For over-the-top (OTT) players besides subscription pricing, partnership with telecom operators seems to be helping them in increasing their subscriber base.

Almost all players have partnered with telecom players to increase their subscriber base and also tap into the next set of consumers which they expect will come from second cities.

Amazon Prime Videos, for example, has partnership with Vodafone allowing the latter’s customers access large selection of its content. Similarly, Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio has a tie up with Hotstar app, which consumers can access through its mobile TV app Jio Play.

Singtel-owned Hooq has a partnership with Vodafone whereas Netflix entered it a strategic partnership with Airtel, Vodafone, Videocon d2h to expand distribution, make access to easier for Indians via set-top boxes, prepaid mobile offers. Vodafone has also partnered with Eros Now, Ditto, Hungama and Balaji for the content.

According to a new report ‘The Digital First Journey’ by KPMG, as the growth in urban internet penetration moderates, rural India is set to drive the next phase of growth in India. Better digital infrastructure and entry of affordable smartphone segment is set to change the internet landscape in the years to come.

As on March 2017, about 34 per cent of all internet users in India were from the rural areas. However, at a 16 per cent internet penetration, the rural base holds significant growth potential. By 2020, 50 per cent of India’s internet users are estimated to be from rural India, the report said.

Analyst tracking the sector point that for telecom operators too, this is a win-win proposition as they can monetise their data services using these OTT content.

As per the KPMG report, as on March 2017, about 70 per cent of all wireless internet subscribers in India were consuming data at broadband speeds. It said that India is likely to have 730+ million wireless internet users by FY2019

Average data usage per subscriber took a huge leap from 147 MB/month in March, 2016 to one GB/month in March 2017 backed by falling data costs.

Girish Menon, co-head, media and entertainment, KPMG said, “OTT consumption in India has reached a tipping point with the rollout of 4G and related data wars that have resulted in a rapid growth in internet penetration and video consumption. This has also fundamentally altered the consumption demographics and patterns, with OTT viewership becoming more mass.”

Peter Bithos, CEO, Hooq, said the OTT platform has seen good traction due its association with telecom players. “We are focussing on content, distribution and pricing for expanding our base in India,” Bithos said.