Mrinalini Khanna
My era has had the privilege of watching the real-time evolution of Hindi primetime leisure. From Doordarshan, with its trademark Chitrahaar, Buniyaad and Ramayana to the cable TV period of The Bold and the Beautiful, ushering within the likes of KBC and Ok-serials, to at the moment once I watched No Time to Die in my lounge with no advertisements. Video streaming was my life blood throughout 2020, and I wasn’t the one one — streaming hit one billion subscriptions worldwide in 2020. But post-pandemic, can streaming compete with actual life? How can we maintain viewer engagement?
Scouting for unique content material
Let’s break down the problem of viewer engagement into two components. The first half is the query of content material, whilst the standard of it’s a subjective argument. Quantity is a steadiness between expectations and logistics—that is the place licensing of unique content material is the knight in shining armour. It is about rethinking the idea of possession and the entire dynamics between platform and producer.
Only as soon as we permit for a extra equal footing between platform and producer (and never just a few producers however the majority) will we get extra bang for our buck. Once we’re open to licensing extra originals, producers gained’t really feel as if there’s a gun to their head on growth timelines. On the second half — the knotty concern of loyalty — like all long-term relationships, we’ve got to permit for some quantity of leeway within the type of incentives, subscription pauses and credit score scores. It’s the platform’s approach of claiming, “We see you”.
Programming as a buffet unfold
In our comparatively younger cycle of evolution, we haven’t even touched the tip of the iceberg relating to originals within the nation — that’s as a result of after we assume like an organization, our urge for food for danger is decrease. It’s all the time a person who is ready to take a punt. Hence it circles again to producers to sift by way of and discover hidden gems; not simply in tales but in addition expertise ready to be found, on paper and behind the digicam.
The problem that’s forward is about figuring out a voice that rings true for modern India. When you cater to an viewers that covers a mess of generations and leanings — it’s vital to have fun that by seeing programming extra as a buffet unfold and never à la carte as per the platform model.
One side of India which makes it so distinctive is language. The common Indian speaks three languages: Hindi, English and their mom tongue. Why doesn’t our content material embrace that? That would suggest there’s ample alternative to embrace components of the nation that transcend Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Bhopal, Lucknow or Chandigarh. There’s an India on the market ready to be captured on celluloid and that may present “mass” leisure. We simply must be keen to seek out it and concurrently embrace subtitles.
The creator is VP, Originals, Lionsgate India
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Source: www.financialexpress.com”