MUMBAI: Don’t miss out on any games as Hotstar VIP brings you the best of all sporting action LIVE from across the world. From Kabaddi to Cricket, Tennis to Football, Mixed Martial Arts to Water Sports, viewers can enjoy these games anytime, anywhere and across multiple languages.
MUMBAI: ZEE5 gives a new avatar to Ganesh aarti ‘Shendur Lal Chadhayo’ along withRahul Vaidya and two extremely skilled beat boxers – BeatRAW and D-Cypher for Ganesh Chaturthi. The song has been put together without the use of any instruments.
Sounds of instruments like dhol, conch (Shank), manjira have all been created by mouth alone. The track also has an intriguing video which showcases how all the sounds were created. The video end with a key message – ‘Your voice is important. Raise it for the right reasons.’
Talking about his experience Rahul Vaidya said, “ I recently released my new single ‘Jayaz’ with ZEE5 during which they shared the idea of #raiseyourvoice. I was immediately on board and we put together this aarti in our endeavour to spread the message. I had a great time creating this trackwith BeatRAW and D-Cypher. They are extremely talented and I am truly happy to collaborate with them.”
D-Cypher shares, “Music is my life and it always excites me to meet like-minded musicians like Rahul and D-Cypher to create new sound tracks. We did this for a meaningful initiative and I hope viewers love listening to it on ZEE5.”
GaneshAartiXBeatboxingis exclusively available on ZEE5.
Amsterdam: Videosys Broadcast, a leading supplier of quality camera control systems, RF links and camera backs to outside broadcast providers will unveil Epsilon, the company’s new multi-function broadcast RF camera control system at IBC 2019, on stand 10.F21. Epsilon includes a fully integrated 4K decoder and receiver and is an ideal solution for HD and 4K live sports and music events.
Epsilon is comprised of base and head modules with the decoder, receiver, camera control and fibre contained in one single base unit. This means that the operator only has to rig one unit instead of the traditional four units. The base unit is then connected via a single SMPTE cable to the head unit, further reducing cabling and removing the complexity of set-up and maintenance. By significantly reducing rig time and equipment count, Epsilon delivers wide area coverage in stadia, large studio environments, houses of worship and educational centres in a simple and efficient way. Epsilon works seamlessly with the 4K Aeon-CC digital video transmitter to provide the complete 4K wireless RF system.
Colin Tomlin, Managing Director, Videosys Broadcast says, “We understand the complexities associated with deployments of a wireless RF system for live events, whether that’s for sport, music or live studio shows. With the increase in demand for 4K services, the deployment has become more complex and costly. As a result, we created the Epsilon 4K system to simplify 4K management by reducing equipment count and cost of deployment. We are excited to showcase Epsilon at IBC 2019 and look forward to seeing our customers’ reactions on the stand.”
Videosys Broadcast is a leading supplier of quality camera control systems, RF links and camera backs to outside broadcast providers. At the forefront of technological innovation, Videosys Broadcast has successfully partnered with leading technology companies including, DTC, Wave Central, Hitachi, Panasonic, Ikegami, and Grass Valley. The company, which has over 500 deployments worldwide, manages projects and design from concept to the finished article from its UK head office. Its systems are used by all the major broadcasters and operators around the world. Live events broadcast using Videosys Broadcast systems include the Olympics, Tour de France, the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race and Premier league, to name a few.
Hackensack, NJ: LiveU and Griiip have announced an extended partnership, integrating complementary racing series content solutions for broadcasters and streaming services to create a cost-effective, end-to-end video and data platform. The partnership combines LiveU’s ability to establish high-quality and reliable remote live broadcasts with Griiip’s data content solutions for engaging motorsport programming.
The two companies have been cooperating for the past two years and the solution has been successfully implemented in this year’s G1 Series across Europe, watched by fans around the world, including on ESPN in Brazil. Other Formula series are also now evaluating the solution for their own races.
LiveU provides a compelling, cost-effective way to deliver a flawless HD live video experience – from inside the racing cars, around the tracks, and from airborne drones – without the need for any complex infrastructure, using unique bonded cellular technology.
Griiip develops data-based content solutions for Motorsport series. It makes racing vehicles smart and connected, and uses the data collected to create engaging layers and insights using AI and deep analysis for fans, drivers and gamers. Griiip makes racing content more compelling for racing series, and as a result, for broadcasters, streaming platforms, viewers and gamers.
Ronen Artman, VP Marketing of LiveU said: “Our collaboration with Griiip has been a true game changer. Together we’ve created a uniquely exhilarating and informative live viewing experience and broadcast solution. We believe that the combined Griiip and LiveU platform will become the motorsport industry standard going forward because of the incredible value it provides.”
With the official partnership in place, LiveU’s and Griiip’s joint products offer a Plug & Play solution for collecting, editing and distributing live videos, compiled with data-centric content for storytelling and enhanced viewer engagement, enriching the broadcasting of Motorsports content like never before.
Tamir Plachinsky, CEO of Griiip said: “Our platform brings viewers live-action directly from the track or other motorsport venues and intensifies viewers’ experiences. By analyzing the data coming from the vehicles and drivers, we provide all this information to viewers in an engaging, storytelling and easy-to-understand format. Combining our data and viewer engagement solutions with LiveU’s state-of-the-art live HD video experience, we can efficiently deliver truly innovative content, bringing increasing value to media partners, racing leagues, viewers and gamers.”
LiveU and Griiip’s joint solution will be on display at IBC2019 on the LiveU stand (3.B62).
Photo caption: Combined Griiip and LiveU motorsports media solutions platform
MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Video today released the first look of its much-awaited Amazon Original Series The Family Man, in the form of a character poster shot on a OnePlus smartphone. Marking a first of its kind reveal, this association is an extension of the long-standing partnership between OnePlus and Amazon.
The first official character poster features Srikant Tiwari – the lead protagonist, played by Padma Shri Awardee and National Award winner Manoj Bajpayee, shot exclusively on a OnePlus smartphone. Created by the dynamic duo of Krishna D.K. and Raj Nidimoru, Amazon Original Series The Family Man is set to release this September, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video across 200 countries and territories. The trailer for the show releases September 5.
In addition to the first look poster, OnePlus will also be setting up interactive billboards across India that audiences can engage with using the camera on their smartphones to access exclusive virtual content about the show.
“India is a mobile first country and a large number of our customers love to watch Amazon Prime Video on their smartphones. We constantly look to engage and delight this fast-growing customer base with our compelling content and innovative marketing initiatives. We are excited about this unique collaboration with OnePlus for our latest Amazon Original The Family Man, which includes the first reveal of the character poster, that was shot exclusively on a OnePlus phone. We look forward to delighting our ardent mobile-first customers with this sneak peek into the compelling and gritty world of The Family Man,” Amazon Prime Video India director and country GM Gaurav Gandhi said.
“With our smartphones, we are constantly thinking of different ways in which we can engage our community in new ways. Our association with Amazon Prime Video is a result of the synergy between both brands and our common philosophy and it seemed like a very natural fit to unveil the new Amazon Original Series, The Family Man character poster through an image shot on a OnePlus device,” OnePlus India generale manager Vikas Agarwal said.
MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel (Airtel), India’s largest integrated telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its converged digital entertainment play: Airtel Xstream.
Airtel Xstream is part of Airtel’s vision of building a world-class digital entertainment ecosystem for Digital India and make it accessible to customers through innovative devices and exciting applications. Over the coming months, Airtel plans to roll out a range of exciting solutions to cater to the entertainment needs of every customer segment of India that is getting transformed through rapid adoption of high speed data services.
All the content on one platform, delivered across screens: Airtel Xstream brings one of the widest entertainment catalogues – hundreds of satellite TV channels, tens of thousands of movies and shows in English, Hindi and multiple Indian languages, millions of songs, plus access to all the popular OTT entertainment apps on one platform. It enables customers to access all this content across the screen of their choice – TV, PC, and Smartphone with a unified User Interface.
Future Ready platform for connected Homes: Airtel Xstream devices will come with capabilities beyond world-class entertainment and will be the IoT gateway for enabling a range of solutions for connected homes.
Exclusive benefits for Airtel Thanks customers: Airtel Thanks customers will enjoy exclusive benefits on Airtel Xstream, including free access to premium content from Airtel’s content catalogue plus offers on a range of other services.
Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel chief product officer Adarsh Nair said, “Airtel is on an exciting mission to provide a broad array of digital services and platforms that can form the foundation for a rising India. As part of our digital entertainment play, our vision is to truly massify digital entertainment and make it accessible to more and more customers through innovative platforms.
“Today, we are announcing India’s first converged entertainment platform Airtel Xstream that brings together your favorite content including Live TV, video, music, news, and sports across an OTT smart stick, internet enabled set top box and handheld devices. Digital India is transforming the way content is being consumed over internet connected devices. Airtel Xstream will cater to needs of a new generation of consumers who are looking for seamless and converged entertainment across multiple screens at home and on the go.”
With the launch of Airtel Xstream, Airtel has become the first company in India to enable a seamless digital entertainment experience, with a unified user interface across all screens. Airtel has rolled out a new range of Airtel Xstream connected devices that will make any TV a smart TV and will be available to customers starting today. Airtel Xstream devices offer blazing-fast performance and slick viewing experience through solid product engineering, deep design excellence coupled with strong device specifications.
Airtel Xstream Stick
An Android 8.0 based OTT stick designed for plug & play experience on any TV screen, the Airtel Xstream Stick comes with a single subscription plan that provides access to all digital entertainment at a one-stop destination with over 10,000 movies and shows from top OTT content partners like ZEE5, Hooq, Hoi Choi, Eros Now, HungamaPlay, ShemarooMe, Ultra and Curiosity Stream, in addition to over 6 million songs from Wynk Music’s library. The Airtel Xstream Stick will also provide access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other Google Playstore applications to enable users to download any app of their choice.
The Airtel Xstream Stick with built-in Chromecast is powered by best-in-class 1.6 Ghz processor. The stick remote comes with voice enabled search feature and Bluetooth 4.2 makes it faster and more energy efficient.
The Airtel Xstream Stick is priced at Rs 3999/-. Airtel Thanks Platinum and Gold customers get complimentary access to the content subscription plan on Airtel Xstream Stick. All other customers get free access to the content for the first 30 days and will need to subscribe to a Rs 999/- annual plan to continue enjoying the exciting content catalogue.
For the launch of Airtel Xstream Stick, Airtel has partnered with Flipkart as the exclusive online partner. The stick will also be available starting today across leading Airtel retail stores, airtel.in, top electronic retail chains like Croma and Vijay Sales.
Airtel Xstream Box
Powered by Android 9.0, the Airtel Xstream 4K Hybrid Box seamlessly brings satellite TV and OTT content together onto the TV screen with the convenience of a single device, making any regular TV a smart TV.
Along with the option to choose from 500 plus TV channels, the Airtel Xstream Box comes preinstalled with Airtel Xstream app (10,000 plus movies and shows), Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube and Airtel Store (for advanced gaming with high end graphics).
The Airtel Xstream Box has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and built-in Chromecast. It comes with a universal remote that features Google Assistant based voice search and hot keys for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube.
Priced at Rs 3999, the Airtel Xstream Box comes with a complimentary one year subscription (worth Rs 999) to all Airtel Xstream app content in addition to one month subscription to a HD DTH pack.
All existing Airtel Digital TV customers can upgrade to Airtel Xstream Box at a special price of Rs 2249 only.
Airtel Xstream Box is available starting today across leading Airtel retail stores, airtel.in and top e-commerce sites like Flipkart, Amazon and electronic retail chains like Croma and Vijay Sales.
Airtel Xstream App and Web access
Airtel Xstream app is a revamped version of Airtel TV app. The refreshed app has a new User Interface and much sharper content discovery and recommendation engine. Airtel Xstream app continues to have one of the widest content catalogues with over 400 LIVE TV channels and 10,000 plus movies and shows from top content providers like ZEE5, Hooq, Eros Now, HungamaPlay and much more.
MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has been betting big on devotional category with its recent show launch of Shemaroo Bhakti Studio. From launching devotional devices to various shows and apps in the last one year, this segment has definitely emerged as an important part of its overall business strategy. The content powerhouse has seen impressive growth in this category too.
Shemaroo Entertainment CEO Hiren Gada spoke to Indiantelevision.com on Shemaroo's growth, focus on devotional category and show availability on various platforms.
Will the new show be exclusive to your OTT platform?
I would not really call it a show. It is much larger than just a show. It is a platform for new talent, music and devotional content to get created and discovered. So, it will be available on all distribution platforms – DTH, digital and on Shemaroo Me, Shemaroo Bhakti. It will be available on YouTube too. Even the audio part will be available on all the major audio streaming platforms. The whole idea is that it is the platform which is important. Essentially, we want to put together, create this platform where talent and content can be created, promoted, discovered and the audience also can have easy access to this talent.
Which is the key demographic you are targeting through this show?
Devotion actually cuts across age. The idea will be that the younger audience is better served with this kind of content.
How has been the initial response to your recent devotional device?
The initial response has been very good. We just launched a third device into devotional space which is a smaller device Bhajanbani which has 221 songs and aartis of Ganesh because Ganpati festival is coming up. We just launched that a few days ago. It comes in Hindi and Marathi languages and is priced at Rs 2000 a month. Earlier products were priced at Rs 4500 and had more content and powerful speakers. Right now we are placing it in retail and different parts of the country, opening new distribution channels and tying up with more distribution outlets.
How important is devotional segment in your overall digital strategy?
It's a very important focus for us. In terms of scale, even today Bollywood has a large scale. This is one more important initiative for us. This, I hope, will expand the market in terms of connecting different kinds of consumers to the devotional category.
How do you expect devotional segment to contribute to your overall revenue?
We are in the process of putting our business plan together. Definitely, devotional will form an important part of our overall business mix. I would still say at this point that Bollywood definitely is a large contributor and the market won’t change in a hurry.
How has the category grown in the last one year?
I think we have experienced good growth particularly because we have been investing in content in a big way. We have been investing in production value. Shemaroo Bhakti Studio is an example of the kind of investment we are making in terms of creating a platform for talent, investing in the production values and marketing etc. As a result of all of that, we have seen very good growth on our platforms.
MUMBAI: ZEE5, India’s fastest growing OTT platform, will now be available on 2015-16 LG Smart TVs owing to successful backward compatibility on Web OS version 3.0 to 3.5. ZEE5 will be available on all existing LG Smart TVs as well as soon-to-be-launched models. With the addition of this, ZEE5 will be available across large spectrum of connected devices widening its penetration across the country.
Rajneel Kumar, Business Head Expansion Projects & Head of Products, ZEE5 India said, “TV-connected devices are creating an immersive viewing experience on large screens and Smart TVs. At ZEE5, we are at the forefront of fuelling this change and backward compatibility on LG Smart TVs is a testament to our efforts. With 100,000+ hours of content in 12 languages, we want all consumers to enjoy the best of content on a large screen further enhancing their viewing experience.”
In addition to LG, backward compatibility is underway for all the Samsung Smart TVs. ZEE5 shows and movies will be available for download from the LG content store. Users can utilise existing free surfing mode and premium subscriptions to enjoy a large screen experience at their home. Users using ZEE5 TV app on Samsung and LG Web OS 3.0+ can also enjoy features such as easy payment using Paytm QR code and before TV where premium users get early access to their favourite episodes.
MUMBAI: Viu, a leading pan-regional OTT video service from PCCW Media Group, and HBO Asia jointly announce their partnership in the second season of Viu Original’s The Bridge, which will begin shooting its second 10-episode season this year and will be simulcast on Viu and HBO Asia’s channels and services in early 2020.
Loosely based on the second season of the original series, season two will pick up one year after where the story ended in season one. A yacht registered in Singapore drifts ashore in Johor with a deceased Indonesian family on board. Investigating the slew of serial killings that ensue, the characters become mired in a web of treachery, deceit and personal tragedy.
Mr. Jonathan Spink, Chief Executive Officer of HBO Asia, said, “HBO Asia is delighted to once again partner with Viu and PCCW Media Group on the second season of The Bridge. This series, an Asian adaptation of the successful licensed format, which is produced in association with Viu, will complement our growing slate of HBO Asia Original productions that are available to a global audience.”
Ms. Janice Lee, Managing Director of PCCW Media Group, said, “Our partnership with Endemol Shine and HBO Asia on the second season of The Bridge is taking our collaboration to a higher level. We are excited to extend on the success of the first season with a storyline that resonates with audiences in Asia and take it even further by adding new elements.”
Ms. Rashmi Bajpai, Executive Director Asia of Endemol Shine International, said, “We are thrilled about Viu's faith in renewing The Bridge. It has been a stellar example of knitting together the nuances – culturally, creatively and commercially to produce a drama that has worked in a diverse region. The commissioning of the second season reinforces our belief in the potential of scripted formats in Asia and we hope this will pave the way for many more co-productions.”
The Bridge is licensed from global producer and distributor Endemol Shine Group. Viu is also working with longtime partner Double Vision to produce season two, as it did with the first season.
The second season will be available on Viu in all its markets as well as on HBO Asia’s network of channels and services, including HBO, HBO GO and HBO ON DEMAND, across 24 territories.
The Bridge was originally created and written by Hans Rosenfeldt as a joint production of Sweden's Filmlance International, part of Endemol Shine Group and Denmark's Nimbus Film. The Bridge (Bron/Broen) was produced in co-production with Sveriges Television, DR, ZDF German Television network, ZDF Enterprises Gmbh, Film i Skåne, NRK, Copenhagen Film Fund, Lumiere Group, Stiftelsen Ystad Österlen Filmfond, Norvision and in co-operation with Malmö Stad. It has aired in more than 188 territories/countries and spawned localized remakes in the U.K/France, the United States/Mexico, Germany/Austria, Russia/Estonia and Serbia/Croatia.
MUMBAI: Vigo Video, a short-video platform, today announced the launch of the trailer of India’s first-ever vertical web-series titled Pyaar Tera Superstar. Based on the millennial love relationship of Divyanka Sirohi, a Vigo Creator, the web series revolves around her digital romance, which eventually blossomed into a real-life love story.
Catch the trailer of India’s first vertical web series: https://youtu.be/-USwiWfONWI
The web-series, which is shot in a vertical format to resonate better with smartphone users, will be released on Vigo Video on September 3.
