India’s digital video boom is showing signs of slowing down. The latest Ormax OTT Audience Report 2025 reveals that while the country’s online video audience has reached a massive 601 million people, the pace of growth is no longer what it used to be. Over the last two years, the audience base has been growing at about 13 to 14 per cent annually. This year, however, the number has risen by only 10 per cent. That might still sound big, but in a country where the base itself is vast, even a small dip in the growth rate suggests that the streaming industry could be hitting a saturation point.
The report defines an OTT user as anyone who watched at least one online video in the past month. This figure now covers over 40 percent of India’s population. But the challenge lies in adding new users. Rural audiences and those with limited digital access have already been tapped at scale, making further expansion harder.
Paid subscriptions stand at about 148 million, showing the difficulty of getting viewers to pay consistently for content. Even though connected TV usage has shot up by 87 percent in a year, that momentum does not erase the reality that overall audience growth is cooling.
The slowdown does not mean the OTT story is ending. Instead, it signals a shift. Platforms may now need to focus less on chasing new users and more on retaining and monetising the massive base they already have.