As the OTT platforms continue their trajectory of growth in the country, Kerala Government is also set to foray into the streaming space with the launch of a state-of-the-art Over Top (OTT) platform. The announcement about the platform was made in July 2021 and discussions on the legal and technical aspects were ongoing in the last few months. The proposed plan was to launch the OTT platform in collaboration with an already existing platform.
According to N Maya (IFS) Managing Director, Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), around 7 applications have been submitted for the collaboration and the verification of the credentials of these platforms are in process, which will be finalized in a month’s time. The OTT platform is expected to be rolled out by April 2022.
Though there is a growing affinity towards Malayalam movies by the international OTT platforms, most of it is limited to those films which have featured big stars. The Kerala government is planning to promote small and low budget or award-winning feature films which might not have received a platform that is accessible to the common public. Instead of buying out movies from the makers, the Kerala State Government is aiming to split the revenue earned between the OTT platform and the production house on a percentage basis.
“Technical perfection is what we are aiming at and the revenue stream is based on the pay per view model. The inclusion of ads might affect the seamless viewing experience of the spectators. Further content and revenue strategies would be revealed in the coming days,” Maya added.
