Kerala Launched India’s first government-owned OTT platform
Kerala launched India’s first government-owned OTT platform on, March 7. The platform named ‘CSpace’ has been launched with an objective of providing people-oriented meaningful infotainment and leveraging the enormous opportunities of the sector.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the OTT platform at Kairali Theatre on Thursday at 9.30 am.
CSpace is managed by Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), a state-owned company entrusted with the promotion of Malayalam cinema and industry, on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Kerala.
“CSpace is essentially a response to the growing imbalances and multifarious challenges in the OTT sector in terms of content selection and propagation,” said Sri Shaji N Karun, renowned film director and KSFDC Chairman at a press conference.
For selecting and approving the content, KSFDC has constituted a curator panel of 60 members, including eminent cultural personalities from the state, such as Santosh Sivan, Benyamin, OV Usha, Shyamaprasad, Sunny Joseph, and Jeo Baby.
Every content that is submitted to the platform will be evaluated by three curators from the panel for its artistic, cultural and infotainment merit. Only the content recommended by the curators will be showcased on the platform.
Shaji Karun said the curators have so far selected 42 films for the first phase of CSpace, including 35 feature films, six documentaries, and one short film. Films that have won awards at National or State Awards or have been exhibited in major film festivals, will also be shown.
Another distinctive feature of CSpace is transparency in its operations and the overall earning and the revenue share. The platform, which operates on a pay-per-view basis, allows viewers to watch a feature film for Rs 75 and shorter contents for a much lesser price. Exactly half of the amount charged goes to the content provider.
Shri K V Abdul Malik, MD, KSFDC, said the launch of the platform will address a major concern of the exhibitors and distributors of the film industry regarding their dwindling profits due to producers releasing their feature films directly on OTT Platforms.
“To accommodate their concerns, CSpace has decided to showcase only those feature films that have been released in cinema halls. Short films, documentaries and experimental films recommended by curators will also be made available on the platform,” he added.
