ITV

Category: Over The Top Services

  • OTT video services dominate US network traffic

    OTT video services dominate US network traffic

    MUMBAI: The latest internet traffic trend report from Sandvine has reported that the network traffic in the US is dominated by over the top (OTT) video services.

    Tracking of the fixed and mobile networks across the globe shows that peer-to-peer file sharing has fallen below 10 per cent of the total traffic in North America. This is starkly different from the 60 per cent share it consumed 11 years ago in the heyday of Napster and other P2P services. Even five years ago, it accounted for over 31 per cent. The figure was reported in the six-monthly survey conducted by the broadband network solutions provider, Global Internet Phenomena Report 2H2013.

    The report has also found that the OTT leader Netflix (31.6 per cent) held its ground as the leading downstream application in North America, and together with YouTube (18.6 per cent) accounts for over 50 per cent of downstream traffic on fixed networks.

    Average monthly mobile usage in Asia-Pacific now exceeds 1GB, driven by video, which accounts for 50 per cent of peak downstream traffic, more than double the 443MB monthly average in North America.

  • Spuul joins hands with IndiaCast

    Spuul joins hands with IndiaCast

    MUMBAI: Spuul, an online streaming service for Indian cinema and television shows has joined hands with IndiaCast, a Viacom18 and TV18 venture, to offer shows from Colors, MTV India and the ETV bouquet of channels to its subscribers.

    The deal allows Spuul to showcase hits like Comedy Nights with Kapil, Balika Vadhu, Uttaran, Sanskaar, Bani, Madhubala and Sasural Simar Ka from Colors and Timeout with Imam and Webbed from MTV India.

    Reaffirming Spuul’s brand promise of providing premium entertainment anytime, anywhere, Spuul CEO India Prakash Ramchandani said, “Colors and MTV are leading channels across the general entertainment and youth space in the Indian television market. By bringing shows of Colors, MTV India and ETV channels to our platform, we plan to give our users an instant and continued access to their favourite shows at their convenience. This association with IndiaCast only highlights our proposition of providing entertainment on the go.”

    Spuul users can now have unrestricted access to shows of Colors, MTV India and ETV channel on their PCs, iOS and Android smart phones and tablets.

    IndiaCast Media Distribution group CEO Anuj Gandhi said, “Spuul makes popular Indian entertainment content available on internet-connected devices through its platform. We are pleased to partner with Spuul to offer consumers our premium TV content and movies at their convenience, anytime, anywhere.”

  • Cybercrimes proliferate in Pakistan

    Cybercrimes proliferate in Pakistan

    NEW DELHI: More than 10,000 cybercrime cases are pending in Pakistan while 250 alleged culprits has been set free because of inefficient law.

    The boom in the usage of internet and smartphone in the past 10 years in the country has also led into criminal use of this technology, says Pakistan’s MoreMag.

    From blackmailing women to harassment on social media, from fake job offers to internet calls for extortion money, our cyber space has been ravaged by criminal elements of the society.

     

    Kidnappings are occurring in the country by faking friendship on social networking websites.
    Pakistan only has a defunct cyber-crimes law in form of “Cyber Crimes ordinance” that was last updated in 2009.

  • OTT revenues to reach nearly $8 billion in 2017

    OTT revenues to reach nearly $8 billion in 2017

    MUMBAI: SNL Kagan’s Multimedia Research Group (MRG) is predicting the OTT SVOD market to record significant growth worldwide in the coming years, with North America leading the pack, followed by Western Europe.

    MRG predicts that revenues will reach nearly $8 billion on more than 120 million subscribers globally by 2017. North America, which has more than 25 OTT SVOD service providers as of 2013, is the most developed market. Subs are estimated to have increased by more than 50 per cent in 2012, reaching nearly 50 million.

    North America is followed by Western Europe. Last year, Western Europe accounted for 11 per cent of the worldwide market with 7 million subscriptions and annual revenue of $575 million. Asia, which has the largest internet population in the world, accounted for nearly five million OTT SVOD subs in 2012 and $255 million in revenue.

    Eastern Europe had seven per cent of the market in 2012 and more than four million subscribers and revenue of $253 million. The OTT SVOD service markets in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe collectively comprised 20 per cent of the worldwide subscribers in 2012. These regions are poised for immense growth in the next five years, according to MRG. The Middle East and Africa had a negligible share of the market last year. Though it is expected to grow in the coming years, its contribution will only increase to one percent by 2017.

  • Netflix said to negotiate with US cable companies for set-top box app

    Netflix said to negotiate with US cable companies for set-top box app

    MUMBAI: Netflix is in talks with several US cable companies with the aim of making its video streaming app available on set-top boxes, according to various reports. The reports say that Netflix’s discussions with US operators, including Comcast and Suddenlink, are at an early stage with no deal expected soon. Last month the UK’s Virgin Media became the first cable operator to offer Netflix to its customers; companies in the US have so far been reluctant to embrace streaming services, seeing the technology as broadly competitive with their traditional content offerings.

    One reported sticking point in the negotiations is that Netflix is pushing for the cable companies to adopt its Open Connect content delivery network, which it argues will provide the best streaming quality. Previously Netflix had restricted 3D and what it calls “Super HD” content, which requires a higher bitrate, to internet service providers that participated in the Open Connect initiative, but Time Warner Cable argued that its network was “more than capable of delivering this content to Netflix subscribers.” Netflix later opened up Super HD streaming to all ISPs.

  • Trendspotters.tv goes mobile with the beta launch of its Android app

    Trendspotters.tv goes mobile with the beta launch of its Android app

    MUMBAI: India’s first online digital channel, Trendspotters.tv, is set for a beta launch of its app that will help you stay tuned to the latest trends, wherever you are. With direct access to watch all the stories that are trending on www.trendspotters.tv, it helps you catch a quick glimpse of what’s hot this season in the world of fashion, entertainment and lifestyle. It also enables you to share interesting news in these segments with your friends, through popular social networking sites like facebook, twitter etc.

     

    Trendspotters.tv founder Kunal Kishore Sinha elaborates: “The launch of our new Android app for Trendspotters.tv is in continuation of our commitment to reach out to our target audience through the tablet, smartphone and online platform. The mobile generation today demands a way of accessing their news in a manner that is snappy and crisp without losing its relevance. The app caters to this need to be in the thick of micro trends as they happen as well as comment, review and share their feedback directly with our team.”

     

    The app is also created to enhance user engagement with an opportunity to connect with Facebook and Twitter friends via the Trendspotters.tv page. It is a whole new way of digital interaction that manoeuvres the medium of the smartphone to keep you ahead of the times. The app is push notification enabled so as to alert you with new content, as soon as it hits the page online.

     

    With Trendspotters.tv gaining favourable traction since its launch so far, its app goes a step further in empowering users to stay on top of the best of entertainment and fashion, through a platform that is quick, convenient and extremely user-friendly.

  • Thinkbox: Portable devices account for 1.5% of TV viewing

    Thinkbox: Portable devices account for 1.5% of TV viewing

    MUMBAI: New TV viewing figures from Thinkbox reveal that 98.5 per cent of television viewing is still done on the traditional TV set in the UK, while 1.5 per cent is on other screens such as tablets and mobile devices.

    The average daily TV viewing in the UK (during January to June 2013) was four hours, one minute a day per person. This was comprised of three hours, 58 minutes a day of linear TV on a TV set – this is three minutes a day less than the same period last year – and three minutes, 30 seconds a day via devices such as tablets, smartphones and laptops. The majority of this is on-demand viewing, with some live streams.

    Viewing on non-TV devices via established services such as ITV Player, Sky Go, 4OD and BBC iPlayer, as well as new services like Dave on-demand, accounted for 1.5 per cent of overall TV viewing in the country during the first half of 2013. This is a slight increase from the full-year figure for 2012, when it accounted for 1.2 per cent.

    According to Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board (BARB), it’s estimated that 58 per cent of households own digital TV recorders, and in these homes 83.8 per cent of linear TV was watched live during the period, down from the 84.4 per cent in the same period a year ago. Also, 81 per cent of all time shifted viewing is watched within two days of recording, while 47 per cent is seen within 24 hours of it being recorded. BARB’s figures suggest that the growth in the number of TVs that is recorded and played back is slowing down.

  • Smartube Entertainment launches trendspotters.tv

    Smartube Entertainment launches trendspotters.tv

    MUMBAI: Now track trends across all genres online with www.trendspotters.tv. This online channel launched by Smartube Entertainment comprehends trends from fashion and lifestyle to business, politics, sports, music, gadgets and much more.

    The inauguration took place at APREE 2013 at Riviera De Goa, a three day event which kick-started today and will be on till 25 August. APREE is an annual interactive knowledge exchange platform that brings advertising, PR, entertainment and event management companies together on one platform for social and business networking.

    www.trendspotters.tv founder Kunal Kishore Sinha elaborated, “APREE has achieved immense credibility over the past few years and is a buzzing congregation of industry experts, marketing geniuses and thought leaders. We could not have asked for a better platform than this to unveil the first look of trendspotters.tv. APREE has always given special emphasis to emerging social media and we are confident of trendspotters.tv becoming a significant part of this social media gamut. ”

    The website is a medium for bringing the next generation trends and talents to light, especially for the upwardly mobile audience. It brings out a cluster of micro trends every day for the new age audience who take inspiration from out-of-the-ordinary discoveries.

    Expressing excitement on the launch he said, “We are glad to launch India’s first digital TV which promises to be an exciting platform for next generation consumers. In the initial phase, we have launched trends for music, fashion and entertainment, and going ahead, we will be extending content pertaining to sports, advertising and consumer technology.”

  • India.com launches in true Bollywood style, the new online destination for everything Indian

    India.com launches in true Bollywood style, the new online destination for everything Indian

    MUMBAI: India.com, a Zee Entertainment initiative, launched in the United States with a big Bollywood fanfare at the 33rd annual India Day Parade in New York City. The parade which is the largest gathering of the Indian community outside India, had more than 150,000 footfalls.

    India.com built a 70ft replica of the Red Fort, aka “Lal Qila”. The Red Fort is the 255-acre complex in New Delhi built in the 17th century by Mogul emperor Shah Jahan, who also built the Taj Mahal. Every 15 August on Independence Day, the Red Fort is the chosen location where the Prime Minister of India hoists the country’s flag and delivers a national speech from its ramparts to a loud and proud crowd.

    Inside the fort, a royal red carpet welcomed the enthusiastic crowd and invited them to sign up for a new @india.com email ID. There were more than 40 Macintosh computers laid out on a glass table. The inside walls of the fort were decorated with images that defined India.com. After registration, people went home with fun India.com freebies.

    India.com is a new online platform for everything Indian in an instant – from breaking news, business, and Bollywood to sports, travel and free classifieds. The website combines these one-of-a-kind features with an e-mail portal that will keep you connected. India.com launched in India back in 2011 and has since gained 28 million unique users making it one of the fastest growing portals.

    Other highlights of the parade included marching bands, over 40 floats, 100 food vendors, and the presence of famous Bollywood actress Vidya Balan and anti-graft crusader, Anna Hazare.

    Zee America GM Sameer Targe said, “The timing of our launch in North America could not have been any better. India Day Parade, which celebrates India’s Independence Day, by any measure, is the biggest, most vibrant south Asian event that happens on the east coast. We had a tremendous response for the site. India.com is customised for the south Asian diaspora and the Indophile segment. It was about time someone catered to the real needs of the Indian-American digital consumer.”

  • Millennials may opt for Net TV over traditional pay TV

    Millennials may opt for Net TV over traditional pay TV

    MUMBAI: Pay TV providers may want to skip peeking into the crystal ball.

    New research from The Diffusion Group (TDG) finds that younger consumers are less likely than their older counterparts to subscribe to legacy pay-TV services, opting instead for the likes of Netflix or Hulu Plus.

    TDG’s Late Millennials: A Study in Media Behavior surveyed a random sampling of more than 2,000 broadband users between the ages of 18 and 24, half of which were living at home with their parents. Of this latter group, 49 per cent said they were highly inclined to sign up for an online subscription video service once they moved out on their own, compared to 31 per cent that were highly inclined to sign up for a traditional pay-TV service when they set up their own households. This is a difference of 58 per cent.

    TDG president and principal analyst Michael Greeson admits these dispositions could change over time if OTT TV services are unable to acquire the content these consumers will want as they marry, have children, and move up the career ladder. “In the end, it will still be less about the conduit and more about the content and value the service provides.”

    “While this data can be spun to rationalise a number of arguments, the simplest insight may be the most profound,” noted Greeson. “The very fact that young consumers perceive online video services as somehow more desirable or necessary than incumbent pay-TV services says volumes about the future of video.”