ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Hungama Play bets big on regional language content

    Hungama Play bets big on regional language content

    KOLKATA: Hungama Digital Media’s VoD platform Hungama Play has unveiled plans to release more than 20 original shows in six Indian languages over the next 12 months.

    These languages include Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and Bhojpuri, which together contribute to over 80 per cent of the consumption on the platform. Hungama Play’s first Telugu original show, Game, releases this week. The show will receive a multilingual showcase and will be available in Tamil and Kannada as well.

    In addition to their availability on Hungama Play, all original web series will benefit from Hungama’s wide distribution network. Most shows will be available to stream through Hungama Play on MX Player, Airtel Xstream, Vi Movies and TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge, Tata Sky Binge+, DishSMRT Stick, D2H Stream, DishSMRT Hub, Siti Playtop, ISPs like Meghbela Broadband, Alliance Broadband, ACT Fibernet and Netplus, and smart TVs like TCL, OnePlus TV, LG, Sony Bravia, CVTE, Toshiba and CloudWalker. Additionally, Hungama’s association with Xiaomi will enable consumers to watch the shows via Hungama Play on Mi TV.

    Hungama Digital Media founder & CEO Neeraj Roy said, “The multilingual and multi-genre approach that we have followed for building our content library has helped us increase consumption on our platform by over 3X in the last two years, with the six key languages serving as the primary drivers for this growth. We are committed to strengthening our original programming further by delivering local, relevant and entertaining narratives, now across several languages. We are certain that our programming coupled with our distribution network will help us increase our user-base by 2X over the next year.”

    Releasing on 21 April 2021, Game is a crime drama in Telugu (also available in Tamil and Kannada) that weaves in elements of mystery and thrill, and follows six different people, each involved in a murder conspiracy.  Their quest for the truth sets into motion a plan that throws their lives into chaos. The show stars popular actors from the Telugu entertainment industry – Noel Sean, Srikanth Iyyangar, Kona Sasitha, Vinay Varma and Abhinav Manikanta – in key roles. It is produced by Gangapatnam Sridhar and directed by Ganga Sanampudi.

  • Chingari partners with new OTT Biiggbang Amusement

    Chingari partners with new OTT Biiggbang Amusement

    KOLKATA: In a bid to strengthen its positioning among millennial consumers, short video app Chingari has partnered with newly-launched OTT platform Biiggbang Amusement. Since its inception, Chingari has always looked to disrupt the market through its consumer-centric approach, innovative features and strategic tie-ups and this is another significant step in this direction.

    With carefully curated content from award winning directors to fresh stories, Biiggbang Amusement has a prominent content library. The content hub features some of the most notable short films that have been screened at film festivals across the globe. This collaboration will enable the Chingari subscribers to enjoy the content exclusively.

    Biiggbang Amusement founder and CEO Sudip Mukherjee said, “At Biiggbang Amusement, our constant endeavour is to present stories that can teleport the audience to another world and satisfy their need of entertainment regardless of the time crunch. Curating and getting content from around the world to add it to the Indian milieu is what we thrive on and I firmly believe, this collaboration with Chingari aligns perfectly with what we are trying to achieve. Also, we would like to take this opportunity to introduce our tagline – ‘Jab Bhi Kare Mann, Entertainment Dan Dana Dan’, as this exclusive partnership will help us achieve exactly that.”

    Chingari App co-founder & CEO Sumit Ghosh believes the exclusive collaboration with Biiggbang Amusement will add greater value, attract new consumers and improve stickiness.

    Biiggbang Amusement marketing and brand head Rinku Sukumar Biswas shared, ‘The young’uns of India want snackable, yet complete and fulfilling content that they can consume at any time of the day. Short format content addresses this need gap.”

    Chingari app COO Deepak Salvi said the two brands saw tremendous synergies in terms of target audience. “Chingari has always been an app that is extremely popular with millennial and gen Z and, which is also a target market for Biiggbang Amusement. We believe that together with Biiggbang Amusement we will be able to offer a value add to our customers and scale greater heights in the times to come,” he added.

  • Five new movies & shows to catch on Netflix, Prime Video, & Disney+ Hotstar

    Five new movies & shows to catch on Netflix, Prime Video, & Disney+ Hotstar

    NEW DELHI: Post the Covid2019 outbreak, OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar have gained massive traction in India. As the second wave of the pandemic is spreading rapidly in the country, people have once again started spending time in their homes, and this trend could further elevate the popularity of streaming services. 

    In the first half of April, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+Hotstar released several movies and originals, and the streaming platforms have quite a good selection for this week too. 

    Indiantelevision.com presents you with a list of the five most anticipated movies that will be streamed on OTT platforms in India this week. 

    Stowaway (Netflix) 

    Joe Penna's science fiction action thriller Stowaway will drop on Netflix on 22 April. The film stars Anna Kendrick, Daniel Dae Kim, Shamier Anderson, and Toni Collette in the lead roles. 

    The story revolves around a spaceship crew that discovers an accidental stowaway shortly after takeoff while embarking on a mission to Mars. As resources quickly start dwindling, the spaceship's medical researcher becomes the only one who hopes for a survival, while others expect a grim outcome. 

    Joe Penna's previous movie was Arctic, another survival drama. Expectations surrounding Stowaway have already reached sky-high as Penna is returning with another sci-fi survival flick. 

    Venus and Serena (Amazon Prime Video)

    Venus Williams and Serena Williams, popularly called the Williams sisters, were once the most prolific talents on tennis courts. A documentary about their life named Venus and Serena will be streamed on Amazon Prime Video on 21 April. 

    The documentary will portray their glorious career and tournament wins and will show how the duo pushed the limits of longevity in such a demanding sport. 

    The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+ Hotstar)

    Even though Disney+ Hotstar has no new releases this week, audiences are eagerly waiting for the sixth and final episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that will be streamed on 23 April. 

    The series based on Marvel characters premiered on 19 March, and since then fans of Marvel have been eagerly waiting for Fridays to witness new developments in the latest addition to the Marvel cinematic/television universe. As the first season of the show comes to a close on 23 April, fans are expecting a mindblowing conclusion that may set the stage for the next season. 

    Life in Color with David Attenborough (Netflix)

    One of the most anticipated documentaries of the year, Life in Color with David Attenborough begins streaming on Netflix on 22 April. There is a general perception that humans are the only species that can see in colour, but this documentary proves it wrong. Narrated by natural historian Sir David Attenborough, the docuseries tries to show how animals use colours to survive in the wild. 

    Shadow and Bone (Netflix)

    Shadow and Bone is an upcoming fantasy series landing on 23 April on Netflix. Based on Leigh Bardugo’s bestselling Grishaverse novels, fans of the trilogy are anticipating how the makers will accomplish the screen adaptation. The recently released trailer of the show looks extraordinary, and it clearly indicates that the showrunners are pulling out the stops to present a rich, sweeping fantastical world for viewers. 

  • ZeeL’s Vibha Chopra joins Amazon Prime Video

    ZeeL’s Vibha Chopra joins Amazon Prime Video

    KOLKATA: Media professional Vibha Chopra has moved on from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZeeL) to join Amazon Prime Video. She will be looking at content acquisition in her new role.

    “It’s been an exciting journey at Zee, where I got to learn , grow and work on exciting projects and with amazing people. I owe my rich experience to the wonderful teams across the globe with whom I had a chance to work. The achievements by my team at Zee Studios International of building it from scratch to the No.1 international distributor of Indian films across the world will always be cherished,” she wrote on professional networking platform LinkedIn.

    “ I am thankful to my seniors Amit Goenka and Punit Goenka who trusted me enough to give me different portfolios, latest being the opportunity to launch TVoD. There comes a time when you want to reinvent yourself. And with that in mind, I’m thrilled to announce that I have joined Amazon Prime Video, India. I’m super excited for this new chapter in my life and looking forward to an exciting journey with this global organization,” she added further.

    At ZeeL, Chopra was leading global syndication and international film distribution. She was associated with ZeeL in various capacities since 2006.

  • Amazon Prime hits 200 million subscribers

    Amazon Prime hits 200 million subscribers

    NEW DELHI: Amazon Prime, which comprises the e-commerce giant’s video streaming service, has reached a userbase of 200 million, an increase of over 50 million post the outbreak of the Covid2019 pandemic, revealed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a letter to shareholders.

    For comparison, Netflix had over 204 million users at the end of 2020, while Disney+ has amassed more than 100 million users in an year of its launch. Considering the viewing plans, Amazon is considered the most affordable when compared to Netflix and Disney+, and it is giving the OTT platform widespread acceptance in countries like India. 

    Streaming service Prime Video is simply an added value element included in Prime membership. Amazon has never officially revealed how many Prime subscribers are actively using the Prime Video function. 

    However, the company’s attention to churn out  video content has surged significantly over the years. Web series and movies produced by Amazon Studios (which invariably land on Prime Video) are finding favour not only with viewers but critics, too. The OTT platform’s star has been rising on the back of popular shows like The Boys and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, as well as Oscar-nominated films like Borat Subsequent MovieFilm and Sound of Metal.

    Bezos, who will be replaced by former AWS head Andy Jassy as Amazon CEO this year, said in his final letter to the company’s shareholders that Amazon customers have connected more than 100 million smart home devices to Alexa. 

    Further, he informed that Amazon is currently employing more than 1.3 million people worldwide. 

    "Last year, we hired 500,000 employees and now directly employ 1.3 million people around the world. We have more than 200 million Prime members worldwide. More than 1.9 million small and medium-sized businesses sell in our store, and they make up close to 60 per cent of our retail sales," wrote Bezos. 

    The world’s richest man added that Amazon has created $1.6 trillion of wealth for shareowners. Additionally, the etailer spent $11 billion on video and music content in 2020, up from $7.8 billion in 2019, and it includes contents for Amazon Prime Video and royalties from Amazon Music. 

    Talking about Andy Jassy, Bezos said, "Andy is brilliant and has the highest of high standards. I guarantee you that Andy won’t let the universe make us typical. He will muster the energy needed to keep alive in us what makes us special. That won’t be easy, but it is critical. I also predict it will be satisfying and oftentimes fun.'' 

  • ‘Cruising Legends’ rides again on MX Player, top brands hop on

    ‘Cruising Legends’ rides again on MX Player, top brands hop on

    KOLKATA: MX Player is bringing back an award-winning travel show for another ride – Cruising Legends: Dawn Patrol will see four biking legends quench their thirst for wanderlust and undertake a journey to the easternmost part of India, Arunachal Pradesh, to witness the country’s first break of dawn. Top notch brands like BMW, Gopro, and Castrol 1 Ultimate have already come onboards as sponsors.

    Produced by The Vibe Studio, all four episodes of this travel series are now available to binge on MX Player.

    “In 2020, TheVibe had embarked on expanding its original IP catalogue which was AVoD-based into a SVoD play, and with this an interesting opportunity presented itself from MXPlayer to reboot Cruising Legends, a branded content series produced in 2017 under TheVibe Originals for AVoD, to be converted into a long-format episodic narrative as an MX Original Series. We felt that the property could grow. MX Player’s intervention has scaled up the project and turned it around as a multi proposition, ” TheVibe co-founder Kartik Rao said.

    The thing that makes this series special is that all of the chosen riders have distinct personalities and motivations; their reasons for travelling vary, how they travel and what they do while they travel vary. With each episode, a different rider takes the lead and sets the agenda of that leg of the journey.

    The four riders include Helmet Stories co-founder Harsh Man Rai, biker Candida Louis who’s on a mission to educate the world about the importance of travel, adventurer/biker Ouseph Chacko, and Vir Nakai, who is known all over the globe as the face of Indian motorcycling.

    “We are delighted to be a part of this series,” said BMW Motorrad India director Shivapada Ray. “The BMW G 310 GS is the perfect companion for such an escapade. The bike takes the excitement a step further into the typical GS territory that stands for robust adventures on two wheels.”

    GoPro India head of marketing Mayuri Pitale added, “Cruising Legends raises the bar of unique travel and adventure content in India and there were no better cameras to capture this incredible trip than the GoPro Hero9 Black and Hero8 Black. GoPro cameras are rugged, waterproof and built to withstand dirt, dust, bumps and spills – perfect for the incredible action content in MX Player’s adventure-fueled series. We are proud and excited to have GoPro Advocate, Vir Nakai, participate in the series and amazed by the exotic and treacherous terrain Arunachal Pradesh has to offer.”

  • MX Player promotes Abhishek Joshi to business head – SVoD

    MX Player promotes Abhishek Joshi to business head – SVoD

    New Delhi: Video streaming service MX Player has elevated Abhishek Joshi as business head – SVoD (subscription business).

    “I have been given an additional mandate and responsibility of building the SVoD business from ground up as the business head while managing my existing portfolio,” he stated in a LinkedIn post.

    Joshi joined MX Player in October 2018 as head of marketing and business partnerships and lead marketing function (brand & digital performance) for new business launches like MX TakaTak. Before this, he worked with Sony Pictures Network India as SVP and head-marketing, subscription and content licensing- digital business.

    He became a part of SPNI in June 2015 as VP and head – marketing and analytics, digital business – OTT and led a digital business leadership team. Joshi was also responsible for shaping overall business strategy with core focus being on marketing and communications (online and offline). He handled some of the most talked about campaigns and format brands like Indian Idol 6, IPL, Kaun Banega Crorepati 5, X Factor and a few fiction shows as well.

    In his career spanning over two decades, he has worked with Reliance Big Pictures, Sab TV, ABP Group, Zenga Media and Max.

  • Hero Group forays into edtech with ‘Hero Vired’

    Hero Group forays into edtech with ‘Hero Vired’

    New Delhi: Tapping into the booming ed-tech market, the Hero Group has launched a new ed-tech company – Hero Vired – to adequately train and empower the workforce of the future. The launch accompanied the release of its new brand campaign, Be Made for BIG Things, which went live on social media and OTT platforms.

    National award-winning actor Ashish Vidyarthi has lent his voice to the brand campaign, which attempts to showcase the importance of an end-to-end learning ecosystem for today’s workforce. It talks about how individuals have plans for their future that are larger than life, pushing them to try newer frontiers. “It is often this drive that sets them apart from the crowd. This is where Hero Vired will help individuals, learners and professionals to achieve them. The concept for this campaign was born from the fact that life is more than just another job,” stated the company during the launch.

    Hero Vired head of programs & marketing Sushma Bharath said, “We believe that there’s more to life than just another job, increment or a degree. We want to bridge the gap between learning and employability by ensuring our efforts result in the real transformation of life and ambitions. Be Made For BIG Things is a campaign that will inspire people to look beyond the subjects and see the possibilities of tomorrow.”

    AVDS founder and chief creative officer Arun Verma said, “Today's generation is not fixated on just another job title, salary or designation. They are looking for a larger purpose and a reason for being. Show them a dream that adds a purpose to their life, beyond just a career or organisational growth and they will be all in, committed to your vision. That is what Hero Vired creates – youngsters who want to be made for the human race, not the rat race.”

    The film will be promoted across OTT platforms Disney+ Hotstar and Zee5 and social media platforms. It went live on YouTube on Tuesday evening.

  • Mitron turns one: Vernacular, monetisation to be key focus areas

    Mitron turns one: Vernacular, monetisation to be key focus areas

    KOLKATA: In last June, a number of short video platforms stepped into the limelight after the Indian government’s unceremonious ban on popular Chinese-origin app, TikTok. After riding on the initial wave of fame, these homegrown apps have now started solidifying their business models. This comes at a time when big league players like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are raising the stakes in the short form video space. Mitron TV, which turned one this April, has rolled out new monetisation models for creators and is looking at various innovative solutions for higher engagement on the app.

    The video sharing app that started with two people now consists of 55+ people in the team. While it is scaling operations across the board, tech is taking centre stage, said Mitron TV CEO & co-founder Shivank Agarwal. With new initiatives, the platform has set the target of 100 million users in the next six months. For the second year, the focus is on how it can go bullish on vernacular and drive monetisation for creators, he added.

    Other new features like Mitron Club, Mitron Academy and Mitron On-Demand have been introduced in the app. Through Club, creators can churn out engaging content exclusively for users opting for the service. Through Mitron Academy, content creators get an opportunity to share educational videos to help users learn from the platform. Additionally, with Mitron On-Demand, users will be able to place requests for on-demand content across segments.

    Recently, Mitron rolled out the Editor Tool to help remove creators’ dependency to log on to other video editing apps to edit their content. Post this launch, the number of videos created using Mitron camera has jumped 50 per cent. Moreover, the platform has lately seen a huge growth in creator to user ratio, Agarwal stated. Currently, 22 per cent of the total user base falls under the creator category.

    To increase brand recall, the Made in India app has also created an opinion platform where users can create videos or add text in different topics – be it sports, politics, entertainment. The initiative has been rolled out to encourage users to create a social asset. Once they come in and create a social asset, the recall to the platform increases a lot, shared Agarwal. Mitron TV is focusing more on the users who are liking, commenting, participating in opinions, along with watching videos as it aims to establish itself as a short video social media platform.

    At present, the highest number of users hail from Maharashtra, making up 19 per cent of the overall base. In the western region, Gujarat is also contributing highly to its user base. Among other states, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Haryana, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha make up the lion’s share of members. From the age group perspective, most users belong to the 25-34 segment, followed by 18-24, 35-44, 45+ age groups.

    While the platform is eying at markets as its next frontier for growth, Mitron TV CTO and co-founder Anish Khandelwal said that the recommendation engine is already in place to boost the growth but content strategy needs to be aligned in that line.

    “I think everybody is trying to innovate the revenue model, somebody is trying the e-commerce model, somebody is going the advertisement way. Everybody has to find which model suits their product and how to benefit. The good part for us is we have seen a good trend in terms of users spending on the platform, not just time but some money since last quarter,” he commented.

    “If we can convert 20 per cent customer audience into paying customers, that will be a good target for us,” he added. The platform is developing recommendations for users in such a way that it includes exploration along with personalisation. It does not want to personalise user experience in such a way that it becomes monotonous for the consumer, Khandelwal explained. Moreover, developers are focusing on the metric that if the app is showing a video to the user, he should finish the video.

    At a time when short video platforms are splurging on media spend, roping in brand ambassadors, Mitron TV execs want their product to stay low-key. Agarwal stated that they have avoided media spend but users have organically liked the app. The platform is prioritising technology and improving experience for users to improve retention and engagement, rather than going on an acquisition spree by burning cash.

    “For us, infotainment and edutainment are two important pillars we are very bullish about. And on the content perspective, technology perspective, recommendation engine and editor tool, we want to create differentiation. The overall idea is anybody with any knowledge to share, skill to share should come to the platform, engage on the platform,” Agarwal concluded.

  • IPL 2021: Short video app Roposo & Glance partner with CSK

    IPL 2021: Short video app Roposo & Glance partner with CSK

    MUMBAI: InMobi-owned short video app Roposo and lock screen content platform Glance have partnered with Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings (CSK) as its official lock screen partner and official short video app partner, respectively. The team will be live-streaming special shows on Glance, and post original short videos on Roposo, throughout the ongoing IPL 2021 tournament that kickstarted on 9 April.

    As part of the deal, cricket enthusiasts can also share uploaded short videos by their favourite players from CSK, on Glance and Roposo apps.

    “With the CSK team all set to livestream their exclusive and original content, we are primed to offer the users of Glance and Roposo an unmatched experience throughout this year’s tournament," said Glance vice president – marketing Bikash Chowdhury.

    “CSK has been among the tournament’s top contenders, year after year, just as Glance and Roposo have been going from strength to strength with each passing year. We are proud to bring 120 million Indians closer to a dream team like CSK, both on Glance’s lock screen and through their short videos on Roposo." Chowdhury added.

    The MS Dhoni-led team has already set up its official profile on Roposo. The company said that fans will get a chance to engage with players and take part in challenges to show their support for CSK.

    “Being a team built on loving fans, we always look for new ways to reach out to our supporters. This partnership with Glance and Roposo provides an exciting opportunity to engage with our fans on different digital platforms," said Chennai Super Kings chief executive K S Viswanathan.