The Indian short-form video market has been on a strong growth trajectory ever since ByteDance-owned TikTok entered the market in 2017. Following the TikTok ban by the Indian government, the void was filled by global giants YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels besides home-grown platforms like Moj, Josh, MX TakTaka, Chingari, and Roposo among others.

With a 300 million active user base (as per consulting firm RedSeer), short-form video platforms have witnessed a surge in content consumption. In fact, RedSeer last year predicted that short-video platforms will overtake over-the-top (OTT) video streaming platforms in terms of content consumption in 2022.

As the short-video platforms attract more eyeballs, the brands are also allocating more ad dollars toward the short-video space. Another report released by RedSeer this year states that short-video platforms can account for 10-20% of the overall digital ad spends by 2030. The report also projects that the overall short-video user base will touch 600 million by 2025.

As reported earlier by e4m, experts believe that the short-video platforms have the potential to garner advertising revenue of Rs 600 crore to Rs 800 crore in the next two years.

ShareChat & Moj Chief Revenue Officer Udit Sharma said that the Redseer report validates his company's internal data and research which shows a tectonic shift of preference towards short-form videos in comparison to other entertainment platforms including OTTs.

"Users today constantly desire fresh and engaging content, and in their preferred language. ShareChat and Moj fulfil this need. Our algorithm also allows us to determine the type of content a user may like, even if they have not consumed a particular genre before - this allows us to consistently delight the user with newness. Consumers are also wary of spending a lot of time trying to figure out what to watch - a problem that does not exist on short-form video platforms like Moj," he expounded.

YouTube Partnerships Regional Director-Asia Pacific Ajay Vidyasagar pointed out that YouTube Shorts, which recently completed two years in India, has been generating 30 billion views per day with 1.5 billion logged-in users every month globally.

"We saw the great potential and engagement short-form content has for today’s increasingly mobile viewer. That’s why two years ago, we introduced YouTube Shorts, first in India, to make it easier to watch and create short-form content on YouTube. Since then we have seen that imaginative, helpful content in less than 60 seconds has been capturing the hearts and minds of viewers across India. Viewers have turned to both new and existing creators across a broad range of topics to seek short-form content that tapped into the humour and familiarity of everyday life," he stated.

He added that viewers today are demanding content across their screens, tastes, and times. "Viewers are demanding a new kind of video creator. And, we’re seeing this rise on the platform, and we’re calling this new breed of innovators ‘multiformat creators’. These multiformat creators take full advantage of every format, tool, and product at their disposal -- from video formats to analytics. The interplay between VOD, Shorts, and Live mirrors the reality of today’s viewer, who watches a video at different times in various places. They need content that suits their active lives, varied interests, and wide-ranging attention spans."

While stating that the short format videos thrive on user-generated content, Dentsu India-owned Amplifi Chief Investment Officer Sujata Dwibedy stated that the biggest advantage that short videos enjoy over traditional OTT and video content is the availability of talented content creators and enablers who are relatable and experts in reaching the most niche groups targeted by many of the businesses nowadays.

"Post Tiktok ban in India in 2020, homegrown short video apps such as Moj, MX TakaTak, Josh, etc. took the space and have come a long way in one and a half years. However, Instagram Reels has higher traction while YouTube has also started its short video offerings. The consumption of short videos normally happens during leisure time or at a more convenient time. Easier AI and camera tools have made it super convenient for anyone to continuously innovate and create diversified content with minimal efforts," she said.

MediaCom Chief Product Officer Averill Sequeira stated that the two key factors that are driving consumption are the volume of content and the ease of consumption. "Armed with a 48mp camera which even a 20K smartphone today boasts of, and relatively low data prices, creators have mushroomed in nooks and corners of the country. Unlike OTT platforms which have to produce and distribute content, here users are themselves generating it. There is no language or aesthetic or taste dilemma either – most SVF content caters to universal preferences in music, dance, slice-of-life storytelling, or everyday fun, which the entire country can relate to. And lastly, the format perfectly suits the attention deficit audience who can tune in anytime, anywhere, while during transit in metros to overnight bus rides to college breaks or even during college classes!"

Motivator National Creative Director Dheeraj Kummar said that there is a strong shared emotion generated by short-form video content as they are mostly contextualised to current events, local trends, and popular culture. He added that there’s no barrier to consuming short video content like freemium or premium subscriptions. "Also, the ‘binge watching’ of short-form video content drives more consumption of such content due to their short duration. Most importantly, content creators of such content work harder to garner followers on their platform and keep on coming back with interesting, meaningful, and entertaining content. Other reasons are cheap data, better connectivity, and affordable smartphones."

Cheil India Chief Growth Officer Kumar Awanish said factors like the declining attention span, the quest to watch something new & authentic, and ease of shareability are the key drivers for the consumption of short-form video content. "At the core of it, it is certain that the growth of multiple social media platforms that have accentuated and evangelized short video formats are to be given the credit. The banned Chinese app- TikTok played the influential role in this whole process riding on the back of ever-growing internet penetration and smartphone users in India."