Paytm to foray into the OTT space, partners content providers and starts hiring

ET has reported that Paytm the online payment and eCommerce platform, is putting its foot forward in plans of launching over-the-top (OTT) services and introduce video content.

Having the support of global giants like Alibaba and Softbank, Paytm wishes to be at par with rivals Amazon and Flipkart. It has already started the hiring process for the service.

from a highly placed source with direct knowledge of the development that: Paytm has been looking at this space (video service) for some time but it is only now that the plans to set up a team are being formulating…The idea is to have multiple services, from wallet to shopping to video to attract more customers and boost engagement. – ET reported about a statement

In last year June, Paytm had partnered with OTT content provider Yup TV, Hungama, UC News and others for providing content through its Paytm Inbox service, and had moreover introduced new features and in-app content that users could benefit from for free, such as News, Cricket, Live TV Entertainment Videos, and Games on the go.
Paytm believes that in order to compete with its rivals, especially Amazon which provides video and audio streaming services to Amazon Prime service subscribers through Amazon Music and Prime Video at the price of ₹999 per year, they would need more content worthy of competing.

Flipkart too had reported last year in September that it would be contending with Amazon’s Prime video service and attempt to foray into the OTT content space, and also reportedly had plans to acquire a stake in Hotstar, Star India’s video-streaming service.

The key challenge will be to build a compelling product that offers streaming video and music while retaining the customer on the platform so that share of mind and wallet is captured comprehensively. – Vikram Malhotra, CEO at Abundantia Entertainment.

Experts say that content is a way for eCommerce players to attract customers and build loyalty to the platform. Paytm seeks to strengthen its presence in the country by improving its initiatives. However, Paytm would have to step up its game to compete with the likes of Reliance Jio, BigFlix, Hotstar, and Voot, among others, who are major players worthy of note in the space of OTT.