RRR on your home screen: Movie hits help pay-per-view get an audience

Hindi version of the blockbuster will stream on BookMyShow's transactional video-on-demand platform from Friday.

The Hindi version of RRR, amongst the biggest movie hits of the year, will stream on BookMyShow's transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) or pay-per-view platform on Friday. The exclusive TVOD window will run for almost two weeks on the platform before it gets a wider over-the-top (OTT) release.

TVOD is getting noticed in India, as filmmakers seek newer ways to monetise content and consumers demand more. Earlier this month, Amazon Prime Video said it was stepping into the pay-per-view space with a service that would cost between Rs 69 and Rs 499 (depending on the title) for one-time access.

BookMyShow, earlier in May, streamed the Alia-Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi on TVOD. Viewers have to pay Rs 349 for RRR, implying that there is a price tag attached to premium content.

"The excitement around and interest for the film (RRR) continues to peak with pre-bookings doing well," said Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer, cinemas, BookMyShow.

"With movies like RRR and Gangubai making their way on TVOD platforms such as BookMyShow Stream, we are confident that more leading Indian studios and producers will warm up to the model," he said.

But experts say that with premium and popular content costing more on TVOD platforms, access will be limited to affluent homes for now.

As such, subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD) services or subscription-based OTTs have been dropping prices to improve reach in recent months. For instance, mobile-only plans from platforms such as Netflix cost as low as Rs 149 per month versus Rs 199 per month earlier. While the basic plan, which allows access to all content on any one device, costs Rs 199 versus Rs 499 per month earlier.

"TVOD has been tried before with direct-to-home platforms such as Tata Play (earlier Tata Sky). But it didn't quite work because the wider cable and DTH universe itself offers viewers content at an affordable price. So why take a niche service such as TVOD? The same point will apply to OTT players who have stepped into or are getting into pay-per-view," said Karan Taurani, senior vice-president, of research, at Mumbai-based brokerage Elara Capital.

Players such as Zee Plex, a pay-per-view service launched in 2020 on Zee5, charge Rs 99 for one-time access across movies in order to improve reach, say experts. In contrast, Shemaroo, a media company, which experimented with a pay-per-view service in 2020, has discontinued the model, opting to stick to a subscription-based OTT service instead.

Hiren Gada, chief executive officer at Shemaroo Entertainment, said the overall growth prospect of the OTT market, especially, the growth of regional viewers in India, prompted his company to focus on an SVOD service rather than a TVOD platform.

"Regional viewership is expected to grow, driven by affordable data tariffs, increased mobile network penetration and the rise of affordable smartphones. We wanted to focus on this trend and elevate our platform as a go-to channel for all entertainment needs," Gada said.

But Jehil Thakkar, partner and leader, media and entertainment, Deloitte India, says that finding content that can pique the interest of viewers to rent a film is a challenge. At the same time, ensuring a movie sits comfortably in a slot after theatrical release but before it goes to an SVOD platform for broadcast is hardly easy.

“The fundamental issue is that viewers must feel the urgency for the content. So, a blockbuster (such as RRR) may get the eyeballs on TVOD, but a film that has tasted moderate success in theatres may not attract viewership on TVOD. The second issue is that the window available for TVOD release has to be right otherwise it will not click,” Thakkar said.

Platforms such as BookMyShow, however, are not giving up yet. If anything, it is talking to more producers and directors for a TVOD release of their movies.

Saksena said filmmakers are weighing their options for now. “It is only a matter of time before TVOD finds itself to be sitting amongst the compelling forms of cinema consumption post a theatrical run for films in India.”