ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Women’s Day: Planet Marathi offers free annual subscription to all women

    Women’s Day: Planet Marathi offers free annual subscription to all women

    Mumbai: Streaming platform Planet Marathi has announced to offer women a free year-long subscription to its service on the occasion of International Women’s Day. 

    The plan can be availed by subscribing to the OTT service on 8 March, said the statement.

    “Today, women have established their excellence in all fields,” remarked Planet Marathi OTT founder Akshay Bardapurkar. “Their performance and sincerity towards their duty or work is certainly admirable.” Women at large have carved a niche for themselves in almost all walks of life and to celebrate this we are giving a kind of tribute to women by means of a free yearly subscription and what better day than a Women’s Day.”

    Planet Marathi OTT is backed by Vistas Media Capital and launched a year ago offering digital entertainment to Marathi audiences with a variety of exclusive Marathi content. Their content ranges from web series, films, classic library of films, music, concerts, folklores and upcoming genres like karaoke tracks, podcasts and celebrity shows etc. The platform is accessible via app downloadable on Play Store, App Store and through its website. 

  • Rooter acquires media rights to Skyesports’ IPs for one year

    Rooter acquires media rights to Skyesports’ IPs for one year

    Mumbai: In what is said to be one of the largest media rights deals in e-sports, homegrown game streaming platform Rooter has acquired the media rights for all of Skyesports’ IP for the next one year.

    As one of the biggest e-sports tournament organisers in South Asia, Skyesports conducts competitions under its self-owned IPs. Going forward, all of Skyesports’ original competitions will be broadcast exclusively on Rooter. The tournaments will be streamed in several languages which include Hindi, English, Tamil, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu.

    Last year, Skyesports generated more than 200 million viewers across all its tournaments and achieved a peak concurrent viewership record of 221,000 during the Skyesports Championship 3.0 BGMI finals, said the statement.

    In January, Rooter raised $25 million in its series A funding round led by Lightbox, March Gaming, and Duane Park Ventures. Last week, the company also teamed up with the dominant BGMI team, OR Esports, as its official broadcast partner.

    “Skyesports is renowned for hosting some of the major esports tournaments in the country,” said Rooter co-founder and COO Dipesh Agarwal. “Teaming up with a platform redefining Indian e-sports, this comes as a landmark deal for both entities. Rooter is the fastest growing gaming platform in India and we will help Skyesports reach millions of fans who will get the best e-sports content exclusively on Rooter. We also look forward to working with Shiva and the rest of the team to provide multiple engagement opportunities for fans with e-sports teams on Rooter’s platform.”

    “Our goal has always been to make Skyesports’ IPs, which have been homegrown in India, more accessible,” said Skyesports founder and CEO Shiva Nandy. “I am sure that our e-sports content will feel right at home on Rooter’s platform. Additionally, by distributing the media rights, we are empowering Rooter to implement strategies to further engage our already large audience. We look forward to closely working with them throughout the year to enhance the watching experience for the viewers while building e-sports from the grassroots level and launching more premium IPs.”

    “With Skyesports, we envisioned the creation of a closely-knit e-sports ecosystem at the grassroots level. It’s a pleasure to have Rooter join us as a partner and we look forward to working together with them to be able to accelerate our growth in terms of viewership in India,” said JetSynthesys founder and CEO Rajan Navani.

    Earlier this month, Skyesports unveiled its roadmap for 2022 with more than $530,000 in prize money up for grabs across several competitions.

  • ‘Rudra’ records highest viewership ever on Disney+ Hotstar

    ‘Rudra’ records highest viewership ever on Disney+ Hotstar

    Mumbai: Ajay Devgn’s “Rudra – The Edge of Darkness” recorded the highest viewership for any drama on Disney+ Hotstar and has been trending at number one spot since its release on 4 March, announced the streaming platform. The crime thriller is directed by Rajesh Mapuskar and features Devgn in the lead role.

    “It’s overwhelming to see the response everyone has been sending our way for ‘Rudra: The Edge of Darkness’. It makes me happy to see the love everyone has showered on my digital debut. A big thank you to my audiences for their warm words and wishes. I hope to continue exploring and entertaining everyone with characters like Rudra,” said the actor.

    “We are delighted by the phenomenal response our viewers have shown to Rudra! The show has had a record-breaking opening weekend,” said Disney+ Hotstar head content and Disney Star HSM entertainment network head content Gaurav Banerjee. “The incredible acting talent of Ajay Devgn has been backed up by a fabulously crafted storyline. Rudra has given us confidence that the market for high quality storytelling is massive!” 

    Produced by Applause Entertainment in association with BBC Studios India, “Rudra – The Edge of Darkness” is available to stream in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Bengali.

  • Falguni Shah named as MD of EORTV

    Falguni Shah named as MD of EORTV

    Mumbai: India’s first LGBTQ+ OTT platform EORTV has named Falguni Shah as managing director of its OTT business. 

    “Shah will be responsible for the rollout and management of EORTV’s content and revenue. She will also be handling the brand to create awareness for the Indian market,” said the platform in a statement on Monday.

    She will continue to hold her position at the EORTV’s production arm Dreamzz Images Studio as well. “Shah’s expansion of portfolio comes as EORTV continues to expand its commitment to development of the OTT marketplace,” said the statement.

    Shah brings in a decade of experience working with leading broadcast, video-on-demand, and digital companies. She has twelve years of experience in content creation, brand integrations, syndication and marketing.

    Prior to her experience in the entertainment industry, she has held plump positions in the companies like Standard Chartered Finance Ltd, HDFC Standard Life, Tata Teleservices Ltd and BPL (Loop) Mobile, post which she switched from corporate to the content industry joining Dreamzz Images Studio.

    “We have a huge responsibility to entertain our audience with relevant content. Also because LGBTQ is a sensitive topic in India, we are catering to the content demand with utmost care taking into consideration the sentiments of our audiences,” said Falguni Shah. “Content is of prime importance to us. We’ve been building an innovative OTT business which we now plan to further accelerate this year.”

  • Bengali OTT platform Mukti Prime to launch on 8 March

    Bengali OTT platform Mukti Prime to launch on 8 March

    Mumbai: Mukti Production LLP is set to launch a new Bengali OTT platform Mukti Prime on 8 March. Interdisciplinary artist Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee will oversee the content on the app, which has been created by Partha Chatterjee.

    The app will be available for download on the Google Play Store for Android users and App Store for iOs users. “It will showcase content such as web series, Bengali films, short videos, short films and other original content across genres,” said the statement. 

    The platform has already announced a slew of Mukti Prime originals including the series “Condom Kelenkari,” “Ganesh Murti,” “Morichika” and “Chittorgarh Murder Case.” 

    “Mukti Prime is offering subscribers three plans – basic, standard and premium that give access to all its content for a period of 12 months. The basic plan priced at Rs 199 can be accessed using a single device, the standard plan priced at Rs 299 can be accessed by up to three devices and its premium plan at Rs 599 can be accessed by up to six devices,” according to the statement.

    India’s regional OTT space is increasing in competitiveness with the share of regional language consumption on OTT platforms expected to cross 50 per cent of time spent by 2025 from 30 per cent in 2019, overtaking Hindi at 45 per cent as per FICCI-EY report. There are more than 45 OTT platforms in the country.

  • Pamela Anderson to ‘tell the real story’ in new Netflix documentary

    Pamela Anderson to ‘tell the real story’ in new Netflix documentary

    Mumbai:  “Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson is keen to set the record straight with a new documentary on Netflix. 

    The star, whose life story, tumultuous marriage to rocker Tommy Lee, and the controversy surrounding the leak of their sex tape in the 1990s is the subject of the recently released Hulu series “Pam & Tommy,” announced the news about her documentary on social media with a handwritten note.

    “My life/ A thousand imperfections/ A million misperceptions/ Wicked, wild and lost/ Nothing to live up to /I can only surprise you /Not a victim, but a survivor /And alive to tell the real story,” she said in the note.

    Anderson’s son Brandon Thomas Lee, who serves as a producer on the project, reposted the note on his Instagram Story and captioned it: ‘The real story,’ as did her younger son Dylan Jagger Lee.

    Dubbed the definitive documentary about the pop culture icon, the film has been in the making for several years. Directed by Ryan White, the yet-to-be-titled project will feature exclusive access to Anderson, as well as archival footage and her personal journals, reported Variety.

    The documentary has been dubbed as an intimate portrait embedded in the life of Pamela Anderson as she looks back at her professional and personal path and prepares for the next steps on her journey.

  • Netflix elevates Marian Lee as chief marketing officer

    Netflix elevates Marian Lee as chief marketing officer

    Mumbai: Streaming giant Netflix has elevated Marian Lee to the role of chief marketing officer. Lee succeeds Bozoma Saint John, who has moved on from the company.

    Lee will be Netflix’s fourth chief marketing officer in three years.

    She joined the company in July 2021 as vice president of marketing in the United States and Canada overseeing marketing for the streaming service. She was previously associated with Spotify for eight years. She has held leadership positions in fashion brands such as J Crew and Gilt.com and publisher Conde Nast.

    Saint John, who joined Netflix in 2020, is a high-profile marketer who was CMO at Endeavour, chief brand officer at Uber and head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes after Apple acquired Beats by Dre in 2014.

  • hoichoi unveils trailer for ‘Sundarbaner Vidyasagar’

    hoichoi unveils trailer for ‘Sundarbaner Vidyasagar’

    Mumbai: Bengali OTT entertainment platform hoichoi has released the trailer of its upcoming original “Sundarbaner Vidyasagar.” The series is slated for release on 11 March.

    The social drama brings national award-winning actor Riddhi Sen and Tollywood starlet Ushasi Ray together for the first time to narrate the tale of the land of Kumirkhali – an eccentric village of widows. It is set in the mangrove islands of Bengal is wrapped with the tinge of humour that comes across with the fateful entry of a boy thought to be Vidyasagar.

    The trailer of the show prominently displays the diverse moods and cast of the show including Sankar Debnath, Rupanjana Mitra, Pratik Dutta, Doyel Nandy, Kaushik Kar, Sajal Mondal, and Sudeep Dhara.

    “Sundarbaner Vidyasagar” is directed by Korok Murmu and written by Arkadeep Nath.  

  • Amazon Prime Video and MAMI launch ‘Maitri: Female First Collective’

    Amazon Prime Video and MAMI launch ‘Maitri: Female First Collective’

    Mumbai: Amazon Prime Video has partnered with Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI) to launch ‘Maitri: Female First Collective.’

    The aim of the initiative is to build a community for women in media and entertainment where they can come together on a quarterly basis to discuss their experiences, challenges and successes and offer their perspective and advice on how to bring about a positive shift, said the statement.

    The highlights of the sessions will be available on Amazon Prime Video India’s YouTube channel and MAMI’s YouTube channel and their respective social media platforms.

    The first episode featuring 16 women who participated in the debut session went live on Friday. These women include Junglee Pictures and Times Studios Originals CEO Amrita Pandey; screenwriter and hairstylist Ayesha DeVitre Dhillon; screenwriter and author Bhavani Iyer; filmmaker Gayathri; filmmaker Jeeva; screenwriter Juhi Chaturvedi; filmmaker Kunjila Mascillamani; actor and TV host Mini Mathur; filmmaker Nupur Asthana; actor and producer Richa Chadha; filmmaker Rintu Thomas; actor and producer Shweta Tripathi Sharma; comedian, actor, writer, creator, and CE-HOE founder Sumukhi Suresh; filmmaker and author Tahira Kashyap Khurrana; Amazon Prime Video head of India Originals Aparna Purohit, and artistic director of MAMI Smriti Kiran – who curated the room and moderated the discussion.

    “At Amazon, we believe that diversity, equity and inclusion, is not just needed, it is essential, and we are constantly trying to go beyond intention to institutionalize processes and mechanisms to create an ecosystem that mirrors true diversity,” said Prime Video’s Aparna Purohit. “Maitri means friendship or kinship, and the idea behind this initiative was to create a space for women to get together as friends, contemporaries and colleagues to collaborate, communicate and pave the way for others to follow.  I believe that making an impactful change takes time, and can only happen when we begin to have a conversation regularly and repeatedly. I am glad that we have taken this small, yet significant step with the help of MAMI.”

    “I have immense faith in collaboration, community building and shared experience,” said Maitri creator and curator Smriti Kiran. “It was invigorating to bring the first room for Maitri: Female First Collective together. The idea behind Maitri is togetherness. Very grateful to Aparna Purohit and Amazon Prime Video for seeing value in this vision and giving Maitri the support that it needs to soar.”

    In June last year, Amazon Studios had released the inclusion policy and playbook, which is being gradually rolled out across the organisation.

  • ‘Lock Upp’ garners 15 million views in 48 hours

    ‘Lock Upp’ garners 15 million views in 48 hours

    Mumbai: MX Player and Altbalaji’s new reality show “Lock Upp” has garnered 15 million views within 48 hours of its launch, according to the streaming platform. “This made it the first digital reality show to achieve such a massive opening in its launch week,” said the statement. 

    The show which released on 27 February features Kangana Ranaut as the host and brings together 13 controversial celebrities in a jail for 72 days. 

    The celebrities include Nisha Rawal, Munawar Faruqui, Poonam Pandey, Kaaranvir Bohra, Swami Chakrapani, Siddharth Sharma, Anjali Arora, Babita Phogat, Shivam Sharma, Sara Khan, Payal Rohatgi, Tehseen Poonawalla and Saisha Shinde.

    “While television has run its course on the over hashed sentiment of unity amid differences of opinions, ‘Lock Upp’ is a reality format that is quite the opposite — it pits celebrities and influencers who are known for very strong views on various issues in a hostile environment that has bare minimum amenities. The show has attracted a huge following even amongst international viewers because of its distinct look and feel,” said the statement.