Despite the video streaming platform’s global popularity, the Pakistani showbiz industry has struggled to break into Netflix. Industry stakeholders say the country’s insignificant presence can be blamed on weak storytelling and a lack of professionalism amongst industry leaders. The popularity of Indian content is also another reason that keeps Pakistani content at the lower levels.<\/p>\n
The past few months have seen a boom in over-the-top (OTT) media services owed to the coronavirus pandemic. Home-bound people increasingly rely on them for their entertainment. However, only 16 Pakistani movies, four drama serials and two animated films, including Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy\u2019s \u201cSitara<\/strong>\u201d on child marriages, are available on Netflix.<\/p>\n Tahseen Shaukat, chief executive of BVC Media, who also works as a digital content aggregator for Netflix and Amazon Prime, told Arab News that one of the main problems with Pakistani content is \u201cweak storytelling and flawed screenplays and scripts that don\u2019t meet international standards.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite having over 180 million subscribers, Pakistani subscribers number at only 100,000 according to Shaukat.<\/p>\n This is due to the fact that most Pakistanis do not have credit cards, which are necessary to pay for the service.<\/p>\n \u201cIn neighboring India, the subscription rate is much higher, that is why global apps have started to invest in for original content in India,\u201d he said, adding that as Pakistani audiences also consume Indian content because of the language, streaming platforms \u201cdo not feel any need to invest in a country like Pakistan with very nominal numbers of subscribers.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ALSO READ<\/p>\n Here’s Why Hamza Ali Abbasi is Cancelling his Netflix<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The process to get registered with Netflix, is not only costly but also difficult to get through as well The process, according to Shaukat, costs $1,500, and the possibility of getting a reply is very low.<\/p>\n Neither Netflix nor Amazon Prime \u2014 another streaming giant \u2014 have official agents to look for Pakistani content. All submissions are voluntary, meaning that the platforms are not obliged to reply.<\/p>\n The Pakistani feature films currently available on Netflix are: \u201cTeefa in Trouble,\u201d \u201cJanaan,\u201d \u201cChalay Thay Saath,\u201d \u201cZindagi Kitni Haseen Hay\u201d \u201cPinky Memsaab,\u201d \u201cCake,\u201d \u201cBalu Mahi,\u201d \u201c7 Din Mohabbat In,\u201d \u201cSaawan,\u201d \u201cAbdullah: The Final Witness,\u201d \u201cRangreza,\u201d \u201cPari,\u201d \u201cDukhtar,\u201d \u201cChupan Chupai,\u201d \u201cMoor.\u201d There are also two animated movies: \u201cAllahyar and the Legend of Markhor,\u201d a film for children by Uzair Zaheer Khan, and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy\u2019s \u201cSitara\u201d on child marriages in Pakistan.<\/p>\n The four drama serials that made it to the platform are: \u201cZindagi Gulzar Hai,\u201d \u201cKhaani,\u201d \u201cHumsafar,\u201d and \u201cSadqay Tumhare.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to Amazon Prime, Pakistani content that succeeds to break into the platform cannot even be watched in the home country. Soon two Pakistani feature films, \u201cBaji\u201d and \u201cTalash\u201d and one upcoming animation are going to be released on Amazon Prime. The platform already carries an animated Pakistani feature film, \u201cDonkey King\u201d and talk show \u201cBehind the Curtain.\u201d But they are only for audiences in the US and UK.<\/p>\n The problem with Prime is that it can’t be accessed through Pakistan, so it limits the viewership of Pakistani content.<\/p>\n Via ArabNews<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n ALSO READ<\/p>\n Here’s Why Hamza Ali Abbasi is Cancelling his Netflix<\/a><\/p>\n Despite the video streaming platform’s global popularity, the Pakistani showbiz industry has struggled to break into Netflix. Industry stakeholders say the country’s insignificant presence can be blamed on weak storytelling and a lack of professionalism amongst industry leaders. The popularity of Indian content is also another reason that keeps Pakistani content at the lower levels. The past few months have […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":280375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2199,2368,1293,1297],"tags":[],"adace-sponsor":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-280355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-hollywood","9":"category-lollywood","10":"category-tv-movies-music"},"wps_subtitle":"Its a numbers game.","img_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Netflix-Pakistan-364x205.png",364,205,true],"medium":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Netflix-Pakistan-758x424.png",758,424,true],"full":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Netflix-Pakistan.png",1000,560,false]},"author_name":"Anmol Irfan","categories_name":["Featured","Hollywood","Lollywood","TV & Film"],"title_text":"Here\u2019s Why Netflix & Amazon Prime Aren\u2019t Investing in Pakistani Content","related_stories":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts?filter&per_page=4&categories=2199,2368,1293,1297&exclude=280355","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280355"},{"taxonomy":"adace-sponsor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/adace-sponsor?post=280355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Is Netflix even interested?<\/h3>\n
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\nCostly<\/h3>\n
What about Amazon Prime?<\/h3>\n
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