ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Lionsgate Play announces new original ‘Gamer Log’ based on e-sports

    Lionsgate Play announces new original ‘Gamer Log’ based on e-sports

    Mumbai: Streaming platform Lionsgate Play has announced a new show titled “Gamer Log” set against the backdrop of competitive esports. The show is produced by RDP Pulp Fiction Entertainment and headed by Abhinay Deo and Neeta Shah.

    “This will be a first-of-a-kind Indian gaming show that will follow the adventures and misadventures of a team of professional gamers,” said the platform in a statement. The show has been created by Karmanya Ahuja.

    Lionsgate MD South Asia and Networks – emerging markets Asia Rohit Jain said this announcement reiterates their mission to bring compelling stories and new content to viewers across the globe. “E-sports is a booming industry in India; 350+ million online gamers were recorded last year, and it’s an upward growth from here. Gamer Log will essentially showcase the lives of these very gamers. We look forward to working with Abhinay and Neeta on a show that will be funny, youthful, and mainstream,” Jain added.

    “’Gamer Log’ embodies the exact principles of content coming out of Lionsgate stable – innovation blended with entertainment,” added Lionsgate Play VP originals Mrinalini Khanna.

    “We are thrilled to be working with Lionsgate Play for ‘Gamer Log’,” said producer and showrunner Abhinay Deo. “With this show, we plan to tap into an unexplored world, bringing audiences a story about friendship, camaraderie, hopes, dreams, and ambition.”

    “’Gamer Log’ is a unique concept with peculiar characters who are quirky yet extremely relatable, managing internal dysfunction and navigating the competitive world of esports with comedy, drama, entertainment and a lot of gaming,” said producer Neeta Shah. “Abhinay and I believe that Lionsgate Play’s ethos works best for ‘Gamer Log’ – it’s a story for the masses with an innovative thought. I’m glad that Rohit and Mrinalini are in complete sync with our vision of the show.”

  • Poker Sports League S4 to be livestreamed on Voot

    Poker Sports League S4 to be livestreamed on Voot

    Mumbai: The fourth season of Poker Sports League (PSL) will be live streamed on Viacom18-owned streaming service, Voot. Fairplay News is associated with the tournament as the ‘powered by’ partner.

    PSL season four started on 29 March and will go on till 13 April with six to seven matches every week. This year’s league is in phygital format with Deltin Royale and Adda52 as venue partner and online partner, respectively.

    The season finale will be hosted live on-ground from 20-24 April for the first time since the pandemic.

    “We are thrilled to partner again this year with Voot for our upcoming season,” said Poker Sports League CEO and founder Pranav Bagai. “As our majority of the audience are tech savvy and shifting towards OTT platforms to consume various modes of entertainment, partnering with Voot for streaming was a prudent option. Through this association we endeavour to provide our users with the finest experience of poker possible.”

    The focus of this season are the upcoming qualifiers along with key pro- players, with high investment biddings and significant retainers. There are six teams representing six different Indian provinces, namely Delhi Czars, Deccan Aces, Goan Nuts, Gujarat Falcons, Mumbai Anchors, and Kolkata Kings. A total of 36 qualifiers, 12 pro-players are going to be a part of this season. In addition to these it has six spots for women and six for substitutes.

    “Given the substantial shift in content consumption to digital platforms in India, and the dynamicity of the Indian online poker industry, we decided to reach a wider audience and encourage them to play in every season,” Bagai further said, adding, “Our partnership with Voot will screen an exclusive behind-the-scenes reality show ‘Poker Mantra’ in addition to the live streaming of the league.”

    “At Voot, we strive to ink partnerships that add value to our platform, and we are thrilled to once again partner with Poker Sports League,” stated Viacom18 Digital Ventures head – AVOD (Voot) Chanpreet Arora. “Through this partnership, Voot’s appeal to the young audiences will create a strong fan base for Poker in India and will provide us with an opportunity to captivate poker enthusiasts and provide them with a rewarding experience.”

  • Discovery+ to launch ‘Legends of Ramayana’ docu-series with Amish Tripathi

    Discovery+ to launch ‘Legends of Ramayana’ docu-series with Amish Tripathi

    Mumbai: Discovery Inc-owned streaming platform Discovery+ has announced a new docu-series “Legends of the Ramayana” featuring author Amish Tripathi as the host. The show will begin streaming on the platform on 7 April. 

    Tripathi is a celebrated Indian author renowned for the “Shiva Trilogy” and “Ram Chandra” novel series. As the host, he will traverse across geographies in the footsteps of ‘Lord Ram’ to retrace his journey and unravel the under-explored mysteries around the text, said the platform in a statement. 

    “It has been said that no Indian hears the Ramayan for the first time. We are all born with it. It’s a part of our genes, a part of our bones. It is our collective eternal heritage. And to be able host a documentary on this subject, would, I thought, be a bit like coming home,” said Amish Tripathi. “And yet, even though we were covering the familiar, one still had experiences that one would not expect! For example, we actually shot in small caves where an underground river flows! Or discovered a tribe that tattoos the holy name of Ram all over their bodies! Or actually found floating stones at Rameshwaram; stones that despite being so light were still strong enough to be used in the modern era in the construction of a church! All of us Indians think we know Lord Ram’s journey. But there is still so much more to discover.”

    “I couldn’t have dreamt of a better programme where I could make my debut as a host. It was enlightening, it was fun, it was surreal,” he further said.

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  • IPL 2022: YuppTV bags broadcasting rights in 99 countries

    IPL 2022: YuppTV bags broadcasting rights in 99 countries

    Mumbai: Streaming platform YuppTV has bagged the international broadcasting rights of Tata IPL 2022 in 99 countries. This is its fifth consecutive year for the platform to stream the tournament abroad.

    The matches will be broadcast in the regions of Australia, Continental Europe, South East Asia (except Singapore), Malaysia, Central and South America, Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Japan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives etc.

    “Cricket has always been a massive crowd-puller and IPL has reimagined the format and the excitement associated with it,” said YuppTV founder and CEO Uday Reddy. “In alignment with the objective of bringing cricket to the masses, we are delighted to be the streaming platform of choice in expanding the outreach to 99 nations across the globe. We are ensuring that our robust backend technology will support uninterrupted, real-time streaming of the sport that puts India on the world map with respect to international leagues.”

    “We’re happy to be continuing our long-standing association with YuppTV who continue to serve the global Indian diaspora with world-class content,” said Disney Star head of acquisition and syndication Harry Griffith. “The Tata IPL 2022 promises to be the largest and most exciting edition since its inception.”

    Tata IPL 2022, which began airing on 26 March, marks the debut of two new franchises Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) along with the existing franchises Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Delhi Capitals (DC), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Mumbai Indians (MI), Punjab Kings (PBKS), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).

    The league matches will be held at Wankhede Stadium, Brabourne Stadium and DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai, and MCA International Stadium in Pune. The tournament comprises 74 matches this season.

  • Disney+ Hotstar strengthens regional offering with new Malayalam titles

    Disney+ Hotstar strengthens regional offering with new Malayalam titles

    Mumbai: As a part of its content expansion plans, Disney+ Hotstar is set to bring the magic of Malayalam cinema to viewers across the country. The OTT streaming platform has announced new Malayalam titles featuring popular stars such as Dulquer Salmaan, Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and many others.

    According to a recent FICCI-EY report, regional cinema is growing rapidly. The report charted the growth of video OTT subscribing households to grow from 40 million in 2021 to 60 million by 2024 with regional films and shows becoming a big pull for OTT viewers.

    The report also revealed that Malayalam is rising as one of the top streaming languages across different OTT platforms.

    Here’s a look at some of the top Mollywood titles available on the platform:

    “Lalitham Sundaram“

    Surrounding the event of their mother’s funerals, three siblings lost in their fast-paced worlds reconnect and find their way back to family in this enduring family drama directed by Madhu Warrier. Starring Manju Warrier, Biju Menon, and Anu Mohan, Zarina Wahab, the film also features a melodious score sung by Bombay Jayasree.

    “Hridayam“

    Charting a young man’s rough childhood and the wrong turns he took, “Hridayam,” directed by Vineeth Sreenivasan, is a coming-of-age film. Starring Pranav Mohanlal, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Darshana Rajendran, the film is set to get a Hindi remake by Bollywood director Karan Johar.

    “Bro Daddy“

    A family drama revolving around the lives of two Christian families in Kerala and their youngest secretly being in a live-in relationship makes the premise of this beloved film. Directed by Prithviraj Sukumaran, it stars, Mohanlal, Prithviraj Sukumaran with Lalu Alex, Meena, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Kaniha, Unni Mukundan, Jagadish, Mallika Sukumaran and Soubin Shahir in supporting roles.

    “Bangalore Days“

    An endearing tale of finding love, sustaining friendships and forming bonds that last forever, this Anjali Menon directorial is considered one of the finest of Malayalam films. Starring Nazriya Nazim, Nivin Pauly, Dulquer Salmaan, Fahadh Faasil, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Isha Talwar and Paris Laxmi, it has won several accolades following its release in 2014.

    “Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham“

    Can a pair of gold rings gifted out of love ever land you in trouble? “Kanakam Kaamini Kalaham,” a satire film written and directed by Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduva explores just that. Starring Nivin Pauly, Grace Antony, Vinay Forrt, Sudheesh, Jaffar Idukki, Joy Mathew, Vincy Aloshious, Sivadasan Kannur, and Rajesh Madhavan, this film makes daylight of a chaotic mess.

    “Premam“

    Written, directed and edited by Alphonse Puthren, “Premam” is a coming-of-age romance that explores a young man’s journey across failed relationships, rekindled love, and finding purpose. A delightful watch, the film stars Nivin Pauly, Sai Pallavi, Madonna Sebastian, Anupama Parameswaran, Shabareesh Varma, Krishna Sankar, Ananth Nag, Siju Wilson, and others.

    “Ustad Hotel“

    Revolving around failed dreams, burning passion, and a love for food, “Ustad Hotel,” directed by Anwar Rasheed, is your typical warm-hearted Sunday watch that brings a big smile to your face. Starring Dulquer Salmaan, Thilakan, Nithya Menen, Siddique, Mamukkoya, and Lena in supporting roles, this film figures high on the Malayalam film watch list.

    “North 24 Kaatham“

    An adventure drama film written and directed by debutant Anil Radhakrishnan Menon, this film features prominent actors Fahadh Faasil, Nedumudi Venu, and Swathi Reddy and is known for its beautiful musical scores.

  • Disney+ Hotstar announces Indian adaptation of Irish show ‘Blood’

    Disney+ Hotstar announces Indian adaptation of Irish show ‘Blood’

    Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar, in association with All3Media International, is set to create the Indian adaptation of award-winning Irish show “Blood.” The show will be produced by Dreamers & Doers Co, a premium content studio owned by Reliance Entertainment.

    Helmed by Gurmmeet Singh as the showrunner, and directed by Mihir Desai, the Indian rendition of the show will have the same title. “The show is an intimate drama and psychological thriller about familial bonds, memories, and the past’s impact on the present,” said the statement.

    “We are elated to announce the Indian adaptation of award-winning drama Blood, thereby, further strengthening our thriller offerings,” said Disney+ Hotstar and Disney Star HSM Entertainment network head of content Gaurav Banerjee. “The demand for entertainment is rapidly evolving, and viewers’ want for new-fangled content is expanding. On our journey to engage with millions of viewers, we are delighted to be able to collaborate with the most prolific creative minds at All3Media International to present stories that defy narratives to satiate our viewer’s appetite for unparalleled entertainment experience.”

    “We are delighted to bring an Indian version of this fantastic drama that will join the growing roster of original content produced exclusively for Disney+ Hotstar,” said All3Media International EVP APAC Sabrina Duguet. “Sophie Petzal’s impeccable writing skillfully draws viewers into the story with its universally relevant themes and innovative take on the thriller-mystery genre, making Blood perfect for Indian adaptation, and we look forward to this gripping story about family, grief and truth arriving in India.

    “We believe in the power of stories that travel and are constantly looking for great subjects that we can bring to the Indian market,” said Dreamers & Doers Co CEO Namit Sharma. “Blood is a quintessential universal story – where fractured family dynamics come out to play with the matriarch’s death as a trigger. We have had a great relationship with All3Media International as we have adapted the series for the Indian market – their support in letting us make this version our own, has been enormous. Our showrunner Gurmmeet Singh and director Mihir Desai have crafted the series with passion and care and we couldn’t be prouder of this fact. Dark, delicious and deceptive – Blood is a family drama like no other.”

  • Third edition of BollywoodLife Awards honors entertainers in digital space

    Third edition of BollywoodLife Awards honors entertainers in digital space

    Mumbai: Entertainment news portal BollywoodLife.com organised the third edition of BollywoodLife Awards 2022 on 25 March. This digital-only awards ceremony was held to felicitate the content creators, actors, filmmakers, and entertainers in the digital space.

    The two-hour virtual gala session was sponsored by a variety of brands including Samsung Galaxy A53 5g, Canara bank, PC Chandra Jewellers, Sensodyne, Meesho, Joyalukkas and Amazon Payments. 

    Some notable winners of this year’s BollywoodLife Awards are Kareena Kapoor Khan for ‘Social Media Queen’; Ranveer Singh and Allu Arjun for ‘Best Actor’; Rashmika Mandana and Rani Mukherjee for ‘Best Actress.’ Rohit Shetty and Sukumar were awarded ‘Best Director.’

    Zee head for digital sales Shridhar Mishra was thrilled to see the response of audiences, participants, and sponsors. Speaking of the awards, he said, “we are thrilled with the great response the third season of the BollywoodLife Awards saw this year. Our intention was to felicitate and recognise creators and entertainers for the great content they create to entertain the audience.”

    BollywoodLife.com Awards 2022 used online voting by the audience along with the discretion of the esteemed jury which included – Shantanu Maheshwari, actor and casting director Abhishek Banerjee, celebrated actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya, “Naagin 6” actress Urvashi Dholakia, TV actor Aashiesh Sharma and others.

    As a prelude to the award ceremony, the platform organised multiple masterclasses from popular celebrities like ‘83″ actor Tahir Raj Bhasin, “Aashram” star Bobby Deol, “Love Hostel” actress Sanya Malhotra, “Badhaai Do” actor Rajkummar Rao and more. 

    There were power-packed panel discussions with various creators, actors, esteemed members of the film, OTT, and television fraternity to discuss the impact of the OTT platforms and trends in the TV industry by actresses – Shivangi Khedkar; Madalsa Sharma; Ahana Kumra; Flora Saini; Sonnalli Seygall; Shubhavi Chowksi; Shafaq Naaz and also actors Tahir Raj Bhasin; Sunny Hinduja; Dibyendu Bhattacharya, and Shagun Pandey. 

  • MiQ partners with Samsung Ads to reach Samsung Connected TVs

    MiQ partners with Samsung Ads to reach Samsung Connected TVs

    Mumbai: Programmatic partner MiQ has announced a partnership with Samsung Ads DSP (demand-side platform) to bolster the reach of its solutions and video campaigns across Samsung’s current device ecosystem. Through this partnership, brands and advertisers would have access to CTV inventory, as well as access to targeted audiences across Samsung TVs.

    “By partnering with Samsung Ads’ DSP, advertisers working with MiQ can target audiences against more data-driven insights through online programmatic channels,” said the statement. “The partnership comes at a time when digital media prepares to move away from cookie-based targeting.”

    This partnership allows MiQ to deterministically reach interest-based audiences as well as premium video inventory on Samsung TV Plus. Advertisers can understand and manage the campaign reach and frequency across linear TV and connected TV (CTV).

    “We are thrilled to partner with Samsung to be a trusted partner in helping advertisers to buy smarter, focussed, impactful solutions, enabling a superior return on their investment,” said MiQ MD Siddharth Dabhade. “We are constantly building innovative solutions to empower our clients with accurate data sets and intelligence. The opportunity to partner with Samsung Ads across its TV platforms provides us with an extraordinarily unique position in the market as we now have the ability to analyse the impact of current TV campaigns. We are confident of forging more such partnerships to help organisations extract optimum benefits from their advertising spend.”

    “We look forward to working closely with MiQ, a company known to combine industry knowledge with excellent technology and analytics solutions,” said Samsung DSP senior director India and Southeast Asia Prabhvir Sahmey. “Global brands can now have widespread reach across device platforms. It is now for the first time that along with MIQ; we are able to bring deep TV insights programmatically via the Samsung DSP.”

  • Glance buys out gaming firm Gambit in NFT push

    Glance buys out gaming firm Gambit in NFT push

    Mumbai: InMobi’s consumer internet division Glance has announced the acquisition of Indian gaming firm Gambit Sports. This will accelerate Singapore-based Glance’s ambition of building the biggest platform for NFT-based live gaming experiences for gen-Z, across markets, it said.

    The acquisition brings together Glance’s scale and lock screen-centric innovation with Gambit’s expertise and understanding of the gaming ecosystem. Glance Games – Glance’s lock screen gaming platform – has over 45 million monthly active users across Asia. Close to 70 per cent are in the age group of 18 to 34, while over 40 per cent of its gamers are female, the company shared.

    Gambit has deep experience in building platforms with high engagement and monetisation. Co-founded in 2015 by Yashashvi Takallapalli, Gaurav Konar, Ranaveer Sankieneni, and Deepak Venkatramani, the company owns and operates Nostragamus (Nostra Pro) – a popular gaming platform with fantasy sports, poker, rummy, quiz, and hyper-casual games. Over 100 million games have been played on the Nostragamus platform, and it has close to 10 million registered users.   

    Glance will leverage Gambit’s expertise to launch engaging live gaming experiences including tournaments, game shows, game streaming and multi-player games on lock screen. Gambit will also enable Glance to launch multiple casual-to-midcore games that can be enjoyed by diverse sets of gamers. In the coming quarters, Glance also plans to launch NFTs in live gaming. This will potentially enable creators, streamers and developers to monetise through assets and NFT-based game creation while giving gamers unique experiences that they love.  
    “Gaming is the most exciting content category across the world today and Gen-Z spends more time on gaming than on any other activity online,” said InMobi co-founder and Glance president and COO Piyush Shah. “Giving users live, connected, interactive gaming experiences on the lock screen is key to Glance’s vision of building the world’s largest live internet platform. We also aim to launch creator-led NFTs for live gaming which will generate unique ‘play-to-earn’ and ‘play-to-own’ possibilities for the entire gaming ecosystem.”

    “We have already started seeing great traction for live gaming on Glance. For instance, over 10 million users watch live game streams on Glance every week now. With Glance and Gambit’s combined strengths and our belief that there is a game for every person, we envision doubling the number of monthly active gamers on Glance Games in the next year,” added Gambit co-founder and CEO Yashashvi Takallapalli. 

    In February 2022, Glance had signed an agreement to raise $200 million funding from Jio Platforms to accelerate its global expansion. The company also entered into a business partnership with Jio through which Glance’s lock screen platform will be integrated into JioPhone Next smartphones. This integration is expected to further boost the reach of Glance Games.

  • Disney+ Hotstar to stream 94th Academy Awards on 28 March

    Disney+ Hotstar to stream 94th Academy Awards on 28 March

    Mumbai: Disney+ Hotstar is set to stream the 94th Academy Awards on 28 March, starting at 5 a.m IST. The Oscars, one of cinema’s most prestigious awards, will take place at Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles.

    This year, the event will see the biggest names in world cinema in attendance who will honour the best movies, filmmakers and performances of 2021. Actors Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall will walk the live audience and viewers through the ceremony as hosts.

    The event will witness the presence of popular stars like Halle Bailey, Ruth E Carter, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Kevin Costner, Jamie Lee Curtis, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel L Jackson, Lily James, Daniel Kaluuya, Zoë Kravitz, Mila Kunis, Lady Gaga, John Leguizamo, Simu Liu, Rami Malek, Shawn Mendes, Lupita Nyong’o, Rosie Perez, Tyler Perry, Chris Rock, Tracee Ellis Ross, Naomi Scott, Wesley Snipes, Uma Thurman, John Travolta and Yuh-Jung Youn, Stephanie Beatriz, DJ Khaled, Jennifer Garner, HER, Tiffany Haddish, Tony Hawk, Bill Murray, Elliot Page, Kelly Slater and Shaun White and several others as they present the award to winners of different categories.

    There will also be musical performances by Beyoncé, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Reba McEntire and Sebastián Yatra. They will perform this year’s nominated songs at the event.

    This year audiences will be able to vote for their favourite movie in new category called ‘Favourite Movie of 2021’ The Academy Awards will declare a winner for this category based on votes submitted on Twitter and the Oscars ‘Fan Favourite’ website.