OTT vs Theatre – Who will win the Race?

Insight Bureau:  One of the biggest debates which continues till now is the cinema and OTT combination which mainly emerged after the pandemic. While many feel that there will be a damage to the theatre business, some others think that the year 2022 will be the biggest year at the Indian box office after the release of some successful movies like ‘The Kashmir Files’ and ‘RRR’. Recent OTT services launches include Disney+, NBC’s Peacock, BritBox, Voot and HBO Max which are now competing against the more established OTT services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video etc. While many are now attuned to watching content online, the cinema loving audience remains true to their first love.

OTT services have risen in popularity over recent years as consumers have opted to cut the cord from their traditional TV subscription services. In other hand, Movie theatres have been a great source of entertainment for a long time. Now with changing times and increase in OTT platforms and streaming apps in India, the competition is getting tough. In the race between providing best content to the audience, there is a clash between  OTT VS THEATRES.  An important reason that attracts the viewers and helps the OTT platforms to grow in India is original content. All the streaming apps offer a large variety of original web series and movies in different genres. It also offers shows and movies in local languages.

Earlier, people used to be eager to watch new movies on the big screen. They still are, but now they are willing to wait until they are released on the OTT platforms. Many of the popular streaming apps such as Netflix and Amazon prime are now buying digital rights to the highest earning films more than ever. Now many of the producers choose to release their small budget films directly on OTT platforms. Releasing films with a low budget is difficult, thus to cut the cost of printing and advertising , avoiding the struggle of release dates, releasing them on streaming apps seems better. As a result, producers can earn more revenue and OTT platforms get more subscribers.

Movie theatres charge money depending upon the movie, showtime and seating arrangement. Whereas, OTT platforms charge money on the monthly  and yearly basis as per the plans providing different content and features. They even offer a variety of content for non premium subscribers as well. With the extended lockdowns and the current state of economy, OTT seems to be the next normal for the world of entertainment. Thanks to OTT , because of its existence now, we are not waiting for the fateful Friday to watch our favorite movies.

However both have important values in current scenario, they equally plays an important role in audience’s life. So, both will co-exist and play their part in the entertainment business.