Tiger Global Offloads Entire Stake In OTT Platform The Viral Fever

Private equity firm Tiger Global Management has reportedly exited The Viral Fever (TVF), the digital entertainment company behind shows such as Panchayat, Kota Factory, Aspirants and Gullak, in a transaction that values the company at $22 Mn.

The PE firm is said to have sold up to a 40% stake in the company to investors like Lighthouse India Fund-I, Frontier Globecap Ventures and LC Nueva Advisors LLP. The transaction marks a 73% decline from TVF’s $82 Mn valuation in 2019, according to a Mint report, citing sources.

Inc42 has reached out to Tiger Global and TVF for comments on the development. This story will be updated if and when a response is received.

Tiger Global first backed TVF in 2016 with an investment of around $10 Mn for 25% stake. The PE firm subsequently shored up more stake in the company by participated in additional funding rounds. 

The deal comes amid a leadership rejig at the OTT platform, seeing the appointment of three senior appointments across its creative and corporate team. Meanwhile, Shreyansh Pandey, who headed TVF Originals, is leaving after 11 years to start his own venture. 

Pandey has worked on shows including Kota Factory, Aspirants, Gullak and Cubicles.

Founded by Arunabh Kumar, TVF started in 2010 as a YouTube-led experiment focused on comedy sketches, parodies and youth-oriented content. It gained wider recognition in 2012 with viral videos such as Rowdies and later moved into scripted digital series.

Its early shows, including Permanent Roommates and TVF Pitchers, helped establish TVF as an early player in India’s web-series market, while formats such as Qtiyapa and Barely Speaking with Arnub helped build its YouTube audience.

TVF crossed 1 Mn YouTube subscribers in 2015 and now has more than 6 Mn. It subsequently expanded into long-form content, producing popular shows such as Kota Factory, Panchayat, Gullak and Aspirants, turning it from a YouTube comedy channel into one of India’s better-known digital content studios.

Tiger Global’s exit adds on to its ongoing exits within the Indian startup ecosystem. Last year, Tiger Global had offloaded its entire stake in listed EV major Ather Energy via a bulk deal for ₹1,204 Cr. The firm has also been cutting its stakeholding in Ather’s competitor, Ola Electric, since last year. 

Meanwhile, the deal comes at a time when India’s OTT ecosystem is undergoing a broader reset. The number of streaming originals released across major platforms fell 18% in 2024 and a further 13% in 2025 to 274, the lowest level since 2020, according to Ormax Media report.

Industry estimates also suggest that OTT content budgets have been cut by 20%-50%, with the average cost of a web-series episode falling to ₹30 Lakh-₹1 Cr from ₹1-2 Cr earlier. 

India’s OTT market was estimated at $3.9 Bn in 2024 and is projected to reach $19.25 Bn by 2035, growing at a CAGR of 15.6% between 2025 and 2035.

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