How OTT market will be a game-changer for the film industry
As the lights are going out on live events, shoots and movie premiers, the only silver lining amidst all this is the rise of the popularity of OTT. The halting of productions may have dried up the content line, but streaming hasn’t stopped via the OTT platforms across the country...
With the extended lockdowns and the current state of the economy, OTT seems to be the next normal for the world of entertainment.
The emergence of OTT has disrupted the entertainment sector. It has made movie-watching convenient, accessible and affordable across a wider segment of the users. Anybody with a mobile phone and internet connection can catch-up with a movie sitting anywhere in the world.
What do you do when you cannot step outside to meet friends? Work is limited to laptops and PCs inside your home, and shopping means buying from one of the many apps that are offering home delivery services. Well, you binge-watch TV shows and movies!
At least that's what the statistics from Indian OTT subscribers are saying right now. The average time spent by each Indian subscriber has gone up from around 20 to 50 minutes to at least one hour during recent times. With over 40 OTT platforms to choose from, the Indian consumers can watch their favourite TV show or catch the latest movie on their mobile phones as long as they have an internet connection.
OTT: The need of the hour and a silver lining
With the extended lockdowns and the current state of the economy, OTT seems to be the next normal for the world of entertainment. For weeks now, films have been bearing the brunt of cinema complex/hall closures. Coupled with the numerous ongoing and new projects on hold, the film industry might be looking at losses around INR 30 billion. As the lights are going out on live events, shoots and movie premiers, the only silver lining amidst all this is the rise of the popularity of OTT. The halting of productions may have dried up the content line, but streaming hasn’t stopped via the OTT platforms across the country. At the same time, ad-spends have gone down significantly due to a knock-on effect of the recessionary impact on financial services, e-commerce and automotive industries.
Merger of OTT platforms & film industry
Initially, there might be discomfort among the big players of the film industry regarding the new normalcy, but research shows that, even in a post-COVID19 world, OTT services will continue to dominate. Therefore, the need of the hour is for the key investors to think about the integration of technologies.
OTT can help content reach millions of potential consumers at the fraction of the cost of a formal release and traditional ad promotions. The launch of a new movie on DTH and OTT simultaneously can garner over billions of viewers across the globe. The production house could potentially make millions within the first weekend of release by monetizing their online ads. While cinemas can still see multi-million dollar releases, they can minimize the monetary risk by taking out a minimum guarantee deal for covering their production cost.
Release via OTT channels can eliminate the threat of piracy production houses currently face in India. In fact, the mass availability of content can eliminate the necessity of piracy altogether.
The new OTT trends entail for consumers and producers
Right now, the emerging trend of OTT streaming of content puts forth the following trends –
The demand for high-quality content is increasing every day as the common person is able to access OTT platforms from their home.
The OTTs will find newer ways to make advertising profitable as movie watching becomes more common and cheaper for everyone with a subscription.
Already, several production houses have a collection of their content available for platforms like YouTube, but soon they will reach out to other rising OTT platforms of preference in India including Hotstar, Sony LIV, Hoichoi, Eros Now and Sun NXT.
Theatres will soon become an exclusive or luxury experience as audiences can watch the hot new releases as well as the classics on a combination of OTT and DTH from the comfort of their own homes at the fraction of the price.
More movies will hit the popular OTT platforms like Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ and Eros Now after their initial release in their theatres.
Many movies and TV shows will rake more profit on the digital platforms following the footsteps of Trolls World Tour and some might release exclusively for OTT platforms like Manhunt, Ghost Stories and Guilty.
Conclusion
The production houses will soon realize that OTT is not the adversary, but a dedicated ally. Only by integrating with new technology can the film industry survive and thrive in the upcoming new normal, where everyone with a mobile phone, iPad, laptop, desktop or smart TV will want to watch the latest movies or binge-watch TV shows at their will.
Personalization of content and recommendation based on watching history is what makes the OTT experience especially rewarding for the common man. Therefore, we expect the industry to find new scopes for expansion into newer markets. Which will lead to newer jobs or responsibilities over time. In short, the film industry market will expand to new levels. More jobs will be created over time. More users will have access to good content very early. More content will be watched. Movie watching experiences will be redefined in new ways. There will be regular weekly or even daily movie releases across OTT.
Thanks to OTT viewers may not have to wait for the fateful Friday, as is the tradition in Bollywood, but production houses can release new content almost every day across one or more platforms.
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