According to reports from Mint, Netflix maintains its dominance in India's film streaming market with a 36% share of acquisitions, followed by JioHotstar at 21%, Prime Video at 18%, and ZEE5 at 13%. SonyLIV has also begun expanding its presence with a 6% share. Between 2022 and early 2025, Netflix and Prime Video together controlled more than 75% of major Hindi, Telugu and Tamil theatrical film acquisitions, as reported by media consulting firm Ormax. However, the landscape has broadened significantly since last year, with at least four major platforms actively competing for streaming rights, particularly for South Indian films.
As reported by Mint, film producer Anand Pandit noted that while there are more doors open today, getting past them has become far tougher. Content executives caution that OTT platforms remain selective and continue to reserve the bulk of their spending for marquee titles. Narendra Hirawat, chairman of NH Studioz, confirmed that the OTT acquisition market has shrunk overall, affecting production houses across the board. According to industry experts, platforms have become highly selective about what they acquire, with budgets and spending shifting priorities based on their chosen content strategies.
According to Mint reports, regional language content operates in a meaningfully more competitive environment than Hindi cinema. Apurv Abhay Modi, managing director and co-founder of Abhāy Group, noted that multiple platforms including JioHotstar, ZEE5, Prime Video and Netflix are all active in regional language spaces, giving regional producers more options and stronger negotiating positions than their Hindi counterparts. Vimal Doshi, chief operating officer of Balaji Motion Pictures, explained that while the market is more competitive than two years ago, premium contracts are primarily awarded to large films with star power or strong theatrical success because these movies help increase subscriber numbers.
Despite Hindi cinema's expected negotiating leverage, it is increasingly dependent on a single buyer. According to Ormax data reported by Mint, Netflix accounted for approximately 57% of streaming rights acquisitions for original Hindi theatrical films in 2025. Such concentration effectively reduces producers' bargaining power and increases dependence on the content appetite and pricing decisions of a single platform. This contrasts sharply with the more competitive environment for regional language content across multiple platforms.
As reported by Mint, despite broader platform participation, industry executives say one structural problem remains unresolved: the lack of viable OTT economics for mid-budget films. Modi from Abhāy Group identified the challenge as the ₹15 crore to ₹60 crore budget range that is neither tentpole spectacles nor low-cost niche productions. These projects often struggle to command meaningful OTT valuations because they do not fit neatly into either the blockbuster acquisition model or the cost-efficient originals strategy. The industry and platforms need to address this structural gap through more collaborative acquisition models, flexible windowing strategies, or revenue participation structures that reduce upfront platform risk.
