ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • SonyLIV 2.0 seeks to refresh through new-age, youthful vibe

    SonyLIV 2.0 seeks to refresh through new-age, youthful vibe

    KOLKATA: While the lockdown demotivated many, it did not stop OTT platform SonyLIV from taking a bold stop. With new content in-store, SonyLIV is reviving itself as SonyLIV 2.0. A new team which took up the role to lead the platform last year has reimagined the transformation. As the streaming war in India continues with Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5 and MX Player being leading names, the rebranding is likely to give leverage.

    “We wanted to become more new-age, youthful, user-friendly. That was one thing which we wanted to say through the new logo design. Secondly, the V of LIV also resembles the tick mark. So, the entire design came from the fact that this is the right choice of entertainment,” said SPN digital business marketing head Aman Srivastava. The new logo emphasises the ‘liv’ part in a bright yellow colour in contrast to a colourful background with streaks of purple, blue and orange.

    Srivastava said they are informing existing customers about new content through notifications and emailers. Moreover, there is a way to interact with these consumers on the app itself. Apart from that, he adds that SonyLIV has been present on all digital and audiovisual platforms which provides it with the right kind of target audience including its network channels, major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. He added that SonyLIV was always well-played from a distribution point of view as its available across devices, platforms and telecom players. 

    He is also confident about customer retention even after the lockdown easing as it will have new content every week. Moreover, he added that live sports has also started and the sports fans are coming in and there might even be some more new sports content. As television shootings have resumed, catch-up content will also come back. Together, original, live sports, catch-up content will keep subscribers engaged. 

    Just after the launch, SPN digital business and SET content head Ashish Golwalkar said that it would start the journey with Hindi and English content. Although the English library has always been heavy of the streaming platform, it has now collaborated with the best creative minds of the country for good local content. 

    “Currently, we are starting with Hindi and English content. In English content, we have content from Sony Pictures Television, our own studio. We have acquired some content from ITV and NBC. We have an existing Lionsgate library. We have a rich rapporteur of English content. Now, we are launching with Your Honour. We will launch five shows in the next two months.  We have content planned for Hindi, Marathi and English. We have very enriching content from TVF as well,” he said.

    Golwalkar admitted that the space is highly competitive but even then he feels there is a lot of space for content in certain genres like comedy or content that is Indian in approach. According to him, there is not much content in the genre. The online content that is coming from India is revolving around crime, thriller and dark subjects. There are a lot of other stories that can be told and that will allow SonyLIV to create a niche for itself. He added that they would be launching around 15-20 originals in the next 12 months. Some of the content can be dubbed in major regional languages in the coming days.

    The first original with which the rebranded platform started the journey was Your Honor, Created by Applause Entertainment. Deepak Segal, the content head of Applause Entertainment said that it is one of format among six which were acquired from Israel. The show was first adapted and produced by it and then SonyLIV was approached. It has three shows coming up on SonyLIV.

  • Priyanka Chopra Jonas signs multi-million dollar two-year deal with Amazon

    Priyanka Chopra Jonas signs multi-million dollar two-year deal with Amazon

    KOLKATA: No celebrity now can miss the opportunity opened up by the streaming platforms. Now, Priyanka Chopra Jonas joins the league signing a two-year multimillion-dollar first-look television deal with Amazon.

    According to a Variety report, a general meeting with Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke led to the first-look deal. Earlier, she was already collaborating with Amazon on two television projects. Amazon hopes the deal will help grow the studio’s footprint in the country.

    “My quest really is to be able to tell female stories, work with creators from around the world and create a cross-pollination of storytelling. Amazon is such a great partner to do that because their reach and outlook is so global. My Amazon television deal is a global deal, so I can do Hindi language, I can do English language, I can do whatever language I want,” she said as quoted by Variety.

    “As both an actor and producer, I have always dreamt of an open canvas of creative talent coming together from all over the world to create great content irrespective of language and geography. This has always been the DNA of my production house Purple Pebble Pictures, and is the foundation of this exciting new endeavor with Amazon,” she wrote in a post on Instagram.

  • Netflix appoints Bozoma Saint John as new CMO

    Netflix appoints Bozoma Saint John as new CMO

    KOLKATA: Netflix has appointed ex-Apple and Uber exec Bozoma Saint John as its new chief marketing officer. Her two-decade long career spans across industries including music and entertainment, consumer packaged goods, fashion, sports and automotive. She will start at the company this August, will report to chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

    Prior to this, she served as CMO in Endeavor since 2018. She is replacing Jackie Lee-Joe who is leaving the company for personal reasons who has been in Australia with her family since the start of the pandemic. Saint John is the third executive to take on the role in less than a year. 

    “I’m thrilled to join Netflix, especially at a time when storytelling is critical to our global, societal well-being,” Saint John said in a statement as per media reports. “I feel honoured to contribute my experience to an already dynamic legacy, and to continue driving engagement in the future,” she added.

    Saint John worked as a chief brand officer at Uber and also worked as head of consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes.She was also associated with Pepsi-Cola North America’s head of music and entertainment marketing.

    “Bozoma Saint John is an exceptional marketer who understands how to drive conversations around popular culture better than almost anyone,” Sarandos said.  “As we bring more great stories to our members around the world, she’ll define and lead our next exciting phase of creativity and connection with consumers,” he added.

  • HiPi: ZEE5 reveals the name of its short video platform

    HiPi: ZEE5 reveals the name of its short video platform

    KOLKATA: Keeping up with the promise of delivering unmatched super-app experience, ZEE5 today revealed the name of the much-awaited and India’s first-ever fully homegrown short video platform. Made for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, ZEE5’s innovative and exciting platform called HiPi is a place where India can create the most ingenious and exciting content with the help of state-of-the-art features.

    The name HiPi comes from the vision of a youthful and carefree planet where everyone can express themselves with freedom and confidence. A fun place where users can uninhibitedly and unapologetically be themselves without fear of being judged. ZEE5’s HiPi is driven by the vision to encourage self-expression and it aims to unlock the potential talent that this country has by inviting talented and diverse content creators who are seeking a platform that encourages creativity and paves the way to Stardom.

    HiPi will entail exciting features which will allow creative minds to express themselves in the most creative way. It is the destination for all things entertainment and a platform for fandoms and storytellers which they can call their own.

  • BookMyShow launches global online streaming platform for live entertainment with ‘BookMyShow Online’

    BookMyShow launches global online streaming platform for live entertainment with ‘BookMyShow Online’

    KOLKATA: Continuing with its efforts to keep consumers entertained within the safety of their homes, BookMyShow, India’s leading entertainment destination today announced the launch of its online video streaming platform for live entertainment – BookMyShow Online. Having entertained millions of customers with multiple in-home virtual entertainment offerings on its platform, in the shadow of the COVID health crisis, BookMyShow’s latest feature is a response to audiences’ growing need for entertainment within their homes, for the present times.

    This is the latest in BookMyShow’s growing range of offerings, as the preferred discovery platform for all things entertainment. BookMyShow Online caters to the fast-evolving, ever-changing needs of entertainment lovers in India as also globally for customers using the platform across USA & North America, UK, Germany, UAE, South East Asia, and West Indies. BookMyShow’s new streaming feature as a virtual platform for viewing live entertainment has successfully hosted over 30 events at scale, including the first-ever global virtual tours of Latin musician Willie Gomez, Australian pop band The Buckleys as also American music artist Taylor Castro’s performances amongst others.

    BookMyShow Online is all set to host the first ever Virtual Music Festival in the country with the Sunburn Home Festival, – the virtual edition of Asia’s biggest electronic dance music festival. The festival will feature top DJs from across the globe in a never-seen-before avatar with 3D animations and special effects showcasing the virtual live experience of a music concert with end-to-end production of stage, lights, LED, lasers, special effects and more streamed live only on BookMyShow Online.

    With this, BookMyShow brings together all forms of entertainment, whether out-of-home or delivered at-home under its roof in keeping with its brand mantra – ‘It All Starts Here!’

    A global platform for virtual live entertainment, BookMyShow Online will be home to both paid and free performances across music, comedy, and other performing arts and will be an extension of the unparalleled live entertainment experiences produced and brought to the country by the entertainment company. BookMyShow Online aims to give consumers a seamless option to view live on-ground experiences from the comfort of their living room, or any location of their preference. 

    BookMyShow Online breaks all geographical barriers when it comes to live entertainment experiences, offering artists all over the world, an opportunity to stream their live performances directly on the platform, helping them reach and engage with millions of their fans in India and globally. The streaming feature will run across BookMyShow’s app and web platforms matching global capacity standards to host a smooth experience for scores of concurrent viewers at any given point.

    BookMyShow co-founder and director Parikshit Dar said, “Innovation has always been at the core of BookMyShow, riding on the strength of our product platform, technological expertise and data analytics to enhance the experience of millions of consumers. Sensing the shift in our users’ appetite for entertainment during this lockdown, we were agile enough to change tack by introducing virtual in-home entertainment offerings in India and other global markets. The resultant consumer engagement for such initiatives was phenomenal indicating a latent demand and an opportunity to serve seamless virtual live entertainment. Our latest video streaming platform BookMyShow Online was born out of this need to make virtual live entertainment, a friction-less and hassle-free viewing experience. The streaming platform was integrated into our native product within a few weeks and offers customisation, massive scale for concurrent viewing and complete security of content. We have, since, been successful in hosting multiple performances from across the globe on BookMyShow Online and are now thrilled to officially launch the service for our valued customers.”

    BookMyShow has partnered with Brightcove, the world’s leading video technology platform, as the underlying video streaming technology that powers the use case for the video platform BookMyShow Online. Brightcove’s underlying technology enables BookMyShow Online to deliver a reliable, high-quality streaming experience that is easily scalable as the platform’s audience size continues to increase.

  • “The goal is to create a $100 million IP company”: GoQuest’s Vivek Lath

    “The goal is to create a $100 million IP company”: GoQuest’s Vivek Lath

    Goquest Media is an independent distributor of global entertainment content offering a broad portfolio of international television series, scripted formats, factual content and films. Supplementing its portfolio of Indian content with key acquisitions from Europe, GoQuest Media is looking to serve the scripted needs of buyers across the globe.

    The Indian OTT space is booming, with platforms clamouring to raise the bar in local scripted content. According to GoQuest Media, this new age of premium Indian drama is creating a wealth of opportunities. In the long run the company is looking at becoming a global content agency. The firm’s primary vision is to promote India on a global stage and also expand their footprint in the global market. The company recently landed the distribution rights to two original series from OTT platform MX Player, Ek Thi Begum (The Mafia Queen) and Queen.

    In a special interaction with indiantelevision.com GoQuest founder and MD Vivek Lath spoke at length about Indian and international content market, his plan going forward and much more.

    How huge is the Indian market for GoQuest in terms of storytelling and content?

    Indian market is a pretty big market for GoQuest overall. We have been in touch with all the local OTT platforms for selling content which is dubbed in Hindi or in local languages. Most of the content that we are talking about comes from outside India. There is a large amount of transaction that has been going around remake rights or adaptation rights of international shows and films into India. Indian market is growing every year and slowly as more consumers demand more content, there will also be more demand for ready content coming outside India which would be plugged into the system here.

    So, GoQuest is looking at building a major distribution/production company out of India. What's your vision.

    The vision is to ultimately build up a very strong content monetisation company across various platforms and mediums. We are currently sitting between production, consumer facing platforms. Our services are essentially limited to the montisation part. Right now, we want to vertically move towards the production side of the business. In the coming two to three  years we will also enter the consumer side of the business and become a consumer entertainment brand. The goal is to create a 100 million-dollar IP company out of India, which is not only producing content but a holding company of very large and good IPs. The vision is creating a gamut of entertainment services including production, consumer driven business and distribution. We are also planning to create financial products around entertainment. The focus is to become an end to end entertainment media conglomerate.

    GoQuest has appointed people overseas and it is trying to become India’s global agency. Can you elaborate more on this.

    We will continue to hire people outside India. Most of the people that we are hiring overseas are from the business development and partnership side. Paula, who is a Keshet alum, is based in Tel Aviv and manages businesses in Europe and US. Harshad,who is in Vietnam manages South East Asia and East Asia. From a sales reach point of view, it is important for us to put these offices in place, if we have to expand our business. GoQuest will continue to hire leaders in those regions. We have also onboarded consultants who help us with partnerships and outreach. All in all a mix of full time and part time employees. We have a team of 5 outside India and 48 within India

    Are you looking at becoming a specialist in this field?

    We are specialists in this field. We are the only company out of India, which does the kind of licensing business . GoQuest doesn’t have a direct competition in India as of now. We will continue to build in this niche, that is where we stand out. We are picking up more and more fiction stories from across the world. Our immediate goal is to build a strong fiction distribution pipeline . Pushing India to the global stage is something we are keen on. One of our goals is to push Indian content, especially the one made for the OTT players on par with the other global content that is there in the market

    How are you planning to utilise Queen and Ek Thi Begum considering Queen has recently come on Zee as well.

    Well our arrangement with MX Player is largely for distributing the show internationally. We don’t hold the rights for India. But internationally we do, and we have already started many conversations there. OTT players with in India are already licensing shows to each other and to tv broadcast. Our battleground will be to mount the shows outside India

    What is the cost of licensing?

    We act as pure play service providers distributing content in the international market. As far as Licensing is concerned, the spectrum goes anywhere between $500 per episode in a small market to $5000 in a large market. There is no fixed benchmark, it completely depends on the market and different territories. It also depends upon the quality and story of the show.

    Do you also have TV distribution rights for Queen? Also, OTT contents are now going to TV. Do you think it is viable?

    We have all the distribution rights for Queen on both OTT and TV, for the international market. According to me OTT content going to TV is a viable position. At the end it is all about who is the audience what is the audience overlap between TV and OTT. I think it is good for different companies, mediums and platforms to share the cost of content in a way. Because production costs are shooting up and to make sense of the economics of each content that is being produced, I think it is a good way of monetising it.

    Any new Indian content in the pipeline that you are planning to acquire?

    We are in advance conversation with almost all the OTT producers in India at this point for the intellectual properties they own. We are making sure that whatever show we handpick is of extremely good quality rather than taking it as a commodity approach and cross-selling product at super cheap price.

    In the current situation, where production is on hold, what is your strategy going forward?

    With production on hold, it hasn’t changed much for us. Of course, we need more and more content to drive our business. However, it’s just been three months now, there is enough content for us to sell even if the production is on hold. If the hold continues for a longer period, then it will be challenging to get new products. But our challenges will be minuscule as compared to the challenges faced by the overall industry. I am not worried as such as far as our business is concerned.

    Are you looking at content that can be remade in India?

    Absolutely, in fact we are putting together packages for about four different shows for which have acquired remake rights for India. We have put the right people behind them to i.e. writers, showrunners anddirectors and then go out to pitch the script to OTT platforms. Some of the shows we have are being commissioned by the networks in France, US and in Europe. All the shows that we have, are tried and tested so there is very limited risk about the story line. I believe there is a lot of scope of remaking content in India.

    How has the pandemic impacted your business?

    We all forced ourselves to efficiently work from home. A lot of our interactions are documented for better clarity. Use of collaborative tools to make sure things don’t go out of hand. The business momentum was significantly big at the start of this year, and that momentum has been slowed down for us now. But I believe things won’t be that bad for us going forward. Because content companies are now springing back up, consumer spending is slowly increasing. Yes, we have been affected but it is not going to be long term as far as the pandemic is concerned.

    Apart from Indian content, will you be bringing more international content in India.

    Indian content that we are distributing is for outside India. But we are bringing a lot of international content in India. We are looking at our Ruby Ring, which has done really well all across the world. We are approaching all the leading OTT players now to buy the rights. We are also looking at making that show for regular GEC broadcast. There are a lot of international shows that we are bringing in India, details will be out soon.

  • TikTok ban forces influencers to shift to homegrown short-form video apps

    TikTok ban forces influencers to shift to homegrown short-form video apps

    New Delhi: On Monday, thousands had a career in making videos and overnight they are jobless, adding to the existing recession in the country. TikTok was not just a source of entertainment for many but also a way to earn their daily bread and butter. Right after the ban, the app became unavailable for download on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store in India. 

    TikTok, which has amassed more than 200 million users in India, identifies Asia’s third-largest economy as its biggest overseas market. Over the years, the platform has become a favourite amongst brands for influencer marketing. 

    Mirum India director of business development- Srikant Subramanian said that the budgets on influencer marketing will continue to remain. The marketers realise that influencers are the ones who are creating meaningful relationships for their brands with consumers and using those influencers would be key for their endeavours.

    “The next few months will be critical from an analytics POV. We will start to see the movement of audiences and behaviour of content consumption on existing large channels. Basis that, the brands will need to change strategies when that happens. In the short term, depending on the channel, brands will continue to do what they are doing now,” Subramanian adds.

    Zirca Digital Solutions CEO and director Neena Dasgupta is of the opinion that the platform’s rise has been phenomenal and what is interesting is that not only did people adapt to its format rather quickly but people stuck to the platform. 

    “In its absence, this huge number of users will migrate to other platforms and everything from digital marketing budgets to consumer engagement strategies will need to be rejigged. The marketing spends – particularly on influencers – were on the rise and the ban will lead to the reallocation of these budgets. So, the influencer marketing system is in for a change. For new platforms similar to TikTok it is going to be an opportunity to acquire and for existing platforms, it could be an opportunity to adapt as well as acquire."

    TikTok, which was blocked in India for a week last year but was accessible to users who had already installed the app on their smartphones, said last year in a court filing that it was losing more than $500,000 a day. According to reports, ByteDance had planned to invest $1 billion in India to expand the reach of TikTok, a plan that now appears to have been derailed.

    As per the Indian government’s statements, the ban of TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps is in response to the alleged possibility of data theft and security breach of Indian nationals, due to the ongoing geopolitical Indo-China tension.

    According to Dasgupta, Data security has been a long-pending agenda for the government. “I would not be surprised if this is accompanied by further bans irrespective of the source of the apps. The need of the hour are policies that can safeguard internet users and their privacy and we are yet to see these policies and how they are implemented.”

    Marcom Avenue director Divanshi Gupta says that India is working on undertaking various campaigns and projects that will make the country self-reliant regarding Chinese companies in power and mobile technology. “The country is home to multiple brands working on a three-pronged strategy (restart, restore and resurgence) to boost in-house technology and innovation while uplifting manufacturing in the national state,” she says.

    However, Gupta says that the decision to ban Chinese apps may not be directly classified as an "economic sanction" as China is a massive investor in the Indian business diaspora. It is more because of the national security threat and data theft.

    Content creator Ankush Bahuguna, who makes several videos on social media platforms including TikTok, says that due to the ban on the app, he will have one less platform to expand his universe and to engage with the audience. 

    "I think it is going to have a huge impact on creators who were making content exclusively on TikTok. The shift to a new platform means starting from scratch and I can't imagine how difficult it must be for so many people. I think it will be nice if other content creators could step in and help out TikTokers build themselves back on other platforms because I've seen a lot of TikTokers create very entertaining content and they deserve to stay relevant regardless of what happens to one app," he says. 

    RJ Sukriti Chaturvedi, popular content creator on Tiktok, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube who is known for her quirky and funny videos on social media platform says that if a breach of privacy has been conducted on the app, then it’s best that users shift to some other platform which ensures security. “It’s a piece of sad news for content creators who rose to fame through TikTok but there are other platforms too like Instagram or Youtube which can also add value for content creators.”

    The short-form video app also became advertisers’ new darling, mainly due to the access it gives to advertisers to creators and consumers. 

    “TikTok will suffer but Bytedance is a trooper,” Subramanian mentions. “They will find a way to make revenue. A lot depends on the regulation bit. Overall advertisers will be fine, they will split the audience and hence mostly split the revenue in the long term. It all depends on how long the void remains. I suspect many new apps will launch, and some existing ones like Hike could take advantage and then add some new features – especially since the markets are the same.”

    TikTok ban in India has already forced its users to look for alternatives. TikTok creators are requesting their fans to follow them on other social media platforms including Instagram and YouTube. Many influencers are also welcoming the latest move by the government. Whether it is Mitron, Chingari or Bolo Indya, the Indian rivals of the Chinese video-sharing app are hoping to grow their presence in the country and expand their user base by attracting several TikTokers to their platforms.

    “This would help Indian UGC platforms to garner content creators at a much higher pace and organically. Cost of creator acquisition will tend to reduce drastically due to this. This shall also enable a lower cost of consumer acquisition as many creators would be bringing in their follower base (to some extent) on to the Indian UGCs which they finally opt for creating videos going forward. For example, we have seen over one lakh new content creators join Bolo indya in last 24 hours at zero cost, and more than five lakh videos being created by them in last 24 hours, enabling them to go viral on Bolo Indya in least possible team, much quicker than other Indian UGCs,” shares Bolo Indya founder Varun Saxena.

    Saxena adds that since Monday, the platform has witnessed 10x surge in traction. “However, this has increased to 30x and we have hardly seen any downtime (apart from little speed issues for a few minutes) as compared to some of the other Indian UGCs which went down for hours today. We have taken requisite measures both on application server and database server sides and we are now ready to handle 80x surge in traffic from here.”

  • Eros Now Partners with Dish TV India

    Eros Now Partners with Dish TV India

    KOLKATA:Eros Now today announced its partnership with Dish TV, the leading direct-to-home (DTH) offering the best of online entertainment. As part of the association, Dish TV & D2H users can access Eros Now's massive content library including 12,000 plus movie titles, original shows, short-format content Quickie, music through their android set-top boxes – Dish SMRT Hub & D2H Stream, respectively.

    Online content consumption is increasing rapidly as consumers access streaming services from their home. This partnership further deepens Eros Now's reach by providing seamless access to Dish TV India's vast number of consumers in the country. DishTVAND D2H users can avail free access to Eros Now on the first month's subscription after which users can pay as per their subscription plans. The inclusion of Eros Now in DishTV and D2H set-top box, SMRT Stick and SMRT Kit with Alexa services enhances consumers' streaming experience.

    Dish SMRT Hub’ and ‘d2h stream’ are internet-based Android-based HD Set Top Boxes and offer a host of features including built-in Google Assistant, Chromecast, Google Play and access to all popular apps. Coupled with the ease of using voice commands via Google Assistant, these Android-based set-top boxes are compatible with any television set and available for Rs 3,999 for new subscribers and Rs 2,499 for existing subscribers.

    Commenting on the partnership, Eros Now  CEO Ali Hussein said, "Eros Now has a vast movie catalogue that features cult classics to modern, new-age films. The massive content library offers high-quality experience to the consumers who can consume the content from their homes on smart TVs, at their convenience. This transformation of OTT consumption moving from personal, private devices to television sets in the living room, is a growing trend with movies and other long-format content being consumed on large screens. Eros Now's endeavour has always been to present the best of online streaming content and provide seamless access to consumers across markets as well as different mediums. The association with Dish TV's innovative services keeps its vast consumer base glued to the television sets with the inclusion of Eros Now's content that offers premium OTT experience."

    Commenting on the association, Executive Director and Group CEO, Dish TV India Ltd executive director and group CEO Anil Dua said, “In our endeavour to provide the best of both the linear and online entertainment options, we have recently introduced a whole range of connected devices including Android STB’s and streaming sticks. We are happy to partner with Eros Now and this partnership will enable our customers to have access to their vast online content library across both our Dish and D2H platforms. Dish TV India is committed to delivering the best TV viewing experience while offering unique content options to its customers and this partnership is another step in the same direction.”

    In addition to Android STBs, Eros Now is also available on Dish SMRT Stick & SMRT Kit and will be soon available on D2H magic & D2h Magic Voice-Enabled.

  • Roposo claims to be India’s top short video app post TikTok ban

    Roposo claims to be India’s top short video app post TikTok ban

    NEW DELHI: With the Indian government on Monday banning 59 Chinese apps over concerns that these apps were engaging in activities that threatened “national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India”, ByteDance’s TikTok had to say goodbye to India. 

    Roposo, the short video app with more than 65 million downloads, has been the number one social app on the Google Play Store in recent times.

    TikTok users, including influencers with huge fan followings have started switching to Roposo in large numbers after the ban, says the company. Influencers who have switched to Roposo include Prem Vats and Noor Afshan who had fan followings of 9.5 million and 9 million respectively on TikTok. MyGov, the citizen engagement platform founded by the government of India has already been present on Roposo.

    With Roposo, users finally have a way to enjoy responsible entertainment while showcasing their talent. Roposo is available in 12 Indian languages and has more than 14 million video creators and 80 million videos created monthly.

    “Our mission is to provide Indians with the largest talent platform that is truly Indian,” said co-founder Mayank Bhangadia. “We have built Roposo as a clean and ethical platform. The unique idea of channels in Roposo provides every talented Indian with an opportunity to grow rapidly.”

    A product of Indian minds, Roposo was founded by three IIT Delhi engineers and is owned by Glance. The platform centres around enabling every Indian to showcase their talent in their own unique way. The app’s ease of use combined with powerful video editing tools, and pre-existing communities that users can identify and interact with, in their mother tongue, has made Roposo a leading Made In India short video app. 

    InMobi group founder and CEO Naveen Tewari said, “As the number one short video app on the Google Play Store, Roposo is very well-positioned to lead this transformation in India. Roposo will continue to build on the trust and love that 65 million Indian users have placed in us.”

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  • Disney+ Hotstar’s ‘Multiplex’ to pit OTTs against each other

    Disney+ Hotstar’s ‘Multiplex’ to pit OTTs against each other

    KOLKATA: An unprecedented crisis has compelled producers to re-imagine the film distribution model suddenly. As theatres remain shut across the country, producers are developing camaraderie with over-the-top (OTT) platforms. While Amazon Prime Video was the first OTT platform to go aggressive over digital premieres of films, Disney+ Hotstar is taking the trend forward with the launch of Disney+ Hotstar ‘Multiplex’. From July, it will premiere seven Bollywood movies for its subscribers and this might escalate the conflict between producers and multiplex owners.

    Disney+ was scheduled to launch in India during IPL 2020 which later got postponed due to the Covid2019 pandemic. The rebranded Disney+ Hotstar could have emerged a clear winner on the back of India’s most popular sporting event. Now, it is banking on another segment which has crazy fandom – Bollywood.

    “At Disney+ Hotstar, we firmly believe in pushing boundaries to achieve the unexpected. A few years ago, we took an audacious step of bringing sports closer to people by streaming it LIVE on mobile devices – a move that forever changed the course of LIVE sports in India. Today as we launch Disney+ Hotstar Multiplex, we find ourselves yet again at the cusp of making a revolutionary change by bringing the biggest Bollywood movies directly to millions across the country,” The Walt Disney Company APAC chairman and Star and Disney India president Uday Shankar said in a press statement. 

    The belief was that only small budget movies would go to OTT and the big ones would want the ROI via theatres. But as Shankar launched the service alongside top Bollywood stars such as Alia Bhatt, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan, that idea is bound to change.

    “Any OTT player who is releasing films will see a significant increase in subscribers. Usually, movie-going costs for a family range between Rs 1000-2000 depending on which city and where they are watching the movie. Against that, they can always subscribe to platforms like Disney+ Hotstar at a lower price and get done for the year. Hence, there will be a new set of consumers who will come on these platforms. If somebody becomes a subscriber for a movie, they will continue for other content once and the platforms will acquire subscriber for a lifetime. So, the tectonic shift in movie-release business is going to be a big win for OTT players,” says PwC India media, entertainment and sports advisory, partner and leader Raman Kalra.

    Experts believe the move will dramatically increase the subscriber base of the service even as Media Partners Asia projected it could have 25 per cent of the total online video revenue pie by 2025. After Disney’s acquisition, Hotstar has grown personalisation and search functionality as the platform has invested in scaling its premium entertainment proposition.

    Even though the tussle between OTT and multiplexes will continue, Shankar said that they both will grow together. “Even when films started releasing on TV, theatres grew. Digital premiere will give a new life to the industry. We have 500 million mobile screens in this country right now where films can be watched. If we can reach out to them, it will be a great outlet for the industry to showcase its creativity and tell stories. We should not see this as a short-term tactical compromise, we should see as a big leap for our film industry,” he said during the virtual press conference.

    Kalra also believes that the audience will love to go back to theatres once everything settles downs. But a parallel set of movies will be produced keeping OTT platforms in mind. However, he, too, believes that both sides will have enough demand in the market given the lower screen density in India.

    “We thought why not use the opportunity of the pandemic to create a big, alternative world of exhibition, and create a network of virtual theatres – private theatres – in everybody’s homes, and that is what we are doing today,” Shankar said. 

    This also leads to another question. Will such mega launches spell the death knell for smaller OTT players? Kalra thinks these international players and homegrown players always have had a different strategy. If more people flock to these larger platforms, the latter will definitely have enough demand if they make content and monetisation strategy focusing on the kind of subscriber they want to target and accordingly give them the expected experience.

    “It will create a contest between various OTT players particularly negative for the likes of ZEE5 and Amazon Prime Video which have focused more on originals,” says SBICap Securities institutional equity research head Rajiv Sharma. “It will have some serious short term implications and is a matter of concern for multiple players because they have been overlooking participating in the digital value chain.”

    The conflict started when Amazon Prime Video acquired the rights for Gulabo Sitabo. Then came the stunner that Akshay Kumar’s Laxmmi Bomb would be released on Disney+ Hotstar. Not to mention that the upcoming movie of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, Dil Bechara, will be the move that flags off the Multiplex service.

    “Competitive intensity may increase now among OTT players also. This will have a cascading effect as the contest to chase movies and delay in the opening of malls will continue to add to producers’ problem as they will have to focus only on digital to generate revenue,” Sharma adds.

    Kalra agrees that there might be disappointment coupled with a lot of debate and discussion. While he, too, says that in the long-run, theatres and digital screens will co-exist, he believes the theatre owners will also have to change the business model keeping the need for contactless experience in mind.