Audience prefer mini-series for snackable and entertaining content in their fast-paced lives, say OTT players

With tough competition in the OTT world that is only increasing, streamers will have to look for a way to stay ahead. And mini-series might offer just that. Mini-series were a thing back in the 1970s and '80s. They were a popular format for cable networks and now with the advent of OTT platforms, the trend seems to have hit the internet. There has been a recent boom of mini-series that tells a story in a limited and predetermined number of episodes.  

At the 2021 Emmys, the Best Limited Series category was the one with the most competition. The category had all the shows of the last year like WandaVision, Mare of Easttown, and The Queen’s Gambit.  

Amazon has a different segment miniTV which offer a slate of fresh, trendy, and engaging entertainment across popular genres that include web series, comedy, award-winning short films, expert videos in tech, beauty, fashion and food. With the launch of Amazon miniTV, the Amazon app now provides a single destination for customers to shop and watch free entertainment videos with no paid subscription required. 

Harsh Goyal, Head of Amazon Advertising, miniTV, said, "Consumers today are busier than ever owing to the fast-paced lifestyle and hence seek instant gratification. This applies to their entertainment needs too. This is exactly what Amazon miniTV offers. Our customers in India are now spoilt for choice as we provide them with a vast library of snackable and entertaining content that they can watch on their mobile anytime, anywhere!" 

Mini-series offer a format that they can consume during their breaks and do not invest too much time into. "It also allows them to sample a lot more titles across multiple genres. Audiences now look forward to more and more of such stories that are packaged in a snackable format," he added. However, despite the different content duration, all the background work remain the same. "When it comes to scriptwriting, technical skills, precision and all other processes, the making of content remains similar, be it a mini-series or a full-length web series," he said. 

Netflix got into the miniseries business with their first original Scott Frank’s Godless that premiered in 2017. A Netflix spokesperson in India told OTTplay that streaming has brought in many innovations and experimentation in storytelling. Calling it a golden age of entertainment, the spokesperson said this is the best time for creators to tell the story of their choice, the way they want without any limitations on format or duration. "What matters is bringing the story to life in the most authentic way possible - whether it is a 90-minute feature film, a six-part mini-series or a collection of short films, that is, anthology," the spokesperson said. Anthology enables multiple storytellers to come together and share their unique perspectives on a subject while narrating stories in a short duration and tying them together thematically. 

The streaming giant has witnessed growing popularity for the format of the anthology in India. The OTT player has seen tremendous success for anthologies like Lust Stories, Ghost Stories, Ajeeb Daastaans, and our most recent release Ankahi Kahaniya to even regional stories such as Navarasa (Tamil), Pitta Kathalu (Telugu), and Paava Kadhaigal (Tamil). "In fact, our Tamil anthology film Navarasa, helmed by Mani Ratnam and Jayendra Panchapakesan was in the Top 10 in 10 countries including India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka. In its first week alone more than 40% of the viewers for the film were from outside India,” the spokesperson further said. Some of the popular mini-series on the platform are The Queen's Gambit, A Suitable Boy, Unbelievable, When They See Us and Wild Wild Country.  

Eros Now and Disney+Hotstar also have different segments erosnow quickie and Hotstar Quix respectively. Voot too offers original mini-series that you can binge-watch. However, when OTTplay got in touch with these platforms, they were unavailable for comments.