As most of us are self-quarantining due to the Coronavirus outbreak, digital shows and OTT platforms have turned to be our sole entertainers
Juhi Chakraborty and Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; March 25, 2020)

Staying in is what most of us are doing amid this pandemic situation. And naturally, the more we stay at home, the more we find ourselves glued to the screens. Now, with no film releases in sight because of the shutdown of theatres and shoot of TV shows stalled across the country, what everyone is finding solace in are the OTT platforms. In fact, web shows have become the best tool for people to ward off boredom, and the platforms, too, are ensuring that the audience is spoilt for choice.

RISE IN TRAFFIC
The web, in times of no new films or TV shows, has seen a drastic spike in their traffic. Tarun Katial, CEO, ZEE5 India confirms, “We’ve seen a spike across key metros, as audiences continue to consume a wide variety of content. Interestingly, we’ve seen a significant jump in the consumption on connected devices, too, and this could be because many people are working from home.”

Neeraj Roy, Founder & CEO, Hungama Digital Media, shares that since the beginning of March, there has been an increase of over 20% in viewership on Hungama Play. While this trend started in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, they’re also beginning to notice this spike in other cities. “Further, being at home 24/7 has had a visible impact on consumption hours as well. Instead of peaking between 8-10 in the morning, consumption now remains high till 11.30 am. Likewise, consumption goes up during lunch hours. At night, instead of the usual 8 pm to midnight, consumption now starts peaking at 6 pm,” he informs.

Ali Hussein, CEO, Eros Now, on the increase in platform’s engagement during the current lockdown situation, says, “In the era of social distancing, consumers are turning to digital entertainment. We’ve seen an increase of 200% in paid subscribers on a daily basis and App Annie shows a 78% increase in daily traffic.”

ON TREND
With so much ‘spare’ time in hand, OTT content on varied themes has found acceptance. Ferzad Palia, Head- Voot Select, Youth, Music & English Entertainment, Viacom18, says their new shows are already trending. “Our growth can’t be attributed to increased consumption alone… new, original content like Asur (right) and Marzi have received phenomenal response,” he says.

Interestingly, apart from recent films such as Chhapaak, Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (both on Hotstar), and Street Dancer 3D (on Amazon Prime), doomsday films such as Contagion (featured pic; based on a fictional virus pandemic), Zombieland: Double Tap and the documentary Pandemic: How To Prevent An Outbreak (left), now figure among the top watched films on their respective streaming platforms. On Netflix again, films such as Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (left; above), a sci-fi movie in which humanity is wiped out because of a T-Virus outbreak is on top besides filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s SHE, a web show, which is trending at Number 1.

Director Neeraj Pandey, whose show Special Ops (left) has received rave reviews upon its release on Hotstar, says that it’s all about the content and the timing of the release doesn’t matter. “If the content is good, people will see it whenever they have time. As a story-teller, you’re essentially working for the audience, and want to have a wider base.”

Roy further reveals that videos across various formats are being watched widely. “Recently we launched Damaged 2 and Kashmakash, or even the ones we launched earlier like Bar Code and Damaged, are witnessing a spike in streaming. Short-format videos under categories of humour, entertainment, health etc. are also being consumed,” he says.

Mentalhood (right) on ALT Balaji and Zee5 is also trending, and its actor Dino Morea says, “We came at a good time when everyone is binge watching stuff, and ours is a top-rated show. Glad that people are watching it.”

WHAT’S NEXT

- There’s no stopping these OTT platforms as they continue to churn out new content even in these times.

- ALT Balaji has three new offerings — Who’s Your Daddy, Baarish- Season 2 and XXX UNCENSORED S2.

- “The main objective of our community service campaign #StayALT is to encourage everyone to follow the precautionary directives, while keeping them engaged with a variety of content,” shares Divya Dixit, SVP, Marketing, Analytics & Direct Revenue at ALTBalaji.

- Amazon Prime has made a selection of kids and family content available for free, and will also release Four More Shots Please! Season 2 on April 17. Netflix, meanwhile, has one of its most popular shows, Money Heist’s season 4 lined up for an early April release.

OTT platforms asked to lower streaming quality to reduce internet overload
Industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has written to the telecom department and OTT companies to lower the streaming resolution to reduce the burden on the networks in the wake of people staying at home due to the coronavirus outbreak. “During this critical time, it’s essential to cooperate with TSPs to manage traffic distribution patterns which are likely to strain network infrastructure at a time when it is needed for various critical requirements,” COAI’s official letter read.