ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • SonyLIV expands its English entertainment library for premium subscribers

    SonyLIV expands its English entertainment library for premium subscribers

    SonyLIV, the premium Video on Demand (VOD) service by Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) announced the addition of a slew of new international English shows and movies to its already extensive library of content in the genre. Premium subscribers can now experience more action, drama and adventure with the perfect line-up of English movies and series to binge watch on SonyLIV.

    The new content catalogue includes crowd favourites like Total Wipeout (Seasons 02-06), Line of Duty (Seasons 1-3) and Fear Factor (Season 1). Besides these unique shows, SonyLIV will showcase movies like ‘The Secret Sharer’ – an adaptation of a short story by Joseph Conrad, ‘Anti- Social’ – a crime thriller featuring Meghan Markle, ‘The Rehearsal’ – a drama special, where a first-year acting student stumbles upon a sex scandal in his girlfriend’s family and is tempted to use it as a year-end show to impress his teacher, amongst others.

    ‘Line of Duty’, a BBC police procedural series has consistently ranked as one of the best cop shows of all time. It was included in the list of the Top 50 BBC shows of all-time in 2014 and – featured in the list of the 80 best BBC shows of all time in 2016.

    The programme line-up also features ‘X Company’ (Seasons 01-03) a Canadian spy thriller. Set in the thrilling and dangerous world of WWII, it follows the stories of five recruits, whose ordinary lives are completely changed when they are selected to train as agents in an ultra-secret facility.

    Viewers can subscribe and gain access to the exclusive range of new shows and movies on SonyLIV along with the existing selection of blockbusters like The Girl on the Train, Hitch, Terminator 3, The Help, Lincoln and many more.

  • Star India to pump $50 million into Hotstar this year

    Star India to pump $50 million into Hotstar this year

    MUMBAI: Speaking during an analyst call focusing on 21st Century Fox’s investments in India, James Murdoch has said that this year’s investment by Star India into its streaming service Hotstar would be $50 million.

    “We’re very comfortable that we’ll hit our $500 million EBITDA target at Star TV,” said James Murdoch. “We had decided, however, from the strong quarter in the year to continue to increase our investment in Hotstar, which for the year will be about $50 million.”

    Murdoch noted that the sports business and the digital business are also growing fast. Hotstar exceeded 140 million users in April alone, he said. The India Premier League’s watch time on Hotstar has grown by 2.5 times as against last year and achieved 7 million live streams during one IPL game, the highest-ever for any streamed sports event anywhere in the world.

    “In the Indian TV business, our entertainment channels achieved significant regional market share growth over the past year and two of the largest regions when launching the number one national free to air in the country, Star Bharat,” Murdoch added.

     

  • Akshay Kumar’s Padman releases exclusively on ZEE5, the digital entertainment destination

    Akshay Kumar’s Padman releases exclusively on ZEE5, the digital entertainment destination

    MUMBAI: Akshay Kumar’s movie Padman breaks the stereotype of premiering on a television platform and is screening Theater Ke Baad, Pehli Baar on ZEE5, the largest multilingual digital entertainment destination for India! Post its blockbuster theatrical release, ZEE5 has been the first destination to premier Padman exclusively for an anytime, anywhere watch from May 11.

    Expressing his thoughts on Padman’s digital release Akshay Kumar said, “With millennials more inclined towards digital entertainment, we know where the future is. ZEE group has always been at the forefront to highlight social issues and Padman being a movie based on a social cause, there couldn’t have been a better digital platform than ZEE5 to premiere it.”

    Padman, through the courageous story of Arunachalam Muruganantham (played by Akshay Kumar), draws attention towards the sensitive topic of menstrual hygiene and how it is essential for the society that women have a right to it. The movie showcases true life story of a common man, who for the love of his wife tried to bring a social reformation by introducing low cost sanitary napkins in India.

    Taking forward Padman’s concept, ZEE5 is doing their share by tying up with Saafkins and contributing to the #GiveHer5 campaign. For every subscription, ZEE5 will donate Rs 5 to Saafkins, world’s first reusable/ washable sanitary napkin, #KadamChhotaChangeBada. While an initiative by ZEE5, looks at making a difference; a social thought presented with honesty makes Padman, a must watch family film.

    Archana Anand, Head of Digital – ZEE5 India Business said, “Padman has bought about a phenomenal change in the way society is looking at menstrual hygiene and we are proud to showcase the film on our platform. The movie is a take on a subject most Indians are reluctant to talk about and Padman puts it on the forefront which is a commendable effort. By associating with Saafkins, ZEE5 is doing their little bit via #KadamChotaChangeBada to contribute to the worthy cause and make a difference in the lives of underprivileged women.” The movie will premiere on ZEE5 on 11th May.

    Apart from having a rich bouquet of exciting original content lined up across 6 different languages, ZEE5 will showcase latest blockbuster movies on the platform. With a slate of 20 Originals to be launched in 2018, the platform will have 90+ shows by the end of March 2019.

    Availability: ZEE5 App can be downloaded from Google Play Store http://bit.ly/zee5andand 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) is available 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 launch offer price of INR 99 per month instead of the actual monthly pack price of INR 150.

  • The Viral Fever and Girliyapa win big at India Content Leadership Awards 2018

    The Viral Fever and Girliyapa win big at India Content Leadership Awards 2018

    MUMBAI: The Viral Fever (TVF) and its network channel – Girliyapa – won five awards at India Content Leadership Awards held recently in Mumbai. TVF won the much-coveted Content Enterprise of the Year award along with Best Entertaining Content for Bachelors Season 2. Girliyapa, created for the 21st century woman, won Best Humorous content award for ‘No More Dishstress’ and Best Content in a Video marketing campaign – Special mention for ‘Whisper’s SitImproper’. Sameer Saxena, CCO and Head, TVF Originals, who has even acted in shows such as TVF’s ‘Humorously Yours’, was presented the Content Leader of the Year (Person) award.

    TVF Originals, CCO and Head, Sameer Saxena said, “The month has started with a bang for us. The five awards won belong to each person at The Viral Fever and Girliyapa. This recognition will keep pushing us to work harder and create content that viewers will love and relate to. We are always eager to experiment with our content – and we believe this is one of the reasons our viewers accept our content, wholeheartedly.”

    The winning shows can be viewed on the links below:

    · Best Entertaining Content – Bachelors Season 2 (The Viral Fever) – https://bit.ly/2JnrWJk

    · Best Humorous content – No More Dishstress (Girliyapa) – https://bit.ly/2JBDRUS

    · Best Content in a Video marketing campaign – Special mention – Whisper’s SitImproper (Girliyapa) – https://bit.ly/2IDByPN

    Earlier this year, TVF won multiple awards including Best Story (Akarsh Khurana and Sumeet Vyas for Tripling), Best Music (Amar Mangrulkar), Best Branded Content and Best Marketing Campaign for TVF Tripling. ImMATURE, a yet-unreleased web series by TVF, earned its place among the Top 10 digital series globally, as the only Indian selection to the first edition of the Cannes International Series Festival – CANNESERIES earlier this year. It was screened at Cannes on 11th April, 2018.

  • 24i Media beefs up internet TV position by acquiring Mautilus

    24i Media beefs up internet TV position by acquiring Mautilus

    MUMBAI: 24i Media (24i), a global TV app developer, announced the acquisition of Mautilus, the Czech TV app agency. Mautilus develops TV apps for multiple platforms, including smart TVs, mobile, HbbTV, as well as for games consoles, set-top boxes.

    Along with increasing the production capacity with Mautilus’ engineers, the acquisition strengthens 24i’s technology framework with new products and features. The move will push 24i one step forward to deliver scalable video streaming application technology.

    “Mautilus shares our vision and recognises the importance of delivering flawless and immersive experiences for our clients and their end-users. Its solutions strongly complement the broader 24i portfolio and allows us to continue building a global internet TV app powerhouse with the best talent in the industry,” said 24i CEO said.

     “We are excited to be adding a tremendously talented team to contribute to our competitive edge. Sharing our values, our culture and our ongoing commitment to bringing state-of-the-art solutions to the new TV industry will allow 24i to bring even more powerful solutions to market. As one company, we will provide customers with truly innovative solutions enabled by cutting-edge technologies,” he added.

    Mautilus is 24i’s second acquisition in 2018; the company acquired multiscreen video platform provider Vigour in March. Having experienced rapid growth in 2018, as well as announcing the launch of the Tennis Channel app for Sinclair Broadcasting Group last month, 24i will continue to expand its market position in the coming months.

    “The combination will allow us to provide the best solutions to our customers and will be a great home for our technology and team. With our unique blend of multi-platform experience, specific HbbTV expertise and knowledge of addressable TV, we can strengthen and accelerate 24i’s ambition of becoming the most recognised technology provider for developing cutting-edge video applications across all devices. Petr Mazanec, Ivan Bradac and myself, as founders of Mautilus, are really proud to marry our team into the 24i family,” Mautilus CEO Rehor Vykoupil said.

    Also Read :

    Brightcove powers SonyLIV

    GroupM report forecasts global online media time spent to overtake TV in 2018

  • Eros Now reaches 7.9 million Paying Subscribers as of FYE 2018

    Eros Now reaches 7.9 million Paying Subscribers as of FYE 2018

    MUMBAI: Eros International Plc (NYSE: EROS) (“Eros” or “the Company”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, today announced that Eros Now, its cutting edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform, has reached over 100 million registered users and 7.9 million paying subscribers worldwide as of March 31, 2018. This substantial growth in paying subscribers represents a 58% increase over the last reported quarter and a 277% increase from 2.1 million paying subscribers as of the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017.  The Company also today reiterated its previous guidance that its Eros Now paying subscriber base is expected to double over the next 12 months to approximately 16 million paying subscribers by fiscal year end 2019.

    Eros Now recently launched its first worldwide direct-to-digital original film, Meri Nimmo, in association with acclaimed director Aanand L Rai, to very positive critical reception. In addition, over the next year Eros Now is planning to launch a stable of feature films, made-for-digital originals films and over 20 original episodic programs, all of which will be available exclusively only on Eros Now to paying subscribers. In addition to exciting new content, several factors have contributed to the platform’s outsized growth including enhancement of the consumer experience on the Eros Now service, introduction of pioneering content innovations and renewed alliances with domestic and international content distribution partners including the major mobile telecom operators in India. The recent successes come as a result of the company’s unique partnership strategy, which has been built upon the agreements with various distribution partners over the past few years and has been key to delivering high quality subscribers with increased time spent on the platform. The steady and robust growth figures are an indication of the loyalty consumers feel towards the platform.

    Speaking on the significant development, Eros Digital, CEO, Rishika Lulla Singh said, “When we launched three years ago, our mission was to reach out to viewers looking for differentiated and quality content. In December 2016, we achieved 2.0 million paying subscribers which doubled to 5 million within a year. This quarter has seen a substantial leap resulting in 58% Q-on-Q growth. This benchmark is a testament to our strong content library coupled with a strong tech backbone. I am very confident of our original content line-up and we are geared up to experience an exponential growth in our paying subscriber base, this is just the start which will only get better.”

  • Laboratory – a Hoichoi Original Film for Rabindra Jayanti

    Laboratory – a Hoichoi Original Film for Rabindra Jayanti

    MUMBAI: Hoichoi, the world’s largest digital Bengali entertainment content platform, today started streaming Laboratory, the popular story by Rabindranath Tagore as a Hoichoi Original Film. 

    The “Tagore special film” got uploaded on the OTT platform on 9th May, the day Rabindra Jayanti is widely celebrated. Rabindra Jayanti is a cultural festival celebrated in remembrance of Kabi Guru Rabindranath Tagore’s birth anniversary. It is mostly prevalent among Bengalis and by ardent followers of Tagore. The festival is commemorated on the 25th day of Bengali Calendar’s “Boishakhi”. 

    Laboratory starts off with Nandakishore Mallik (Kaushik Sen), an engineer of the Indian Railways. He dreams of a nation where thousands of scientists would be able to carry out their research works without bothering about the financial obstacles that pre-independent Indians used to face. He is setting up a science laboratory by buying different instruments used in different scientific experiments. He gets married to Sohini (Nandini Ghoshal), a punjabi lady and they give birth to a girl called Neela (Darshana Banik). After Nanda’s death Sohini is now looking for a young talent who can take up the responsibility of the laboratory. Sohini comes to know about Rebati (Anirban Bhattacharya)‚ a bright talent in the field of science. Rebati is mesmerized through Neela’s charm. Sohini notices it. Rebati joins the laboratory but he is continuously distracted by Neela. He is slowly shifting away from his attention towards his research. Neela’s friends keep persuing Neela so that she gets Nanda’s property. A tussle follows between Sohini and Neela regarding Rebati resulting in an adverse outcome.  

    Hoichoi has recently completed 6 months since its inception. For OTT, research has indicated that most of the new internet consumers want to consume content in their local language. According to an industry report, there would be 42 million Bengali internet users by 2021, second only to Marathi internet users (51 million) amongst all Indian languages excluding Hindi. Coupled with the fact that 45% of time spent on mobile is on entertainment, Hoichoi is well positioned to capture the market, as the world’s largest digital content platform exclusively for Bengali entertainment. 

  • Rooter launches the latest version of its app- Rooter 3.0; promises to redefine ‘Live Sports Engagement’ with the first-ever Live Fantasy Game for cricket in India

    Rooter launches the latest version of its app- Rooter 3.0; promises to redefine ‘Live Sports Engagement’ with the first-ever Live Fantasy Game for cricket in India

    MUMBAI: Having created ripples in the global sports fan engagement domain by transforming sports viewing into a shared experience, Rooter, the first-of-its-kind live social sports engagement platform is now upping the game with the launch of a new and improved version of its app, Rooter 3.0.  Featuring a world-class, flexible user interface that appeals to global audiences, the latest update makes several exciting new additions to the platform, most prominent of them being the introduction of a Sports Social Feed and the first-ever Live Fantasy Game in India for cricket.

    Rooter, which introduced the concept of Live Sports Engagement for fans 18 months ago, has overhauled its entire interface to provide the most stunning, world-class user experience across 8 different sports, including Cricket, Football, Tennis, Hockey, Basketball, Badminton, Formula 1, and Kabaddi. No other platform in its domain caters to such an extensive array of sporting disciplines. In a first, the platform’s latest avatar also introduces Sports Social Feed, a personalized newsfeed containing live sporting information sourced from the top sports social media channels spread all over the world. So the next time you enter in an intense sporting discussion about rumoured transfer movements of footballers or current statistics about your favourite batsman, let Rooter 3.0 be your hands-on expert!

    Furthermore, Rooter has also introduced a never-seen-before social gaming experience for sports fans on its platform with the Live Fantasy Cricket game that allows users to pick any four players during a live match and compete with their friends in real-time on the basis of the players’ performances. This innovative feature will soon be made available for live football matches as well.

    Speaking on the announcement, Piyush Kumar , Founder & CEO – Rooter, said, “As avid sports fans ourselves, we always strive to make the experience of viewing sports as interesting as the actual ‘game’. Rooter 3.0 is a step further towards realizing this vision, leveraging cutting-edge technology to introduce a bevy of features, games and in-app experiences to help users interact, compete and stay on top of sporting events across the world. Having already received a highly encouraging response to the app update from our existing user base, we are confident that Rooter 3.0 will deliver a more immersive, engaging, and social experience to ardent fans across the world, fuelling their passion for sports further!”

    The live match engagement aspect on the Rooter platform has also been enhanced significantly for a more seamless, intuitive, and native in-app experience. Users can now engage with an ongoing match in the way they want, checking scores, playing the match prediction game, or just scrolling through the feed for the latest videos and news from the world of sports. In a first, passionate sports fans and Rooter users can now also play match related games, win badges and proudly showcase them on their profiles.

    Rooter has been at the forefront of realizing, and utilizing the tremendous potential of social engagement derived from sports, a space which is only now being focussed upon by OTT players by introducing ‘Play Along’ features with live match. Rooter, however, has remained at the top of its game of knowing the quirks of a sports fan’s behaviour, and has implemented such insights to perfection in its latest offering. With Rooter 3.0, it’s ‘game on’ like never before!

  • Brightcove powers SonyLIV

    Brightcove powers SonyLIV

    MUMBAI: Cloud services provider for video Brightcove Inc has announced that it powers, Sony Pictures Networks India’s over-the-top (OTT) service SonyLIV. With several of the country’s top-tier media companies as customers, Brightcove has partnered a wide range of broadcasters, publishers and OTT services as they seek to launch and monetise their online video experiences.

    Brightcove has been a long-term partner of SonyLIV, powering OTT video delivery for various national and international sporting events such as La Liga, Serie A, WWE, NBA and the Australian Open.

    Monetised with a combination of advertising, subscription payments, and pay per view offerings, SonyLIV offers an array of movies, TV shows, sports, music and original content to more than 30 million viewers. The Brightcove video platform underpins the on-demand video experience on SonyLIV, ensuring a high-quality viewing experience for Indian audiences across devices including web, mobile, and connected TV screens, a release issued by the cloud services provider stated.

    Sony Pictures Networks India EVP and head (digital business) Uday Sodhi said, “The launch of a low-cost, high-speed mobile internet service in 2016 saw online video consumption surge up to five times in India, transforming the OTT landscape. For SonyLIV, the cornerstone of our strategy has always been to seamlessly deliver the best video streaming experience to our audience, and Brightcove is one of the key technology pillars in this strategy. Brightcove has not only provided a robust and highly scalable video platform to manage our OTT services, but has also brought deep video industry expertise to help us evolve our offering in a highly competitive Indian market.”

    “Internet users in India are predicted to cross the half a billion mark by mid-2018. With more users coming online, long and short form video consumption is likely to skyrocket, and force a shift in how media companies package, deliver, and monetise their content,” Brightcove’s Asia general manager Ben Morrell said.

    Also Read:

    SonyLIV and Republic World announce a strategic tie-up to expand digital presence

    SonyLIV aims to provide comprehensive CWG coverage

    The Quint India Selects Brightcove For Its Digital-First News Platform

  • Reliance Jio makes a punt on tech start-ups

    Reliance Jio makes a punt on tech start-ups

    MUMBAI: After closing Saavn and Embibe deals, Reliance Jio, according to a report published by The Economic Times, is now looking to acquire Indian start-ups in the technology ecosystem.

    In a bid to take on its competition, Reliance Jio is now looking to invest more to create a comprehensive ecosystem of digital products and services around its core telecom service.

    To add more relevant entertainment and education content to its Jio platform, the company is looking to invest in or acquire start-ups operating in the content, healthcare, education technology, financial technology and transportation segments. It might also look at Jio aligning with product technology ventures, particularly those operating in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).

    In April, Reliance Jio Music and Saavn leveraged their synergies to jointly strengthen their foothold in the Indian music streaming market. The combined value of the companies has been pegged at $1 billion, out of which Jio Music’s implied valuation is $670 million leaving Saavn at a valuation of $330 million. With this, Reliance also acquired a partial stake in Saavn from its existing shareholders for $104 million.

    Also, soon after this, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) agreed to invest over $180 Mn into AI-based education platform, Embibe over the next three years. This will put RIL in a position to buy out around 72.69% stake from Embibe’s existing investors including Lightbox and Kalaari Capital.

    Leading Jio’s charge into the start-up ecosystem is Akash Ambani, the 27-year-old Brown University-educated older son of Mukesh Ambani. Akash Ambani, chief of strategy at the company, is believed to be deeply involved in the negotiations.

    Also Read :

    Jio Music, Saavn to merge; RIL to invest $100 mn in combined entity

    Jio shifts focus to wired broadband