OTT Decline Continues In Second Year With Even Fewer Originals

India’s streaming boom is officially slowing down. After years of aggressive expansion, the number of original shows and films released across major OTT platforms has now dropped for the second year in a row. Following an 18 percent fall in 2024, the count slipped another 13 percent in 2025, going below 300 titles for the first time since 2020. According to Ormax Media’s report Supply Trends: Indian Streaming Originals in 2025, the market is no longer chasing volume. It is learning to live with limits.

The slowdown comes after a peak in 2023, when platforms were locked in a race to outproduce each other. The recent dip is partly structural. The merger of Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema into a single app reduced duplication. The banning of Ullu, which alone contributed 17 originals in 2024, also shrank the overall count. When supply contracts are affected, the numbers feel the impact quickly.

But the bigger story is creative consolidation. Fiction series continue to dominate, making up 71 percent of 2025 originals. Scripted content remains the safest bet in a competitive market. Netflix appears to be the most balanced in format mix, while ZEE5 has expanded aggressively across languages, reflecting its new multilingual push.

Hindi still leads with 60 percent share, though its dominance has softened. Telugu has grown steadily, and platforms have signalled expansion into Tamil and other regional markets.

Going forward, this contraction is a reckoning. The easy money phase of Indian streaming is over, and platforms can no longer afford to greenlight content just to inflate catalog numbers. Fewer originals mean higher scrutiny, tighter budgets, and sharper creative filters. The winners will be those who invest in distinctive stories rather than safe replicas of past hits. Regional language expansion has become a survival tool, because growth now lies beyond the Hindi belt. The correction may feel like a slowdown, but it could mark a turning point. The era of limitless expansion is over.