Anupriya Goenka in a still from Panchali

With the country going into lockdown, Ullu app that features explicit content sees a spike in subscribers; reduces subscription rate for users
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; March 26, 2020)

The current Coronavirus lockdown has left the 1.3 billion-strong population of India confined to their houses, limiting their recreational options. Naturally then, when not working from home, the average Joe has turned to the slew of OTT platforms for his daily entertainment quotient. The quarantine has had a ripple effect on another aspect of content consumption — interestingly, the viewership of explicit content has seen a spike. A case in point being Ullu app that predominantly features adult content and has seen a steady rise in subscribers over the past two weeks.

Encouraged by the development, the top brass at Ullu introduced a 15-day plan at a lower rate earlier this week. Vibhu Agarwal, CEO, Ullu Digital, reveals, "Since everyone is at home because of the lockdown, we have devised a special isolation period offer to our new users. Originally, our plans were Rs 144 for a year and Rs 99 for six months. The new package is a 15-day subscription at Rs 36. We have gained 30 per cent more users because of this plan."

With shows such as Charamsukh, Panchali and Kavita Bhabhi that leave little to the imagination, the app primarily targets the population from two-tier cities. However, Agarwal notes that it has widened its consumer base internationally too in the past fortnight.

To lure more users, the platform is streaming new episodes of their hit shows. Any hopes of adding new shows to the roster were dashed with the suspension of shoots in mid-March. "We have postponed the release of several series, including Hina Khan's show Smart Phone."