117 manufacturers want a halt in piracy and realistic policy

In the midst of the ongoing controversy over the content of web series, manufacturers have urged the authorities concerned to formulate a specific policy for the expansion of the local digital industry in a global context and to stop piracy.

Some 117 renowned manufacturers such as- Morshedul Islam, Giasuddin Selim, Animesh Aich, Naznin Hasan Chumki, Redoan Rony made the call issuing a statement in this regard on Tuesday.

According to them, piracy is the main reason that we have been discussing in web series in recent times. 

These web series are supposed to be shown by subscribers with the consent of the viewers. As we know, the content is spreading through some other social media including YouTube only because of piracy. Not the entire series is pirated but a few parts of it with special scenes are pirated which has been misinterpreted. As a consequence, an opportunity has created for a kind of misinterpretation regarding the artists, crews and producers involved.

The statement emphasized the importance of formulating specific guideline in order to develop local digital industry considering global context. 

They opined a viewer doesn't want to see the same content on the web if the same viewer sees it on TV. Each audience to the web is unique. These platforms are creating and marketing content according to a viewer's personal preferences and liking by using artificial intelligence. 

According to them, if the story structure of web content is the same without paying attention to the demand of age differences of the audiences then certainly we are bound to lose audiences. We are already witnessing the examples of the television and movie market contraction which exist due to crisis of diversity.

They said contents should be created in compliance with local traditions and values. But the content which is prepared for that specific platform must be served to that audience. Otherwise, a group of people intentionally will show a specific part of the actual content with the help of piracy which will divert the audience's focus from the main discussion. 

According to a survey conducted by BTRC and PI Strategy last year, there are over two lakh Netflix subscribers in Bangladesh. As a result, Netflix has created a market of around Tk200 crore annually without investing a single content in Bangladesh. Netflix does not invest a single amount in the entertainment sector of Bangladesh yet.

We are going through a time where technology connects the entire world population. This massive amount of free content has built a huge economy worldwide which is associated with the earnings of thousands of people. 

Our neighbor country India alone has earned between Rs9,000 crore to Rs20,000 crore from this sector in the last four years. Web platform is its pivotal driving force. This huge market has brought thousands of crores of rupees of foreign investment to India. The same investment is possible in Bangladesh too, only updated policies are needed.

A modern policy needs to be formulated so that some portion of the money that goes out through these platforms should be reinvested in our industry to create Bangladesh's own content. Otherwise, we will not be global and the industry will not be able to stand on its own two feet. If all of these markets and the foreign content platforms are managed and controlled by foreigners in the future, we think that our culture will be tumbled into a deep crisis.