Can YouTube pull 'sitaares' Netflix, Hotstar to 'zameen' as Aamir Khan tests new biz model?

In the past few weeks, a new shift has taken place in discussions related to film business in the Hindi film industry. Thanks to the speculation about superstar Aamir Khan bypassing streaming platforms and releasing his new film Sitaare Zameen Par on YouTube after releasing it in theatres, two critical questions have emerged in the industry. One is: Can producers afford to bypass streaming platforms or streamers in the current ecosystem and look for other avenues for releasing films? And another is: Can releasing films on YouTube after their theatrical release emerge as a financially viable option for producers?

Answers to these questions will determine whether there will be a new shift in the industry in terms of distribution of films. Let us explore the practical aspects contained in the answers to these questions:

Streamers—Integral To The Ecosystem

After the pandemic, streamers have become immensely significant to the film-making ecosystem. Digital rights have become the most potent and certain source of revenues for Hindi films producers. Post the pandemic, producers have been selling their films' digital rights to streaming platforms even before starting production of their films. In this way, producers have been raising reasonably good money required to start a film. Alternatively, after theatrical release of their films, producers have been earning or recovering a portion of their investments by selling their films' digital rights to streamers. So, the relevance of streamers in the entire business of filmmaking is not only in providing money to producers to fund films but also in helping producers in recovering a portion of their investments post theatrical after they have funded their films from other sources.

According to FICCI-EY's 2025 Media & Entertainment report, in 2024, 1823 films were released in India. Interestingly, 500 of these 1823 films were released on streamers. In 2023, 1796 were released in India. In these, 416 films were released on streamers. So, between 2023 and 2024, there has been 20% growth of films releasing on streamers. Importantly, in 2024, close to 28% of films made across languages in India were released on streamers. This shows the increasing importance of streamers not only as an effective funding entity but also as a viable channel for distribution of films after their theatrical release.

Number of Films Released on Streaming Platforms
Year	Post theatrical Release	Directly on Streaming platforms
2023	359	57
2024	440	60
Source: FICCI-EY 2025 Report

Tellingly, in the past three years, revenues generated from the sale of digital rights of films to streamers have become the second highest source of revenues of films after theatrical revenues. According to the FICCI-EY report, revenues from the sale of digital rights of films to streaming platforms are estimated to grow to Rs3600 crore in 2027 from Rs3100 crore in 2024. This is higher than the revenues from the sale of overseas and television rights of films in the same period. This shows how streamers have become a key source of revenues for producers.

Revenues from Each Segment of Film Business (Rs crore)
Segment	2024	2025E	2027E
Domestic Theatricals	11400	11900	129
Overseas theatricals	2000	2100	2300
Digital/ Streaming rights	3100	3300	3600
Broadcast /Satellite/Television rights	1300	1400	1400
In-cinema advertising	900	900	1000
Total	18700	19600	21300
Source: FICCI-EY 2025 Report

According to Anushree Rauta, head of media and entertainment practice, ANM Global, a leading law firm in media and entertainment sector in India, apart from theatrical revenues, on the average, producers recover around 50–55% of their production costs by selling digital rights of their films to streaming platforms. She shares, "Revenues from the sale of satellite rights contribute approximately 10% to total revenues of films. Revenues from the sale of music rights are about 10–20% depending on the talent engaged."

A big advantage which distinguishes streamers from other platforms (on which films can be released) is the relatively lower time in which a producer earns or obtains revenues for his or her films. In the entertainment industry, which is capital-intensive in nature, this advantage has made streamers almost a lifeline especially for films which have A-list or well-known cast and crew.

Given these facts, in today's ecosystem, it seems that producers cannot afford to bypass streamers.

The Lure of the YouTube Model

Can releasing films on YouTube after their theatrical run emerge as a financially viable option for Hindi film producers?

There are favourable statistics about YouTube. According to the FICCI-EY report, YouTube dominates online video consumption in India. 92% of all online video consumption happens on YouTube. The remaining 8% of online video consumption happens on platforms which provide advertisement-supported, free and subscription videos. YouTube reaches 47.6 crore audiences in India. This is two times the audience base of the US. The FICCI-EY report foresees that YouTube is likely to reach 80 crore audience base in India by 2029 thanks to the improvement in digital infrastructure and changing consumer habits. According to backlinko.com, a leading marketing blog and training site for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) strategies, YouTube has 249 crore monthly active users. In 2024, YouTube shared that its premium video services YouTube Premium and premium music services YouTube Music have surpassed 10 crore subscribers, globally.

Interestingly, in the recently concluded media and entertainment event Waves Summit in Mumbai, Neal Mohan, CEO, YouTube, said that in the past three years alone, YouTube has paid more than Rs21000 crore to creators, artists, and media companies across India. He said that in the next two years YouTube will invest over Rs 850 crore to accelerate the growth of Indian creators, artists, and media companies.

These statistics indicate favourable economics of releasing films on YouTube. But like most statistics, these statistics show the potential but may not represent entire ground realities.

Top countries by YouTube audience (Users)
India	47.6 cr
US	23.8 cr
Brazil	14.7 cr
United Kingdom	5.6 cr
Source: FICCI-EY 2025 Report

It is important to understand how fast a producer makes revenues or recovers investments when he or she releases films on YouTube. In this context, knowing the pattern of performance of films released on YouTube in the western markets will be helpful. This will give an idea about how the journey of releasing films on YouTube after their theatrical run could transpire in India.

Adi Tiwary, creative director and partner, Stuart Entertainment, an Australia-based film distributor shares an interesting perspective about the situation in the international market. He says, "Releasing a film on YouTube is similar to nurturing a start-up. Producers have to create a constant buzz around the film to attract users' attention. Also, a film works on YouTube when its cast is in the news." He adds, "Then, there are marketing costs attached, apart from time." He explains that in the overseas markets YouTube is an integral part of entire marketing and promotional activities of films even before theatrical release. Producers invest in influencers and constantly upload videos on YouTube to maintain buzz around their films.

Largely, YouTube provides four ways of earning revenues for producers. These are: advertisements-supported service, subscription-based, shorts monetisation and transaction-based service, which includes watching films on rent (a film stays in your account for two days) or buying films (a film stays in your account as long as it is there on YouTube).

According to overseas distributors, even after considering this revenue model, it has been observed that a film on the average takes at least a year to make reasonably good money on YouTube. This is because YouTube is largely an ocean of individual creators in which users consume extremely diverse range of content in diverse formats (short-form and long-form). According to the recent analysis of Ampere Media, a firm known for research on global entertainment business, film and television content is the fifth most watched content on YouTube, globally. This shows that film content is not the most preferred content for YouTube audience. Unlike YouTube, a streaming platform is only about film content (feature-length and long format). It needs to create and maintain library of films. Over the years, streamers have succeeded in positioning them as a reliable space for filmed entertainment with increasingly improving visual interface experience.

Given the fact that it takes at least a year (on the average) for a film to generate reasonably good revenues for producers, it seems that the YouTube model is favourable for those producers who can wait for a long period for revenues.

Suniel Wadhwa, a veteran distributor, co-founder and director of Karmic Films, who agrees with this line of thought, explains, "I think the YouTube model works in favour of cash-rich producers who have high holding capacity (capacity to wait) and films which have well-established or A-list cast. Only this combined force can find it relatively easier to make money from releasing films on YouTube in India."

YouTube Business Model
Revenue Model	Type	Revenue Split	Key Feature
AVOD	Advertisements	55%: Creator 45%: YouTube	Free content with advertisements
SVOD	Subscription	A portion of subscription fees goes to creators based on how much time users spent on their content	YouTube Premium and Music
TVOD	Transactional	70%: creators 30%: YouTube	Rent or Buy Movies Pay per View
Direct Monetisation	Tips/Membership	Varies (after fees)	Super Chat, Memberships, Shopping tools
Shorts Monetisation	Advertisements/Fund	45%: Creators	Monetisation of short form videos

In India also, producers who have first-hand experience of releasing films on YouTube share that monetising films on YouTube is a steady but long-term affair. They point out that the YouTube model works in favour of producers who have high holding capacity.

Shiladitya Bora, producer and founder of Platoon One Films, a Mumbai-based film production company, who released his film Aye Zindagi (2022) on YouTube, shares, "YouTube is a great option to monetise a film. My experience has been quite effective. A few years ago, I sold a regional indie film to a streaming platform. In hindsight, retaining the Intellectual Property (IP) and licensing only the Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) rights for a limited window might have been a more strategic move. I have released other films of mine on YouTube. These films have garnered good traction and reasonably good revenues. But it takes time. So, I think the YouTube Model works largely for producers who have holding capacity."

Global Top Content Types Watched on YouTube (%)
Subject	% of YouTube Monthly Active Users
Music/Music Videos	56
Comedy	39
How to's	29
Documentaries	24
Films or TV shows	23
Either	38
Vlogs	21
Travel	20
Gaming	19
Reviews	17
TV/Film Trailers	17
Source: Ampere Media

In the backdrop of these facts, a fundamental question emerges: How many Hindi film producers can afford to wait for a long time especially when streamers provide much faster revenue realisation pre-and-post theatrical release? This question is more relevant today when producers are facing challenges in raising money to fund films.

Therefore, considering the present dynamics of the industry it seems that YouTube may not emerge as an alternative to streamers. It is more likely to be a co-existing platform providing a wide range of content in which film content will be one of its offerings.