The OTT boom began from 2018. The business has grown from almost nothing to Rs.17000 crore plus in advertising and pay revenue.

The top 20-30 shows are being created by a handful of studies — TVF BBC Studios and Applause. There are many content houses — Raj, D2R Films, Poor Man’s Production, Prakash Mehra, Banjay Asia. Applause works on a hub and spoke model — Scam 1992 of Hansal Mehta, Tanaav with Sudhir Mistra and Rudra with Ajay Devgn. TVF focuses on diversity of ideas. TVF has made 31 shows in the last three years. Its Kota Factory is a huge success. It went mainstream after a first season on YouTube.

The turn around time is important. BBC Studies had the formats ready which could be adapted. Such adaptation takes 7-9 months, as against 12-18 months if the idea is to be developed right from scratch. The original material is high quality adaptable material, e.g. Dr.Foster and Luther.

Most big OTT players have rich data on their audience. However, it is a moot point how much of this data is shared with the creators. It makes the job of creators challenging. There are some indicators — if a show gets a successive season, it is a proof that the show has worked. Another indication is the completion rate — the number of viewers the last episode gets when the series is finished. Ideally, it should be 70-80 per cent.

The global trends are known. Right now, there is fatigue on crime. This fatigue could travel to India. The content creators must be ready for the next wave, whatever it may be. In the last few years, a variety of genres have come up — comedy, drama and romance.

A film has a beginning, a middle and an end. In the series, every episode must have a beginning, a middle and an end. It is a difficult process to make it.