It’s never been a better and a brighter day for Telugu language content on streaming platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Disney+ Hotstar, ShareChat and others. While the nationwide lockdown has left people and businesses in a tizzy, social media and digital content platforms have been having a great day.
One such regional bubble experiencing a high are streams in Telugu. An estimate published in ‘The New Indian Express’ pegs nearly 80+ prominent Telugu video channels on YouTube, almost a million subscribers each, and more growing by the hour. Talented YouTubers like Mahathalli and Niharika Konidela rule the roost with millions of subscribers, while individual contributors who post content around Tollywood, humour, viral content and action also get noticed.
“Regional languages have their own flavour and the lockdown has given content creators the opportunity to bring their immense creativity to these platforms,” explains Shakir Ebrahim, Founder, Bisbo.
Bisbo is one of the country’s popular YouTube channels for animated news explainers and visual content. Bisbo converts current news into stories which are dramatised, detailed and analytical. It now has channels in 10 Indian languages, including Telugu. “Our own Telugu stream, which is currently 15 months old, has over 150,000 subscribers and 16.5 million views. Our top 10 Telugu language videos have been about the Indo-Pakistan conflict, immigration to the US, bank and train robberies. We’ve also seen a keen interest in videos on the personalities like Anil Ambani, BR Shetty.”
“The viewers for the Telugu stream may primarily be from India, but the channel receives an international audience as well. 7% of our viewers are from abroad including the Middle East and the US,” he shared. So, what trends does he see developing for Telugu content on YouTube? “Based on our viewership, the Telugu audience seems largely interested in an equal dose of Tollywood-type action, crime-dramas and glamour,” Ebrahim forecasted.
