A recent study by The Trade Desk has revealed that almost one-in-three people in Indonesia stream over-the-top (OTT), referring to a type of media service that streams directly to viewers over the Internet. The study also shows Indonesians consume 3.5 billion hours of OTT content monthly. Indonesia is Southeast Asia's top OTT consumer, with a 40 percent year-over-year growth in OTT consumption.

The study further explains that the majority of OTT-content consumers are women, with 58 percent of OTT viewers being female. 

One of those viewers is Annisa Fathia Hana, a 26-year-old entrepreneur from Bekasi, West Java. She particularly enjoys OTT content as it offers many web-exclusive series that are not only exclusive to the service, but often breezier to follow.

"What makes me love [web series] is their rather short durations. I watch any genre, depending on my mood. What makes them special is their cliff-hangers in every episode, which hook me to the show," she said.

Annisa said she did not keep track of the number of web series she had watched. The titles include My Lecturer, My Husband, Layangan Putus and her all-time favorite, Imperfect: The Series, starring Kiky Saputri, Aci Resti, Neneng Wulandari, Zsazsa Utari, Arie Kriting and Reza Rahadian. The series is written by Ernest Prakasa.

Annisa said she spent more or less one hour a day watching web series but had no particular hour of the day to do so. 

Dinda Ariestia, a 26-year-old native of Tangerang, Banten, said she could spend up to three hours a day on the service.

"I watch web series on the platforms WE tv, Netflix and Disney [Hotstar] because the stories on the platforms are always attractive and not boring. [They are] always fresh and feature good [actors and actresses]," Dinda said.

Dinda added that the appeal of web series lies in the "flexibility of access" they offer. She also said the stories in web series are more "concise and clear".

"[Web series] are more attractive, both for their [actors and actresses] and plots -- better than soap operas on traditional TV channels," she said.

Both Annisa and Dinda said they felt refreshed after watching their favorite web series.

"Watching web series at certain times helps me to feel relaxed," said Dinda.

"I am not very expressive, so when I watch those web series, I just sit still staring at the screen without any expressions or feeling anything. [That said], watching web series refreshes my brain and makes me more productive afterward," Annisa said.

The shift in the industry

In the report The Future of TV 2022, The Trade Desk claims that flexibility gives web series the upper hand over TV series, which are losing popularity to their on-demand counterparts. The average viewer now consumes 41.4 hours’ worth of OTT content every month, with the number of OTT users in Indonesia totaling 83 million. This prompts the industry to rethink its distribution channel.

Adriano Rudiman is a 31-year-old director at Visinema Pictures, a production house established to produce the web-series Langkah Kembali.

"Langkah Kembali was created based on a client's inquiry to promote their motorcycle. The original title was Revisit, but upon the client's request, the title was changed to Langkah Kembali [which carries the same meaning]. It was first aired on YouTube and is three episodes long," the native of Bandung, West Java, said.

Adriano, who now resides in Jakarta, explained that only a few qualities differentiate web series from their TV counterparts.

"They are both a medium to tell stories. The difference lies in the platforms used to air them," he said, adding that TV series could be less flexible than web series in terms of duration. 

"For example, a TV series episode [often] lasts for one hour. [A web series episode] can only be one minute to half an hour in length," he continued.

Adriano said that budget was one of the factors that determined the duration of a web-series episode.

"For example, if you want to air a web series twice a week for three weeks, it means you need six episodes in total, right? If your budget is only enough for 30 minutes of content, … you will get five minutes for each episode," he explained.

As a web-series creator, Adriano argued that Indonesians did not have to choose web series over TV series.

"Just like you have no obligation to choose between using Twitter, Instagram or TikTok. The only advantage of web series is they can be accessed everywhere," he said.

Adriano said some characteristics are unique to the Indonesian market that a creator should consider before making a series.

"In my opinion, the Indonesian audience is generally empathetic and loves humor. For example, a story about someone's day-to-day life or a story about a family in a rural area has its own appeal. Even those who live in the cities can often relate to the story," he said.

Ultimately, he said he hoped the Indonesian market would open itself to different themes, "including the taboo ones".

"Sometimes stories that tell things that are considered taboo will also sell, and there are many in Indonesia. Web series is the correct medium to tell these stories because they face fewer moral restrictions compared to TV series. It is just a matter of whether you are prepared to face the possibility of being criticized."

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