As we begin the New Year, we spoke to industry leaders to reflect on the shifts that shaped 2025 and the forces expected to define 2026. For India’s OTT ecosystem, 2025 was widely seen as a year of correction — where platforms moved away from unchecked expansion and began prioritising efficiency, content discipline and clearer monetisation paths.
Across the industry, the focus in 2025 shifted towards rationalising content spends, strengthening regional and language-led offerings, and rethinking subscriber acquisition in favour of deeper engagement and sustainable returns. Growth continued, but with sharper scrutiny on what truly delivered value.
Against this backdrop, Siju Prabhakaran, Chief Business Officer, Zee5, believes the coming year will mark a decisive inflection point for the OTT industry — one where strategy, culture and profitability converge.
“2026 will be a defining year for OTT in India as the industry transitions from growth-at-all-costs to smart, profitable growth. Platforms that can consistently deliver culturally rooted stories, scale engagement across languages and monetise attention effectively will showcase exponential success. At Zee 5, we are entering this phase from a position of strength coupled with deep language-based expertise, a rich content library and a hybrid monetisation model that allows us to seamlessly enhance both, subscriptions and advertising. Our ambition for the year ahead is to accelerate growth by driving higher engagement, expanding our content categories and leveraging data and technology-led innovations to make discovery and monetisation more effective.”
(As told to Neeta Nair)
