With time, changes are bound to happen. That’s the only way to overcome obsolescence and remain relevant. The entertainment industry was not like what it is today and has undergone various phases through which it evolved. While we are living in this latest era where a new debate between OTT and theatre is in full swing, it becomes important to know how this phase will affect the cinemas.
Don’t worry, there’s no plan to bore you with the history of it all. But for a better understanding let’s go a little back when theatres were the only source of viewing movies, then came the VCRs, satellite telecast on television and later on CDs and DVDs. In between there have often been threats of piracy, torrents and other illegal and unethical ways through which industry haa had to struggle with.
Everytime a new format came theatres felt insecure about their business, although any of the later changes that came could not beat the theatres and the overall cinematic experience they provided. Each time the theatres bounced back resiliently. Now with OTT platforms coming into the scene the fear is there again and this time it’s more concerning than ever before. So the big question here is that WILL THE THEATRES GAIN THEIR pre-OTT GLORY?
This question always leads to divided answers rather opinions. Some say that nothing can give the social viewing experience as that of the theatres while others prefer the convenient and cost effective OTTs. While on the other hand many think that both are going to co-exist. If thought rationally and empathetically, everyone’s right in their own way and finding a single right answer for this question is a hard task.
It would rather be best to say that it’s a human thing and only time will tell how things are going to look once the dust gets settled after the storm, and that could very well take a couple of years or so. What can be said for sure is that it’s the audience’s will that will prevail above all, as it always has.