Category: Over The Top Services

New India’s Budget with fresh ideas, methods and solutions analyzed and simplified by Moneycontrol

MUMBAI: The upcoming 90th Union Budget carries the expectations of more than a million people. Presented by the country's first female finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, on July 5, the budget seeks to lay down the PM's focus on the vision of a New India. The budget with a focus to resolve pressing issues aims to propel the nation towards progress and formulate new solutions for existing policies and reforms. Recognized as the go-to-destination for one and all on Budget Day, moneycontrol endeavors to provide its users an expert-led and data-driven analysis of the budget for its audience. Following the phenomenal viewership of its reportage on the earlier editions of the Budget, this year, moneycontrol with #TheNewIndiaBudget will present its discerning readers with real-time, in-depth analysis of the budget.

Regarded as the foundation for the growth of New India, the first budget post the largest democratic election is expected to be an innovative/ disruptive echo of the interim budget with specific attention towards social welfare. Moneycontrol, as the market leader in the finance and business news sector will bring together industry veterans and thought leaders to present insightful and in-depth analytical inputs. Charting out the country's economic future for the next year, moneycontrol, will offer its audience an unrivalled round-the-clock coverage to cover the impact and effect both in the short term and the long term.

In addition to finance sector, moneycontrol will also highlight the reforms and policies that the government has in store regarding jobs, taxes, farmers and households and will feature critical issues that require immediate attention and amendments. Battling the war of eyeballs, moneycontrol will cement its foundation as the foremost leader by laying impetus towards financial literacy and raising audiences’ awareness of the larger ramifications thereby allowing the investor to make better informed decision.

Commenting on this Mr. Gautam Shelar, Business Head, moneycontrol said, “The upcoming budget is set to be of immense importance due to the task at hand for the government to resolve the issues that the country faces, in addition to aligning to the PM's vision of a New India. Through #TheNewIndiaBudget, we, at moneycontrol, want to let our audiences know in the best ways possible about the innovation and novelty that the government aims to bring in the form of new ideas, methods and solutions that will take them one step closer towards a New India. With audiences seeking information on such an important day, it is necessary that we decode policies and reforms in a manner that they find easy to grasp and understand in a convenient format. With the customer at the very core of what moneycontrol stands for, we once again endeavor to make a mark as experts in the field of finance and business on one of the biggest days for the country's economic future."

July 4, 2019
ZEE5 to take Bangladeshi entertainment content to global audiences

MUMBAI: At a grand joint press conference with Robi Axiata Limited held in Dhaka today, ZEE5, the largest global streaming platform for South Asians and beyond, announced its plans to take Bangladeshi entertainment content to global audiences.

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global shared the platform’s vision of establishing a deep partnership with Bangladesh by working closely with local talent and local production houses and giving them a global platform. The announcement came at the formal launch of the service for Robi and Airtel subscribers in Bangladesh.

ZEE5 shared that it will be launching six projects in Bangla over the next one year. For these projects, it will work with some leading artistes from the local entertainment industry. Besides, it will also organize a talent hunt programme for fresh new faces who will get a chance to work in these shows. This talent hunt will be rolled out in association with Robi Axiata Limited. Details of the talent hunt programme will be shared in due course.

Commenting on the announcement, Amit Goenka, CEO, ZEE International and Z5 Global said “As we move forward with our global expansion and deepen our presence in key markets, establishing meaningful conversations in these markets will be key. We’re very pleased to be here in Bangladesh to formally announce our partnership with Robi-Airtel and share the various plans we have for this very important market.”

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer-ZEE5 Global said, “Bangladesh is a hugely important market for us and we are thrilled by the tremendous response we have got already. We have a fabulous Bangla content bouquet especially curated for Bangladesh including Originals across genres, Movies, TV Shows and Live Streaming channels like ZEE Bangla. We’ve also got several initiatives in the pipeline to work with the local talent and production houses here for our shows and closely collaborate with them to showcase all this on our global platform.”

Commenting on the launch of ZEE5 for Robi and Airtel customers, Robi’s Managing Director and CEO, Mahtab Uddin Ahmed said: “We are confident that ZEE5 is going to be an absolute delight for Robi and Airtel customers looking for quality entertainment content. The richness and variety of its content that includes wide ranging Bangla content will surely satisfy our customers’ entertainment appetite. With easy payment process, our customers can sit back and enjoy their favourite shows from ZEE from a variety of digital devices. With the launch of ZEE5 in

Bangladesh, we are also very proud to have created an opportunity for the local entertainment industry to collaborate with an international entertainment giant like, ZEE5, for taking our local content to the global audience.”

Also present at the occasion were Moinul Hasan Nobel, the Bangladeshi heartthrob singer from ZEE Bangla’s show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, and Ushasi Ray, the actress who plays the title role in the popular drama serial, Bokul Katha.. Among Bangladeshi celebrities, prominent actor, Chanchal Chowdhury, popular ramp model and actress, Airin Sultana and television presenter, model and actress, Masuma Rahman Nabila were also present at the launch programme.

They shared their excitement on the launch of ZEE5 in Bangladesh and the partnership with Robi and Airtel, and reflected on the immense potential this partnership is set to unleash for the local entertainment industry.

The event saw a special acoustic performance by Nobel. Commenting on this marquee moment for ZEE5, he said, “ZEE and ZEE5 have given many artistes like us a global platform, giving us international exposure and opportunities. With ZEE5 now in Bangladesh, the talent here will also have a great opportunity to showcase their work to audiences across the globe and build up their fan-base internationally.”

Robi’s Chief Commercial Officer, Pradeep Shrivastava and Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer, Shahed Alam were also present at the programme.

Robi and Airtel customers can choose between a daily or a weekly subscription pack to enjoy the content available on ZEE5. The daily pack is priced at 7 taka and the weekly pack is priced at 45 taka only. Through this partnership, customers will also be able to easily pay for a ZEE5 subscription from their mobile balance, if they are pre-paid customers, or have it included in their monthly bills, if they are post-paid customers of Robi and Airtel.

Robi and Airtel subscribers can access ZEE5 from five different devices at a time, allowing them complete freedom to watch the world class entertainment content on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, smart TVs, etc. They can use Robi’s countrywide 4.5G network or any WiFi network to avail the service.

As part of the ZEE5 subscription pack, Robi and Airtel customers will have access to over 1,00,000 hours of entertainment content across 17 languages, including a vast library of Bengali content across TV Shows, Movies. Originals across genres like crime, thrillers. drama, comedy etc. ZEE5’s rich library also includes more than 60 LIVE TV channels, including the much loved channel ZEE Bangla.

July 4, 2019
GAIL launches ‘Hawa Badle Hassu’ an Environmental Sci–Fi webseries on SonyLiv

Mumbai: As a part of its ‘Hawa Badlo’ initiative, GAIL (India) Limited launches the much awaited web series “Hawa Badle Hassu”. The one of its kind campaign keeps growing with each leg and this time around the company has embarked upon a unique and ambitious approach of a full season of a web series. The series is heavily hinged on entertainment conspicuously conveying the messages that company stands for- crusade against air pollution and environment conservation.

Hawa Badle Hassu is an Environmental Sci-Fi thriller web series with a total of forty minute run time broken into 4 episodes. Each episode tackles crucial spaces and aspects pertaining to Environment (pollution). The first episode focuses on ‘Home Environment’ and as the story progresses it moves to cover topics like ‘Education and career building options around environment’, ‘Outdoor Environment’ and finally escalates to ‘Global Environment’. Actors from mainstream Hindi cinema have been cast for all key roles with Chandan Roy Sanyal essaying the lead and titular role of “Hassu”. Sanyal is joined by Smita Tambe, Vikram Kochar and Hollywood actor Zachary Coffin in meaty roles.

Speaking on the web series, Mr. R.K Singhal, Executive Director (Marketing-Shipping & Int. LNG& CC) stated, “As GAIL India’s Hawa Badlo campaign keeps growing and we keep getting more ambitious. Right from the outset it has garnered positive response and we have been able to make the right impact. This time around we wanted to see a culmination of what we started three years back. Its 40 minute of engaging content and Hassu keeps you hooked on. Hawa Badle Hassu is path breaking and out of the box thinking at its best. No better medium than entertainment to convey an important message.”

He added, “The best part about this series is that at no point it gets preachy which is why you would want to go through it, grasp and retain the messaging. Also if you have been tracking the Hawa Badlo campaigns you would notice that we come up with something unique each time. It was a short video in its first leg and then we came up with a music video as HawaBadlo Anthem but each time impactful story telling has been with our core messaging has been top priority”.

The series is co- written & produced by Protiqe Mojoomdar (Handyyman) who has been associated with the Hawa Badlo Campaign earlier as well. Hawa Badle Hassu is directed by duo- Shaptaraj- Shiva and it is launched on leading OTT platform SonyLiv. The series comes close on the heels of World Environment day.

GAIL (India) Limited has been creating awareness and inducing behavioral changes to ensure a greener and cleaner tomorrow through its movement – Hawa Badlo. This movement has been actively working towards educating the Indian masses against air pollution through events, short films, contests, raahgiri, pledges etc on advocacy against air pollution, problems caused due to air pollution & solutions for curbing it. For the last three years Hawa Badlo movement has been able to mobilize collective societal efforts for improving the deteriorating air quality in India. GAIL (India) Ltd has been extending full support to Hawa Badlo and the movement has been successful in reaching out to more than 6 Crore Indians. Videos and short films made under this initiative have been appreciated by other countries as well.

Hawa Badlo encourages sustainable and environment friendly lifestyle habits such as planting trees, cycling & walking, carpooling, using public transport, conserving energy and using cleaner energy sources like Natural Gas for industries, CNG for automobiles &PNG for commercial uses. It produced significant content like Hawa Badlo Anthem- #BringBackTheBlueSkies featuring leading web series actor Amol Parashar and sung by celebrated playback singers like Javed Ali & Harshdeep Kaur. Hawa Badle Hassu is now available for public viewing on SonyLiv app.

July 4, 2019
ZEE5 Partners with Lowe Lintas to drive its Global Creative Strategy

MUMBAI: Global streaming platform ZEE5 today announced that it has appointed Lowe Lintas as its creative partner to drive its creative strategy across international markets. This mandate was won following a multi-agency pitch. The brand will be handled by the agency’s Mumbai office.

With a bouquet of 100,000 hours of On demand content across genres like Movies, Originals, TV Shows etc. across 12 languages and 60+ Live TV channels, ZEE5 has, over the months since its global launch, quickly carved a clear niche for itself in the hearts of South Asians around the world.

In April 2019, ZEE5 further extended its reach to also target mainstream audiences with the introduction of content in five new languages – Bahasa Malaysia, Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, German and Russian. Introducing ZEE5 to these audiences was the campaign ‘Extreme Emotion’, jointly crafted by the teams at ZEE5 (Global) and Lowe Lintas, which taps into the huge love for Bollywood movies and Indian TV Shows that exists the world over.

As ZEE5 fuels its momentum across key markets, it looks to drive much deeper relationships with audiences in these markets through localization of both its content and communication, and this is where Lowe Lintas will bring in their expertise.

Commenting on the partnership, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “Driving more meaningful conversations with our audiences across markets is a key part of our agenda for the year, and how well we can engage them through our communication will play a critical role in that. We needed to work with a creative partner who could bring in strong creative ideas that lend themselves well to localization, and that are backed by strategic insights, and Lowe Lintas brings that to the table. We’re happy to have them on board as our creative partners in this next phase of ZEE5’s growth.”

“It’s a pleasure to partner with ZEE5,” says Anaheeta Goenka, President Lowe Lintas. She further added, “We are working closely with their truly entrepreneurial and driven team to launch ZEE5 globally. An interesting challenge as we collectively work on cracking a global positioning that travels across geographies, mindsets and is deeply culturally connecting to the content.

July 3, 2019
Snapchat serves up wimbledon fun with new ‘Bitmoji Tennis’ game

MUMBAI: Ace! Hit the courts with friends in Bitmoji Tennis, a new, made-for-Snapchat game, now available exclusively on Snap Games, Snapchat’s real-time multiplayer gaming platform found right within Chat.

Tap to serve the ball and run left and right — your racket will swing automatically when you get near the ball. Tilt your device to aim your shot — Wimbledon, here you come! The first player to five points wins.

Snapchatters can train solo, challenge a friend to a match, or hit the courts with a group of friends for rounds of winner-takes-next. Tap ‘Stats’ in the main menu to view your win count, best streak, longest rally and more. You can also upgrade your tennis racket by watching a short ad between games.

All Snap Games are designed for synchronous, high-fidelity mobile gameplay between friends, built on the powerful PlayCanvas game engine. Launched this past April, Snap Games features a curated selection of both first and third-party titles, such as Bitmoji Party and Zynga’s Tiny Royale. Bitmoji Tennis is Snap’s second original title following Bitmoji party and was created in house by Snap Games Studio.

Open a Chat or Group Chat and tap the rocket icon in the Chat Bar to launch Snap Games. Tap ‘Bitmoji Tennis’ in the game drawer and start serving!

July 2, 2019
SonyLIV to launch India’s first OTT gaming destination with exclusive augmented reality and show based games, targets 50 MN users

MUMBAI: In an industry first, SonyLIV announced the launch of India’s first OTT gaming destination with over 100 exclusive show-based games, to be launched in a phased manner. With this move, SonyLIV aims to reach out to 50 MN new users offering them a one-stop gaming destination. These games are curated around some of Sony Pictures Networks’ (SPN) biggest IP’s across channels like KBC, CID, Crime Patrol, The Kapil Sharma Show, Patiala Babes, Baalveer, Kicko & Super Speedo, amongst others.

SonyLIV is not only scaling up its portfolio with Multiplayer Video Quiz and Augmented Reality-enabled formats but Is again the first OTT player in the country to launch show-based games. This is another pioneering first from SonyLIV, which was the first OTT to be launched in the Indian market in 2013.

As per a recent *KPMG report, the Indian gaming industry is estimated at INR 43.8 billion in FY18 and is expected to grow further at 22.1% CAGR taking it to INR 118.8 billion by 2023. Increased digital usage and the rise in the number of gamers, will be key in headlining this growth in online gaming. SonyLIV’s launch of the OTT gaming destination is reflective of this progress and is sure to catalyse more change in audience consumption patterns.

Home to an ever-growing content catalogue, SonyLIV aims to tap over 50 MN new users with this one of a kind gaming experience. From video quiz formats to uniquely designed board games to big ticket tournaments, there is something for everyone between the age group of 7-35 years in this one-stop gaming destination. In addition to this, SonyLIV will also introduce exciting Augmented Reality (AR) games around iconic shows from Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) like Crime Patrol, Baalveer, CID, Aladdin Naam To Suna Hoga, and Tenali Rama amongst others.

The platform will also introduce an array of user engagement features to gratify winners with abundant opportunities. With the Game Store hosting a 24X7 tournament feature, consumers will stand a chance to win cash anywhere between Rs 1/- to Rs 5000/- depending upon the size and duration of the tournament. But that’s not all! For the first time ever, through the “Daily Rewards Feature” users will also stand a chance to meet-and-greet celebrities or attend famous shows like KBC, Indian Idol, The Kapil Sharma Show, Super Dancer and others just by playing games on the platform.

July 1, 2019
ALTBalaji creates many firsts with its marketing campaign for latest series Booo-Sabki Phategi

MUMBAI: India’s leading home-grown OTT platform, ALTBalaji has been going full throttle in marketing its latest web-series, Booo-Sabki Phategi. Starring Tusshar Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Krushna Abhishek, Sanjay Mishra, Kiku Sharda amongst many others, the series has been garnering a positive response ever since its announcement. The platform not only has gone all guns blazing with its promotions, but has also sketched an interesting 360- degree awareness campaign, that has grabbed eyeballs aplenty.

Constantly in the public eye for its unique marketing campaigns, ALTBalaji, for the promotion of its latest horror comedy web-series, has associated with electronics retail store chain Vijay Sales for in-store branding of the series. The trailer of Booo-Sabki Phategi will be playing on 100 screens at each of the 80+ Vijay Sales stores across metros. This strategic alliance makes ALTBalaji the first-ever OTT platform to explore in-store branding for a web-series, creating visibility to a captive high networth audience, maximising brand recall and business ROI. Speaking about firsts, the series became the first ever web series to be promoted on the popular ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’. With an extensive media push across mediums, the poster of the series grabbed the attention of viewers through multiple billboards placed across the metro cities.

The campaign also included extensive television promotions tapping into the music and news genres widely. As a part of this campaign, the series pioneered unique associations with broadcast channels like India TV to catch the pulse of the Hindi heartland; 9XM music to tap into the youth-based audience. With an intent to further extend the reach of the brand-new show and engage with local audiences, ALTBalaji also roped in cable TV operators across tier 2 & 3 cities of India, to air the trailer of the web-series.

Engaging with millennial audiences on their preferred platforms, ALTBalaji collaborated with content creators across Instagram and TikTok to drive audience engagement on funny dialogues and moments. The tactic has gone viral and is now being picked up organically by multiple influencers.

The trailer went viral and received more than 40 million views on Instagram and an organic reach of 25 Million views on YouTube within 3 days of the launch. With continuous support from bollywood celebrities like Varun Dhawan, Aftab Shivdasani, Celina Jaitely etc, who also loved and shared the trailer.

Within a few days of the launch fans have posted many memes for the web series which have also appeared on top meme pages like Dekh Bhai, Bcbilli, Real Shit Gyaan.
Special quirky and humorous dialogues have been created and seeded amongst Tik Tok influencers to create a cult for ‘Booo’ dialogues.

Commenting on the unique marketing strategy, Divya Dixit, Sr. VP and Head Marketing, ALTBalaji says, “This is the first time, we at ALTBalaji have explored the horror comedy genre which has never been done before for an Indian web-series on the OTT space. Booo… Sabki Phategi is a series which marks its foray into a whole lot of firsts. From being a digital debut for two fine actors, like Tusshar Kapoor and Mallika Sherawat, to being the first series to integrate with ‘The Kapil Sharma Show’ and in-store branding association with Vijay Sales, it has seen it all. Ensuring it receives the required uptake from our audience, we sketched out a robust marketing strategy that penetrates masses of our country. It is good to see audiences appreciating the approach and the show.”

July 1, 2019
Vice Media India CEO Chanpreet Arora steps down

MUMBAI: Vice Media India CEO Chanpreet Arora has stepped down from her position. The veteran, with more than 15 years of experience as a consultant and entrepreneur, joined the organisation in December 2017. Arora has now joined as Journalist Fellow in Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

She launched the leading global youth brand VICE as a full-scale media company in India and worked in collaboration with some of the most innovative creative teams, brands and personalities.

As a business and strategy expert, Arora has helped redefine and restructure some of the most reputed entities in media, sports and digital in India and abroad.

Arora had also served as head of revenue strategy and sales operations at Times Internet. Here, she set up the revenue strategy and sales operations division in 2016 and was a part of the core team that led the restructuring of the company.

July 1, 2019
Amazon Prime Video unveils the trailer for an All-New season of Amazon Original Series – Comicstaan

MUMBAI: Following the big success of Season 1, Amazon Prime Video now brings an all-new season of Unscripted Amazon Original Series – Comicstaan as part of Prime Day 2019 celebrations. The 8-episode hunt for India’s next big comedy sensation returns with all new contestants, packed with new jokes and a double dose of laughter starting July 12, 2019. This season, popular comedians Zakir Khan, Neeti Palta, along with Season 1 host Sumukhi Suresh join the panel of veteran judges from the first season – Biswa Kaylan Rath, Kanan Gill, Kenny Sebastian and Kaneez Surka. The quick-witted host of Season 1, Abish Mathew, will be joined this time by another popular name in the stand-up comedy circuit, Urooj Ashfaq. Being a weekly release, Prime Members across 200 countries and territories can watch the first three episodes of Comicstaan Season 2 on July 12, followed by a new episode releasing every Friday.

Vijay Subramaniam, Director and Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, said, “When we first launched the service in India, we identified comedy as one of the most important genres for our customers and we focused on providing a strong selection while also creating a disruptive unscripted format for them. We believe we delivered on this promise through Comicstaan Season 1 – which, in many ways, was a game-changer in the way unscripted comedy content is viewed in India. The show with its pioneering format received a phenomenal response from audiences and encouraged us to push the boundaries of creativity further. So here we are, with a brand new season of this exciting show with fantastic new talent, a new jury panel and newer, rib-tickling jokes. Our customers are in for many treats this Prime Day with Comicstaan and much more!

Dhruv Sheth, Managing Partner, OML, said, “Our long standing association with Amazon Prime Video continues to grow stronger through successful launches of great new and original content. We are truly proud of the institution we have created in Comicstaan that is not just a show that’s different, funny and engaging but, with the second, it has also become an institute where we are able to discover, hone and present new stand-up comedians to Indian audiences. We are very excited about the new season that is even bigger in scale and talent”.

Facebook: Comicstaan@ Twitter: Comicstaan@ Instagram: Comicstaan@

Get ready to laugh with an all-new season of Comicstaan – an eight-episode series where ten contestants from across the country are chosen to compete for the winning title and mentored by comedian judges who are experts in their respective genres of comedy. Comicstaan is laugh-out-loud funny with funny jokes, quick-witted dialogues and hilarious memorable moments that are relevant in pop culture today. The first three episodes are available to stream on July 12, followed by new episodes weekly, only on Amazon Prime Video.

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 Prime Originals, all available, ad-free, with a world class customer experience. The service includes titles available in English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali.

To watch the upcoming Amazon Original Comicstaan Season 2 and to catch-up on the super successful Season 1 as well as the newest releases in Hollywood & Bollywood, the latest US TV shows, kids’ favorite toons and other 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.

June 26, 2019
Netflix India ropes in Aashish Singh as director, original film

MUMBAI: Streaming giant Netflix continues to keep its foot on the pedal when it comes to arming its India team with some serious talent. The latest high-profile addition to the streamer’s stable is Aashish Singh, who has been roped in as director, original film. "We can confirm that Aashish Singh has joined Netflix as Director, Original Film," the company told Indiantelevision.com.

The arrival of Aashish seems to be in line with Netflix’s ambitious Original film play in India. The media veteran was CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures in his last gig, where he had joined in September 2018. Prior to that, he spent over 15 years with Yash Raj Films, occupying the position of vice president, production.

Netflix has announced 22 original films in India, with nine out of those already streaming on the service. Serious Men, Bulbul, Upstarts, Cobalt Blue, Ghost Stories, Class of '83, Mrs. Serial Killer, Guilty, Yeh Ballet, House Arrest, Kaali Khuhi, Maska and Freedom are the next big Indian Original films that are slated to be launched soon.

Aashish and Srishti Behl Arya (director, original film), both of whom report to Los Angeles, will play key role in helping the company accomplish its vision as it continues to be the only streaming service investing in original films in India.

As a percentage of overall time spent on Netflix, film viewing in India is the highest in any country. 70 per cent Netflix members in India watch at least one film a week. The number of films watched per month/per member has grown 50 per cent since last year.

In a bid to add further value to its content proposition, Netflix is creating mainstream original series and movies in India apart from adding top quality, big budget licensed content. In an effort to add Indian subscribers, the Reed Hastings-led company is delivering an increasingly high volume of films to position Netflix the destination for finest films.

Having identified India as a key growth market, the company is investing significantly in Indian films and talent. Going forward, this focus is only bound to get more intense.

June 26, 2019