#What Is an OTT Platform?

[binaryinformatics01]

So you have a great idea for an over-the-top or OTT media service and want to build your own streaming platform. Kudos to you for thinking big! But before you dive in headfirst, you’re probably wondering about the costs involved. Developing an OTT platform is no small feat and can cost a pretty penny. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this guide, we’ll walk you through all the factors that determine how much does an OTT platform development cost in India so you can budget properly and turn your idea into a reality.

[bolllywoodhungama]

Emma Thompson on collaborating with Shekhar Kapur on What's Love Got To Do With It: "He's very playful"

What's Love Got To Do With It?, directed by Shekhar Kapur, will be released on Lionsgate Play on November 10th. Creating relationships that can never be broken! What's Love Got To Do With It? is a cultural melting pot in which two families from radically different backgrounds come together to share the richness of their culture. What's Love Got To Do With It?, starring Emma Thompson, Lily James, and Shabana Azmi, will launch on Lionsgate Play on November 10th. This family film depicts the profound subtleties of arranged marriage in a way never seen before.

The film, directed by Shekhar Kapur, follows Zoe Stevenson (Lily James) as she investigates the nuances of love while attending her best friend's arranged marriage. Will Cath (Emma Thompson) find true love despite her mother's unwavering support? "He's very playful," Emma Thompson said of working with Shekhar Kapur. And yet, for him, the most essential thing is connections... individuals forging connections. So connecting these folks in a lighthearted way is his tremendous joy. He'll throw us all on the set and say, 'Well, okay, just respond to one another.' He'll give us a lot of wiggle room. And he recognizes that we can all accomplish it. That's why he's gathered such an impressive group." "He's extremely respected, famous, and well known in his own part of the world and here, so he's put together this marvellous cast, and he's very, very good at creating an atmosphere in which we can play," she continued. Also, he enjoys working with us, which is not true of all directors."

[zigraves]

Liking a post says you liked it, or maybe it’s a personal post by a friend and you want to just quietly acknowledge it to them. Maybe you can find it again later in your likes if you want to share it. It’s NOT mandatory.

Reblogging is sharing it with everyone who happens across your blog. Reblogging is a good thing to do for sharing and promoting things you want to share and promote, or things you like enough to keep on your blog for other people to happen across as well. It’s NOT mandatory. 

The OTT extreme language I’m seeing used to try and guilt-trip people into constant reblogging isn’t healthy. It’s what happens when you’ve had your brain poisoned by the commodification of hobbies and start treating everyone who’s not actively promoting your brand as some kind of enemy. Nobody who sees something in passing and finds it mildly interesting or generally appealing or whatever is obligated by blood-debt to then also recommend it to all their friends and promote it to everyone who happens by. It’s not an act of violence to not reblog. Stop calling people murderers when this is just about posting on our stupid little blogging platform.

You can reblog this if you want. Or not. It’s fine. It’s your blog. It’s your internet experience. You can curate it how you want to. You should curate it how you want to.

[levyfiles]

is it just me or is this kinda not a good idea?

I think it's a gamble. And like anyone who cares about something deeply, watching it take a high-stakes gamble can be terrifying.

What I think people don't take into consideration is just how flooded their recent youtube videos have been with scammy sponsors and cheap fast-product get-rich-quick scheming vendors. Sure, their writers and producers made it fun by adding some really excellent characters to the mix, but I wouldn't touch a thing like Mistplay if you paid me as much as they paid Watcher for their video. However, the thing is, look around at all the youtubers you know who are up and coming. You can't make it on that platform without advertising trash to your audience.

With the vimeo OTT program, i believe there is a shared revenue and more incentive to promote more simple dedicated engagement; it's not ad sense clicks; it's just clicks. It's a soft start and there are going to be some kinks to work out but if they get to control their brand more and decide what gets made without needing some nu-venture, cash hungry sponsor to look at it, then I think they could change media online for the better.

Having said all that, the execution? Not their best. Watcher--listen, I love them so much--has had a consistent and terminal administrative problem and that means stuff falls through the cracks. From a communicative standpoint, when you're about to take your company in a controversial direction, you should know two things.

The backlash! You gotta get ahead of it. You need your PR team on the go a MONTH before launch

Always soft launch a big move. Get your feelers out for how people react especially if you don't have the kind of shark PR person who would know already that people don't respond well to paying for something they didn't used to pay for.

Watcher is still a baby company in so many forms and I will wholeheartedly support their move to do what they can to keep control of their creative content today and in the future. I'm not in their offices so I can't make as prescriptive a judgement as Twitter feels emboldened to about capitalism and greed or whoever they think their audience is however I can and will say that with any form of growth, the growing pains are going to show. i'll give them grace as they pivot and figure out how best to move forward especially with the volume of vitriol the internet loves to spew when they feel entitled to art forms that used to be free.

I'll say it again. At least we're no longer having garbage peddled at us regardless how much I crave Fabian Sax biblically.

[ineffable-opinions]

BL “Censorship” & Commercialization

Content: 1. ubiquitous censorship - special focus on Japanese BL 2. commercial viability of live action BL & generalizations 3. solutions - special focus on state support of Thai BL

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Censorship is a sensitive topic. I have tried my best. Please feel free to comment and critique.

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History of Korean BL is one of censorship and commercialization and Korean fu-people has struggled against both. There have been different victors at different points in time. Aljosa Puzar’s "BL"(Boy Love), "GL"(Girl Love) and Female Communities of Practice and Affect in South Korea chronicles that struggle. (Highly recommended.)

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I have tried to problematize BL commercialization before. But that was in the context of fu-culture and the commodity fetishism associated with the consumption of BL, particularly in live action form which is probably its most capitalist rendition for many many reasons.

Here I would like to look at it from another angle: censorship. This is a continuation of my earlier post (Why so many shonen ai live-action?) motivated by the live action adaptation of ‘조폭인 내가 고등학생이 되었습니다’ (I, A Gangster, Became a High School Student) by 호롤 (Ho Rol).

The live action has jumped genres switching from BL to 판타스틱 휴먼 드라마 (lit. fantasy human drama). This switch got it tagged as ‘Censored Adaptation of Same-sex Original Work’ on My Drama List. I personally don’t like that tag. Almost all BL adaptation is a censored adaptation, with notable exceptions like Sei no Gekiyaku. But no one uses that tag for, say, 25 Ji, Akasaka de (2024) which censored all sexual content, especially from the volume 1 of the manga which was critical to the story and the couple’s development in the original manga series’ and its multiple adaptations’ popularity. Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (2024) went as far as removing the more sexual second couple from the live action adaptation all together, yet it does not get a "censored" tag.

An interesting question that the controversy surrounding High School Return of a Gangster (2024) has sparked is that of BL media’s commercial viability, especially in live action form. Here’s what producers told the Korean newspaper, Hankook Ilbo, about the genre-jumping:

"BL 장르는 제작비 투자나 리쿱(제작비 회수)에 한계가 있는 게 사실이다. 그러다 보니 처음부터 이 작품은 브로맨스로 해보고 싶었다"

“The BL genre is limited in terms of investment in production costs and recoup (recovery of production costs). So, from the beginning, we planned it as a bromance (beulomaenseu).”

The author of this article cites examples of works that enjoyed success on OTT platforms, namely Watcha’s Semantic Error and TVing's Unintentional Love Story (2023). However, the article also highlights the fact that BL continues to be a niche genre and live action adaptations don’t guarantee success.

이성택 (Lee Seong Taek), the director of High School Return of a Gangster, previously directed the BL Love Class (2022). The producer 넘버쓰리픽쳐스 (Number Three Pictures Co., Ltd.) have BL works like Unintentional Love Story under its belt.

'Unintentional Love Story' Director Jang Eui-soon (장의순) | source

If the producer of one of the two most popular live action BL is admitting to it, then it is not easy to dismiss the issue of commercial viability of live action BL.

Very famous BL publishing houses (starting with JUNE) and hosting platforms with relatively lower expenses have struggled. Some of them are no more. It is also difficult for authors to survive merely on earnings from publishing houses and hosting platforms, especially when those platforms are not very rich. So, it is not difficult to imagine that live action production houses also struggle to survive.

Take GMMTV for example. They are probably one of the most successful BL producers. According to their managing director, BL content (series) is not a profitable business in itself. They rely on khujin (branded pairs) of actors to bring in advertisement revenue, merchandize sales, and pull crowds to concerts and fan-meets. It is not enough for actors to just act. They are expected to sing, dance and perform. Meanwhile, GMMTV is forced to keep working with these actor pairs and stick to templates that suit them. While it works for now, it remains to be seen how long the business model can last.

Now there is also investment from Mainland China that has migrated to other BL producers following dangai ban. But those who invest already burned themselves pretty bad with all the money they poured in during the short-lived but explosive dangai boom. It is sunk cost at this point. Another crack down could be the death knell for Chinese investments in BL. 

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More generally, it is likely that commercial viability of a live action BL project hinges on the following:

#1 Target demographic

Like all other BL content, live action too is primarily targeted at fu-people (BL audience) – both queer and non-queer. The target demography is further sub-divided based on the type of BL and purchasing power.

Sweeter ones are supposed to appeal to all ages and that’s the area Thailand and GMMTV in particular are focused on. Most of Japanese BL series are sweet. Korea too produces sweet BL. However, they are unlikely to bring in explosive success the way odo BL (those following royal road narrative progression – wherein characters face significant challenges, interpersonal or otherwise, to reach happy ending).

Older and, perhaps more hard-core fans, are likely to support jado works (BL that follow the evil path where neither happy ending nor resolution to challenges are guaranteed) with surprising frequency. This might be partly due to the erotic content in jado works.

Purchasing power of BL fans vary widely. There are those who are

“sending gifts to their actors in Thailand, sending food trucks to their shooting locations, putting up billboard advertisements and doing charity events [as well as] ordering merchandise in bulk.”

They also travel to BL producing nations [on fan pilgrimages] and attend fan meetings, concerts and other events regularly.

(Source: The Print)

The other group of BL fans who are probably younger and/or can’t afford to show support in the above-mentioned ways. BL commercially benefits from being appealing to those with higher purchasing power.

#2 Popularity of original work in case of adaptation  

Popular BL novels, manhwa, etc. bring in a set of fans who are interested in the live action. Longer and more-acclaimed works are likely to ensure success of the live action given decent making and reasonable changes during adaptation. Semantic Error is a case in point. However, missteps during adaptation can have the opposite effect.

#3 Cost of production

It is difficult to get investment in the first place, especially with how niche the genre is. Moreover, higher cost of production sets the bar for success higher too.

On the other hand, high production quality and better cast and crew (likely more expensive too) makes the viewing more pleasurable and increases the likelihood of success.

There are other factors which influence the success of BL producers. The most popular BL live action from China, Addicted, was produced by the author, Chai JiDan, with a tiny budget. Its dangai family drama remake, Stay with Me, also has an interesting producer.

Source | Mame with her Japanese fans

Orawan Vichayawannakul’s MeMindY is another BL author led production company that has enjoyed considerable success.

OP Pictures’ entry into BL genre has also been successful.

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Solutions

#1 Let’s start with the worst

BL as money laundering vehicle. It is probably the most obvious, sort of win-win until it isn’t. Sustainability depends how much skin the ruling class have in the game.

#2 State sponsorship

(or better yet, tax payer supported BL production)

State sponsorship is what Thailand has perfected.

source | 2023 seminar on "Beyond Borders: Exploring the Global Appeal and Diversity of Thailand's Boys' Love Contents" by 9 companies from Thailand organized by Department of International Trade Promotion under Thailand’s Ministry of Trade.

The eleven speakers, including an official from the Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy in Japan, vigorously pitched partnerships with Japanese content companies [at the above-mentioned seminar.]

Also, several of the companies pitching at the seminar, such as Star Hunter Entertainment […] were plumping for BL not as a niche product but rather a core element of their corporate strategy.

Halo Productions representative Tewarat Supunnium [trumpeted] the vertical integration of his company, from talent representation to contents distribution.

source

Thai BL has been big hits in China, South Korea, Japan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and beyond, which has motivated Thailand’s government to ‘deploy Boys Love as its latest soft power weapon to promote the country on the global stage’. In an article published in The Nation, BL director, Bundit Sintanaparadee, explains how that affects production.

He pointed out that the international popularity of Thai shows can boost tourism and generate interest in the featured locations – a vital aspect of soft power. The government can facilitate this process by providing support and streamlining the bureaucratic obstacles to filming in attractive locations like Bangkok’s Chinatown district of Yaowarat.

Filming in iconic places such as Yaowarat can be costly and complicated due to the need to coordinate with multiple government agencies and pay location fees. Bundit said the government could simplify the process to benefit not just filmmakers but also tourist revenue in the locations.

Bundit also cautioned against a top-down approach to soft power, where the government dictates what represents Thailand on the world stage. He emphasises the need for industry professionals to have their say.

source

In a 2022 article, Bangkok Post explores the impact of BL on Thailand’s economy ‘as export products that can draw lucrative revenue streams and foster business opportunities in other areas, including tourism.’

[According to government estimates from 2021,] Thailand's Y content market was worth more than 1 billion baht... In June that year, the Department of International Trade Promotion held an online Y content business matching event to boost the industry, with the participation of 10 Thai content creators. More than 360 million baht was generated from the purchase of the Thai content, with the top three buyers coming from Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Noppharnach Chaiyahwimhon, GMMTV's senior director of content production, said [that the] business ecosystem linked to Y Series in Thailand shows a growth of 30-40% per year. [He also said that] Y Series can also be a boon for other businesses, such as films, artist management and merchandise. [He mentioned] Y Series from Thailand [getting] translated into several languages [and one of their Y Series having received theatrical adaptation in South Korea.]

[According to] Kanokporn Prachayaset, chief commercial officer and country manager of WeTV Thailand, … Y Series from Thailand is one of the most popular content genres on its platform. [Half of all the BL content on the platform was Thai.] WeTV [was] sourcing Y Series from Asia as well as having its own WeTV original shows by working with various local production houses, such as GMMTV, TV Thunder, Dee Hup House, M Choice Studio and All This Entertainment. [She also highlighted the contribution of the fan base, which is] active in organising activities and campaigns for their idols.

Seksan Sripraiwan, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) Tokyo office, said the TAT and the Royal Thai Embassy have actively promoted the country by using Thai entertainment [and that] Thai BL content is considered one of the most popular recent cultural exports to Japan. Japan's market for Thai BL is around 1 million viewers, of which 20,000-30,000 are heavily active on social media sites for renowned BL actors, led by Bright-Win and Krist-Singto. He said Japanese tour operators already offered tailor-made tour packages which contain elements related to BL TV series, such as shooting locations like universities, cafes, Wat Arun or the Amphawa floating market.

Kanokkittika Kritwutikon, director of the TAT Chengdu office, said Thai BL TV shows have gained popularity in China, such as the coming-of-age series "I Told Sunset About You", which helped drive tourists to Phuket, the main location of the story.

"Most Chinese BL fans are millennial females who can offer long-term support for their favourite actors," Mrs Kanokkittika said. [Recognizing the 3 million strong queer population of Chongqing,] she said the LGBT segment could be categorised as luxury travellers as they are high-income earners, live in key cities, and want to spend more for travel experiences.

source

Earlier this year Ministry of Commerce have partnered with Be On Cloud and Idol Factory to promote ‘Thai products, services, tourism, and culture by incorporating them seamlessly into’ their new series “Shine” and “Pin Phak” aka “The Loyal Pin” respectively.

“This will help create around 2 billion in value for Thailand’s economy,” said Commerce Minister Phumtham.

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and two actresses, Becky and Freen, witness the signing ceremony between the Ministry of Commerce and Idol Factory Co., Ltd. on February 28, 2024....

According to the Department of International Trade Promotion, the Thai movie and series sector and related industries will generate 8,000 million baht in exports by 2023. In 2024, it will likely reach 10,000 million baht, particularly in the Y-movie and Y-series, which are expected to expand in value from 1,000 million baht to 2,000 million baht as a result of the Ministry of Commerce’s proactive cooperation with the private sector.

source

The Thai government’s efforts are paying off.

Oramon Sapthaweetham, director-general of the Department of Business Development, revealed that the Boys’ Love series had helped revitalise the film production industry, generating substantial profits and extending economic benefits to allied sectors, such as advertising, leveraging actors as influencers, event organisation, and tourism. 

"Over the past 10 years, Thailand has produced over 177 Boys’ Love [series], continuously gaining popularity and expanding its customer base, eventually leading to exports to international markets," Oramon added.

The film production industry in Thailand is witnessing substantial growth. In the first four months of 2024, 56 new businesses were registered, marking a 12% increase from 2023. The total registered capital also saw a significant rise of 146.44% to 195.18 million baht. In 2023, the industry grew by 20% with 137 businesses and a capital of 258 million baht. The total revenue in 2022 was 12.895 billion baht, indicating a continuous growth trend.

source

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#3 Diversification

Ok, so this is based on my limited knowledge and imagination. Feel free to skip.

There are two production companies that I have ever been interested in - Bhavana Studios and Mammootty Kampany. Both of them have produced experimental Malayalam movies while managing to remain commercially successful. While is partially attributable to these companies being brands, I think their overall strategy of diversification have worked in their favour.

Mammootty Kampany could produce art-house movie Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam for award circuits and with no expectation of commercial performance by banking on their other production Kannur Squad which was action entertainer sure to bring in the big bucks. Their queer family drama Kaathal – The Core and neo-noir psychological thriller Rorschach did exceptionally well in the box office as well as garnered critical acclaim. Bhavana Studios has similar track record of their commercially successful projects kind of cross subsidizing their experimental and unique projects and lifting the heat off in case of flops.

Having production companies which are aspirational in their approach to BL while having the economics sorted out help where government support is not forth coming.

Censorship as No-thing

When sometime is truly censored, we wouldn’t know. Unless we ask. Here’s what Jooyin Saejang learned from asking.

Conclusion

I have a strong preference for live action adaptations that are willing to go the last mile in terms of sexual content, social critiques and addressing real-life issues. That’s the reason why the header image for this BL side blog is from Moothon (2019).

But realistically this isn’t always possible. And I prefer having more production companies offering variety. I don’t want them to sink under the weight of BL that didn’t do well commercially and me being left at the mercy of media conglomerates with seemingly bottomless funds and monopsony over BL authors, original works and the culture that creates them.

Also, there is queer content from Korean that is neither mainstream nor from fu-culture. Support those.

[hopeidontgetaddictedtothis]

The worst possible platform

From what I've heard, Watcher TV is being hosted on Vimeo. This means the folks on Watcher Entertainment probably purchased Vimeo's Enterprise option, a tier being offered to organisations. Now, this is really bad for many reasons.

In the past 10 years, Vimeo has become incredibly user-unfriendly and increasingly expensive. It has become so notorious to filmmakers that they've been actively looking for alternatives.

There are also countless horror stories about how filmmakers and Patreon creators got hit with unexpected Vimeo price hikes. For instance, one user reported that Vimeo raised their rate that they were grandfathered into by 256% with only 45 days notice!! And in the Verge article below, one artist said she got hit with a bill of $,3,500 USD.

So, the Watcher will host their videos on a notoriously expensive and inefficient platform and make their fans pay for it.

And to put more salt on the international fans' wounds, Vimeo OTT actually offers support for regional pricing! The seller can add and adjust individual prices per region. Had the Watcher team used this feature, it could have been incredibly helpful for the international fans because the exchange rate makes the $6 USD drastically different, as many have pointed out. There is a more detailed overview on VImeo being their chosen platform on in a thread from Watcher's subreddit.

[yuseirra]

Hi there, lovely artist! Do you watch the oshi no ko anime? I ask because I wondered if you are excited to see their depiction of Hikaru, because you make such lovely art of him (it's a depiction I quite like :)). It made me wonder if you have some kind of expectations for the anime.

I'm personally very excited to see Hikaru animated and voice acted :D

Hello anon~ thanks for calling me lovely!♥ I love getting complimented!

Oh! I watched the first 2 eps of the second season, then I decided to put off watching it for a while (I can always buy it in our local OTT platform, they have it there!) because the manga... ;v; is already making my head spin so much already. I can only focus on one thing at a time... It was SO good though!!// I remember how the first episode started with stage-play, which was very impressive. The opening animation sequence is amazing too! I'd like to binge it all at once later.

Hmm...about expectations, I personally consider the current arc to be great in terms of depicting Aqua's psychology. It was peak in terms of helping us understand his character, so I appreciate that a lot. We get to see all his pains and trauma and the struggles he had, and it was so powerful. I'm sure the anime would be touching on those currently, if they do a great job with that (along with Akane's rivalry with Kana and how they shine on stage in different ways) I feel I'd be happy with it! Also that scene with Melt. I'm sure that one's been animated because I saw a thumbnail of it on youtube. I'm also looking forward to the aqukana date. That's one of the few peaceful, cute moments we have. I'm sure I'd watch that part the moment it comes out because I'm curious how that's going to be acted out.. and I need to see some happy moments in onk for once. Stuff's been depressing in the manga lately and I feel sorry for a lot of characters;;

OH... thank you!// I'm so happy to hear you like my depiction of him!!/// That gives me strength. Yeah, I'm excited too, because we never saw his color palettes yet, haven't we!! It's going to be all over the internet once it's out, won't it...I'm a little worried if I got it way off.. but I'm prepared to take what they give us! The anime team does the series justice. I trust they will come up with something good. I just mentioned I'd watch the aqukana dating scene as it comes out.. well, that scene with hikaru's also a scene I want to watch (and I NEED to in order to get his color schemes right in the future 'cause I draw! o<-<)

I really want him to get a bright color palette, because his name has to do with both "god" and "light"... or the god of light if combined.. I SERIOUSLY believe he HAS to do with amenouzume, the entertainment god's husband!! That god conveniently is said to have a "shining body" and is called the god of the bright lights!!!! There is no way that has nothing do do with him!! I don't really picture him with dark eyes, I feel golden eyes would really suit him because that gives off the "light" imagery and it'd make sense. It'd also be able to make his black star eyes really stand out as he has them.. and I feel he'd make a good contrast with Ai if he's colored a bit brighter than Aqua or Ruby. purple and yellow contrast each other very well! So I'm crossing my fingers for that to happen. Same here, I'm really curious how he'd sound like, and I'm happily awaiting to see his depiction in the anime. Since I drew a lot of things about him already, I'd be a bit embarrassed if happened to get his colors off... but?? It's the colors I really want. So I won't regret having colored him that way. We can all dream, right!

I drew them upon having received your ask!

it'd be really nice if he has these bright colors that contrasts Ai's dark purple. Saying this again because I really want that to happen ;v;)9999

I get chatty, I hope you can feel my excitement! :) This series makes me both so nervous and excited... I guess it will be like that for awhile.

Let's keep having fun together! I appreciate your ask and I hope you have a fun weekend!

[grimrester]

i lied! i did big fibs, i have more to say about the watcher situation after all. some assorted thoughts:

1. i'm a little surprised at just how big the rift is in the fandom post-apology. if i go into the tag, it literally alternates between "you guys are twisted sickos for bullying them into walking back the new platform" and "you guys are major chumps for accepting the apology and my trust is permanently damaged." this is a fandom that previously seemed pretty monolithic to me as an outsider, so i wonder if this will have long term implications for the sustainability of their fandom.

2. they said there'd be a "free subscription" to the platform for patreon supporters. makes sense, since their patreon tiers are mostly more expensive than the watchertv sub. this was presented as an indefinite sub dependent on continuing to pay their patreon, but patrons are receiving emails saying the sub is actually only for 3 free months. i'm like 90% sure this is the same kind of situation where they encouraged password sharing even though the platform doesn't enable it. they once again just seem to not fucking know what the vimeo ott platform they're using is capable of doing. they have to stop making statements like this until they get a better understanding of it because it's continuing to make them look bad.

3. there are multiple reports on reddit that at least ryan and sara (shane's spouse) are deleting comments on their instagram. look, i get it, some of the things people are saying are downright vile. the pointed targeting of steven and the borderline fanfic-writing quality of some of the theories about what went down interpersonally on the team during this decision is fucking weird at best and racist/invasive at worst. furthermore, i dont think making comments on personal instagrams is a good way to be heard. but on the other hand, controlling what people say on your platform right after you made a "we hear you" statement is really bad optics. obviously i think they have a right to delete anything that's outright bigoted, but it seems like they're deleting anything decidedly negative.

4. some of the comments getting deleted are about potential "fake" or "plant" patrons trying to skew the narrative positively on the watcher patreon. i frankly think this is unfounded conspiracy shit until i see substantial proof, but deleting these comments in particular without responding can cause some straight up streisand effect. this can really quickly start snowballing if they make it look like they don't want anyone talking about it. overall i just don't know if they understand just how much they're under the microscope right now. i didn't have to search very much to dig this stuff up - people are watching and documenting them. i think the variety article revealing they did initially intend to remove their backlog and them trying to pretend they didn't walk that back has caused a lot of people to hyper-inspect their every move. they're already in the youtube drama content cycle, and they risk someone making a blowout exposé if they aren't careful.

[curiosity-kills-literally]

DON'T VOTE FOR MODI. PLEASE!!!

I am having to make an effort at writing a coherent post instead of just screaming. Please don't vote for Modi.

He is not a saviour. He is not a God.

Here's what he is: A terrified extremist who has to maim the mainstream media to keep his support, who NEEDS to plunder the Hindu Muslim divide in India, and spread hate and fear about communities that can very peacefully coexist, in order to gain people's support, to be seen as an saviour for upper caste Hindus in India. He needs to shut down the internet, so many times that India had the largest internet shutdowns in the past year, to shut the voices of people. He is the leader of the party that drafted a bill that would maintain stringent control over OTT platforms, the only free and accessible source for information in India at this point, AFTER THEY SUSPENDED 140 MEMBERS OF OPPSN. Who maintains silence over protesters of his own country being attacked by tear gasses and pellets, who welcomes RAPISTS into his party.

And a lot of his actions suggest that he will bring dictatorship in India.

Here's what a lot of you are going to say: OMG, what is the other opinion, Rahul 'Pappu' Gandhi? Well, sorry to inform you guys, but India (fortunately) is not a two party system. It is a MULTIPARTY nation. There are a lot many options. vote for your MP's, who you think will have your voices heard.

[sophiebiikes]

okay so as we all know, the watcher situation is Not Great. and i don’t see it getting any better anytime soon, even with the live show taking place in like 24 hours.

their new platform is w vimeo ott and since they’re already promoting it, have a url, have (most likely) moved their content over to it, what’s done is done. plus they wouldn’t make a (needlessly dramatic) announcement video without it being finalized. i’m sure vimeo has an airtight contract where they have to use their platform for a specific amount of time (my guess is the shortest possible amount of time is one year but i have a hunch that watcher signed for more than that). and if they don’t use the new platform, they lose money. it’s a lose-lose situation that could easily have been avoided.

it’s incredibly disappointing to see them take this route and it’s not gonna be fun for their fans (myself included) to watch this end horribly. i’m sure they did this to avoid layoffs or other financial cutbacks but judging how the reaction is, i don’t see how they’re going to maintain enough subs to stay viable.

basically what i’m trying to say is that a. their content wasn’t that scandalous (imo) to have warranted leaving advertisers behind and b. regardless of what the fan reaction is on this tour (👀), this is what’s happening

also why not have a youtube membership that makes the most sense come on man

[hotwaterandmilk]

Paripi Koumei/Ya Boy Kongming drama eps 2-3

After proving himself worthy of being Eiko's strategist, Kongming helps her not only out-perform event rivals Jet Jacket, but quickly works at finding a rapper to elevate her appeal.

Plot-wise the gist of these episodes is the same as the arcs in the manga (and anime) with Kongming using his tactics to outsmart Jet Jacket while still offering them an olive branch at the end of the day. KABEtaijin is then introduced as a rapper struggling to find his confidence after having succumb to stagnation following an on-stage incident.

What makes the drama stand out while covering the same ground as previous incarnations of the story is how it recognises in its 44-minute episode length it has time to play around with the setting and characters.

So instead of having a scene in the back office of BB Lounge involve Kobayashi, Kongming and Eiko just standing around talking we have Kobayashi riding the faux horse we spotted last episode for the majority of the scene. It is ridiculous and exactly what a TV show needs to break up moments that work well in a manga but could potentially drag in live action.

Rather than being a shot-for-shot remake of the manga, the drama leans into comedy with us actually following Kongming around properly as he surveils his targets in episodes 2 and 3. The absurdity of this man dressed as he is while trying to be subtle and also film on a smartphone is genuinely funny. However, the show never fails to underscore the lead's lighthearted ways by showing his past actions as fragments of a bold historical melodrama and it really, really works.

But Kongming isn't the only character to benefit from the way the drama embraces its unique perspective. We get to see a bit more of RYO from Jet Jacket and get a greater feel for his motivations. We get some genuinely hilarious doco segments with Maezono Keiji that establish his ego and single-mindedness long before (I assume) we get to meet him properly.

Even the moments that ARE straight out of the manga are translated to screen well, like KABEtaijin's encounter with Kongming at the laundromat. You can completely understand why KABEtaijin freaks out, but it's hard to ignore just how utterly silly it all is.

The third episode ends just before Kongming forces KABEtaijin's hand and begins their rap battle. And yes, before you ask, Kongming did ride in on something OTT (like he did in the manga):

Perhaps not as OTT as his ride in the manga, but I can't fault this show for how it has spent its budget. Not only does everything look top notch, the amount of care that has been spent on producing the performers in the show is amazing. For example, their releases are featured on all major streaming platforms and Jet Jacket got a proper MV for 'MID DAY'. They didn't have to go to this much effort but they did and that really adds another layer to the drama. It features the same characters and story we already know, but it still manages to hit different.

Things I didn't like

I still feel like Eiko is the weakest part of the drama. Kamishiraishi Moka isn't a bad actor and her singing as EIKO is solid, there's just a real low-energy feel to this version of Eiko that I had hoped would go away after the first episode. It's a shame, as I mentioned in my post about the first drama ep, I love Eiko in the anime and manga so I was fully expecting to love her in the drama too but she is still falling flat for me idk.

The throat-healing concoction that Kongming shares with Jet Jacket has a whole preparation scene that felt really unnecessary? Like oooh look at him brewing this ancient, weird, stinky broth. The drink has the same effect as the manga/anime versions but the whole prep scene didn't work for me.

I won't say it was bad, because I liked the idea of it being adapted for the drama but Kongming house hunting alone didn't work nearly as well as the manga version with Eiko did. Without her there to sort of balance him out or even to help add a bit of context (suggesting he stop living at BB Lounge with Kobayashi) means I'm not sure if the ultimate punchline (his staying put after driving the real estate agent batshit) will work as well. I'm willing to see where this goes though, if they decide to continue it as a minor plot thread or just decide to have him never leave BB. Either way, I think the manga got it right the first time with this.

Stuff I did like

I thought the official Twitter account was exaggerating when they said we'd see a more gentle side to Kobayashi in the drama, but they really have made an effort to humanise the guy a bit more and I'm absolutely here for it. While the manga acknowledges that Kobayashi is a decent guy, a lot of his character there remains tied up in explaining and reacting to the revelation of Kongming's tactics.

The drama doesn't opt for Kobayashi holding a stray rabbit during the Jet Jacket performance per the manga, but it does have a few little things he does which help add depth to his relationship with other characters. When Eiko is lamenting he gently punches her head, he looks up at Kongming for approval with his Three Kingdoms asides more than once, and I did really like this exchange between the two when Kongming admits his past mistakes as they drink together.

Overall these were two more great episodes in a drama series that is shaping up to be a more than adequate take on the source material. Bring on the rest of the eps!

[docrotten]

THE HOUSE OF SEVEN CORPSES (1974) – Episode 228 – Decades of Horror 1970s

“Cut it. Cut it, cut! I said you were supposed to be going into a trance, not an orgasm. Let’s try it again with a little more restraint this time. That’s today’s secret word. Restraint!” Well, you’re no fun anymore. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Bill Mulligan, Chad Hunt, and Jeff Mohr – as they try to figure out what is going on in The House of Seven Corpses (1974).

Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 228 – The House of Seven Corpses (1974)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

Synopsis: A movie is filming on location in a house where seven occult-related murders were committed. The caretaker warns them not to mess with things they don’t understand, but rituals are reenacted anyway, that summon a ghoul from the nearby cemetery. Ghoulish shenanigans ensue.

Directed by: Paul Harrison

Writing Credits: Paul Harrison and Thomas J. Kelly

Selected Cast:

John Ireland as Eric Hartman

Faith Domergue as Gayle Dorian

John Carradine as Edgar Price

Carole Wells as Anne (as Carol Wells)

Charles Macaulay as Christopher Millan

Jerry Strickler as David

Ron Foreman as Ron

Dennis Record as Tommy (as Larry Record)

Marty Hornstein as Danny

Charles Bail as Jonathon Anthony Beal / Theodore Beal

Lucy Doheny as Suzanne Beal

Jo Anne Mower as Allison Beal

Ronald Víctor García as Charles Beal (as Ron Garcia)

Jeff Alexander as Russell Beal

Wells Bond as The Ghoul

Laurie Bartram as Debbie (uncredited)

This episode, John Carradine, John Ireland, and Faith Domergue are making a movie in The House of Seven Corpses (1974). A couple of shambling ghouls – or are they zombies – make an entrance when they receive engraved invitations from the filmmakers. Or rather, rituals from the Tibetan Book of the Dead are performed as part of the movie being filmed. Surprise! Mayhem ensues as the cast and crew start dropping like flies, their demises mimicking those of the original occupants of the titular house. The House of Seven Corpses is not a great movie, or even a good movie, but there are some effective scenes, and the 70s Grue-Crew show some love for Faith and the two Johns.

At the time of this writing, The House of Seven Corpses (1974) is available to stream from Vudu, Tubi, Screambox, and PPV sources. The film is available as physical media on a standard Blu-ray formatted disc from Severin Films.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode, chosen by Bill, will be Equinox (1970). The 70s Grue Crew covered this film in episode 124, released September 2000. This time, we’ll be joined by special effects artist Jeff Farley, one of the film’s biggest fans. This will definitely be worth the double tap!

We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com.

Check out this episode!

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

The Clone Wars 1x5 ‘Rookies’ Reaction Take 2

STILL SCREAMING

(I wrote this as I rewatched the episode, pausing as I went so that's why it's probably disjointed and all over the shop). Edit: Adding gifs to this because I can and I feel like it suits the more live-blogging style that these types of reaction posts end up being.

Lmao @ the GAR radio hologram

Omg Echo. It’s baby Echo! Look at him and his reg manuals!

Hello Sergeant Reed Richards and your lovely silver temples. Is this Sergeant O'Niner? More silver fox clones plz.

Are his eyebrows grey as well?

Deep Thoughts with Kenobi

Lol look at Obi Wan, so happy to see his space husband. Or its just the dated animation. But we’re all delusional here so let’s go with the first option.

Ah so this is where the ‘Good man, that Cody’ line comes from.

Rip not getting to know more about the lovely clone with the facial hair. Was this Droidbait?

Oof, foreshadowing for Hevy rip

Rip Sentry

Oh hey Fives has his little 5 Aurebesh tattoo already!

Droids! Well that was subtle lmao

I know this is very early on in TCW but there are some funky accents going on with the clones.

Rip Sergeant Silver Fox

Ventress is hilarious. She’s so completely beyond OTT. Ridiculous. I love it.

The entire comm exchange between Cody and the commando droid pretending to be a clone. CACKLING

Droid: Roger roger Rex: *narrows eyes*

Lol @ Cody palming off his problems to Rex. Have fun being in charge of this one!

“The reg manual says that the next–” Omg Echo. 

Rip Cutup. What a gruesome way to go.

“What the hell was that?” A “bad” word? In my animated children’s television show?!

“Ah, that was an eel.” Yes thank you Echo

“Now, that’s why we have the regulation not to go outside.” omg I love him

Lol @ the fanfare when Cody and Rex turn up. The heroes have arrived.

I know I’ve said this before but Rex looks all special with is kama and captain’s pauldron and different helmet and whatever else and then Cody just gets some golden painted bits of his armour and 2 aerials? What is he, a designer retro TV?

Omg the droid pretending to be a clone. You can just tell the animators had a field day with that one.

Thank you for visiting and have a safe trip back? Question mark?

Gif from this post by @dindjarism

“A droid attack flare?” OMG REX DID NOT HESITATE. Even Cody was shocked.

At this point, “Roger, roger” is basically enough to send Rex’s spidey senses into overdrive.

“Woah, Rex! What the heck are you doing?” An even less of a “bad” word? In my animated children’s television show?! 

Also lawl @ Rex’s drawled “Relax” after shooting the droid disguised as a clone at point blank range.

Does Cody not have his gold paint yet?! His armour looked distinctly grey, though they are on a moon so the lighting might be why it looks grey.

“Off the platform!” Rex you just yeeted yourself. And Cody. You actually want to be yeeted don’t you Rex?

Cody is the kind of friend who would jump off a cliff if his friend said to.

What happened on Tibrin? I must know. Is this The Clone Wars version of what happened in Budapest? Will we never know?

It’s a tiny little exchange but you can really tell from the change in voice how familiar Rex and Cody are with each other already.

Also that shot of Rex after he lands from their lines under the platform is absolutely a hero shot and hero pose. There’s quite a few of these throughout the episode and you can really tell that this is absolutely the introduction episode of Rex. So many moments throughout this episode exist just to show what an absolute BAMF he is. Seeing as the character was originally supposed to be Alpha-17 it makes sense. You can really Rex’s jaig eyes really prominently throughout this episode too. Makes sense, seeing as they’re on the front of his helmet, but it almost feels even more emphasised that you’d expect.

Sun bonnets!

Rex just turning around and one shotting the Rishi eel like it’s nothing omg sir stop

Gif from this post by @dindjarism

Echo gets his Rishi eel blood hand print from Rex! Seminal moment unlocked!

Lmao at Anakin and Obi Wan snarking about their clones.

Rex calls Echo kid! I AM WAILING!

Rex old boy? Since when was Cody bri’ish?

Rex, your ideas are as bad as Anakin’s.

The whole scene with trying to get in the blast doors and Rex kneeling there holding up the decapitated head of the commando droid? CACKLING

Cody is so done with your nonsense Rex

That was the most badass delivery of “Roger. Roger.” I have ever seen and we’re only 5 episodes in.

Aw Echo is already worried about Fives.

Rex is basically the personification of ‘so anyway, I started blasting’ at this point.

Rex, Sir, you did not have to go so hard in taking apart that droid with your bare hands

<insert line about hell in a kids tv show here>

Is this the first hero shot we get of Rex, Cody and Echo together? Sure looks like it! Look at Rex looking all noble in the background.

More foreshadowing for Hevy rip

Closest thing we clones have to a home. SOBBING

The little nod between Rex and Cody.

Random gronk droid.

"Didn’t say please." There are so many good cheesy one liners in this episode it's like an 80s action movie. I love it.

"We could use a jedi about now." I think Cody is missing his space husband.

That admiral definitely feels like a stereotype of a posh british officer from WWII or similar

Oh damn this is Hevy's last stand. What a way to go out.

Hevy nooooo what are you doing

“I don’t like your tone rookie” Rex was that a growl?!

Hevy just yeeting the machine gun at the droids.

Noooo Hevy

"I don’t." Wow those were some last words. Rip Hevy

Gif from this post by @theclonewarsdaily

Naw Echo and Fives getting medals. And joining the 501st! Also their completely in sync salute and about turn was the definition of crisp. I know it’s probably just the same animation copied and pasted but we can ignore that and focus on how it’s totally cause they’re the twins in their batch.

OMG THAT EPISODE. MY HEART. CLONES. THE CLONES HAVE MY HEART. EVERYTHING FOR THE CLONES. 

I think I’m going to have to go back and watch some episodes again because when I first watched this I a) didn’t remember most of it and b) hadn’t started to fall in love with the clones. I should imagine coming back and watching important and memorable episodes again after the finale will have another different meaning to it all as well. Though, given what happens in the finale, I might need to wait a bit. Maybe I’ll come back to it after watching Rebels and a few other things I want to catch up on. I did realise though that I did actually watch this episode when I started watching The Clone Wars, I just didn’t remember most of it. The only bits that I remembered were when the 4 clones (Echo, Fives, Heavy and Cutup, I think) escaped through the tunnels to outside the base, right before Cutup got eaten by that eel. 

[absolutebl]

[23rd December, 2022]

Hi!

Not sure what percentage of BL audience understand the algorithm, or the metrics of how an OTT platform is run, but I believe, since they are paying for it by taking either monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscriptions, they should be made aware of how things work with the OTTs, because almost all the BL series are streamed on them, unlike movies which have their theatrical release.

I do know for sure that well-established filmmakers, and producers get the analytics from multiplexes, and media companies that's into research, about how well their movie is doing domestically, and internationally. And they also get a detailed information about the demographics of the audience, to understand better about the kind of consumers they have.

For some strange reason, I think it would be fine to compare HW, or any other successful movie industry in the world, with that of the BL, because although the genre may be different, the intention of making money remains the same. And I guess, no producer would deny that, be it someone from the Asia, or the West. And given that almost 90% of the BL audience are international fans, the amount of money that's pumped in by the producers, as against the money minted by the OTT platforms would show a big difference.

That's the reason, I have always been intrigued with how OTTs function. And how does the business of streaming BLs on multiple OTT platforms work?

Apologies if any of my question is repetitive, but I guess its not.

So, my question to you are as follows:

As a BL fan yourself, how many OTT platforms have you subscribed to? And the price-point of which OTT platform according to you is justified? (If possible, mention how much you pay in your currency for each OTTs - Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly.)

The subscription model of which OTT platform is affordable for all three options (Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly)? (To you give you an example, a lot of BL fans are in praise of Viki, and have taken a yearly subscription of it, as against "iQIYI", which most have subscribed to for just Quarterly.)

At the moment, which BL OTT platforms would you consider the best in terms of streaming regular BL content, while at the same time offering a feasible subscription model? (The one that you are subscribed to for long, and will continue the subscription in future too.)

Which OTT platform according to you has the best User Interface? And what is it that's more appealing to you? (Please elaborate in detail if possible.)

As an audience, what kind of changes do you expect from an OTT platform? (Like for example: No pop-up ad windows, introducing comment section, multiple language subtitles, being able to reverse and fast forward, off-line download, etc,..etc,)

With multiple options of OTT platforms, like "Viki", "Netflix", "GagaOOLala", "iQIYI", "WeTV", "AISPlay", "DisneyPlus Hotstar". Don't you as a BL fan find it confusing and ridiculous at the same time to subscribe to so many platforms?

Should mid-budget, low concept BLs really be offered on a Membership model on YouTube, only because its coming from an independent production company that's trying to establish itself? (Case in point - "Commetive Productions by Dir.Aam Anusorn".),

Will you be ready to pay more price for an OTT platform that not only offers the best BLs, but also offers HD quality content, and multiple other options that you were looking out for?

If you as a BL content consumer had to give a critical advise to the creators (service providers & app developers) of an OTT platform, what would that be? And why?

Thanks!

xoxo

Arjuna

Hi hi, sorry it’s taken so long, been a bumper end of the year. All the stats must be collected and proceed all at once for prediction reasons. Jan-March are my busiest times just number crunching. 

1. As a BL fan yourself, how many OTT platforms have you subscribed to? And the price-point of which OTT platform according to you is justified? (If possible, mention how much you pay in your currency for each OTTs - Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly.)

Erm, let me see: 

Youtube Premium $119.99/yr (I hate ads) - since I also run some channels and do a ton of other stuff on YT I find this totally acceptable as an expense, I already pay Google for work related services as well (see tax note) 

Viki Plus $99.99/yr (I like Kdramas so I upgraded last year) - not sure the higher price point is justified for BL, and many of the BLs are actually free with ads on Viki so... shrug. Others may not need this one at all. 

Gaga $83.88 - lowest price point, supports Taiwan, queer content. I’d probably keep this one going even if I never watched the platform, but they always have content I like, we have similar taste 

My FairyGodBLer gifted me subscriptions to IQIYI & WeTV because she wanted my thoughts on some of their offerings (and is a total sweetheart). I would not belong to these myself and either not watch their content or use back channels to get the BLs. 

Notes: 

Because of my job, media subs are a tax deduction most of the time. 

I’m not price sensitive, I’m efficiency and convenience sensitive. I always pay yearly. Since I’m a contract worker I earn income in chunks, rather than a salary, so I prefer to pay out that way. Psychologically, I think it helps to know exactly how much a thing costs me per year, too. 

2. The subscription model of which OTT platform is affordable for all three options (Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly)? (To you give you an example, a lot of BL fans are in praise of Viki, and have taken a yearly subscription of it, as against "iQIYI", which most have subscribed to for just Quarterly.)

That depends on how you define affordable and content. 

I did do this breakdown last year. Results still hold:

Viki has the most BL content (not Thai) by watchable hours, but by numbers only about 13%. (might have gone up a bit)

Gaga has the most content (not Thai) by numbers ( 28% because so many shorts). 

YouTube has the most content in general (42%), because Thailand. Although Thai BLs are getting outside distribution now so that number is falling GMMTV and its long history on the platform, still tips the scales. 

I can’t run these numbers anymore because lately so many BLS are on more than one platform especially Viki+Gaga and also it makes a difference where you, the watcher, live. 

3. At the moment, which BL OTT platforms would you consider the best in terms of streaming regular BL content, while at the same time offering a feasible subscription model? (The one that you are subscribed to for long, and will continue the subscription in future too.)

For me personally? 

YT

Viki

Gaga

iQIYI

WeTV 

If you’re only interested in queer content and very price sensitive?

Gaga

I’d do YT & Viki free w adds, everything else I’d wait or grey source it

4. Which OTT platform according to you has the best User Interface? And what is it that's more appealing to you? (Please elaborate in detail if possible.)

I watch primarily on an iPad. For that?

YouTube - playlists (sharable!) are great, they have a skip forward, 1.25 watch speeds (and more), continuous play, watch later, history, and tracking systems. The dash is easy to understand and personalize. It works seamlessly in desktop mode as well. Comments are non-invasive, and I can screen grab. It’s easily my favorite interface. Say what you want about YT’s search algos (which are crazy-making) as a UX it is quirky but smooth and easily the best streaming platform ever built (AS a streaming platform, for content creation that’s another story). I even enjoy the watch weight graphs on occasion. 

Viki - I like creating my own private categories and organizing things. I like they have a skip forward and autoplay options. I hate that they don’t have high speed and block screen grabs (which is why you rarely see screen grabs on this blog from their shows). Their desktop interface is always dated and lousy with bugs. The dash is insane. Their comment interface should be disabled. It’s a fucking nightmare if you accidentally press that button at the bottom. Viki should strip its community aspect entirely IMHO, just allow star ratings, nothing else is needed. 

Gaga - lack of sorting system, autoplay, and skip forward are maddening. Plus they block screen grabs. But the dash is okay, and they have high speed playback. I hate that anytime you tap anything it pauses. My List should be first not continue watch, and there should be some more personalization options governing things like visibility. 

iQIYI - vertical launch (SERIOUSLY?) how DARE THEY, also they serve ads even if you’re a subscriber (shitheads) those ads are ALSO portrait mode and often buggy, I’ve had alpha crashes off of their ads, that’s a UX SIN. They offer both high speed and skip forward, VERY necessary with their content, AND I can screen grab. But everything else about their interface is pretty darn terrible. 

I watch WeTV on a laptop. And not very much. 

5. As an audience, what kind of changes do you expect from an OTT platform? (Like for example: No pop-up ad windows, introducing comment section, multiple language subtitles, being able to reverse and fast forward, off-line download, etc,..etc,)

None, I expect no significant changes. I don’t think any of the established OTTs, even YT, are at all invested in improving background code infrastructure. They are all in maintenance mode, even more so now with a recession looming. The only thing they are focused on expanding is content acquisition (and not creation, acquisition).  

I foresee more and more shows, the same show, appearing on multiple platforms for international audiences either simultaneously (Viki & Gaga) or in succession, IQIYI/WeTV then YouTube. 

I foresee at least one deal between a larger Thai BL production house and a major streaming service, my guess is GMMTV + Netflix, APrime, or iQIYI. 

I’d like to predict a heavy hitting new OTT out of Korea, maybe Kakao, but I think they have missed that boat now, and Viki has cornered the market. 

6. With multiple options of OTT platforms, like "Viki", "Netflix", "GagaOOLala", "iQIYI", "WeTV", "AISPlay", "DisneyPlus Hotstar". Don't you as a BL fan find it confusing and ridiculous at the same time to subscribe to so many platforms?

No, see point 1 directly above. Also I am aware that most fans aren’t like me (a completest) and that there is too much content for most to keep up with. if you have a style of BL you prefer, like KBL for example, there is a platform for you (Viki). JBL = Gaga. Thai BL = YT, etc... So it still works if your fandom is niche within BL. There are only a ridiculous number of options and obligations if you are ridiculous in your consumption, like me. In which case... suffer for your obsession. That is the nature of obsession. The hunt. The collection. The expense. 

I found it a LOT more frustrating, and still do, when I have to go grey for soemthing and get it illegally. I would much rather pay creators for their content and it’s HUGELY frustrating when that content is just unavailable to me legally. I’m looking at you, Japan.  

7. Should mid-budget, low concept BLs really be offered on a Membership model on YouTube, only because its coming from an independent production company that's trying to establish itself? (Case in point - "Commetive Productions by Dir.Aam Anusorn".),

I don’t know. Maybe? I don’t kickstart or otherwise back indie projects, I’ve talked about why before. 

8 Will you be ready to pay more price for an OTT platform that not only offers the best BLs, but also offers HD quality content, and multiple other options that you were looking out for?

Yes, and I do with Viki, although I may drop back down to Standard in a year or so. But it’s not about HD for me it’s always about access to more content. The additional options i would pay for (downloadability w/ subs attached - glares at YT, screen grab access) they usually don’t offer and aren’t really desired by others enough to pay extra). 

9. If you as a BL content consumer had to give a critical advise to the creators (service providers & app developers) of an OTT platform, what would that be? And why?

Specialize in international distribution of one kind of BL from one country and then corner that market. Including going back into the archives for the older stuff from that country. 

If it is older previous published content, offer it in a form that’s not already available, so movie length repackages. Stripped out product placement. Re-edits and extra content director cuts. 

Figure out how to buy/commission better subs. Don’t air content until the subs are complete.

For shorter series, experiment with binge releasing, not week to week. Like Netflix does. 

Integrate your descriptions, tracking, sorting and tagging system with MDL. If you are going to borrow a crowd sourced community aspect, go for tags, not comments. Don’t try to build a community, borrow someone else’s. 

Allow for: sharing on social media, screen grabs & gifs, high speed & continuous play, skip ahead, anonymous public playlists, and personalized sorting systems, and a 10/10 star review system. 

[ostensiblynone]

Why do you not know that it is very likely that this is what that is

[goldenpinof]

since youre into the business side of youtube im curious what your thoughts are on the watcher / try guys switch over to exclusive streaming platforms?

i did some digging and it sounds like they're using a product called Vimeo OTT (yes, THAT vimeo), which dropout also seems to use.

not really dnp related, since i doubt they would consider this move (since it seems to be more relevant for creation companies who produce a lot of series, a la buzzfeed), but i thought it might tickle your brain

aaah, i wish i had any thoughts on that!

i don't watch the Watcher or Try Guys. everything i know about them comes from commentary and drama channels. and we know what kind of a clusterfuck was the situation with the Watcher. stupid decision, even stupider announcement and reasoning behind it. i'm glad they backtracked. i don't really like it when people start putting their content behind a paywall all of a sudden. and if they police people sharing this content within the community. i would get a situation where you can pay for earlier access, i guess, but the same content should be available for everyone later, imo. especially, if previously everything was for free (like on Youtube, where it's monetizable). in the Watcher's case, their content is ad-friendly. so they make good money just on adsense and sponsorships. the question is, are they smart with that money?

aren't Youtube and Vimeo competitors? that's so interesting.

about Dropout. i heard Hank Green got a deal with them? idk the specifics and terms (like, are they producing/paying/buying, whatever? no idea). but his stand-up show is gonna be exclusively on their platform, it seems. and when i heard about it, i immediately thought of wad. dare i say, i'm glad we got it for free, and Dan can use as many clips from it as he desires anywhere he wants.

i don't think dnp would move to another platform either. well, for starters, Dan doesn't like making us pay for things we can get for free while he is also getting paid. if even Patreon is very questionable, then a video platform behind a paywall should be a huge no-no in Dan's household.