Nowadays, we can see that many movies are being released on OTT platforms rather than the usual conservative way. And those which are being released in theatres are also getting more viewers after its release on OTT platforms.
In India too, more and more people are shifting towards OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, hotstar, voot etc. for entertainment purposes. More shows are being released on OTT rather than the usual TV channels.
If we look at the number of Indian shows available on digital platforms, we can't even count because they are available everywhere from netflix to YouTube.
Picture credit: economictimes
Few years back, people used to see everything on television. Youth were watching shows like bigg Boss and Roadies while the people above 30 years old used to watch news, Indian daily soaps, movies but all on TV. No one was concerned about the OTT platforms.
In 2008, Reliance Entertainment launched BIGFlix, the first Indian OTT platform. But it didn't gain popularity. But then gradually people started shifting to digital platforms like youtube for entertainment.
In a few years, Amazon Prime and Netflix also started becoming popular in India. As everyone is busy in their life no one gets time to sit and switch on the TV to entertain themselves. They find digital content better as they can watch them anytime anywhere on their phones.
Picture Credit: netflix
Content on OTT
Content is one of the major reasons for the shift of viewers from TV to OTT. The content available on TV has become monotonous but a variety of things are available on digital platforms which gives viewers access to choose the content of their interest. In no time, people on OTT increased more than the TV.
From movies to web shows, all are available in various languages on the digital platforms. There is no scarcity of content here. On YouTube, which gives viewers free access to a lot of shows, some of the best content exists. One of them I would like to mention is TVF.
TVF is a team which initially released short videos and web series on YouTube now have content on Netflix and also on their own platform called TVF Play. One of their web series Kota Factory which became so popular among youth is one such example of prime content from their team.
Talent Equivalent to Popularity
While bollywood was busy releasing movies with starkids and popular actors as lead, these OTT platforms released web series with the talented actors. Actually these OTT platforms should be given credit for giving the fame to these actors they actually deserve.
Series like Family Man and Mirzapur played an important role in the careers of the actors Manoj Bajpayee and Pankaj Tripathi. These made them more popular than bollywood. People may go to theatres for popularity or looks of an actor but at their homes they choose to watch content and talent.
No Censorship On OTT
This is one of the major reasons for many filmmakers to release their films on OTT. For a movie to be released in theatres, it has to go through a test by the censor board in which some of the parts considered irrelevant are removed from the film.
On the digital platforms, original content is uploaded. And it is one of the reasons why viewers go for OTT. It can also be considered wrong by some because the language used in these films are not family-friendly, hence we can't watch the majority of these web series with family.
Picture Credit: excesscomputer
OTT Became More Popular in Lockdown
Due to Covid19, when the entire world was in lockdown, everyone was getting bored locked in their house, the popularity of digital platforms touched the maximum heights.
As shooting was also not allowed, no new content was available on TV, hence a major proportion of people shifted to OTT and started watching web series and movies in other languages too. And hence, OTT started becoming extra popular.
Lockdown proved very beneficial for these OTT platforms. In fact more such platforms started being available in India. Due to competition, these platforms started giving major discounts in their subscriptions hence inviting more and more people on OTT.
Even after lockdown, cinema halls were not allowed to open, hence new movies were also being released on Digital platforms only. Even now, movies are being uploaded on digital platforms in only a few days of its release.
In fact, people have become more comfortable watching movies from their home rather than spending money and watching them in theatres.
With so many digital platforms available and a lot of content accessible to watch, people don't find it worthy to sit in front of TV for entertainment.
Written By: Nidhi Jha
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