India is often considered a land of many mysteries, and while that is debatable, there is no doubt that the country has come a long way. As one of the world's largest economies, it has shed its snake charmer reputation and become a leader in fields like technology, medicine, and literature.
This rapid growth has also fueled a younger generation that remains up-to-date with the latest trends and has emerged as a workforce leader in many industries. Among the more modern professions where Indians are leaving their mark is livestreaming, with the South Asian nation embracing it across spheres.
Alongside the video game and IRL content creation segments witnessing a boom, there continue to be changes to the way citizens get their fill of everyday content. This can be seen in the way politics, entertainment, and news are consumed, with the once-great monopoly enjoyed by televisions rapidly getting replaced by smartphone screens even in the remotest corners of the country.
YouTube has been the biggest benefactor of this decade-long development in the livestreaming industry. India is one of the red platform's largest markets, with many of its top channels by the number of subscribers coming from here.
However, reaching this stage has not been easy, considering the cultural and political challenges facing a country as big and diverse as India. From the roaring success of the early days of televisions to the ready acceptance of smartphones, thanks to the mobility they offer, the world's seventh-largest nation by area has been through quite a journey.
Early days (2010-2015): Gaming takes centre stage
Two games in particular — Dota 2 and Counter-Strike — were massively popular in internet cafes and among PC gamers in India. Early streamers, often playing from these cafes or their homes with limited setups, would stream their matches. Think of it as the early equivalent of watching your friends play but on a larger scale. These streams were often raw and unpolished, but they fostered a sense of community among players. There wasn't much focus on production value; it was more about the gameplay itself.
Limited infrastructure was also a huge hurdle. Imagine trying to upload a video while your internet connection keeps dropping or is incredibly slow. That was the reality for many early streamers. High latency (lag) made playing online games and streaming simultaneously a frustrating experience. Streaming quality was often low, with pixelated video and choppy audio. This limited the audience reach, as people were less likely to watch poor-quality broadcasts. Furthermore, data costs were high, making it expensive for both streamers and viewers.
To compound Indians' woes, YouTube's initial livestreaming capabilities were basic, and the platform was primarily known for pre-recorded videos. The interface wasn't optimized for live content, and features like chat and viewer interaction were limited. This made the red platform less appealing for serious streamers compared to Twitch, which was built from the ground up for live gaming and streaming. While some used it, it wasn't the dominant force it is today for live content.
The laws regarding internet regulation and the kind of content that was considered acceptable also presented stumbling blocks to aspiring gamers and streamers. However, things were looking up, and eventually, the sheer popularity of gaming and the demand for content related to video games ensured changes arrived swiftly.
Growth and expansion (2016-2020): The rise of content creators
This period was right before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while things went up a notch during the lockdown days, the foundation was laid by what happened during the few years prior. Many video game lovers, professional gamers, and livestreaming enthusiasts saw that content creation had become quite a viable career option, led by the success of celebrities and social media influencers.
This was also the watershed period where, suddenly, a large segment of the population had access to gaming through their smartphones. Titles like PUBG Mobile and Free Fire were designed to be played on less powerful devices, making them accessible to a broader audience. Mobile game broadcasting became incredibly popular, as it was easier for people to both play and livestream from their phones. Most crucially, this lowered the barrier to entry for both streamers and viewers.
What helped was the well-received arrival of Jio, the newest and shiniest cellular service in town that is owned by Reliance Industries honcho Mukesh Ambani, one of the world's richest people. Before it arrived in India, data was expensive, and internet speeds were often slow and unreliable.
Jio's introduction of affordable high-speed data plans was a catalyst for the growth of online video consumption in general and livestreaming in particular. This dramatically increased the potential audience for streamers and allowed for higher-quality streams.
It essentially democratized access to the internet, and by extension, livestreaming, with other major players like Airtel and Vodafone also forced to reduce prices to make their products more accessible to the public.
With access to the internet improving and the audience growing, creators began exploring different content niches. This included everything from music performances and cooking tutorials to comedy sketches and educational content. The livestreaming landscape became more diverse and catered to a wider range of interests. This diversification was crucial for the long-term growth of the industry.
It helped that YouTube recognized the potential of livestreaming and invested heavily in improving its platform. It introduced features like Super Chat (allowing viewers to pay to highlight their messages), improved chat functionality, and made it easier for creators to manage their streams. This made the tech giant a more competitive platform for livestreaming, attracting both creators and viewers.
This was also when the more prominent media companies like Aaj Tak, NDTV, CNBC, Times Network, and Republic started shifting their focus to online content. While their relationship with a still television-dependent population remained strong, these firms began placing equal importance on livestreaming.
As a result, online users started seeing more content being uploaded on these organisations' channels, with almost all of them sticking to YouTube. While reruns of primetime news and debates, interviews, and live coverage of breaking news were religiously uploaded, the admins also embraced concepts like Shorts and reels to appeal to the country's large internet user base.
Soon after, live TV began popping up on these channels as well, free of cost. Be it news or entertainment channels, users were suddenly spoilt for choice when it came to the kind of content available to them, with even the coveted primetime time slot shows now made public and free.
News channels have been the ones to make the most of this shift, and as a result, they have dominated the landscape, as seen in the picture above, which ranks the Indian channels for 2024 across livestreaming services based on watch time.
Of course, we cannot forget that sports channels, specifically of the cricketing type, tend to also attract high interest among Indian viewers. These channels come into more focus during global sporting events, especially the 50-over and 20-over cricket World Cups, when the sheer number of online users looking for updates relating to India's matches grows manifold, directing higher traffic to many of these channels.
The present (since 2021): Mainstream acceptance and professionalisation
Today, a career in livestreaming could justifiably be considered a viable option by many Indians, an educational degree in hand or not. That is how far the industry has come, having initially struggled for any kind of acceptance from a society still stuck on the premise that medicine, engineering, or civil services were the best way forward for youngsters.
With esports exploding in popularity in India, large tournaments with significant prize pools are now common, and these events draw huge online viewership. Livestreaming is essential for broadcasting these tournaments, and it has helped to professionalize the gaming scene in India.
Esports organizations and professional gamers rely on livestreaming to build their fan bases and generate revenue. Organizers like Skyesports and NODWIN Gaming have not only helped bring a streamlined structure to everything but also attracted investments and attention from Western esports organizations.
The ever-popular influencer industry is also flourishing, with online personalities across various niches using livestreaming to connect with their followers in a more personal and interactive way. They can answer questions, share behind-the-scenes glimpses of their lives, and promote products in real time. This has become a key part of influencer marketing strategies.
As livestreaming fosters a sense of community because viewers can interact with each other and the streamer in real time, streamers are learning to cultivate close relationships with their viewers to create a loyal fanbase. This creates a more engaging and interactive experience than watching pre-recorded videos, and it seems to be working.
In a land where hero-worshipping is nothing new, many of the newest crop of superstars to find god-like status among citizens, especially the youth, come from the online world. They have been able to strike a chord with their audiences and form fan clubs and cliques, helping make them celebrities in their own rights and gaining mainstream media attention as a result.
Of course, all this would not be possible without livestreaming services like YouTube and Twitch, which remain the dominant players. However, other platforms are trying to carve out a niche for themselves, including by catering to specific genres like gaming or vlogging.
Facebook Gaming, for example, leverages the social media network's massive user base, while Loco and Rooter focus on the Indian market with localized content and features. This competition is good for creators and viewers, as it drives innovation and improves the overall livestreaming experience.
Challenges and future
As the volume of livestreamed content increases, it becomes more challenging to moderate it effectively. Platforms must develop robust systems for detecting and removing inappropriate content, such as hate speech, harassment, and misinformation.
However, this is a complex issue, as it requires balancing freedom of expression with the need to protect users from harmful content. There has also been a massive recent change in the way content is perceived by the ruling disposition and its supporters, with anything seen as negative coming under immense scrutiny.
The subject of net neutrality has also been a hot topic of discussion, with the Government of India favouring a bill that could give it absolute control over what netizens in the nation watch and what is censored. While it has divided opinion, especially when it comes to freedom of speech, those in favour continue to push for it to be implemented.
Another challenge that faces Indian livestreaming is monetization, especially with the way Indian laws are set up. Moreover, while a few streamers (mostly former pro gamers turned influencers) are very successful, many struggle to monetize their content. That is why we see a lot more organizations top the viewership charts than individual streamers across platforms, as the former has the resources needed to sustain itself in an industry as cut-throat as content creation.
Platforms do offer various monetization options, such as ads, subscriptions, and donations, but these are not always sufficient for creators to earn a sustainable living. Finding new and innovative ways to monetize livestreams is an ongoing challenge.
Moreover, even with improved infrastructure, internet connectivity can still be inconsistent in some parts of India. This can lead to technical issues for streamers, such as dropped frames, low video quality, and lag. Ensuring consistent stream quality remains a challenge, particularly for mobile streamers.
To conclude, the future of livestreaming in India is exciting. As technology continues to improve and internet access becomes even more widespread, we can expect to see further growth and innovation in this space.
We're likely to see new formats, interactive experiences, and the emergence of new platforms and content creators, especially in a genre still as unexplored as IRL. The livestreaming landscape will continue to evolve, offering even more opportunities for both creators and viewers.