With theatres closed, OTTs make hay

Dil Bechara — Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film — has understandably been a big hit with viewers thronging to the Disney+Hotstar platform. Given the circumstances, it would probably have drawn crowds even if it had been first released in the theatres. However, a crop of digital-first releases is attracting a sizeable audience that might not have been the case had they been screened in the theatres first.

To be sure, the genuine viewership data for OTT screenings is not available and the numbers being put out are merely estimates. Also, the population of paid subscribers is very small though a connection, is more often than not, shared by two or three people. Analysts at research firm Media Partners Asia estimate that India had 27 million paid online video subscribers in April.