- How much is enough?
- Does having more platforms ensure better quality?
Everything in this world has a saturation point. To be relevant, products need to be reinvented or refurbished to give it a fresh look and feel. Search engine behemoth Google and social media colossus Facebook have never rested on its past laurels but rather pushed for reinvention to stay relevant. It is the same for OTT’s. Major players like Netflix, Hotstar, and Prime Video have to battle not just each other but also the fatigue that a user might feel from using their products.
‘Lucifer’ was a landmark movie in the Malayalam film industry. The film was made available on Prime Video while still running in theaters. Soon other Malayalam movies followed the suit and now the Malayalam section of Prime Video is populated with latest releases. With this one move, Prime Video has stood out from the rest and has attracted more regional users especially from Kerala. With this move it has for the time being gotten over the issue of saturation with fresh content for its users to keep them interested.
As per various surveys in 2020, the new users for OTT platforms will come from rural India, most specifically from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. While this would indicate a slight saturation point in urban cities, this can also be seen as an opportunity for the OTT platforms to reinvent themselves. With the platforms going into local and regional content, the idea of saturation can be overcome by the platforms.
It is believed that with the right value for money, OTT’s can beat the slowdown. The OTT fatigue narrative has been made irrelevant with subscribers opting for more. The subscribers are not only willing to pay for a subscription, they are willing to pay for multiple services, even premium-priced services, if value is perceived. There are times when the users feel that they are bombarded with too many shows. They would prefer to create their own set of shows from which they would pick and choose what best suits them. The users are always on look-out for something fresh or unique. OTT is not traditional TV as it thrives upon consumer choice, often random interaction, and the convenience of viewing when, where and on what device a consumer chooses. It thrives upon its own ability to iterate in order to respond to the changing conditions.
