The rise of OTT platforms.
In 2017, the Netflix original action-adventure film ‘Okja’ got a 4-minute standing ovation after the screening as and when Netflix was participating in the Cannes Film Festival. Little did they know that they’ll be ruled out the consecutive year. Of course, the Cannes Film Festival made a statement regarding the same, saying, “Any film that wants to compete in the competition at Cannes will have to commit itself to being distributed in French movie theatres.” It is quite obvious that Netflix didn’t make the cut. The result of the same being shown the exit door at Cannes.
And the rest is the history. Following footsteps of Netflix, now there are bunch of OTT platforms in the market. They are giving tough fight to traditional TV series and theatre movies.
What is SVOD?
SVOD stand for ‘Subscription Video On Demand’.
In the SVOD format, the end user can choose the tenure of the service that he/she wants to subscribe. It can range from 1 month, 3 months, 6 months to 1 year. It depends on OTT platform and their policies. The user can consume the content until the subscription ends. So, there is always a challenge to OTT company to continuously release fresh and engaging content to get hold of the user.
Price also need to be competitive, to remain in the market. So, it is win-win situation for content lovers.
OTT and Netflix:
The popularity and demand of Netflix is undoubtedly high but OTT services are making their righteous space in the industry. Netflix has everything a Hollywood franchise and fanbase can offer including a prodigious subscriber base, loyal fanbase, rich production value, A-list actors and a huge budget for original, unique and creative content. The only thing Netflix cannot offer to its fans is theatres. The OTT services are rapidly growing with its revenue predicted to double-up.
It is expected to be accessed by 90 million people in the US alone by 2019. This rapid growth of the OTT services is due to some ingredients which include the utilization of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and VR (Virtual Reality). This has engendered an imbuing sense of positivity among the people. Netflix, Prime, Hulu, etc. have taken the humongous media industry by storm and have made the creative space much wider. The OTT industry has created an elephantiac space for films whose producers struggled to get them to the big cinemas. Thanks to online streaming websites as it is possible and facile to binge-watch web series without interruptions. It is all at our fingertips.
The two major factors for setting foot of arising OTT services are reasonable pricing and comfortable viewing. OTT industry is not shying away to invest in billions for creating original content. Their only main motive is to reach its audience wherever it is possible. OTT believes and practices in selecting and removing an artist as and when they feel right to do so, which in its own true sense is business.
The flip side of OTT:
Yups, it is there too!
On the other side of the coin, the theatre owners largely depend upon the success rate of the films and the collection it makes. That’s how they have their daily bread. Be it a big hit film or an independent creative one, it immediately gets its digital release once it exits the theatres as these streaming services have an agreement with the production houses for digital rights. The event took a sharp turn when web series became available easily at a much cheaper cost than cable TV. Thus, people began to turn towards these OTT services from the age-old traditional cable TV.
The theatre owners will largely be affected because of the rising popularity of the content and growing count of subscribers. Some of the big names in the media industry do not support and believe in these digital streaming services although the pay cheque is quite handsome. Digital production ecosystem revolves around a business model and there are constraints in the liberty of creativity.
‘Content’ is the king:
The audience has not changed. Media is all about content now.
Muvi who is a participant of NAB and has been in the OTT industry for the past 6 years, has made a liberal point about the same. The TV industry is definitely putting in efforts to attract the audience like before. It has players who have both digital app and theatre chains, release the content on the same day and earn a huge profit. The digital channels’ advent has only made the media ‘content’ but the audience is still the same. One cannot change an individual’s opinion regarding the same. OTT industry is making the rest of the media creative, wide and open for all. There are vast opportunities for beginners, amateurs, individual artists and everybody else. They pay royally to the artists.
Also, six Netflix originals scored a perfect 100% on rotten tomatoes and 18 more originals scored more than 90% on the same site. OTT is at the peak of these activities. Boycotting such talent in Film Festivals where they can grow is like undermining creativity and unique ideas.