MUMBAI: ’Tis the age of disruption and leading from the forefront is Star India. Even as media pundits have been shouting from rooftops about how over-the-top (OTT) platforms are poised to disrupt the Pay TV business, Star Plus has gone ahead and done the unthinkable.
In a first of sorts, the network is uprooting Star Plus’ youth fiction show Phir Bhi Na Mane Badtameez Dil from the channel and moving it exclusively to its OTT platform - hotstar.
The show will be available on hotstar exclusively from Monday, 28 September. New episodes of the show will be released every weekday morning.
Produced by Tequila Shot Productions’ Saurabh Tewary, Star Plus launched the show on-air on 29 June. It was being aired six days a week from Monday to Saturday in the 8.30 pm slot.
In an earlier interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Tewary had said that it would be a finite show with 300-350 episodes. "It is impossible to narrate a love story for ages and ages. Love stories are always finite shows and cannot be kept running for a longer period otherwise the show will lose its relevance and visibility," he had said.
While internationally, seasons of shows like House of Cards amongst others have been exclusively released on the online platform Netflix, India is just waking up to the OTT game. A few baby steps have been taken by Indian OTT players like Sony Liv, ErosNow, DittoTV etc to churn out innovative and exclusive original content for the platform. However, this is the first time that a show from a linear channel is being uprooted and put on an OTT platform.
Phir Bhi Na Maane… Badtameez Dil is a love story between a VJ and a business head. The story revolves around the two, who get separated because of their misunderstandings and the manipulations of others only to meet again after seven years to resolve unsettled issues.
Star India has taken this step keeping in mind the fan following that Phir Bhi Na Mane Badtameez Dil has attracted on hotstar amongst digital users in the 18-24 age group.
The OTT space in India is rapidly picking up pace with companies churning out innovations and exclusive content. With competition heating up amongst players, disruption will be the only way forward to stay ahead in the game.
