A US-based Telugu non-resident Indian, Kollu Raju, is all set to launch a new digital Over-The-Top (OTT) platform to stream the choicest movies. The audience can enjoy the film without having a paid subscription, and producers are not required to sell their digital rights.
In collaboration with his childhood friend Venkat Yeleti from Hyderabad, the Vijayawada-born and Boston-based technocrat is all prepared to launch this new OTT platform – Hit.movie.
‘Only the latest movies brought to you directly by their producers no monthly subscriptions just buy a ticket for the movie you like,’ reads the landing page of the HIT.
“It is a simple platform, whereon one can buy a ticket and watch a movie of his choice – on mobile or tablet or laptop or television or a home theatre. All that one has to have is an internet connection. One doesn’t have to subscribe to the platform, unlike in the case of other OTTs like Netflix, Amazon or Zee-5, wherein one has to take subscriptions monthly, half-yearly or annually,” Ranjit said while speaking to the Hindustan Times.
He said it is essentially a producer-friendly OTT platform, as they don’t have to sell their digital rights, as they have been doing with other OTTs, “They don’t need to give up their ownership rights and there are no middlemen,” he said.
The producers have to upload the master files of their films on the site, after filling up the movie details, paying the listing fees, and adding necessary Know Your Customer (KYC) documents. “After verifying the content, to ensure that it does not have any offensive content or porn, the film would be thrown open for streaming for the viewers within 72 hours,” he said.
Stating that the Hit.movie itself would take up the digital marketing and publicity for the films uploaded on the site, Ranjit said it could be streamed in over 150 countries. “It is for the producers to decide whether he wants the film to be streamed across the world, or a select few countries or only the native country,” he said.
Ranjit said the producers themselves would decide the ticket prices on this platform. “The revenue is shared between the producers and the OTT on a 70:30 basis. The producers will get real-time audit log of all ticket sales with a country-wise and date-wise breakup. We handle the tax payments and compliance on ticket sales in every country,” he said.
The producers can also opt for the pre-booking feature of their films on the Hit.movie platform to get part of their investments in advance before the movie hit the screens.
