As serial binge-watchers, we’re essentially spoilt for choice when it comes to content online, and boy do we love to binge-watch. Netflix says India has the world’s second-largest population of public binge-watchers. Not only this, Indians spend 8 hours 28 minutes each week watching online videos, which is considerably higher than the global average of six hours and 45 minutes in 2018.

The ridiculously low data charges, availability of quality content and ease of use all have made the online Indian streaming industry in India an extremely attractive one, both for the media houses as well as customers.

According to a PwC report, the Indian streaming industry is expected to grow at a rate of 21.82 % annually. By 2023, the industry is expected to reach a whopping Rs 11,977 crore in value!

This has made the Indian streaming industry a highly attractive one for companies, with many looking to enter it and stake their claim and take a chunk of this highly rewarding pie. With more than 20 streaming providers already in the Indian market, you wouldn’t be wrong in assuming that it’s already become saturated. However, the soon to arrive 5g network is expected to further enhance user experiences and create disruptions leading to newer business opportunities. As a result, several companies are looking to launch their streaming services to jump on the bandwagon, and here are a few that we surely can’t wait for!

1. Zomato Originals

The food delivery app has decided to diversify into video streaming as well, hoping to tap into its 70 million active monthly user’s database and provide them with engaging content. The move is aimed at keeping the users hooked onto the app which they’re banking on to subsequently increase the frequency of online ordering.

A “Videos” tab in the app will provide users access to “Zomato Originals” with all shows revolving around food but with a twist. The feature includes 3-15 minutes videos across various segments such as food recipes, comedy, reality and fiction shows and Sneak Peak restaurant videos. With a library of over 2000 videos, Zomato Originals will be available to stream in India, while Sneak Peek and recipe videos can be accessed anywhere in the world. The company even plans on releasing 18 originals over the next 3 months.

The company’s social media handles have already announced a slew of interesting creations. Some of them include Food and You with Sanjeev Kapoor, Banake Dikha with Sumukhi Suresh, Grandmaster Chef with Sahil Shah and Starry meals with Janice. By revolving its shows solely around food and primarily in a vertical frame, Zomato aims to stand away from the streaming crowd, while at the same time ensuring its videos are ideal for app-based mobile viewing.

2. Tinder

Yes, you read it right! Your favourite dating app is getting better, and it’s just wrapped up its first original show. If you think it’ll be all things love that celebrates all that’s sweet with the world, well you’re partially right. Reportedly, the multi-episode series centres on an “apocalyptic” storyline and includes a relationship subplot but is not directly connected to Tinder’s core dating app business. While it is not clear when we can see the series go live, we surely can safely say that the company is actively pushing to make new and original content. Last October, Tinder launched a lifestyle website called Swipe Life to publish original content including articles and videos about dating and relationships.

3. Flipkart

Poised to launch this month, the video streaming service by the e-commerce giant is expected to use it’s biggest rival Amazon’s, model against itself. The video streaming service which will be free for its Flipkart Plus loyalty program members. While another streaming platform is always good news for us, it remains to be seen whether it manages to make its place in the Indian market. One of the things that may work against it is the fact that Flipkart is not looking to produce any original content for now. For the near future, the service looks to license content from providers like Disney and Balaji Telefilms. With several competitors already providing similar services in the Indian market, Flipkart surely has its work cut out.

4. Disney+ (Hotstar)

While we know this is not really a new platform, Hotstar is actually the country’s most popular streaming service. However, it is Hotstar through which the much-awaited Disney+ is going to enter India, and that is enough excitement for us to put it here. Expected to reach India by 2020, the service will bring content from Pixar, Marvel Studios, 21st Century Fox and Lucasfilm all under one roof! Since Disney is expected to keep up with its family-friendly image, you shouldn’t be expecting much of adult content on the platform, however, the slew of originals lined up such as Miss Marvel, She-Hulk and others surely make up for it. The service is also expected to be priced aggressively and is rumoured to be much lower than what Netlfix is charging in the country. With HotStar even planning to localise Disney+ movies and shows by dubbing, or by adding subtitles in Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, the platform will surely disrupt the Indian streaming space in the future!

All these new players in the Indian streaming industry only mean one thing for us. More quality content for us to binge-watch! And that surely is a welcome thing.