ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Amazon strikes the balance between bingeing and episodic with ‘Breathe’

    Amazon strikes the balance between bingeing and episodic with ‘Breathe’

    MUMBAI: Edgy and fresh, web content has made its mark in India, breaking free from staid television formats and rules. No time frames, no censorship issues, and women don’t turn into snakes. The west has been bingeing on shows on the internet for long, whereas India has just woken up to the concept recently, thanks to better connectivity and high-resolution video streaming. But, has launching all the episodes, together, caught on as a trend? The answer is both yes and no.

    One of the most talked about series under binge watching section is Amazon Prime Video’s first India original Inside Edge. The Bollywood-cricket web series garnered a tremendous buzz before and after its launch. The most amusing thing is the staggering figure of Rs 40 crore spent by Amazon on the show, speculated as half of it for marketing and the rest for production.

    Amazon Prime Video India director content Vijay Subramaniam said, “When we launched a little over a year ago, we realised there is a clear expectation and desire from our customers to have access to gripping storytelling, high-quality and compelling content. With the customer being at the center of everything we do, we are committed to bringing the best of content for our audiences, supported by immensely talented content creators matched by the most innovative ways to bring them to our audiences.”

    However, Amazon Prime, while releasing its second India original, Breathe, experimented with a new strategy where half the series can be binge-watched and for the rest, you have to wait a week for every new release. The first four episodes of the series were out on 26 January and the remaining four will release every Friday until 23 February. Being a thriller, the strategy is to leave viewers in suspense at a certain point.

    The marketing budget to promote Breathe is around Rs 20 crore. Amazon rolled out a robust, 360-degree campaign across India including highly engaging TVCs, print, digital, cinema, mobile, outdoor campaigns and activations for Breathe. Subramaniam called it a ‘path-breaking digital content in India’. Amazon is tight-lipped about the marketing plan for the last episode.

    Interestingly, India beats the rest of the world in binge watching a series. 71 per cent Indians in 2017 watched more entertainment in a public place than year 2016, according to the study released by Netflix. It was one of the first platforms to start the concept of releasing all episodes at one time for binge watching and others like ALTBalaji, VB on the Web, Voot, SonyLiv etc, followed suit.

    Binge watching has found popularity because Indians are alien to the idea of waiting a whole week for the next episode. They are ready to gulp their favourite series back to back, a trend that rose from the daily saas-bahu serials on TV too. Some OTT players allow paid subscribers to binge watch and unpaid ones have to wait a week. Viu released Spotlight 2 for binge watching, whereas all other series are released on weekly basis.

    SurveyMonkey found that 52 per cent Indians binge watch most at cafes and restaurants, and 37 per cent in waiting in line. Indians binge watch in parks, on the way to work, while shopping and at the gym. The study says that Indians took three days to devour an entire TV series on average, while the global average is four days.

    But the weekly episodic trend is also catching up. Since 2011, YouTube has worked with regional studios to help them get a wider distribution. In 2014, content creators from Mumbai including The Viral Fever (TVF) and AIB were making waves on YouTube and gaining traction while releasing episodes on weekly basis. TVF is said to be the pioneer of Indian web series and still release episodes on a weekly basis on their app TVF Play.

    Despite the fact that binge watching or releasing all episodes at one go attracts more audiences, Amazon took a risk with Breathe. Although, releasing shows in parts have the chances and risk to lose the viewership but weekly releases enable the audiences to keep guessing. Which side will platforms sway in the near future will be an interesting scene to look out for.

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    2017: The year OTTs went regional in India

     

  • Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan to make his digital debut with ALTBalaji’s next crime-based web series

    Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan to make his digital debut with ALTBalaji’s next crime-based web series

    ALTBalaji is India’s largest OTT platform for original and exclusive shows. Since its launch in April, ALTBalaji has more than 15 million mobile downloads. The ad free, subscription-based platform is available in over 90 countries and offers original content in various Indian regional languages, making it India’s largest repository for original and exclusive digital content.

    2018 has started on a high note for ALTBalaji with big announcements such as Habib Faisal and big back to back hits like The Test Case and Haq Se. With many more engaging and interesting #ALTBalajiOriginals in the pipeline, the digital platform has announced its next collaboration – The platform has signed up Bhojpuri superstar Ravi Kishan for its next crime based digital show tentatively titled The Family. ALTBalaji had recently announced Vivek Oberoi in the project and now this news comes in as yet another big surprise!

    Ravi Kishan who is making his digital debut with ALTBalaji will be seen playing a pivotal role in the show. Sharing his excitement for the project, Ravi said “Very very excited to debut in a web series and what better association than ALTBalaji. The concept is different and not explored much. This is also the first time that I am collaborating with Ekta Kapoor and I am very excited about it.”

    Interestingly Vivek recently took to his social media handle to announce Ravi Kishan’s association with the project.

    Owing to the popularity of crime dramas in the International digital space, ALTBalaji is now all set to explore the genre that focuses on the dark world of the mafia land.

  • Lionsgate India ropes in Maitreyee Dasgupta as creative head

    Lionsgate India ropes in Maitreyee Dasgupta as creative head

    MUMBAI: Lionsgate India has named production executive Maitreyee Dasgupta as its creative head. She will report to MD Rohit Jain.

    Based in the Mumbai office, Dasgupta will oversee local productions and co-productions across film, television and digital platforms under the Lionsgate and Starz brands. She will work with local partners to bring global formats to India for local-language remakes and will supervise co-production of original content. Dasgupta will also work closely with Jain in building Lionsgate India’s strategy for television and digital productions in the territory.

    “Maitreyee is an experienced production executive and a skilled media strategist,” said Jain. “Her impressive track record and goodwill in the territory make her the perfect addition to our Lionsgate India office as we build our content slates and expand the company’s footprint in one of the largest and fastest-growing markets.”

    “I’m delighted to join Rohit and the Lionsgate team in this exciting new phase of their global expansion,” said Dasgupta. “The Lionsgate and Starz brands are distinguished by their original, bold, premium quality. I cannot wait to bring to Indian audiences a diverse portfolio of high-end projects featuring some of Bollywood’s greatest talent.”

    Dasgupta spent four years as senior supervising producer for Viacom18 Motion Pictures, where she worked on some of the biggest and critically acclaimed Bollywood hits like Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,Madras Café and Gangs of Wasseypur. She also had stints at Walt Disney’s subsidiaries UTV Television and UTV Spotboy Motion Pictures, where she supervised the production of one of the highest rated nonfiction shows on the popular Hindi channel Bindass. Most recently, she was deputy director of the NFDC Film Bazaar.

    Dasgupta received her Master of Arts in Archeology from Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute in Pune, India, and has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Ramnarain College, Mumbai.

    Also Read:

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    Lionsgate properties in film and TV on Amazon Prime Video India

     

  • Avian Media wins the PR mandate for ZEE5

    Avian Media wins the PR mandate for ZEE5

    ZEE5 has mandated Avian Media to lead its India PR duties. Launching soon with content across multiple languages, ZEE5 will be the one stop digital destination for ZEE Entertainment, a global Media and Entertainment powerhouse. The platform will offer a mix of both On-Demand content, including Originals, movies and much more, as well as Live TV.

    Avian Media will be responsible for crafting and managing ZEE5’s key messages, and has a clear mandate to disseminate the richness of ZEE5’s language offering across markets.

    ZEE5 India digital head Archana Anand said, “ZEE5 launches in the Indian market with a very powerful proposition in its strong language focus, and one that fills a clear consumer need-gap. We wanted to work with a PR agency that has a strong network not only in urban markets but also a deep strength in regional markets for great dissemination of ZEE’s key messaging, and Avian Media brings that to the table. We look forward to working closely with them right from our launch to build ZEE5 up into a strong success story.”

    Avian Media CEO Nitin Mantri said, “We are pleased to be the partner of choice for ZEE5. At Avian, we believe that the art of storytelling is what makes a campaign stand out. We are delighted to work on a brand that shares our belief of telling an insight-driven story that influences user behaviour and drives change.”

    With expertise across verticals, extending from Public Relations and Public Affairs to Financial Communications, Digital, CSR and Advocacy, Avian Media currently services client like Deloitte India, Sony English Cluster, McDonald’s, Airbus, PVR Cinemas, Tourism Australia, Qatar Airways, Facebook and Coca Cola.

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    Carat bags media account for ZEE5

  • Airtel picks Hotstar content for its customers

    Airtel picks Hotstar content for its customers

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel and Hotstar have announced a strategic partnership to bring digital content from the latter’s portfolio to Airtel customers. This will further expand Airtel TV app’s wide range of offerings and expand the footprint for Hotstar’s content across Airtel’s large mobile customer base.   

    Commenting on the partnership, Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan added, “Airtel has among the widest consumer footprints in India and with our expansive content library, comprising rich programming that can cater across age groups, geographies and interests, there are natural synergies and we are very excited about this partnership.”

    Wynk CEO Sameer Batra said, “We are delighted to have Hotstar onboard as a long term partner in our endeavour to build a world-class digital content ecosystem. Their rich content library will add immense value to our content play and add to the user experience. Airtel TV’s new version has received an extremely positive response from users and we will continue to bring exciting content and in-app innovations to delight them.”

    With the new partnership, Airtel TV now has access to one of the largest and most exciting digital content portfolios in India, with 350 plus Live TV channels and close to 10,000 popular movies and shows from India and abroad. Airtel has forged partnerships with all leading broadcasters and production houses to bring the best of content on a single platform and offer a compelling experience to customers.

    Hotstar’s library comprising over 100,000 hours of content, in nine languages will now be available to all Airtel customers for free through the Airtel TV app. This will include shows from 22 channels and over 3000 hit movies and shows.   

    All content on Airtel TV app is free for Airtel prepaid and postpaid customers on a promotional basis till June 2018.

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    BTVI to now bring live budget updates on Hotstar

    Airtel Digital TV revenue, PAT and EBITDA up in Q3 2018

  • Animation industry anticipating OTT revolution by 2020

    Animation industry anticipating OTT revolution by 2020

    MUMBAI:  As 2018 kick-started its journey with a bang, the question contemplated by broadcasters and the animation production segment was whether or not the media and entertainment industry was in the favour of animation. Animationxpress.com’s Spark Connect event saw a session on ‘2018, an animated year for the Indian Industry?’ with panellists—Toonz Media Group national head of marketing Kishor Srivastav, Green Gold Animation chief strategy officer Srinivas Chilakalapudi, Cosmos-Maya syndication, marketing and sales VP Devdatta Potnis, Discovery Kids India head of content Uttam Pal Singh and Vaibhav More Films founder and director Vaibhav More. The panel was moderated by Indiantelevision.com and Animationxpress.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.

    Potnis said that the rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms had enabled content to reach tier II and III cities via smartphone penetration. Online was a dominant factor in 2017 and was likely to turn the tables in the next two to three years.  Srivastav added that in 2011, the average consumption of a common Indian was 450 hours a year, which shot up to 6050 hours in 2017, aided by online videos in which animation had a big role to play.

    Potnis also pointed out that kids were demanding regional animation content. He added that this was being driven by OTT and the local market. His company is soon to launch a spinoff of Motu Patlu soon. Discovery’s Singh highlighted that new IP creation is definitely on the cards but one needs to figure out the right stories and characters. He admitted that Discovery Kids wasn’t among the top brands and that the channel is going through a reinvention. Though creating an IP is difficult, he said that there isn’t any fatigue setting in.

    Srivastav touched upon the facets that make Korean animation content work in India. “We need to create IPs for young adults and kids. The storytelling needs to be simple,” he said. He predicts that there will be more IP creation happening in India by 2018-2020. Creating one takes at least two to three years and not benefitting it is the lack of finance due to the low trust in the industry. He said that a creator needs at least Rs 4-5 crore to produce a series, as well as government incentives. Working with foreign companies doesn’t entail a tax but local production is stamped with a 15 per cent GST. He spoke of countries that provide up to 40 per cent subsidies with Singapore establishing it at 25 per cent and Malaysia creating a fund for animation producers. Such initiatives are what India lacks.

    The advertising industry has also become judicious in its spending. Clients today are cautious in the areas they spend. They are also aware of the impact of the animation industry and are willing to shell out a higher amount if the quality is good.

    OTT is surely the focus of even animation producers today. Knowing its power and potential and the reach it has to India and the world’s youth, the players are anticipating the boom in the next few years.

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  • Applause Entertainment ropes in ace director Nagesh Kukunoor for the urban-political thriller titled ‘City of Dreams’

    Applause Entertainment ropes in ace director Nagesh Kukunoor for the urban-political thriller titled ‘City of Dreams’

    Applause Entertainment, helmed by entertainment veteran Sameer Nair, ropes in celebrated director Nagesh Kukunoor for a powerful political drama set in the backdrop of modern day Mumbai. Titled, ‘City of Dreams’, the series is a gritty, violent story of power, corruption and deceit. 

     ‘A single stone thrown in a seemingly placid lake sets off a series of ripples that touch everyone; hurt many.’ City of Dreams is the story of the feud within the Gaikwad family, which erupts after an assassination attempt on a polarizing political figure. Blurring the lines between moral and immoral in a struggle for power forms the core of this transfixing narrative.

    Commenting on the show, Applause Entertainment, CEO, Sameer Nair said “I am a huge fan of big city crime-political dramas. The milieu the people and the atmospherics lend themselves to gripping and intriguing stories, which in a serialized, multi-season format, are being widely consumed by audiences across the globe. This kind of storytelling is at the center of everything we want to build at Applause. Nagesh is known for creating stories that are avant-garde and it is a delight to have him helm this project.”.

    Marking the first collaboration between Sameer Nair and Nagesh Kukunoor, ‘City of Dreams’ will showcase the dark underbelly of the political world.

    “I’ve always been excited about tackling a genre that I haven’t before and with City of Dreams I get a chance to explore Mumbai, the city known for its extremes – extreme poverty, wealth, corruption, humanity. And a web series format, while really challenging, is a great format to truly explore many characters in depth. Even though I’ve known Sameer from the days of Hyderabad Blues, we are finally collaborating and it’s been fun” says Nagesh Kukunoor. 

    The shoot is scheduled to begin on the 9th February and will be shot extensively across various locations in Mumbai. The series is expected to release in the latter half of 2018.

  • Jio TV to live stream Winter Olympics 2018

    Jio TV to live stream Winter Olympics 2018

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio’s live television app JioTV has secured digital rights for the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 for the India market.

    As per the deal, JioTV will work with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to provide users with access to live and catch-up content on their mobile devices. The terms of the deal were, however, not disclosed.

    Featuring 102 events in 15 sports, including skiing, skating, luge, ski jumping, ice hockey and snow boarding, the Games will see participation from more than 90 countries, including India. 

    The Olympic Winter Games are scheduled from 9 to 25 February at PyeongChang County, South Korea.

    The company said that JioTV will create several exclusive channels to stream 24×7 live action and content from the tournament and will also provide a seven day catch up content feature.

    The IPC said that its Olympic Channel will also live stream the tournament across India and the sub-continent including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This will be done on its website, mobile apps, and its YouTube channel.

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  • Catch the digital premiere of the latest comedy blockbuster humble politician nograj only on Amazon Prime Video

    Catch the digital premiere of the latest comedy blockbuster humble politician nograj only on Amazon Prime Video

    Amazon Prime Video today announced the digital premiere of the latest comedy blockbuster Humble Politician Nograj. The popular Kannada title, will be available for Prime members to stream, starting February 9, 2018, soon after its theatrical release.

    Actress and comedian Sumukhi Suresh of Pushpavalli fame, features in the blockbuster film which is directed by Saad Khan.  A socio-political set up, the story of Humble Politician Nograj revolves around greed and power, and the struggle faced by a politician who exploits the city’s resources for personal gain. The movie stars popular radio jockey and stand-up comedian Danish Sait as the lead.

    Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest and exclusive movies and TV shows, stand-up comedy, ad-free across Indian and Hollywood movies, US TV shows, top/popular Indian and international kids’ shows, award winning Amazon Original shows along with content from top Bollywood, regional, Indian and international studios – all available in one location/service.

    To watch these and other new release Hollywood and Bollywood movies, US TV shows, kids’ programming and Amazon Originals, please visit www.PrimeVideo.com or download the Amazon Prime Video app today and sign-up for a Prime membership.

  • Amazon Prime brings Venus Music’s 1990s, 2000s tracks to life

    Amazon Prime brings Venus Music’s 1990s, 2000s tracks to life

    MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Music announced that it is reviving Venus Music’s catalogue of thousands of tracks to its Indian and international selection. Amazon Prime Music will now offer the popular tracks that ruled the Indian music industry in the 90s and 2000s, all ad-free.

    Amazon Music India Director Sahas Malhotra said, “Amazon Prime Music continues to strengthen its catalogue across the decades of 90s and 00s as well as its selection in Hindi, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Punjabi languages to ensure we offer the best selection to our customers. With the addition of Venus Music, Prime members will have access to super hits from Dil Se, Baazigar, Yes Boss and several other Bollywood hits curated across hundreds of playlists and stations.”

    “We are very excited to announce our collaboration with Amazon Prime Music and offer our rich catalogue of classics with the upcoming new releases to the Prime customer. We are looking forward for this association with Amazon Prime Music to be highly successful and we continue in our endeavor to entertain the music lovers across the country,” said Venus Music Digital Head Girish Jain.

    With over thousands of tracks in Hindi, Punjabi, Bhojpuri, Bengali, Marathi and other regional languages across genres, Venus Music is home to many iconic hits by artists like AR Rahman, Jagjit Singh, Nadeem Shravan, Anu Malik, Bappi Lahiri, Pritam, Sajid-Wajid, Himesh Reshammiya among many other top music composers. Music listeners will now enjoy tracks along with a selection of ghazals and devotional music, curated into playlists and stations by Amazon Music experts.

    Amazon Prime already offers unlimited free one-day and two-day delivery over 11 million products online to over 100 cities, 30 minutes early access for members on top deals and more benefits for an unparalleled shopping experience and instant access to latest movies and TV shows.

    Also Read:

    Amazon Prime Video announces a new original series, Skulls and Roses

    Amazon Prime Music to add Tips Music to its ever-expanding ad-free selection

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