Much has been said about Amazon Prime Video’s rental strategy. Time and again, movie buffs have minced no words to express their discontent over some popular movie titles being made available for streaming on the Amazon Prime Video store (besides other platforms) on a rental / pay-per-view basis – even for paid subscribers.
For instance, Ajay Devgn’s action-adventure movie ‘Bholaa’ recently started streaming on the Amazon Prime Video store on rent instead of regular streaming. Similarly, some Hollywood movies like ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ and ‘Cocaine Bear’ are still streaming on rent on the Prime Video store. So, the question is: Is Amazon Prime Video and other OTT platforms’ rental strategy indirectly in an unexpected way?
When a popular film like ‘Bholaa’ featuring a big star becomes available for streaming on a rental basis on any OTT platform (in this case Amazon Prime Video), some of the prospective viewers might immediately know that if the movie is available on OTT on rent, then chances of a pirated copy floating somewhere on the internet are possible. Some of those impatient movie lovers might even resort to acquiring the film by unlawful means. Having said that, we strongly oppose piracy and advise refraining from it totally.
It’s not impossible that a segment of restless audience is indeed thinking of resorting to the practice of watching a film by some inappropriate means. Moreover, most of the OTT viewers, especially those who are paid subscribers, might not be willing to spend the extra bucks for watching recent movies on rent. So, instead of increased profits, Prime Video’s rental strategy could instead lead to reduced revenues for the streaming service.
Secondly, many subscribers know that the same movie which is available on rent on the Amazon Prime Video store will most likely be available for regular streaming in the future. Also, some of the viewers might even lose interest in watching a movie after the buzz is over and after the title shifts from the rental store to regular streaming on Amazon Prime Video. So, it’s possible that Amazon Prime Video’s rental strategy might already be backfiring in an unexpected way and potentially eating out on its own profits in the longer run. Should Amazon Prime Video stop the practice of renting out movies on its store? What’s your take on that?