HOW TO RELEASE A MOVIE ON OTT PLATFORMS? HOW TO RELEASE A MOVIE

🗔December 27, 2020
🖉Chitrakshi Barthwal
🗁
- Content Writing

OTT services have created a mass impact all over the world. Everyone consumes Over-the-top services actively, especially in the times of this Coronavirus Pandemic. India itself saw an upsurge of 30% subscription/viewership between March and July, 2020. Most of the youth and people of various age groups in urban areas consume OTT services. This factor makes Over-the-top services a new destination for releasing movies. But have you ever wondered how to release a movie on OTT platforms?

There are several OTT providers available in India, out of which Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ Hotstar have the majority of user-base. However, several in-house providers like Voot, SonyLIV, Zee5, ErosNow, and ALTBalaji are competing with these big names to leave a solid impression in the market. The growth of OTT platforms has let prominent people to be in brings us to the question; How to Release a Movie on OTT Platforms?

So, let’s see through the world of OTT services and know the ways to release a movie on OTT platforms. Keep reading our blog on How to Release a Movie on OTT Platforms?

Table of Contents

WHAT IS AN OTT PLATFORM?

OTT platforms are internet-based streaming services that provide you with content like movies, TV series, documentaries, etc. These platforms work either on ad-based viewership or subscription-based viewership. Generally, if you wish to watch a TV series hosted on an OTT platform, you will have to do the following:

Watch ads in between watching the series (e.g., Crunchyroll)
Pay a subscription amount to be a premium member (e.g., Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and so on)

BENEFITS OF RELEASING A MOVIE ON OTT PLATFORMS

Today OTT platforms are a trend all over the world. Ever since the restrictions, people have started consuming more streaming services. The present situation carries multiple benefits for filmmakers(Source: Phando) :

Releasing on OTT platforms provides an audience base for low-budget filmmakers.
Under-rated or neglected films or series with exceptional cast get exposure.
Original content and deserving actors get a fair chance through OTT platforms.
Given the current situation, big names in the entertainment industry can use OTT platforms to premiere their movies.
Many exceptional series and films are from OTT platforms, like Scam 1992, Mismatched, etc.

HOW TO RELEASE A MOVIE ON OTT PLATFORMS?

While thinking of releasing a movie on OTT platforms, there are several factors and policies that different streaming companies have to follow to accept/buy movies. You can either join a creator program or work under a talent company.
Also, you can hire managers that will pitch in your content to the interested company. It may seem like a challenge to Release a Movie on OTT Platforms, but we have simplified the process for you

HOW TO RELEASE A MOVIE ON OTT PLATFORMS : NETFLIX

Netflix Logo

Netflix follows certain criteria when it comes to the submission of films:

The OTT platforms will Contact you directly if they like your movie. If your film is exceptional and has a promising cast or a well-known director, the OTT giant will contact you themselves. The company will purchase the rights of your film for one or two years. After that, stream it on their platform (Source: nyfa) .
Netflix contacts/accepts content from literary agents, producers, managers, or entertainment agencies with pre-existing ties.
Anything other than such connections is an ‘Unsolicited Submission.’ Meaning, the ideas are not entertained.

HOW TO RELEASE A MOVIE ON OTT PLATFORMS: AMAZON PRIME VIDEO

Amazon, on the other hand, has an independent program that helps filmmakers to publish videos. Amazon Prime Direct is a specific section that lets the filmmakers or independent filmmakers distribute their content. However, Amazon has guidelines that they thoroughly follow to approve videos( Source: Amazon) :

The authorities at Amazon will review the content. The content should meet the Content Policy Guideline and asset requirement.
The review takes up to two to three weeks. The content curators can visit the dashboard to check the status of their submission.
After the approval, the content goes live within four additional working days.
For a target date, the content curator should send in their submission at least 30 days before the date.

SETTING UP ACOUNT ON PRIME VIDEO DIRECT

To start publishing, you should also have an account with the distributors.

Create an Account: For publishing the videos, you should have an account with the company. You can use your amazon account to use for prime video direct or create a new one.
Company Profile: A company profile, as the name suggests, consists of the details of the company, i.e., the name and address. An individual running the account can use their first and last name as the company name.
Payment and Banking Information: There is a need to give banking and payment details to get paid for the royalties. The royalties get paid in the same currency as the country.
Tax Information: The information about tax status gets submitted by filling a tax-related questionnaire. After that, you can set up your account and trace the progress through the dashboard.

HOW TO RELEASE A MOVIE ON OTT PLATFORMS? : PUBLISHING PROCESS

After the approval, you can publish your film by following these steps:

Title of the Content: The title lets you know the identity of the film/movie.
Category: Categorize the film into the segment it belongs to, i.e., Educational, Movie, or Clips. If they don’t fall into the categories specified by Amazon, they won’t be eligible.
Synopsis: Treat synopsis as a short description of your content. The description is present along with the title and should inform the viewers about the movie/film.
Genre: This section informs the audience about the format/style of the movie, whether it is fiction, comedy, drama, etc.
Cast & Crew Information: This section informs the people about the cast and the production unit involved in making the movie.
Captions: The movie should include a caption so that people watching from the foreign category can understand the film in their native language.
Trailer: A Trailer is like a mini show of what the actual movie is. However, the trailer mostly talks about the happening in between the film, that too, in cuts. You can include a trailer to let your viewers see and decide whether to binge or not.
Availability: When you release a movie, you also need to specify the regions. Some videos are region-specific. Meaning: Other than the countries on the list, others cannot watch the film. Select the locality/region you want your movie to be available for the Amazon Prime Video customers.
Publish Title: This is the final process that will make the movie go live on the Amazon Prime Video platform.

CONCLUDING NOTE : QUALITY MATTERS! | HOW TO RELEASE A MOVIE ON OTT PLATFORM

There are not many companies that offer facilities the same as Prime Video Direct. Therefore, it is necessary to have the right communication channels to connect your movie to the right people. Also, one must keep in mind that quality matters more than anything. Keep in mind that smart consumers need good content more than anything.