ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Eros Now partners InMobi to monetise ads

    Eros Now partners InMobi to monetise ads

    MUMBAI: India’s over the top (OTT) platform Eros Now, part of Eros International, has tied up with InMobi to enable advertisers to directly monetise on Eros Now’s video platform, which boasts an audience of over a 100 million registered users. This exclusive partnership will give brands and advertisers in India a unique opportunity to experience an end-to-end playbook that spans innovative video and ad formats, dynamic in-content placement of high-quality movies, and music videos and originals across devices.

    In addition, Eros Now will also adopt InMobi’s disruptive mobile-first advertising platform to market content through the in-app video universe across India.  

    Commenting on this association, Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said, “With the advertising landscape transforming into immersive engagement, brands can now leverage deep story-telling to collaborate with the audience. The digital penetration is seeing an incremental growth across cities in India and the consumer is increasingly spending much more time on their mobile devices than they did a few years ago, making it one of the most sought-after platforms for advertising. We are happy to join hands with one of the leading advertising platforms in India and aim to continue providing a seamless experience to all our subscribers.”

    InMobi founder and CEO Naveen Tewari said, “Our association with Eros Now marks an industry first partnership in the OTT space which is the next big thing after the app economy. It will be a trendsetter in many ways. Our distinction lies in our core business which centres around the primary screen – mobile; making this an organic progression for us, and that’s where our decade-long expertise also comes at play. Our full-stack mobile OTT solutions hinged on in-app and our video-first platform will not only allow for deep brand integrations but will improve the overall efficacy of content monetisation, driven through Eros Now’s original video content.”

    Eros Now hopes to open up avenues for both traditional and non-traditional brands to engage with their target audience. Mobile in-app advertising is a highly personalised segment, and by using InMobi’s technology and innovation, Eros Now will give advertisers access to creative optimisation, re-targeting and data-driven decision-making capability to run ads and to be the market leader.

  • Eros Now Announces Partnership with InMobi

    Eros Now Announces Partnership with InMobi

    MUMBAI: Eros International PLC (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, announced today that Eros Now, it’s cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform, has partnered with InMobi, a global provider of enterprise platforms for marketers.

    The association will enable advertisers to directly monetize on Eros Now’s video platform, which boasts an audience of over a 100 million registered users, dedicated to Bollywood and movie streaming. This exclusive partnership will give brands and advertisers in India a unique opportunity to experience an end-to-end playbook that spans innovative video and ad formats, dynamic in-content placement of high-quality movies, and music videos and originals across devices. In addition, Eros Now will also adopt InMobi’s disruptive mobile-first advertising platform to market content through the in-app video universe across India. It will unlock a fantastic avenue for brands to engage with their audiences on a native video platform hosting Bollywood and movie content, which up until now had principally been out of the advertiser purview.

    Commenting on this association, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital, said, “With the advertising landscape transforming into immersive engagement, brands can now leverage deep story-telling to collaborate with the audience. The digital penetration is seeing an incremental growth across cities in India and the consumer is increasingly spending much more time on their mobile devices than they did a few years ago, making it one of the most sought-after platforms for advertising. We are happy to join hands with one of the leading advertising platforms in India and aim to continue providing a seamless experience to all our subscribers.”

    Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO, InMobi, said, “Our association with Eros Now marks an industry first partnership in the OTT space which is the next big thing after the app economy. It will be a trendsetter in many ways. Our distinction lies in our core business which centers around the primary screen – Mobile; making this an organic progression for us, and that’s where our decade-long expertise also comes at play. Our full-stack mobile OTT solutions hinged on in-app and our video-first platform will not only allow for deep brand integrations but will improve the overall efficacy of content monetization, driven through Eros Now’s original video content.”

    India’s OTT video viewing is expected to grow by 355 million by 2020 as per a Deloitte report. With this partnership, Eros Now will open-up avenues for both traditional and non-traditional brands to engage with their target audience. Mobile in-app advertising is a highly personalized segment, and by using InMobi’s technology and innovation, Eros Now will give advertisers access to creative optimization, re-targeting and data-driven decision-making, capability to run ads, and to be the market leader.

    With this partnership, the two companies will work in close cooperation to devise a go-to-market strategy, offering integrated advertising and marketing solutions for Eros Now.

  • Netflix announces prequel series to hit movie franchise ‘Baahubali’

    Netflix announces prequel series to hit movie franchise ‘Baahubali’

    MUMBAI: Global streaming giant Netflix has announced a new original series based on the global blockbuster franchise, Baahubali as Baahubali: Before The Beginning, a two season original series that runs as prequels to the blockbuster films Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. Netflix hopes to attract new users in India as it is the highest grossing film franchise from the country.

    The prequel series captures queen Sivagami’s journey from a rebellious and vengeful girl to a wise and unequalled queen based on the bestselling Baahubali franchise novel “The Rise of Sivagami” by Anand Neelakantan.

    Netflix has partnered with the ace team behind the Baahubali universe, including Arka Media Works and SS Rajamouli. Deva Katta and Praveen Sataru will together direct the series while season one of the series will comprise nine episodes.

    “The world of Baahubali is extensive and immersive with strong characters and larger than life kingdoms. The films Baahubali -The Beginning and The Conclusion, are from one story set in this world and more dramatic stories were broadly conceived while building the universe.  The Baahubali Series, a prequel to the films, is one such story. I am very excited that this  is being adapted as a Netflix Original Series. With Netflix as our partner, we have the opportunity to create a rich and riveting series and take this quintessential Indian epic to the world, which is very gratifying to me as a story-teller,” director SS Rajmouli commented.

    “Baahubali is a world-class franchise that epitomises the power of compelling stories that resonate globally. We are excited to work with some of the world’s most talented writers and producers on one of India’s most beloved stories. The series is a tremendous opportunity for us to give audiences more of the universe  that they have come to love, and welcome millions more into the global Baahubali fandom,” Netflix international originals VP Erik Barmack said.

    At a point when Netflix is trying to expand its original library, it is an important move by the company. Its recent Indian original Sacred Games also created a buzz in the market.

  • Eros Now offers Boredom Se Freedom on Independence Day with one month free subscription

    Eros Now offers Boredom Se Freedom on Independence Day with one month free subscription

    MUMBAI: Watch what you want, anywhere you want. It’s the month of freedom and there is a bigger reason to rejoice. Celebrating India’s 72nd Independence Day, Eros Now, India’s premiere Video OTT platform brings an exclusive offer for its viewers with ‘Boredom Se Freedom’. Home to a massive library of over 11,000 films along with original shows, music videos and entertainment shows, Eros Now will offer its monthly plus subscription plan worth INR 49 for free, for a month.

    Starting August 1, the campaign will run up till midnight of August 15, thus giving users an opportunity of availing the offer benefits across two weeks. That’s not all, a week before Independence Day, Eros Now will also curate a special movie playlist for its subscribers, in congruence with the campaign theme. Users who sign up during the campaign period will get access to the offer subscription by using the code ‘IDAYFREE’ which can be activated by logging on to www.erosnow.com/subscribe.

    Commenting on the offer, Ali Hussein, COO, Eros Now said, “Video on Demand is the spirit wherein the consumer can choose to watch, what they want and when they want to. Eros Now and our movies have always been for the masses, ‘Boredom Se Freedom’ is our endeavour for subscribers to sample Eros Now and showcase our breadth of programming.”

  • Challenge the establishment to crack digital code: Hotstar’s Ajit Mohan

    Challenge the establishment to crack digital code: Hotstar’s Ajit Mohan

    MUMBAI: Just when India was warming up to the concept of internet on the mobile, Star India came out with its over the top platform Hotstar. Today, it is the top OTT platform in the country and one may think the road to success was entirely smooth. But Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan spoke about the streamer’s journey  while speaking at The Advertising Club’s D-Code.

    Hotstar was initially a free-ad supported venture when it was launched in 2015 causing rapid growth in users. The challenge was when it had to convince the price-conscious Indian consumer to pay. Indians were so used to free goodies that paying for content was unheard of.

    It had just bagged the streaming rights for the popular show Game of Thrones season 6 and came out with a campaign leveraging the lingo of the American fantasy drama. Though it was a great campaign for Game of Thrones fans, the subscription number did not move.

    The game changer campaign which makes the Hotstar CEO very proud, was launched during season 7 of the stalwart show. The multimedia campaign titled ‘Torrents Morghulis’ is a twist on the phrase ‘Valar Morghulis’ from the show. The meaning of the original phrase “All men must die” was tweaked into “All torrents must die.”

    “It clearly communicated the fearlessness of the premium proposition,” Ajit Mohan said. It was not easy to challenge torrents which enjoyed a lot of loyalty and commitment among its users. “…Therefore it was a statement to tell them (torrent users) that not just did we have a better proposition than torrent but torrent was dying,” he added. The campaign led to a “dramatic rise” in Hotstar Premium Subscription numbers.

    Mohan also spoke about a campaign from Domino’s which can give valuable lessons to brands. The “classic video campaign” was rolled out during this IPL leveraging Hotstar’s WatchN’Play. While WatchN’Play provided cricket fans to play along with their favourite teams virtually, Domino’s was the first brand to utilise the opportunity. The rule for users was that the points collected from the game help to access Domino’s coupons. 19 million coupons were distributed across the country on the back of this campaign. Domino’s blurred the line between brand and performance according to Mohan.

    This IPL itself was a benchmark for Hotstar as 202 million viewers logged on to its video streaming platform to watch the T20 tournament. Moreover, it successfully handled more than 10 million concurrent viewers during the IPL final match.

    The man who saw the challenges from the initial days of OTT business in India and built a world-class platform along with his team thinks challenging the establishment is very important, however small a brand could be. A campaign line alone does not suffice to crack digital code without an articulated philosophy. He concludes with, “Look for the truth in humour and the humour in truth.”

  • Veere Di Wedding premiereson ZEE5

    Veere Di Wedding premiereson ZEE5

    MUMBAI: After the phenomenal success of digital premieres of movies such as Padman and Parmanu, ZEE5 now brings theblockbuster VeereDi Wedding to your fingertipsonWednesday, 1st August 2018. That’s another stereotype the movie breaks – THEATRE KE BAAD, PEHLI BAAR on ZEE5!Since its theatrical release in June 2018, the film will now be available exclusively for ZEE5 subscribers.

    Watch the trailer here:

    Manish Aggarwal, Business Head – ZEE5 India said, “THEATRE KE BAAD, PEHLI BAAR is a property we created with Padman and are committed to reach incremental audiences by giving them blockbuster releases on ZEE5 straight after the theatre release and before the movie airs on broadcast channels.Padman, Parmanu and now Veere Di Wedding – the past two months have been exciting for us and the offering has been widely appreciated by our subscribers too.”

    He further added, “Premiering a movie such as Veere Di Wedding, one that celebrates friendship, just ahead of Friendship Day is very special. With this, we are taking another step towards building a robust portfolio of content – original as well as syndicated.”

    Commenting on the premiere,Ekta Kapoor, Producer, Veere Di Wedding said, “When we decided to make Veere Di Wedding, we knew it was going to be nothing like anything else. These are girls who don’t conform to stereotypes and in fact go on to shatter glass ceilings, with pure entertainment. The unprecedented box office numbers sky rocketed Veere Di wedding into another space and I am excited about the big digital premiere on ZEE5.”

    Veere Di Wedding revolves around four childhood friends Kalindi (Kareena Kapoor), Avni (Sonam Kapoor), Meera (ShikhaTalsania) & Sakshi (Swara Bhaskar) and their unbreakable bond of friendship. Things start to change when the pack of four meets after 10 years.Exploring the themes of sexuality and sisterhood, the movie went on to create quite a stir among movie-goers, initiating conversations across platforms.

    ZEE5 has a wide repertoire of visual content including movies as well as web series under multiple genres such as comedy, drama, thrillers, horror, biopics and so on. 

    Download the App using the special offer – 2 months’ subscription @99/- only or @499 for a year – special offer until 15th August.
    ZEE5 has a rich bouquet of original content in six regional languages along with the latest blockbuster movies. The platform will launch 20 originals in 2018 and will have 90+ shows by the end of March 2019.

    With over 3500 films, 500+ TV shows, 4000+ music videos, 35+ theatre plays and 90+ LIVE TV Channels across 12 languages, ZEE5 truly presents a blend of unrivalled content offering for its viewers across the nation and worldwide. With ZEE5, the global content of Zindagi as a brand, which was widely appreciated across the country, has also been brought back for its loyal viewers.

    Availability: The ZEE5 App can be downloaded from Google Play Store http://bit.ly/zee5 and iOS App Store http://bit.ly/zee5ios. Also available at www.zee5.com, as a Progressive Web App (PWA), and on Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV Stick. ZEE5 also supports Chromecast.

    Pricing: Freemium pricing model with both free and paid premium content (including Originals) to cater to a mix of audiences. Viewers who subscribe to the ZEE5 subscription pack will get access to the entire library of content at a special offer price of INR 99 for two months and INR 499 for a year – special offer until 15thAugust. 

  • Apple posts strong Q3 earnings

    Apple posts strong Q3 earnings

    MUMBAI: Apple has posted a strong result for the third quarter in contrast to other tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, Netflix etc. which disappointed investors in this quarter’s result. The company reported a higher-than-expected revenue for its third fiscal quarter beating analysts’ projection.

    The California-based company posted quarterly revenue of $53.3 billion, an increase of 17 per cent from the year-ago quarter. Moreover, due to its brand reputation across the globe, international sales accounted for 60 per cent of the quarter’s revenue. Earnings per share grew by 40 per cent year-over-year while revenue grew by 17 per cent year-over-year.

    “We’re thrilled to report Apple’s best June quarter ever, and our fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said. “Our Q3 results were driven by continued strong sales of iPhone, services and wearables, and we are very excited about the products and services in our pipeline,” he added.

    However, 41.3 million iPhones shipped during the third quarter is basically flat from the year-ago period and slightly below the projection of 41.8 million. The higher sale of premium phones made up the shortcoming. It ended up with an iPhone average selling price of $724 in the June quarter, while analysts were projecting $693.

    Interestingly, Cook in the earnings call said Apple is seeing growth in video-streaming subscription services at about 100 per cent on a year-over-year basis. Oprah Winfrey’s ability to connect with audiences could beat thing for Apple’s own video content.

    Apple Music now has upward of 50 million users who either pay for the service or are using a free trial. The music streaming service has become an increasingly important part of the company’s business. Cook also mentioned Apple’s service segment, which includes music streaming, boosted the Q3 result.

    Now standing with a total market value of more than $ 900 billion, Apple is on the verge of becoming the world’s first trillion-dollar company. If the stock continues to rise aboveseven per cent, it could touch the record soon. Apple stock rose about four per cent in after-hours trading. The company forecast revenue between $60 billion and $62 billion for its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter.

  • ZEE5 goes aggressive with OOH marketing for ‘Karenjit Kaur’

    ZEE5 goes aggressive with OOH marketing for ‘Karenjit Kaur’

    MUMBAI: Despite touting digital as the next big thing, brands haven’t given up on traditional modes of marketing. Digital is great for disruption but they cannot still do without the out-of-home (OOH) marketing strategy.

    ZEEL’s digital venture ZEE5 has also been doing the same to promote its new flagship show Karenjit Kaur – the untold story of Sunny Leone which went live recently. Hoardings of the show are prominently visible in the top 10 markets which include metro cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. These cities are prime targets because users here have access to the bandwidth and appropriate devices to enjoy the content which is being marketed.

    “Outdoor also works as a great medium for impact and driving imagery. Sunny Leone chose ZEE5 as a platform to do her biopic and reach out to her fans. Of course there’s a big statement in that. Therefore, one reason is awareness, making more and more consumers aware that Sunny Leone’s biopic is available on ZEE5 as a platform. The other of course is purely impact and imagery perspective as well,” said ZEE5 India’s new business head Manish Aggarwal.

    You can channel a channel when an ad comes on linear TV, you can skip an ad on YouTube or another platform but you cannot miss a hoarding when you travel. It isn’t just ZEE5 but even Netflix, Amazon, TVF etc who don’t miss out on OOH.

    Sunny Leone’s past definitely makes her a target. The Mankind brand ambassador faced a backlash from ‘sanskari’ India last year when outdoor banners featuring her condom ad in Gujarat were criticised, forcing Mankind to pull them down.

    ZEE5 hasn’t yet seen any such backlash except for the normal social media’s abusive comments. Aggarwal says that the overall sentiments for the show are “extremely positive”.

    Apart from OOH, ZEE5 partnered with several radio stations. Digitally, it made use of Leone’s social media assets. Zee channels are featuring show promos during prime time.

    “We looked at searches for Sunny Leone on YouTube, Google and which market drives searches for us. We have triangulated our market strengths, Google trends, YouTube trends etc. Then we formulated a strategy based on where our audience resides and accordingly we reached out to them through various mediums – outdoor, digital, radio,” he said.

    The series is available in four regional languages too, including Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Marathi. The premise of ZEE5’s launch was to ensure India’s languages aren’t deprived of good content. “You want to watch good content whether its drama, thriller or comedy. Zero KMS is a dark thriller, we dubbed it and saw other language people are also watching it,” Aggarwal said.

  • YouTube joins the race of making original localised content

    YouTube joins the race of making original localised content

    MUMBAI: Till now in several markets including India, YouTube’s ad based model is more popular than the premium ad-free service. Now, in order to draw new customers to its paid subscription service, YouTube is creating scripted series and other original programing for international markets including India, France, Germany, Japan and Mexico. However, in India, YouTube Premium is still not available.

    YouTube global head original programming Susanne Daniels said in an interview that the programming will include music documentaries, reality series, talk shows and scripted series as reported by Reuters. Moreover, it will be produced in local languages which will make the platform more relevant in local markets. The localised content will be subtitled or dubbed for other markets too.

    “We are targeting markets where we believe we have a tremendous upside in potential subscribers,” Daniels said. She also mentioned the talk show on cricket in Hindi, UnCricket, has performed “beyond expectations”. A reality show starring South Korean pop band Big Bang had boosted subscriptions.

    Some of the content will be available on YouTube Premium, the monthly subscription service formerly called YouTube Red while other content will be available on YouTube’s free service.

    The emphasis on localised content from Alphabet Inc’s YouTube will increase the challenge for Netflix and Amazon which are already heavily investing in localised content. Both the platforms are trying to expand their footprint in India too.

    However, YouTube does not hold any plan for more original children’s programming as the company does not believe children’s content will drive subscriptions to YouTube Premium at this time.

  • Viacom launches MTV Play, Comedy Central Play mobile apps in Singapore

    Viacom launches MTV Play, Comedy Central Play mobile apps in Singapore

    ‘MUMBAI: Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has announced the official launch of MTV Play and Comedy Central Play mobile apps in Singapore through the Singtel Cast over-the-top video portal. The MTV Play apps like Play the Music, MTV Play Firsts, which will aim to showcase content to be first on before any other platforms in Singapore, including The Challenge: Vendettas, Million Dollar Baby and Just Tattoo of Us Season. The other features MTV Shorts which will deliver free access to MTV’s wide-ranging short-form content and MTV Signatures offering access to the MTV library for shows.

    The Comedy Central Play app features include Comedy Central Play Express, delivering the global hit The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Comedy Central Play Firsts such as Comedy Central Stand-Up, Asia Season 3 and Comedy Specials, Comedy Central Exclusives with content from The Jim Jefferies Show, Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents, The Review, Moonbeam City, Comedy Central Play Shorts giving free access to Comedy Central’s Bad Snappers, Josh Investigates, and Comedians Solve World Problems and the Comedy Central Play Collection which comprises a library including Comedy Central Roasts, Key & Peele, The President Show, The Comedy Jam and more.

    The app will combine live TV, video streaming apps and on-demand entertainment including stand-up, talk shows, scripted and short-form content on Comedy Central. The apps are available for free download from the Apple App Store, Google Play and can be accessed via the Variety Plus Pack of Singtel Cast.’