Dearth In Indian Digital Content

Quick question? If right now I ask you to name five Indian shows that are available to stream on any network, there are chances that you might name: 1. Sacred Games 2. Mirzapur, and I guess that would be that for most of you. To be honest, I won’t blame people for not knowing other shows on any other streaming service. I mean, why should they? If the makers do not care enough about the content that they provide, why should they expect the audience to watch any of these shows? With the growth in digital media awareness among Indian population, both in terms of video and audio, it is time that shows are provided not just to shore up the numbers but also to provide quality content. As it stands though, it doesn’t seem that much headway is being made on that front.

Let’s take the case of a service like AltBalaji. Ekta Kapoor, head of Balaji Telefilms, has made a name for herself making stupid TV shows, and it seems that mind-set has leaked into her streaming network. I can vouch for the fact that there might not be many people familiar with any of the shows on the network. Some of the shows include Apharan, Gandi Baat, and….you know what, these shows are not even worthy of a mention. It’s easier to fool TV audiences, with its demographic skewing towards middle-aged and older women; however, the digital space is youth-oriented, with which the networks have not kept up. We then have Eros Now, digital subsidiary of Eros International, which has also been around for quite some time, but again, does not have much in the way of shows. Then we have Voot, which also provides some original programmes, however, the options are once again very barebones. Only Hotstar can boast of having quality content, it providing HBO’s famed list of shows in India, as well as other networks such as FX.

The major problems with many of these networks is not a lack of enthusiasm, but a lack of originality and being too overeager in providing content. The effect Netflix has had on the Indian digital media space has been huge, and with so many players vying for a good share of the market, they have clearly not paid attention to content. Another reason for their lack of quality is not being able to land big names for their projects. Sacred Games had a good team of Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, along with a string of foreign technical assistants. Same goes for the content on Amazon Prime, with them landing big names from the industry. In order to not be left further behind in this race, other networks need to step up in terms of originality and content, which is the only way to entice big names from the industry. Otherwise, only the Goliaths will be left standing.