OTT success mantra: Big budgets, gripping stories, charismatic characters

Some of the bigwigs of OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Zee5 spoke about what goes into making the most compelling content and the things they look out for, at Sahitya Tak’s event, ‘OTT Ke Sitaron Ka Mahakumbh’, hosted from November 24-26.

It is not an understatement to say that OTT platforms and the contents that they stream have come a long way from the initial days. Not only has the production quality improved, the stories are also more experimental, myriad, and cater to a wide range of audience. However, a lot goes into the making of such superlative content – right from the time the story is pitched to the day it is released.

Some of the bigwigs of OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Zee5 spoke about what goes into making the most compelling content and the things they look out for, at Sahitya Tak’s event, ‘OTT Ke Sitaron Ka Mahakumbh’, hosted from November 24-26.

Prime Video Hindi Originals Head, Nikhil Madhok, spoke about how the budget and investments that go into making OTT shows are tantamount to the budget of a big-budget film. “Some 5-7 years ago, there used to be a difference in the cost of producing a film and producing a show for OTT. Now, if you look at the shows of Prime Video or any other streaming platform, you will find that some of these have the same budget as a big-budget film. In fact many shows have a bigger budget than a film these days. So, from a finance and cost perspective, there have been a lot of investments,” he said.

Madhok said that these big investments initially came into writing, that’s the backbone of OTT content – something that his peers agreed on too. “In the shows that we make, we put a lot of emphasis on the scripts, and when all the creators are happy with the script, it is only that that we proceed to the next stage. Then we sign contracts with the writers and give them suitable remuneration so that their work does not go to waste. We also invested a lot in production as well as marketing. A lot of talented filmmakers brought their craft to OTT, which requires a lot of investment. We invested a lot in the last 5-7 years and will continue to do so,” he said.

Director Nikhil Motwane, part of the same session with Madhok said that with the advent of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, the ambitions of shows on OTT platforms have become the same as that of films.

Tanya Bami, Series Head, Netflix India, underscored the importance of changing the stories that are told and the way they are told. “It is important to change the stories and narration because we might not be in the mood to watch the same content everyday. So our thought process is how do we make every night a Netflix night,” she added.

Netflix is very audience-focused, she said, adding that their measures on who, how and where one is watching is very clear. “It is not about small towns or metros – the OTT is not restrictive like that. It is for everyone. We look for stories that have a certain freshness, and that can set the trend for content. Our shows trend beyond India also. And in India, it shoots up to top 10 right after we launch it. It might mean Indians love Indian content more than global content, which is kind of organic. The world is eager to explore Indian stories,” she said.

Nikhil Madhok also said that 20-22 per cent of Amazon Prime Video content consumption is from overseas.

Nimisha Pandey, Chief Content Officer, Zee5, acknowledged the same, albeit in a different session. “Every individual has different preferences and there are just many, many such individuals. So what we try to do is cater to all these tastes. We also try to offer multiple content according to various moods. Zee5 tries to make content for all kinds of audiences. When we hear pitches and stories, we try to figure out how different these stories are from the kind of shows that are currently on offer, how memorable the characters can become, what kind of audience will like it, what the budget could be – these are the parameters we evaluate a pitch on,” she said.

“Earlier people used to watch content in their own language, but now people also watch dubbed or content with subtitles equally. With OTT, the choice and convenience is now in the hands of the audience,” explaining how there has been a change in the consumption of content. Business Today