If you think OTTs and their wide reach would keep them aloof from piracy, then you should probably give it a second thought. Because on the contrary, these are the times of increased level of piracy despite OTT platforms experiencing rapid growth around the world during the global pandemic.
There can be two major reasons that have led to this, while one is a supply issue the other is on the demand side. When we say supply issues we refer to the tight race by OTT platforms to provide exclusive premium content to their customers because that’s what increases and retains them on the platform.
But with a number of platforms and a plethora of exclusive content on each out there, people often reach a threshold point beyond which they cannot spend on subscriptions of more OTTs. So if the streaming platforms continue fighting the exclusivity content war mindlessly it will eventually lead them to lose consumers rather than gaining or retaining them.
More so, this unaffordability further pushes them towards the pirated content that is mostly available either for free or at a very minimal cost. And here comes the demand side of the problem, because people might not be able to pay but they still create demand for the content.
It’s a basic economic concept that whenever there is a demand for something, the market forces at play create the supply for it. And that’s what happens in the video content market where the demand gap created by the exclusivity feature of OTTs is fulfilled by the illegal online piracy market, giving the consumers exactly what they need at the desired rate or even for free!
Piracy becomes easier on OTT platforms because of its massive simultaneous reach, which makes it almost untraceable to identify the pirates out there. Moreover, apps like Telegram that allow the transfer of large-sized files in an encrypted manner further escalates the piracy problem.
It makes it a vicious circle of demand and supply with monetary factors at play. So what’s the solution to the piracy issue? Actually, the solution is rather simple in concept but it’s the implementation part where it gets complicated.
People, in general, are honest and don’t shy away from paying when it’s worth it and within their spending limit. So yes, if provided with the right access and the right price, piracy could be reduced significantly. But as we said it’s easy to believe so but the reality to match with expectations is often not that simple.
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
