ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • MX Player to offer dubbed international shows with MX VDesi

    MX Player to offer dubbed international shows with MX VDesi

    KOLKATA: After enthralling viewers with its original series, MX Playe is now bringing international content from across the world with the launch of a brand new category – MX VDesi, which will host India’s largest catalogue of dubbed shows in local Indian languages – Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.

    Starting 24 March, the platform will be dropping new shows every Wednesday – depicting the same emotion but from different regions. Recent studies have shown that certain sentiments are shared by all cultures and when it comes to entertainment and genres like romance, action or comedy –  viewers across the globe share the same universal experience of emotions.  

    With MX VDesi, the platform is bringing compelling international content for the discerning Indian viewer – be it Turkish, Korean, Japanese, French, Spanish or English super hits that are dubbed in Hindi, Tamil or Telugu. International dubbed content is one of the fastest growing verticals on the platform and sees engagement from the top metros as well as tier-1&2 towns of the country.  

    MX Player content acquisitions & alliances head Mansi Shrivastav said, “International content, as a category, is witnessing immense traction on the platform. With MX VDesi, we’ve curated the largest catalogue of international shows that feature beautifully crafted narratives of relatable, ordinary protagonists that are universally appealing. Today, global content is accessible at your fingertips and we’re delighted to be the frontrunners in introducing India to such a diverse range of international content that can be consumed in preferred local languages.”

    The top 10 shows on the platform include Turkish dramas like Day Dreamer, The Promise, Our Story, The Girl Named Feriha, Endless Love, Brave and Beautiful and Forbidden Fruit, as well as Korean dramas like Where Stars Land and Dr. John.

  • Hoichoi gives a glimpse of its 2021 content slate

    Hoichoi gives a glimpse of its 2021 content slate

    KOLKATA: Bengali streaming giant Hoichoi today unveiled its content line-up for, 2021, which includes  18 powerful and irresistible stories. Apart from its impressive March line-up, the OTT also plans to add more shows and movies this year than it did in the past years.  

    Hoichoi has roped in top talents of the industry, such as Rahul Bose, Dev, Anirban Bhattacharya, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Srabanti, Soham, Swastika Mukherjee, Sohini Sarkar, Monami Ghosh, Saswata Chatterjee, Anirban Chakrabarti, Arjun Chakraborty, Anindita Bose, Tridha Choudhury debutants Soumya Mukherjee, Sweta Mishra, Susmita Chatterjee, Debasish Mondal. Along with Bangladesh sensations like Mosharraf Karim, Badhon, Shamol Mawla and more; creators Srijit Mukherji, Kamaleswar Mukherjee, Anindya Chattopadhyay, Anjan Dutt, Sahana Dutta, Mainak Bhaumik, Anirban Bhattacharya’s directorial debut will also join its vast library.

    In a statement, Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta said, “At Hoichoi, we aim to bring distinct stories for our diverse audiences with variant taste. Our upcoming line-up is a reflection of that idea; each one of which is a gripping story of human emotions, filled with suspense, comedy, love, drama, thrill and longing. Every season we try to reinvent ourselves, with content from the brightest and newest creators of the region. So, #NotunGolpoHoyejak?”

    The exciting line-up is as follows:

    1.     Maradonar Juto – Directed by Mainak Bhaumik, this romantic comedy with a fresh casting, filled with the spice of family drama talks about neighbouring families, residing in North Kolkata (Dutta family & Chowdhury family), who have a generational feud about a pair of shoes, which belongs to the great football legend, Maradona.  

    2.     Dujone – A thriller, not a love story, Dujone marks the digital debut of much-loved on-screen pair, Soham and Srabanti, which talks about a wife’s dilemma to decipher her husband’s true personality.

    3.     Mohomaya – Helmed by Sahana Dutta, Mohomaya is a unique tale of a boy, jilted by his traumatic past, involving his mother, essayed by National Award-Winning actress Ananya Chatterjee, at a tender age, finds affection he longed for all his life in his friend's mother, played by powerhouse actress Swastika Mukherjee. National Award-Winning director Kamaleswar Mukherjee marks his digital directorial debut with the series.

    4.     Mohanagar – The story revolves around three characters and a pair of police officers whose lives get connected due to an incident that changes them and their belief in the system. Mohanagar marks the hoichoi debut of Bangladesh superstar Mosharraf Karim.

    5.     Srikanto – A modern day take of the cult novel in & within the matrix of childhood simplicity, adolescent innocence to complex neo-liberal social & interpersonal predicament of human existence. Will star a young talent Rishav Basu, in the lead.

    6.     Mandaar – Created and directed by Anirban Bhattacharya, Mandaar will be the first among ‘hoichoi World Classics’ segment that will bring Shakespeare's literary classic, Macbeth, to screen, featuring Debashish Mondal, Sohini Sarkar and Anirban Bhattacharya himself in the lead.

    7.     Mouchaak – A dark comedy, which will mark the digital debut of television personality, Monami Ghosh, Mouchaak chronicles a series of funny unfortunate events surrounding a housewife under house arrest, a series of guests and a lottery ticket.  

    8.     Robindronath Ekhane Kawkhono Khete Aashenni – An adaptation from the popular Bangladesh novel of the same name by Mohammad Nazim Uddin, which will mark Srijit Mukherji’s first series on hoichoi starring the dynamic Rahul Bose as the detective who reaches a famed restaurant to uncover the truth behind its mysterious owner, Muskaan Zuberi, essayed by Bangladesh sensation, Azmari Haque Badhon.

    9.     Murder in the Hills – The suspicions death of a Bengali film star of the 90s unravels to expose the seedy underbelly of Darjeeling’s pasts. Written, directed and acted by Anjan Dutt, the series is well balanced with a slew of casts, such as Arjun Chakraborty, Anindita Bose, Rajdeep Gupta, Sandipta Sen, Sourav Chakraborty, Suprobhat Das amongst others.

    10.  Shei Je Holud Pakhi 2 – The much-awaited series returns with its second season which will culminate the popular musical-drama about Vaidehi’s death. Saswata Chatterjee and Tridha Choudhury are reprising their roles in this season.

    11.  Paap 2 – with Puja Banerjee & Rahul Banerjee as the lead, the mysteries of season 1 will unravel in season 2 with another set of deaths and unexpected deaths.

    12.  Eken Babu S5 – Anirban Chakrabarti will reprise the role of Eken Babu as the much-loved crime-thriller returns for its fifth season with a new mystery that unfolds itself.

    13.  Byomkesh S7 – Starring the very versatile Anirban Bhattacharya as Byomkesh, along with Suprobhat Das as Ajit, and Ridhima Ghosh as Satyabati, our popular detective will return with a new mystery based on Byomkesh Bakshi created by Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay.  

    14.  Tangra Blues World Premiere – A story of a failed musician and a band on a verge of oblivion with Tangra – the most notorious slums in Kolkata as a backdrop, the film will see the fresh pairing of Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Madhumita for the first time.

    15.  Prem Tame World Premiere – It's a story of a revolution, within a young heart, inside a home, and in society. The film brings together the fresh casting of Soumya Mukherjee, Sweta Mishra and Susmita Chatterjee.

    16.  Kakababur Protyaborton World Premiere – Audience's beloved Kakababu, aka Raja Roychowdhury, essayed by Bengal’s industry himself – Prosenjit Chatterjee, returns for the third instalment of this popular franchise with his nephew, Shantu, this time traversing the dangerous terrains of Africa. This time, the film is based on Jongoler Moddhe Ek Hotel by Sunil Gangopadhyay.

    17.  Psycho World Premiere – Anirban Bhattacharya and Birsa Dasgupta return to team up for a thriller that is about a psychiatrist-turned-resident criminologist who teams up with the top-rank officials of law enforcement to hunt down a psychopath.

    18.  Golondaaj  World Premiere – A biographical sports drama directed by Dhrubo Banerjee, starring superstar Dev in the lead, is the story of a pioneer in Indian football, named Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari.

  • Delhi HC issues notice to Centre on another plea challenging new IT rules

    Delhi HC issues notice to Centre on another plea challenging new IT rules

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Friday sought the Centre's response on another plea challenging the new Information Technology rules which seek to regulate digital news media.

    A bench of chief justice D N Patel and justice Jasmeet Singh issued notices to the ministry of electronics and information technology and the ministry of information and broadcasting and granted them time to file their responses, PTI reported.

    In its plea challenging the new IT rules, Quint Digital Media has argued that regulation of publishers of news and current affairs content, as provided under Part III, is in violation of Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution of India, as reported by Bar and Bench. It stated that online news portals ought to be treated on par with print newspapers as they both contain written material on current affairs. It further argued that the rules attempt to proscribe content on digital media sites based on “vague and subjective grounds”.

    The case was adjourned for 16 April along with another similar petition filed by the Foundation for Independent Journalism and The Wire, which had submitted that the rules put an additional regulatory burden on digital news media. A plea was also filed in the Kerala high court by legal website LiveLaw. In both cases, the courts had issued notices to the Centre.

    The government had laid down the new rules for social media platforms, digital media and OTT platforms on 25 February. The Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 enable the setting up of a three-tier oversight mechanism for online content and a grievance redressal mechanism. Under the rules, social media and streaming companies will be required to take down contentious content quicker. It also makes these platforms more pliable in assisting government agencies in the investigation.

    Several media organisations have criticised the rules stating that the regulations could pose a threat to freedom of expression by laying the ground for tightening executive control over digital media. The Editors Guild of India too had demanded the repeal of these rules, highlighting that the laws are “deeply concerning”. 

  • India gets its own webtoon comics app – Toonsutra

    India gets its own webtoon comics app – Toonsutra

    MUMBAI:  In a first for the homegrown comics market, Toonsutra has arrived on the scene as a webtoon comics platform for mobile devices for free download on both iOS and Android devices.

    Toonsutra, a subsidiary of Graphic India, will launch in April to bring Indian audiences hundreds of high quality webtoon formatted comics optimised for mobile devices. The new platform will release new free stories every day from groundbreaking creators and storytellers in India as well as top global comics made available in India and in Hindi and other regional languages for the very first time.

    The Toonsutra app will feature a wide range of content for audiences across superhero, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, Bollywood, mythology, action, and more.

    “Toonsutra will become India’s new storytelling home for disruptive creators across the country to experiment, innovate and create engaging webtoon comic stories for the world,” Graphic India co-founder Sharad Devarajan said. “Webtoon platforms have become an explosive phenomenon across Asia with top webtoon apps cumulatively reaching over 70 million monthly users and over a 100 billion views a year. For the first time, we want to make a webtoon app dedicated for Indians and spark a mobile webcomic revolution.”   

    In addition to comics from around the world, the platform will showcase and promote emerging rising star creators across India and give them a home to tell there stories. Using the medium of comics and webtoons these new voices can express every type of genre and story all with the support, guidance and expertise of Toonsutra's team to make it easy to collaborate with other creators, develop ideas and make those stories a reality.

    On top of showcasing breakthrough Indian talents, Toonsutra will also offer users exclusive original webcomics based on some of the country’s biggest hit properties in film and TV such as the mega-blockbuster film Baahubali, and the recent animated hit streaming series The Legend of Hanuman; as well as new original webtoon comics based on Chakra The Invincible, the Indian superhero created by Stan Lee and Graphic India’s Devarajan.

    Graphic India’s large library of comics will also be adapted into the vertical scroll webtoon reading format bringing their hit properties including, 18 Days: The Mahabharata; the female super-heroine series Devi created by filmmaker Shekhar Kapur as well as other Indian webcomics including, The Sadhu, Mistry P.I., Shadow Tiger, Unholi, Reincarnation Man, Shikari Force, The Mighty Yeti, Dragonfly, Avatarex Destroyer of Darkness, and many more.    

    The Toonsutra app will feature international superhero comics from leading US publisher, Valiant Entertainment bringing their hit characters Bloodshot, Shadowman, X-O Manowar, Harbinger, Archer & Armstrong, Ninjak, Rai and more to Indian audiences in Hindi for the first time.    

  • Bombay Begums: NCPCR asks Netflix to snip ‘objectionable’ scenes

    Bombay Begums: NCPCR asks Netflix to snip ‘objectionable’ scenes

    NEW DELHI: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has issued an order asking Netflix to immediately remove specific scenes involving minors which are cited to be objectionable from the Bombay Begums series and asked it to stop streaming the series until then, the Times of India has reported.

    It has also sought an action taken report within the next three days.

    According to the report, the child rights body has also directed Mumbai police commissioner to take action with regards to the content in the series cited in the order and report back within a week. NCPCR has also given Netflix time till 18 March to reply.

    The order was passed following a meeting of Netflix officials with NCPCR to discuss the issues pertaining to representing and portrayal of children in the series Bombay Begums.

    “After detailed deliberations, the commission is of the view that these particular scenes are in violation of relevant sections of JJ Act, 2015, POCSO Act 2012 and IPC, 1860 as minor children were used in these scenes. Therefore, Netflix is directed to immediately remove these scenes from the series and meanwhile till the time they come to any decision in this regard, they shall stop the streaming of this series on their platform,” Kanoongo asserts in the order, according to the TOI report.

    As reported earlier, the NCPCR had issued a notice to OTT platform Netflix to stop streaming Bombay Begums. According to the notice, the commission received complaints from two Twitter handles regarding the Netflix original. The objections have been raised in regards to a scene where a 13-year-old girl is seen “snorting cocaine” at a party, as well as another plot point dealing with school girls sending nude selfies to members of the opposite sex.

    NCPCR had stated that the series with this type of content will pollute young minds and may result in abuse and exploitation of children at the hands of perpetrators and offenders and it does not allow representing, portraying, glorifying children in India in such manner on any platform including streaming services.

    Bombay Begums, written and directed by Alankrita Shrivastava, started streaming on 8 March and revolves around five women whose lives are interconnected.

    The action comes days after Netflix’s arch rival Amazon Prime Video issued an apology for its series Tandav in the wake of widespread furore over the depiction of Hindu deities.

    Meanwhile, the government has also notified new rules to better monitor and regulate the content on new age entertainment platforms consisting of a three-tier redressal mechanism. 

  • Connected TV viewership growth: OTT users going beyond six-inch smartphones

    Connected TV viewership growth: OTT users going beyond six-inch smartphones

    KOLKATA: Indian viewers consume content only on smartphones – the market has matured enough to move on from this notion. With more and more premium content offered by leading streaming services, consumers don’t want to limit their viewing experience to six-inche screens anymore.

    It is undeniable that a large chunk of Indian consumers still watch content on mobile devices but their preference for the larger screen has increased by leaps and bounds, especially while they were homebound during lockdown. Moreover, the appetite for quality viewing experience also pushed them to larger screens.

    With smart TVs becoming more affordable, a number of TV households are replacing their old linear sets. Smart TV market has been on the rise over the last couple of years due to the entry of brands like Xiaomi, Vu, Real Me, One Plus, etc. In addition to that, traditional TV brands like Samsung, Panasonic, and LG also went aggressive in the segment. Reports have suggested the popularity of OTT content is driving smart TV growth in India.

    "India is one of the most exciting countries in the world with more than 200 million potential TV households and still underpenetrated. Smart TVs have become more affordable over the last three years, and represent the vast majority of all new TVs sold. People love having the ability to connect to the Internet and stream their favourite films and series on demand. We see an ever growing need among audiences to watch Netflix on a smart TV, at home, with their family,” Netflix India business development director Abhishek Nag said.

    Connected TV also includes streaming devices such as Roku, Chromecast and Fire TV. Users who don’t intend to invest in a brand new TV set are opting for these devices instead. Recently, Amazon said in a report that Fire TV users in India doubled consumption of entertainment content during their stay at home in 2020, with movies, cricket, online gaming and music gaining traction.

    “In 2025, we expect connected TV will reach over 40 million homes from around seven million homes today. This will further grow OTT viewership as people  prefer to watch content on a large screen if possible. Both Airtel and Jio have announced growth plans for home broadband. Hence, that’s growing to drive connected TV homes and viewership,” stated EY India partner and media & entertainment leader Ashish Pherwani.

    The prolonged shutdown of cinema halls and fresh content availability on OTTs also contributed to the uptake of connected TV. Over 50 per cent of Mirzapur 2 viewers completed the show within 48 hours of its release on Amazon Prime Video. Direct-to-digital releases Shakuntala Devi, Gulabo Sitabo, Coolie No.1,  Soorarai Pottru, Ponmagal Vandhal were the most watched movies from Prime Video on Fire TV devices. Users enjoyed sports content too as Disney+ Hotstar viewership increased 50 per cent during IPL 2020.

    Zee5 witnessed accelerated adoption of connected devices wherein, three out of five SVoD users watched content via connected devices, recording over 80 per cent growth during Covid2019. Overall engagement of the platform grew and the audience spent more time watching content on connected TV versus smartphone.

    “With the audience becoming acclimatised to the idea of work-from-home and social distancing owing to the pandemic, their content consumptions patterns have seen a drastic change and there has been a significant growth in terms of watch-time. The surge in content consumption is also partly driven by a big uplift in the use of connected devices,” shared Zee5 India chief business officer Manish Kalra.

    Earlier in a conference, head honchos from Disney+Hotstar, Voot, Amazom Prime Video also spoke of the shift towards the living room as opposed to mobile device viewing.  As a result of rapid growth lately, the current ratio of mobile-connected TV consumption for Zee5 stands at 50-50, Kalra revealed. This signifies higher engagement levels on CTV compared to content consumption on smartphones.

    “In terms of the genres, we have observed that the audience consumes more of family entertainment content. Some of the most watched content includes Jeet Ki Zid, Black Widows, Pareeksha as compared to crime and edgy content,” he added.

    On the back of surging demand for CTV, OTT services are increasingly forging partnerships with OEM manufacturers. Netflix’s Nag said the platform has tied up with global TV OEMs like Samsung, LG, Sony, Xiaomi, and OnePlus, and local TV OEMs like VU and MarQ, to ensure that all the members get the same consistent, high quality app experience, no matter which smart TV they choose. Zee5’s Kalra mentioned that the platform is available across all leading Smart TVs and smart sticks available in the market – Samsung, LG, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Sony; Amazon FireTV Stick and Mi 2k stick. Moreover, the streamer has a presence as Hot keys for Samsung, LG, TCL, Onida, Nokia and Marq TVs across all 2020 models.

    Although smart TV penetration is phenomenally low in India, going forwards it is projected to grow more swiftly than smartphones which have reached the 400 million threshold, Elara Capital VP research analyst (media) Karan Taurani noted. Moreover, affordability coming in with new players will boost growth. Hence, the mobile consumption of OTT platforms standing at 80-90 per cent can come down to 70 per cent in the next few years, albeit mobile devices will largely dominate the viewership for some time to come. However, the growth of connected TV viewership in India will be led by boxes offered by aggregators like Jio, Tata Sky, Taurani remarked.

    According to Deloitte India partner Jehil Thakkar, India is a mobile-first video consumption country and that will not change soon. Even, the launch of 5G can result in a better viewing experience for handheld devices. But viewership on connected TVs will parallelly go up, he asserted. During the Covid crisis, many users invested in new smart TVs or connected devices. These users will continue to consume content on those devices while they are homes, he opined. Along with that, the replacement of current TV sets in coming years will be mostly led by smart TVs only.

  • Revolutionary OTT Platform – Biiggbang Amusement announces their power-packed management team

    Revolutionary OTT Platform – Biiggbang Amusement announces their power-packed management team

    Building a clutter-breaking OTT platform for people who are a true cinephile and value their time, Biiggbang Amusement is one-stop for all their entertainment needs. Building the largest content library and redefining the way people consume entertainment, as the platform moves closer to the date of launch, Biiggbang Amusement is here to announce their A-team.

    Rinku Biswas, Brand and Marketing Head

    With an exceptional career timeline spanning over 14 years in the media and entertainment industry, Rinku Biswas was at the forefront as the Launch Marketing Leader for the OTT platform, 

    Amazon Prime Video and has also been the Brand Head for &pictures. She also has a diverse experience in consulting working with number of up-and-coming start-up companies, across Food Tech, Broadcasts, International IPTV platforms, among other Technology firms. At Biiggbang Amusement, Rinku will headline the brand and marketing solutions.

    Sharda Ratnam, Brand Acquisitions, Partnerships & Sales Revenue Head

    An accomplished Marketing & Brand Management Professional with over 20 years of diverse experience in advertising, broadcast, retail & branded content/ Entertainment Marketing, Sharda has worked with prominent companies such as Contract Advertising, Leo Burnett, O&M, Nimbus Television & In-House Productions and UTV Interactive. In her previous profile, she managed her own independent agency for over 10 years in the brand entertainment domain with a portfolio of deals with Bollywood’s several leading studios. Sharda will take charge of brand partnerships and sales revenue solutions at Biiggbang Amusement.

    Shuvendu Basu, Chief Human Resource Officer

    Shuvendu comes with over 23 years of experience in people management driven by an innovative mindset. He has an experience working with the leading Indian MNC giants Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T), Lafarge and Nuvoco Vistas Corporation. Having worked as member of Senior Leadership teams and being instrumental in developing big teams across in India and the Gulf region, Shuvendu brings an extraordinary sense of management and people culture. He will be taking care of human resource development and will establish management systems and processes towards sustainable organization growth at Biiggbang Amusement.

    Raaj Rahhi, International Acquisitions & Relations Head

    With over 2 decades of experience in the film, TV, media, and entertainment industry, Raaj is an innovative Producer, Director, and Distribution consultant. He has worked with Sony Pictures, Time Warner-Pictures House, HBO, Fox Searchlight, Universal, Magnolia Pictures, Multivision Plus, Jackie Chan Production House, Zee Television Network, World Cinema Partners USA, among others. Raaj will headline Biiggbang Amusement’s international content acquisitions and relationships. 

    “We saw a gap in the industry and came up with Biiggbang Amusement as the filler. I wanted to put together a very passionate team to bring Biiggbang Amusement to existence. With Shuvendu Basu as our Chief Human Resource Officer, Rinku Biswas as our Brand and Marketing Head, Shari Ratnam as our Brand Partnership & Sales Revenue Head, Raaj Rahhi as our International Acquisitions & Relations Head and I am certain that this venture is under great leadership. We as a team at core believe that quality content for time sensitive people is a mindful step that we’re taking.” said Sudip Mukerjee, CEO & co-Founder, Biiggbang Amusement.

  • MX TakaTak launches influencer collaborative space

    MX TakaTak launches influencer collaborative space

    KOLKATA: Short video apps have paved the way for millions of young content creators to grow into digital superstars. With its vision of nurturing such budding talent, leading short format video app MX TakaTak not only aims at giving young creators a platform to showcase their talent, but is also empowering them to make better content with the launch of MX TakaTak My Home. This first of its kind initiative in India is a content creator collective that will see some of the country’s finest talent come together week on week, to collaborate and help each other amass more followers. 

    My Home is a month-long activity that will see a fresh churn of content creation every day, with a dedicated team giving the KOLs all the professional support/assistance they require. Spread across entertainment hubs – Mumbai and Delhi, these two luxurious homes will host 15 audience favourites every week and these talented digital enthusiasts will be given the opportunity to innovate and create cool content.

    MX TakaTak business head Janhavi Parikh said, “My Home has been devised to offer our content creators an equal opportunity for growth. The doors of this house will be open for those creators who are passionate about their craft, who are consistent with their videos and those who want to pioneer change in digital content consumption. This house is about creating a collaborative environment  that encourages our digital enthusiasts to produce compelling content to entertain India.”

    Delhi My Home participant Faizal Siddiqui shared, “The concept of creating an engaging environment for creators to join forces and make fun content is a great thought, opportunities like these give rise to the greatest digital stars."

    Wish Rathod, yet another creator on the platform, said, “Creating a space like this is a very international concept and it’s great that MX TakaTak is doing so much to give creators like us a once in a lifetime chance such as this. You get to meet like-minded people, discuss ideas, ideologies and grow creatively, and that’s what I am looking forward to.”

    Some of the influencers who are a part of My Home Delhi include Oye Indori, Sofia Ansari, Wish Rathod, Mahira Khan, Deepak Joshi, Vishal Bhatt and Mihir Gupta, among others. 

  • Viacom18 restructures its leadership team

    Viacom18 restructures its leadership team

    MUMBAI: Viacom18 today announced changes in its leadership team to focus on scaling and bolstering its digital and broadcast businesses. As part of the rejig, Ferzad Palia will head all SVoD services (Voot Select & Voot Kids) and International expansion for Voot and will report to Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gourav Rakshit.

    The network’s youth, music and English entertainment business will now be led by Anshul Ailawadi, erstwhile strategy and project management lead at the group CEO’s office. Anshul will be reporting to Network18 MD Rahul Joshi in his new role.

    Palia has led the growth of the network’s youth, music and English entertainment business for the past 16 years. More recently he launched Voot Select that has already raced to add 1 million plus subscribers within a year. He will now look to cohesively grow Viacom18’s SVoD and International digital businesses. Ailawadi has played a key role in the growth of Viacom18 over the last six years and is a strong proponent of the tremendous fandom, and the potential business opportunity that the YME brands of Viacom18 command. In a young country like India, these brands have a long runway for growth, especially given the proliferation of digital platforms.

    Viacom18 forayed into digital subscription businesses in late 2019 with Voot Kids that was closely followed by Voot Select launched in March 2020. Voot Select recently reported acquiring over 1mn subscribers in its first year and though being a late entrant in the category it’s the fastest growing broadcaster-backed OTT service. Youth, Music and English Entertainment portfolio of Viacom18 consists of category leading channels like MTV, MTV Beats, Vh1, Comedy Central and Colors Infinity.

  • Rizzle sounds women empowerment bugle with new partnerships

    Rizzle sounds women empowerment bugle with new partnerships

    New Delhi: Short video platform Rizzle has entered into a partnership with Business Charcha and Himachal Women’s League as part of its ongoing efforts to recognise and empower women across various walks of life.

    The platform, co-founded by Vidya Narayanan, said that it will be Business Charcha’s media and digital partner. Through this association, the app is looking to empower creators and entrepreneurs by giving them state-of-the-art storytelling tools as well as an extremely positive audience community.

    Business Charcha founder and CEO Sheetal Bhandari said, “We are extremely happy to announce Rizzle as our media and digital partner. We are excited to collaborate with India's leading short videos platform and empower aspiring entrepreneurs across the country to help realize their ambitions.”

    Rizzle had recently partnered with Himachal Women’s League as it's digital partner. The platform prides itself on encouraging women to step up their game by being vocal and helping them in building their identity. 

    A spokesperson from the Himachal Pradesh Football Association said, “HWL is thrilled to announce Rizzle as our official digital partner. We are proud to associate with a platform that empowers women across the globe. We look forward to promoting female sportsmanship through Rizzle.”

    The association between Rizzle and Business Charcha as well as Himachal Women’s League comes amidst International Women’s Day celebrations.

    “Rizzle has always been proud about being a platform that empowers and enables women to have a voice. We’re hoping for powerful synergies to result from our partnerships with Business Charcha and Himachal Women’s League," said Rizzle CEO and co-founder Vidya Narayanan.

    The short video apps' prime focus is currently on its signature vertical mini-series. It is also branding itself as one of the safest online platforms for women creators due to its no comments and video response features, thus eliminating malicious trolling that is prominent on so many social platforms. The app is also hosting a month-long contest #ShadesofWomen to celebrate womanhood.