KOLKATA: The recent shakeup in the media and entertainment industry due to the pandemic has given rise to more experiments. Recently, media giant The Walt Disney Company (Disney) decided to take live-action remake of Mulan to its streaming platform Disney+. While direct-to-digital debut has become a common phenomenon during the lockdown, Disney has opted for a premium transactional model rather than offering it as a part of its overall subscription. Naysayers have refuted the viability of pay-per-view or transactional video-on-demand (TVoD) in the Indian market but local players have started experimenting with the model.

Shemaroo Entertainment’s digital arm ShemarooMe is trying the model through its ShemarooMe Box Office feature where movies will be available for Rs 80-100 for a three-day viewing. A new budding regional player, Planet Marathi, has also recently announced a ticket window for Marathi films. Although bigger players have not uttered any word on taking this route.

“Traditionally, Indian OTT ecosystem has not experimented with the TVoD business model. But with the changing scenario, we are seeing OTT players have started trying the transaction per content model globally, especially as movies are getting direct digital premiere.

The pay-per-view model or TVoD is an established concept in the west, and it coexists with the subscription model. Audiences and consumers have accepted it and it has been a window for viewing movies,” Shemaroo Entertainment CEO Hiren Gada says.

SBICap Securities institutional equity research head Rajiv Sharma mentions that firstly the OTT pricing today is on a very affordable line except for Netflix. On the other hand, he thinks TVoD does not give a scale but only customers who may not stick around. He contends that an OTT business model means having the visibility of revenue and stickiness of the subscriber base which will allow the investment for the production of new content. 

However, he also mentions that the model can work better if it is seasonal. He shares an interesting view that tvod will be like running a campaign for consumers to experiment and sample the content. If there is parallel pricing, the subscribers who use other platforms may come for very appealing content. Hence, it is good from sampling and penetration perspective and also to build a huge customer database for further promotion, Sharma opines. But he also shares on a cautionary note that having tvod for long-term may cannibalise existing SVoD or AVoD customers revenue.

Elara Capital VP – research analyst (Media) Karan Taurani is not very optimistic about TVoD’s uptake in India. According to him, consumers in India don’t pay here easily and they will pay for a service that is long -term because that is reasonable and adds value. Moreover, he mentions that globally, the audience pays around $30-35 under this model (Disney has fixed Mulan’s price in the US at $30), whereas Indians won’t pay 10 per cent of that price. Taurani also speaks about the poor payment mechanism in many parts of the country.

Deloitte India partner Jehil Thakkar does not subscribe to the view as many consumers are using different payment gateways for OTT, e-commerce, grocery shopping. Moreover, the pandemic has boosted the uptake of online payment mechanisms.

“ShemarooMe Box Office has seen many critics and reviewers extend their support to the platform and if the entire ecosystem accepts this, then TVoD as a model in India can see success as desired. For now, this is a very experimental phase, where the audience discovers the platform and starts interacting with it. We have witnessed decent traction so far,” Shemaroo’s Gada comments on the uptake.

Deloitte India's Thakkar also thinks it is a viable option but at this time the market may remain fairly small. He adds that it may be more successful for some exceptional events like a blockbuster movie or a cricket event. He emphasises that despite all the odds it is a good time to experiment, test the water, tweak the business model, and pricing. According to him, the experiments will make it clear if there is an appetite for this model.

“Nothing can defeat the unsurpassable theatre viewing experience, since we are facing a difficult time, some experiments and changes can definitely fill the void. Nonetheless, platforms like ShemarooMe Box Office should always have an audience. The idea was to make movies accessible to a larger consumer base and inculcate the habit of TVoD viewing. It would help create a new monetisation window,” Gada states.