“We are extremely bullish on the Indian market and have a multi-tiered approach to it. While broadcasting will remain relevant for the foreseeable future, we are huge believers in the expansion of CTVs and content delivery over mobile networks,” stated Qyou Media CEO and Co-Founder Curt Marvis.
Apart from India, the US is another key market for the company, which produces and distributes content made by social media stars and digital content creators. It caters to a youth audience in the 14–35 age group.
“Having high-budget shows has never been our strategy, and that is not necessarily what younger audiences are looking for. Short-form and snackable content is our focus area,” Marvis said.
The company recorded revenues of over Rs 140 crore from the Indian market for the year ended December 2022, with a large chunk of its revenue coming from TV broadcasting.
“TV is still dominating our revenue in India because costs per thousand (CPMs) on television remain much higher than digital. At some point in time, digital revenue and digital distribution, inclusive of CTV, will become the dominant part of our business, but that is going to take time,” he stated.In India, Qyou Media owns and operates a Hindi entertainment channel called The Q, as well as multiple digital content destinations across multiple genres. Recently, it launched a spiritual channel with Sadhguru on CTV. It also owns a direct-to-consumer platform, Q Play.Apart from TV and digital media, Marvis is also bullish about the influencer marketing and gaming categories. It had acquired a 97% stake in influencer marketing agency Chtrbox for Rs 38 crore and a 51% stake in mobile gaming company Maxamtech Digital Ventures for Rs 2.9 crore, with the option to acquire the remaining 49% in tranches by 2026. It has since increased its stake in Chtrbox to 98%.
“We have put all the pieces together to build a growing media company with a focus on younger audiences,” Marvis stated. “If you are building a media brand, then you need to be reaching users in all the different places that they appear.”
Qyou Media’s programming library in India comprises over 1300 shows. In 2022, it produced over 1300 hours of programming, compared to 400 hours in the prior year.
Bennett Coleman and Company Limited’s strategic investment arm, Brand Capital, had invested in Qyou Media. BCCL also publishes The Economic Times.
Marvis said Qyou will continue to pursue an ad-driven business model in India. “If you want to create value in India, you need to be mass, and to be mass, the product should be free,” he stated.
