ETV plans to go big on OTT content

One of the biggest mainstream media houses in South India, ETV, made a near-silent entry into the OTT space in 2019 with their app ETVWin. ETVWin currently comprises a majority of Telugu content that is broadcast on their television channels (ETV Abhiruchi, ETV Telugu, ETV Cinema to name a few) - including TV soaps (old and new), reality shows, interviews besides an extensive lineup of old classics and new-age films. Despite their expansive reach and brand value, ETVWin didn't go big on web content or shows in the last two years, much to the disappointment of audiences. However, there's some good news for streaming enthusiasts.

Ramoji Rao, the founder of the group, is reportedly keen to invest a huge sum (to the tune of Rs 200 crores) in producing OTT content for ETVWin. "The media house is leaving no stone unturned to get their act right with OTT and has been on the lookout for young storytellers and new-age content. They are not keen on acquiring feature films for huge budgets and instead want to focus on producing original content. ETVWin already has a variety of content across many genres through its channels but they are now planning for exclusive web content," a source reportedly confirmed to One India Telugu.

While ZEE5 has produced several original Telugu shows in the past couple of years, the Telugu OTT space is largely dominated by aha and Amazon Prime Video (more so for their direct-to-OTT releases). There's still abundant potential for another Telugu-based OTT platform to flourish and who better than the ETV group to give it their shot, with its vast experience across many mediums over the previous three decades? More announcements surrounding ETVWin's digital content slate are expected to be out shortly.