A report recently suggested that there are around 30 to 40 ready web shows but they have not been acquired by any of the OTT platforms. In fact, the ready web shows are finding it difficult to find an OTT platform to sell it. Unfortunately, no streaming platform is showing its interest in buying those readymade web shows including small and mid-scale shows. The report also suggested that the pending shows are made at a cost of around Rs7-8 crore each but they are not able to find a buyer. Kindly note that web shows can not be released in cinemas either, unlike movies. Therefore, the producers of web shows are struggling to cover the ground lost as OTT platforms are spending less on content. If you are interested in knowing more about the ready web shows not bought any platform, keep reading this article. Scroll down the screen.
Usually, the streaming platforms show their interest in long-format shows. Therefore, OTT platforms subsequently spend on their production. However, the readymade web shows are not able to find any streaming platform that can buy them. The demand for web shows suddenly increased during the pandemic attracting many newcomers who produced web shows in the hope that they could pitch to streaming platforms later.
As mentioned, around 30 to 40 ready web shows of small and mid-scale are yet to be bought by any OTT platform. The chief content officer of Hindi originals at ZEE5, Nimisha Pandey said receives pitches for ready shows daily. She further added, “A much-needed cost rationalization has definitely happened across platforms. The appetite was really high during the lockdown, and productions were stalled, so platforms had to pick up ready content even if they weren’t happy with the quality in some cases. But now, there is no space for average fare, and every platform has its pipeline, so there is no shortage. It may seem like bad news for some, but it just means that mediocrity will no longer survive. Great content will always find takers,”
The content head of Zee5 said that great content always finds a buyer. A senior executive of an OTT platform said the procedure of filming first and then pitching to the OTT platform has more risk. It works only in rare cases. Web shows commissioned or launched by streaming platforms have come down, said an expert.