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Category: Over The Top Services

  • Akamai Tech & AVIA partner for Asia Pacific Media Summit

    MUMBAI: Where do you get 20 of the brightest minds in the media and gaming industry under one umbrella? Well, come 23 Jun 2021, they will be converging at the second virtual APAC Media Summit, which global cloud technology and security leader, Akamai Technologies, is producing in association with the Asian Video Industry Association (AVIA). 

    “It’s an event that both Akamai and Industry leaders look up to ever since we started in 2019. We had a phenomenal debut when we kicked it off in Mumbai, and we are happy that the journey did not stop because of the pandemic,” said Akamai India, Solutions engineering lead, Deepa Parikh. “2021 is going to be an interesting year. The pandemic has led to increase in digital adoption and increase in digital transformation, across industry sectors and especially in media. In that context, this APAC summit gains significance because the region has so much in common in terms of the operating environment, learnings and outlook.”

    The event will include a keynote conversation around content and monetization strategies and the future of streaming and an overview of the APAC media and gaming industry which has been growing by leaps and bounds. It will also focus on the innovations and tools that could help media houses and esports organizations to secure and protect their content and connect with key players.

    Registered users will get a chance to hear the experiences of industry leaders such as Disney+ Hotstar, president & head, Sunil Rayan; Seven West Media, Technology director, Scott Favelle; Rooter, founder and CEO, Piyush Kumar ; Kayo Sports & Binge, CEO, Julian Ogrin; IQyi, head of international business development, Anna Pak Burdin; Viettel Media, CEO, Vo Thanh Hai; Viacom18 Digital Ventures, COO, Gourav Rakshit; Akamai Technologies, vice president sales, and MD APJ, Parimal Pandya; Sky TV New Zealand, head of information and media security, Steve Lang; Akamai Technologies, APAC marketing director, Sheng Thong Hsin; Akamai Technologies, Regional VP sales APJ, Sid Pisharoti; Mobile Premier League, senior vice-president, strategy and operations, Naman Jhawar and Picture Board Partners, founder, Unmish Parthasarathi among many others. 

    Some of the key issues that are to be discussed during the summit include 

    • The future of video and its impact on business strategies 

    • Securing your content and customers – How is the ecosystem adapting together?

    • Protecting your video consumption journey – Is your bottom line protected? 

    • Creating esports experiences during Covid and beyond – What are some of the recent/popular moats in enhancing gaming experiences whilst staying protected?

    The Indian media houses have been going through a digital transformation for a long time now and Akamai has been a long-term partner to many of them in India, right from being their technical infrastructure partner to being a trusted advisor helping them accelerate this evolution online and through their digital transformation journey. 

    Through this event, both Akamai and AVIA hope to highlight how some of the new trends in the video industry will play out over the coming year in the Asia Pacific region and how media organisations can position themselves for greater success in the new normal.

    “Over the last year, the pandemic gave another push to help these media houses further this digital transition. It has forced media houses to diversify, to pivot to new revenue streams and to secure their content and data. In addition, Akamai has also enabled Media houses to transition seamlessly to working remotely,” said Parikh adding that a lot of these digital media houses have been innovating their new revenue models and moving towards more subscription-based services and having new products bundled in.

    “They are not just relying on ad revenue but exploring other newer formats like podcasts, video reportage, webinars, and Artificial Reality/Virtual reality to enrich their information delivery. Another key trend has been growing vernacular language content consumption both digital print and video largely due to the growing mobile user base,” added Parikh, discussing some of the new trends that have shaped the industry over the last decade.

    This digital transformation has also been accompanied by the rapid growth of streaming video services, especially over the last six years. . According to a report by Media Partners Asia (MPA), the Asia Pacific online video industry grew revenue by 14 per cent to reach $30.5 billion in 2020, mainly due to the lockdown which scaled the adoption of online services. Total online video revenues are projected to reach $54.5 billion by 2025.

    With the rise in engagement during the pandemic, a lot of new data was generated by publishers, OTT providers, and social media platforms, which faced emerging issues around privacy, content scraping, and large-scale cyberattacks.

    “Content lies at the heart of any digital media platform. In today’s digital age, cyber-threats are common and happening in all different forms all across the globe. The most common form of attack on corporate enterprise networks is phishing and the presence of malware. The third layer that needs protection is the End-user data, which can come under threat of credential stuffing attacks and account takeovers. We, at Akamai, feel that digital publishers need to adopt a multi-layered approach and rely on a zero-trust framework to protect themselves from various cybersecurity attacks, ransomware, phishing, advanced persistent threats, identity frauds, web skimming and content encryption to keep them away from content piracy,” added Parikh.

    Some of these issues and topics will also take centre stage at the upcoming event. To know more about how these and other challenges can be addressed by Media companies, interested participants can register at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/mediasummitapac/524244/r/indianongamingnc

    “The attendees can really benefit from the collective insights of industry veterans, analysts, and thought leaders from across the APAC region. We look forward to hosting the summit this year,” she added.

  • ALTBalaji subscription up by 42% y-o-y in FY21

    KOLKATA: ALTBalaji seems to be driving the growth of Balaji Telefilms with a 42 per cent growth in subscriptions for FY21. The platform sold a total of 4.7 million subscriptions for the year, compared to Rs 3.4 million in FY20.

    Despite the speedy growth of ALTBalaji, overall financial performance for the year was impacted by the pandemic-led restrictions on the TV and movie business. Balaji Telefilms’ consolidated revenue stood at Rs 293.7 crore for FY21, compared to Rs 573.6 crore. TV business returned to more normal production in Q4 With 223 hours content produced in the quarter, the company stated in a statement.

    Four shows were on air during the quarter. Hourly realizations remained soft at Rs 30 lakh per hour and it is expected to remain soft as broadcasters continue to assess Covid 19 impact, the company stated.

    “ALTBalaji continues to drive subscription growth and we added 4.7m subscriptions during the year, the highest since our launch four years ago. We have also done strategic content-sharing deals with two large OTT players to drive creative synergies. We will continue to see strong subscriber additions with over 40 shows greenlit,” Balaji Telefilms managing director Shobha Kapoor said.

    “After the initial setback in the first half of FY21 our TV business has shown good recovery in terms of production hours and we hope to maintain this momentum. In the movie business, production for some of the exciting projects are at various stages of completion. We are closely monitoring the availability for theatrical releases as well and direct to digital launches. Overall, the business has performed well in very challenging conditions and I am confident we will build from the base created,” Kapoor added.

    Meanwhile, the Board has considered and approved a dividend of ten per cent (Rs 0.20 per share) subject to shareholder approval. It is going to highly focus on maintaining liquidity and balance sheet strength through the year with the current cash and cash equivalent balance at Rs 144 crore.

  • MX TakaTak co-powers the ninth edition of Miss Diva

    KOLKATA: Promising users compelling content across categories, MX TakaTak on Friday announced its association with the ninth edition of Miss Diva as the Co-powered by Sponsor for this coveted pageant.

    The nationwide hunt to select representatives from across the country commenced on 11 June and aspirant divas can participate to transform their dreams into reality. This entails an online registration process for specific audition task submissions on this leading short video platform.

    Speaking about this association, MX TakaTak business head Janhavi Parikh said, “We are delighted to associate with Miss Diva and help them in the hunt for finding strong, charismatic women who will go on to represent India before the world. MX TakaTak is the entry gateway for these participants to live their dream of being crowned as Miss Diva and the audition tasks on our platform will bring forth a new dimension of their personalities.”

    MX TakaTak’s extensive reach and penetration in Tier 2-3 markets will take the pageant and its opportunities to a wider audience, unlike ever before. Through the run of the event, the participation on this app would give viewers a glimpse into the lives of the finalists, whilst also highlighting the efforts that each of the contestants funnels into their work.

    LIVA Miss Diva 2021, Co-powered by MX TakaTak stays true to its inherent philosophy of providing a stage for young, confident women, willing to take the world by storm and this edition will be held digitally, in a virtual format due to the prevalent pandemic.

  • Nazara Technologies to acquire gaming agency Publishme

    KOLKATA: Nazara Technologies Limited announced that it has signed a binding term sheet to acquire a majority stake in Arrakis Tanitim Organizasyon Pazarlama San. Tic. Ltd. Sti (Publishme), the largest mobile game publishing agency in the Middle East and Turkey.

    Nazara will invest an amount of around Rs 20 crore for acquiring 69.82 per cent stake by way of primary and secondary transaction through its subsidiary.

    Publishme is a full-service games marketing and publishing agency which works extensively with gaming publishers in Turkey and the MENA region. Nazara’s offerings are already present in India and across emerging and developed global markets such as Africa and North America. With this acquisition, Nazara expands its international footprint in the freemium segment. It will aim to build local execution capabilities cutting across key growth segments namely, freemium, gamified learning and esports.

    Publishme CEO Özgür Özalp says, “We are delighted to join Nazara and lead the company’s foray in the MENA region. MENA is one of the fastest growing gaming markets, with an estimated market size of $4.8bn and has over 160mn gamers in the region (of which 100mn are mobile gamers). Our alliance with Nazara offers a unique blend of network, global reach and local capabilities to further the growth of the gaming industry in the region. With this, Publishme, will become a full-fledged publisher in the MENA region.”

    Says Nazara Founder & Jt MD, Nitish Mittersain, “MENA is a key geography for us and this acquisition will help us in establishing ourselves as a key player in the region. We are excited to have someone with deep regional knowledge and capabilities like Özgür and his team join the ‘Friends of Nazara’ network.”

    The ‘Friends of Nazara’ network comprises of established gaming companies in which Nazara holds majority stakes and works actively with existing founders and management teams to rapidly achieve scale. These companies include Nodwin Gaming and SportsKeeda in esports, Next Wave Multimedia, developer of World Cricket Championship (WCC), the largest mobile-based cricket simulation game and Paper Boat Apps, developers of the popular gamified learning app Kiddopia.

  • Zee5 unveils new brand campaign to promote Rs 499 subscription plan

    KOLKATA: As Zee5 keeps adding new content to its portfolio, it is also revising its annual subscription package to get more eyeballs. It has priced down its annual subscription to Rs 499 from Rs 999 for a limited period. To communicate the message of a stronger library, affordable pricing, it has unveiled a new brand campaign ‘Dekhtey Reh Jaogey’.

    Zee5 has brought on board Sara Ali Khan, Amol Parashar as brand ambassadors for the campaign. The ‘Dekhtey Reh Jaogey’ campaign is targeted towards younger audiences aged between 18-34 to increase the share of mind, strengthening Zee5’s position as India’s OTT platform of choice. Following a 360-degree approach to target Indian entertainment lovers, Zee5 has planned a high-frequency campaign across TV, social media, and digital, which is slated to go live on Thursday.

    “With the OTT upswing, today, millions of viewers are Binge-Watching content across smaller towns and cities, many of which are underserved in terms of content options and infrastructural set-up. With the ‘Dekhtey Reh Jaogey’ campaign, we want to make quality entertainment accessible to consumers, in the language of their choice, at the tap of a button, without price being a deterrent. Think of it as ‘Entertainment Inclusion’, our single biggest goal going forward,” Zee5 chief business officer Manish Kalra said.

    The new brand ambassadors are elated as well to be associated with the leading OTT platform. “Zee5 is our very own homegrown OTT platform. With ‘Dekhtey Reh Jaogey’, the aim is to entertain everyone, especially during these difficult times. Additionally, for me, Kedarnath and Simmba are my firsts and therefore extra special both of us are on Zee5!”, shared Sara Ali Khan.

    Amol Parashar chose this campaign because of the messaging it is giving out to people to stay home and be entertained without any interruption during this pandemic, he said.

    “Zee5, our homegrown OTT platform has consistently presented intriguing and amazing content across genres. I started my journey with TVF and recently, the two content creators have joined hands, which shows the trust everyone has in this platform”, Parashar added further.

  • Amazon Studios launches inclusion policy & playbook

    Mumbai: This is one production studio which is putting its money where its mouth is. And it should even get a nod of appreciation from the Indian ministries of information and broadcasting, electronics and information technology, and even education. Even as many companies are talking about inclusion and diversity, the Culver City (California, US)- based Amazon Studios released on 16 June a comprehensive inclusion policy that extends its commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity for its content and productions, as well as a playbook with guidelines for its collaborators in the creative community.

    These guides offer detailed and actionable recommendations as Amazon Studios continues to seek out stories and storytelling that amplify voices across race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability (including mental health), body size, gender, gender identity, and gender expression for the global Prime Video audience.

    “Amazon Studios has long prioritised telling innovative and inclusive stories from a diverse range of creative talent, delighting our global audiences. We wanted to move beyond good intentions to creating mechanisms that hold us accountable to a high bar. This inclusion policy and inclusion playbook adds important, additional depth and guidance for our internal teams and external partners to ensure we continue to advance our shared mission of amplifying the best creatives and content around the world,” said Amazon Studios executive head of diversity, equity & inclusion Latasha Gillespie in a press release.  

    “With the establishment of our inclusion policy and inclusion playbook, Amazon Studios has committed itself to being a thought and action leader in the transformation of our industry,” said Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke. “We know how much work there is to be done to improve representation both on-camera and behind the scenes, and it starts at home, with us. With clear directives and a commitment to accountability, these guides provide a path toward a more equitable future, both on- and off-camera.”

    Amazon Studios shared the policy and playbook with creators, including Gloria Calderón Kellett, creator and executive producer of the upcoming Amazon Original series With Love. Said Kellett, “I am so proud to be a part of a creative community at Amazon that understands the importance of what I’ve been doing my whole career. Inclusive hiring is what makes a change. Opportunity and an eye towards changing things through action is what makes a change. Thrilled that Amazon has put together this playbook to start important conversations with their other creatives. This is real action and commitment and I’m thrilled to see it!”

    Upload’s creator and executive producer, Greg Daniels said: “Having worked with Amazon Studios for several years, I can confirm their commitment to inclusiveness is deep, sincere, sensitive, and practical. These new guidelines should encourage talented people from historically underrepresented groups to feel more confident about making a career in Hollywood.”

    Establishing expectations for Amazon Studios and its creative partners, the inclusion policy covers four primary areas: developing stories and characters, hiring and production, reporting and documentation, and meeting goals. The policy ensures meaningful visibility in Amazon Studios’ content and throughout all aspects of the production process — both in the stories being told and the people hired to tell them. The policy includes specific goals for Amazon Studios productions, including:

    • Each film or series with a creative team of three or more people in above-the-line roles (directors, writers, producers) should ideally include a minimum 30 per cent women and 30 per cent members of an underrepresented racial/ethnic group. This aspirational goal will increase to 50 per cent by 2024.
    • Casting actors whose identity (gender, gender identity, nationality, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability) aligns with the character they will be playing.
    • Aiming to include one character from each of the following categories in speaking roles, with a minimum 50 per cent of these to be women: LGBTQIA+, a person with a disability, and three regionally underrepresented race/ethnic/cultural groups. A single character can fulfill one or more of these identities.
    • Seeking at least three bids from vendors or suppliers on productions, one of which must be from a woman-owned business and one from a minority-owned business.
    • Pay equity across casting, behind the camera staff and crew, and vendors and suppliers.

    Amazon Studios will provide a report template for each production to indicate whether these expectations were met, which will be submitted within one month of the completion of principal photography. This reporting exceeds the minimum standards set by the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences but ensures Amazon is poised to report on the diversity of their films for Academy Award contention.

    Through the setting of goals and tracking of adherence to these policies, Amazon Studios, says “it is expanding its commitment to increasing representation on camera and behind the scenes, contributing to efforts to move the industry forward to a more inclusive future.”

    The inclusion playbook puts in place intentional practices to minimize and disrupt biases, providing specific guidance that will help everyone within and working with Amazon Studios to meet the expectations set in the inclusion policy. The playbook provides direction on how to make inclusive decisions while telling authentic stories and hiring the best people for the job; knowledge of where to go for help, including tools to make inclusive decisions; tools to identify criteria for making creative choices, leading to balanced, consistent and informed decisions; and ways to foster curiosity and ask questions to disrupt the status quo about “how things are done.”

    Amazon Studios worked closely with Dr. Stacy Smith and Dr. Katherine Pieper of USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, and with Brenda Robinson of the International Documentary Association and Gamechanger Films on the creation of the policy and playbook. The studio also consulted with leading organizations devoted to advancing the visibility and responsible depictions of underrepresented or marginalized people, including GLAAD, Illuminative, Think Tank for Inclusion & Equity, and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund.

    “Frankly, the outcomes of DEI work within the entertainment industry have not been swift or sweeping. In part, that can be attributed to disingenuous approaches to address the systemic barriers to entry that have long plagued Hollywood,” said Smith. “But now, Amazon Studios has created a comprehensive new blueprint that will change Hollywood by elevating those who have historically lacked access. I’m immensely proud of this new policy and I know it will be a gamechanger throughout an industry often resistant to real change.”

    One will have to wait and watch whether Amazon’s new inclusion policy will be applicable to its Indian productions as well. The diversity, equity, and inclusion team within it which was instrumental in drawing up the changes has “telling inclusive narratives to globally diverse audiences” as one of its main focuses.

  • discovery+ unveils special content line-up for sports fans

    New Delhi: With the sporting action on a pause, fans are scrambling for ways to enjoy their favourite sports. Streaming platform discovery+ on Wednesday, unveiled its new content line-up with a host of gripping documentaries to keep the fans engaged, as they wait for the real action. 

    “We assure you these come mighty close to catching that feeling on screen whilst giving an understanding into what really goes on behind the scenes in professional sports,” said the platform on Wednesday.

    For the cricket lovers, discovery+ has a wide array of series and documentaries based on the widely popular sport. This includes Capturing Cricket: Steve Waugh in India and Bodyline: The Ultimate Test to All Access the Contenders, Forged in Fire: Cricket’s Greatest Rivalry and Two Nations One Obsession: Australia vs India. 

    Viewers can explore the world of football with Lionel Messi – the Greatest, Maradona The Greatest Ever, Pele: The Last Show, Manchester United For The Glory, What Killed Maradona, The End of the Storm, Messi Cirque or Aaron Hernandez.

    If Tennis is your favourite sport, Being Serena and Strokes of Genius would be your best bet. Being Serena shines light upon the life of America’s professional tennis player, Serena Williams. It focuses on how she takes on pregnancy and motherhood while still being the most dominant player on the court.

    For all ardent motorsport fans, discovery+ is offering MotoGP, Top Gear America, Chasing Classic Cars, James May: Cars of the People to quench your thirst for all thing’s cars.

  • SonyLIV appoints Sreedhar Reddy Komalla as Telugu Content head

    Kolkata: SonyLIV has appointed Sreedhar Reddy Komalla as Telugu Content head, Digital Business. In his new role, Reddy will primarily focus on leading the expansion plans of the Telugu vertical of SonyLIV for users across markets.

    Sreedhar Reddy Komalla, also known as Madhura Sreedhar Reddy in Telugu film industry, is known for his exemplary contribution to Telugu cinema. He started his film career by establishing the music label Madhura Audio and shaped it as one of the top music labels in Telugu Cinema. His first directorial film Sneha Geetham fetched him the Best Debutante Director award. The award-winning director later directed, produced, and distributed several concept-based movies in the last 10 years. 

    A mechanical engineering graduate from NIT Warangal, he completed his MS (Research) from IIT Madras and received Gold Medal for his MS thesis. He worked for major multinational IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, and Tech Mahindra for 11 years and left IT career to pursue his filmmaking dreams. He is also an active member of various Telugu Filmmakers Groups such as the Telugu Film Directors Association, Telugu Producers Council, Active Telugu Film Producers Guild amongst others.

    SonyLIV Telugu content head Madhura Sreedhar Reddy said: “I am excited and looking forward to my new innings at SonyLIV. My role here is to extend SonyLIV’s footprint in the Telugu market and churn out homegrown content which caters to users across geographies.”

    After onboarding Dr. G Dhananjayan for strengthening the Tamil portfolio, Reddy’s appointment deepens the roots of SonyLIV in the southern market. At SonyLIV, Reddy will be responsible for bolstering the Telugu content library. With long-standing experience across verticals of the Telugu industry, Reddy will oversee the development plans of the platform in the region, the platform said on Wednesday.

    SonyLIV and SET content head Ashish Golwalkar said: “We are delighted to have Madhura Sreedhar Reddy at SonyLIV to head the Telugu portfolio. Reddy brings with him a diversified experience that will help us chart out growth for Telugu content and offer captivating stories of India to our audience across genres.”

  • Twitter appoints interim chief compliance officer in India

    KOLKATA: Microblogging site Twitter has appointed an interim chief compliance officer in line with the new IT rules which came into effect on 26 May. The company will share the details with the IT ministry soon, it said on Tuesday.

    The company “continues to make every effort to comply with new guidelines and is keeping IT Ministry apprised of progress at every step,” reported PTI quoting a Twitter spokesperson.

    Earlier the US company said that it has assured the government that it is making every effort to comply with the new IT media guidelines.

    Twitter’s move comes days after the government issued “one last notice” to the company.

    “The provisions for significant social media intermediaries under the Rules have already come into force on 26 May and it has been more than a week but Twitter has refused to comply with the provisions of these rules,” the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) had written to Twitter’s deputy general counsel, Jim Baker.

    As per new rules, any failure to comply with the guidelines could lead to exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act, 2000. This essentially means that the platform could be held responsible for content posted by the users.

    The rules recommend a three-tier mechanism for the regulation of all online media. As per the rules, each significant social media intermediary is required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for 24×7 coordination with law enforcement agencies, and a resident grievance officer. All three should be resident Indians.

  • HiPi ties up with Zee Bangla’s Dance Bangla Dance

    New Delhi: Short-video platform HiPi has tied up with Zee Bengal’s dance reality show -Dance Bangla Dance to provide viewers with a steady dose of interactive content, to engage on the HiPi app.

    Dance Bangla Dance is back on Zee Bangla from 12 June, offering a flurry of entertainment for 22-24 weeks at stretch. Viewers can also be a part of the reality show via the HiPi app, where every week they can win cash prizes by simply showcasing their dance talent through fun hook step challenges, it said on Tuesday. Contestants will also participate in these weekly contests on HiPi giving viewers access to off-screen entertainment from their profiles on the HiPi app.

    Commenting on the collaborative initiative, HiPi, Zee Digital Publishing and CBO, CEO, Rohit Chadda said, “HiPi has come a long way to expand its platform to users across the country via contests and challenges to set the benchmark for entertainment higher. The collaboration with Dance Bangla Dance is a fun initiative that gives opportunity to dance creators across India to show their talent and it shall define viewer entertainment as it should be.”

    The whole contest would be divided into two parts: the creator and the viewer. As viewers, one can enjoy the dance reality show on Zee Bangla and stand a chance to win a cash prize of Rs. 9,999 every week by performing a hook step as per the weekly dance theme. Meanwhile, the creator contest each week will feature 20 Dance Bangla Dance contestants posting their videos on HiPi. While the weekly winning contestant can zero in on a cash prize of Rs.9,999, the grand winner from the 20 contestants will bag a cash prize of Rs. 2 Lakh, a 3-month contract with HiPi and a verified profile on the app.