#NetflixEverywhere: India launch amongst 130 countries; subscription priced at Rs 500-800
Category: Over The Top Services
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#NetflixEverywhere: India launch amongst 130 countries; subscription priced at Rs 500-800
MUMBAI: After months of speculation, over the top (OTT) player Netflix has finally made its big bang launch in India simultaneously with another 129 countries.In a rapidly crowding Indian OTT space, Netflix will be offering subscribers three monthly subscription plan options.The Basic plan is priced at Rs 500, the Standard at Rs 650, whereas the Premium plan is priced at Rs 800. The different subscription plans offer viewers the choice of viewing the content in different formats including HD as well Ultra HD and on multiple screens and devices. What’s more, the first month’s subscription is being offered for free to subscribers.It may be recalled that the Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros’ JV OTT venture HOOQ, which launched in India last year priced its monthly subscription at Rs 199. On the other hand, ErosNow is planning to adopt the quasi-premium two-tiered subscription service priced at Rs 50 and Rs 100 per month in India. Moreover, with most other players offering content for free on their platforms, Netflix’s entry level subscription might come across as slightly steep, especially for the Indian audience, who is used to watching content for free.The much anticipated big announcement was made by Netflix CEO Reed Hastings at the ongoing Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.Apart from India some of the other countries where the service was launched are: Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey and Indonesia amongst others. However, a major market that was missing was China.With Netflix’s entry into the Indian market, it’s game on as existing OTT players like Hotstar, Sony Liv, ErosNow, DittoTV, Spuul and HOOQ gear up to face the competition.How 2016 will shape up for the OTT players, only time will tell but one thing’s for sure, the ones with the correct content, marketing and revenue generating strategies as well as with deep pockets will survive in the long haul. -

Netflix launches in India; three pricing packages on offer
MUMBAI: In one fell swoop, it is hoping to change the world of audio visual consumption. Netflix co-founder & chief executive Reed Hastings today announced the launch of the Internet TV network or OTT service in 130 countries all over the world at the CES show in Las Vegas. And India figures amongst the list, taking its footprint to 190 nations.
The price: Rs 500 for the basic service, Rs 650 for the standard package and Rs 800 for the premium one. The Rs 500 tag allows viewers to watch the content in standard definition on one screen only at one time. For Rs 650 viewers get access to HD content and can watch on two screens simultaneously. The Rs 800 package brings in the full monty with subscribers being able to watch both HD and Ultra HD content on four screens at the same time.
However, the first month is being offered free for trial to new subscribers.
“Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global Internet TV network,” said Hastings in Las Vegas. “With this launch, consumers around the world — from Singapore to St. Petersburg, from San Francisco to Sao Paulo — will be able to enjoy TV shows and movies simultaneously — no more waiting. With the help of the Internet, we are putting power in consumers’ hands to watch whenever, wherever and on whatever device.”
Viewers in India will get to watch Netflix original series such as Marvel’s Daredevil and Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Narcos, Sense8, Grace and Frankie, and Marco Polo, as well as a catalog of licensed TV shows and movies.
While largely available in English in most new countries, Netflix has added Arabic, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it already supports. He added that newer languages will be added from hereon.
“From today onwards, we will listen and we will learn, gradually adding more languages, more content and more ways for people to engage with Netflix,” said Hastings. “We’re looking forward to bringing great stories from all over the world to people all over the world.”
He emphasised that the consumption on Netflix is on the up. “Our 70 million members consumed 12 billion hours of Netflix in Q4 of this year as compared to 8.5 billion last year,” he said. He also announced that Netflix will be adding high dynamic range (HDR) video delivery later this year, adding to the 4K or Ultra HD, which it produces most of its series in currently.
Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos revealed that 600 hours of original programming will be delivered to its members in 2016. This will include 31 new and returning original series, two dozen original feature films and documentaries, a wide range of stand-up comedy specials and 30 original kids series — available at the same time to members everywhere.
Amongst the highlights are The Crown, which is about the young Queen Elizabeth while Baz Luhrmann will be directing a series called The GetDown about New York at a time when its crime scene was crumbling and giving way to the disco, graffiti and hiphop culture.
Sarandos explained that Netflix is making a difference to piracy wherever it goes because it does not trap viewers in frustrating business models and linear viewing experiences in which television operates.
“We deliver all episodes at one go so viewers can watch when they want to watch and we are constantly improving our compression technologies to allow for a better viewing experience. We helped create binge viewing,” he said.
He stated that peer-to-peer torrent downloading via Bittorrent has dropped by 14 per cent in the first six months of the service’s launch in Australia.
A Netflix press release explained that the service is available on virtually any device that has an Internet connection, including personal computers, tablets, smartphones, Smart TVs and game consoles, and automatically provides the best possible streaming quality based on available bandwidth. Many titles, including Netflix original series and films, are available in high-definition with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound and some in Ultra HD 4K. Advanced recommendation technologies with up to five user profiles help members discover entertainment they’ll love.
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Letv to launch handsets in India officially on 20 January
BENGALURU: On 5 January, internet conglomerate and technology company Leshi Internet Information and Technology or Letv launched its Le 3D Helmet, LeMe Bluetooth Headphones and Super Cycle in New Delhi. The company will launch its globally successful flagship Superphones in India on January 20 in NCR.
Letv entered the smartphone industry in April 2015, having sold one million Le Superphones in November. The top-seller Le Superphones, released by the company that entered the smartphone market just half a year ago, have achieved great sales success says the Chinese company. Letv is also the first company that has publicly-announced a phone with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 820 processor, the LeTV Le Max Pro.
The company recently organised meetups under the brand Le Meetup with #Superfans, bloggers, keen tech enthusiasts and influencers in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to give them an exclusive hands-on experience of LeTV’s products even before sales kicked off in India.
Along with the US, India is a key market for LeTV’s expansion plans. The company intends to match the product launches in India with that of global launches. On entering India Letv will initially focus on device and content offerings. Going forward it plans to bring its complete ecosystem to India and is currently focusing on strengthening the development of its internet app services.
Letv is engaged in myriad businesses, spanning Internet TV, video production and distribution, smart gadgets and large-screen applications to e-commerce, eco-agriculture and connected super-electric cars. The company also has a large content libraries comprising movies, TV dramas, entertainment shows, sports and music, which can be viewed on Letv devices.
Letv operates across six screens -mobile, tablet, computer, cinema, smart TV, automobiles.
To build a 360-degree experience for customers, Letv also operates an e-commerce platform – LeMall.com. The platform was officially launched in India after its debut in Hong Kong and US, highlighting the importance of the Indian market for Letv.
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Turner aims to re-imagine commercial breaks by combining ads with content
MUMBAI: Turner Ad Sales is returning to the CES this week as part of an ongoing approach to collaborate with clients and agencies through ideation-fueled discussions. With an introduction by Turner Ad Sales president Donna Speciale, the meetings will include her new leadership team and introduce a new insights-powered unit within the division, Turner Ignite, led by executive vice presidents Dan Riess, head of content partnerships and Michael Strober, head of client strategy & ad innovation. Speciale will share Turner Ad Sales’ vision in better enabling business partners to re-imagine advertising by combining data and content.
Turner Ignite is the combination of two solution-oriented teams under Strober and Riess. The unit will focus on content and data solutions that power the next generation of portfolio capabilities for Turner, enhancing the ad viewing experience while also driving better ad performance. During the meetings at CES, Turner Ignite will share with clients how they can keep one foot in today’s opportunities, while stepping another foot into tomorrow’s possibilities. Clients will be led through a suite of planning, creating, targeting and measuring solutions that put the consumer at the center of it all, and drive stronger business results for partners.
“Turner Ignite will play an instrumental role in moving our partners’ businesses forward. While other companies separate their data and content teams, we believe it’s vital to bring them together, allowing advertisers to re-imagine the possibilities of advertising in one conversation. We want to continue to be a resource to clients and better help them accomplish their goals. With Turner Ignite and this powerful suite of solutions, we are set up to make that happen now,” said Speciale.
Turner Ignite will share the newest tool within its arsenal of capabilities, Turner Native Plus. Once experienced only on digital and social platforms, Turner Native Plus expands the power of native advertising to television, producing a powerful environment for better brand storytelling. Utilising targeting capabilities to find the right placement across the entire portfolio, Turner will align with a brand and replace the traditional commercial pod with a space more powerful and impactful to the viewer. Turner can produce longer-form branded content for a client, or utilise the client’s existing and typically digital-based long-form content that previously didn’t have a home on television. Turner Native Plus will extend storytelling into the commercial pod by developing the right environment for the client, increasing exposure to the brand, and as a result, driving higher ROI.
In addition to Turner Native Plus, Turner will share updates to previously announced solutions, real results out of last year’s deals, and highlight ways the company is leading in branded content.
. Launchpad: New to Turner, this first-of-its kind product combines the power of Turner’s premium branded content with real-time social analytics and promotion. Launchpad takes the influential branded content Turner creates for partners, and launches it into social and beyond, using data and insights to maximise a brand’s effectiveness.
. TargetingNOW: With 30 campaigns completed and a 27% average lift, Targeting Now will continue to target a specific audience and optimise a client’s schedules within their same media mix across the Turner portfolio in 2016.
. AudienceNOW: A true audience-based selling product spanning the entire portfolio, AudienceNOW is a turbocharged version of TargetingNOW. Currently being executed with four key partners, the solution leverages the entire Turner portfolio to find the best schedule for the brand’s target audience across the entire day.
. Turner Data Cloud: Turner’s Data Management Platform (DMP) can directly link to a client’s DMP to effectively execute targeting in digital and soon linear. The team will share a recent movie studio example where Turner Data Cloud enabled the brand to better connect with the right audience by finding new segments.
. ROINOW: Turner’s proprietary research clarifies the distinct sales lift advertisers get from Turner’s branded content partnerships. With over 50 campaigns measured, ROINow continues to show powerful bottom line gains for partners.
. Provable ROI: Building on the success of ROINOW, ProvableROI launched in 4th Quarter 2015 with 18 partners across the Turner Emerging Consumers portfolio of brands. All brands receive guaranteed success at the front end of their deals, and early insight shows that Provable ROI will be Turner’s next big measurement success story for partners.
. Branded Content: Led by Courageus, CNN and HLN’s first-ever branded content, and including network brands such as Adult Swim and CONAN, marketers have extensive production opportunities utilising the breadth of Turner’s global, multi-screen portfolio.
“We broke ground last year with our suite of data products, and now we are building on that with Turner Native Plus and Launchpad,” said Speciale. “These capabilities aren’t available anywhere else. We are fully equipped to take the burden off our partners and become a stronger resource for them. We want brands to connect with consumers like never before.”
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Netflix & Dreamworks Animation expand global deal excluding China
MUMBAI: Netflix, Inc. and DreamWorks Animation have expanded their current multi-year deal, making Netflix the global home, outside of China, to a number of new original series for the whole family from the studio. The deal also covers streaming rights to the DreamWorks Animation feature film library.
In addition, the deal extends the rights of current original series for kids from the studio available on the service throughout operating Netflix markets as well as expanding to include second window rights for the series everywhere around the world, outside of China. Series include The Adventures of Puss in Boots, Dinotrux, Dragons: Race to the Edge, among others.
Starting in 2016, Netflix will launch several new series from DWA, including a reimagining of Voltron, and the new series, Trollhunters, from master storyteller Guillermo del Toro, who will unleash a new, fantastical world wrapped around two best friends who make a startling discovery beneath their hometown.
Over the term of the new agreement, a number of new original series will be developed and produced by DreamWorks Animation for Netflix, based not only on recent and upcoming feature films from the studio, but also on other classic IP.
“DreamWorks Animation is synonymous with great storytelling that families around the world enjoy. It’s with great pleasure that we expand on an already successful relationship with DreamWorks Animation to bring more premium kids and family television to Netflix members globally,” said Netflix vice president of original series Cindy Holland.
“This agreement adds to the incredible foundation we’ve built together with Netflix over a number of years across both film and television. We are proud to work closely with Netflix to continue delivering high-quality programming to audiences around the world,” added DreamWorks Animation president Ann Daly.
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ErosNow ties up with Idea to provide Bollywood content on 4G
NEW DELHI: Eros International’s OTT (over-the-top) platform ErosNow has entered into a content deal with telecom company Idea Cellular to provide a platform for its 4G users.
The partnership offers Idea 4G subscribers access to ErosNow’s premium bundled services including movies, music, TV content and ErosNow originals.
Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said, “With the growing penetration of data services across India, content consumption is surging across consumers. ErosNow’s association with a leading telecom player like Idea provides us the ideal platform to reach a larger subscriber base and offer a very compelling array of Bollywood and regional content. This strategic association with Idea is the beginning of a long term relationship we intend to build in the future.”
Idea Cellular CMO Sashi Shankar added, “With Idea’s foray into 4G services, we are strengthening our 4G portfolio and digital presence through an assortment of digital content in partnership with leading content aggregators, handset manufacturers, and e-commerce retailers. ‘Movies and Videos’ is the highest consumed service category by data consumers on the Idea network, and I’m confident that our association with ErosNow will provide an enriching experience to our 4G customers.”
Idea had recently announced the launch of 4G services across five southern states of India, and plans to expand to 750 towns in 10 service areas by June 2016.
The association with ErosNow will enable Idea 4G customers in these markets to enjoy the content at a monthly subscription price of Rs 49. Idea is also offering a special subscription price of Rs 29 per month for its new 4G customers till 31 March, 2016.
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Spuul premieres Aishwarya Rai starrer ‘Jazbaa’
MUMBAI: Spuul has added Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s comeback thriller Jazbaa to its library.
This movie will be available for viewers across the world via premium subscription services. This will be a digital premiere for Spuul.
Jazbaa is a thriller drama, which sees Aishwarya Rai Bachchan portraying the role of a prominent criminal lawyer, who is trying to protect her daughter from the clutches of a kidnaper. This movie also stars Irrfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Atul Kulkarni and others.
Jazbaa will be available on Spuul across platforms such as web, mobile, smart TVs and Chromecast.
Spuul Global CEO Subin Subaiah said, “We have added Jazbaa after two months of its theatrical release. It is our aim to continue our efforts and keep updating our library. We will continue to solicit engagements with content partners to provide the best and fresh content to our viewers.”
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LukUp Media names Tata Sky’s Mukund Sharma as EVP
MUMBAI: Content specialist Mukund Sharma, who is currently serving his notice period at the direct to home (DTH) company Tata Sky, has been roped in by on-demand and multi-screen TV service provider Lukup Media as executive vice president content, services and commercial.
Confirming the appointment, LukUp Media managing director Kallol Borah said, “Mukund will be joining us from February and will be leading our content services. He will be responsible for various innovations on the content front. He will also look after value added services and other innovations. I wish him best of luck in LukUp Media.”
Sharma, who is currently VP content at Tata Sky, has been with the company since its inception in 2005. Prior to joining Tata Sky, Sharma worked as senior manager with Ten Sports where he looked after revenue, advertising sales & strategy. He also worked with CNBC–TV 18 as manager.
Sharma moves to LukUp Media with over 17 years of experience.
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HOOQ India’s new MD Salil Kapoor bets big on glocal strategy
MUMBAI: Global OTT player HOOQ, which forayed into India earlier this year, has made its first big move forward. The platform has roped in industry veteran Salil Kapoor as managing director to handle its India operations.
At a time when Indian companies are also firming up with the OTT strategy and keeping the impeding launch of Netflix in the Indian market, Kapoor’s appointment may well be a strategic move to tackle the competitive scenario. Kapoor, who is betting big on glocal content as the way forward for HOOQ, tells Indiantelevision.com, “My primarily role will be to establish the India operations. We will set up a new team and after we have achieved targets set for the Indian market, we will foray into neighbouring countries.”
HOOQ follows a subscription based video on demand (SVOD) revenue model and has recently inked content deals with the likes of Sun TV and Saregama India, which includes content in South Indian languages of Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada as well as Hindi.
“We will be looking at many other such partnerships, our end goal is to create a strong portfolio comprising Bollywood, Hollywood and regional content for our subscribers,” asserts Kapoor.
Moreover, the platform will not just be limiting itself to acquisitions, but will also looking at creating original content.
Reliance Jio, with the employee launch of its 4G services, has rejuvenated the entire OTT fraternity. Bandwidth has been a teething issue for the sector and Reliance Jio Infocomm’s 4G services has raised the hopes of one and all. “What Reliance Jio is doing is great indeed. But it will have a holistic impact. Now other telecom players will also do something or the other and at the end of the day, data price will go down. So I think good days are ahead when it comes to bandwidth,” says Kapoor.
The freemium revenue model is something that experts are talking about aggressively in the Indian scenario. In the freemium model, premium content is put on a subscription model, while old content can be accessed for free. At this stage, HOOQ is not looking to change its strategy. “We follow the SVOD model and at this stage we are not looking to deviate from it. It’s my second day in office and with time there will be many more developments,” adds Kapoor.
All major broadcasters now have their own OTT platforms. Star India has Hotstar, which follows an AVOD model, while ZEE’s DittoTV is a subscription based platform. Viacom18 is yet to disclose the revenue model of its platform VOOT. On the other hand, while Sony Pictures Networks’ Sony LIV follows the freemium model, during the FIFA World Cup matches, it offered all the matches for a subscription. Earlier this year, Eros International’s ErosNow also unveiled aggressive and ambitious plans for original content on its platform. Apart from broadcasters, Ronnie Screwvala, in association with Ajay Chacko and B Saikumar, has also launched an OTT platform called Arre and has a comprehensive plans drawn out for it. In a competitive scenario like this, it remains to be seen how HOOQ manages to create a niche for itself.
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YuppTV launches platform for original content creators
MUMBAI: Expanding its offering with an aim to lure original content creators on to its platform, over the top (OTT) player YuppTV has launched a marketplace, which will host curated premium video content across various genres.
YuppTV Bazaar will cater to video content creators, who often find it tough to monetise and market their premium content through traditional video-sharing portals, satellite and DTH platforms.
YuppTV Bazaar will offer creators quality supervision and a large native user base to showcase their high-quality videos across the world through multiple devices.
“With the proliferation of unregulated video content on the digital platform, content monetisation and visibility is a prime concern for premium video content creators who often find their content being lost in a deluge of casual user-generated content. YuppTV Bazaar is being launched as a solution that will overcome the traditional roadblocks associated with free-for-all video sharing platforms. We are confident that this development will be a major success and will empower content developers with the perfect medium to share and monetise their offerings,” said YuppTV founder and CEO Uday Reddy.
Content creators can upload videos across various genres like education, short films, web series and trailers.
Governor of Maharashtra Vidyasagar Rao, who was present at the launch, said, “In today’s digital age, with technology having changed the way many industries operate today, YuppTV’s launch of its premium video content platform YuppTV Bazaar comes as a very welcome move. By providing a medium to independent creative content creators for showcasing their works, YuppTV has taken the spirit of entrepreneurship to a new level. I support the initiative wholeheartedly and wish YuppTV and YuppTV Bazaar all success.”
Abhishek Bachchan, who was also present, added, “India, at the moment, is brimming with talent looking for an outlet for their creativity. The launch of YuppTV Bazaar from YuppTV is a welcome move that will provide the indie moviemakers with a trusted and curated platform for showcasing their talent.”