Kerala to launch India’s first government-owned OTT platform, C Space

C Space logo

In a trend-setting initiative, Kerala will launch C Space, India's first government-owned OTT platform, on Thursday to provide people-oriented meaningful infotainment and leverage enormous opportunities in the sector.

Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan will launch the OTT platform at Kairali Theatre on March 7 at 0930 hrs. Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian will preside. "C SPACE 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 Chairman, Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC), at a press conference here today.

C SPACE is managed by KSFDC, a state-owned company entrusted with promoting Malayalam cinema and industry, on behalf of the department of cultural affairs, Govt. of Kerala.

For selecting and approving the content, KSFDC has constituted a curator panel comprising eminent cultural personalities from the state, such as Benyamin, O V Usha, Santhosh Sivan, 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 in the platform.

Shri Karun said the curators have so far selected 42 films for the first phase of C SPACE. Films that have won awards in National or State Awards or have been exhibited in major film festivals will also be shown.

Another distinctive feature of C SPACE is transparency in its operations and the overall earning and the revenue share. The platform, which operates on pay per view basis, allows viewers to watch a feature film for Rs 75 and shorter contents for much lesser price. Exactly half of the amount charged goes to the content provider.

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 in OTT Platforms. To accommodate their concerns, C SPACE has decided to showcase only those feature films that have been released in cinema halls. Besides, short films, documentaries and experimental films recommended by curators will also be made available on the platform.

A plan to set aside a certain amount for the welfare of film professionals is also under consideration.

Award-winning films 'Nishiddho' and 'B32 to 44' will be premiered on the OTT platform through C SPACE. It also intends to launch a new pattern in crowdfunding by offering filmmakers an opportunity to recoup the production cost through the support of viewers watching their films.

The launch function on March 7 will be attended by Minister for General Education and Labour Shri V. Sivankutty; Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Shri G R Anil; KSFDC Chairman Shri Shaji N. Karun; and Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Smt. Arya Rajendran.

Also present on the occasion will be Shri Antony Raju, MLA; Smt. Mini Antony, Secretary for Cultural Affairs; Smt. N. Maya, Cultural Director, and Shri K V Abdul Malik, MD, KSFDC, along with dignitaries from the world of art and culture.