Competition for release of new films on OTT

Sujit Sarkar's film Gulbo Sitabo, released on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video on Friday, has paved the way for the release of new films directly on the online platform. According to information received by Business Standard from informed sources, Akshay Kumar's film Lakshmi Bomb, after a long time Mahesh Bhatt's directorial film Sadak-2 and Ajay Devgan's film Bhuj: The Pride of India will also be Disney Plus Hotstar in the next few months. It can be released on the platform.

Netflix has acquired the digital broadcast rights for Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. Karan Johar, the producer of this film, last week also confirmed the OTT rights for the film starring Jahnavi Kapoor. Jauhar is also in talks with his upcoming film Sher Shah. But Suryavanshi, the film starring Akshay Kumar, being made under Johar's banner, and Brahmastra starring Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, is unlikely to be released on the OTT platform.

Disney Plus Hotstar did not respond to an e-mail sent about the films released on its platform until the news was written. At the same time, no official of Netflix India was available for a quick response in this regard. Both Disney Plus Hotstar and Netflix streaming service providers have been in talks with filmmakers about the film's release for the past few months. Informed sources say that there is strong competition among OTT companies on this issue. Jio and Disney Plus Hotstar hold 35.5 percent and 30.3 percent share of the domestic OTT market, respectively, as per monthly active consumers. At the same time, Amazon Prime and Netflix have a market share of 14.8 percent and 9.2 percent respectively. Amazon Prime was the first OTT platform in India to announce the digital release rights of seven films simultaneously for around Rs 300 crore last month. These include the film Shakuntala Devi: Human-Computer, starring Gulabo Sitabo and Vidya Balan. The deal for both these films was for Rs 65–65 crore. According to sources, Amazon has bought the film Penguin in Tamil and Telugu languages ​​for around Rs 60 crore while the release rights of four other regional films have been taken for Rs 30-30 crore.

Consulting firm KPMG has estimated about 32.5 million subscribers to OTT in India. He says in the next two years this figure will also cross 55 crores. Digital media expert Shrenik Gandhi says the lockdown implemented across the country due to the Covid-19 epidemic has contributed significantly to increasing acceptance of digital media platforms among consumers. Actually, through digital media, new entertainment content reaches the consumers' home directly. Gandhi says, "In the last three months, only the popular programs of the past have been aired on television. In such a situation, OTT platforms are the only platform for the audience to watch new programs.

Consumers spend an average of 3.5–4 hours on their smartphones during lockdowns, compared to an average of three hours on mobile phones during the lockdown, according to Bark, the program's viewership organization. During this time the consumer keeps searching for information as well as entertainment related content.

Lakshmi Bomb and Sadak-2, which are being released on the Disney Plus platform, are co-produced by Fox Star Studios, now owned by the Disney group. Young actor Sushant Singh Rajput's last film 'Dil Bechara', which died two days ago, may also be released on the Disney Plus platform. Apart from this, Abhishek Bachchan's film The Big Bull and Kriti Sanon and Pankaj Tripathi's film Mimi are also discussed on OTT. The small-budget films Shiddat and Loot Case are also expected to premiere on Disney Plus Hotstar.