Certain technologies that have changed day-to-day life in many countries around the world have sometimes eluded the greater public of India.
Though the subcontinent is vast and does boast many residents who are on top of every technological advancement to grace the globe, it’s not been until the last five or so years that the glut of the subcontinent has been able to make full use of mobile technologies and, in turn, the reach of the internet.
While the availability of information and access to cheap, if not free, communications have opened up to millions of people, one of the most incredible changes have been to the entertainment sector of India. As mobile’s influence on India increases, the way in which we engage with entertainment continues to change a great deal.
A new realm of entertainment enters the fray
Card games like rummy and poker have been wildly popular across India for decades, but as far as digital gaming goes outside of those classics, the big names have struggled to reach the greater Indian market. Hardware like gaming PCs and video game consoles either aren’t supplied in significant numbers to most of the country or price themselves out of the market altogether.
Now, however, with smartphones becoming accessible, affordable, and increasingly necessary, games that have already adapted to the mobile platform have become wildly popular in the increasingly mobile user base. There are already an estimated 326 million mobile gamers in India, with the highest-grossing games being the first-person shooters Garena Free Fire and PUBG Mobile, as well as the spin on slot games Coin Master, per Similar Web.
It’s not just games in a dedicated Indian app form that have seen their player numbers from the subcontinent shoot-up in recent years. Online gambling platforms that are licensed by the most trusted European regulatory bodies have seen many Indian players use their mobile websites. Being licensed, regulated, and boasting games like roulette, blackjack, rummy, baccarat, and Andar Bahaar, the vetted casinos at Casino Market have earned a place in the Indian gaming scene.
The smallest screen is becoming the best place to watch
Mobiles are giving people incredible accessibility to shows and movies from around the world and in India. The big-name streaming services have already started to work their way into the market, but some brands are starting up with the aim of appealing to mobile-centric audiences, such as that of India.
Quibi is a brand new streaming platform that has two distinct selling points. The first is that it only runs on mobile devices – which it does incredibly well. The second is that it offers short-form video content, per Indian Express, with episodes of shows lasting up to ten minutes. The business model of Quibi seemingly makes it perfect for the general on-the-go mobile audience and shows how dominant the mobile audience has become.
The accessibility and adoption of mobile as a platform for entertainment has been exemplified by the viewership figures of the 2019 IPL Final. The decisive match between the Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians boasted an average concurrent viewership of 11.1 million users on Hotstar, with 91 percent of viewers watching via a mobile device, according to CNN Money.
It’s impossible to deny the incredible influence that mass mobile adoption is having on India, with the entertainment sector already seeing stark changes that come alongside the embrace of smartphones.
