Category: Over The Top Services

Eros Now’s original series Side Hero trailer generates over 10 million views in less than a week

Mumbai, September 24, 2018: Eros Now, the cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform owned by Eros International Plc (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment, recently launched the official trailer of its first original series – Side Hero on September 18th, has garnered more than 10 million views online. The eight-episode series has begun streaming today, September 24th. The trailer was launched less than a week ago and has since garnered more than 10 million online views, making it the most watched trailer of any Indian OTT original.
The Side Hero trailer, a unique binge-worthy show taking a stab at “cringe” comedy, based on the life of actor Kunaal Roy Kapur, has generated large online appeal and is now the only original series on any Indian OTT platform to receive such viewership in barely a week. Prior to the series’ launch on Eros Now, the poster and trailer announcement had also seen the highest level of engagement and trended number 1 on Twitter.
The show and hashtag #SideHero picked up buzz on Twitter prior to its trailer launch for its innovative high-level consumer engagement activities. The digital campaign included fun spoofs and memes of a morphed Kunaal Roy Kapur on super-hit movie posters like Bajirao Mastani, Bahubali, Ra.one and more, extending the OTT platform’s vibrant personality to the show itself. Kunaal’s first Side Hero meme was announced through his debut on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter.
The digital campaign also ran an exciting contest campaign #HowToBeAHeroIn7Days on @ErosNow twitter page to engage with audiences with the winner bagging an opportunity to be part of an upcoming Eros Now original. The noise and excitement around the trailer and show was further amplified by having an experiential on-the-ground activity with open air screenings for social media influencers with the all-star cast. Apart from the social media buzz, the trailer and show build up was backed by a robust 360° marketing campaign that strategically encompassed elements such as on-air promotions, on-ground associations, radio spots and various PR tools, making it an impactful campaign.

Commenting on the occasion, Ridhima Lulla, Chief Content Officer, Eros Group said, “We are thrilled with the phenomenal response Side Hero’s trailer has received. The entire social media campaign with its innovations has been instrumental in driving maximum viewership towards the trailer and building curiosity around the series. This accomplishment is testament to our belief in constantly testing waters, being relevant yet different and launching our first show in an unusual comic space. We hope to receive the same appreciation for the series as well which launched today on Eros Now.”
Side Hero is directed by Rohan Sippy and stars Kunaal Roy Kapur and Gauahar Khan as lead actors. All the episodes of the show are streaming now and available for binge viewing for INR 49 and INR 99 per month on Eros Now.

Catch the trailer of Side Hero: https://erosnow.com/movie/watch/1063782/an-eros-now-original-series/6893259/sidehero:-official-trailer

September 25, 2018
Facebook appoints Hotstar’s Ajit Mohan as India MD & VP in major coup

MUMBAI: The social media giant Facebook finally ends its hunt to find a head for India operations. Facebook has appointed Ajit Mohan as Managing Director and Vice-President of Facebook India. He will join Facebook early next year.
In this newly created role of Managing Director for India, a VP-level role, one of the most important responsibilities for this person will be aligning teams and driving Facebook’s overall strategy in India. This is a new structure for Facebook India of having a senior leader reporting into Menlo Park and not Asia Pacific.
“India is one of the largest and most strategically important countries for Facebook. As we think about what it will take to achieve our mission of bringing people together and building community, we know that investment in India is critical. Ajit’s depth of experience will help us to continue to have a positive impact in India across communities, organizations, businesses and with policy makers”, Facebook Inc vice-president of business and marketing partnerships said David Fischer.
“I am delighted to take on the mantle of shaping Facebook’s charter in India. It is a unique opportunity to shape the agenda of a company that has brought the world closer together in one of the most exciting markets in the world. I look forward to championing India in Facebook and working with stakeholders across the spectrum to help build deep and meaningful communities across the country” Ajit Mohan commented.
He joins Facebook from Hotstar, the streaming platform launched by Star India, where he was Chief Executive Officer. He launched and built Hotstar into India’s leading premium video streaming platform. Ajit is an alumnus of McKinsey and Company’s New York office where he worked with media companies around the globe as well as served as a Fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, where he focused on India’s rapid urbanization. He is a graduate of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

September 24, 2018
On Air with AIB Season 3 returns on Hotstar

Mumbai : With two wildly successful seasons under their belt, India’s best known comedians are back with the third season of On Air with AIB on Hotstar, India’s leading streaming platform. The new season kicks off today, and will feature episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, exclusively on Hotstar.

The AIB team have spent two previous seasons on Hotstar cutting absurdities down to size, but the gap between seasons has provided lots more fodder for a whole new set of episodes featuring issues that don’t get called out enough.

From the issue of open defecation to the woes of unmarried young lovers who are denied accommodation, the discussions run the full gamut and served up with often scathing, always hilarious commentary. With every episode, be prepared to laugh along with the inimitable quartet at their refreshing take on topics that matter.

In the words of a Hotstar spokesperson, “The group have caused ripples during the first two seasons and elicited plenty of laughs, so it made perfect sense to keep going! With a fresh and exciting take on the day-to-day issues facing the country, AIB has a unique way of addressing the hairiest of topics with their unique brand of comedy while appealing to a wide range of audiences.”

On Air with AIB Season 3 will see Tanmay Bhat, Gursimran Khamba, Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya presenting their signature satirical take on the social issues facing the country. With a brand of humour that brings to the forefront the contradictions inherent in modern life, no bridge is too far for them. This season will feature three segments that will see a host of topical issues covered on Mondays, followed by a deep dive into a particular topic on Wednesdays, while Fridays will see an ad hoc, off-the-wall conversation, Off-Script, between the quartet and a special guest on their favourite bugbears, of which there are many. Tempt not their wrath, or you might just end up in their sights!

You can watch the first episode here –

https://www.hotstar.com/tv/on-air-with-aib/s-373/seasons/season-3/ss-6020

September 24, 2018
Arré Announces Season 3 of A.I.SHA

After two successful seasons, India’s most loved sci-fi thriller franchise, is back this November, as Arré gets set to launch Season 3 of A.I.SHA.
The award-winning A.I.SHA (Artificial Intelligence Simulated Humanoid Assistant) franchise was launched in 2016 and was the first-ever sci-fi thriller series in India. It went on to prove that millennial India is more than willing to explore new genres in entertainment beyond romance and comedy.
A.I.SHA is set at the intersection of the real and virtual worlds, and explores an unusual relationship between artificial intelligence and humanity. It’s a boy meets girl tale, except the girl is an A.I. app. Season 1 told us the story of what happens when technology turns against us, and Season 2 showcased the immense power of A.I. in terms of far-reaching global consequences. Season 3 will push the boundaries of imagination, as we see A.I.SHA transitioning from intelligent technology to a sentient human being by acquiring human form and values.
While the A.I.SHA franchise has garnered global acclaim at several prestigious global festivals such as the LA Web Festival, South Florida Web Festival, CMO Asia Awards, and the Asia Web Awards, it has also created millions of engaged viewers across Arré and its partner platforms in Hindi/English, Tamil, and Telugu.
The six episodes of the new season, will continue the franchise with an ensemble cast – Raghu Ram, Aahana Kumra, Nasir Abdullah, Ruslaan Mumtaz, Auritra Ghosh, Rashi Mal, Adesh Sidhu, and Flora Saini and will play out on the Arré platforms and MX Player, the new streaming app, soon to be launched.
This season is directed by the talented Ajay Bhuyan, who has directed popular films such as Housefull and Dhada in Telugu and Amit Sahni Ki List and Phir Se in Hindi. Recently, he has directed the popular Telugu Amazon Original GangStars. The season is written by Shiv Singh who has worked with Bhuyan on Amit Sahni Ki List and Dhada. Recently he has worked on Dil Juunglee.

B. Saikumar, Founder – Arré, said, “A.I.SHA is a special franchise since it was the very first show that Arré launched. We’re thrilled to extend the series to Season 3, given the loyal community of audiences it has helped build for Arré along with the continued love from our brand partners Gillette and Palo Alto Networks who believed in the show since Season 1. Microsoft has now been added to the happy family. The show franchise approach has worked well for us and we’re fully focused on scaling our existing shows into multiple seasons and languages, even as we launch newer ones.”

The series is produced for Arré by Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman’s production venture, Monozygotic. Raghu Ram, who also a plays a key role in the show said, “Season 3 of A.I.SHA is going to be thrice the action, emotion, and drama as the plot unfolds to reveal many twists and new characters. I’m excited about our cast line up and there’s going to be a lot to look forward to for our A.I.SHA fans”.
The show is co-powered by Gillette in association with Palo Alto Networks, both of whom were partners to Seasons 1 and 2 of the show. Palo Alto Networks has also partnered with the series as script consultant and cyber security advisor, to bring in the required technical authenticity to the show. In addition, Arré has also brought on board Microsoft – Ruuh, as A.I. partner.
Karthik Srivatsan, Country Marketing Manager, Gillette India said, “We’re delighted to partner with Arré, now for the third season of A.I.SHA, after the resounding success of the first two seasons. The show is a first of its kind in the digital space in India and globally, whose concept and audience is well aligned to the Gillette consumer. Gillette’s core philosophy has always been to innovate, to serve evolving consumer needs and our partnership this season is reflective of that. The approach for Season 3 is different as the communication is interestingly integrated within the series to bring about the various myths, facts, and aspects to grooming and shaving, which I believe will resonate well with our users and audiences.”

KP Unnikrishnan, senior director, Marketing, Asia Pacific & Japan, Palo Alto Networks, said. “The global entertainment industry is going through a huge flux today with internet-only content growing at a phenomenal rate. Companies such as Arré, with content like A.I.SHA, are at the forefront of this revolution. Palo Alto Networks is honoured to be the cybersecurity advisor for this ground-breaking work and we are excited to help continuing to educate the audience on how successful cyber attacks can be prevented.”
Abhishek Mathur, Senior Program Manager, Ruuh – Microsoft said, “At Microsoft, we’re excited about the opportunities that AI brings to people and organisations. In India, we are experimenting with a chatbot Ruuh that’s focused on advancing conversational capabilities within our A.I. ambitions. Companies such as Arré with content like A.I.SHA are boldly portraying the future potential of technology in this space. We are excited to be the A.I. partner for the AISHA web series. Not only will Ruuh be an A.I. character in A.I.SHA this season, but will also chat with users about the show and much more.”

September 24, 2018
Star India, Jio sign landmark 5-year cricket deal

MUMBAI: Star India and Reliance Jio unleashed a new era in sports entertainment by announcing a 5-year deal. The partnership will cover international matches in all three formats (T20s, ODI and test) and also the premier domestic competitions of BCCI.

Jio and Star will make all televised India-cricket matches available to users of JioTV and Hotstar in India. This will be the first time that a streaming platform and a high-speed data network have come together to deliver the best of cricketing content with connectivity to benefit the Indian consumers.

Star India MD Sanjay Gupta said, “Over the last five years, we have re-invented the sports experience in India across screens, both television and digital. Indian cricket under BCCI is one of the most compelling properties in the world and we are excited to apply the same lens of innovation and re-invention to the property that we have applied to other sports in the last few years. And, with a new partner in Reliance Jio, we will have even more opportunities to raise the bar for cricket fans.”

Jio director Akash Ambani said, “Jio continues to bring the most exclusive content to its users, this time around through the JioTV app. Cricket is not just played, its worshipped in India. Every Indian must have access to the best sporting events as well as quality and affordable bandwidth to consume the content. With this partnership, we intend to address both these objectives of providing the best sporting content with the best digital infrastructure to the Jio users. Jio promises to and will continue to bring a superlative customer experience in the areas of sports, AR, VR, immersive viewing and more in the coming days.”

Jio and Star have been instrumental in leading many such disruptive initiatives, where they have put the consumer in the centre of innovation.

September 22, 2018
Karamjit Dua to head ZEE Entertainment’s ‘Content & Partnership’ vertical

Mumbai, September 21, 2018: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), a leading media & entertainment powerhouse, today announced the appointment of Mr. Karamjit Dua as the Principal Cluster Head for its revenue vertical ‘Content & Partnership’. Karamjit will also be heading the advertisement sales for premium cluster. With a consistent aim to create an ecosystem that focusses on delivering extraordinary results through unbounded consumer engagement and building strong client partnerships, the vertical has been introduced within the Advertising and Sales Division to help ZEEL drive business growth through innovative and consumer centric solutions.
‘Content & Partnership’ vertical will be responsible for creating solution-oriented media propositions to augment business performance by conceptualising and executing brand partnerships. This will further enable ZEEL in building synergies across content & revenue business by creating successful brand led content and Intellectual Properties across their Media platforms while capitalizing on their network strength.

In his new role, Karamjit will be responsible for driving revenue for verticals such as Brand Solutions, Innovation Studio and for the premium cluster which comprises of Hindi HD, English cluster, and Living Foodz. Karamjit comes with well-endowed experience of 26 years in Product & Business Development within the Media & Entertainment industry.
Karamjit will report to Mr. Ashish Sehgal, who heads the advertisement sales for ZEE’s Entertainment and News business.
Speaking about the appointment, Mr. Sehgal said, “It has been a constant endeavor to deliver enhanced value to our Customer, which is the Advertiser. With advertisers more keen on finding innovative brand solutions and integrations, the revenue vertical aims at delivering the same across platforms. I’m extremely glad to have Karamjit on-board to drive this vertical to greater heights. His rich experience and domain knowledge will be of immense value in building strong client partnerships.”

Karamjit Dua added, “It’s a great opportunity for me to be leading the Content & Partnership vertical, utilizing the network strength in delivering customer centric solutions through platform
integration. ZEEL has always been a pioneer in trend spotting and formulating business strategies designed to deliver the best for our partners as well as consumers, who remain at the core of all business.”

September 21, 2018
Netflix renews Sacred Games for its second season

MUMBAI, 21 SEPTEMBER 2018 – Netflix Inc., the world’s leading internet entertainment service, has announced the much awaited second season of the critically acclaimed original series, Sacred Games. Based on author Vikram Chandra’s best-selling novel, season 1 of the series received viewer appreciation and critical acclaim worldwide for its gritty plot and power-packed performances. Season 2 will be back with a new trail of betrayal, crime, passion, and a thrilling chase through Mumbai’s underbelly. The games are about to get deadlier!
The second season picks up from Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan) pursuing his relentless battle of saving the city and Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) facing bigger challenges to retain his position as the legendary kingpin of Mumbai. The intriguing Guruji (Pankaj Tripathi), introduced in season one as Gaitonde’s ‘third father,’ plays a pivotal role in unfolding a chain of events that shape the next season – which is scheduled to film in India and locations overseas this fall.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap will continue directing Ganesh Gaitonde’s track, while Neeraj Ghaywan (of Masaan fame) will take over Sartaj Singh’s plot. Vikramaditya Motwane and Varun Grover will continue their roles of being the showrunner and the lead writer respectively. The highly-anticipated season will see a mix of old favorites and fresh new characters to drive the storyline to its intrepid twists and turns.
Erik Barmack, Vice President, International Originals at Netflix, said, “We’ve been thrilled by the response to Sacred Games from fans worldwide, and especially in India, to this high quality production. It’s incredibly exciting for us to take the story of Sacred Games forward and open a new chapter in the series with its second season.”

September 21, 2018
Global OTT revenue to reach $129 bn by 2023 says study

MUMBAI: OTT business across the world is now in a high growth period. In the next five years, revenue from online TV episode and films will reach $129 billion, which is more than double of same recorded in last year. Back in 2017, it stood at $53 billion and in 2018 alone $16 billion will be added. Global OTT TV & Video Forecasts has found the data after surveying 18 countries.

The research has also found the top five markets will command 69 per cent of worldwide revenues by 2023, down from 73 per cent in 2017. While online video viewing was a typical trend of some particular developed countries a few years back also, it is clear that emerging markets are rapidly growing, boosting the overall ecosystem. The report predicts that OTT revenues will exceed $1 billion in 17 countries by 2023.

Among all the business models in OTT market, SVOD has highest upward growth in total revenue share. In 2016, it became the largest OTT revenue source by overtaking AVoD. The share of the total will increase from 47 per cent in 2017 to 53 per cent in 2023. However, AVOD is still very relevant in the game being left with enough opportunities. AVOD revenues are projected to increase by $27 billion between 2017 and 2023.

“No prizes for guessing that the US will remain the dominant territory by some distance,” Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray commented. “However, its share of global revenues will fall from 43 per cent in 2017 to 37 per cent by 2023. We forecast that revenues in the US will more than double between 2017 and 2023 – adding nearly $25 billion to reach $48 billion."

China, another growing player, will add $17 billion over this same period to nearly triple its revenues to $26 billion. Its market share will increase to 20 per cent in 2023 from 17 per cent in 2017.

September 21, 2018
Irdeto and Alibaba Cloud Make It Easy to Securely Deliver OTT Content and Services

MUMBAI: Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, has selected Irdeto Rights to simplify OTT content protection for its customers. Irdeto’s multi-DRM solution, including ChinaDRM, PlayReady, Widevine and FairPlay support, will enable content owners and operators to quickly deploy OTT services. Alibaba Cloud will utilize Irdeto Control, the head-end of Irdeto Rights, to manage and protect the customer’s video content. Alibaba Cloud is the world’s third-largest provider of public cloud services, providing video services to hundreds of thousands of global companies, including OTT operators, online education companies and short video companies—live, on-demand and content distribution platforms.

Competition in China’s OTT market is at an all-time high with close to 229 million people subscribing to a streaming service in 2018. In addition, the global subscription OTT market is set to grow 24% in 2018. This trend is fueled by growing internet penetration rates, faster connectivity speeds and a broad shift in consumer preference towards internet-based video consumption. With more options to choose from, subscriber churn rates are high. As a result, premium content and a high-quality user experience across as many devices as possible are key differentiators that are necessary for operators to maintain a competitive edge. Irdeto and Alibaba Cloud help operators not only in China, but across the globe, stay ahead of competitors through quick delivery of OTT services while also ensuring that premium content remains secure.

Li Bin, Senior Technical Expert at Alibaba Cloud, said: “Alibaba Cloud Video Cloud provides stable, high-quality and scalable video services for customers in the multimedia industry. Through cooperation with Irdeto, we have enhanced the security of audio and video content. For the first time, we launched a video cloud service for copyright protection of all-platform video content in China. This new product greatly simplifies the management of content providers and operators on the content supply of various devices and improves the security of content supply."

Irdeto has worked closely with Alibaba Group since 2013 to support anti-piracy initiatives on Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platforms. Just last month, Youku, the Alibaba-owned online video streaming service provider, selected Irdeto Rights for ChinaDRM to safeguard premium content delivery.

“Innovation is critical for operators to succeed in today’s competitive pay TV market,” said Bengt Jonsson, Senior Vice President, Sales & Services, Irdeto. “We want to work with companies like Alibaba Cloud who foster this innovation by providing their customers with secure, premium services. We are thrilled to work with Alibaba Cloud to help operators protect and accelerate the release of new content while also enabling new business models that will increase efficiency and drive revenue.”

Irdeto Rights, a solution in the Irdeto 360 Security portfolio, is a proven multi-DRM and policy management solution that addresses content challenges at both the headend and client side. It supports all leading commercial DRMs, as well as common encryption standards of MPEG DASH, and unique security technologies optimized to work at peak levels of demand. Irdeto Rights provides operators with increased market reach by supporting all major DRMs, including Microsoft PlayReady, Google Widevine, Apple FairPlay and ChinaDRM.

September 20, 2018
Hoichoi to introduce pay-per-view, offline payment method

MUMBAI: SVF, the big name in Bengali entertainment industry, last year launched its Bengali OTT platform Hoichoi riding the wave of digital growth. In the second season of its journey, it is expanding its footprint into Bangladesh and UAE market. Though dependent on the SVOD model since birth, it will now introduce pay per view model as well. Moreover, in a first of its kind move in the industry, it has launched Hoichoi Top Up card which will be available in nearest retailers or upcoming Hoichoi kiosks. Given the preference for cash payment, this is an offline payment method.

Along with a new payment method and business plans, it has the ambition to add more than 100 hours of original content in the upcoming year. The new content pipeline includes 30 original shows, some of which are second seasons of popular web series already aired on the platform. While SVF, the parent company has a rich history in the Bengali film industry, the digital venture aims to add 12 original films.

Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta mentioned the high user engagement of the app though kept mum on subscriber numbers. He claims the average time spent in-app is one hour per day. It is not certain how the company has been able to get its return but the awareness of Hoichoi has been created.

Like other OTT platforms, Hoichoi is also seeing traffic from tier-II and III cities. In addition to that, almost 40 per cent of the audience comes from non-urban areas and Hoichoi director and co-founder Mahendra Soni mentions this as the rationale behind introducing offline payment method.

While Bengali industry makes many good films, the natives living outside Bengal don’t get the chance to watch them in theatres often. The plan of digital premiere is aimed to bridge this gap. “In yet another first in the Bengali entertainment space, we are now introducing the ‘pay per view’ feature as part of the TVoD model. We will be releasing movies on Hoichoi very soon after their theatrical release and the viewers will have the option to pay for the content on an a-la-carte basis,” Hoichoi director and co-founder Shrikant Mohta said.

A partnership with Airtel TV in India, Robi in Bangladesh and Etisalat and du in UAE have also been struck.

There is also a plan for a Bengali app and website interface making it more comfortable for users. Simultaneously, Hoichoi wants to dub the shows into other languages like Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. To position it more strongly as a brand, the platform also start merchandising.

September 20, 2018