COVID, OTT play spoilsport for theatres in Hyderabad

Many old theatres in Hyderabad have become history due to a lack of patronage from audiences.

Recently, a popular theatre Amba which was located in Mehdipatnam has been demolished.

The COVID-19 outbreak coupled with Over-the-top (OTT) media service has significantly impacted the entire cinema industry.

While the pandemic had forced the theatres in Hyderabad and other parts of the country to remain shut, OTT proliferation has ensured the availability of quality content at nominal rates.

TOI quoted Narasimha Rao of Film Goers Association saying, “why will people pay the high ticket price to watch a movie when the same is available on OTT which can be watched multiple times at affordable rates”.

Hardly any audiences in theatres in HyderabadEarlier producers used to be confident that they would get a return of 50-70 percent. As there is no guarantee on audience now, they are finding it difficult to even arrange funds for advertisements

However, film analyst Prabhu said that although the COVID pandemic has played spoilsport for the cinema industry, people would watch the movie if the content is good. “Content is the king”, he added.

The future of theatres in Hyderabad and other parts of the country will be mainly decided by COVID-19 cases and OTT proliferation.

On Friday, eight movies were released in theatres in Hyderabad. However, there was hardly any audience. Siasat