Singapore (AFP)

Netflix and Amazon are redoubling their efforts to conquer India, a key market for streaming in the coming years when growth slows in the West, but competition is fierce against Bollywood and local players already well established.

With the ever-increasing number of Indians watching movies and shows online, streaming revenues are expected to jump from some $ 500 million in 2018 to $ 5 billion in 2023, according to projections by the Boston Consulting Group.

While some Western markets are reaching saturation and China, the leading Asian economy, is de facto closed to foreign giants of streaming, this country of 1.3 billion inhabitants whose smartphone equipment is exploding.

"India is super important for Netflix as well as Amazon," said Tony Gunnarsson, an industry analyst for consulting firm Ovum. "Netflix (...) must continue to generate new subscribers, and there is no better place for this than India," he said, interviewed by AFP in Singapore.

But competition is fierce in the vast subcontinent with multiple ethnicities and religions with several dozen streaming services already.

Some benefit from their experience in producing content adapted to local tastes and in a myriad of languages.

One of the heavyweights on the market, Hotstar, has an unstoppable weapon: it broadcasts the matches of the first Indian cricket league live. And the group bought by Disney should also start at the end of March to offer the Disney + service.

Another Indian rival, ZEE5, is part of the television group Zee Entertainment, while ALTBalaji, is the streaming service of Bollywood producers Balaji Telefilms.

These companies sell streaming offers, often paired with mobile subscriptions.

- "Golden age" -

Netflix, the world's number one streaming company, has made India a priority and wants to reach 100 million subscribers in this growing country. An ambitious goal given its 7 million current subscribers.

The American group has struck a blow with "Sacred Games", a very popular series which features one of the Bollywood stars in the role of a police officer.

Netflix has many other plans and wants to invest 30 billion rupees ($ 420 million) in Indian content in 2019 and 2020.

"It's the golden age of entertainment in India," says Srishti Arya, head of local film productions for Netflix in India. "There are so many opportunities for streaming that creators are not constrained by duration," he said, interviewed by AFP from Bombay.

Its American competitor Amazon has already made a name for itself with its Prime Video service and, like Netflix, targets affluent urban viewers who want Western and Indian content.

Amazon plans to release one new local production per month and is strengthening its production capacity for programming in local Indian languages.

Netflix, so far behind Amazon in number of subscribers, is expected to overtake its American competitor from 2021, according to Ovum.

But these two global heavyweights will find it hard to catch up with Hotstar, with its 300 million monthly active users, even if the latter has a different business model by offering free content and others reserved for subscribers.

To be competitive, the American giants display far lower prices than elsewhere: 199 rupees (2.80 dollars) per month to watch Netflix videos on smartphone or tablet, while Amazon Prime has an offer at 999 rupees (14 dollars) per year.

- The target diaspora -

Streaming has already shaken up the Indian entertainment industry.

Reliance Entertainment - which produced "Sacred Games" for Netflix - has around 40 series in development for streaming platforms, says group CEO Shibasish Sarkar. Streaming is "the segment that is growing the most right now," he said.

The sector also relies on the Indian diaspora for its high-end content: two thirds of the spectators of season one of "Sacred Games", broadcast in Hindi, were abroad.

But, given the plethora of offers, only the best could survive, analysts say. "We are at a point where there are already enough services," warns Tony Gunnarsson.

© 2020 AFP