If you’re reading this article, then you’ve witnessed the boom in OTT platforms especially in India this year. 2020, which started off with a promising ‘Tanhaji’ was all set to become a blockbuster year for entertainment industry but sadly it didn’t happened. What happened instead was the rise of streaming platforms which soon enough became the top source of entertainment all around the globe. In India too, the subscriptions to these OTT platforms grew astonishingly which also gave regional platforms to come into the limelight. But there were certain reasons why OTT platforms ruled in 2020, and will this newly found limelight sustain in 2021? Let’s discuss!
The first and foremost reason why OTTs were such a big success this year was that people were confined to their homes due to the lockdown which was initiated due to the pandemic. This gave people a lot of spare time to delve into these contents and discover several others. But there was a significant dip in the consumption of OTT content as we geared into the month of October and November. The main reason for this was the resumption of everyday lives with precautions and measures towards Covid-19.
Hence, with the arrival of vaccine and the old routine settling in, it would be a challenge for these platforms to keep the audience hooked to their screens with their enticing content.
Another major challenge for the streaming giants will be the reopening of theatres which were obviously closed during the pandemic. This is the reason why several of biggies scheduled for theatres eventually arrived directly on OTT platforms. But now, as we slowly take our steps back towards the silver screens, many of the movies which were postponed to 2021 will be available for theatrical release. So OTT giants will have to find some way to enthuse the viewers with their content.
But there is still a strong hope for OTT fans as several of the shows have been received warmly by the audience, hence makers will definitely try their hands onto these platforms to create something new in this space, seeing the response streaming platforms have gotten this year. There are several biggies lined up for the streaming platforms and with the regional market also coming in, there should be a variety of content to look forward in the new year from the OTT space.
The platforms like HBO Max, Eros Now, Amazon Prime Video have more than 40 lineups ready for the first quarter of 2021, which shows us the fact that these platforms are looking forward to sustain their dominance in the entertainment industry!