AK Online - Highlights

Most #OTT #OTTplatforms today do not treat #Filmmakers as a stake holder in the ecosystem. We often hear about OTT - Telecom partnership even though a filmmaker is the major root of the ecosystem. Few so called big star's films are bought outright and most of the library of OTT platforms are built using content obtained for free in the name of revenue share, so that the OTTs can advertise to people saying "Watch Tons of content" at just a small monthly price".  

Can they charge a monthly fee with just 1 or 2 movies in their library which the platform buys outright ? Will people pay a monthly subscription to watch just 1 or 2 films they publish ? The answer is an obvious NO. Already the big OTTs are crying and cribbing about cancellations of subscribers. This is because the upcoming talents and small filmmakers have realised that they are becoming a bait for the library building process of the OTT platforms. But the fund is going to only the big film studios. They have also realised, for OTT platforms, content is no more the king. Hence upcoming filmmakers have stopped giving their films for free in the name of revenue share. In fact the revenue share model is bogus, as a movie is a wholesome product to be experienced, and filmmakers should not be paid by minutes of the movie streamed (The product cannot be sold in bits and pieces). A movie is not an ISD phone call ! 

This model also proves my statement that OTT is becoming a mere telecom company. The OTT platforms do not give an 'Instant Tracking Dashboard' to monitor the live sales performance of the movie on the platform. Some OTTs give a delayed update on the so called dashboard which is of no use for any data research. A delayed dashboard update is considered a non-transparent dashboard in the business world. The highlight of this bogus SVOD or AVOD model is that the OTT platform will never advertise or even share a small post about the films that they have got for free. They expect the small content provider to spend on digital advertising to promote the platform. (It's called OC advertising). That's why I repeat upcoming filmmakers have become a bait for the OTT-Telecom partnership. The payments to the content owner per movie-watch is less than a cup of tea. The advertising cost is 100 times higher than the possible revenue. This is exactly how music sales was destroyed for the upcoming talents by packaging songs in an app. The concept is being replicated to movies. It's time for a full stop for the bogus SVOD / AVOD model.  

The Solution is, TVOD / Pay-Per-View (PPV) with an Instant Tracking Dashboard, with freedom to the filmmaker to price his product and watch-validity based on his own confidence on the product. The TVOD / PPV model also gives the real market potential of a movie / movie star. May be that's why the biggies do not want to opt for this model as it will open a Pandora's box.

As an independent filmmaker, I analysed these over a period of 3 to 4 years and realised the need to build an OTT platform that puts the filmmaker's need in mind and also give the freedom to the audience / users to choose to pay for what they watch and not waste their money on monthly / yearly subscription charge for content that they never watch.  

This analysis triggered to build an in-house platform AK Online, to start streaming my own films. At least I will know who are my customers / viewers. I can promote my other future releases directly to them and save on the advertising costs. It's a hassle to keep taking out the wallet / credit card to pay for each movie. Hence we have created a wallet system to load points. Example 1 Point is equal to 1 Indian Rupee. They can recharge their wallet and as and when they choose to watch a movie, the points get debited as per the cost the filmmaker has fixed for his movie. The unused points never expire. Hence no monthly subscriptions ! Now on request of many Indie filmmakers, the platform has been opened to independent filmmakers to have the freedom to publish their content on a TVOD, PPV model with an instant sales tracking dashboard and weekly payments. Currently AK Online pays 75% of the revenue to the content owner after taxes and we happily advertise every content on our platform at our cost. We stream only HD and we do not run any ads that disturb the watching experience. We do not host any adult and abusive content and we strive to support content that is reasonable.

We believe in future, every content should be available in every platform / device accessible to the whole world with an instant sales tracking dashboard to the content creator / owner who is the actual foundation of the entire ecosystem. TVOD / PPV in a non-exclusive fashion shall bring respect, peace & deserving revenue to every filmmaker. 

That's AK Online for you. Built by a passionate filmmaker for filmmakers & movie buffs with a non-profit motive. The revenue share to the platform is purely used to maintain it and not for withdrawal of profits to its founders.

Currently we stream Independent Films, Short Films, Documentaries and even music videos. We plan to produce some original content this year and also provide post-production support to deserving films. 

We are in the verge of bringing our own Streaming TV Channel to promote unique content and make programmes about various artists and their work which deserves a spotlight.

Thanks for reading the article.

Regards,  #Arunkanth, 

Independent Filmmaker, Info Pluto Media Works

Official Website of Arunkanth : www.arunkanth.in 

 ~ An OTT platform for Independent Films / Indie content. User can now Watch unique Movies, Short Films, Documentaries, Series / Shows, Music Videos and more.

~ It is based on Points system. New Users get preloaded points when they register on the app. Once the points are exhausted, users may choose to  request additional points. Unused points never expire.

~ Filmmakers have the freedom to fix points needed to watch their film and also its validity.

~ Live TV channel 24x7 (Coming Soon) with unique content that entertains you positively. Our Live TV channel also plans to publish the promos & Trailers of our content creators, free of cost.

- No irritating Ads what so ever !

~ No monthly / yearly subscription charges.

- Only HD