KOCHI: With cinemas across the state shut down once again in the wake of the Covid resurgence, all eyes have turned to online OTT (over the top) platforms. In fact, in addition to leading OTT services like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, the state saw the launch of nearly eight other movie streaming platforms since the virus outbreak last year.
However, the number of new Malayalam movies premiering on major OTT platforms over the past month was very low. Though films including Nizhal, The Priest, One, Nayattu and Operation Java were released online recently, all of them already had a theatre release in February and March. Unlike Joji or Irul which premiered online only, these films were not exclusively made for OTT streaming.
“Many producers don’t find an OTT release financially feasible. Leading platforms with a huge reach are only showing interest in films with popular actors in lead roles. They will buy such movies for a reasonable price. But in the case of smaller films, they offer a revenue-sharing scheme based on the number of views, which won’t benefit producers in most cases” said Kerala Film Producers Association president Rejaputhra Ranjith.
“Prominent platforms that agree to screen content on pay-per-view have set minutes/hours as the standard criteria. If a person clicks on a film and starts to stream it, and then closes or changes it after 10 minutes, the payment will be only for those few minutes. This will be too small an amount,” he explained.
A producer, who preferred not anonymity, said he was approached by a recently-launched OTT platform for streaming rights of his ready-for-release movie. “The film has a young actor in the lead. The platform offered an advance of `60 lakh. But they said any further revenue will be shared with us only after they recover the advance amount. This means I will have to sell my movie, on which I spent Rs 3.5 crore, to the platform for `60 lakh and then wait for the remaining cost to be recovered if the film gets good viewership. It should be noted that the reach of these new platforms are limited, which adds to the risk. So I decided not to ink a deal with them,” he said.
NEW OTT PLATFORM FOR LOW-BUDGET FILMS
To help low-budget films that are struggling to find a platform, a collective of movie lovers will launch a new OTT service by this month end. Titled ‘My OTT’, the platform led by N B Raghunath, who holds a degree from Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, will not charge a fixed annual or monthly viewership fee, but will instead allow them to contribute a small amount similar to a ticket rate for each film they watch.