Hitlist Web Awards: Celebrating age of binge!

Chronology samajhiye First you pick the show you might like to watch That becomes your watchlist Then you binge on some of the series Thats your bingelist And then inevitably you draw up the shows seasons performances writing and direction that were hits For you In 2019 Thats the HitlistAnd thats the pick with all public votes combined and judges verdict taken into account winning the midday Radio City Hitlist Web Awards 2020 for the finest in online entertainment available on subscriberbased OTT platformsThe public voting lines stay open between February 14 and March 8 There are 14 separate categories to choose from making it the most comprehensive web awards in India that takes place on March 19 in MumbaiAnd what better way to announcelaunch the Hitlist Web Awards than have Indias top content creatorscompetitors in one room in a huddle facing each other discussing the brave new world of OTT entertainment Only fair that we start the discussion with What the hell is OTT OverTheTop anyway We know what we do as more proverbially Netflix and chillSameer Nair of Applause Entertainment which has lately produced shows like Mind The Malhotras Amazon Prime Criminal Justice Hotstar Hostages Hotstar explains that the term is unique to India yes but comes from the fact that video like music streaming is a service that remains over the top of existing services on a mobile phone Telecom and broadband players laid the cables and created infrastructure for the Internet What got built over it is called OTTAnd which is the sort of industry that everyone in the room barring Ridhima Lulla from Eros Now being much younger became migrants to having spent years in various other media namely films and television What was that unique unlearning they had to go through to adapt to the fresh platform industry While it doesnt seem so it is less than four years oldThe first learning Vijay Subramaniam content head Amazon Prime Video points out is that Every customer here is her own programmer Its oneonone relationship According to Nachiket Pantvaidya COO Alt Balaji The viewership data is precise which was not true for TVOr as Gaurav Verma mdash whos worked extensively in the multiplex business currently heading Red Chillies that recently produced The Bard Of Blood on Netflix mdashputs it The filmmultiplex business has been about the individual going to the neighbourhood This gets reversed on web platforms where you go with your content to the individualFrom left Mayank Shekhar editor Hitlist Ridhima Lulla CCO Eros Now Vikram Malhotra CEO Abundantia Entertainment Gaurav Verma COO Red Chillies Entertainment Shrishti Behl Arya director international originals Netflix Sameer Nair CEO Applause Entertainment Nachiket Pantvaidya CEO ALTBalaji Vijay Subramaniam director content Amazon Prime VideoAnd that content stays forever says Nair Unlike films in the traditional boxoffice model that had low elasticity This personalised entertainment therefore creates space for all kinds of content Srishti Behl Arya of Netflix India says You have to make way for both guilty pleasures and your conversation pieces What doesnt change though as Lulla weighs in is writing All the engagement lies in the writingSubramanian reiterates The writers room is where battles are fought and won Bar on creativity is steadily rising thanks to serieslongformat And its then that you bring in the cinematic vision to support the storyWhile Arya reveals that of all markets in the world India watches most films on Netflix no one huddled up in the hall thats more like an echo chamber has any prophet of doom for cinemas To be fair the multiplex business continues to grow alongsideThis coexistence even crosspollination appears natural to Abundantia Entertainments Vikram Malhotra whos paving Akshay Kumars entry into web for Amazon besides having produced Breathe with R Madhavan the second season of which stars Abhishek Bachchan The presence of traditional stars can be reassuring for audiences who havent tested the medium yetVijay Subramaniam director and head content Amazon Prime VideoThis is besides that OTT platforms are simultaneously creating their own stars Stories are creating stars now This is as true for newer stars in cinema as well Malhotra says That OTT platforms through instant access have in fact given a fillip to films from different Indian regions let alone international content cant be denied eitherIf you wanted to watch a Tamil film youd hope that its playing in one theatre Aurora in all of Mumbai You can click on Vetrimarans Asuran right away instead Pantvaidya rightly points out Which is the reason Hitlist Awards also has a category for nonHindi Indian film available on webGreat time for consumers Check Lifetime to binge Check although thats not new for Indians since they have on average been watching four hours of TV anyway Nair says But what about the cheque at the checkin counter on your TVphone There are currently 42 OTT platforms still more on the way with multiple monthly bills running into thousands when cable bills until recently were all of a couple of hundred bucks Shakeout expected soonNair reasons Nobody couldve predicted 600 TV channels in India either This is growth phase for OTT mdashearly evening at a Diwali party high rollers will stay until late There will be rise and fall Malhotra butts in The caterers are happy either way thoughMore importantly Malhotra emphasises Theres been so much disruption in such short time mdash technology data rates dropping smart phones younger demographic proliferation of content new mechanisms content changing on filmhellip Unsure if the audience will remain the same five years from nowWell we know where you were all of last year And hope youll arrive at what you loved most on OTT platforms to pick winners of Hitlist Web Awards 2020 Happy voting And no EVM jhol mdash thats a promiseShrishti Behl Arya director international originals NetflixYou have to make way for both guilty pleasures and your conversation piecesSameer Nair CEO Applause EntertainmentNobody couldve predicted 600 TV channels in India either This is growth phase for OTT mdash early evening at a Diwali partyNachiket PantvaidyaCEO Alt BalajiIf you wanted to watch a Tamil film youd hope that its playing in one theatre Aurora in all of MumbaiRidhima Lulla Eros Now CCOAll the engagement lies in the writingVikram Malhotrafounder and CEO Abundantia EntertainmentTheres been so much disruption in such short timemdashtechnology data rates dropping smart phones younger demographic proliferation of content new mechanisms content changing on filmGaurav Verma COO Red Chillies EntertainmentThe filmmultiplex business has been about the individual going to the neighbourhood This gets reversed on web platforms where you go with your content to the individualHitlist Web Awards TimelineVoting lines for public opens February 14 closes March 8There are 14 categories that the public can vote for Log on to wwwhitlistwebawardscom to cast your vote in segments like Best Series New Season Adaptation and Web Film among othersYou can also vote via SMS Send HITLIST ltspacegt category name ltspacegt your choice abcd as on the website to 57575The awards will be held on March 19 in MumbaiWatch the full Sit With Hitlist huddle with OTT content heads on the website wwwhitlistwebawardscomCatch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates