46
In a podcast, Dil Raju shed light on the current OTT crisis. According to him, OTT platforms initially offered huge amounts to attract filmmakers and acquired a large volume of content. However, when the movies they bought failed to generate the expected viewership, they decided to change their strategy, says the star producer.
“Initially, they gathered all the content. But when they checked their balance sheets, they realized that the amounts they were spending to buy the titles are nowhere near the revenues. Corporates make a U-turn in a night when they understand something isn’t working out. Presently, the scenario is very bad for the non-theatrical market,” said Dil Raju.
He added, “OTTs have now come up with a new approach as per which the streaming deals are tied to box office numbers. They also know the footfalls have reduced in theatres. The deals have dropped by about 50%. I made a small film, and I have to show it to OTT to complete the deal and then announce the release date. For example, if I don’t sell it and then the movie doesn’t work, I will forgo that revenue.”
“OTTs will then ask me to release it on a pay-per-view basis. I made a film for which an OTT platform agreed to pay Rs. 6 crores. I couldn’t release the movie on time, and the agreement got terminated. Later, I had no option but to release it on a pay-per-view basis, through which I got only Rs. 1.5 crores. These are the challenges associated with it,” he concluded.
