YouTube sharpens live events, film distribution push as CTVs cross 75 million users in India

YouTube is accelerating its focus on live content, alternative film distribution, and paid viewing models in India as connected televisions reach critical mass across households, India managing director Gunjan Soni told Moneycontrol in an interview.

Live programming is emerging as a central pillar of YouTube’s large-screen strategy, spanning sports, comedy, award shows, and cultural events. Soni said live content is not only growing on connected TVs but also driving engagement across devices in the Indian market.

Connected TV has been YouTube’s fastest-growing screen in India for the last five years. As of April 2025, the platform reached more than 75 million people aged 18 and above on connected TVs. Over half of watch time on the screen is now spent on content that is 21 minutes or longer, signalling a shift toward lean-back viewing traditionally associated with television.

The platform’s live ambitions were underlined earlier this week when YouTube secured exclusive global streaming rights to the Oscars for a five-year period starting in 2029, ending the event’s more than 70-year run on broadcast television. In addition to livestreaming the main ceremony for free, YouTube plans to offer red carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes programming, and nomination announcements.

Soni said such supplementary content helps build long-term fandoms around live cultural moments. She pointed to sports as an example, where teams and creators extend live events through archival clips, behind-the-scenes videos, and conversation-led formats, even when the core event is not streamed on YouTube itself. This approach allows excitement to build both before and after live moments across short-form and long-form video.

Alongside live events, YouTube is also experimenting with a new distribution model for film releases aimed at creating additional revenue avenues for studios and production houses. A key pilot was its partnership with actor-filmmaker Aamir Khan, whose film Sitaare Zameen Par was released on YouTube on a rental basis after its theatrical run, bypassing traditional streaming platforms. The film was made available across India and 38 international markets.

Soni said the innovation lies in windowing strategies rather than pay-per-view itself, which has existed on the platform for some time. The objective is to expand reach and unlock a new layer of monetisation for content owners, particularly in a market where theatre infrastructure has not kept pace with the volume of film releases. While YouTube did not disclose performance metrics from the pilot, Soni said the company is seeing a strong pipeline for similar experiments across different monetisation formats.

The rise of connected TVs is also feeding directly into YouTube’s subscription business in India. Soni said the company is seeing a gradual shift toward paid models including subscriptions, rentals, and fan funding, driven by a young and digitally savvy audience willing to pay for high-quality content.

In September, YouTube expanded its Premium Lite pilot to India. Priced at Rs 89 a month, the plan offers ad-free viewing across most video categories but continues to show ads on music content, music videos, and Shorts. It does not support background playback or offline downloads.

YouTube is also piloting a two-person subscription tier in India, priced at Rs 219 per month for Premium and Rs 149 for Music Premium, allowing users to share benefits with another household member. Standard YouTube Premium plans in India start at Rs 89 for students, Rs 149 for individuals, and Rs 299 for families, while Music Premium begins at Rs 59 for students, Rs 119 for individuals, and Rs 179 for families.

Globally, YouTube crossed 125 million subscribers across Music and Premium services in March. Parent company Alphabet has surpassed 300 million paid subscriptions as of October 2025, with YouTube and Google One driving growth. In India, YouTube has also signed distribution partnerships with platforms such as Flipkart, bundling YouTube Premium with Flipkart Black.

India remains YouTube’s largest market, with over 500 million users. The country is central to the platform’s long-term growth strategy. In May, YouTube announced an investment of Rs 850 crore over two years to accelerate India’s creator economy. Over the past three years, the platform has paid more than Rs 21,000 crore to Indian creators, artists, and media companies.

YouTube said its creative ecosystem contributed over Rs 16,000 crore to India’s GDP last year and supported more than 930,000 full-time equivalent jobs. As of December 2024, more than 15,000 Indian channels had crossed one million subscribers, more than double the number two years earlier. Over 15 percent of watch time for Indian-produced content now comes from international audiences.