ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Unfiltered Naari streams on ShemarooMe

    Unfiltered Naari streams on ShemarooMe

    MUMBAI : What does a woman really want? If Bollywood’s tried and failed to crack it, Unfiltered Naari gives it a shot with a cheeky twist. The Hindi dubbed version of Gujarati blockbuster Fakt Mahilao Maate is now streaming on ShemarooMe, and it’s putting the spotlight on womanhood, gender gags, and one very confused lad with a supernatural gift.

    Originally a smash hit among Gujarati audiences, the film marks megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s Gujarati cinema debut, now repackaged for pan-India viewers in a language that promises even more punch. Directed by Jay Bodas and produced by Anand Pandit and Vaishal Shah, the film stars Yash Soni as Chintan, a middle-class bloke suddenly blessed (or cursed?) with the power to understand women.

    From matriarchs to mates, Chintan’s world is full of opinionated, unapologetic women. But when he starts hearing their unfiltered thoughts, the real chaos begins. Peppered with satire, heart, and some Bachchan baritone, Unfiltered Naari explores what happens when empathy meets exasperation in the great gender tug-of-war.

    The cast also includes Deeksha Joshi, Tarjanee Bhadla, Bhavini Jani, Kalpana Gagdekar, Chetan Daiya, Vaishakh Rathod, Deep Vaidya and Om Bhatt, adding to the ensemble madness.

    ShemarooMe’s Hindi launch of the film is part of its larger push to give regional gems a national stage. As gender debates get louder and more layered, Unfiltered Naari doesn’t claim to solve them, it just wants to make you laugh, think, and maybe text your mum more often.

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  • Prime Video’s new campaign says it all: laugh, cry, love, repeat

    Prime Video’s new campaign says it all: laugh, cry, love, repeat

    MUMBAI: Prime Video is wearing its heart on its sleeve. In a snazzy new brand campaign titled ‘Every kind of emotion. It’s on Amazon Prime’, the streaming giant is trading in genres for gut punches, spotlighting its diverse catalogue through the lens of pure feeling.

    The campaign features two punchy ad films—one with national treasure Manoj Bajpayee and another with South sensation Samantha—each crafted for specific markets. But the message is universal: Prime Video isn’t just about what you watch, it’s about what you feel.

    Comedy that’s awkward or absurd, love that’s unspoken or unrequited, thrills that sneak or strike—this is entertainment that sticks. The campaign taps into the viewer insight that when audiences scroll for genres, they’re actually hunting for emotional hits—those little jolts of joy, nostalgia, suspense, or heartbreak.

    Gone are the days of slotting stories into neat boxes. Prime Video is throwing open the doors to content that’s as layered as life itself—across languages, formats, and cultures.

    “At Prime Video, we believe entertainment isn’t about ticking genre boxes—it’s about delivering experiences that emotionally connect with customers,” said Sonal Kabi, director & head of marketing, Prime Video, India. “This campaign showcases our commitment to delivering a wide range of stories that capture a gamut of feelings that our viewers can relate to. ‘Every kind of emotion. It’s on Amazon Prime’ isn’t just a line—it’s a promise we deliver, day-in and day-out through our series and movies. Great stories can come from anywhere — and our goal is to ensure audiences don’t just watch them but truly feel and connect with them. We’re proud to be a service that reflects the full spectrum of human emotions.”

    Bajpayee said, “The beauty of entertainment today is that it mirrors our own complexity. Just as my character Srikant Tiwari balances national security with family life in The Family Man, Prime Video masterfully balances the full spectrum of human emotions. One moment you’re craving a thriller that keeps you on the edge, the next you’re seeking the warmth of a heartfelt story. That’s what drew me to this campaign – it captures how we truly experience and consume entertainment in our lives. It’s smart, it’s emotional, it’s completely relatable and it beautifully showcases how Prime Video has become a destination where every emotion finds its perfect match. It was fun to play a version of Srikant Tiwari who is catching feelings instead of catching bad guys for once!”

    Samantha said, “Every role is an emotional journey. From embodying the intensity of Raji in The Family Man to exploring the complexities of a covert operative in Citadel: Honey Bunny – each character has pushed my boundaries in unique ways. What fascinates me is how this mirrors our own viewing habits. We don’t just watch shows; we seek emotions that resonate with our moment. Sometimes it’s the adrenaline rush of a thriller, other times it’s revisiting that one scene that touched our soul. That’s the magic Prime Video has captured – understanding that stories aren’t just about genres, they’re about the feelings they evoke. Every story has its own emotional fingerprint, and there’s something beautiful about having a service like Prime Video that celebrates every shade of human experience.”

    Created by Manja, the campaign will be deployed through a rollout across digital, social, and outdoors. Suyash Barve, Head of Creative, Manja said, “As more and more content gets added to our screens, our classical understanding of genres has become too vague. There is no action on one side and romance on the other. Now, every movie and TV show is a multi-hyphenate. An action-dramedy or a political-espionage-thriller or a political-espionage-action-dramedy. Now, you can choose between comedies that make you laugh out loud, or ones that make you chuckle. Horror movies that make your heart stop, or just ones that creep you out. We used this rephrasing of genre to tell our story of range. There’s just so much to watch on Prime Video, that you simply have to be more specific. The perfect sutradhars for this journey were of course, our Family Man, Manoj Bajpayee and the star of Citadel: Honey Bunny and The Family Man antagonist, Samantha – both of whom turn a simple discussion on what to watch into a days-long crusade to prove that there’s more than one kind of funny and more than one kind of thriller.”

    It’s a slick, slice-of-life sell, reinforcing Prime Video’s pitch as India’s most beloved binge-spot. From belly laughs to big sobs, it’s all on tap—and just a click away.

  • Netflix schools rivals as streamers ace June TV viewership charts

    Netflix schools rivals as streamers ace June TV viewership charts

    MUMBAI: Class is in session and Netflix is teaching everyone a lesson in domination. In Nielsen’s 50th The Gauge report for June 2025, streaming flexed its muscle once again, accounting for a record 46.0 per cent of total TV usage in the US. Leading the binge brigade was Netflix, which saw a 13.5 per cent surge in viewership over May, grabbing an 8.3 per cent share of total television minutes. That’s 0.8 points up month-on-month and enough to account for 42 per cent of streaming’s total gain in June.

    The platform’s winning streak was powered by its usual bag of tricks: original series Ginny & Georgia was crowned the most-streamed title of the month with a jaw-dropping 8.7 billion viewing minutes, while acquired shows Animal Kingdom and Blindspot together clocked 11.4 billion minutes. And just to put a cherry on top, Squid Game Season 3 dropped in the final three days of the month and still managed nearly a billion viewing minutes per day.

    Peacock wasn’t far behind on the podium, notching a 13.4 per cent usage rise fuelled largely by the new season of Love Island USA, which bagged 4.4 billion viewing minutes and ranked fourth overall. The streamer finished June with a 1.5 per cent TV share, up from 1.2 per cent in May.

    Much of the streaming spike can be chalked up to school being out. Kids and teens (aged 6–17) increased their TV usage by 27 per cent in June, with streaming accounting for 66 per cent of their total watch time. Netflix and Peacock saw viewership from this age group climb 32 per cent and 37 per cent, respectively.

    This cohort also powered up consoles and cable boxes, leading to a 41 per cent jump in the “Other” category home to video games and set-top box viewing far above the overall 14 per cent gain in that segment.

    Meanwhile, traditional TV continued its summer slump. Broadcast viewership dipped 5 per cent to an all-time low share of 18.5 per cent, slipping below the 20 per cent mark for the first time. Cable remained mostly flat but still ceded 0.7 share points to end at 23.4 per cent. Combined, cable and broadcast dropped from 44.2 per cent in May to 41.9 per cent in June.

    That said, the NBA Finals threw broadcasters a lifeline, ABC aired all seven of the month’s most-watched telecasts, including the NBA Trophy Presentation. On cable, Conference Finals on ESPN and TNT scored big, while news and special programming like Fox News’ Army 250 Parade and CNN’s Goodnight and Good Luck helped shore up ratings.

    With summer holidays in full swing and streamers rolling out irresistible content, one thing is clear: viewers are switching channels literally and figuratively. And if June is any indication, traditional TV might need more than just a timeout to catch up.

  • Aditi Guha joins Prime Video as head of programming & content insights

    Aditi Guha joins Prime Video as head of programming & content insights

    MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Video has roped in media veteran Aditi Guha as head of programming & content insights for Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios India. She joined the content giant in May 2025 and made the announcement today on Linkedin. 

    With over two decades of experience across media planning, consumer insight, content strategy and product monetisation, Guha is set to shape the streamer’s data-led storytelling and business decisions.

    Prior to this, Guha served as senior product researcher at Netflix APAC, where she led consumer insight across South Korea, Japan, India, Australia, and Southeast Asia, focusing on partnerships, churn, retention and commerce growth. Before that, she held multiple leadership roles at The Walt Disney Co in Singapore, launching Disney+ in Southeast Asia and building audience strategies across studios, media networks and licensing verticals.

    Her career began in media planning at Universal McCann and WPP, before she made her mark at Viacom18’s MTV Insight Studio and ABP News. Guha is an alumna of Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication and has earned certifications from NUS Business School, IdeoU, and General Assembly in analytics and design thinking.

    With content wars heating up in the Indian OTT space, her appointment signals Amazon’s continued push to double down on data-fuelled programming decisions, local insights and international storytelling chops.

  • Brands join the First Copy wave on Amazon MX Player

    Brands join the First Copy wave on Amazon MX Player

    MUMBAI: When a show strikes the right chord, it doesn’t just stay on screens, it creates a cultural movement. And that’s what First Copy on Amazon MX Player, Amazon’s free video streaming service has done. With its sharp, nostalgic tone and a title that practically writes its own punchlines, First Copy has sparked a trend no one saw coming. From FMCG to fashion and fintech, brands across sectors are joining in with a bold twist on their messaging, ‘Sirf ek original hai. Baaki sab first copy hai.’

    The phrase, now synonymous with the series, has become a campaign theme adopted by everyone from Bikaji, Pulse, and Sunfeast, to Aashirvaad, Lee, Tata Soulful, Vadilal, each one tipping their hat to their own originality while nodding to the series that’s made “first copy” a part of everyday conversation. From crunchy snacks to digital wallets, dairy products to denim, the show’s influence is cutting across categories. Whether it’s “Iske deewanepan ka koi match nahi! Pulse hi hai asli OG, baaki sab toh bas #FirstCopy!” or “Bikaji bhujia mein hai ORIGINAL BIKANERI JADOO! Baaki sab? #FirstCopy,” or “Sirf Sunfeast Dark Fantasy hai #HarDilKiFantasy, baaki sab #FirstCopy hai,” each activation cleverly inserts itself into the world of First Copy.

    Each brand is celebrating their product’s authenticity, while cheekily nodding to the show’s core theme that in a world full of duplicates, there’s only one worth watching. As the campaign continues to grow, First Copy has sparked conversations with multiple brands wanting to be a part of it. And in the age of scrolls, shares, and smart marketing, that’s the real original win. 

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  • Balaji Telefilms goes big on movies and OTT, trims TV bets

    Balaji Telefilms goes big on movies and OTT, trims TV bets

    MUMBAI:  Balaji Telefilms is flipping its script. In a year marked by a strategic overhaul, the Ekta Kapoor-backed entertainment house has declared a decisive pivot from television towards high-growth verticals: movies, digital streaming, and branded content.

    Addressing analysts on its FY25 earnings call, group chief executive and CFO Sanjay Dwivedi outlined a transformation roadmap: “Movies will be our growth engine, digital will scale next, and television—once our mainstay—will become the third line of business.”

    The studio reported consolidated revenue of Rs 453 crore in FY25, down from Rs 625 crore the previous year. Yet net profit surged to Rs 84.6 crore from Rs 19.4 crore, largely due to a rights-heavy strategy in film and digital. The PAT margin stood at 18.7 per cent, and the company ended the year with Rs 172 crore in cash and mutual funds.

    Balaji’s OTT platform ALT Balaji saw a turnaround. Once burning Rs 120–145 crore a year, its cash burn has now dropped to just Rs 35 lakh a month. The platform added 3.29 lakh subscriptions in Q4 FY25, with total active subscribers crossing the 2 million mark.

    The company is also phasing out its pure SVOD model in favour of a hybrid SVOD–AVOD play, supported by a short-form vertical content app called Kutting. YouTube strategy and advertiser-funded content (AFP) are set to bolster revenue.

    Crucially, Balaji sealed a long-term content partnership with Netflix, spanning original films, binge series, telenovelas, and reality formats over 3 to 7 years. “This is not a one-off deal—it’s a foundational alliance for the future,” said Dwivedi.

    Balaji is betting on movies to power future growth. It has de-risked the vertical by recouping up to 90 per cent of production costs via pre-sales and co-production deals. In FY25, films contributed 30 per cent to revenue.
    Its upcoming slate includes Vrushabha (starring Mohanlal), the Priyadarshan-directed Bhoot Bangla with Akshay Kumar, and Vvan, a collaboration with TVF featuring Sidharth Malhotra.

    The studio targets 6 theatrical releases per year and is building on a franchise playbook with sequels like Dream Girl, LSD, and Shootout.
    TV content production touched 133 hours in Q4, with four shows on air. However, broadcaster yields remain 25 per cent below pre-Covid levels, and Balaji is cautious about further TV expansion.

    “TV is a volume game now. Rates aren’t recovering. We’ll stick to 6–8 shows a year, with a cap around Rs 350 crore,” said Dwivedi.

    New shows include Bade Achhe Lagte Hain – Phir Se and a reboot of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
    The company is also experimenting with AI-led production, launching a series titled Kalnagri on its platform. Regional expansion is on the cards, starting with Tamil and Telugu.

    On YouTube, Balaji hit 1 million subscribers in a month, banking on a mix of new shows and IP-retained repurposed content—especially as Indian viewers seek alternatives to banned Pakistani serials.

    Balaji has a Rs 300 crore B2B order book from leading OTT platforms. It expects digital to contribute 20–25 per cent of revenue in two years. The company is not planning a spin-off of the digital business for now, but hints at unlocking value once scale justifies it.

    “We are storytellers, not just platform owners,” Dwivedi said. “Our job is to find the next big content wave—whatever the screen.”

  • Samar Khan takes on additional role as chief content officer for DocuBay and EpicOn

    Samar Khan takes on additional role as chief content officer for DocuBay and EpicOn

    MUMBAI: Veteran filmmaker and journalist Samar Khan has been appointed chief content officer for IN10 Media Network’s DocuBay and EpicOn, effective July 2025. This new responsibility comes in addition to his current role as chief executive officer of Juggernaut Productions, also a part of IN10 Media.
    With over 25 years of experience in content creation, writing, directing, and producing for television and films, Khan is set to spearhead the content strategy for the two specialized platforms.

    As CEO of Juggernaut Productions since April 2019, Khan has been instrumental in developing a robust concept bank. His extensive background includes pioneering entertainment journalism with India’s first 20-minute entertainment news program, “Bollywood News,” heading the TV division at Red Chillies Entertainment, and leading the OTT platform for Sahara Group. He is also the author of “SRK – 25 Years of a Life” and has creatively produced numerous acclaimed shows for both OTT and television.

    This dual leadership position underscores IN10 Media Network’s commitment to strengthening its content offerings across its diverse platforms under Khan’s seasoned guidance.

  • Scents of purpose as Mangaldeep expands its ‘Sixth Sense’ fragrance panel

    Scents of purpose as Mangaldeep expands its ‘Sixth Sense’ fragrance panel

    MUMBAI: Who needs sight to sense greatness? At Mangaldeep, fragrance creation is being reimagined, one heightened sense at a time. ITC Mangaldeep, India’s leading incense brand, is proving that scent goes beyond sensory pleasure, it can also be a catalyst for purpose, pride, and inclusion. With the expansion of its “Sixth Sense Panel” to 180 visually impaired individuals, the brand is building a fragrance development process where ability, not disability, takes centre stage.

    Launched in 2021, the initiative taps into the clinically established superpower of the visually impaired: an enhanced sense of smell. Now comprising panelists from Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata with academic and professional credentials to match this one-of-a-kind team is actively shaping Mangaldeep’s latest offerings. So far, it has influenced hits like Sandal, Rose, Lavender, and Marigold incense variants.

    In June 2025, 30 new panelists completed a specialised olfactory training programme, where they fine-tuned their scent articulation across fragrance families from fruity to floral, woody to oudh. With access to Mangaldeep’s in-house experts and structured evaluation tools, these panellists are now key contributors to product innovation, turning scent into a shared language of dignity.

    “This is no CSR tokenism. The Sixth Sense Panel has become integral to how we develop fragrances,” said ITC Ltd divisional chief executive for agarbatti & matches business Gaurav Tayal. “It brings us perspectives we’d otherwise miss.”

    The initiative draws inspiration from research at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Institute, which found that the visually impaired often possess superior olfactory faculties, a super-skill Mangaldeep is now mainstreaming into the fragrance industry.

    Former Blind Cricket World Cup winner Mahender Vaishna, now a panellist, called the experience “empowering and dignifying,” while Radio Udaan co-founder Minal Singhvi  credited the programme with helping her rediscover joy, confidence, and creative purpose.

    At its core, Mangaldeep’s inclusive innovation is about rewriting the narrative around disability not through sympathy, but through strength. In the process, it’s proving that the soul of scent lies not in how it’s seen, but in how deeply it’s felt.

    As brands across sectors explore meaningful inclusivity, Mangaldeep is lighting the way, one fragrant step at a time.

  • Swiggy serves up LOLs as it swaps menus for memes on the ‘gram

    Swiggy serves up LOLs as it swaps menus for memes on the ‘gram

    MUMBAI: Once known for delivering food, Swiggy is now delivering punchlines and the internet’s loving every byte. Somewhere between “order now” and “out for delivery,” Swiggy pulled off a rebrand no one saw coming. What began as a food delivery app is now dishing out cultural currency in bulk, using meme-first content, creator collabs, and moment-led mayhem to claim a spot as one of India’s most culturally fluent brands online.

    Gone are the days of the polished influencer integration. Swiggy’s digital strategy is now built on a different recipe: creators who feel real, trends that begin in group chats before boardrooms, and humour that’s more Instagram DM than advertising brief.

    Remember the viral “croissant” mispronunciation? What could’ve been just another fleeting laugh became a nation-wide earworm, thanks to creator Prashant and Swiggy’s impeccable meme timing. Then came the “Tedhe Medhe Guy”, the blank-staring student Shagun, Pakistani creator Abuloo, even lookalikes of Virat and Rohit, all roped into the brand’s ever-expanding ‘content kitchen’.

    Swiggy’s collab with internet oddballs Famous Ram and Khushi for the IPL season, or its chaotic creator-led push for Group Ordering, shows its refusal to play it safe. This isn’t content engineered for awards, it’s built for shares, comments, chaos and connection.

    “We don’t just create content, we co-create with the internet,” said Yukti Satija, who helms Swiggy Food’s social media. “Participating in trends is not enough, we’re here to start them.”

    It’s working. With millions of organic views and minimal ad spend, Swiggy’s feed has morphed into a digital dhaba for India’s meme-hungry audience. No filters, no frills just hyperlocal humour that hits harder than a 3 am paratha craving.

    “There’s often a tendency to dismiss unpolished creators as ‘cringe’, especially those outside the metros,” Yukti notes. “But we’ve learned that the internet rewards honesty over polish. Realness beats reelness.”

    Swiggy’s Instagram bio sums it up: khaana khau raat bhar, crazy collabs karu har baat par. In a digital world full of filters, this food app is staying deliciously unfiltered and redefining what it means to be a brand online.

  • Mission Sponsor Possible as Special Ops 2 locks in 14 brand partners

    Mission Sponsor Possible as Special Ops 2 locks in 14 brand partners

    MUMBAI: Espionage has never looked so marketable JioHotstar’s Special Ops 2 is back, and it’s bringing more than just bullets and secrets to the screen this 18 July. It’s bringing brands. Fourteen of them. Special Ops 2, the latest instalment of the hit thriller franchise, is already making headlines before its premiere not just for its high-stakes cyber warfare plot, but for its impressive brand line-up. With 14 marquee sponsors on board, the show has set a new benchmark in branded entertainment for scripted Indian OTT content.

    From automobiles to FMCG, and personal care to mutual funds, Special Ops 2 has attracted a cross-sectoral advertiser base that includes Hyundai, Jaquar & Co, Directors Elaichi, Asian Paints, UTI Mutual Fund, Envy, Philips, Lux Industries, Domino’s, JK Cement, Oppo, Swiggy, Toothsi, and Sony Bravia. This marks the highest-ever sponsor count for a title under the Specials banner on JioHotstar.

    “With Special Ops, we’ve built an iconic IP that delivers both cultural impact and business value,” said JioHotstar head of revenue entertainment & international Ajit Varghese. “This kind of brand response speaks to the power of premium storytelling and the platform’s ability to deliver engaged, meaningful audiences at scale.”

    Returning to the screen is Kay Kay Menon as Himmat Singh, the stoic intelligence officer at the centre of the action. But this time, he’s stepping into a more shadowy world of cyber espionage, system sabotage, and faceless digital enemies, a timely theme in an age of digital vulnerability.

    The rise in sponsorships also underscores how advertisers are shifting focus towards long-form, high-quality original series as strategic storytelling platforms. JioHotstar’s previous original, Criminal Justice Season 4, similarly drew widespread brand attention, signalling a growing trend in content-backed advertising integrations.

    Special Ops 2 premieres on 18 July exclusively on JioHotstar, and if the buzz (and brand budget) is anything to go by, this mission’s already a success before its first intel drop.