ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Mzaalo launches AVOD platform

    Mzaalo launches AVOD platform

    New Delhi: Mzaalo, a blockchain-based video streaming application today announced the launch of its AVOD platform. The gamified video ecosystem is designed to reward consumers for viewing content on the platform. Mzaalo's system is secured by blockchain, trusted infrastructure for content and brands to own engagement and commerce for their users.

    The AVOD platform offers consumers 50,000+ hours of premium content from over 25 content partners. The content library features a mix of Bollywood and regional movies, original series, music videos, linear television programing and more that will be available in Hindi and nine other Indian regional languages. 

    The wide-ranging content catalogue will attract users who can enjoy an immersive experience in which they can earn for watching content, interacting with the community, inviting friends as well as sharing, liking, and commenting on social media platforms. The process of watching content and being incentivized in the form of blockchain-based rewards adds to Mzaalo's credibility in building engagement, loyalty and driving growth. 

    The earned reward coins are stored in the users' digital wallets and can be spent on premium experiences, physical merchandise, partner products and services, digital goods, games, and charitable giving. Mzaalo plans to on-board established brand partners spanning across range of categories such as health & fitness, fashion, accessories, electronics, travel, wellness, and much more.

    Mzalo COO Vikram Tanna said, "Technology is increasingly becoming the centre of every human interaction. Also, brands today are adopting to innovate and engage with users by creating bespoke, experiences without disrupting the entertainment journey. Mzaalo’s consumer-centric ecosystem is the first to reward consumers for their time and attention. Moreover, our engagement algorithm is designed for advertisers to build valuable user–brand experiences based on data transparency and privacy.”

    Mzaalo has conducted consumer research across the country to understand user sentiments towards sharing personal data on various platforms and the process of selecting winners and rewarding customers. Understanding the requirement of user privacy and data protection, Mzaalo created an ecosystem that addresses consumers' needs by providing a rewarding entertainment experience in a trusted environment.  

    Mzaalo shall adopt a secured Decentralized Ledger Technology (DLT) to establish a trusted entertainment ecosystem where participants derive value from their contribution to the network. Additionally, users will be empowered to take control of their digital identity and shall be gratified for valuable behavior such as providing engagement on the platform through recommendations and for bringing peers onto it.

  • Netflix’s Aashish Singh joins Lyca Productions

    Netflix’s Aashish Singh joins Lyca Productions

    KOLKATA: Netflix India original film director Aashish Singh has called it quits. Singh has moved on to join Lyca Productions as CEO.

    Lyca Productions, one of the big names in the South Indian film industry, is looking to move into the Hindi movie space. Singh with his vast experience across brands like Netflix, Balaji Telefilms, YRF will help the company make inroads into Bollywood.

    Singh joined Netflix in 2019 when the streaming service started expanding its Indian team. Prior to that, the media veteran was CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures. He spent over 15 years with Yash Raj Films where he worked as production head-on films like Tiger Zinda Hai, Sultan, Dhoom 2 & 3, Ek Tha Tiger, and Chak De India, among others. He also occupied the position of vice president, production.

  • Bharti Airtel revenues jump 22 per cent in Q2

    Bharti Airtel revenues jump 22 per cent in Q2

    NEW DELHI: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel announced its highest ever consolidated quarterly revenue, reporting a 22 per cent jump driven by higher tariffs and a rise in data usage from a Covid2019-fuelled shift to remote working. 

    India revenues for the quarter ended 30 September was at Rs 18,747 crore year on year while mobile revenues grew by 26 per cent. As a result, average revenue per user for the quarter rose to Rs 162, from Rs 128 last year. 

    Consolidated net loss for the quarter came in at Rs 763 crore, compared with a loss of Rs 23,045 crore a year earlier.

    The company has continued to garner a strong share of the 4G net adds in the market. 4G data customers increased by 48.1 per cent to 152.7 million compared to the previous year while traffic increased to 77.3 PB/day vs 48.9 PB/day in the corresponding quarter last year. Consolidated mobile data traffic was at 7,403 PBs in the quarter with a healthy YoY growth of 58.8 per cent. 

    As for engagement parameters, average data usage per data subscriber stood at 16.0 GBs/month; while voice usage was at 1,005 mins per user per month.

    Homes business segment witnessed a revenue growth of 7.3 per cent YoY. The company added over 129,000 customers during the quarter to reach a total base of 2.58 million. It re-calibrated its offering and launched Xstream bundled with content and unlimited internet to accelerate penetration. The company signed on many more LCO partnerships in non-wired cities, extending the model to 48 cities. The company also focused on fast-track network expansion by rolling out fibre home passes and upgrading existing copper network during the quarter.  

    Airtel Business clocked a growth rate of 7.5 per cent YoY, driven by data demand across global business and enterprise and government business. To further leverage growth from “Work from Home”, Airtel BlueJeans, Airtel Secure, Airtel Cloud and Airtel IQ were launched to meet the specific needs of B2B customers.

    Airtel MD & CEO India & South Asia Gopal Vittal said, “Despite being a seasonally weak quarter, we delivered a strong performance with revenue growing at 22 per cent YoY. In the mobile segment, we added over 14 million 4G customers and grew revenues by 26 per cent. Our data consumption grew by 58 per cent YoY which reflects strong  engagement of customers on our network. Other lines of business also continued with steady  growth momentum, with Airtel Business growing 7.5 per cent YoY.”

    Digital TV witnessed a growth of 1.9 per cent YoY on an underlying basis, on the back of strong customer additions of 549,000 during the quarter. Airtel continued to expand its channel portfolio and is also working with educational institutions to broadcast classes to students to ensure education is not disrupted.

    In the digital services segment, Airtel now has 160 million digitally engaged users. On Wynk, it’s now #1 in terms of MAUs (59.3 million in Q2’21) with an addition of 9 million during the quarter; Thanks platform has 81.6 million MAUs in Q2, with an addition of 8 million and Airtel Xstream is at 33.7 million MAUs, addition of 8 million users during the  quarter. 

     Consolidated EBITDA witnessed an increase of 32.6 per cent YoY to Rs 11,848 crore in Q2’21. This led to an improvement in EBITDA margin from 42.3 per cent in Q2’20 to 46.0per cent in Q2’21. Incremental EBITDA margins across businesses remained healthy, with mobile services EBITDA improving from 36.3 per cent in Q2’20 to 42.6 per cent in Q2’21. 

  • Iravati Damle joins Zoom to lead public policy in India

    Iravati Damle joins Zoom to lead public policy in India

    MUMBAI: Zoom has hired Iravati Damle as head of public policy in India. In her new role, she will lead policy strategy, government affairs and advocacy for India.

    Damle will be reporting to Jonathan Kallmer, head of global public policy and government relations at Zoom. She will be based out of India.

    Before joining Zoom, Damle worked with Uber for more than three years as public policy manager (Central US) during which she oversaw regulatory and policy strategy and advocacy for the rideshare app in the Midwest.

    “I am thrilled to be at Zoom at a time when the business and the policy environment it operates in are so dynamic, with so much at stake for the productivity of businesses and the happiness of people,” Damle said in a post on LinkedIn.

    Prior to that, she was head of public policy (West India, East India & Bangladesh) at Uber between November 2018-January 2020. She used to look after secured licences or favourable regulations in five Indian states and in Bangladesh, legitimizing and stabilizing Uber’s business through sustained engagement and negotiation.

    She has also worked as a consultant at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. As part of the core team, she contributed in developing research and legislative proposals for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on network neutrality.

    While working with MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda’s office, Damle designed campaign strategy for general elections in Kendrapara, Odisha in 2014. She also led a team producing legislative proposals on themes such as electoral reform and free speech, introduced in Parliament by the MP.

    Zoom had a meteoric rise following the onset of the Covid2019 pandemic, with the service being adopted across sectors for online classes, meetings and remote hosting. However, the videoconferencing service has had a rough few months thanks to concerns surrounding the privacy of its service. In India, Zoom has been the subject of government advisories advising against its use, and a petition was filed in the Supreme Court accusing it of being a risk to national security.

    Recently, Zoom rolled out a major new security upgrade for users: end-to-end encryption. But the extra protection against hackers won’t be offered by default, meaning users will have to take several steps to turn it on.

  • Digital media outlets launch self-regulatory body IDMA

    Digital media outlets launch self-regulatory body IDMA

    MUMBAI: Digital media news outlets have launched a self-regulatory body, Indian Digital Media Association (IDMA) – a pro-nation, Indian-owned, Indian-edited and Indian-controlled digital news association.

    In a first, digital platforms have come together and formed an association that is aimed to safeguard the interest of not just its members but also actively participate in dialogue with all stakeholders, uphold standards of news reporting in national interest and engage with the government for policy formulation.

    The body claims to be the largest conglomeration of digital media platforms.

    The founding members of IDMA have a collective unique viewership of over 100 million users and will be guided by the ‘nation first’ principle. IDMA’s founding members include OpIndia.com, Goachronicle.com, Republicworld.com, OTV Digital, DeshGujarat.com, Assamlive.com, NewsX.com, Sundayguardianlive.com and InKhabar.com. Additionally, over 25 digital news members are in the process of being onboarded.

    IDMA will be the eyes and ears of digital media platforms to serve as an intermediary on its behalf. It will be the central point of joint action on matters of interest.

    In an ever changing world where the digital space has opened up unfathomable avenues, the patterns in consumption of news have also undergone a tectonic change. A large portion of the population consumes information on digital news platforms and aggregators have been thus far unregulated and scattered.

    In a statement, the self-regulatory body said, “IDMA aims to ensure that Indian interests are protected against vested foreign interference and control. It stands against all overseas control of the Indian digital media, as it directly compromises Indian interests and Indian users. We strongly believe that it should be our aim to take Indian media global, rather than compromising the interest of Indian readers and their right to information by inviting overseas control, which might not necessarily be inclined to protect the interest of Indian readers and platforms.”

    While upholding the values of transparency, IDMA will ensure that member digital news platforms and their ownership is well-defined, unbound to foreign entities by means of editorial leadership and/or ownership.

    In a fast changing content environment, digital news platforms have an indispensable role in shaping the future of journalism, unshackle and democratize the flow of information from content creators to consumers and sculpt the national debate around germane issues of national importance.

    IDMA hopes to build a nationalistic, dynamic, transparent, ethical and conscientious association that would keep Indian interest, the interest of its readers, journalistic integrity along with industry interests paramount, in our quest to organise a sector that has illimitable potential.

    GoaChronicle.com founder and editor-in-chief, Savio Rodrigues said, “The disruption in media in the coming years will be digital. India will see a phenomenal shift towards digital media. Coming together of digital media organisations with their own niche disruptions in Indian digital media space to form an association is the formation of a force to be the true voice of a vibrant India digital media space.”

    OpIndia editor Nupur Sharma welcomed the formation of the pro-nation digital media association saying, “Digital media has the potential to not just shape, but change the national discourse. No longer is the news cycle a slave to television media, that seeks punchlines and agendas, not the truth. IDMA is an endeavour to not just strengthen, but organise and advocate for the interest of nationalist digital media that has the potential today to shape the country and what its citizens talk about.”

  • Parliament panel issues summons to Google, Paytm on data privacy

    Parliament panel issues summons to Google, Paytm on data privacy

    MUMBAI: Google and Paytm have been directed to appear before a joint parliamentary committee on 29 October on the issue of data protection and privacy. Social media platforms Facebook and Twitter have also been called in to provide oral evidence. Meanwhile, e-commerce giant Amazon has refused to appear in front of the panel.

    BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, who heads the committee, stated, “Amazon has refused to appear before the joint committee of Parliament on the Data Protection Bill on 28 October and this amounts to breach of privilege."

    The panel has decided to send a privilege notice if representatives of Amazon do not turn up. “Coercive action can be suggested to the government against the e-commerce company,” she added.

    The summons to Facebook and Twitter is strictly pertaining to the issue of citizen’s personal data protection. The notice to Twitter assumes significance as these come close on the Centre’s letter to the microblogging site’s chief Jack Dorsey.

    Taking strong exception to the misrepresentation of India’s map, the government wrote a stern letter to the Twitter CEO, saying that any attempt by the platform to disrespect the sovereignty and integrity of India, which is also reflected by the maps, was totally unacceptable.

    On the other hand, social media giant Facebook has been interrogated by the parliament panel about the quantum of their revenue, profit and tax payouts in India and asked what portion of their earnings were being used for data security in the country.

    Commenting on the questions raised by the panel, Facebook spokesperson said, “We deeply appreciate the opportunity to discuss data regulation issues with the hon’ble members of Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill. We believe that India’s data protection law has the potential to propel the country’s digital economy and global digital trade, and we wholeheartedly support this effort.”

    Facebook India’s policy head Ankhi Das was examined for two hours by the panel members of the joint committee and has been asked tough and searching questions from across the political spectrum.

    During the meeting, a member suggested that the social media platform should not draw inferences from the data of its users for commercial benefits of its advertisers or for electoral purposes.

    Last month, amid severe criticism over the alleged collusion of Facebook India executive Ankhi Das and the BJP, minister of Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad wrote a hard-hitting letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, blaming the social media network’s India management of alleged bias against people supporting the right-of-center ideology.

    The Personal Data Protection Bill proposes to put restriction on use of personal data without explicit consent of citizens. The draft bill, approved by Cabinet in December 2019, proposes a penalty of up to Rs 15 crore and up to three-years in jail for company executives for violating privacy norms.

    The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in February and has been referred to a joint parliamentary committee for examination and report.

  • ZEE5 Global named ‘Digital Content and Streaming Service of the Year’ at the 2020 Telecoms World Middle East Awards for 2nd consecutive year

    ZEE5 Global named ‘Digital Content and Streaming Service of the Year’ at the 2020 Telecoms World Middle East Awards for 2nd consecutive year

    ZEE5 Global, the largest and most comprehensive digital entertainment platform for Indian content, has won the ‘Digital Content and Streaming Service of the Year’ award for 2020 at the Telecoms World Middle East Awards for the second consecutive year.

    The virtual awards ceremony, held on 13th October 2020, was part of a Telecoms World Middle East event in Dubai. The winners were chosen by a panel of expert judges brought together by Terrapinn, the organisers of the annual Telecoms World Middle East Conference and Awards. The awards recognize outstanding performance in key telecom-related areas across the region and recognize those players that make this one of the most dynamic sectors globally.

    “We’re thrilled to be named the Digital Content and Streaming Service of the Year, that too for the second consecutive year. This award is a recognition of the tremendous love for our content across markets, the partnerships we have forged in the shortest span of time and our continuous initiatives to bring the best of Indian and South Asian content to our audiences worldwide. The Middle East is an especially important market for us, and we are very glad that our efforts and ambitions are being recognised here with this highly coveted award.” said Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global

    Catering to not only South Asians but also mainstream audiences across countries, ZEE5 is today, with over 125,000 hours of on demand content and 60+ live TV channels, the largest single point destination for Indian content globally. From expanding its global reach through strategic partnerships across key global markets, to establishing itself as a premium advertising destination, the platform has achieved massive success at rapid speed during the past year. It has also been recently featured as one of the top 10 streaming apps downloaded globally and the sixth most downloaded Android app, by Sensor Tower. 

    The brand has also grown from offering 12 content languages at launch to now offering content across 18 languages, including Arabic, filling a growing demand among audiences for language content. Fast moving into its next phase of growth, it will soon launch multiple localized content and other initiatives in priority markets like Bangladesh and Middle East.

  • MX Player wins big at 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards

    MX Player wins big at 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards

    MUMBAI: Streaming platform MX Player has won big at the 2020 Asian Academy Creative Awards. Its original web series Queen, starring Ramya Krishnan, bagged the best original program by OTT, while Times of Music brought home the trophy for best music/dance program.

    An overjoyed MX Player chief content officer Gautam Talwar said, “We are thrilled to be recognised on a global platform like the Asian Academy Creative Awards. Our aim has always been to deliver the best entertainment experiences to audiences, and I’d like to thank the teams of both these projects, who have helped us achieve this honour.”

    MX Player is a diverse platform that integrates all forms of entertainment on one platform including video playback, streaming video, music and gaming. It currently operates on an ad supported model and hosts a wide library of over 2,00,000 hours of premium content across 10 languages, including a critically acclaimed slate of MX Original/ Exclusives, movies, web series, TV shows, news and audio music.

    The Asian Academy Creative Awards honour excellence in craft and technical discipline across multiple platforms including television, digital, mobile, streaming and any other emerging technologies.

  • Tom Ryan takes charge as ViacomCBS Streaming president & CEO

    Tom Ryan takes charge as ViacomCBS Streaming president & CEO

    MUMBAI: ViacomCBS has restructured its global leadership, with the biggest change-up coming in the form of Pluto TV CEO Tom Ryan being appointed president and CEO of Streaming.

    In his new role, Ryan will overlook CBS All Access, which will relaunch as Paramount+ in early 2021. He will continue to hold on to his remit at Pluto TV while also taking charge of the company’s global streaming strategy.

    Marc DeBevoise will step down from his roles as ViacomCBS’s chief digital officer and president-CEO of ViacomCBS Digital. He will serve in an advisory capacity for the remainder of the year.

    ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) COO Kelly Day will take on an expanded role as president of streaming for VCNI, overseeing all non-US digital and streaming platforms.

    The media conglomerate also announced that Pierluigi Gazzolo will step down from his position as president, streaming and studios, at VCNI.

    ViacomCBS president and CEO Bob Bakish said, “ViacomCBS has a unique opportunity to combine the best of our brands in a seamless ecosystem of must-watch, direct-to-consumer services for audiences around the world. As we plan for the launch of Paramount+, bringing together the leaders of our streaming platforms to create a unified global organization will enable us to execute a holistic strategy across both free and pay.”

    As president and CEO of ViacomCBS Streaming, Ryan will lead the company’s effort to further accelerate the growth of its free and paid streaming services. He will now work closely with the team on programming strategy, platform development and marketing.

    “I couldn’t be more excited to work with this talented team and build on their momentum, especially as we approach the launch of Paramount+,” Ryan further added. “Together, we will leverage ViacomCBS’s beloved portfolio of brands, strong content pipeline and an extensive network of partners to deliver must-watch on-demand, live and exclusive original programming to viewers everywhere.”

    The ViacomCBS reshuffling comes after Disney, WarnerMedia, and ZEE have similarly moved to restructure their organizations with the aim of accelerating direct-to-consumer streaming strategies.

  • FIFS names Bimal Julka as new chairman

    FIFS names Bimal Julka as new chairman

    MUMBAI: The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) has appointed Bimal Julka as chairman. In his new role, Julka will work closely with all stakeholders to further strengthen the operating standards of the Indian fantasy sports industry.

    Julka takes over from John Loffhagen, who served as chairman for over three years. Loffhagen will assume the role of a strategic advisor and support FIFS on collaborating with relevant international bodies in the industry.

    With over four decades of service in the government at both state and national levels, Bimal Julka is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1979 batch belonging to the Madhya Pradesh cadre. He served as chief information commissioner at the Centre until September 2020. Prior to that, he held several senior posts in the Ministry of Defence, Civil Aviation, Information & Broadcasting, External Affairs, Finance, Commerce and Public Relations.

    FIFS CEO Anwar Shirpurwala said, “Having such a senior dignitary like Julka representing fantasy sports will strengthen the industry’s credibility, and we are sure to witness new strides towards reformations and standardisation of the rapidly growing fantasy sports industry.”

    Julka described the fantasy sports segment as a new and disruptive industry that has great potential to strengthen and promote sports in the country through meaningful fan engagement. “While fantasy sports are seeing unprecedented growth in both users and operators, there arises an equal need to protect the users and promote responsible growth,” he added.

    Founded in 2017, FIFS is India’s first self-regulatory industry body for fantasy sports. At present, it has 35 members who cumulatively account for over 99 per cent of India’s fantasy sports market.