The recent takedown of Satluj, the biographical film starring Diljit Dosanjh based on the Punjab insurgency of the 1990s, highlights the multiple fronts that OTT platforms lose on when content is taken off air.
Platforms spend heavily to acquire a title long before anyone presses play. There is the licence fee, usually the largest cheque, and then everything built around it: the trailer, the digital and hoarding campaign, the influencer push, the premiere and the prime slot on the home screen.
For a star vehicle, that runs into crores of rupees. When a film is pulled two days in, as Satluj was from ZEE5, none of the money comes back. The licence is sunk, the marketing has bought no subscribers and the platform is left explaining a hole in its slate to its talent and its board.
In January 2024, Nayanthara’s Tamil film Annapoorani was removed from Netflix following a backlash and legal complaints from religious groups.
“OTT platforms invest significantly in promoting acquired films through digital campaigns, social media, in-app banners, trailers, interviews and brand partnerships. A takedown shortly after release can make much of this spending unrecoverable, particularly if the campaign has already peaked,” said Ankit Rajgarhia, a partner at Bahuguna Law Associates.
Entertainment is highly capital-intensive and the costs associated with a film extend well beyond its production, according to Sanjoli Jain, counsel, Law SB. Even a relatively restrained promotional campaign for a film featuring established actors can run into several crores of rupees, Jain said.
Rohit Singh, account director—client servicing at White Rivers Media, an independent digital marketing agency, agreed that platforms commit major capital for film acquisitions.
“A sudden takedown strands these costs. The platform loses the value of its initial spend because the promotional cycle stops before it generates sustained subscriptions. This forces platforms to write off these marketing investments immediately while losing the anticipated engagement metrics from the release window,” Singh said.
Tougher scrutiny
The harm does not end with writing off one film. A platform becomes wary of everything that resembles the film that’s taken down. Similar films, especially anything political, regional or provocative, start to face tougher internal scrutiny and slower approvals and sometimes a decision to delay the deal, renegotiate it, or quietly let it go.
“That caution then hardens the contracts: bigger indemnities from producers, stricter promises about what the content will and will not contain, compulsory insurance against legal claims and proper legal vetting before any money is committed,” said Arjit Benjamin, associate partner at Prosoll Law. “The net effect is that ambitious or sensitive cinema costs more to buy and takes longer to clear, so one removal quietly taxes the platform's whole pipeline, not just the film that was pulled.”
Some of these risks are factored into contacts in advance in case of controversial projects. Film producer Shariq Patel said deals are often struck in a way that producers have to let go of some money if the platform is forced to take the film down after launch.
“However, the revenue loss comes from the fact that the film is already pirated and circulating online,” Patel said.
Experts said incidents like these could encourage the government to introduce stricter rules for OTT platforms. Although films released directly on digital platforms are governed by a different regulatory framework from theatrical releases, disputes could encourage stricter review mechanisms, including mandatory film certification.
“Such a shift would increase the workload on the CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification), potentially delaying releases. It may also encourage self-censorship by platforms and producers, who could avoid subjects perceived as controversial,” Rajgarhia said.