Tollywood Producers Vs OTT Players: Who will Take the Edge?

After the pandemic, there are drastic changes seen in Indian cinema. There is big demand for the digital rights and top digital players like Netflix, Amazon and others reached out to the regional cinema. They shelled out big money and invested in Indian films. After Bollywood, Telugu cinema is the biggest. Several Telugu films ended up as pan-Indian hits and they opened doors for digital players. Things changed completely in the last one year. With a huge number of films in the making, the digital players are not ready to pay big money. They are buying the digital rights on the basis of content.
They even initiated several restrictions. They are dictating the theatrical release dates and the OTT window time. This is making the producers restless. When a film is available on an OTT platform in less than four weeks, the theatrical revenue will be impacted. A section of the movie lovers and audience stopped coming to theatres because of the four week OTT release rule. Most of them turned selective to watch films in theatres. This turned out to be a major headache for the producers.
The digital deals too are slashed by 30 percent. With no option left, the producers are negotiating and are closing the deals. Several top producers met recently to discuss a strict 8-week OTT window for Telugu films. But the digital players are negotiating and are slashing the deals if there is a eight-week gap. A strict rule is set to be implemented from Telugu cinema soon on this. But the debate is if the digital players will offer handsome prices or if they will reduce the digital prices if a eight-week window is implemented.
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