From theatres to living rooms, South Indian cinema is increasingly dominating the showbiz, accounting for nearly 60% of all theatrically successful films acquired by streaming platforms across Indian languages in 2025.

While this marks a significant shift in OTT content-buying strategies, it is driven by stronger viewer engagement for South Indian titles on streaming platforms, with a higher proportion of viewers tending to watch them till the end after starting them, senior executives at large media and entertainment networks said.

Of the 125 films that each drew more than one million admissions in theatres and bought by leading streaming platforms, 74 were South Indian titles, according to a study by media and entertainment research firm Ormax Media.

“South Indian titles generally show strong engagement patterns, often delivering high completion rates and sustained viewing, which improve long-term platform value,” said Krishnan Kutty, head of entertainment business, south cluster, at JioStar. “At streaming scale, consistent engagement matters more than opening spikes, and regional content is increasingly delivering that consistency,” he added.

In addition, the share of South Indian content in total watch time on streaming platforms has been increasing, industry executives said.

“Across films and web series, we are witnessing phenomenal growth from the South, which accounts for more than 41% of total watch time on ZEE5,” said Siju Prabhakaran, chief business officer at ZEE5. “Every region in South India brings a unique flavour and intellectual depth that resonates across age groups and geographical boundaries.”

Producers said South Indian titles also offer advantages in terms of acquisition costs and content supply compared with Hindi films.

“These titles also provide pipeline stability,” said Suniel Wadhwa, cofounder and director at Karmic Films. “A larger volume of theatrical films with stronger audience retention in the post-pandemic period comes from the South, giving streamers a more dependable content acquisition ecosystem.”

Language affinity and the cultural rootedness of South Indian stories have helped these films attract audiences well beyond their regional markets, independent streaming consultants said.

“In addition to subtitles and dubbing, audiences’ affinity for their mother tongue and the cultural authenticity of these stories and their presentation have helped South Indian titles find viewers beyond their traditional markets,” said Shrirang Nargund, an independent consultant to the streaming industry. “Today, audiences outside the metros increasingly prefer such stories.”

The next 100 million subscribers to India’s streaming ecosystem are expected to come from markets beyond the major metropolitan cities.

According to the Ormax study, Netflix acquired 34% of all South Indian titles bought by streaming platforms in 2025, followed by JioHotstar (19%), ZEE5 (18%) and Prime Video (17%).

“We studied films that recorded one million footfalls in theatres across all languages in India. The South emerged as a bigger content market for streaming platforms,” said Keerat Grewal, head of business development for streaming, TV and brands at Ormax Media.

Streamers also acquired 35 theatrically successful Hindi films, with Netflix accounting for 57%.

Mumbai: Indian content is travelling faster and wider than ever through streaming platforms, with industry leaders saying the global surge in demand marks a turning point for the country's media and entertainment economy.

Executives say streaming platforms have dismantled long standing distribution barriers and opened direct access to audiences across continents with nearly 25% of total viewership for Indian OTT and digital programming now comes from overseas.

Platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are seeing strong global traction for Indian originals, helped by subtitles and dubbing that eliminate language dependence. The government has urged the sector to think global and treat entertainment as a strategic soft power asset, expanding India's cultural reach through digital distribution at scale.

"With nearly 25% of viewership for Indian OTT and digital content now coming from overseas, our local voices from regional rappers to wellness educators are sharing our culture on world stages. This is local innovation, going global," said YouTube India head Gunjan Soni at the CII Big Picture Summit on Monday.

"It's how Kerala-born rapper, Hanumankind, can drop a track like 'Big Dawgs' and find fans from Lucknow to Los Angeles overnight. Or, how Anita Bokepalli can build a global community around mindfulness and yoga, sharing one of India's greatest wellness exports with the world."

Calling the surge in consumption a structural shift, YuppTV CEO Uday Reddy said international appetite is expanding far beyond the diaspora.

"Even non-diaspora audiences are actively seeking out our movies and shows. Subtitles and dubbing have removed language barriers, allowing good-quality Indian content to reach much wider global audiences," said Reddy.

"You can see the scale of this demand in the extent of piracy, which drains nearly Rs. 10,000 crore in revenue every year - money that should be flowing back into the Indian media and entertainment industry."

Streamer ZEE5 is also seeing steady overseas traction across the US, UK, MENA and APAC.

"Indian content on digital platforms continues to strike a strong chord with the diaspora audience through authentic storytelling across languages," said Siju Prabhakaran, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 India and Global. "We continue to garner steady viewership from markets like the US, the UK, MENA and APAC."

He added that ZEE5 is scaling content with simulcasts, new formats and distribution partnerships.

"We also innovating with dynamic strategies like windowing, new content formats, simulcasts addressing the TV plus Digital audiences and CTV users amongst others. Distribution partnerships remain an important aspect to build global scale and ZEE5 has strong tie-ups across the value chain including telecom operators, OEMs and content aggregators," Prabhakaran said.

A new CII white paper on India's media and entertainment sector outlines the regulatory and infrastructure reforms needed to sustain this momentum. It highlights fragmented laws that create inconsistent compliance requirements and argues for unified regulation to protect IP and talent.