Television has long been appreciated for its wider reach as compared to the big screen. And with the advent of streaming platforms, the web world became everyone’s favourite medium in no time. Is this the reason why we have seen many TV shows switching to OTT in recent times? Or is it because small screen show makers wanted to try a whole new world of seamless storytelling and explore an uncharted territory? But are the audiences happy? Are viewers of content on the small screen equally comfortable with the subscription-based model of web platforms? It still appears to be a tricky situation, and comedian-actor Kapil Sharma’s show is the latest example. While the show moved from TV to Netflix with a new title and amid immense hype, the initial lukewarm response left everyone wondering if the move was really as smart as the makers thought.
Earlier, fiction shows like Jamai 2.0, Qubool Hai 2.0 have also gone the digital route after being on air for a considerable period of time on TV. However, it seems that OTT, which is considered an in-person viewing experience, may demand more customized content to fully engage its subscribers.
Renowned television producer Rajan Shahi, known for producing shows like Anupamaa, feels the shift to OTT is only favourable for TV shows if the story is not too elaborate.
“It depends on the type of show, and if it has a big story to tell, the broadcaster will make a separate season of the show. It happens right now that the story is not very important, but it is a big brand. So, shifting to OTT can become a great strategy because if you feel you don’t have a daily soap story to sustain for a long time, but the brand and name associated with the show are popular, then it is a great move,” he says, citing the example of Rupali Ganguly-starrer Anupamaa, and adds, “I think this is the only example in the world, where an existing daily soap show, with the same actors and team, we had created a brand Namaste American for the web, so there was a lot of curiosity.”
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The popular sitcom Sarabhai vs Sarabhai aired on television for several years, after which it was aired on OTT and its popularity increased tenfold with the arrival of a new audience, including those with nostalgia for the old shows.
The show’s producer Jamnadas Majethia points out the huge difference between television and OTT and calls the show way ahead of its time.
Majethia explains, “Sarabhai vs Sarabhai worked on TV, then it came on YouTube and people watched it, then it came on social media and gradually it became so popular that it completely moved to streaming and stopped airing on TV. When Disney+Hotstar hosted the first season, it had the very best writers and reputed actors and when it’s a comedy, the right writing, casting and execution is everything. The shelf life of the show worked with the grammar of OTT, as it compelled people to watch it again.”
That being said, sitcoms like Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and comedy shows like The Great Kapil Sharma Show cannot really be viewed in the same light, and will need to be tweaked a bit for the OTT audience.
Jinesh Shah, Head-Series, Roy Kapur Films, says, “Non-fiction or reality shows like Kapil’s show, which are situational and episodic, can easily migrate to OTT platforms due to their self-contained episodes and flexible format. However, the next trend to watch out for will be long-format fiction shows of 50-100 episodes, airing daily on platforms, with better production values and definite endings than the current soaps on satellite channels.”
Here, it is important to note that the difference in genre can also play a vital role in deciding the fate of a show on a different medium.
“Talking about shows moving from television to streaming platforms, the format has to change depending on the genre. If it’s fiction, it has to be in a completely different format.
“Television follows a very different structure and OTT works differently,” says Suparn S Verma, writer and director of Rana Naidu, Janasheen (2003) and Acid Factory (2009). “On OTT, the storytelling is denser, more compact, with different characters. On the other hand, in non-fiction, it’s easier to get across. The way content is created for TV and OTT is different. The merging of the two conferencing mediums needs to be taken care of and woven together smartly,” he explains.
