The struggle for survival with global dominance

The country's viewers got acquainted with OTT through foreign platforms. In the beginning, there were viewers of a specific class of media. But with time, all calculations have changed. People from different classes and professions are constantly joining the medium. As the audience increases, the list of OTT in the country is also getting longer. The scope of work of producers, artists, and artists is expanding. However, at the same time, domestic platforms like Charki, Banga, Deepta Play, and iScreen are having to go to war with the dominance of global giants like Netflix, Hoichai, and Amazon Prime.

Currently, several crores of people in Bangladesh regularly watch OTT content. However, a large part of them are viewers of popular platforms like Netflix, Hoichai, and Disney Plus Hotstar. Especially the young generation prefers to watch content on these media. However, the country's platforms are not lagging behind. They have made incredible progress in the last three to four years. According to those concerned, the OTT market in Bangladesh is currently around 300-500 crore taka per year, which is growing at a rate of 20-25 percent every year. They say that the popularity of OTT in the country is growing rapidly. If this continues, the number of OTT users will exceed 10 million by the end of this year. However, many are expressing concerns about the issue. Currently, there is a 10 percent supplementary duty imposed on OTT services. This has increased the operating costs of domestic platforms. This is having a negative impact on customer service. Taking advantage of that, foreign platforms are attracting domestic viewers as an additional benefit. - This is what experts believe.

Although domestic content is impressive in terms of content quality and storytelling style, domestic platforms are inferior to foreign platforms, especially Netflix or Prime Video, in terms of budget. Where the budget of a 'Squid Game' or 'Money Heist' is hundreds of crores, the budget of a full-fledged series in Bangladesh is estimated to be only 1-2 crore taka! However, although it lags behind in budget, domestic content is impressive in terms of the depth of the story. Although there were initially questions about the quality of domestic OTT content, it is currently improving rapidly. Series like ‘Taqdir’, ‘Karagar’, ‘Mahanagar’, ‘Kaiser’ or ‘Pet Kata Sha’ have proven that it is possible to compete with foreign content if there is strong talent and original stories. Foreign viewers are also now praising Bangladeshi thriller or drama content.

Meanwhile, there is a lot of division in terms of audience acceptance of OTT. Viewers still prefer Netflix or Apple TV for English or international quality content. Although people are turning to domestic platforms to watch their own language, culture and familiar stories around them. Although foreign viewers of different languages ​​cannot attract them in the same way, domestic OTT is now the biggest entertainment medium for expatriate Bangladeshis. Although there are still various questions about the quality of work, the high subscription fees of foreign platforms and the low and easy payment system of domestic platforms are providing additional benefits to viewers. From that point on, many are getting used to watching OTT content at home instead of in theaters. However, the platforms are still lagging behind in the global market because they are unable to reach their content to foreign audiences.

If asked, can our platforms really keep up with Netflix or Amazon? Everyone will probably be inclined to answer both 'yes' and 'no'. Since the beginning of their journey, domestic platforms have been struggling to keep up with foreign OTT. But the unpopular truth is that despite making great strides with the times, they have not been able to keep up with the times. It remains a dream for domestic platforms to keep up with the quality and budget of foreign platforms' content. Although they can keep up with creativity, domestic platforms are still lagging behind in marketing, data analytics, and global marketing. Foreign OTTs create different strategies for each country, which is limited in the case of our domestic platforms. However, the hope is that Netflix or Hoichai is now getting Bangladeshi creators to create content, which is recognizing our talent in the international market. On the other hand, the general audience's passion for domestic content and the opportunity to understand their own culture are giving local advantages to the country's platforms. As a result, 'Charki' or 'Hoichai-Bangladesh' has created a specific audience segment with regular good content.

On the other hand, domestic platforms also have to face technological and infrastructural challenges. The mainstay of OTT is high-speed internet and advanced streaming technology. According to Ookla Speedtest, the internet speed in Bangladesh is still lower than the global average. It can be said that foreign platforms are quite ahead in terms of technology. Netflix's algorithm or interface is so smooth that a user can easily find the content of his choice. On the other hand, complaints of buffering problems, app crashes or weak search engines are often heard on domestic platforms. In addition, modern features like 4K resolution or Dolby Atmos sound are not yet fully implemented in domestic apps. Those concerned believe that closing the gap on these issues is now the biggest challenge for domestic platforms to survive in the competition.

However, whatever the outcome in terms of success or failure, it is needless to say that the country's OTT industry is now undergoing a transformation. Foreign platforms have brought challenges as well as opened the doors to the global market. If domestic OTTs can move forward by developing technology and clinging to their cultural roots, then only competitors