their time’s disposal has placed a decisive role in this shift.

“What this does is, it eliminates every situation where the user would have to prioritize their TV shows or movie screenings according to when it aired. It also eliminates the possibility of the user missing out on an episode or part of the movie because they couldn’t be there. Among many other things, it simply takes the most frustrating parts of watching cable or DTH television and substitutes it with convenience. Everyone looks forward to it after a long, tiring day. Now the user has complete control over what to watch, when to watch and where to watch! Linear television has failed to evolve this much, this fast; yet,” says Nishith Shah.

Even though this change is well-regarded by the consumers, it is also posing a huge problem for the television industry; cable service providers and DTH connection providers in particular.

According to the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India), the OTT user base has risen to 164 million in August 2017, in contrast to the 64 million in August 2016. This massive shift from Linear Television to OTT is not only because OTT has the upper hand at fulfilling user expectations; but also because of the rising use of internet and smart devices’ penetration within the country.

To ease this dire situation for the linear TV industry, 18th Parallel has stepped in the market to aid better transition, making linear TV not only stronger, but confirming it’s effective rivalry with OTT.

How is 18th Parallel going to seamlessly integrate the OTT experience with Linear Television?

The android internet TV Set-top box is a new generation technology that allows the users to consume all of their desired video content on their television. It will allow users to browse OTT content on their television screens along with linear television content.

“It provides seamless integration of viewing online and offline content on a bigger screen,” Sunil Taldar, told the Economic Times during Airtel’s Android TV set-top box launch.

How does this work?

The Android TV set-top box runs on android, meaning it can support all the applications by various OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar, etc. The set-top box can connect to the user’s home network (WiFi or Hotspot) and allow them to consume their OTT content on a bigger, better screen.

“This gives the users great relief from having to shift to another smart device whenever they want to consume OTT content. It allows them the option of doing so, at the simple click of a button on their remote control. It also allows the user to subscribe to these services directly via their cable or DTH provider.This puts the television connection providers back in the industry with a better ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) as this simple technology adds multiple streams of revenue,” explains Nishith.

How does it put the television connection providers back in the game?

As Nishith explains further, it not only prompts the user to continue with their DTH or cable subscription, but also adds multiple revenue streams to their ARPU such as:

· Reliable viewership data to allow better pricing of advertisement slots

· Capability to charge local and lesser known channels for competitive channel placement

· Charging the OTT platforms for their monthly subscription fee collection

“These revenue streams, among others, will enable the television industry to beat its competitor by integrating with it; something that generally doesn’t happen,” Nishith Shah concluded.

18th Parallel really is surfing the wave of shift from Linear TV to OTT with expertise, creating a win-win scenario for everyone.