The days of OTT Boom are now gone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a great number of films making waves on digital platforms as OTT was the only way people could enjoy fresh content. TV functioned in the way they are supposed to and there was practically no innovation. But, even OTT has plateaued now. There is practically no growth as those who want to have OTT already have the subscription and many people do not have the time to enjoy OTT content as they used to during the lockdown days.
So, what’s up with OTT now? With a lack of growth, the market has become extremely competitive. Nobody, we repeat, nobody wants to have a bad flop film in their library. Just imagine a scenario when all the platforms are eyeing blockbusters and somehow a platform ends up getting a massacred movie on a fine weekend. Normally, the platforms do not advertise such films and silently embrace them.
Earlier, films used to sell their OTT rights even before release. For instance, everyone knew that Ponniyin Selvan would stream on Prime Video even before it came to the big screens. But, now, OTT platforms are not interested in such deals, and even big films with huge stars and budgets have become a disaster of the decade. A fine example would be Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan.
So, OTT players are either buying rights after the film’s release or they are simply abandoning movies. In situations like this, we will rarely see movies like Zwigato, The Lady Killer and Ganpath getting a digital release.