The Advent of the OTT Era and the Transformation of the Concept of ‘Film’

This study explores the transformation of the concept of “film” in the era of OTT (Over-the-Top) platforms. The advancement of digital technology and the expansion of OTT platforms, particularly services like Netflix, have blurred the boundaries between films and TV dramas. This shift fundamentally challenges the traditional notion of film, which historically required film reels, a screen, and an audience. By examining the definition and types of OTT, this study argues that OTT is an inevitable phenomenon driving digitalization and personalized consumption in cultural content distribution. It analyzes various service models, such as advertising-based, subscription-based, transactional, and hybrid models, as well as the impact of OTT platforms on the distribution methods for films and TV dramas. The rise of OTT plays a critical role in redefining the concept of film, addressed here from three perspectives. First, it reexamines how OTT has transformed the traditional prerequisites of film within a historical context. Second, it proposes a redefinition of the concept of “drama” to encompass both films and TV dramas as media-genre relations. Third, it considers how the boundaries between single-episode films and multi-episode series have collapsed in the OTT environment. In conclusion, the rise of OTT platforms has fundamentally altered the identity, production, distribution, and consumption of films, indicating a need to redefine the essence and identity of film. This research highlights the necessity for ongoing discourse and debate in the fields of film studies, media studies, and content studies to address these changes in the evolving content landscape.