GroupM’s Ashwin Padmanabhan: OTTs Must Adopt a Tech-Mindset to Monetize Effectively

Introduction

As the streaming boom continues to redefine media consumption in India, a critical voice from the advertising industry—Ashwin Padmanabhan, President of Investments, Trading, and Partnerships at GroupM India—has called for a strategic shift in how OTT platforms approach monetization.

According to him, OTT players can no longer survive by thinking like traditional broadcasters. Instead, they must embrace the data-driven, product-focused mindset of technology companies to unlock new revenue streams and deliver better viewer experiences.

The Changing Face of Streaming

The Indian OTT landscape has grown rapidly over the past decade, with platforms like Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, JioCinema, and Amazon Prime Video capturing massive user bases. But with rising content costs, fragmented audiences, and increasing competition, monetization has become a growing challenge.

Padmanabhan argues that the old media playbook—focused purely on content and ad inventory—won’t work in today’s digital economy. Streaming platforms must pivot toward audience analytics, real-time optimization, and product innovation to remain profitable.

What Does 'Thinking Like a Tech Company' Mean?

For Padmanabhan, thinking like a tech company means:

• Data-First Strategy: Leveraging audience insights to personalize content, segment ad offerings, and increase viewer retention.

• Agile Monetization Models: Moving beyond basic ad-supported and subscription-based models to include freemium, microtransactions, and hybrid revenue streams.

• Platform-Led Experiences: Focusing on user experience and product design—such as intuitive interfaces, adaptive streaming, and voice-enabled discovery—to increase time spent on the app.

• Full-Funnel Advertising: Using AI and machine learning to deliver highly targeted and measurable advertising campaigns for brands.

A Call for Deeper Collaboration with Advertisers

Padmanabhan emphasizes that OTT platforms must partner more closely with advertisers and media agencies, offering transparency and actionable insights. This involves sharing granular data on viewing behavior, ad completion rates, and user demographics to enable performance-driven campaigns.

He believes advertisers are ready to invest in OTT—if platforms can prove real ROI and help brands integrate storytelling with technology.

Unlocking India’s True OTT Potential

India has a massive mobile-first, digital-savvy population, making it one of the most fertile markets for OTT. However, a tech-enabled monetization strategy is essential for converting engagement into profit. Padmanabhan sees programmatic ad buying, dynamic pricing, and AI-powered content recommendations as key levers for unlocking long-term value.

He also encourages OTT platforms to build tech teams alongside content teams, investing equally in engineers and storytellers.

The Road Ahead

With attention spans shrinking and platform loyalty declining, OTTs must move fast. The future belongs to those who can merge entertainment with innovation—and deliver seamless, personalized, and profitable digital experiences.