Is OTT killing Big Cinema?

Hello everyone and welcome back to month 28 of #faltufriday!

I recently wrote an article for a magazine titled 'Is OTT killing Big Cinema?' and found this topic really unique. 
I've been brought up in a generation where I could observe the shift from mainstream media to OTT platforms so this authoring this article was really fun for me.

Disclaimer: It was an argumentative article so what you'll be reading is going to be a one sided argument, nevertheless, feel free to drop in the comments if y'all agree with my pov or otherwise!

Without further ado, happy reading!

“Change is the only constant”

With the onset of Covid, we saw various OTT platforms gaining popularity. With the bad boys in the house - Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+Hotstar dominating the industry, it does make one wonder, are these platforms the future? 

Can you name India’s first OTT platform? While most of us may not have heard of it, BigFlix, by Reliance, was India's first. Only that it came out at the wrong time – the time when the world didn’t popularise smartphones as much and the Internet was expensive.

20 years ago, the excitement of booking the first day, first show ticket was the race almost everyone partook in. Be it Salman Khan’s film’s hitting the theatre after a hiatus or simply a social outing, the ‘occasion’ of it has been replaced with ‘Watch Parties’, with Popcorn and PJ’S at the comfort of one’s home - at an almost negligible cost. 

Where one single movie would probably run up the bill to a minimum 1000(adding the cost of popcorn and coke), OTT gives you the pleasure to watch unlimited films and TV shows, at nearly 1/4th the price and time. This is the most important feature of an OTT - its flexibility. Unlike big screens, these can be accessed just through any device, at any given point of time,  giving the user a sense of control over their binge. 

The battle between OTT and Big Screen cinema also depends on another factor, money. Perhaps at the start of Netflix’s era, the company could not afford big-shot Bollywood actors to play leads in their films, but with its gaining popularity and audience, movies and tv shows such as Ludo, Sacred Games and Dasvi say otherwise.  More and more actors and producers are collaborating with such platforms because they have seen the sudden spark in the desire for unique content rather than the typical cliques on the Big Screen. Even more, they aren’t burdened with censorship issues and have the opportunity to reach their maximum capacities of creativity.

OTT gives the option of experimental storytelling with a comparatively lesser budget. There have been several instances in the past 2 years where OTT films have hit the top charts. Furthermore, it encapsulates the viewer. A recent example of the same would be AK vs AK. The essence of rush in such films can only be captured by a TV Screen or a mobile phone.

Another boon of OTT is its variety. The users of OTT platforms are exposed to a great variety of films and tv shows across the world, the most famous ones being Stranger Things and Money Heist. It allows for a broader domestic viewership in a linguistically diverse country like India.

This variety has led to a great increase in the number of viewership hours. A simple three-hour movie can be stretched into a series of 6 episodes, leaving the watcher captivated and wanting more. These films and shows can also be viewed on other social platforms, giving the chance to connect with distant family and friends, something which would seem almost impossible to do physically. 

The market isn’t just limited to urban areas. With the globalisation of the internet, even the most rural parts of India can enjoy such content.

Genz’s interest in on-the-go and non-tabooed content certainly fueled the path of OTTs. In simple words, it is consumer mandated. The present generation of teenagers and millennials are more likely to opt for an online source of entertainment whereas the older generations may choose not to lose out on experiencing the charm of Big screen cinema.

That was it for today's post!
Don't forget to share and follow for more content, every Friday!

Signing off,

Kuhu :)