Disney Hotstar, Zee5 to the rescue of Tollywood?
With international digital brands like Netflix and Amazon Prime reportedly cutting down on their Telugu intake, Disney Hotstar and Zee5 set to revive the support for Telugu movies. “It truly is a worrisome situation in Tollywood and we wish Hotstar and Zee would increase their intake,” says a leading producer and explains, “Honestly, star-studded films are largely dependent on funds from these brands as they reduce the burden of a producer. For instance, a big producer recovers his investment via audio, and satellite, besides Hindi dubbing rights and digital rights. So if top digital platforms cut down their intake then it would be tough for filmmakers to make big-ticket movies,” he laments and cites the enormous viewership of these OTT platforms in 200-odd countries.
However, another top producer asserts that Disney Hotstar and Zee 5 are planning to revive the financial support to Telugu movies. “Hotstar and Zee Studios are willing to procure Telugu movies since they understand the reach of Telugu movies these days. In fact, Zee is determined to pump in more money into Tollywood and back big ticket films in the days to come,” he informs.
Actually, Netflix and Amazon Prime used to procure big Telugu movies with crores of rupees and helped the producers to dish out more films. “Top brands used to procure Telugu movies with anywhere between Rs 15 to 40 crore per film and helped Telugu producers to make more movies. Actually, cash-rich OTT giants together earmark Rs 250 to 300 crores per year for procuring content from Tollywood. After they reduced content-procurement, It became difficult for producers to make films with young and middle-aged heroes and now they would launch movies, if they get positive signals from digital giants. In the midst, Disney Hotstar bought a few Telugu movies and kept the show running,” he concludes.