ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • ZEE5’s short-form video segment HiPi goes live

    ZEE5’s short-form video segment HiPi goes live

    KOLKATA: India has closed its booming short-video market for the giant video-sharing platform TikTok for now. The past month saw an explosion of homegrown apps with even established over-the-top (OTT) players expanding into the segment. While ZEE5 had been working for HiPi for more than a year, the latter has finally entered the market on 14 August.

    The full-fledged launch will be done in a phased manner following the beta rollout. While the beta version for android went live on Friday, the iOS version would go live in the coming weeks.  HiPi has onboarded over 400 influencers along with more than 70 Zee TV celebrities and looks at adding more than 100 by the end of this calendar year. HiPi’s content will be available for users in 12 languages along with display in 11 languages. While the platform is integrated with the ZEE5 app itself, it will be available for free to users.

    ZEE5 stated that the platform has been envisioned and created in India for the diversely unique Indian audience after extensive research. With an array of multiple features, it enables users to showcase their talent through various unique filters and effects, also discover, follow and appreciate content that is being created by others. The format and technology that HiPi has integrated with its interface and navigation will allow users to create videos up to 90-seconds. 

    Earlier, Indiantelevision.com caught up with Rajneel Kumar when he spoke on Hipi. Read the full interaction here. 

    “The launch of HiPi is a proud moment for us as the short video platform was developed in India keeping with the ethos of Atmanirbhar Bharat. HiPi revolutionised the entertainment experience, by giving a universally accessible platform to unmask the latent talent present inside each of us, taking us from being a fan to fandom! Continuing with a focus on customer centricity, HiPi will help Indians to connect with their millions of fans and stand a chance to step into the real fandom world. A platform which will be the official home of entertainment and entertainers! As we go live today, HiPi takes ZEE5 one step closer to its ambition of becoming India’s Entertainment Super-App!” ZEE5 India CEO Tarun Katial said. 

    In the past, we have seen user-generated content platforms getting dragged into controversies for sensitive content. Hence, ZEE5  is highly focusing on user experience and brand safety. ZEE5 India expansion projects business head and product head Rajneel Kumar assured that both human and AI intervention will be there to filter content. “Unlike other platforms, no content which is uploaded goes straight and people can see it. Every content which is uploaded goes through a layer of both AI and human moderation,” he said earlier in interaction with Indiantelevision.com.

    “The vision for HiPi stemmed from an idea to further grow ZEE5 as a one-stop destination for the new and dynamic India. And a lot of care has been taken to build this platform to enable a creatively charged environment which simultaneously empowers the creators, users, brands and viewers alike. The framework of the platform has been created to encourage more creativity and engagement while also making sure that the security and safety of our users are never compromised. It is a platform truly made in India, made for India,” Kumar said in a statement.

    Although TikTok’s absence might be a bliss for Hipi, it already has a number of homegrown, as well as international, rivals. Another leading OTT platform MX Player launched its short-video platform MX TakaTak while Instagram launched Reels to take on this market. However, Hipi differs slightly for its content strategy which can be helpful for it to win the game. 

  • Planet Marathi OTT launches the first-ever Marathi pay per view ‘Ticket Window’

    Planet Marathi OTT launches the first-ever Marathi pay per view ‘Ticket Window’

    KOLKATA: Planet Marathi OTT has launched the first-ever pay-per-view platform for Marathi Films. It has announced the launch of ‘the ticket window’, a select pay-per-view format of the movie experience! Yes, it is a first-ever OTT platform to enable the ‘first day – first show’ experience, especially for the Marathi films.

    Planet Marathi CMD Akshay Bardapurkar and COO Aditya Oke jointly today announced their plans to open their Ticket Window segment under the Planet Marathi OTT platform. While talking about the same both Bardapurkar and Oke said, "We are initiating the ‘pay-per-view’ model falling under the ambit of Planet marathi OTT. It means that the ticket windows will open up for our audiences to purchase their online tickets and watch their favorite movie online at a one time fee like never before!"

    The segment is named "Planet Marathi Digital Theatre" which will be available to the audience as early as the first week of September 2020. Planet Marathi has been always been ahead of the industry when it comes to aggregation and promotion of Marathi content in different formats. 

    While talking about what inspired his passion project Bardapurkar said, “Maharashtra film body recently announced in a press release appealing producers to release/sell their films digitally due to the COVID-19 impact. Producers are facing insurmountable losses and it was only natural that producers will try to stay afloat with the help of OTT’s in these trying times”.

    Akshay further added, “We have to be agile and adapt quickly in this industry, as soon as we got to know that the film body has taken this stance, taking a cue from them we decided to act as fast as possible and make available a part our platform wherein audience will be able to log in – purchase tickets – and watch their favorite film every Friday”.

    Answering the question “which movies are going to be premiered?”, Oke replied, “We have an array of films, a lot of producers are ready to launch their films digitally on our platform but for now, we can’t reveal which films are lined up for a digital release. If you look at Planet Marathi’s commitment to the people and its supportive nature towards the industry we are surely hitting a bullseye with our OTT and the array of features we have under it”. Akshay signs off saying, “Forget Marathi I don’t think anyone has matched anything like Planet Marathi Digital Theatre even for the Hindi industry”.

  • IN10 Media Network launches rebranded EPIC ON

    IN10 Media Network launches rebranded EPIC ON

    MUMBAI: Announced earlier this year, IN10 Media Network’s upgraded and reimagined OTT platform EPIC ON is set to go live on 15 August 2020 with a new look, exciting brand proposition, and a future ready vision for digital content consumption in the new decade.

    “Content consumption in the next decade of digital streaming will be more than just about quality, variety, and language. It will also be about formats and preferences of mediums. The choice is not just what to make, but also whether to make it as a series, film, podcast, e-book, game, and then to expand it in others. With this in mind, the new EPIC ON offers the brand proposition of Dekho | Suno | Khelo (Watch | Listen | Play) – Engage with your content in your preferred manner,” explained  IN10 Media Network MD Aditya Pittie, as he revealed the expansive thought behind the strategic shift in the platform’s offering.

    The first to announce and execute a unique symbiosis of extant technologies, and push the boundaries of what an OTT platform can be, the app, built from scratch by an in-house tech team, will enable consumers to watch, listen, play & read content on one app. Also introducing, EPICOINS – a loyalty program that offers exciting rewards and experiences.

    “Tech of the future will need to be adaptive as well as extremely responsive; extensive choice of content, and the correct partnerships to provide that, with mutually beneficial business models will be pivotal for standing out and convincing users to subscribe to the service,” said EPIC ON COO Sourjya Mohanty, as he elaborated on the abundance of content choices available on EPIC ON – over 2000 hours of factual and fictional series, movies, documentaries, talks, etc., 5000 hours of inspiring and entertaining podcasts, 1000-plus casual multiplayer and interactive games, along with E-sports and over 1000 E-books for bibliophiles.

    To build a large repository of diverse content, EPIC ON has partnered with leading players, including EP.Log, IVM, Aawaz, Whistling Woods International, and more.

    The new EPIC ON will continue to Live Stream the network’s linear channels: EPIC TV, ShowBox, and Filamchi, and add more including the network’s upcoming channels. Select content across formats will also be available in English and Tamil.

    Users will be able to access free content and premium library through multiple subscription plans – Rs 59 for one month, Rs 159 for three months, Rs 299 for six months and Rs 499 for a year.

    Users can stream EPIC ON across devices, create multiple user logins, download content to enjoy it on the go, and access the user interface in English, Hindi and Tamil with more regional languages available in the future.

  • BEYOND THE BOUNDARY: ICC WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP 2020 DOCUMENTARY

    BEYOND THE BOUNDARY: ICC WOMEN’S T20 WORLD CUP 2020 DOCUMENTARY

    Cricket fans get a chance to relive all the action, excitement, and emotion from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2020 as Beyond the Boundary, a retrospective documentary, debuts worldwide on Netflix.

    The documentary celebrates the 17-day tournament, which saw the emergence of new heroes in the women’s game as more cricket fans than ever before switched on. It also witnessed records being set in terms of crowds, broadcast viewership and digital engagement.

    With absorbing visuals, commentary, and interviews in the build-up to and during the event, the documentary is the first piece of ICC original content to be carried by a streaming service. It captures the progress of the teams and the emotions of players as they discuss preparing for such a big event and turning points in different matches.

    The views of commentators and administrators, celebration of the crowds, behind-the-scenes, and dressing room footage, as well as pop star Katy Perry’s appearances are all featured in the film. The film is made available on the platform with subtitles in English, Thai, French, Japanese, Malay, Indonesian, Korean, Dutch, and Hindi.

    The documentary is part of the 100% Cricket project launched by the International Cricket Council (ICC) hours before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup final, played on International Women’s Day in front of a record 86,174 spectators at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

    ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney said: “We are immensely proud of Beyond the Boundary and we are delighted to partner with Netflix as part of our long-term commitment to growing the visibility of the women’s game and ensuring it has a global platform.

    “The film captures all the action and drama from the tournament, which set new benchmarks for not just women’s cricket but all women’s sport and gives fans around the world the chance to relive one of the greatest ICC events we have ever staged.”

    Myleeta Aga, Director, Content – SEA and Australia said: "The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 was a landmark event not just for cricket, but for all women's sport, breaking viewing and attendance records. I'm sure that Netflix members will love the new perspective that Beyond the Boundary brings to this unforgettable tournament." 

  • Pocket Aces’ Loco sees over 6x rise in daily active users

    Pocket Aces’ Loco sees over 6x rise in daily active users

    KOLKATA: With the lockdown accelerating the growth of India’s gaming market, the country’s leading game streaming and esports app, Loco, has witnessed a 6x growth in DAUs in the past month. The viewership increase has been driven by a growth in the number of active streamers on the platform, including India’s top streamers, who are now actively streaming on Loco. Monthly active streamers have increased by 122 per cent month on month during the last three months and continue to accelerate at a breakneck pace.

    Loco sees over 1,000+ hours of live gaming content being streamed per day and this is likely to grow further in the coming months. The platform enables users to watch and stream gameplays of different games such as PUBG Mobile, FreeFire, and Call of Duty Mobile. Loco houses some of India’s top competitive gamers such as Jonathan, Ghatak, IND Snax, and Xyaa, who, along with top teams like Fnatic, IND, 8bit, and Team Tamilas, provide viewers with the very best of gaming entertainment. The platform is also pioneering the regional language game streaming space with regular South India-focused programming being created in association with Sky esports and Midfail, the leading Tamil streamer, streaming on the platform.

    Commenting on Loco’s growth trajectory, Pocket Aces founders Anirudh Pandita and Ashwin Suresh said, “With game streaming and esports, we are witnessing the rise of a completely new category in entertainment and we are excited to serve this ecosystem through Loco. Over the past few months, we have seen consumption growing rapidly and this has been accompanied by strong positive sentiment from content creators, publishers, and advertisers. The gaming community and culture is getting stronger by the day as the sector transitions from a niche hobby to a mainstream interest. We are now seeing streamers come to the fore from various walks of life and different parts of the country, entertaining audiences in their own unique way. We are really grateful for the support of various ecosystem participants and believe that we are just scratching the surface when it comes to the potential of this sector.”

    Loco’s notable growth comes amidst a recent report on India’s media and entertainment sector by FICCI and EY, stating that the online gaming industry grew at a rapid rate of 40 per cent in the year 2020. With a mission of transforming esports into popular culture in India, the homegrown app forged an esports partnership with Redbull, manufacturer of the world’s leading energy drink to broadcast the finale of the Red Bull Flick tournament. The platform has also struck an industry-defining strategic alliance with Fnatic India, where the two will co-create unique esports content together which includes multiple tournaments and non-fiction shows. In August, Loco, in association with the POCO M2 Pro hosted its first ever original PUBG tournament that garnered over three million views, with Team Celtz winning the tournament and 8bit Akshat winning the MVP title. 

    Being one of the earliest entrants in the Indian game streaming and esports broadcasting space, Loco has cemented its position in the rapidly growing ecosystem which comprises over 600 million gamers.

  • MX Player witnesses a big jump in consumption on its gaming platform

    MX Player witnesses a big jump in consumption on its gaming platform

    KOLKATA: Democratizing entertainment with offerings ranging from video streaming, original web series, live TV, audio streaming and gaming – MX Player has stayed true to its vision of providing Indian audiences with “Everytainment”.

    With the huge proliferation of smartphones and cheap data, gaming has evolved far beyond consoles and personal computers. Mobile platforms have become the most significant segment of the gaming industry. Having launched its gaming feature in February this year, Games on MX Player has grown exponentially, going from 9 hyper-casual games to over 60 games, that is now available across its Android and iOS apps.

    MX’s approach, like it had been across all its products, has been to create a platform for partnering with gaming giants Nazara, Gamezop, Gamespix and Google games Snacks amongst others. Its inventory ranges across categories from popular Indian board games to strategy, quiz, racing, arcade, sports, action and more to cater to the diverse gaming interest of the users.

    MX has also built various product layers on top to make the gaming experience and ecosystem more robust and alluring. The gaming platform now also has virtual currencies, PvP battles, tournaments and leaderboards, real-cash prizes and social features to provide an immersive gaming experience.

    The online gaming market has greatly benefitted from a nationwide lockdown. Reports from BARC India & Nielsen suggest that in 2020, the time spent on online gaming has grown by 44% in mid-May from around 11 per cent  in mid- March.

    Over the past few months, MX Player has seen a big jump in consumption on its gaming platform, having grown to 25m Monthly Active Gaming Users, and is seeing engagement north of 70 minutes/user per day.

    Given consistently low mobile internet costs and its existing depth of penetration, the platform has successfully welcomed India’s new digital audience to the app ecosystem and sees over 50 per cent traction coming in from Tier II markets and beyond.

     MX Player CEO Karan Bedi commented, "The past few months has seen supercharged growth for MX as a platform, across video, games and music. the COVID pandemic has seen Digital first, at home businesses move to the mainstream of life in India."

    MX Player COO Vivek Jain noted, “MX Player hosts a slew of hyper casual mobile only games that cater to both regular and new gamers. To give a consistent flavour of freshness to our users, we have been adding four-five new games every week since May. As a result, the time spend per user is skyrocketing and is up 180 per cent over the four-month pandemic period. We have curated and built these games with an India first mindset featuring popular household games like – Ludo, Cricket and Carrom. With our pervasive presence across demographics, we intend on making gaming experience democratic, and act as a one-stop solution to all entertainment needs of Indians.”

  • Wanted to create prototype for digital media with ‘Bandish Bandits’: Anand Tiwari

    Wanted to create prototype for digital media with ‘Bandish Bandits’: Anand Tiwari

    Anand Tiwari, the man behind Love Per Square Foot is back with yet another directorial venture Bandish Bandits. Tiwari is a stage actor and director known for his roles in films like Kites, Udaan, Aisha, and Go Goa Gone. As a stage actor, he is best known for his role of a 'lamp post' in Rage Productions' One on One. For the uninitiated, Tiwari is the co-founder of the theatre company FAT Productions in Mumbai.

    Set in the backdrop of Jodhpur, the Amazon Prime Video is a 10-part series. The series introduces newcomers Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Chaudhary as Radhe and Tamanna respectively. Romantic drama Bandish Bandits is a love story of Radhe and Tamanna who hail from diverse musical backgrounds.

    In conversation with indiantelevision.com, Bandish Bandits director Anand Tiwari talks about the importance of music in storytelling, the idea behind creating the series, roping in the trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and much more.

    Edited Excerpts:

    Please tell us about your journey from being an assistant director in Barfi to now directing your own show.

    It has been fantastic, every day you spend on the set or with actors and technical team teaches you something. However, sometimes you have to learn and unlearn so many things. The circumstances are always different and not like an office job. I like to keep exploring new things. Even when I am shooting a romantic scene or any other scene, I pretend like I do not know this. I do feel that my storytelling has matured as I grew but it is a long journey, I have just started learning.

    What was the concept behind making Bandish Bandits?

    We have been making movies on music since time immemorial because that is how we have weaved our stories since theatre times. Music is an integral part of storytelling in India. Amrit (Amritpal Singh Bindra, producer) and I love music. From the time of Band Baja Baarat we have always told stories that get conveyed by music. When we looked at the content that is being created in today’s time, there wasn’t something similar to Bandish Bandits. It’s high time we create a prototype for digital media and we were convinced that audiences would also like to watch it. I believe music is the most transcending of art forms. And what better way to summarise India’s culture than mixing two forms of popular music – traditional and pop.

    How long did it take to do the research and create the whole series?

    Amrit and I have been making different kinds of content for the past five to six years. For a long time, we wanted to do a project together. It took us almost one and a half years of pure research. We spent good three to four years to make the entire series right from ideation to creation.

    Also, did you approach Amazon Prime or did they contact you?

    We took Aparna Purohit (Amazon Prime head of India originals) through our story idea and that is how it happened. Amazon Prime has always given us good originals; that is known internationally. We were hopeful that they will also like the content that we are giving to them.

    Speaking about direction, do you think you have grown as a director? Also, you are an actor too so does it help you while directing?

    Yes, it absolutely helps to be an actor because I understand that most of the time actors are struggling. It has very little to do with their fear or talent, sometimes it is so much to do with their understanding. There are so many things such as one might agree or disagree with the scenes or sometimes they are dealing with something which has nothing to do with the shoot itself. As an actor, I know the psyche of the other actors and I have a special relationship with every actor on the set. We all share a very special bond, so it doesn’t sound like an instruction which always helps.

    Which is your favourite part of the role, actor or director?

    I like being a storyteller, sometimes I can be a writer, director, actor, producer, anything. However, during a specific time, it is more exciting being a director. It also depends on the story that comes because accordingly, you will focus on that specific part. But as a director, you have a far greater perspective to the story. I really enjoy every role that comes my way.

    Bandish Bandits also marks the digital debut of Music geniuses Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. How challenging was it to bring them on onboard?

    When we were planning this series, Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy were on top of our list. Apart from giving music in movies, they have also done many albums. They have done classical, hip hop and every kind of music. They were the first people we approached. Here, storytelling was challenged through music that they took up with us. A lot of scenes which had music in them were planned after our discussion with Shankar Mahadevan. He was able to give us the insights into what happens in a studio when a song is created.  It was a brilliant experience; all the songs that one can see in the show have been created in front of us.

  • English GEC becomes top gainer in Chrome DM week 31

    English GEC becomes top gainer in Chrome DM week 31

    MUMBAI: English GEC genre has become the top gainer in week 31, 2020 of Chrome Data Analytics and Media data. The genre grew by 3.66 per cent. In this genre, Colors Infinity gained highest OTS with 39.9 per cent in the six metros market.

    OTS is the actual census-based percentage connectivity of a channel spread across 81 million homes, as reported by Chrome DM, across analogue cable, digital cable, and DTH.

    This week, English genre gained the second position and grew by 1.00 per cent in six metros market. In this genre, Rajayasabha TV gained the highest OTS with 99.5 per cent.

    Kids genre stood at the third position followed by Hindi news and music genre at 0.63 per cent, 0.60 per cent, 0.14 per cent respectively. 

  • Hoichoi collaborates with JioFiber

    Hoichoi collaborates with JioFiber

    KOLKATA: The Bengali OTT platform hoichoi is now available for JioFiber customers. JioFiber customers on Silver and above plans will have access to over 2000+ hours of Bengali movies, Original Series and a wide array of content through the hoichoi Platform on their Jio Set- Top Box. Additionally, Bengali and Hindi Original Series of hoichoi will also be available through the JioTV+ app.

    The subscribers of JioFiber can watch some of the most iconic Bengali Movies of all time including latest blockbusters and World Digital Premiere Dwitiyo Purush, Love Aaj Kal Porshu, Nagarkirtan, Konttho, Vinci Da, Shah Jahan Regency, Kedara and others along with evergreen Classics by Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak, Uttam Kumar among others and even 60+ Original Series – Hello, Byomkesh, Shobdo Jobdo, Charitraheen, Eken Babu, Montu Pilot – to name some of the cult ones. Being a customer-centric platform, hoichoi continues to add World Digital Premiers, Movies and Original shows in its repertoire, every month.

    hoichoi also announced a new property this month – hoichoi Presents “First Day First Show”, under which several Bengali Films will get a direct release through Direct-to-Digital skipping the traditional theatrical release. The first venture is a film produced by the Biggest Entertainment House of Eastern India, SVF, titled Detective, based on a story by Rabindranath Tagore of the same name; the film will be releasing on 14 August.

    The entire content library of hoichoi is available with English subtitles; additionally, hoichoi features Hindi dubbed versions of its originals that allows a wider National audience to enjoy the best of Bengali content and takes the platform to a national audience.

    As the world adjusts to the new realities of work and entertainment from home, Jiofiber, with its high-speed broadband and set-top box service is best suited to meet both the needs. Users can watch premium content from hoichoi on a large screen from the comfort of their homes.

    To add onto this further benefit of our subscribers, hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta said, “JioFiber users can now access the hoichoi platform and also some hoichoi content from JioTV+ app from their Jio set-top box. Combining efforts with another distribution platform will build a wider audience base and a powerful partnership as our content options are unlimited when it comes to entertaining audiences globally. This vast array of exclusive content will be accessible to a large base of users through this association.” 

  • Martin Scorsese joins Apple TV’s Hollywood roster with multi-year deal

    Martin Scorsese joins Apple TV’s Hollywood roster with multi-year deal

    MUMBAI: Award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese will produce film and TV projects for Apple Inc’s streaming service under a multi-year deal, the company said recently. This move comes after digital video platforms battle for Hollywood’s top talent.

    Scorsese, the maker of Netflix’s The Irishman and director of other classics like Goodfellas, Taxi Driver will produce the projects through his company Sikelia Productions.

    He joins Oprah Winfrey, Alfonso Cuaron, Ridley Scott, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and others who have reached agreements to make programming for Apple TV+, the iPhone maker’s dollar 5-a-month subscription streaming service.

    Apple had previously announced it would produce Scorsese’s upcoming drama Killers of the Flower Moon starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. The movie will appear on Apple TV+ after it is distributed in theatres by Paramount Pictures, a unit of ViacomCBS Inc.

    Apart from this, the company has recently done deals with production companies and talent, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson's Appian Way and Idris Elba's Green Door Pictures.

    Apple TV+ also earned its first Emmy nominations last month, with nominations for The Morning Show, Central Park, Defending Jacob, The Elephant Queen, and The Beastie Boys Story.  

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