Anirban Roy Choudhury
Digital

It's party time for content producers

Digital platforms and telcos are willing to pay big bucks for quality video content, but there are challenges too.

The OTT explosion in India has resulted in a spike when it comes to the demand for premium video content. Video content in India is created by either film studios or software companies which supply content to the television channels. The OTT platform owners have these two options when it comes to meeting their quench for content. So, yes, it is indeed party time for content creators. As more OTT platforms enter India, the market dynamics will enable the content creators to experiment with various formats and also charge a premium.

It's party time for content producers

The panel

So how do they plan to celebrate? At vdonxt asia 2018, Anirban Roy Choudhury, principal correspondent afaqs!, moderated a panel featuring Siddharth Kumar Tewary, chief creative, Swastik Productions; CEO, Big Synergy, Indranil Chakraborty; and CEO, Endemol Shine India, Abhishek Rege. The topic of discussion was - Is it only good times for content creators?

The three individuals on stage are producers of three of the most expensive shows in the Indian television ecosystem - Bigg Boss (Endemol Shine), Kaun Banega Crorepati (Big Synergy) and Porus (Swastik Productions). All three were upbeat about digital; Indranil Chakraborty started by saying, "With power comes responsibility," and added, "While we party, we must be aware of the responsibility that we have on our hands; the consumer is going to pay a sum to access the content we produce."

It's party time for content producers

Indranil Chakraborty

It's party time for content producers

Siddharth Kumar Tewary

It's party time for content producers

Abhishek Rege

Bigg Boss was a big hit on digital this time and Rege was asked if the same set of people who worked on Bigg Boss are well equipped to create a web series, to which he replied, "... well, Bigg Boss is a unique case, but the ones who create content on a day-to-day basis can. But there are new sensibilities that we need to cater to when we are making content for digital platforms and that is something we should keep in mind."

Tewary, however, was not on the same page when it comes to availability of talent; he is of the opinion that the industry needs to train itself with modern art which is often witnessed on the digital platforms. "There are many challenges when it comes to India, our content is often compared to that of Netflix and Amazon, but the economics are totally different. What we are paid to make and show and how much they spend on a Game of Thrones or House of Cards, are poles apart."

Often, people are of the opinion that premium content is what will work on digital, but what defines the word 'Premium' in this context? Is it the money spent, the star cast or is it the set and imagery that is put up on-screen? The moderator threw these questions to the panellists and they were on the same page - for them, content that is visually appealing and manages to reach the targeted audience is what qualifies as premium content.

Overall, all the content creators agreed that it is indeed party time but they also believe that a sense of responsibility and continuous up-gradation is what will keep the party going.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com