The consumer psyche is interesting. Nothing is more interesting than the psyche of OTT subscribers. When the OTT wave started in India, a strange opinion was commonplace. People were asking, 'Why can't Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hotstar join hands and offer a common subscription package?' This is like asking, "Why can't PVR, Cinepolis, and Carnival Cinemas join hands and offer a common ticket to their screenings?'
In the latest round, consumers are expecting something more. They want visual marvels like 'RRR' and duds like 'Son Of India' for no additional cost on OTT. When an 'RRR' and a 'KGF 2' are released in theatres, audiences thunder, "This is the visual spectacle people want. Days of routine cinema are over!"
But the same audiences don't want to pay an additional sum of money when a streaming giant buys these big-scale movies on huge budgets. "This is greed. Nothing but greed," the audiences complain, as if Amazon Prime and other OTT platforms are duty-bound to offer 'KGF 2' and 'RRR' for free. The audiences could also say, "When 'Son Of India' is available for no additional cost, why not 'KGF 2'?" Yes, why not?!
The tragedy is that audiences are openly threatening to watch 'KGF 2' and 'RRR' on piracy sites, as if Rs 199 on 'KGF 2' is too huge a cost in a developing country like India. They can watch movies on piracy sites but they must remember a thing. In the long run, if streaming giants fail to make monies on big-ticket movies like 'KGF 2' and 'RRR', they will end up buying masterpieces like 'Son Of India' only.
