Writer:
Mohammad Mustafa Galib Kafi. Session: 2017-18, Department of Marketing,
University of Chittagong
Imagine a movie theatre, where the whole world is your audience. If someone had said this thirty years ago, people would've asked him in what utopian reality this may come true! Now, in 2023, we are living that dream. Over-The-Top platforms, in short OTTs, have made this possible. OTT refers to the technology that enables people to watch streamed content (e.g. movies, series) over the internet. Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max are some of the big names when it comes to notable OTT platforms worldwide.
industry. It has changed the way people perceive content. Eventually, the market expanded, and so did the number of competitors.
OTT Industry is the place, where Art
becomes Business!
Even though a significant portion of art aficionado is against the commercialization of Art, the truth is, Art has always been commercialized. It may sound disheartening to some, but without commercialization, Art can neither sustain nor reach its ultimate goal, which is reaching a wide audience.
Rather, a symbiotic
relationship between Art and Business can do the magic! The wars of the kings,
schemes of politics, the romance of lovers, funs of friends all of these merge
and are presented to us as movies or series.
'Game of Thrones', the most
watched TV series of all time, 'Stranger Things', and '13 Reasons Why' are some
examples where Art has become Business. These are some of the most watched
shows in the history of TV, responsible for billions of revenues.
If we analyze the case of 'Game of Thrones', this will become more apparent. According to a report by Bloomberg, Game of Thrones made a staggering $285 million profit per episode, while incurring a budget of $15 million per episode! According to a report by Finance Monthly, the show has earned $3.1 billion alone from HBO subscriptions.
This is huge. The
commercialization of Art has enabled the OTT platforms make good money by
streaming contents while has enabled us, the mass audience, have the
opportunity to witness something that we've never seen before.
OTT Industry is the place, where Business
becomes Art!
Now, let's dive into some
interesting cases of our very own Bangladeshi contents. Hoichoi Bangladesh,
Chorki, Bioscope, Bongo, Binge are some of the major local streaming platforms.
'Taqdeer', 'Contract',
'Kaiser', 'Ladies and Gentlemen', 'Karagar', and 'Unoloukik' are some of the
most watched locally produced web content. 'Duita kotha mone rakhba', (Remember
two things) thousands of memes have been generated with the template of this
catchphrase, originating from one of the most hyped Bangladeshi TV shows of
recent times, 'Mohanagar' by Ashfaque Nipun. The huge popularity of this TV
show is obviously the result of good planning, execution, the mesmerizing
performance of the artists of course, but at the same time, imprinting
catchphrases which are potential 'meme material' also plays a vital role in
popularizing content. It has become a trend in Bangladeshi web content. Here
goes another example —
Directors and scriptwriters
now think about including dialogues and catchphrases that attract the audience
and will help them popularize their content. The business has become tricky and
artistic at the same time.
While having a multitude of
perks, OTT Industry may trigger users to feel overwhelmed by the number of
subscriptions they need to maintain to enjoy quality content. That is a
backdrop that requires our concern. However, we hope that OTT platforms will
continue to thrive and offer us more quality content while considering the cost
factors associated with the users.
