ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Hotstar breaks norm, introduces CinePlay

    MUMBAI: Hotstar, India’s leading streaming platform today announced that it is expanding its Premium Service and offering a new storytelling format, CinePlay, under its Originals banner. Hotstar Originals’ CinePlay will showcase classics and contemporary stories from the theatre world presented in a cinematic fashion. Each CinePlay will bring together the work of leading playwrights, internationally renowned directors and the best of the actors from both the theatre and cinema worlds.

    Available exclusively in India for Hotstar’s premium subscribers, 20 CinePlay titles will release regularly on the platform, starting with 5 titles being released on 13 February.

    The announcement comes close on the heels of the partnership with Disney that Hotstar announced last month. With that announcement, Hotstar Premium had put together a portfolio of American TV shows and movies from three of the best studios in the world: Disney, Fox and HBO.

    The introduction of CinePlay to the Premium service represents another big jump for the platform, which has already established stellar leadership in the highly competitive and fast evolving space of on-demand content. According to third party measurement company App Annie, Hotstar was the largest premium streaming platform in the month of January in India with more than 60 million users. Its watch time for the month was more than 12 times that of Amazon Prime Video and more than 20 times that of Netflix.

    CinePlays will bring some of the most renowned stories from theatre from leading playwrights like Dr. Vijay Tendulkar, Badal Sircar, Mohan Rakesh, and Mahesh Dattani amongst others. The productions have been helmed by renowned directors such as Santosh Sivan and Nagesh Kukunoor. They will feature some of the most compelling actors of the theatre and film world including Nandita Das, Saurabh Shukla, Lillete Dubey, Swanand Kirkire, Namit Das, Darshan Jariwalla, Rajpal Yadav, Sonali Kulkarni and others.

    “We love breaking norms,” said Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan. “We have never believed in the artificial separation between television and digital audiences. Our aspiration for Hotstar Originals has always been to introduce new formats and stories that are not being explored by anyone, irrespective of the screen. CinePlay is a big leap forward for storytellers and their audiences in the country. We are excited to bring an entirely new way of storytelling to a generation that has not been exposed to either these stories or to the power of theatre.”

    “CinePlay is presenting a new visual language that blends the grammar of theatre and the power of cinema. We are excited to be exclusive partners with Hotstar in bringing these rich and relatable stories to every screen. With this collaboration, we hope to capture the imagination of the digital generation through an immersive cinematic experience of the theatre,” said CinePlay chairman and co-founder Subodh Maskara.

  • Flamingo helps smartphones show multiscreen channels

    MUMBAI: Anevia, one of the leading companies in OTT and IPTV software for the delivery of live TV and video-on-demand (VOD), has announced the launch of features for its Flamingo head-end. It will be presented at ISE – Integrated Systems Europe tradeshow in Amsterdam, UK.

    Flamingo is able to deliver new services as multiscreen channels for smartphones, tablets and other connected devices as well as on-demand services such as Replay TV and Pause TV. Furthermore, an enhanced cloud monitoring service provides additional configuration possibilities for the Flamingo.

    Transcoding for downscaling and multiscreen

    The new Flamingo transcodes HD sources to SD channels compatible with legacy video players that do not support HD. The Flamingo can convert HD channels from any source (satellite, cable, terrestrial) to SD channels for broadcasting over an IP or coaxial networks.

    In addition to this embedded transcoder, the Flamingo includes the Anevia OTT packager. The Flamingo can now natively serve multiscreen live channels to smartphones, tablets and other connected devices that would be brought by the guests. The Flamingo handles the formatting of the live feeds in order to deliver them using different streaming protocols on the market such as Apple HLS, MS Smooth Streaming, Adobe HDS, MPEG-DASH.

    Time-shift and replay TV

    The Flamingo head-end is able to record the channels that are received and offers on-demand services. With embedded storage and recording capabilities, it is now very easy to provide Pause TV, Replay TV or other time-shift services.

    Cloud monitoring configuration

    The cloud monitoring service offers the possibility to configure and customise the TV head-end. One can manage the license and configuration files of the Flamingo directly through our cloud monitoring interface. Adding an option or changing the configuration of your Flamingo has never been this easy.

    The new features enhance cloud monitoring service, a web-based application that provides source for a pro-active, easy and efficient global maintenance of enterprise TV sites.

  • Content & channel management vital as Asian production enters new growth cycle

    MUMBAI: The TV, film and video production sector in Asia is set to enter a new cycle of growth, according to a new report from Media Partners Asia (MPA), as economic development and evolving distribution ecosystems stoke competition and demand for better shows, as well as more varied formats and approaches.

    MPA’s Video Content Dynamics, published today, reviews industry supply, demand and key drivers across India, Korea and five markets in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) on free, pay and OTT platforms. The report breaks out ratings performance, economics and key players by genre (drama, movies, news, sports, kids and factual), as well as theatrical performance for local and international films.

    TV is the dominant viewing platform in these markets. However, as more people get access to affordable high-speed broadband, quality content as well as proactive channel management are becoming increasingly important for incumbent broadcasters, MPA analysts noted.

    “Online video is gaining traction in key emerging markets, as broadband speeds increase and connection costs come down,” said Media Partners Asia VP – Research & Consulting Steve Laslocky. “Leading broadcasters are rolling out ad-supported catch-up services while subscription online video services (local, regional and global) are gaining traction with premium Asian content as well as domestic and Hollywood movies. More than ever, a healthy local production ecosystem is a vital component of a healthy TV market.”

    Korean content remains the gold standard for production in Asia, expanding beyond drama and film to become a genre in its own right. Costs are increasing in Korea’s highly competitive domestic marketplace, where profits are challenging. At the same time, demand and pricing power in MPA-surveyed markets continue to rise across both TV and online video, helping sustain Korea’s leadership position.

    MIXED PICTURE ACROSS ASIA

    Future growth prospects and the relative health of local production varies across the seven markets covered by MPA’s Asia Video Content Dynamics report. Broadcasters that rely heavily on in-house teams, as seen in Malaysia and the Philippines for example, risk stifling ideas and competition. On the other hand, too many third-party studios competing for work can squeeze margins. This trend, seen in India’s TV industry, leaves little money to reinvest and develop local production for the opportunities and challenges ahead.

    Indonesia stands out as a relatively healthy ecosystem among Asian growth markets. Southeast Asia’s largest economy comprises comparatively few major production houses, often operating with backing from one of the country’s major TV groups. Production costs are relatively low, while the free-to-air ad market remains buoyant, providing good returns for popular shows. This bodes well for the future development of Indonesian content.

    By contrast, the environment for production in India is almost the opposite. The rollout of digital TV is dramatically expanding viewer choices for hundreds of millions of homes in the sub-continent, while opening up opportunities to develop premium and more targeted content. However, intense competition for TV revenues between hundreds of local production houses has driven margins to 15% and below, making it difficult to capitalize on these changes.

    DRAMA RULES, BUT GENRE MIX CRUCIAL

    Multiple genres are fueling consumption on free, pay and OTT services. Local dramas, however, remain the most important ratings driver across much of the region, despite concerns about stale storylines.

    In India for example, domestic drama accounted for over half of all TV viewing last year, underscoring its dominance. Local series were also popular in Southeast Asia, representing 46% of viewing in Vietnam, 35% of viewing in Thailand and 31% of viewing in the Philippines.

    Movies also tend to rate well on TV, especially in countries with a strong domestic film industry. This is especially evident in India as well as Indonesia and the Philippines, the two markets in Southeast Asia with the largest box office and where local films also have the highest share of revenue.

    Sports, meanwhile, is a high-profile and high-rating but ultimately event-driven genre. Many international marquee events are aired late at night, limiting viewership, underscoring the importance of local tournaments. Monetization for some local sports, such as football in Malaysia, still lags international franchises however, despite high ratings.

    Contrary to common perception, sports is not a major audience contributor on pay-TV, while the popularity of recent Hollywood movies on pay-TV varies by market. Kids content, meanwhile, is a leading pay-TV genre in Indonesia (50% audience share) and the Philippines (22%).

    Some OTT platforms are starting to compete on early windows for Asian content, although not on Hollywood movies, where studios can still command high prices from premium pay channels and pay-TV operators across most markets. This will likely change over time.

    Investment in local content and original productions for the OTT window, meanwhile, is growing rapidly in India and slowly expanding across Southeast Asia. In markets such as Indonesia, local movies, dramas and series are boosting consumption across regional SVOD services.

    Monetization for ad-supported services however, with the exception of YouTube, is proving to be a challenge. As online video gains scale in the region, industry standards for comparable viewing data will be crucial to further growing online video advertising outside of the YouTube ecosystem.

     

  • Hooq hires ex-BBC exec, to expand into new territories

    Hooq hires ex-BBC exec, to expand into new territories

    MUMBAI: Singtel’s over-the-top (OTT) service Hooq has appointed Michael Fleshman as its chief technical officer. He was the senior vice-president of consumer digital technology at BBC Worldwide until March 2015 after being CTO at FT.com and CIO at the Financial Times.

    Hooq CEO Peter Bithos welcomed Fleshman to Hooq as part of the senior leadership team. He opined that the team is ecstatic by his depth of experience in the digital media space and is confident about Fleshman leading the technical team to new heights as it expands aggressively into new territories, new products and new platforms in 2017.

    Fleshman said he looked forward to driving the company into its new phase of innovation and technology.

    Singtel has a majority stake in the project across Asia, with Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros Entertainment being the minority shareholders.

    Also Read:

    Netflix confirms seven million subs; picks up Amazon gauntlet

    HOOQ raises US$ 25 million from Sony Pictures, others; open to outside investors

    Hooq appoints OTT veteran for Singapore business

    Hooq expands its kids offering; to add 500 hours of content

     

  • OTT poses regulatory challenges but govt committed to digitisation

    OTT poses regulatory challenges but govt committed to digitisation

    NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting (MIB) Rajyavardhan Rathore has said that digital technology platform acted as an equalizer ensuring level playing field and providing equal opportunities for all irrespective of age, region and economic background, but cautioned that techs like OTT posed regulatory challenges too.

    Digital technology apart from providing better services, also ensured transparency that enabled plugging leakages at every levels so that the intended benefits trickle down to every citizen, the Minister said here yesterday at the inaugural ceremony of the 23rd International Conference & Exhibition on Terrestrial and Satellite Broadcasting, organised by the Broadcasting Engineering Society (BES) that also is holding the BES Expo 2017.

    Also present on the occasion were TRAI chairman RS Sharma and Member of Parliament and Zee chairman Subash Chandra. The theme of the event is `Hybrid Technologies in Broadcasting’.

    Rathore said that while digital technology offered immense opportunities to reach out to people, it also posed many challenges with regards to content regulation, illegal broadcasts that demanded innovative solutions to address the concerns. The Over the Top (OTT) applications have democratized the reach of content providing a wide range of services especially to young people with smart gadgets.

    However, the OTT applications were a concern for regulatory authority as they were not governed by any law, Rathore said, adding that the government was committed to digitization and the latest Union Budget 2017 had included digital economy as one of the key themes that had allotted Rs 10,000 crore (Rs. 100,000 million) for the Digital India program launched by PM Narendra Modi.

    The Minister, along with Chandra and Sharma, also felicitated the winners of the awards constituted by Broadcast Engineering Society in various categories such as broadcasting, engineering, training and innovation. The life time achievement award was conferred to BB Srivastava for his outstanding contributions to the radio FM industry.

  • OTT poses regulatory challenges but govt committed to digitisation

    OTT poses regulatory challenges but govt committed to digitisation

    NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting (MIB) Rajyavardhan Rathore has said that digital technology platform acted as an equalizer ensuring level playing field and providing equal opportunities for all irrespective of age, region and economic background, but cautioned that techs like OTT posed regulatory challenges too.

    Digital technology apart from providing better services, also ensured transparency that enabled plugging leakages at every levels so that the intended benefits trickle down to every citizen, the Minister said here yesterday at the inaugural ceremony of the 23rd International Conference & Exhibition on Terrestrial and Satellite Broadcasting, organised by the Broadcasting Engineering Society (BES) that also is holding the BES Expo 2017.

    Also present on the occasion were TRAI chairman RS Sharma and Member of Parliament and Zee chairman Subash Chandra. The theme of the event is `Hybrid Technologies in Broadcasting’.

    Rathore said that while digital technology offered immense opportunities to reach out to people, it also posed many challenges with regards to content regulation, illegal broadcasts that demanded innovative solutions to address the concerns. The Over the Top (OTT) applications have democratized the reach of content providing a wide range of services especially to young people with smart gadgets.

    However, the OTT applications were a concern for regulatory authority as they were not governed by any law, Rathore said, adding that the government was committed to digitization and the latest Union Budget 2017 had included digital economy as one of the key themes that had allotted Rs 10,000 crore (Rs. 100,000 million) for the Digital India program launched by PM Narendra Modi.

    The Minister, along with Chandra and Sharma, also felicitated the winners of the awards constituted by Broadcast Engineering Society in various categories such as broadcasting, engineering, training and innovation. The life time achievement award was conferred to BB Srivastava for his outstanding contributions to the radio FM industry.

  • MatrixCloud OTT enables IPTV operators roll out OTT services in 60 days

    MatrixCloud OTT enables IPTV operators roll out OTT services in 60 days

    MUMBAI: MatrixStream has introduced the MatrixCloud OTT solution for IPTV operators enabling end-to-end IPTV and OTT platform rollout in less than 60 days. Operators can utilize MatrixCloud OTT to launch skinny channel bundles and subscription VOD to complement existing IPTV offerings or to release a standalone video package to bundle with high-margin broadband and wireless services.

    MatrixCloud OTT dramatically reduces time-to-market, even for the largest IPTV operators, enabling service providers to deploy next generation TV services as quickly as possible to increase sales from existing customers and to protect user-base from competitors choosing other IPTV and OTT platforms.

    In-house OTT solution rollout can add up to tens of millions of dollars or more and thousands of hours of integration across multiple hardware and software providers. The MatrixCloud OTT platform and SaaS- based pricing is specifically designed avoid CAPEX and OPEX nightmares through a one-vendor, end-to- end IPTV and OTT solution.

    Tier one operators with millions of customers on many continents are already capitalizing upon Matrixstream’s years of successful IPTV and OTT solution experience to increase average revenue user (ARPU) MatrixStream and to overcome slower-moving competitors.

    In 2017 alone, Matrixstream is launching and expanding services with many of the world’s top multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). Take advantage of our easy, incredibly-customizable ITPV and OTT solution to generate far higher profits from existing users and reach new users with next generation TV offerings.

    The MatrixCloud OTT platform for IPTV and OTT operators includes the following:

    1. Operator-branded apps and clients for Android and iOS mobile phones and tablets, PCs, Macs, Apple TV boxes, Android TV boxes, Roku, Chromecast and Amazon Fire.

    2. Support for up 100 live linear channels in each 42u rack with full MatrixCloud DVR support.

    3. SaaS capacity-based pricing that delivering savings of up to 80% over typical per-user pricing and hardware service agreements.

    4. Highly-customizable, targeted advertising across all user devices.

    5. Cloud-based operator BSS and OSS with integrated voucher payment, multiple currencies and third-party mobile money support.

    6. End-to-end MatrixStream OTT IPTV solution can be deployed live in less than 60 days.

  • MatrixCloud OTT enables IPTV operators roll out OTT services in 60 days

    MatrixCloud OTT enables IPTV operators roll out OTT services in 60 days

    MUMBAI: MatrixStream has introduced the MatrixCloud OTT solution for IPTV operators enabling end-to-end IPTV and OTT platform rollout in less than 60 days. Operators can utilize MatrixCloud OTT to launch skinny channel bundles and subscription VOD to complement existing IPTV offerings or to release a standalone video package to bundle with high-margin broadband and wireless services.

    MatrixCloud OTT dramatically reduces time-to-market, even for the largest IPTV operators, enabling service providers to deploy next generation TV services as quickly as possible to increase sales from existing customers and to protect user-base from competitors choosing other IPTV and OTT platforms.

    In-house OTT solution rollout can add up to tens of millions of dollars or more and thousands of hours of integration across multiple hardware and software providers. The MatrixCloud OTT platform and SaaS- based pricing is specifically designed avoid CAPEX and OPEX nightmares through a one-vendor, end-to- end IPTV and OTT solution.

    Tier one operators with millions of customers on many continents are already capitalizing upon Matrixstream’s years of successful IPTV and OTT solution experience to increase average revenue user (ARPU) MatrixStream and to overcome slower-moving competitors.

    In 2017 alone, Matrixstream is launching and expanding services with many of the world’s top multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). Take advantage of our easy, incredibly-customizable ITPV and OTT solution to generate far higher profits from existing users and reach new users with next generation TV offerings.

    The MatrixCloud OTT platform for IPTV and OTT operators includes the following:

    1. Operator-branded apps and clients for Android and iOS mobile phones and tablets, PCs, Macs, Apple TV boxes, Android TV boxes, Roku, Chromecast and Amazon Fire.

    2. Support for up 100 live linear channels in each 42u rack with full MatrixCloud DVR support.

    3. SaaS capacity-based pricing that delivering savings of up to 80% over typical per-user pricing and hardware service agreements.

    4. Highly-customizable, targeted advertising across all user devices.

    5. Cloud-based operator BSS and OSS with integrated voucher payment, multiple currencies and third-party mobile money support.

    6. End-to-end MatrixStream OTT IPTV solution can be deployed live in less than 60 days.

  • dittoTV partners Idea to provide 90+ live channels

    dittoTV partners Idea to provide 90+ live channels

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited’s (ZDCL) live TV platform dittoTV has partnered with Idea Cellular for its entertainment app, Idea Movies Club. Through this, Idea subscribers will get access to a bouquet of 90+ premium live TV channels. Idea Cellular will also offer its subscribers a subscription of dittoTV bundled with its data recharges and Movie Club packs.

    Idea Movie Club is a free video streaming app offering unlimited access to music videos, movies and Hollywood, Bollywood and regional TV shows across 10+ different languages. The live TV channels offered by the app can be accessed via ditto TV, which is featured as a separate tab in the app.

    “With dittoTV, our aim is to bring Live TV within the reach of every Indian and help them access a rich portfolio of content across genres and languages. With this collaboration, Idea customers can watch their favorite TV shows live anytime, anywhere, on any internet enabled device, along with all the other wonderful video and movies content offered by the Idea Movie Club app. This is a fantastic option especially for working professionals who are constantly on-the-go and hostel students who may not have easy access to a TV set and would otherwise miss out on their favorite programmes,” said dittoTV business head Archana Anand.

    Positioned as Desh ka TV, dittoTV has several strategic partnerships in place to strengthen its reach across the country. dittoTV is available to users on both Android and iOS platforms. The subscription charges for the platform start from INR 20 per month.

  • dittoTV partners Idea to provide 90+ live channels

    dittoTV partners Idea to provide 90+ live channels

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited’s (ZDCL) live TV platform dittoTV has partnered with Idea Cellular for its entertainment app, Idea Movies Club. Through this, Idea subscribers will get access to a bouquet of 90+ premium live TV channels. Idea Cellular will also offer its subscribers a subscription of dittoTV bundled with its data recharges and Movie Club packs.

    Idea Movie Club is a free video streaming app offering unlimited access to music videos, movies and Hollywood, Bollywood and regional TV shows across 10+ different languages. The live TV channels offered by the app can be accessed via ditto TV, which is featured as a separate tab in the app.

    “With dittoTV, our aim is to bring Live TV within the reach of every Indian and help them access a rich portfolio of content across genres and languages. With this collaboration, Idea customers can watch their favorite TV shows live anytime, anywhere, on any internet enabled device, along with all the other wonderful video and movies content offered by the Idea Movie Club app. This is a fantastic option especially for working professionals who are constantly on-the-go and hostel students who may not have easy access to a TV set and would otherwise miss out on their favorite programmes,” said dittoTV business head Archana Anand.

    Positioned as Desh ka TV, dittoTV has several strategic partnerships in place to strengthen its reach across the country. dittoTV is available to users on both Android and iOS platforms. The subscription charges for the platform start from INR 20 per month.