ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Nielsen’s consumer attitude insights on streaming video

    Nielsen’s consumer attitude insights on streaming video

    MUMBAI: Streaming video is becoming increasingly crucial for Indian legacy broadcasters, as GenZ continues to spend an increasing amount of time on video apps, watching their favourite shows. But the business is not easy, burning away ginormous amounts of capital. Customer acquisition is expensive, and keeping them engaged even more so. Viu is one of the first casualties in this space, having exited from its India play.

    Hence, any user studies – no matter from which part of the world – are useful to get some insights into how the customer is reacting to the plethora of choices on offer. Recently, US-based research agency launched Streaming Wars – a special edition of its Nielsen Total Audience Report. 

    The report revealed that US consumers in OTT-capable homes are spending 19 per cent (nearly one fifth) of their TV time streaming content, be it through ad-supported or paid subscription models.

    “That’s a hefty amount of the already large media diet of audiences today, especially considering that the medium has only existed for a relatively short period of time. Not to mention, it’s a prime opportunity to easily reach consumers in the digital age, using interfaces that feel familiar and comfortable to them,” the report has advised.

    Nielsen has also noted that 60 per cent of Americans subscribe to more than one subscription video on demand service and 93 per cent of them have stated that they will increase or keep their existing streaming service.

    American consumers like the rest of the world, lay a great emphasis on price; in fact, it is the single most important attribute for a quality streaming service, Nielsen’s report highlights. In fact, when asked about what made them cancel a paid video subscription service, 42 per cent said they didn’t use it enough to justify the cost.

    User-friendly interactivity plays a key role for streaming services and ranked second in consumer importance. Frustrating user experiences or hard to navigate interfaces may not bode well when it comes to subscriber retention, especially when the internet has cultivated a culture of convenience and consumers have a bevvy of other media choices available to them. Of course, content is also of major importance for consumers, as the variety and availability of it placed in the top three of video streaming attributes, Nielsen reported.

    While there are myriad attributes that make a streaming service attractive to users, the content is what ultimately gets them to type out their credit card number and hit “Enter.” The top four reasons as to why survey participants decided to subscribe to additional streaming services were all content-based, with the top reason being to expand the content that they had available. 

    Content has always been king, but with the growth of streaming, content creators and rights owners are effectively given more power. Platforms must be able to maintain the programs that audiences want while offering compelling new ones to keep them interested. Wherever good content goes, subscribers will follow. When that content runs out, don’t be surprised when some of the subscribers do too: 20 per cent of consumers said they cancelled a service after watching all the content that they were interested in.

    The Nielsen report revealed that Netflix is the numero uno in the streaming space, with it accounting for 31 per cent of American consumers, YouTube was number two with 21 per cent, Hulu no three, with 12 per cent, Amazon No 4, with eight per cent. The remaining 28 per cent was accounted for by the rest of the streaming services.

  • US AVOD streamer Tubi racks up scorching growth pace

    US AVOD streamer Tubi racks up scorching growth pace

    MUMBAI: To be or not to be?

    Well, Tubi is. And it is growing stronger.

    The American AVOD streaming video service – which is available in Canada and Australia and is set to launch in Mexico and the UK in 2020  –  has reported jaw-dropping signups and consumption numbers for 2019. The company- headed by Farhad Massoudi – announced monthly active users of 25 million with total viewing or watch time (TVT or TWT) totting up to 163 million hours  for the month of December 2019 alone. TVT overall exploded 160 per cent year over year (YOY), while for Canada and Australia it skyrocketed 357 per cent.

    Recently, Tubi announced a partnership with one of the largest broadcasters in Mexico – TV Azteca – to provide Spanish language content, which includes their most popular series and advertising sales support. Tubi also announced a global deal with one of the world’s largest manufacturers of TVs – Hisense – to prominently include Tubi as part of their Vidaa platform.

    In 2019, Tubi ratcheted up its headcount to over 229 full-time employees, an increase of 78 per cent versus 2018. The company will rapidly add more employees in the coming year as Tubi continues its expansion both domestically and internationally. It is all geared up to spend big dollars to acquire content beyond its 20,000 movies and TV series; the budget is expected to cross nine figures in 2020.

    “Our growth over the last year is a clear testament to the success of our focused strategy in a now-cluttered marketplace,” said Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi. “We’re excited people globally have embraced Tubi as a complement to subscription video and aim to deliver an even larger library of premium content in 2020.”

    https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/most-of-the-svod-businesses-are-not-going-to-be-viable-tubis-farhad-massoudi-200123

  • Good stories are language-agnostic: MX Player’s Gautam Talwar

    Good stories are language-agnostic: MX Player’s Gautam Talwar

    MUMBAI: Move over English, it's time for regional languages now. It's 2020 and streaming services are looking at regional being the trend for the coming era. Most OTT platforms have now tested the waters and have enough data to back up their claims as well.

    MX Player’s Queen recently hogged the attention of streamers and the content ecosystem. The Tamil-English web-series’ has been recognised across different languages as it has been dubbed in Hindi, Bengali and Telugu.

    MX Player has a “clear regional strategy” where regional is not regional anymore. “We see the uptake of good stories is being language-agnostic,” MX Player chief content officer Gautam Talwar told Indiantelevision.com during a short candid conversation.

    Talwar terms it as the biggest web-series till date in Tamil Nadu market and adds that the series has benefitted the platform very well. User numbers have gone up as well and Queen was watched across age groups.

    A big show is coming up on the platform in Marathi starring Swapnil Joshi, Satish Rajwade along with two other big shows in the pipeline. There are two shows in Bhojpuri which Talwar believes will get extraordinary viewership if dubbed in other languages. The platform is also looking at a show in Gujarati, one in Telugu, a Punjabi show and a Tamil-Kannada bilingual show.

    Being in the market for nearly one year, there's a whole host of data has come its way on originals, current partnerships with networks, as well as partnerships with other web series creator, like TVF, Pocket Aces and Dice. The platform has been analysing the data to understand which shows work, who is the new audience and what have they been watching. According, MX Player is fine-tuning the content strategy in 2020. 

    Having said that, the focus will still be on the Hindi heartland. These will be small-town stories that can connect with tier II and III audiences. The platform will also have a couple of shows for the top eight metros and a cluster of 29 towns. It also aims to maintain a healthy mix between universal shows and shows targeted at specific audience clusters.

    “We did a very successful non-fiction show Love Ok Please collaborating with Too Yumm. Going forward, we are looking at key integration for brands. You will be seeing another big non-fiction show coming up called Times and Music, which is going to have a very serious brand integration as well,” he adds.

    Notably, MX Player is going to be experimenting with interactivity of content. An upcoming show will involve audience interaction with the story itself. Plans are afoot to make it a norm across shows. 

  • Eros International Media appoints Pradeep Dwivedi as CEO

    Eros International Media appoints Pradeep Dwivedi as CEO

    MUMBAI: Eros International Plc, a leading company in the global Indian film entertainment industry, today announced the appointment of Pradeep Dwivedi, as chief executive officer of its majority-owned subsidiary, Eros International Media Ltd (EIML).

    At Eros International Media Ltd, Dwivedi will be responsible for managing business growth and operations of the company and will also be responsible for all commercial negotiations and representations in various markets, forums, customers, vendors and regulatory authorities.

    Eros International Plc CEO and EIML executive director Kishore Lulla said: “We are delighted to have Pradeep Dwivedi joining us as CEO at Eros India. His energy, leadership credentials and relationships across multiple industries and deep understanding of media & technology business will be an asset in driving our growth. I am looking forward to working with him in successfully executing our strategy”

    Dwivedi said, “The Indian media & entertainment industry is poised for rapid transformation in the digital era and Eros India, with its strong legacy and innovative vision of Kishore Lulla, is all set to take advantage of the enormous market opportunities ahead. This provides a significant springboard to lead large-scale creation of value and business transformation. I am keen to work with all our stakeholders to accelerate growth and further success in the next exciting phase of its journey.”

    Pradeep Dwivedi, B Sc, MBA, is a senior media industry professional. He is an accomplished industry leader with an experience of over two decades in Advertising & Media Business, Telecom & Technology Enterprises, Banking & Financial services Institutions and Automotive sector, with established credentials in digital infotainment business as well as Print Publication, News Television channels and Experiential Events. He has a demonstrated track record in revenue growth, sales & marketing, value creation, joint ventures & partnerships, corporate investments, business operations & general management. In the past, he has been CEO of Sakal Media Group, Chief Corporate Sales & Marketing Officer of Dainik Bhaskar Group, and worked in leadership positions with organisations including Tata Teleservices, American Express, GE Capital, Standard Chartered Bank & Eicher Motors in India. He is an active participant in many media industry associations, such as Director of IAA (India Chapter) and a managing committee member of The Advertising Club of India.

    Eros International Plc has also appointed Vijay Vaishnav as chief finance officer at Eros Now, the premium OTT South Asian entertainment platform.  Vaishnav, BCom and CA, demonstrates exemplary expertise as evinced through the years of financial experience in established media & entertainment organisations such as Zee Entertainment, Viacom18 and Balaji Telefilms to name a few.

    Eros International Plc has further strengthened its legal team with the appointment of Bishwarup Chakrabarti as Legal-Head at Eros Digital. Bishwarup, a postgraduate from National Law School, Bengaluru has previously been associated with various law firms and media conglomerates such as Viacom18 and Sony. At Sony, he was heading legal and regulatory affairs for production across the network.

  • IPL & Rs 3,300 crore revenue: Thoughts to ponder

    IPL & Rs 3,300 crore revenue: Thoughts to ponder

    MUMBAI: Can an Indian broadcast TV network imagine that it could gross $600 million in revenue– that is about Rs 4,200 crore – in one day?

    That would indeed be the day.

    The fact is the Murdoch-owned and run Fox did earn that from 100 advertisers on Sunday 2 February 2020 when it aired the NFL’s SuperBowl match between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. It did attract an audience of 150 million, which watched the pre-game coverage, the game, the electrifying half time performances by Latino bombshells Shakira and Jennifer Lopez, the post game discussion in the studio, followed by the factual show The Masked Singer.

    Speaking at an investment analyst post earning conference call Fox executive chairman & CEO Lachlan Murdoch said: “We surrounded the Super Bowl with an immersive and innovative programming lineup from Miami across Fox Sports, Fox News, Fox Sports 1 and our local stations. And we use this enormous platform to launch Season 3 of the Masked Singer right after the game which became TV's highest rated reality telecast in eight years. We delivered extraordinary ratings for our advertising, distribution and NFL partners.”

    In India, the big events that aggregate audiences are the IPL and any cricket match that the Indian team is involved in. IPL 2019 delivered 462 million viewers on the Star network channels between 23 March and 12 May, according to BARC data.

    So, the NFL had a 150 million strong audience, generating $600 million in rvenue for Fox. That's a realisation of $4 or around Rs 300 –  per viewer. Ad spots on the NFL SuperBowl cost about $175,000 per second, with a 30-second spot costing as high as $5 million plus. According to measurement company SpotTV,  the cost per lead (CPL) for the NFL SuperBowl 2018 was between $27 and $100 on game day. Seems high, but advertisers obviously think its worth as this is the day America worships.

    The IPL, according to media reports, generated around Rs 2,200 crore for Star India in 2019, with a cumulative TV audience of 460 million. Now let’s apply the $4 average realisation in revenue per viewer that the NFL managed to get from advertisers and other partners to this audience. It works out to a whopping $1.8 billion or Rs 12,300 crore.

    But you might say we are being silly, that we are extrapolating a highly developed US ad and TV market to an emerging market like India. Right. Let’s shave that to a $1.50 per viewer, which is what we think it should be, it still works out to a jawdropping $690 million or Rs 4,918-odd crore. You might again say we are bonkers once again. Let’s bring it further down $1 per viewer – it tots up to $460 million or Rs 3,300-odd crore. Currently, the IPL is generating around 60 odd cents per viewer.

    Can that be pushed up to $1 per viewer? That's something Disney and Star India head honchos Uday Shankar and K Madhavan are betting on. So far, advertisers and agencies have not been valuing the IPL and its audiences enough. Remember, the IPL was valued at around $6.8 billion last year. Its valuation will go up undoubtedly this year. Currently, advertisers are paying between Rs 10-15 lakh per 10-second spot (barely $13,000 to $20,000 as compared to the $175,000 per second for the NFL SuperBowl) during the IPL.

    Star India paid $2.55 billion to acquire the rights to the IPL in 2017 for five years.  At that time, it spent around Rs 54.5 crore per match. Add production and promotional costs, it would have to recover anywhere between Rs 60-75 crore per match.

    Something has to change on ad spends in India. The thinking amongst brand and marketing managers, media buyers and planners needs to undergo a revision, a refresh. Going for the lowest price, slashing media rates, need not get you the best results. As the saying goes: you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Some media planners and brand managers say they buy clever and they buy cheap and they get their return on investment.

    Sure. But premium content costs. The IPL set back Star India by some Rs 16,347 odd crore for five years. That means it has to recover around Rs 3,500 odd crore from advertising and subscription revenues each year. So far, it has had a gap in the first three years. But that has not deterred it from taking the television component of the IPL up a notch each year.

    Star India’s Uday Shankar is focusing on consumer experience and delight. The network has invested in raising the standard of the quality of production, providing more language feeds. Thankfully that has been accompanied by drastic improvements in the quality of play in the various matches, as well as the competition becoming interesting.

    But all this has to be monetised, right? The economic slowdown has led to cuts in ad spends. And when advertising is down, the visibiliy of those who dare to advertise goes up. And they end up capturing consumer mind space.

    This year, the IPL presents advertisers with a great opportunity. Indian cricket has been shining over the past few months, snatching impressive victories. And cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL, Rahul, Jaspreet Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravinder Jadeja have been in top form. They will be playing for various teams in the IPL. They have taken the fight to the enemy camp and won handsomely in some matches. Expect them to continue in the same vein in the IPL as well.

    We keep talking about how India is set to emerge as one of the world’s leading economies. Yes, it has its own peculiar way of conducting business, which is so very Indian. But slashing costs, taking ARPUs down and playing the mass game is not the only mentality that should come in play. Opening one’s wallet and investing for the now and the future would definitely make sports TV broadcast rights more viable. 

  • ShemarooMe showcases world digital premiere of ‘Kissebaaz’

    ShemarooMe showcases world digital premiere of ‘Kissebaaz’

    MUMBAI: ShemarooMe’s bollywood premiere to showcase the world digital premiere of the murder mystery thriller Kissebaaz featuring the versatile actor Pankaj Tripathi. The movie will reach a global audience through the platform’s one of a kind offering – “Bollywood Premiere”. The ever dependable and versatile actor Pankaj Tripathi seamlessly essays the role as a henchman of politicians in the political thriller Kissebaaz. 

    The movie also stars other stellar actors such as Rajesh Sharma, Evelyn Sharma, Rahul Bagga, Anupriya Goenka, Mouli Ganguly and Zakir Hussain in key roles. Set in Uttar Pradesh in the narrow confines of the city of Benaras, Kissebaaz is directed by Annant Jaaitpaal and produced by Sanjay Anand and Divya Anand.

    ShemarooMe’s bollywood premiere showcases critically acclaimed Bollywood movies every Friday, that have a strong story line and great entertainment value that the audiences have missed out on watching during their theatrical release. With an impressive IMBD rating of over 7.5, Kissebaaz is a political drama with a lot of twists and plots and will keep the viewers engaged throughout. The movie revolves around Rahul Bagga’s character Harsh, a small-town Romeo who gets involved in difficult situations. His love interest is played by Anupriya Goenka who portrays the role of Naina. The main character, Chutaan Shukla who is played by Pankaj Tripathi keeps the audience guessing for more throughout the movie. Rajesh Sharma and Zakir Hussain have played strong characters and performances as the supporting cast in the movie.

    This unique offering by ShemarooMe, is specially curated for the movie buffs and Bollywood fans worldwide. To satiate the Bollywood cravings of fans, ShemarooMe premieres entertaining and critically acclaimed movies every Friday. The recent line-up of ShemarooMe includes some exceptional movies like Ekkis Tarrekh, Paharganj, SP Chauhan, Gone Kesh, Marudhar express, Marrne Bhi Do Yaaron and now Kissebaaz. 

    Taking the legacy of the parent company forward, ShemarooMe understands the pulse of the audience and has been at the forefront to entertain the viewers throughout. Bollywood Premiere has successfully engaged with the audiences and now is entertaining them at the comfort of their homes, through various platforms and hand-held devices. ShemarooMe showcases World Television Premiere of a new movie every Friday living up to the promise of delivering masala entertainment to the Asli fans of Bollywood.

     

  • The top shows on AVOD services

    The top shows on AVOD services

    MUMBAI: It’s been raining premium originals on streaming services such as ZEE5, Hotstar, Netflix, Hoichoi, Arre, ALTBalaji and MX Player. The genres have been varied, but what makes the shows stand out is the quality of storytelling, production values, and casting. The good ones have a cinematic quality about them. Some of them hide behind pay walls and some are on free services, dependent on advertising. But there’s no doubt they are generating buzz amongst subscribers and viewers – some more than the other.

    What’s also working well on a handful of broadcaster-linked streaming services is the catch-up shows which either debut on their OTTs or on television. Some of these get larger audiences and watch times than do the premium originals made for OTT.

    They also serve to bring viewers back almost daily to watch the release of new episodes or catch up with the ones they have missed. Most of the top notch premium originals are on SVOD services, which release data when they want to.

    Choosing the most popular ones without any metrics or data to rely on is therefore  a challenge. However, we at indiantelevision.com took a shot at drawing up a list of shows on advertising video on demand (AVoD) platforms that we think made an impression and were a favourite amongst the OTT-bingers.

    The list is not definitive, is in random order, and it is subjective without any malice intended towards those who do not feature in it. Read on to find out.

    Kumkum Bhagya :

    Kumkum Bhagya is a ZEE TV drama series about a star-crossed couple Abhi and Pragya, who are now separated. Ranbeer falls in love with their daughter Prachi, while their other daughter Rhea vies for his attention. The show with a very high BARC rating has been running for the past five years on television, but it attracts viewers on Zee TV’s ZEE5 service as well.

    Thinkistan:

    Made by Rajnish Lall of Jigsaw Pictures, it is the story of the Indian advertising world in an era when the industry was just beginning to stand out. Created and written by Paddy, set in an ad agency in the 1990s, it chronicles the journey of two advertising professionals in an entertaining manner. It also touches upon one of the most prevalent problems which was deep-rooted in the industry – inherent bias against languages other than English. India’s answer to Mad Men has already launched its second season too.

    Kundali Bhagya:

    Kundali Bhagya is a ZEE TV drama television series starring Shraddha Arya, Dheeraj Dhoopar and Manjit Joura. The story revolves around the two sisters of Pragya, from Kumkum Bhagya. Her sisters are Preeta and Shrishti who discover the existence of their mother Sarla and sister Pragya, after their father’s death. The sisters try to unite with their mother and sister.

    Big Boss:

    The saga of friendship, betrayal, love, bonding, feud, laugher, tears in a house full of celebrities – the formula to keep the audience glued to a show even in its thirteenth edition. Big Boss changed the meaning of reality shows in the country since its first season. The star-studded contestant list, and the association of Salman Khan with the show for more than a decade have favoured it to sustain the excitement, engagement among its fans. While the 100-day reality show is being aired on Colors, it gets millions of viewers on Viacom18’s digital arm VOOT as well.  

    Sembaruthi:

    Sembaruthi is a ZEE Tamil romantic drama TV series about circumstances that force Parvathy and Aditya, the son of an affluent woman, Akhilandeshwari, to get married secretly. But will the shrewd Akhilandeshwari, who has high hopes for her son, learn their secret? If you are not able to watch it on TV, you can definitely go to ZEE5 to find the answer.

    Queen:

    The MX Player original Queen has really ruled the web-entertainment space after it was launched in December. Shakti Seshadri, the central character of the web-series, bears strong resemblances to the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. In the course of portraying a majestic political leader, the narrative does not glorify the character. The realistic emotional tonality of the story makes viewers connect to it. Along with a strong storyline, Queen offers a brilliant screenplay to from its  writers.

    Fuh se Fantasy:

    Fuh se Fantasy , the VOOT original is about the delight in modern relationships that dare to explore their deepest, quirkiest and most exciting desires. The 10-episode series which started streaming on VOOT last year features popular faces such as Karan Wahi, Plabita Borthakur,Naveen Kasturia, Anshuman Malhotra , Gaurav Pandey and Anupriya Goenka. The millennial audience will certainly connect to the anthology as it takes a look at the tabooed and unsaid desires.

    Feet up with the Stars:

    You may like to peep into the lives of your favourite celebrity but all the quintessential interviews make you wane. VOOT has a brilliant alternative, Feet up with the Stars  – a chat show which has caught word of mouth for its intimate and personal conversation. The celebrities here talk more about themselves in a personal and cosy set up rather than taking a dig on others in the B-town. After its first season cut through the clutter of chat shows, the one of its kind chat show came back with the second season last year.

    Agga Bai Sasubai:

    Agga Bai Sasubai on ZEE Marathi tells the story of the loving bond Asawari shares with her daughter-in-law, Shubhra. The women stick together during good times and bad and help each other face the challenges life throws at them. A refreshing and unique take on saas-bahu relationships is also available anytime anywhere on ZEE5.

    Rani Rashmoni:

    Rani Rashmoni is a Bengali television period drama series starring Ditipriya Roy in the lead. The show on Zee Bangla revolves around the life and struggle of Rani Rashmoni, widow of Babu Rajachandra Das of Janbazar, Kolkata. She took charge of the zamindari and business, after her husband's death and proved herself as an effective leader. The show has created a buzz in the Bengali market and has become a part of daily routine in many Bengali households.  If you are keen to look back at the life of a fierce lady of the colonial era, it can be watched on ZEE5 as well.

    Kalyana Vaibhogam:

    Kalyana Vaibhogam is a ZEE Telugu drama television series that also lures viewers to ZEE5 platform too. The Suryadevara Family is cursed and the first wife of all their first sons are bound to be chomped by the jaws of death. While Nithya and Jai, the current heir of the family, fall in love, Nithya’s mother is aware of the curse and replaces her daughter with a lookalike, Manga, an innocent village girl. How things fall in place between Jai, Manga and Nithya forms the crux of the story.

    Hello Mini:

    Someone has been watching, following every move of a girl living alone in Mumbai. Does it sound terrifying? MX Player’s thriller drama series Hello Mini revolves around her life. The protagonist Rivanah Bannerjee who moved from Kolkata to Mumbai seems to have everything at the place in the beginning – a good job, loving boyfriend but as the story goes on her life also goes topsy-turvy. The mystery around the stalker, however, prevails throughout the series making it binge-worthy.

    Gattimela:

    Gattimela is a drama television series on ZEE Kannada starring Sudha Narasimharaju, Rakshith Gowda and others. The story revolves around Vedanth and Amulya, 2 people with contradicting personalities, who are constantly at loggerheads whenever they meet. Whether both of them will turn their sour relationship into a loving one forms the rest of the story. The local users love sampling the show on ZEE5 also. 

  • Flipkart Video Original ‘Zindagi inShort’ to release on 19 Feb

    Flipkart Video Original ‘Zindagi inShort’ to release on 19 Feb

    MUMBAI: Flipkart Video is all set to launch another original Zindagi inShort on 19 February. Zindagi inShort comprises seven short slice-of-life films. The cerebration of the anthology is to showcase bittersweet episodes of life in miniature configurations. 'Chajju Ke Dahi Bhalle', 'Nano So Phobia', 'Sunny Side Upar', 'Swaaha', 'Pinni', 'Sleeping Partner' and 'Thappad' are the seven short films that constitute the anthology. 

    Basking in the success of the digital show 'Backbenchers', India's homegrown e-commerce marketplace is gearing up to stream its collaboration with Sikhya Entertainment on Flipkart Video, which is available on the Flipkart app itself. 

    The anthology is produced by Guneet Monga's Sikhya Entertainment. Some of the most impactful and acclaimed productions to Monga's credit are Gangs Of Wasseypur – Part 1 and Part 2, The Lunchbox, Masaan, Tigers, Dasvidaniya and Haraamkhor. Not to mention, her filmography as a producer includes the Oscar-nominated short film, Kavi, Oscar-winning short documentary, 'Period. End Of Sentence' and the Bhuvan Bam-starrer Plus Minus that won the Filmfare Award for Best Short Film. 

    The seven short slice-of-life films touch upon online romance, the innocence of childhood, the confusion of old age, the construct of being loved in a marriage, infidelity, a woman owning her role in the family and standing up for yourself when it's the hardest to do so. Themes as powerful as these have been crafted and explored in the films in small doses, that offer a bittersweet flavoured entertainment. 

    Speaking about the 'first look' of the upcoming Flipkart Video Original, Flipkart Growth and Monetisation VP Prakash Sikaria says, “Zindagi inShort is a unique collection of heartwarming stories, that everyone will be able to relate to, in one way or the other. Every story represents different stages of life, and bittersweet moments that can at times, accompany them. We are excited about this partnership with Guneet's Sikhya Entertainment and we are thrilled to provide a powerful storytelling platform for these young creators.”

    Says Guneet, "As the title suggests, Zindagi inShort has been an endeavor to capture various nuances of everyday life in short. Our anthology comprises of seven extraordinary stories, drawn from everyday lives with a promising twist, directed by seven unique voices. We are excited to bring our fresh slate of Sikhya shorts on Flipkart Video, which will help us connect with over 200 million Flipkart customers across India."

    Starring Neena Gupta, Shishir Sharma, Srishti Srivastava, Sanjay Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Deepak Dobriyal, Isha Talwar, Jitin Gulati, Nakul  Mehta, Manjot Singh, Nidhi Singh, Jagdish Nandi, Hiral Parekh, Aayan Modi, Abbas Syyad, Ajmal Khurshid, Aisha Ahmed, Geeta Agarwal Sharma, Rytasha Rathore, Rima Kallingal, Swaroop Sampat, Shafin Patel, Vedika Nawani and Arun Kushwah among others, helmed by directors Punarvasu Naik, Tahira Kashyap, Rakesh Sain, Gautam Govind Sharma, Vijayeta Kumar, Smrutika Panigrahi and Vinay Chawwal and produced by Sikhya Entertainment in association with Flipkart Video, Zindagi inShort is slated to stream on the video platform on the 19 February 2020.

  • Golden Globe, BAFTA and Emmy Award winning sci-fi drama The Handmaid’s Tale Now Available On Amazon Prime Video

    Golden Globe, BAFTA and Emmy Award winning sci-fi drama The Handmaid’s Tale Now Available On Amazon Prime Video

    MUMBAI: Elisabeth Moss starter The Handmaid’s Tale is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The sci-fi series set in a dystopian future tells the tale of a woman who is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship. Prime Members can now enjoy all three seasons of the Award winning TV Series The Handmaid's Tale, as it exclusively launches on Amazon Prime Video starting 31st January, 2020. Amazon Prime Video recently added seasons 1 and 2 along with the exclusive launch of season 3 to give viewers an ultimate binge watching experience.

    The Handmaid's Tale Season 3 Synopsis

    The 3rd season of the Emmy Award®-winning "The Handmaid's Tale" is driven by June's (Elisabeth Moss) resistance to the regime of Gilead, in which she finds herself once again after opting not to flee to Canada with her baby at the end of season 2.

    Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest & exclusive movies and TV shows, Stand-Up Comedy, biggest Indian and Hollywood films, US TV series, most popular Indian & international kids’ shows, and award-winning Amazon Originals, all available, ad-free, with a world class customer experience. The service includes titles available in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali.

    To watch the newest releases in Hollywood & Bollywood, the latest US TV shows, kids’ favorite toons and Amazon Originals, please visit www.PrimeVideo.com or download the Amazon Prime Video app today and sign-up for a Prime membership only at ₹999 annually or ₹129 monthly.

  • MX Player partners with OnePlus for OnePlus TV Q1 series

    MX Player partners with OnePlus for OnePlus TV Q1 series

    MUMBAI: Dominating the entertainment market as the leading video streaming app for 2019, MX Player has created a strong foothold in the streaming world since its launch. Going beyond the 6-inch screens and expanding its wide user base, the platform has announced a partnership with OnePlus, the global technology brand, for the OnePlus TV Q1 series.

    This collaboration will enable the viewer to watch MX Player’s premium web series’ like Queen, Hello Mini, Madhuri Talkies, TV shows like Bold and Beautiful and Hindi dubbed films like Max Steel, Dear Comrade, The Expendables 2 amongst other offerings from its large content library on the smart TV. The service is available on the OnePlus TV Q1 series from 5 February onwards.

    MX Player marketing and business partnerships head Abhishek Joshi said, “Our vision of everytainment encompasses not just mobile screens but any avenue that will help us provide entertainment for our users and their discerning needs. We are glad to be associating with One Plus TV which accelerates our growth and expands our reach through bigger screens and connected TVs that promise a huge future uptake. Their technology along with our specially curated shows will enable audiences to watch premium content for free, on a screen of their choice.”

    OnePlus India general manager Vikas Agarwal said “We are thrilled to have MX Player on board and expand our suite of entertainment offerings. Given our community-first approach, we are sure our community will enjoy spending hours watching TV shows/movies on MX Player”.

    The entertainment app offers viewers multi-genre and multilingual MX Originals and Exclusives along with an online library of premium content, the best in class offline video playing capabilities, audio music and now games – all on one common platform.