ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Centre bans another 43 Chinese apps

    Centre bans another 43 Chinese apps

    NEW DELHI: In its fourth round of crackdown on China-origin apps, the Indian government has blocked 43 mobile apps, including AliExpress, CamCard, and Taobao Live, among others. Users will no longer be able to access these applications in India. The ban has been imposed under section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

    The Ministry of electronics and IT has issued the order for blocking access to these apps by users in India based on the comprehensive reports received from Indian cyber crime co-ordination center, ministry of home affairs.

    "This action was taken based on the inputs regarding these apps for engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order", the official statement from the Centre said.

     

     

    Previously, the Union government on 28 June blocked access to 59 Chinese-origin apps that included TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser, and WeChat, among other popular names. That was followed by another ban on about 47 apps that were mostly clones or different versions of the already banned apps. On 2 September, the government imposed a ban on 118 apps and games including PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite. 

    The decision was taken owing to tensions in India-China relations following conflict at the border, and to protect the private data of Indian citizens. The political climate between the two nations has not been cordial especially after China was found guilty of encroaching the Indian space. There were bloody clashes between the two sides on the border.

    Here is the complete list of  banned apps:

    ·         AliSuppliers Mobile App

    ·         Alibaba Workbench

    ·         AliExpress – Smarter Shopping, Better Living

    ·         Alipay Cashier

    ·         Lalamove India – Delivery App

    ·         Drive with Lalamove India

    ·         Snack Video

    ·         CamCard – Business Card Reader

    ·         CamCard – BCR (Western)

    ·         Soul- Follow the soul to find you

    ·         Chinese Social – Free Online Dating Video App & Chat

    ·         Date in Asia – Dating & Chat For Asian Singles

    ·         WeDate-Dating App

    ·         Free dating app-Singol, start your date!

    ·         Adore App

    ·         TrulyChinese – Chinese Dating App

    ·         TrulyAsian – Asian Dating App

    ·         ChinaLove: dating app for Chinese singles

    ·         DateMyAge: Chat, Meet, Date Mature Singles Online

    ·         AsianDate: find Asian singles

    ·         FlirtWish: chat with singles

    ·         Guys Only Dating: Gay Chat

    ·         Tubit: Live Streams

    ·         WeWorkChina

    ·         First Love Live- super hot live beauties live online

    ·         Rela – Lesbian Social Network

    ·         Cashier Wallet

    ·         MangoTV

    ·         MGTV-HunanTV official TV APP

    ·         WeTV – TV version

    ·         WeTV – Cdrama, Kdrama&More

    ·         WeTV Lite

    ·         Lucky Live-Live Video Streaming App

    ·         Taobao Live

    ·         DingTalk

    ·         Identity V

    ·         Isoland 2: Ashes of Time

    ·         BoxStar (Early Access)

    ·         Heroes Evolved

    ·         Happy Fish

    ·         Jellipop Match-Decorate your dream island！

    ·         Munchkin Match: magic home building

    ·         Conquista Online II

  • Zee5 Global launches OTT Content festival for indie creators

    Zee5 Global launches OTT Content festival for indie creators

    KOLKATA: Zee5 has launched the Global OTT Content Festival, a first-of-its-kind initiative which will give independent filmmakers, students of cinema, and young content creators a global platform to showcase their talent on and find audiences in 190+ countries.

    Through the Content Festival, Zee5 Global is inviting entries for content created in any language across fiction and non-fiction TV shows, movies, documentaries, stories, short films, music videos and more. The duration for music videos or albums can be between three to five minutes, and audio-visual content comprising episodic content, film, web-series etc must have a minimum duration of 30 minutes.

    Participants are required to send in their entries to contentfest@zee5.com. Entries will be open for a month. An expert panel of judges at Zee5 will shortlist the top 50 entries which will then be premiered exclusively on the platform. Zee5 will also drive promotional efforts around the content globally on behalf of the filmmakers.

    The content festival is expected to attract the largest aggregation of entries across languages from multiple markets. Not only is the festival a singular unique opportunity for content creators to attain global fame instantly, but it will also add to the slate of language content already available on Zee5.

    Zee5 Global chief business officer Archana Anand said, “As a global platform, we’re often approached by people across markets for opportunities to showcase their content on Zee5.  We’re thrilled therefore to be announcing the Zee5 Global Content Festival, to give aspiring and budding content creators a chance for instant global recognition. An initiative like this will not only bring to the fore hidden gems from different countries but also add vastly to our already rich content library, and I eagerly look forward to watching the shortlisted entries.”

  • Amazon Prime Video unveils trailer for ‘Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers’

    Amazon Prime Video unveils trailer for ‘Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers’

    KOLKATA: Amazon Prime Video and Abhishek Bachchan have unveiled the trailer for the all-new original series Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers. Produced by BBC Studios India, the show follows the inspiring journey and dedication of the team during the seventh season of Pro Kabaddi League, as they strive to win the championship for the second time, after their win in the maiden edition of the league.

    The series provides a never–before-seen locker-room view of the team including interactions with team owner Abhishek Bachchan. Prime members in India and in more than 200 countries and territories can stream all episodes starting 4 December. Viewers will get to experience the struggles, determination, courage, hard work and passion of the team as well as their families, coaches and everyone associated with the Jaipur Pink Panther family. The series is directed by British Director Alex Gale, a double BAFTA Scotland-winning executive producer and director. Gales's films Glasgow 1967: The Lisbon Lions and Scotland 78: A Love Story won the best documentary award from BAFTA Scotland in successive years in 2017 and 2018.

    “Amazon Prime Video has always endeavoured to bring diverse and gripping stories to our audiences. From gangland dramas to musicals – we have developed and produced authentic stories rooted in our soil. And with Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers, we are extremely proud to diversify our repertoire and bring our first-ever sports docu-series in India to our viewers,” Amazon Prime Video India originals head Aparna Purohit said.

    “Kabaddi is one of the oldest and much loved indigenous sports in India and this series follows the incredible journey of Jaipur Pink Panthers Kabaddi team. The series will provide a window into players’ steadfast persistence, rigorous preparation and hard-work leading up-to the 40 minute matches that audiences enjoy. The show will take viewers on an emotional journey as they follow the team not just on the mat but also get an inside look into the lives of the players – where they come from and what drives them,” she added.

     “Kabaddi is one sport that cannot be played well without teamwork, and that is the ethos of our Jaipur Pink Panthers family,” said team owner Abhishek Bachchan. “I had made my digital debut with Amazon Original Series, Breathe: Into the Shadows so sharing the unfiltered story of my team, Jaipur Pink Panthers, through this global service made absolute sense. I believe we have created a show that will engage and inspire the audience.”

    BBC Studios India business head Sameer Gogate said: “India is a sports hungry nation and we are delighted to collaborate with Amazon Prime Video to bring to their audience the first-ever sports docu-series on a truly indigenous sport like kabaddi. It was a pleasure to work with Amazon Prime Video, Abhishek Bachchan and the entire Jaipur Pink Panthers team, who opened up their world and hearts to us. Prime Video in India, through Amazon Originals, has presented some exciting stories for entertainment lovers and with Sons of the Soil: Jaipur Pink Panthers, fans can really look forward to an engrossing tale of a team’s dedication and passion to win.”

  • PM Modi, Sonu Sood & Kunal Kamra top Twitter engagement in Oct 2020

    PM Modi, Sonu Sood & Kunal Kamra top Twitter engagement in Oct 2020

    NEW DELHI: Social media analytics firm Twitteet has released its October analytics report. Leading their respective fields in terms of engagement were prime minister Narendra Modi, actor Sonu Sood, and comedian Kunal Kamra, all of whom accounted for a total of over one crore impressions on Twitter in the month of October.

    Key highlights of the first report include the remarkable rise of Tejashwi Yadav, who clocked over 1.24 million engagements in October, overshadowing incumbent Bihar CM Nitish Kumar who managed only 133,879 engagements. PM Narendra Modi topped the overall Indian Twitter engagement rankings with over 7.2 million impressions.

    Sonu Sood, who was dubbed ‘messiah of migrants’ at the peak of the Covid2019 pandemic, topped Twitter engagement among Bollywood stars with a phenomenal 2.4 million engagements. Shah Rukh Khan was at second position with 7.3 lakh engagements. Akshay Kumar with 6.72 lakh engagements was in third place, and Anupam Kher with 4.74 lakh engagements came in fourth. Former Maharashtra CM, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh’s actor-son Riteish Deshmukh was at fifth position with 4.2 lakh engagements. Pooja Hegde was the surprise entrant into the top 10 with 2.51 lakh engagements. 

    Controversial stand-up comic Kunal Kamra topped the list of comedians with 1.1 million engagements. Kamra, a frequent and favourite target of brickbats from certain sections of social media, is active on Twitter where he posts his frank takes on hot-button issues, often laced with his signature pithy humour. Recently, he was in the news for a series of tweets taking aim at the Supreme Court and the bench of judges who granted bail to Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami in an abetment to suicide case.

    The IPL was the flavour of the season for cricketers and it comes as no surprise that India captain and expectant father Virat Kohli scored the highest Twitter engagement, with 2.4 million impressions. Suresh Raina was at second position with 1.9 million engagements. Former stars Sachin Tendulkar at third position, Harbhajan Singh at fifth position, and Virendra Sehwag at sixth position, actively engage with fans and followers on Twitter with 1.5 million; 6.8 lakh and 6.3 lakh engagements. Aakash Chopra, now a commentator, is also hugely popular and ranked in the fourth place with over 9.65 lakh engagements on Twitter in October. Perennial favourite Mahendra Singh Dhoni was completely inactive on Twitter in October despite more than 8.1 million followers.

    In the intensively competitive journalists category, News Nation’s Deepak Chaurasia topped Twitter engagement with a whopping 1.88 million engagements. AajTak’s Rohit Sardana was at second position with 1.1 million engagement, followed by Sushant Sinha with 1.05 million impressions. Veteran journalist and India Today’s consulting editor Rajdeep Sardesai came in at number eight with 6.6 lakh engagements, and Rana Ayyub was at sixth position with 7.6 lakh engagements.

    In the business leaders category, Anand Mahindra towered over others with over 4 lakh engagements. RPG Groups chief Harsh Goenka was at second position with 2.2 lakh engagements. Chinese mobile phone brands India CEO’s Manu Kumar Jain of Xiaomi and RealMe’s Madhav Sheth were at third and fourth position respectively with 1.5 lakh and 1.1 lakh engagements. Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji with 49,000 engagements was at fifth position, Biocon’s Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw with 41,000 engagements at sixth position, Marico’s Harsh Mariwala with 24,000 engagements is at seventh position, Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma with 19,000 engagements at eight position and chairman of JSPL and former MP, Naveen Jindal with 16,000 engagements is at ninth position. Google’s Global CEO Sundar Pichai with 15,000 engagements is at tenth position.

    This is the first time social media analytics for Twitter engagement across 20 categories have been done on a daily, monthly basis in a transparent manner. The categories whose Twitter engagement have been analysed include politicians (party-wise), journalists, business leaders (founders & investors), sportspersons (cricket and other sports), movie stars (Bollywood and regional), authors, chefs, and comedians.

    Here are the winners from some key categories:

    1.      Politicians – Narendra Modi – 72,15,913 Twitter engagements

    2.      Bollywood – Sonu Sood – 24,36,601 Twitter engagements

    3.      Business Head – Anand Mahindra – 4,08,882 Twitter engagements

    4.      Cricketer – Virat Kohli –  24,65,918 Twitter engagements

    5.      Sports Star (non-cricket) – Vijender Singh –  4,27,006 Twitter engagements

    6.      TV Star – Sidharth Shukla –  3,90,901 Twitter engagements

    7.      Journalist – Deepak Chaurasia –  18,88,720 Twitter engagements

    8.      Founders – Kunal Shah –  60,093 Twitter engagements

    9.      Comedians – Kunal Kamra –  11,46,111 Twitter engagements

    10.  Regional Cinema Star – Mahesh Babu –  7,32,964 Twitter engagements

    11.  Authors – Anand Ranganathan – 5,36,874 Twitter engagements

    12.  Investor – Mohandas Pai – 99,741 Twitter engagements

    Said Twitteet co-founder Sandeep Amar: “Our social monitoring and actionable insights to the leaders across various domains and also to businesses and marketers.  We run daily analysis of all engagements – which are the total of likes and retweets, collate these every month, across categories; and then slice and dice them to mine actionable insights. At some level, a leader's Twitter engagement gives one sense of his connect with his constituents and what are the key issues that matter. We hope to sharpen this data over time and broad base our offerings to other social platforms and geographies.”

  • SonyLIV goes big to retain buzz around Scam 1992

    SonyLIV goes big to retain buzz around Scam 1992

    KOLKATA: Amongst the homegrown OTT players, SonyLIV was late to enter the original content space. After its recent rebranding, the OTT platform has made a splash, especially with the launch of Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story. Following its success, the platform is leaving no stone unturned to retain the buzz around the show.

    On Saturday, SonyLIV published a four-page advertorial in The Times of India. The separate sheet of the feature contains interviews with actors, the production house, the director, and a review of the show along with the promotion of other original content on the platform. It further included original headlines from newspapers around the scam and photographs of Sucheta Dalal, Harshad Mehta and his lawyers.

    The content was exclusively created and served as a teaser for the audiences to watch the show on SonyLiv.

    While it is not the first time when an OTT player is promoting a new show, but it is one of the rare occasions, when any OTT player has taken the content route in the print media to promote a show.

    Use images of news papers attached 

    The 10-part series began streaming on SonyLIV, from 9 October. It is one of the highest-rated shows on IMDB in India (9.6) and has bagged a place among the top 50 television shows globally. With phenomenal ratings and record-breaking performance, the show has made it to the list of the top five OTT shows for the last week of October, according to a streaming tracker by Ormax Media. Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story was the second on the list with 6.6 million views.

    The show has received a remarkable response from audiences for gripping performances from Pratik Gandhi and Shreya Dhanwanthary, stellar direction by Hansal Mehta, and an exceptional script written by Sumit Purohit, Saurav Dey, Vaibhav Vishal and Karan Vyas. 

  • #RoadTrippinWithRnM returns with season 2 on HistoryTV18

    #RoadTrippinWithRnM returns with season 2 on HistoryTV18

    MUMBAI: Earlier this year, as lockdown rules started to ease up, television's popular foodies and intrepid travellers, Rocky Singh and Mayur Sharma got behind the wheel for a 14-day road trip across Rajasthan. Over two exciting weeks, fans and followers became part of their adventure, with experiences and memorable moments posted in real time on HistoryTV18's and the duo's own social media accounts. The digital-exclusive travel series '#RoadTrippinWithRnM' featuring daily vlogs and posts along the way was a first-of-its-kind series post pandemic, garnering more than 80 million organic impressions and 20 million video views. Now, the duo is heading out on another driving adventure. And this time, it's through the snow-laden state of Himachal Pradesh.

    As winter sets in and the holiday season progresses, there is renewed interest in socially distanced driving vacations. Reason enough for HistoryTV18's '#RoadTrippinWithRnM' to return in a brand new season. A new route, with new destinations, new places, people, flavours, and curiosities. But some essentials remain – the celebration of wanderlust, the search for fabulous food experiences as well as Rocky and Mayur's brand of humour and energetic never-say-never attitude.

    This time, they're driving from Delhi to Pragpur and back, via popular tourist hotspots, unusual hangouts and off-the-beaten-track stopovers, across the spectacular Himalayan mountainscapes of Himachal Pradesh. Most importantly, fans, followers, and viewers will ride along virtually.

    The first leg of the journey takes Rocky and Mayur from Delhi to Shimla via Chandigarh and Shogi. While in characteristic #RoadTrippin style, there's no itinerary written in stone, they'll likely start with a big breakfast at a dhaaba at Murthal, on the outskirts of Delhi and end the day with a hearty dinner in Chandigarh. And no doubt they'll share every detail of every flavour in what they eat. Inveterate foodies that they are, viewers can be sure that there will be flavoursome food experiences throughout the journey, which could range from a traditional Tibetan meal to the famous deli meat pickles of Himachal Pradesh, and just about everything in between. Pit-stops may include popular halts, eateries, little known places and hidden gems that the show is committed to spotlighting. As the two childhood friends and collaborators travel across the beautiful mountain state, Kufri and McLeodganj are on their "gotta visit" list. While their "gotta do" includes adventure sports, historical explorations, spiritual stopovers, and a nature reserve.

    Just as in the first season, Rocky and Mayur will be sharing their adventures with viewers and followers every day through daily vlogs, fantastic pictures and engaging Live Q&A sessions on social media. These posts will be available on HistoryTV18 and Rocky and Mayur's own handles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. It's a vicarious holiday, and everyone's invited. 

    Rocky Singh and Mayur Sharma, are thrilled to be back, doing what they do best and love most. Rocky, sounds stoked as he says, "The first time was so much fun, that I can't wait to get out on the highway again. I've always loved Himachal Pradesh, and this is absolutely the best time of the year to be travelling through the state. We can promise that there will be a lot of out-of-the-box, unique experiences this time as well, but let's see what the road throws at us!"  

    TV18 content & communication A+E networks president Arun Thapar said, “#RoadTrippinWithRnM is a made-for-the-moment travel show. With its second season, we further deepen our engagement with HistoryTV18’s growing online community. The show reclaims the joys of experiencing India’s incredible landscapes, celebrating colour and diversity along the way. It’s about hope and the spirit to carry on, even through troubled times.”

  • Netflix to offer free weekend access on 5-6 December

    Netflix to offer free weekend access on 5-6 December

    KOLKATA: Netflix has finally unveiled the dates for its free weekend access to Indian audiences. The viewers can binge Netflix content without subscription on 5 and 6 December during ‘StreamFest’.

    To get access to the vast content catalogue of the streaming service, users have to simply enter their name, email address, and create a password on the dedicated SteamFest page. They will be able to stream the platform across devices including smart TV, gaming console, iOS, and Android apps and on PC. However, the streaming will be restricted to standard definition (SD).

     

     

    The streaming giant is promoting StreamFest aggressively through its social media platforms and has roped in Anil Kapoor, Yami Gautam, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui to spread the word. “That’s right, it’s time to cancel your plans and settle in to watch Netflix. We don’t need any payment details – just your love and undivided attention,” Netflix said on its website.

     

     

    Netflix has been constantly innovating its marketing and promotion strategy in India to get more users to sign up. “We think that giving everyone in a country to access Netflix for free for a weekend could be a great idea to expose a bunch of new people to the amazing stories we have and hopefully get a bunch of them to sign up. We will try that in India and we will see how that goes,” Netflix COO and chief products officer Greg Peters said.

  • Eros Now reaches 36.2 mn paying subscribers

    Eros Now reaches 36.2 mn paying subscribers

    KOLKATA: Eros Now, the OTT platform owned by ErosSTX, has reached 36.2 million paid subscribers and 211.5 million registered users worldwide as of 30 September. This represents 6.9 million net new paid subscriber additions over the past six months.

    This subscriber growth has been powered by its investment in technology and the larger partnership with Microsoft. In a recently completed project, Eros Now uploaded content to a central content repository, built on Microsoft Azure, that can quickly process large volumes of data to distribute to hubs via satellite. Consumers then connect to these hubs to securely download content to their mobile devices without internet connectivity. By using this system, consumers in low connectivity regions can access Eros Now’s rich media content and pay for services in modes they prefer. Enabling video distribution via satellite could be game changing for the OTT business in developing markets like India, South East Asia and Africa where more than 50 per cent of the population has intermittent access to internet and internet video.

    Another major attribute to the platform’s growing popularity has been the Eros Now Original Series. The recently released and critically acclaimed original series Flesh, starring Swara Bhaskar, generated the highest ever time spent viewing by Eros Now consumers – more than any other original series so far. Overall engagement on the platform has increased dramatically so far this year and is approximately double the pre-lockdown engagement.

    This festive season, Eros Now has partnered with Paytm to offer 100 per cent cash back to the digital payments app’s consumers in India who subscribe to the Eros Now’s monthly pack of Rs 49 and to unlock #DilwaliDiwali and enjoy the best of movies, original series and more.

  • Tarun Katial steps down as Zee5 India CEO

    Tarun Katial steps down as Zee5 India CEO

    MUMBAI: Zee5 CEO Tarun Katial has put down his papers after four years. He had joined the OTT platform in November 2016 and during his tenure, not only did he steer the platform and help the company gain a leadership position, but was instrumental in conceptualising the brand’s home-grown short video app HiPi, among other things.

    A company spokesperson said, “We wish to confirm that Tarun Katial has tendered his resignation, as CEO, Zee5 India. We thank him for his valuable contribution towards the growth of Zee5. Under his able leadership, in a very short span of time, Zee5 has emerged as India’s largest ConTech brand, delivering seamless, superlative content across different consumer touch-points, backed with cutting edge technology. His rich experience and expertise have been invaluable in building a robust digital platform. We wish Tarun the best in all his future endeavours.”

    In line with its recently announced strategic restructuring of the organisation, Amit Goenka as the president – digital businesses and platforms will continue to lead team Zee5, along with other digital platforms.

    In a career spanning over three decades, Katial has worked at companies such as Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), BIG FM, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Star TV Network, Ogilvy & Mather (now Ogilvy), Enterprise Nexus Lowe.

    Under his leadership, the Zee5 platform has amassed 100+ originals across genres and languages and seen 100 million plus downloads.

  • HBO Max now available on Amazon Fire TV

    HBO Max now available on Amazon Fire TV

    NEW DELHI: WarnerMedia has revealed that HBO Max, the US streaming platform, will begin rolling out immediately on Amazon Fire TV streaming devices, Fire TV Edition smart TVs, and Fire tablets.

    HBO Max is WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer streaming offering, with 10,000 hours of curated premium content. The platform features content from HBO, Warner Bros, DC, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, and more. As per media reports, the platform has nearly 38 million subscribers.

    The current subscribers of HBO through Amazon’s Prime Video channels will be able to log in to the HBO Max app with their Amazon credentials at no additional cost. The HBO app on Fire TV and Fire tablets will automatically update to become the HBO Max app; customers will be able to log in using their existing HBO credentials. New customers can also subscribe to HBO Max directly in the app. Additionally, all existing HBO Max customers – regardless of how they subscribe to the platform – can now access all of HBO Max via supported Fire TV and Fire tablet devices using their existing provider credentials.

    WarnrerMedia head of sales and distribution Tony Goncalves said, “We are very excited that Amazon customers will now be able to enjoy the best-in-class content that lives within HBO Max. Our continued goal is to make HBO Max and its unparalleled content available to customers across all the devices they love. Fire TV is a favourite among customers and we look forward to working with the Amazon team to engage and grow our existing subscriber base by showcasing all that HBO Max has to offer.”

    “We’ve worked closely with HBO for many years to bring their great content to Fire TV and to make it easier to discover and enjoy with features like search integration, Alexa and personalised recommendations. We are excited to continue that partnership with the launch of HBO Max to bring even more incredible content to customers on Fire TV,” Amazon Entertainment devices and services VP Marc Whitten said.

    With Amazon Alexa, at launch customers can navigate to the HBO Max app by saying “Alexa, find HBO Max” with Fire TV’s included Alexa Voice Remote or a paired echo device for hands-free control. HBO Max content is also integrated into universal search on Fire TV, meaning that its content will appear in searches such as “Alexa, find dramas” or “Alexa, find Game of Thrones.” Customers can also ask Alexa to start watching something specific; “Alexa, play The Undoing.”

    WarnerMedia has plans to energise the India ops with HBO Max.