By Natalia Ningthoujam

New Delhi, Dec 3 IANS) Many Indians are immersed in the digital world and the increasing appeal of OTT platforms in the country might lead to the cord-cutting sooner than expected, says Rishika Lulla Singh, Chairman, CEO - Eros Digital.

"India is one of the fastest growing entertainment and media markets globally and is expected to keep that momentum. As data and digital infrastructure have become exceedingly accessible even in small cities of India, the market for OTT has widened enormously. As over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms invest heavily in creating original content and with easy access to mobile data, the number of online consumers is increasing rapidly," Singh told IANS.

"The increasing appeal of OTT platforms might lead to the cord-cutting sooner than expected. Also, as compared to our western counterparts, India is still catching up with regard to the quality of content produced, consequently, there is a long way to go," she added.

Eros Now has a lot of content (movies, music, TV, originals) to provide to its more than 177 million registered users. It has now partnered with YouTube Music.

"We have always been collaborative in nature and this partnership with YouTube Music further enhances customer experience by offering an extensive music library in conjunction with our large catalogue of films and original shows," she said.

Eros Now aims to cater to millennials as well as post-millennials worldwide by offering innovative services and content and emerge as the "most preferred digital destination for quality entertainment".

"YouTube Music is one the most preferred platforms for music across genres and languages and its extensive content catalogue compliments Eros Now's massive movie, originals and Quickies library. Users will also get access to YouTube Music's catalogue including tracks in English, Hindi and nine other Indian languages (Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Kannada, Malayalam and Bhojpuri). The tie-up has opened-up an inimitable avenue for customers to avail the best of both - movies and music under one platform," she shared.

"Also, from the brand's perspective, it is a huge win. It's the first time in the world, Google has formed a partnership of this nature or scale. YouTube and Eros are together driving the subscription market in India and hopefully, this is a model that would be replicated globally.

"YouTube has a funnel of close to 325-350 million consumers in India that come to the platform on a month-on-month basis. We have got 23.5 million paid subs and 177.7 million registered users. So, through e-mail communication, and push notifications on our existing services, we will be cross-pollinating the fact that YouTube and Eros Now have come together with a subsidised pack," she concluded.