The television industry in India is very diverse and produces thousands of programmes in many Indian languages. Nearly 87% Indian households own a television. As of 2016, the country had over 900 channels of which 184 were pay channels. National channels operate in Hindi and English, in addition to channels in several other languages including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Assamese, Gujarati, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Kashmiri, Konkani and Haryanvi, among others. The Hindi, Telugu and Tamil language television industries are by far the largest television industries in India.
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as television series and films, streamed over the Internet. Standing in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable television, and/or satellite television systems, streaming television is provided as over-the-top media (OTT), or as Internet Protocol television (IPTV). In the United States, streaming television has become "the dominant form of TV viewing."
Sun TV Network Limited is an Indian Media conglomerate company headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is a part of Sun Group and is one of Asia's largest TV networks. Established on 14 April 1993 by Kalanithi Maran, it owns a variety of television channels in multiple languages and radio stations in multiple languages. Its flagship channel is Sun TV.
Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. is an Indian content creator, aggregator and distributor, specifically in the media and entertainment industry. It was founded by Buddhichand Maroo in 1962 as a book-circulating library under the name Shemaroo. It set up India's first video rental business in 1979. The company went national after it began content distribution in 1987, became aggregators and bought rights to movies for home video.
Sun Direct is an Indian subscription based satellite television service provider, owned by Sun Group. It was launched in December 2007. It transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in India. Sun Direct uses MPEG-4 digital compression, transmitting HD Channels and SD Channels on MEASAT-3 at 91.5°E. Sun Direct Max, an Android set-top-box from Sun Direct, which supports 4K with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos is expected to launch in 2024.
An over-the-top media service is a digital distribution service offered directly to viewers via the public Internet, rather than through an over-the-air, cable, or satellite-based provider. The term is synonymous with "streaming platform", such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video which provide access to subscription-based film and television content (SVoD).
Sun Group is an Indian media conglomerate, based in Chennai. It was founded by Kalanithi Maran in 1992. Sun Group, besides television media, has 48 FM radio stations, two daily newspapers, five magazines, a DTH satellite service and T20 cricket franchises.
SonyLIV is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Culver Max Entertainment. SonyLIV was introduced in 2013 as the first OTT service in India. As a streaming service, it provides live sports, original titles, other content titles from its own networks and content titles in India licensed from third-parties such as Lionsgate and ITV among others. The Sony Liv content library includes films, TV shows and series, and sports.
Crave is a Canadian subscription video on demand service owned by Bell Media. The service competes directly with other subscription-based over-the-top streaming services operating in Canada, primarily against American-based services.
Sling TV is an American streaming television service operated by Sling TV LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Dish Network. Unveiled on January 5, 2015, at the Consumer Electronics Show, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor aims to complement subscription video on demand services for cord cutters, offering a selection of major cable channels and OTT-originated services that can be streamed through smart TVs, digital media players and apps. The service is available in the United States and Puerto Rico as of 2015.
HBO Now was an American subscription video on demand streaming service for premium television network HBO owned by WarnerMedia subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc. Officially unveiled on March 9 and launched on April 7, 2015, the service allowed subscribers on-demand access to HBO's library of original programs, films and other content on personal computers, smartphones, tablet devices and digital media players. Unlike HBO Go, HBO's online video on demand service for existing subscribers of the linear television channel, HBO Now was available as a standalone service and did not require a television subscription to use, targeting cord cutters who use competing services such as Netflix and Hulu. In February 2018, HBO Now had 5 million subscribers.
Eros Now is an Indian subscription-based over-the-top, video on-demand entertainment and media platform, launched in 2012. It is owned and controlled by Eros Digital, the Indian digital media management arm of the Indian-American multinational media company Eros Media World. The network offers media streaming and video-on-demand services.
Viu is a Hong Kong–based over-the-top (OTT) video streaming provider from PCCW Media Group's Viu International Ltd. Operated in a dual-revenue model comprising subscriptions and advertising, Viu delivers content in different genres from Asia's top content providers with local language subtitles, as well as original production series under the Viu Original initiative.
JioTV is an Indian streaming television service owned by Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. JioTV offers about 1000 live channels with 7 days of catch up content, as per the website.
ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Android, iOS, Smart TVs, among other devices. ZEE5 claimed 56 million monthly active users in December 2019.
There are currently about 57 providers of over-the-top media services (OTT) in India, which distribute streaming media or video on demand over the Internet.
Peacock is an American over-the-top subscription streaming service owned and operated by Peacock TV, LLC, a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Media Group. Named after the NBC logo, the service launched on July 15, 2020.
JioCinema is an Indian subscription based video-on-demand and over-the-top media streaming service that is a Joint Venture between Bodhi Tree Systems with Network18 which is subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Network18 is the majority share holder in the Joint Venture. The service was initially launched on 4 May 2016 alongside the public launch of the Jio mobile carrier.
Chaupal is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service owned by Bosna Digital Entertainment Pvt Limited. Launched in August 2021, it offers content in Punjabi, Haryanvi, and Bhojpuri languages.
