Streaming platform Lionsgate Play is making a buzz in India for the first time. No, it’s not because of any original film/series that the audience loved but because of the Emmy Awards.
And who’s making the buzz?
Surprise surprise, it is Lionsgate Play themselves.
Yes, however it may sound, it is the truth. After launching four original Indian series, Lionsgate Play is trying hard to gain momentum in the Indian OTT space.
Let’s consider a few things. Yesterday itself, MX Player announced their partnership with Lionsgate where they would bring dubbed Hollywood movies to MX Player. It could be brought on Lionsgate Play too but no results are being shown.
Secondly, their identity has been limited to only an add-on channel on Prime Video. They don’t have any standing as a separate OTT platform as a whole.
Try to remember when The Oscars were streaming on Disney+Hotstar earlier this year. A lot of people were watching the event live on their devices. Emmys have a similar potential to draw viewership but given their minuscule subscriber base, hardly a significant number of people could stream the big night.
It is commendable that the platform grabbed the streaming rights of the Emmy Award but one factor is never enough. They have to work extremely hard on their content and also stand out even without Prime Video.
It is important so that such a situation doesn’t happen to them. The audience must react to their posts and it shouldn’t be only them making noise for themselves.