ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • Viva appoints Ashley before global OTT rollout

    Viva appoints Ashley before global OTT rollout

    MUMBAI: Viva Entertainment Group, Inc., a developer of OTT systems through which television services are delivered using the Internet, has announced the appointment of FlixFling founder and CEO, Thomas Ashley, to its board of directors.

    Ashley will serve as an independent director of the company. Viva’s Board now comprises four, with Johnny Falcones, Viva’s CEO, serving as the chairman of the board. Ashley is an industry veteran and brings a new dimension to its seasoned board. This wealth of knowledge makes the perfect team as the company embarks on a global rollout of its cutting edge OTT platform.

    Viva’s CEO, Johnny Falcones expressed, “Ashley’s experience in content rights and global distribution makes him nothing short of an industry guru. Ashley will play a major part in our decision-making when it comes to his fields of expertise. He continues to be a top notch CEO having advanced FlixFling to one of the top streaming music and movie services in North America. The addition of his expertise to Viva’s Board is part of our complete package, rounding out insight into all arenas related to OTT, as we ready our products for global distribution. We could not be more thrilled to have his guidance as we advance Viva’s mission in the market place.”

    Viva founder chairman and CEO Johnny Falcones is an industry veteran with the strategic vision, drive, and connections to advance Viva’s platform in the TV industry. His extensive experience in the entertainment world drove him to start his quest with Viva.

    From day one at a young age he helped develop the careers of Marc Anthony (India) and not long ago Soleil J. This champion then continued his career with Icons such as Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. He also developed a successful record label with Universal Music and Video Distribution, turning it in to a multi-million dollar label.

    Two decades ago, Falcones was just a Puerto Rican born, cool kid from Brooklyn, who moonlighted as a DJ while attending LaGuardia College in New York .2 turntables & a keen ear, Falcones quickly became the music authority of NY’s Latin House music scene of 90s. It was one faithful night at Palladium nightclub, where he had a chance encounter with legendary music impresario Ralph Mercado, who recruited him to RMM Records. Together they globalized the Latin record industry, converting starry-eyed local vocalist Marc Anthony & India from buzz act, to icons.

    Within months, the young up and coming Falcones was globe-trotting with Superstars, Celia Cruz & Tito Puente. Under Falcones’ management, these stars collected a bevy of international awards & were immortalized via ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ slots. Falcones co-exec. produced the White House’s 24th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards in Sep. 2010, which featured a luminaries such Juan Luis Guerra & Don Francisco. He also produced the Last Tito Puente concert Viva La Musica which was release on Showtime pay-per view and the was release on CD and DVD.

    Ashley is an unprecedented CEO who brings two decades of experience in the film industry. As founder and CEO of FlixFling, Ashley has created the largest privately held streaming movie service in North America. FlixFling is the only service to offer both streaming music and movies for one low monthly fee. Through its partnership with Music Choice, FlixFling is also the only streaming service to offer streaming music videos across 25 channels. Flixfling boasts over 10,000 titles, with Ashley negotiating all content deals for the company with partners including Warner Brothers, Sony, Paramount, Universal, Starz Digital Media, Magnolia Pictures, Image Entertainment and VuBiquity among others.

    A veteran in the Advertising Industry Ashley’s experience is paramount in marketing to mainstream audiences. As CEO of Invincible Pictures, Ashley has created a major independent entertainment group pioneering digital film and television distribution. In November of 2008 Ashley opened Philadelphia Sound Stages a 70,000 Square feet facility including Sound Stages, Production Offices and warehousing for Invincible’s pick, pack and ship operations. In May of 2014 Ashley closed his 2nd film acquisitions fund Invincible Entertainment Partners. A follow up to his highly successful 2008 fund IP Film Partners, both with the mission of acquiring, producing and licensing motion picture properties for distribution on a global platform.

    As part of the fund Invincible co-produced Kevin Smith’s newest $5.5MM film “Yoga Hosers” Starring, Smith and his Daughter Harley Quinn, as well as Johnny Depp, and his daughter Lilly-Rose. This is the first time Depp and his daughter shared a screen together. Other notable cast includes Stan Lee, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment and Genesis Rodriguez. Ashley is a proud member of the board for the Philadelphia Film Society, the non-profit organization behind the Philadelphia Film Festival, A Member of the Entertainment Merchants Association and Volunteer at the Abramson Cancer Center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Ashley himself is a cancer survivor and shares a home with his wife and son in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

  • Viva appoints Ashley before global OTT rollout

    Viva appoints Ashley before global OTT rollout

    MUMBAI: Viva Entertainment Group, Inc., a developer of OTT systems through which television services are delivered using the Internet, has announced the appointment of FlixFling founder and CEO, Thomas Ashley, to its board of directors.

    Ashley will serve as an independent director of the company. Viva’s Board now comprises four, with Johnny Falcones, Viva’s CEO, serving as the chairman of the board. Ashley is an industry veteran and brings a new dimension to its seasoned board. This wealth of knowledge makes the perfect team as the company embarks on a global rollout of its cutting edge OTT platform.

    Viva’s CEO, Johnny Falcones expressed, “Ashley’s experience in content rights and global distribution makes him nothing short of an industry guru. Ashley will play a major part in our decision-making when it comes to his fields of expertise. He continues to be a top notch CEO having advanced FlixFling to one of the top streaming music and movie services in North America. The addition of his expertise to Viva’s Board is part of our complete package, rounding out insight into all arenas related to OTT, as we ready our products for global distribution. We could not be more thrilled to have his guidance as we advance Viva’s mission in the market place.”

    Viva founder chairman and CEO Johnny Falcones is an industry veteran with the strategic vision, drive, and connections to advance Viva’s platform in the TV industry. His extensive experience in the entertainment world drove him to start his quest with Viva.

    From day one at a young age he helped develop the careers of Marc Anthony (India) and not long ago Soleil J. This champion then continued his career with Icons such as Celia Cruz and Tito Puente. He also developed a successful record label with Universal Music and Video Distribution, turning it in to a multi-million dollar label.

    Two decades ago, Falcones was just a Puerto Rican born, cool kid from Brooklyn, who moonlighted as a DJ while attending LaGuardia College in New York .2 turntables & a keen ear, Falcones quickly became the music authority of NY’s Latin House music scene of 90s. It was one faithful night at Palladium nightclub, where he had a chance encounter with legendary music impresario Ralph Mercado, who recruited him to RMM Records. Together they globalized the Latin record industry, converting starry-eyed local vocalist Marc Anthony & India from buzz act, to icons.

    Within months, the young up and coming Falcones was globe-trotting with Superstars, Celia Cruz & Tito Puente. Under Falcones’ management, these stars collected a bevy of international awards & were immortalized via ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ slots. Falcones co-exec. produced the White House’s 24th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards in Sep. 2010, which featured a luminaries such Juan Luis Guerra & Don Francisco. He also produced the Last Tito Puente concert Viva La Musica which was release on Showtime pay-per view and the was release on CD and DVD.

    Ashley is an unprecedented CEO who brings two decades of experience in the film industry. As founder and CEO of FlixFling, Ashley has created the largest privately held streaming movie service in North America. FlixFling is the only service to offer both streaming music and movies for one low monthly fee. Through its partnership with Music Choice, FlixFling is also the only streaming service to offer streaming music videos across 25 channels. Flixfling boasts over 10,000 titles, with Ashley negotiating all content deals for the company with partners including Warner Brothers, Sony, Paramount, Universal, Starz Digital Media, Magnolia Pictures, Image Entertainment and VuBiquity among others.

    A veteran in the Advertising Industry Ashley’s experience is paramount in marketing to mainstream audiences. As CEO of Invincible Pictures, Ashley has created a major independent entertainment group pioneering digital film and television distribution. In November of 2008 Ashley opened Philadelphia Sound Stages a 70,000 Square feet facility including Sound Stages, Production Offices and warehousing for Invincible’s pick, pack and ship operations. In May of 2014 Ashley closed his 2nd film acquisitions fund Invincible Entertainment Partners. A follow up to his highly successful 2008 fund IP Film Partners, both with the mission of acquiring, producing and licensing motion picture properties for distribution on a global platform.

    As part of the fund Invincible co-produced Kevin Smith’s newest $5.5MM film “Yoga Hosers” Starring, Smith and his Daughter Harley Quinn, as well as Johnny Depp, and his daughter Lilly-Rose. This is the first time Depp and his daughter shared a screen together. Other notable cast includes Stan Lee, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment and Genesis Rodriguez. Ashley is a proud member of the board for the Philadelphia Film Society, the non-profit organization behind the Philadelphia Film Festival, A Member of the Entertainment Merchants Association and Volunteer at the Abramson Cancer Center at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Ashley himself is a cancer survivor and shares a home with his wife and son in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

  • Alt Balaji: Ekta Kapoor casts Rajkummar Rao in Bose biopic

    Alt Balaji: Ekta Kapoor casts Rajkummar Rao in Bose biopic

    MUMBAI: After bringing to life the story of Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture on the big screen, Ekta Kapoor is now bringing Subhash Chandra Bose’s life to the digital world, with an all new dimension to the storytelling. The subscription based video-on-demand platform Alt Balaji has announced the launch of a new digital series which essays the life of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Rajkummar Rao will be seen enacting the role of Bose. The digital show promises to showcase the untold story of his life, – a biopic like never seen before.

    “The unknown side of events, happenings and personalities has always intrigued me, I am drawn to these mysteries! Bose is such a strong character from our history and yet there is so much about him that we don’t know, and that hasn’t been told on any medium before. The unbounded mystery around him is so fascinating and that was my trigger to tell this side of his story on the digital platform. It is edgy, fast paced and it’s everything that you don’t expect it to be!” said Kapoor.

    Rao is spending a majority of his time researching/prepping for the once in a lifetime kind of role.

    Rao added, “I’m extremely excited to explore the unheard journey of Netaji on screen. It’s a great opportunity for me as an actor. I was totally blown away hearing his life story. He is one of the most mysterious and fascinating persons of our history and of course, we all know about his true love for the country and with Ekta and Synergy backing it I don’t have any doubts that our audience will get to witness something never seen before on Indian screen.”

    Kapoor is all set to step into the web world with her new digital foray set to launch in early 2017. The app showcases exclusive, original, and never-seen before digital shows.

  • Alt Balaji: Ekta Kapoor casts Rajkummar Rao in Bose biopic

    Alt Balaji: Ekta Kapoor casts Rajkummar Rao in Bose biopic

    MUMBAI: After bringing to life the story of Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture on the big screen, Ekta Kapoor is now bringing Subhash Chandra Bose’s life to the digital world, with an all new dimension to the storytelling. The subscription based video-on-demand platform Alt Balaji has announced the launch of a new digital series which essays the life of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Rajkummar Rao will be seen enacting the role of Bose. The digital show promises to showcase the untold story of his life, – a biopic like never seen before.

    “The unknown side of events, happenings and personalities has always intrigued me, I am drawn to these mysteries! Bose is such a strong character from our history and yet there is so much about him that we don’t know, and that hasn’t been told on any medium before. The unbounded mystery around him is so fascinating and that was my trigger to tell this side of his story on the digital platform. It is edgy, fast paced and it’s everything that you don’t expect it to be!” said Kapoor.

    Rao is spending a majority of his time researching/prepping for the once in a lifetime kind of role.

    Rao added, “I’m extremely excited to explore the unheard journey of Netaji on screen. It’s a great opportunity for me as an actor. I was totally blown away hearing his life story. He is one of the most mysterious and fascinating persons of our history and of course, we all know about his true love for the country and with Ekta and Synergy backing it I don’t have any doubts that our audience will get to witness something never seen before on Indian screen.”

    Kapoor is all set to step into the web world with her new digital foray set to launch in early 2017. The app showcases exclusive, original, and never-seen before digital shows.

  • YuppTV airs Nepali channels worldwide; partners News24, Himalaya, Sagarmatha

    YuppTV airs Nepali channels worldwide; partners News24, Himalaya, Sagarmatha

    MUMBAI: YuppTV, the largest OTT player in south-Asian content, has partnered with popular Nepali TV channels to provide Nepali entertainment and news content to its worldwide audiences. These channels include Himalaya TV, News24, Sagarmatha TV, Avenues TV and Image Channel.

    Starting with just two channels in 2006, YuppTV has come a long way with its worldwide presence. Incepted with the vision of providing the finest quality south-Asian entertainment content, YuppTV had previously launched 18 different Sri Lankan channels on its platform, apart from top most Pakistani and Bangladeshi channels. With the present association, YuppTV is aiming at growing its popularity amongst the Nepali community, spread across the globe.

    “At YuppTV, it has been our key endeavor to provide the most entertaining south-Asian content to our global user base,” YuppTV founder & CEO Uday Reddy.

    Echoing the same thought, Avenues Television COO Samridhi Rajkarnikar said, “We are glad to be partnering with YuppTV and making our content available at their fast growing OTT platform. With the changing consumption habits of present day users, we are hopeful to reaching out to a majority of Nepali followers, across the globe.

    Image Channel executive director Raj Manandhar said, “We trust that viewers of Nepali audience will enjoy the channel wide variety of offerings, programs and light-hearted content dedicated to promoting an enjoyable ‘family-viewing’ experience.”

    Himalaya Television marketing manager Pradeep Aryal “While attention spans switch to the second screen, it will also be important to create a seamless viewer experience that goes from television to mobile to PC and back again.”

    Sagarmatha Television marketing manager Prabesh Poudel adds, “These are exciting times for the industry with innovations on content delivery and consumption in digital platforms, designed to entertain consumers like never before.”

    News24 Television, Nepal Broadcasting Channel director Adish Joshi said, “The mission of News24 is to deliver captivating content that tells human story; we are therefore naturally excited to partner with YuppTV.”

  • YuppTV airs Nepali channels worldwide; partners News24, Himalaya, Sagarmatha

    YuppTV airs Nepali channels worldwide; partners News24, Himalaya, Sagarmatha

    MUMBAI: YuppTV, the largest OTT player in south-Asian content, has partnered with popular Nepali TV channels to provide Nepali entertainment and news content to its worldwide audiences. These channels include Himalaya TV, News24, Sagarmatha TV, Avenues TV and Image Channel.

    Starting with just two channels in 2006, YuppTV has come a long way with its worldwide presence. Incepted with the vision of providing the finest quality south-Asian entertainment content, YuppTV had previously launched 18 different Sri Lankan channels on its platform, apart from top most Pakistani and Bangladeshi channels. With the present association, YuppTV is aiming at growing its popularity amongst the Nepali community, spread across the globe.

    “At YuppTV, it has been our key endeavor to provide the most entertaining south-Asian content to our global user base,” YuppTV founder & CEO Uday Reddy.

    Echoing the same thought, Avenues Television COO Samridhi Rajkarnikar said, “We are glad to be partnering with YuppTV and making our content available at their fast growing OTT platform. With the changing consumption habits of present day users, we are hopeful to reaching out to a majority of Nepali followers, across the globe.

    Image Channel executive director Raj Manandhar said, “We trust that viewers of Nepali audience will enjoy the channel wide variety of offerings, programs and light-hearted content dedicated to promoting an enjoyable ‘family-viewing’ experience.”

    Himalaya Television marketing manager Pradeep Aryal “While attention spans switch to the second screen, it will also be important to create a seamless viewer experience that goes from television to mobile to PC and back again.”

    Sagarmatha Television marketing manager Prabesh Poudel adds, “These are exciting times for the industry with innovations on content delivery and consumption in digital platforms, designed to entertain consumers like never before.”

    News24 Television, Nepal Broadcasting Channel director Adish Joshi said, “The mission of News24 is to deliver captivating content that tells human story; we are therefore naturally excited to partner with YuppTV.”

  • Ola Play launched for in-cab entertainment that includes Sony LIV

    Ola Play launched for in-cab entertainment that includes Sony LIV

    BENGALURU: Ola, Indian mobile app for transportation, launched a global first in Bengaluru today. The cab aggregator announced the immediate availability of ‘Ola Play’ for its ‘Ola Select’ customers in the National Capital Region, Mumbai and Bengaluru to be followed by a national rollout by March 2017 in 50,000 vehicles across all the cities in India that Ola operates in. For Ola Prime users Ola Play services will be offered without any additional cost over and above the cab ride cost informed Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal. Use what you want…

    Besides offering the highly personalised experience for users during their rides, Ola Play allows various partners like Apple Music, Sony LIV, Audio Compass and Fynd to build experiences for users. And yes, one can control the air-conditioning and the radio with Ola Play.

    Aggarwal said, “I believe that this will completely transform the consumer’s ride experience, giving the user the power to control the interactions within the car and usher in a new era in the ridesharing industry. With over 60 million (6 crore) minutes spent in Ola rides every day, the impact on consumer comfort, convenience and productivity can be transformative. This will further propel ridesharing as the first choice of mobility for many more millions. Ola Play is a world first, built in India by an Indian team, which showcases that we can do better than the best in the world and be global leaders in technology and innovation.”

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/unnamed_1.jpg?itok=5r-c2AI0

    Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited EVP and Head – Digital New Media Uday Sodhi said, “With Ola Play, we are offering unique content that is tailored to the needs and preferences of viewers on the move. As a brand Sony LIV is the first premium video on demand (VOD) service providing multi-screen experience to users on all devices; and is the first amongst the competition to provide exclusive premium content. Our association with Ola Play  will allow us to further customise popular shows, movies and more, for Indians to consume in a highly engaged way, while on the move.”

    Ola Play is a connected car platform for ride sharing that Ola says will transform the in-car experience for users on the go. The platform, built in partnership with Qualcomm is powered by proprietary in-cloud technologies from Ola, by bringing advance car controls, choice of personalised content and a fully connected interactive experience for the user.  Ola Play transfers the control of the in-car experience to users from the Driver Console, which enables seamless interfacing with the consumer’s device once the ride begins. Ola Play can be accessed by the consumers own device or the large scree mounted in-car along with the car’s surround sound system.

  • Ola Play launched for in-cab entertainment that includes Sony LIV

    Ola Play launched for in-cab entertainment that includes Sony LIV

    BENGALURU: Ola, Indian mobile app for transportation, launched a global first in Bengaluru today. The cab aggregator announced the immediate availability of ‘Ola Play’ for its ‘Ola Select’ customers in the National Capital Region, Mumbai and Bengaluru to be followed by a national rollout by March 2017 in 50,000 vehicles across all the cities in India that Ola operates in. For Ola Prime users Ola Play services will be offered without any additional cost over and above the cab ride cost informed Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal. Use what you want…

    Besides offering the highly personalised experience for users during their rides, Ola Play allows various partners like Apple Music, Sony LIV, Audio Compass and Fynd to build experiences for users. And yes, one can control the air-conditioning and the radio with Ola Play.

    Aggarwal said, “I believe that this will completely transform the consumer’s ride experience, giving the user the power to control the interactions within the car and usher in a new era in the ridesharing industry. With over 60 million (6 crore) minutes spent in Ola rides every day, the impact on consumer comfort, convenience and productivity can be transformative. This will further propel ridesharing as the first choice of mobility for many more millions. Ola Play is a world first, built in India by an Indian team, which showcases that we can do better than the best in the world and be global leaders in technology and innovation.”

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/sites/drupal7.indiantelevision.co.in/files/styles/large/public/unnamed_1.jpg?itok=5r-c2AI0

    Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited EVP and Head – Digital New Media Uday Sodhi said, “With Ola Play, we are offering unique content that is tailored to the needs and preferences of viewers on the move. As a brand Sony LIV is the first premium video on demand (VOD) service providing multi-screen experience to users on all devices; and is the first amongst the competition to provide exclusive premium content. Our association with Ola Play  will allow us to further customise popular shows, movies and more, for Indians to consume in a highly engaged way, while on the move.”

    Ola Play is a connected car platform for ride sharing that Ola says will transform the in-car experience for users on the go. The platform, built in partnership with Qualcomm is powered by proprietary in-cloud technologies from Ola, by bringing advance car controls, choice of personalised content and a fully connected interactive experience for the user.  Ola Play transfers the control of the in-car experience to users from the Driver Console, which enables seamless interfacing with the consumer’s device once the ride begins. Ola Play can be accessed by the consumers own device or the large scree mounted in-car along with the car’s surround sound system.

  • YuppTV brings new feature of direct operator billing

    YuppTV brings new feature of direct operator billing

    MUMBAi: OTT platform YuppTV has partnered with SLA Digital to enable Direct Operator Billing for its consumers to pay for digital content on their phones by charging it directly to their phone bills or deducting it from their available prepaid phone credit. This feature will not only make the subscription process easier for end consumers, it will also enable YuppTV to diversify into developing countries and target a much wider customer base.

    SLA Digital’s Ashley O’Kane said “Partnering with YuppTV, one of the largest providers of South-Asian content, adds to our lucrative network of partnerships that SLA Digital is delivering to global Mobile Operators via Digital Services like Direct Operator Billing.”

    YuppTV has a global reach, offering live entertainment & News, TV shows, short videos and movies covering a wide range of languages to South Asian expat communities. Demand for this content is huge even in the emerging markets with an increase in sales of smart devices but where credit card penetration still remains very low. This means that consumers are less likely to have credit cards to pay for these services online. Direct Operator billing becomes an easy way for them to subscribe and pay for this service.

    YuppTV founder & CEO Uday Reddy commented, “Partnering with SLA Digital to allow Mobile Operator subscribers to pay for our service using a simple and secure solution like Direct Operator billing builds on those principles. Following this strategic alliance, we are dedicated to providing the most invigorating content to the South Asian expat community.”

    SLA Digital has initially connected YuppTV to Zain Bahrain for Direct Operator Billing and has plans to roll out to additional Mobile Operators in the near future.

  • YuppTV brings new feature of direct operator billing

    YuppTV brings new feature of direct operator billing

    MUMBAi: OTT platform YuppTV has partnered with SLA Digital to enable Direct Operator Billing for its consumers to pay for digital content on their phones by charging it directly to their phone bills or deducting it from their available prepaid phone credit. This feature will not only make the subscription process easier for end consumers, it will also enable YuppTV to diversify into developing countries and target a much wider customer base.

    SLA Digital’s Ashley O’Kane said “Partnering with YuppTV, one of the largest providers of South-Asian content, adds to our lucrative network of partnerships that SLA Digital is delivering to global Mobile Operators via Digital Services like Direct Operator Billing.”

    YuppTV has a global reach, offering live entertainment & News, TV shows, short videos and movies covering a wide range of languages to South Asian expat communities. Demand for this content is huge even in the emerging markets with an increase in sales of smart devices but where credit card penetration still remains very low. This means that consumers are less likely to have credit cards to pay for these services online. Direct Operator billing becomes an easy way for them to subscribe and pay for this service.

    YuppTV founder & CEO Uday Reddy commented, “Partnering with SLA Digital to allow Mobile Operator subscribers to pay for our service using a simple and secure solution like Direct Operator billing builds on those principles. Following this strategic alliance, we are dedicated to providing the most invigorating content to the South Asian expat community.”

    SLA Digital has initially connected YuppTV to Zain Bahrain for Direct Operator Billing and has plans to roll out to additional Mobile Operators in the near future.