Majority against threats, intimidation of OTT actors, content creators: Survey

At a time when content generators on over-the-top (OTT) platforms are facing cases and the government moving ahead to issue guidelines on programmes streamed online, a survey has claimed that over 70 per cent of users deplore threats to actors and directors while three-fourth want to know more about the proposed regulations.

The survey by LocalCircles also showed that 76 per cent of the respondents among OTT users subscribe to two or more OTT platforms and 41 per cent of those surveyed relied on these platforms as their primary source of entertainment during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those surveyed were asked whether as a citizen of India, and consumer of OTT content, does the threats of death, intimidation and violence worry them. The survey said 58 per cent said “yes, quite a bit” while another 15 per cent said, “yes, somewhat”.

However, 12 per cent of users said, "no, doesn’t affect me much”, while 15 per cent said, “not at all”, and 3 per cent did not have an opinion.

Also read — Demand for regulation of contents on OTT platforms raised in Lok Sabha

"Many of the members who participated in the discussion on the subject said that such threats should have no place in the society and if they are not acted upon sternly and swiftly by law enforcement agencies, they will only increase over time. According to many OTT users, the concern or grievance of an individual or a group of individuals or an organisation must be raised through appropriate pre-defined government channels," the survey said.

Several programmes have come under criticism with a section claiming that their sentiments were hurt due to the programme. FIRs were recently registered in several states against the makers and actors of Saif Ali Khan-starrer Tandav following complaints that there were inappropriate depictions of UP Police personnel as well as a character playing the role of prime minister in the show. Earlier, a kissing scene in a temple premise in A Suitable Boy also triggered a controversy.

With Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar saying that his ministry is almost ready with the guidelines, 78 per cent of those surveyed said they would like to have more information about the proposed regulations.

Also read — Netflix, Amazon and others endorse self-regulation code: Report

At least 17 OTT platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney-Hotstar, SonyLiv, MX Player, Jio Cinema and Alt Balaji, have recently adopted a self-regulation code. Last week in Rajya Sabha, BJP's Mahesh Poddar had raised the issue of obscenity, indecent language and gender discrimination in OTT content.

"When the same was discussed by OTT users, some members were not in favour of any government regulation citing that the movies and shows on OTT platforms are a depiction of the society. There were others who disagreed. One area where OTT users agreed was the need for the code of regulation or conduct to define the content type in detail along with the rating. Some users cited the example of a few platforms where 18+ is accompanied with content description i.e. nudity, language, violence, etc. This will permit certain users to stay away from the content type they would rather not watch," the survey said.

The survey also threw interesting insights about sources of entertainment with 46 per cent saying TV channels were their primary sources while 41 per cent gave it to OTT platforms. There were around 3 per cent who said “videos downloaded from the Internet” but "interestingly, there were no votes for DVDs and VCDs", which suggests that the once-popular medium of entertainment has vanished from the modern living room.

It also attributed the increasing interest on OTT platforms to choice, convenience and high-quality content. The majority of 50 per cent said “choice and convenience” as the reason for choosing OTT while 31 per cent gave it to “high-quality content”. Ten per cent of consumers said “lower cost than other entertainment channels”.