KableOne seeks to connect Punjabi-speaking populations worldwide and enters an already extremely congested OTT space. It claims to connect diasporic Punjabi audiences with a whole range of digital radio, live TV channels, and on-demand material on this site. If that weren’t enough, coming from the behemoths of Netflix and Disney+, one would think that KableOne is stretching itself too far standing alone.
Launched across all platforms including iOS, Android, and smart TVs, KableOne recently announced the streaming of Sucha Soorma on November 22. This will be the first Punjabi film dubbed in ten languages: Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Russian, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Chinese. It’s a big move because the reach of the film goes beyond regional boundaries and taps a larger international audience.
Despite KableOne’s uniqueness, it faces problems nonetheless. Younger, more tech-savvy consumers who wish to consume their on-demand video may be indifferent to the traditional linear and VOD appeal that the company offers. Although the company is doing well by focusing on Punjabi culture, a successful existence of such a saturated industry relies heavily on great content and a clean user experience.
It is mainly because, according to an analysis of its strategy, the platform is overextending itself by features it could not, after all, appeal to its core audience. Instead of increasing the appeal, the concept of newly combining old media may make it less appealing. Sucha Soorma was a better initiative for the dubbing in multilingual, but to win new users, KableOne should focus more on the development of the streaming features and content selection.
In other words, KableOne’s efforts are laudable, but in the cutthroat space of OTT, survival will demand much more than the presentation of wide varieties of products. It can only go on to find its place in this constantly burgeoning world of streaming by streamlining and improving on its strategy to engage users. With KableOne, which offers support for multiple languages, as well as mixed content, it will definitely attract a large target audience. However, a costly expense for its subscription may inhibit a large number of potential users since most people may not be willing to pay more for it relative to other streaming services.