Monday, April 13, 2020

Has Lockdown boosted OTT platforms ?


The jump in subscription for Netflix and Amazon after the imposition of Sec I44 in India, is a sign of viewership pattern of moviegoers. A Tamil movie `Dharalaaprabhu' which had to stop screening after a three day run due to lockdown is now streaming on a OTT platform. A big budgeted film Master starring Vijay is facing trouble from exhibitors as they are asking for a refund. The reason being that even if the theaters ( those in Malls) were to open, the social distancing norms and inbuilt fear of contracting Covid 19 among the upper urban class will affect the footfalls. The overseas territories for Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films are UAE and GCC, USA, Canada Australia, FMS ( Singapore- Malaysia). All these countries are under a emergency situation .In such circumstances, the remedy is that to get on to OTT platforms.
/According to a marketing survey conducted in India, 55% of viewers of online movies are from five metropolitan cities. Now the habit has spread to Tier 1 and 2 cities. OTT (over the top) streaming sites when started in India had only old movies that were termed classic for the subscribers. These sites were mostly ones those early offered released movies for download to members as the DVD rental services were getting extinct. Having moved on to the OTT platform rather late in India and as Bollywood producers were still sticking to traditional way of distributing movies, OTT had a slow start. Today, almost all US based OTT have set up shop in India and we too have our TV broadcasters and serial producers entering the race. The public, at first were hooked to seeing TV shows on screen and watching movies in theater. Now with the penetration of high speed Internet being high, OTT sites went on to give their own content for the subscribers. This move got the filmdom shocked as the earnings from these ‘originals’ were as good as that of a hit movie and sometimes even better.

Advantages
The advantage of watching a movie on online movies portal was that for one it had no ad-breaks, two is that you can pause or fast forward them. The viewer can watch the favorite TV show at his/ her connivance. Subscription fee has dropped due to competition and today for a price of four movie tickets; one can get a premium annual subscription. The online movies streaming sites had initially enabled for high end Smartphone but after studying the Indian market and a survey which showed that 70% of smart phone users was using it to watch entertainment content, the companies have now made it enabled for entry level phones and tablets. For those who feel that missing out on the theater experience such as surround sound system and HD projection, the OTT companies has brought out Fire Stick. All you to do is plug and view it on Smart TV that is connected to a home theater.
Other side of the online movies business
Producers of movies meant for theatrical releases are extra getting money by giving rights to OTT players. Though this is good news for production house, it is bad news for theaters. The shelf life of a movie has come down sharply and in some cases to just a weekend. The theater going public has narrowed down their visit to the first three days of the film release and that too for highly promoted star driven movie. Also these crowds opt for multiplexes with food courts and located in malls. OTT companies get the streaming rights from producer to screen it within a month’s time of release. Unless it is hyped up movie, the public prefers to wait and see it on sites that stream online movies.
For the independent producer with the idea of making an offbeat movie or with an out the box story , has the OTT platforms to fund him and also exclusively screen them. He does not have to tackle the exhibitor lobby controlled by a cartel to get his movie released. The ‘original ‘content on OTT is not just movies but also serials that are called web series. The popularity is so high that even TV channels ( Times) have started OTT and screening web series on them. The good fallout is that many talented directors and actors who were feeling stifled by conservative producers have now got a fresh outlet. The bad side of it is that as there is no censorship, the use of profane language and overly explicit sexual scenes get figured in this content often and what repercussions it would have on those in the impressionable age is a matter of concern. Yet another trend is that many movies get pirated from theaters in India and abroad and put on sites within a few hours of the film release. Initially these piracy sites had uploaded bad quality prints but now they giving HD prints. Will OTT survive this onslaught?. Moviegoers in Chennai Metropolis were shocked when the iconic Shanthi Theater owned by Sivaji clan Secwas opened. It was supposed to have a five screen multiplex but the Late Sivaji Ganesan family announced that it would have no theater but only commercial space. Reason being that moviegoers patronizing theaters has come down. Now some movie that were withdrawn due to external factors have gone streaming on OTT platforms

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