Short video space in India poised for growth, says RedSeer research

The short video space in India is set to be the second-biggest segment in terms of the time spent in one year after the Internet biggies like Facebook and Google, according to new research from the consulting firm RedSeer.

The monthly active users of the short video space are expected to grow more than twice to reach over 650 million users by the calendar year 2025, clocking the second spot after television. This growth is largely expected to be driven by the new 300 Internet users that will be added by 2025, the consulting firm said.

RedSeer found that the short-form creators have grown two-fold since June 2020, when TikTok, the leader in the segment, was banned in India. Numbering about 40-45 million, these creators mostly hail from smaller towns and cities. The Indian short-form apps have surged ahead in terms of creator experience. As a result, says RedSeer, there is an increase in the user base and engagement on these platforms. Monthly average users are 1.2 times compared to before TikTok was banned, while time spent on the apps is about 0.4 times now. 

Short-form content has been the biggest winner at an aggregate level and is likely to overtake over the top (OTT) or streaming video content in the coming years, according to the report. Most of the platforms have ensured stringent content compliance standards ( more than 95 per cent), which was a big problem with TikTok, and monetisation opportunities.

After the TikTok ban in June 2020, Indian short-form apps have come a long way. With improved robust and technological upgrades, the apps improved their performance significantly on personalisation, real-time feed change, feed change by language, follower base, and feed change by search. 

For reference, TikTok had a monthly active user base of 170 million (DAU) in India when it was banned, 75 million daily active users (DAU) and a 70 per cent retention rate, according to research firm RedSeer Consulting.

As of December 2020, the biggest players in the space had the following numbers; Josh had 70-75 MAUs (monthly active users), and 30-35 million DAUs; MX TakaTak had 55-60 million MAUs, and 20-25 million DAUs; Roposo had 60-65 million MAUs and 12-14 million DAUs; and Moj had 38-42 million MAUs and 7-8 million DAUs.

Further, the digital ad market is expected to grow to about 10 times in the next 10 years, and the Indian short-form sector can potentially take up to 20 per cent of this market share, RedSeer said. India is still at a nascent stage in terms of monetisation on short-form apps, but is showing early adoption. Digital Ad revenues structure is expected to change significantly in the coming years. 

Commenting on the launch of the report, Ujjwal Chadhury, associate partner at RedSeer said, “We are reaching an inflexion point for digital ads' journey in India. The market is set to grow exponentially over the next decade and some of the new age content platforms are best positioned to capture this growth.”