Filmmaker Shamoon Abbasi has added his two cents to the discourse surrounding the distinct lack of Pakistani content on streaming platforms such as Netflix.
In a video posted to his Instagram account on Wednesday, he said Pakistan’s entertainment industry had neither the widely-relatable narratives, nor the technical expertise to meet the standards of global streaming giants.
Abbasi started off by addressing a statement by Salman Iqbal, the CEO of ARY Digital, who said his channel was approached by Netflix for streaming rights. The executive said he had rejected the offers in favour of building a Pakistani streaming platform.
The filmmaker said he found the whole thing “impractical”, particularly if the idea was for ARY to have its own platform — the channel operates a free-of-charge streaming service called ARY Plus.
Abbasi said any attempt at a Pakistani streaming service needed support — and more importantly, content — from multiple different channels.
