ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • IPL ’21: MPL accelerates ‘Hai Akal Khelo MPL’ campaign with new ad spot

    IPL ’21: MPL accelerates ‘Hai Akal Khelo MPL’ campaign with new ad spot

    Mumbai: E-sports platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) is back with its IPL campaign Hai Akal Khelo MPL with a series of new digital films titled ‘Mind Blowing’.

    The new films attempt to highlight the ‘mind-blowing opportunities’ one can avail on MPL during this cricket season in an entertaining manner by featuring the human brain as a protagonist.

    According to the brand, the central thought is that anyone with a brain or ‘Akal’ (intellect) can create a winning fantasy team on MPL with their knowledge of cricket. Users can avail an exclusive season pass at just Rs 99, which will let them play unlimited Fantasy Cricket contests on the app throughout the T20 cricket season. The contests will run over the next one month with rewards worth Rs 10 crores every single match.

    There are a total of three digital films in the campaign, of which two are already live.

    MPL will also continue to promote films that it had launched in the first phase of the tournament on TV and digital mediums. These are based on the age-old Hindi language sayings ‘Akal badi ya bhains’, ‘Akal ke dushman’, and ‘Dimaag ghaas charne gaya hai’. MPL had roped in veteran actor Vijay Raaz for the films’ voice-overs. 

    The digital films were conceptualised, produced, and executed by Footloose Films, a media production company.

    The brand has also introduced a Fantasy Assistant feature on its MPL Pro app providing tips to users on a range of factors like pitch and bowling type, past performance, and past records of teams and players as well as prediction of the best 11 players to pick. It has also partnered with former Indian national team player Deep Dasgupta for a series called Fantasy Deep Dive, wherein he will participate in live sessions and share his knowledge and recommendations with users during IPL 2021 as well as the upcoming T20 season.

    To continue the fervour on social media and engage with fans, MPL has launched an AR filter, Guess the Muhavra, on Instagram. Similar to last year’s edition, it will also organise virtual meet and greet events between fans and players.

  • Netflix’s India ambitions surpass Rs 3000 crore investment

    Netflix’s India ambitions surpass Rs 3000 crore investment

    Mumbai: Global streaming platform Netflix will pump more money into producing content in India, said chief executive officer Reed Hastings. The key executive of the streaming giant was speaking to Business Today’s global business editor Udayan Mukherjee in an interview.

    The company has already pumped in Rs 3,000 crore in the past two years to develop original programming, particularly focused on local content, and more investments are in the offing. “India as a market is witnessing explosive growth in video content viewership over the past couple of years – partially propelled by people having to stay home because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Hastings said.

    The competition in India’s OTT arena is heating up with HBO Max service expected to hit the subcontinent early next year. Hastings sees the competition differently, saying that services such as YouTube and TikTok are the platform’s biggest competitors. But instead of focusing on the competition, he chooses to focus on the next big show that everyone could be talking about.

    “Netflix has emerged as one of the prime contenders for the consumer’s wallet. Over the past five years, the brand has established instant recall in the minds of the Indian consumer,” he said. “What’s great about the Indian market is that Hotstar started so early and pioneered streaming in India. It has really increased the market size, and then Reliance Jio transformed it with regard to access and cost, democratised it. So, they created the base for the market which is today one of our top global priorities.”

    According to a report by Media Partners Asia, the Indian OTT industry is expected to spend $ one billion on content out of which 45 per cent will be local and original content. Reports estimate that the OTT platform has more than five million Indian subscribers. 

    Hastings admitted that Netflix’s journey in India has been harder than was initially anticipated, but he revealed the company’s determination to overcome those challenges through its continued commitment to the Indian market and simply by investing more. He also highlighted that Netflix, which has strong premium imagery in the consumer’s mind, is also focused on providing greater affordability to Indian subscribers.

    The interview will be aired on 17 September at 10:30 p.m on Business Today Show with Udayan Mukherjee.

  • Lionsgate Play to exclusively premiere 73rd Emmy Awards in India

    Lionsgate Play to exclusively premiere 73rd Emmy Awards in India

    Mumbai: Starz’s streaming service Lionsgate Play has announced that it will be exclusively premiering the 73rd Emmy Awards on 20 September at 5:30 a.m in India.

    The latest edition of the Emmys will be hosted by Cedric the entertainer and unlike last year’s largely virtual event, it will have an in-person ceremony in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be directed by Hamish Hamilton and some of the biggest Hollywood stars are expected to make a special appearance this year.

    “Emmys has been the most-watched and popular awards ceremony globally including India and we are thrilled to telecast it live so that people can watch it effortlessly,” said Lionsgate EVP Amit Dhanuka. “We take this as a great opportunity for us to showcase this ceremony which is loved across the world.”

    Lionsgate Play currently has content available in six Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Bhojpuri.

  • SonyLIV launches first Malayalam offering ‘Kaanekkaane’

    SonyLIV launches first Malayalam offering ‘Kaanekkaane’

    Mumbai: SonyLIV’s first Malayalam offering “Kaanekkaane” is set to premiere on 17 September.

    Directed by Manu Ashokan, the film features Aishwarya Lekshmi and Shruti Ramachandra in lead roles. “SonyLIV has opened a door of opportunities for the Malayalam film industry to showcase its content. Kaanekkaane is my second project as a director, and I am happy that I got to team up with writers Bobby and Sanjay once again,” said Ashokan, who is also known for the Malayalam film “Uyare”.

    “After successfully exploring content in various languages, we are delighted to announce our first Malayalam offering. The film promises to keep viewers on the edge of their seats as we connect with the Malayalam speaking audiences in India and across the globe,” said Sony Pictures Networks India head of content for SonyLIV and Sony Entertainment Television Ashish Golwalkar.

    Written by celebrated writers Bobby and Sanjayhe, the film is a mix of family drama and murder mystery. Produced by TR Shamsudheen, under the banner DreamKatcher, the film also features actors Dhanya Mary Varghese, Rony David Raj, Prem Prakash, Binu Pappu, Sruthy Jayan, and Alok Krishna in prominent roles.   

    “Each character in Kaanekkaane has been brilliantly written, and I had a great time working with Tovino and Aishwarya. My character has many facets to it and I enjoyed unravelling each layer in the film,” said actor Suraj Venjaramoodu.

    “It feels great when you have such a brilliant team of cast and crew to work with. After a long time, I had the opportunity to work with Aishwarya Lekshmi and director Manu Ashokan and the experience was amazing,” said actor Tovino Thomas.

  • Starz streamer Lionsgate Play launched in Malaysia

    Starz streamer Lionsgate Play launched in Malaysia

    Mumbai: In continuation of its expansion in Asia, Lionsgate-owned Starz on Friday announced the launch of its independent direct-to-consumer OTT app Lionsgate Play in Malaysia. The service is being introduced in association with Telekom Malaysia (Unifi TV).

    “We are thrilled to launch the eagerly-anticipated Lionsgate Play app in Malaysia, delivering the finest global entertainment to captivate our audiences with bespoke content encompassing current releases and our vast premium library, all at an affordable price and at consumers’ convenience,” said Lionsgate Play MD of South Asia and networks – emerging markets Asia Rohit Jain. 

    “We are also pleased to launch with a great partner in Telekom Malaysia, who will give us a strong head start in the territory with their broadband reach and deep streaming offering,” Jain added.

    Lionsgate Play debuted in India in 2019 and the subsequent expansion took it into Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and, most recently, the Philippines.

    “This partnership will solidify our strong consumer offering with an extensive premium library. Lionsgate Play boasts iconic, bold and edgy content that is gripping and will be loved by our subscribers,” said Telekom’s content head for Unifi TV Ho Hock Doong.

    Lionsgate Play Malaysia will bring blockbuster film franchises such as “The Hunger Games”, “The Twilight Saga” and “Now You See Me” as well as popular and critically acclaimed TV series “Weeds,” “Power,” “Mad Men” and “The Spanish Princess” among others, to Malaysian audiences.

  • ZEE5 campaign promoting ‘Helmet’ garners 85 mn reach

    ZEE5 campaign promoting ‘Helmet’ garners 85 mn reach

    Mumbai: ZEE5’s 360-degree campaign called #HelmetOn promoting its latest release “Helmet” has reached over 85 million people through various ATL and BTL activations, according to the streaming platform.

    The campaign brought together celebrities and influencers like Ayushmann Khurrana, Sanya Malhotra, Rajkummar Rao, Sunny Leone, Anubhav Singh Bassi, RJ Anurag Pandey, and Ronit Ashra to encourage conversations around safe sex and condom usage through social activations, influencer outreach program, digital promos, and contests.

    The Twitter banter on #HelmetOn with prominent brands like Dunzo, Kamasutra, Bollywoo, News Nation, Fever FM and Ixigo drove positive sentiment around the film and generated quirky conversations to tackle stigma associated with the issue in India.

    As part of the campaign some high impact BTL activations were also launched to increase awareness on the widespread issue of resistance towards usage and purchase of condoms. These included Mumbai’s favourite auto rickshaws with “Helmet” top circling the city while giving out free condoms to the passengers, condom-shaped zebra crossings on busy streets in Mumbai, and distribution of free condoms in popular hotspots in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, said the statement.

    The star cast of the social comedy film also engaged with over 500 students across colleges in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bhopal, Orissa, MP, Pune and Bengaluru to educate them on the issue.

    “We are thrilled to have launched #HelmetOn that embraces social issues in a fun, engaging and healthy manner. With people still being reluctant to purchase condoms from a store, we aimed to drive awareness around this topic and encourage the use of protection through this campaign,” said ZEE5 chief business officer Manish Kalra. “Using a well-devised marketing strategy covering the digital landscape, social media, television and out of home space, the campaign has done exceedingly well and we hope to see more consumers engage with us through the campaign and give this social comedy a watch.”

    “Helmet is a project that is very close to my heart because it speaks volumes on a social issue which is the need of the hour, in a simple and sweet way. Team Helmet is proud to create awareness about safe sex and work towards alleviating the stigma around condom usage and purchase through engaging campaign,” added “Helmet” producer Dino Morea.

  • MX TakaTak announces exclusive launch of ‘Kanta Laga’

    MX TakaTak announces exclusive launch of ‘Kanta Laga’

    Mumbai: Homegrown short video platform MX TakaTak has announced an exclusive launch of music track “Kanta Laga” from singers Neha Kakkar, Tony Kakkar and YoYo Honey Singh. 

    As the official short video partner for this track, the platform had an in-song integration, as well as a 10-day exclusive period before its distribution to any other Indian short video apps, said the statement.

    Commenting on the launch, Neha Kakkar said, “As an influencer on this platform, I am glad to extend our partnership for our new song and I am hoping the MX TakaTak community will come out in support of this peppy track and make it go viral.”

    “Short video apps have become one of the key mediums for artists like us to connect with our fans. I am extremely thrilled to partner again with MX TakaTak for our exclusive launch for Kanta Laga,” remarked Tony Kakkar. “TakaTak’s audience has always been encouraging and interactive, making our collaboration with the platform more seamless. We can not wait for the audiences to groove on the song and show us their creativity in fun video challenges.”

    YoYo Honey Singh added, “Collaborating with two trendsetters Kakkar siblings and MX TakaTak for Kanta Laga is a great combination to make content viral. This composition is very close to my heart. It is a song we have thoroughly enjoyed creating and I am sure music enthusiasts will revel in listening to it.”

  • Prime Video rolls out Amazon original profile image feature in India

    Prime Video rolls out Amazon original profile image feature in India

    Mumbai: In continuation of its recently launched global feature, Amazon Prime Video customers in India will now be able to take on the persona of their favourite character from Amazon India originals as their profile avatar on the streaming service.  

    Available on all devices that support Prime Video, the images can easily be used by customers to update their profiles. From Munna Tripathi in “Mirzapur” to Srikant Tiwari in “The Family Man”, Siddhi Patel in “Four More Shots Please” and Haathiram Chaudhary in “Paatal Lok”, and many more – viewers have an array of characters to choose from for their profile avatars.

    “Born out of deeply local and authentic narratives, our originals have introduced customers to characters that have not only become a part of pop culture but have also made their way into everyday lives,” said Amazon Prime Video India director of marketing Sushant Sreeram. “The launch of these avatars is just another way for us to enable fans to engage deeper with the shows and characters they love.”

  • Actus Digital announces new platform to optimise OTA & OTT monitoring solution

    Actus Digital announces new platform to optimise OTA & OTT monitoring solution

    Mumbai: Actus Digital, a QA monitoring and compliance logging solutions provider, has announced a new version of its intelligent media monitoring platform. It will be demonstrated during online events, including NAB Amplify, the virtual event held in place of the 2021 NAB Show, the comapny said.

    Actus Digital offers a solution with its new ‘Actus OTT Synchro’ which simplifies OTT monitoring with organised multi-rendition visibility and ‘Actus OTT Synchro’ that efficiently organises many ABR renditions, providing immediate notification of quality issues as well as multi-viewer identification of those affected renditions.

    “Media and entertainment companies lose revenue when quality issues disrupt a viewer’s OTT experience, which makes maintaining quality across all devices paramount,” said Actus Digital senior VP Ken Rubin. “For more than 16 years we have consistently enhanced our platform, but this year’s new features introduce unique benefits that place Actus Digital in a class of its own.”

    The platform offers simplified but sophisticated tools for multi-viewer monitoring and quality assurance of multi-rendition OTT streams and over-the-air linear content at multi-probe points in the video delivery chain. “An extremely low cost of entry for the ultra-reliable core quality assurance monitoring and compliance logging features makes Actus Digital the M&E market value leader for engineering, while advanced options offer extended benefits for news, sales, and many other use cases,” the company said in a statement.

    At NAB Amplify, Actus Digital will showcase enhancements and expanded workflows for its platform, which includes content repurposing, content matching, light MAM workflows, AI integration.

  • Lionsgate India promotes Shreya Channa as VP, people office SA & SEA

    Lionsgate India promotes Shreya Channa as VP, people office SA & SEA

    Mumbai: Lionsgate India on Wednesday announced that Shreya Channa, who joined the firm earlier this year as VP – head of people office, to become a part of the expansion for South Asia (SA) and emerging markets of Asia. She will be reporting to Lionsgate MD Rohit Jain.

    Channa will work closely with Rohit Jain and Lionsgate global CHRO Ross Pollack who is based in the USA, to expand Lionsgate’s strategy and people operations in emerging markets of Asia, said the company in a statement.

    Channa is a seasoned HR professional with over 17 years of experience in human capital consulting, corporate HR and has advised Fortune 500 companies in India and the USA in technology and telecom, among other industries. She has held a number of senior HR positions advising executive teams.

    “At Lionsgate, we believe that people are the differentiating secret recipe and soul of an organisation, we work everyday to build a culture of creativity and continuous learning. Shreya’s acumen and expertise will help us to supercharge the next era of Lionsgate in the region,” said Rohit Jain.

    “We are looking at an exciting lineup in Asia in the coming year,” said Channa. “I look forward to partnering closely across the business and our teams as we continue to deliver our strategic priorities and execute on the many opportunities that lie ahead.