NEW DELHI: Aamir Khan’s Sitaare Zameen Par is set to stream on SonyLIV after an initial one-time rental on YouTube, as industry experts assess the prospects of pay-per-view (transaction video-on-demand or TVoD) in India’s evolving film market. The model, long popular in the West, remains experimental here, they said, as audiences increasingly expect films to be available for home viewing within four to six weeks, often free or bundled on subscription OTT platforms.
Khan’s move highlights a key tension in the industry: while TVoD offers a direct monetization route, its commercial viability is uncertain compared with assured OTT deals. Sign-ups and log-ins for YouTube rentals, along with the niche appeal of pay-per-view, have limited viewer traction, reducing the incentive for other producers to follow suit.
“The (pay-per-view or rental) model works best under very specific conditions such as a known star or strong brand recall, good theatrical performance and content that can drive word-of-mouth. For mid-budget or smaller films, a guaranteed OTT deal still makes more sense because it reduces risk,” said Charu Malhotra, co-founder and managing director, Primus Partners.
Malhotra said YouTube’s unmatched reach makes it ideal for discovery and mass sampling at low price points, while OTT platforms engage a smaller but paying audience, offering higher completion rates and longer shelf life.
According to the Ficci EY Media and Entertainment Report 2026, TVoD revenues in India are projected to rise from ₹500 crore in 2025 to ₹740 crore by 2028. Yet monetization remains skewed towards micro-transactions and subscription models, rather than pay-per-view-led revenue.
YouTube is India’s leading ad-supported video platform by reach and watch time, reaching four out of five internet users aged 18 and above. The YouTube pay-per-view release of Sitaare Zameen Par reportedly generated 20 times usual volumes, although no official figures were disclosed.
In this case, while Khan attempted a solid innovation, traffic on YouTube may have slowed over time, making the SonyLIV deal a logical move to reach more paying subscribers and build a longer-term relationship between the actor and the platform, according to film producer and distributor Yusuf Shaikh, founder and chief executive of low-cost theatre chain Janta Cinema.
Girish Johar, film producer and trade expert, said streaming platforms still limit acquisitions and insist on theatrical releases to gauge box office performance before pricing a film. In such a scenario, the pay-per-view strategy may have emerged as a viable experiment in order to reduce the reliance on OTT at a time that several films remain unreleased for want of digital buyers.
“The move hasn’t really seem to have paid off but it remains to be seen if other films, including those backed by Aamir Khan Productions itself, take that route,” Johar added.