Kerala govt to launch its own OTT platform on Nov 1

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government is all set to join the top (OTT) bandwagon with the launch of 'CSpace' on November 1.

Saji Cherian, Minister for Culture and Cinema, said this at the naming ceremony of the OTT platform held at the Kalabhavan Theatre in the capital on Wednesday.

"Our OTT platform will be known as CSpace and will be under the Department of Cultural Affairs. This is the first such initiative by any state government in the country," said Cherian.

"This facility will be managed by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) and is basically meant for film buffs to see not only films from here but also world-class films. The OTT platform will only showcase films after their theatrical release is over and hence there won't be any problem for the theatre owners and producers," said Cherian.

The OTT platform will also show short films and documentaries.

The Covid pandemic took a heavy toll on the Malayalam film industry and only around 70 films found their way to the theatres in 2021 while around 85 films were not able to find any OTT players.

With Cherian now announcing that the OTT platform will become live on November 1, the KSFDC is busy speaking to the interested bidders for the OTT platform, which will be a vendor-based platform to start with.

Cherian also pointed out that the interested producers can start registering with the KSFDC from June 1 with their films.