With Comicstaan, Audiences Witness A Shift Of Comedy Shows From TV To OTT Platform

Amazon Prime Video’s Comicstaan is laugh-out-loud funny show with carefully plotted jokes, quick-witted dialogue and hilarious memorable moments that are relevant in pop culture today.

With Comicstaan, audiences have witnessed a shift in comedy shows from television to OTT platform. The show brings together seven of India’s best comedians featuring Tanmay Bhat, Kenny Sebastian, Sapan Verma, Naveen Richard, Kaneez Surkha, Kanan Gill and Biswa Kalyan Rath.

There was a time when almost every TV channel had some or the other comedy show, and stand-up comedy as a genre was fast picking but they seem to be lesser in numbers now.

While talking about the shift, Kenny Sabastian shares, “I am not an avid follower of television but the young audience (15-35) is no longer watching television. Television is still a stronghold for regional content but for mainstream urban audiences, they have migrated to YouTube and online platforms like Amazon Prime Video. Comedy is also essentially a very honest form of entertainment that relies on satire which regulated markets like TV restricts. It also attracts the same younger audiences that don’t gravitate towards dated TV programmes. It’s not surprising to see 10-20 million views on a single video on YouTube which is substantial and only growing”.

He further asserted, “TV is very restrictive while the internet (for now in India) isn’t as controlling. Comedy being such an honest medium needs that kind of supportive platform. The audience (urban young audience from age 15-35) also has long discarded conventional television and prefer the convenience and variety that digital platforms provide.

Sapan Verma who is currently seen as a judge on Comicstaan also shares, “I think it’s got to do with the fact that there’s so much more comedy content available on the internet now. It wasn’t there ten years ago. Plus, it’s uncensored and honest. There’s political humour, social satire, observational humour, musical comedy – everything is available on online platforms like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video. TV comedy shows were fantastic a decade ago but they didn’t really evolve much over the years. A lot has got to do with censorship and the limitations of TV. So, when the audience can get more options and more relatable comedy on the internet, they wouldn’t watch TV as much”.

Produced by Only Much Louder (OML) and hosted by ace comedians Abish Mathew and Sumukhi Suresh, Comicstaan is a talent hunt to discover India’s next big comedic talent.

Now, it is left unto the audiences, you tell us what you feel about this paradigm shift? And for more such updates on the Tellydom, Filmdom     or the OTT platforms alike, keep a close tab on Desimartini.com