The Family Man, Mirzapur, Sacred Games, Scam 1992 – all home-grown shows, and all of them whipped up a frenzy of thrill and excitement in the starved-for-good-content Indian viewer. The shows turned out to be super duper hits, clocking in massive eyeballs and rosy viewership numbers. We witnessed the same frenzy when the respective platforms – Prime Video, Netflix and SonyLIV announced new seasons of these blockbuster shows, and when it was time for those new shows to hit the streaming space. Trade pundits celebrated the triumph of the new age entertainment medium of OTT in India. Industry insiders went gaga over the fantastic numbers and response from viewers. The streaming platforms basked in the glow of success. Hail OTT!
Alas, the euphoria was shortlived. Blockbuster shows on all OTT platforms trickled to a measly stream. The last show to create a ruffle among viewers, The Family Man, came right at the start of June. Since then – nothing, zilch, nada, zero. It has turned to a full-fledged drought with regards to Indian Original shows on the biggies Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, ZEE5 and SonyLIV. Current shows that premiere on OTT these days are like one-night stands – the pleasure they give lasts in the moment, only to be forgotten the next day. As they say – here today, gone tomorrow.
All the streaming platforms of importance in India – Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, SonyLIV and ZEE5 – are only interested in buying films – both big and small – for direct to digital release. Not to say, they are spending massive amounts of money in acquiring these films. We all know that budget is not an issue with these deep-pocketed content giants – each a behemoth in their own right. Yet, despite the leeway they have, none is investing time, money, effort and resources in creating shows that become lasting and memorable franchises, IPs of any consequence.
Interestingly, this weird scenario seems to be restricted to India. Abroad, Netflix has impactful shows such as Sex Education, Ozark, Dark, Stranger Things, Narcos – the list is endless. Prime Video has Bosch, the just-released The Wheel Of Time, The Boys, Fleabag – again, a never-ending list.
If Netflix, Prime Video and the rest of the OTT platforms have to leave any kind of lasting legacy in the Indian entertainment space, they must invest their monies in creating impactful, memorable, lasting shows, instead of letting money go down the drain in buying films that people watch one day, and forget the next.
It’s the need of the hour, and sound business sense too.
Are you listening, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, SonyLIV, ZEE5 et al?