Test-driving 5 Indian OTT Aggregator Platforms

OTT aggregators address the growing need for an intermediary between a large number of streaming services and end users in the Indian media/entertainment landscape today. While established aggregators work towards customizing the consumer experience and ensuring seamless access to a multitude of streamers, unsuspecting users may end up signing up for services that deliver much less than what they promise. We got five users across Indian cities to test five OTT aggregator services and share their experiences. Here’s what they have to say about the aggregators they’ve tried:

playbox tv | User: Jennifer, 26, Mumbai

starting point

Right from the start, downloading was easy. The exhibits and offerings were well presented visually. There are a wide variety of subscription packages – monthly plans as well as annual subscriptions.

BUT – the options included in the monthly package were very limited and quite obscure… these are apps I don’t normally use. Hence, I opted for the annual Super Premium package with 12 apps 1,999. Each of these had different duration [for validity], After purchase, the package does not have an auto-renew option, which I was really happy about.

buffering…

What I found confusing on this platform is the availability of content. It featured some free content, but apparently, for content related to the platform, it needs to be purchased with a subscription.

Unfortunately, though, after purchasing an annual subscription, the user experience sucks. Screen went blank. after deduction 1,999 — which is not a small amount — I did not receive a confirmation of my order. I had to wait for a few hours and made two rounds of calls with Playbox’s customer care executives to get it activated. This increased my anxiety a bit.

Since Playbox TV is sort of an aggregator OTT platform, the process of claiming a subscription for each individual streamer within it, and then downloading and doing it on those apps was confusing and a bit annoying, honestly.

what i liked

It is interesting to see content from platforms like Atrangi, Voot, MX Player, Alt Balaji, Shemaroo among others. Select content is available from platforms like Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, Discovery+, Hungama, Epicon, Sony LIV, etc. From Bollywood and Hollywood movies to trending shows, reality TV, web series, sports, documentaries and educational content, here’s a good mix that caters to all age groups. If one buys this for a large joint family, it will have something for all the members. The addition of a platform like Gaana is also interesting for those who want to stream music without ads.

last Call

Would I choose a service like Playbox again? Not for me. But if I were sharing a subscription with a group of friends or family members, I might give it a chance again.

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bundleplay | Kavitha, 33, Bangalore

finish before it starts

I had a terrible experience with BundlePlay. The download and registration process for the app was quite simple. But everything that followed was a sheer waste of time and effort. They created my profile and added a random picture with my name. I checked with a friend and he had a similar experience.

The list is sparse: There are Hollywood movies, Bollywood movies and South Indian movies. However when you click on any title, only the trailer plays. And this is when I click on the “watch now” option; Just below it is a separate “Trailer” button.

There is an option to watch news (NDTV and Zee News only) and when you click on the button, an error message pops up. Some OTT/music platforms are also available – Sony LIV, Eros Now, Epic On, Shemaroo, Gaana and Discovery+, and a few more. If you click on any of these apps, a subscription pop-up appears that does nothing!

I don’t know who are the people who gave this app 4.6 stars on Google PlayStore because I found it to be a bogus interface.

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FlixGenie | Anshul, 35, New Delhi

teething problems

First of all, I think we need to find out what exactly an OTT aggregator provides us. I was under the impression that this app is going to be my one-window platform for all OTT streaming services, where I pay a fixed amount and everything is available to me. but it’s not like that.

Download and login were very smooth. Then a window appears with a set of streaming services and one needs to select the applications they want content from. So, once I did that, I was taken to another window which listed all the movies and shows as per my selection. I mean, I could not see any practical use of this app other than providing a curated list of all movies etc. on one app. But then again, the purpose of the app becomes pretty useless considering you can just type the name of the movie on Google and find out on which OTT platform the movie is running.

second impressions

I especially found the interface really confusing because what if I want to select OTT platforms for which I already have an active subscription? I couldn’t see anything that took all those aspects into account. In fact, I could not even find any payment section for the aggregator platform. All the movies and shows in the list are part of one or the other platform, so in order to watch them, one needs to subscribe to each of these platforms individually. I don’t know then what is the use of this aggregator app? Overall, the ease of navigation on the app is below average; In fact it is quite confusing in different areas.

Good

Some of the filters provided by this app work for me. It allows the user to browse by genre, language and other filters such as “what’s hot”, “critically acclaimed” movies, etc. This is something that really helps sometimes when you want to keep yourself up to date with what is trending.

Apart from this, there are some movies which are available on this app for free through some or the other OTT platform. For example, Lootera on Disney+ Hotstar is available to watch on this app for free. I have an active Disney+ Hotstar subscription, but I can watch movies here on Hotstar without a separate login. However, this is a low resolution print; For Full HD print one has to login first on the streaming platform.

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upptv scope | Sourav, 30, Gurugram

false start

I used this product on the web as well as on my phone, and my experience was not great. The web version is very basic; There is no good interface for movies either. The news clips are either from NDTV 24X7 or Mirror Now. The entertainment channel as well as the spiritual channel which provides the web version are mostly South Indian. After subscribing to the web version, I could watch content in other languages ​​as well, but it’s all exclusive YuppTV content.

The app is very smooth. There is better access to channels, and one can choose the language and the content available on them [specific] Channel. It is very well designed and the overall navigation experience is also good. But it all falls flat as the app requires you to have a broadband connection from one of their ISPs and only then can you view anything on the app. Otherwise, you will have to subscribe to each OTT platform individually and then watch the content on this app. It serves practically no purpose.

So basically what I have gained after subscribing to the web version of YuppTV is full access to YuppTV content only. I can watch Ruposhi Bangla there, so that is a redeeming factor. And all.

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read | Abhishek, 27, Kolkata

starting point

I had a bad experience with Watcho – the app was not loading and later, my payment failed multiple times. But the Watcho team got in touch with me and immediately swung into action after hearing about my challenges. The matter was resolved almost overnight. So far, the app is working smoothly. The design and interface are intuitive. i signed up for 199 per month pack that included Lionsgate Play, Disney+ Hotstar, and ZEE5. Within five minutes of making the payment, I got my login ID and password for the OTT platform tagged in the package. Once you click on any platform, you will be directed to its catalogue.

interface insight

There is no ‘Search’ button, however, there is Watcho search functionality for finding movies and TV shows. But – it doesn’t give anything useful. This is a list of items that match the search phrase. One will never know which OTT platform is associated with each of those listed items. So, of course one has to endlessly scroll through the platforms. One has access to most of the movies and TV shows. Indian content has more visibility on platforms like Disney+ Hotstar and ZEE5. However, thanks to Lionsgate Play, one can browse through a mix of international and Indian content.

Suryasarathi Bhattacharya is a feature writer currently working at HT Media Labs. His work stands at the intersection of culture and community.