OTT popularity in India is increasing by leapand bounds. To make inroads in this big market, the superstars of Bollywood are being given huge offers. Lately, there are rumours around of an offer of 125 crores for a web series to Ajay Devgan. Earlier, Akshay Kumar has also got an offer of 90 crores.
On the other hand, there is news of a star like Manoj Bajpayee being offered up to 20-22 crores after Family Man 2. OTT is now seeing a new trend of inducting big Bollywood faces for popularity.
Changing landscape of OTT
The paid subscribers of OTT platforms in the country are between 3 to 5 crores. This numberincrease during a sports event like IPL. For this reason Disney Hotstar is at the top. However, the real tussleis taking place for General Entertainment. One facet of this competition is the subscription fee. Like Netflix has become much popularafter offering a plan of Rs 199 a month on single screen.On the other hand, Amazon Prime and now to a lesser extent Hotstar are also increasing their viewership by using bundle package formula with mobile companies.
On the Content front
Content wise, the strategy is to keep expanding through original shows and films. The second big strategy is to engage the big stars of Bollywood. Through thesesuperstars platforms can get more subscribers in less time.
Earlier, big stars changed the face of TV, like Amitabh Bachchan changed the game for Sony TV through KBC. Salman brought ‘Bigg Boss’ and Aamir did ‘Satyamev Jayate’. Now the game of star power is going to revolutionise the OTT as well. Ajay Devgan will be appearing in Hotstar’s ‘Rudra’ web series. Akshay Kumar’s ‘The End’ will come on Amazon Prime Video.
Also read: OTT Platforms Spent 3800 Crore On Content For Indian Audience: Report Says
It’s a symbiotic system between stars and OTT
Web series of Shahid Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, Ayesha Julka, Sonakshi Sinha and Raveena Tandon are scheduled for the upcoming time. Seeing the increasing popularity of OTT platforms, the stars are also choosing such products to keep themselves relevant.
Similar to big screen, in OTT too, the superstar will choose the no-risk formula. Like Ajay Devgan’s ‘Rudra’ is an official remake of UK’s ‘Luther’. The character that Idris Elba played in Luther will be played by Ajay in Rudra. This series is such a super hit that it has had 5 seasons in the UK. Meaning the hit content is being repeated.
Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar are in no dearth of funds. Netflix releases minimum 200 crore titles in a month. So offering 100-125 crores to any superstar in India is not a big deal for these platforms.
Big movie stars all over the world are working for OTT. This global trend is being followed in India. It should also be noted, that platforms like Netflix or Hotstar are not just available India but have global reach. This global audience is one of the major cause behind big budget projects of OTT. In this way, it is a win win situation for both, big stars and OTT platforms.
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