Web shows face content lag, drop new episodes periodically
Streaming platforms are looking away from the binge-viewing model to drop episodes at specific intervals even for local Indian series
NEW DELHI: As viewers and Marvel fans across the world await the second episode of Loki on Disney+ Hotstar, a spin-off on the Avengers franchise that premiered last Friday, a bunch of streaming platforms are looking away from the binge-viewing model to drop episodes at specific intervals even for local Indian series. Loki's second episode will release later this week.
The strategy serves well especially when film and web shoots are faced with the covid-19 challenges, which has disrupted shoots in India owing to varying degrees of lockdowns. While Disney+ Hotstar and Hoichoi went slow in releasing episodes for shows like Out of Love (season two) and Hello 2, TVF (The Viral Fever) also adopted the model for its latest YouTube original Aspirants.
Apart from dealing with pandemic-induced disruptions, media and marketing experts said it is one way to sustain interest and curiosity around a property.
“The strategy works well for a platform that may have a lesser volume of content and wants to stage it indifferently, say, once a week like it often happens with US platforms such as HBO Max," Sanjeev Lamba, executive producer, Hungama Originals, Hungama Digital Media.
Lamba said international OTT services adopted the practice even before the pandemic depending upon their positioning, two media industry experts said it is catching in India.
“It could definitely be a strategy to make up for the content lag as shoots remain disrupted," agreed one of the analysts who declined to be named.
In a blog published earlier this month, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO and founder of media consulting firm Ormax wrote “it may seem that all’s well with the streaming category, with more audience locked down at home. But…the number of launches on the top platforms have reduced. This impact of the constricted content pipeline will continue to be felt over the next six months in both streaming and theatrical sectors."
Even on entertainment channels on television, while certain crews moved out of Maharashtra to continue with shoots, shows like Wagle Ki Duniya (SAB TV), The Kapil Sharma Show (Sony), and Agni Vayu (Ishara) saw re-runs.
On their part, OTT platform executives say the periodic release works for shows that are thrillers or have a mystery element around them. “We’ve realised from customer feedback that audiences don’t want long-form content to be dumped on them all at once and want to remain engaged longer, especially if it’s a (popular) franchise," Soumya Mukherjee, vice-president, revenue and strategy at Bengali platform Hoichoi said.
Mehul Gupta, co-founder and CEO at SoCheers, an independent digital agency said the strategy gives audiences a chance to formulate theories around the show and generate interest. Dropping all episodes together causes a sudden spike in conversations and mentions on social media. But spacing these out is likely to gain ground in India as it drives brand love, generates more conversation points and spikes at regular intervals especially at a time when it is a struggle to come up with new content every week, Gupta said.
“The advantage of releasing episodes weekly is that it allows chatter around the series to be sustained for a longer duration of time," said a Disney+Hotstar spokesperson. Viewers speculate, share views and opinions or even talk about potential plot twists, the person said, adding that as many viewers prefer binge-watching, for Disney+Hotstar, it is a creative and strategic decision and on the of basis viewer experience the platform will continue experimenting with both formats.
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