The rise of comedy shows on OTT platforms has been a notable trend in recent years. Although there may not be a plethora of options in fictional comedy, standup specials and competitions are gaining popularity among audiences. Shows like Comicstaan, One Mic Stand, Comedy Premiere League (Indian), and international productions such as Chris Rock: Selective Outrage and Sommore: Queen Chandelier have garnered attention and praise.
Few comedians, who have tasted success on OTT, shares how the platform provided much-needed boost to the world of stand-up comedy and has also played a crucial role in advancing their careers. Others tells us how they do not see a future on OTT as the platforms have become very selective in terms of the artistes.
For popular stand-up comedian Anubhav Singh Bassi, YouTube and Instagram were enough to bring in new audience, but with OTT, there came an additional advantage. “The audience that watches you on OTT has the capacity to pay for entertainment and hence if they like you, they are willing to pay on your live shows as well. As a result of my OTT specials, I could increase the ticket prices for my live shows,” he shares, adding that he would never give up on YouTube because “It will pay me as long as the video is being watched, whereas OTT has a one-time payment system,” shares Bassi, who has recorded ‘Bas Kar Bassi’, a standup special for an OTT platform.
Comedian Kaneez Surkha, who was part of Comicstaan, talks about how being part of OTT shows helped her career with economics as well as in getting international recognition. “I have not tasted the level of success through YouTube that people talk about yet. However, OTT helped me earn legit good money. They paid us pretty much like a comedian gets paid in UK or US. Moreover, OTT has put me on the international map. Since I live in New York, having those credit (of being part of a big streaming giant) put me on the list of top comedians. Streaming platforms has made me popular worldwide.”
Not just that, Surkha shares how it allowed comedians like her to experiment with new concepts and come out with fresh ideas. “I got a chance to create two new formats for the shows Improv All Stars and The Improvisers: Something for Nothing. It made people familiar with the new style of comedy. And in turn, helped us grow as well,” she adds.
For comedian Shankar Ram Chugani, who recently completed 10 years in the industry, working on OTT brought in more credibility as compared to YouTube and Instagram. “There is enough crowd watching us on social media platforms, but this is different. It is kind of a big deal to have a show on a platform with loyal subscribers,” says the finalist of Comicstaan, and goes on to explains.
“Recording a video yourself and putting it out on your channel requires a lot of time, effort and most importantly consistency, which I think gets difficult for me. I do not have the bandwidth to do live shows and take care of social media at the same time. So OTT is like a marketing tool, where you go, perform, get paid and also earn popularity,” he adds.
While there are many advantages of the platform and it has helped in reviving the careers of many, comedians also point out how the scene has changed a lot in the last few years. Gaurav Kapoor, a Delhi-based comedian, shares how major boost came in 2017-18 and when OTT platforms did 15-20 stand-up specials and competitions and money came along with it. “However, after that, only the best ones (comedians) remained and continued to do specials whereas the new comedians stopped getting the chance,” says Kapoor. Surkha also agrees with him and adds, “Comedy was one of the first genres that caught the attention of OTT platforms and they got hold of our subscribers by bringing us to the platform, which I think was a very smart move. But now, they have become more selective. I don’t think they are experimenting anymore. It can be because fiction shows are bringing them more numbers.”
Bassi goes on to share how comedy can flourish on OTT if it tries to come up with new ideas. “If OTT works on creating shows that give a boost to standup comedians but are different from the conventional standups, there is a bright future of comedy. It can be podcasts, talk shows etc like it happens in the west,” he says.
Kapoor, who has done OTT show Hahakaar, a culmination of 50 minutes of random jokes and stories, adds to it, “Change in formats of the shows is required on OTT because at the moment, they are only focusing on standups and the attention span of people is very less now. 1.5 hour long stand up specials may not work anymore, unless they are extraordinary. That’s why, I prefer to put my special in four parts on YouTube.”
Even Surkha speaks about taking the YouTube route as she believes it will get her more traction. “After working on OTT, I think I will release my next special on YouTube. First, because it will help me get more reach and second, I can keep track of the views it has garnered, which OTT does not disclose
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