ITV

Category: iWorld

  • ChuChu TV on YouTube records 10m subs with 154 kids videos

    MUMBAI: A YouTube channel seems to be creating wonders with kids rhymes, and it is getting wonderful views and reviews and clicks! ChuChu TV, an Indian YouTube channel for kids, gives a positive spin to original nursery rhymes.

    One of the most popular edutainment channels worldwide, ChuChu TV, in its fourth year, has received 10 million subscribers with just 154 videos, making it the fastest-ever growing YouTube channel in the family entertainment and pre-school education space. This incredible milestone which reiterates ChuChu TV’s remarkable success was achieved on 17 June, 2017.
    Indiantelevision.com had reported in May 2017 that T-Series stayed put in its #1 spot on the top of the charts for the 11th week in a series. One of the India’s largest music labels and movie studio’s destination on YouTube popped up 26% to close out the week with more than 321.3 million views. Way far behind in the second place was Ryan Toys Review. The aging toddler saw his channel go up 4% in its week-over-week view count to top out at nearly 214.8 million views, TubeFilter had reported. In the fifth position was SET India. The YouTube home of Sony Entertainment (India) jumped up 19% to end the week with almost 183.1 million views.

    Says ChuChu TV co-founder and CEO Vinoth Chandar, “We are delighted to have made history by becoming the fastest growing family entertainment and preschool channel. We have always believed in quality and positive messaging and this landmark is a thumbs-up from our audience and care-givers. It inspires us to create iconic content, introduce consumer products and basically do more of everything that delights and educates our audiences across the world.”

    ChuChu TV is the fourth largest YouTube channel in India with its online audience larger than that of All-India Bakchod (AIB), Viral Fever Videos or Comedy Nights, Colors TV and Star Plus. The channels more popular with a larger subscriber-base than ChuChu TV are — T-Series, Sony and ZeeTV.

    However, T-Series has grown over the years through an upload of around 10000+ videos, SET India has around 17000+ videos and ZeeTV around 68000+ videos, whereas ChuChu TV has only 154 so far, making it a leader in its own right.

    In addition, ChuChu TV has achieved this milestone in four years. In terms of views, ChuChu TV has a whopping 12 billion views across all its channels. It ranks #1 in Asia Pacific region and in India and #2 worldwide in terms of  subscribers in the family entertainment & pre-school education categories.

    ChuChu TV is a YouTube based kid’s channel which offers educational videos and original nursery rhymes refreshed with a positive message. Designed to engage children through a series of upbeat songs and colourful animations, ChuChu TV has been making learning engaging and fun for toddlers in over 75 countries worldwide, truly making the channel a global phenomenon. Positive messages are at the heart of ChuChu TV’s entertaining songs and animations. Beloved nursery rhymes like “Chubby Cheeks” and “Baa Baa Black Sheep”  have been re-written to promote the value of sharing and helping others, while “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” highlights the importance of exercise in a way that young children will understand.

    Their motto is ‘Spreading goodness among children,’ and the channel strives to keep to with every new video they offer to their young audience.

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  • Industry & govt need to jointly tackle risk of info & cyber insecurity

    NEW DELHI: The National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) safeguarded 300 establishments in India from the recent worldwide cyberattack by the WannaCry ransomware.

    Giving this information, NTRO chairman Alok Joshi said, “It is becoming difficult for businesses as well as the government to deal with non-state actors located outside India, who are involved in cyber-attacks. Once any business becomes part of internet then it becomes a part of the global network and cannot operate in isolation. In this regard, Industry and Government need to have a collaborative outlook to address the emerging threat of information and cyber insecurity.”

    Delivering his keynote address at the FICCI seminar on New Age Risks 2017, Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson for economic issues Gopal Krishna Agarwal said, “Stalled projects, a key reason for a slide in gross fixed capital formation in the past few years, are the biggest challenge which the government is facing. The government has taken adequate measures to revive the investment cycle.” With the intervention of the PMO driven initiative, Pragati’ (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation), he said, several stalled projects had seen the light of day.

    FICCI secretary-general A Didar Singh highlighted that businesses need to strengthen their resilience to ensure continued operation and survival in the face of risks. At the same time, the clear role for collaboration among public and private sector stakeholders becomes evident, for example, to develop better cybercrime prevention methods, to establish cybersecurity norms for both governments and industry, and to align international approaches to enforcement and establish industry norms.

    FICCI Committee on Private Security Industry chairperson and former special DG in the Central Industrial Security Force Manjari Jaruhar and Pinkerton MD India, APAC & EMEA – global screening Rohit Karnatak also spoke on the occasion.

    Cyber-security features high on the agenda of leaders across all sectors, with business, governments and individuals rapidly taking advantage of faster, cheaper digital technologies to deliver an unprecedented array of social and economic benefits. With the benefits of digitizing and connecting comes a range of new challenges, FICCI Committee on Geospatial Technologies Chairman and Advisor, ESRI India Rajesh Mathur said.

  • How do viewers engage with OTT videos

    MUMBAI: Akamai Technologies, a cloud delivery platform, has released new research demonstrating how quality of video resolution and playback affects viewers’ engagement with and loyalty to over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services. Conveyed through advanced biometric measurement tools including facial coding and skin conductance, the findings underscore the importance of delivering consistent, high-quality video across any OTT business model.

    Akamai research measures viewers’ physical and emotional reactions to buffering and low-quality video; shows disengaged viewers in both free and subscription-based (SVoD & AVoD) models.

    According to the study conducted by third-party research firm Sensum, viewers disengage with emotive storylines and react negatively to low-quality streaming incidents like buffering regardless of the brand or interest in the content. The research shows negative emotions increase 16 per cent while engagement decreases nearly 20 per cent as a result of these poor experiences. The survey also demonstrates that 76 per cent of participants say they would stop using a service if issues such as buffering occurred several times.

    “This unique research shows there is no place for low-quality video in any streaming business model,” said Akamai director of product marketing, media solutions, Ian Munford.

    “The premium online video market is extremely competitive; the battle for revenue share is intense and subscriber acquisition costs are increasing, making differentiators like quality of experience more important than ever. Service providers cannot take risks with streaming experiences that are compromised by low resolution or buffering. They must provide consistent, high-quality experiences to help retain subscribers and reduce acquisition costs.”

    The research also found:

    Subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) brands lose the most engagement due to buffering while transactional video-on-demand (TVoD) models suffer the most negative impact to brand loyalty if delivering low-quality experiences.
    High-resolution video content with emotive storylines improve viewer engagement by more than 10 per cent

    When buffering begins:
    Happiness drops 14 per cent
    Negative emotions (disgust and sadness) increase by an average of eight per cent
    Viewers’ feeling of surprise increases 27 per cent
    Attention drops by three per cent and focus decreases by eight per cent

    The study, one of the most comprehensive of its nature ever conducted, used a variety of testing procedures including sensory, implicit and explicit responses from more than 1,200 participants. All tests carried out adhered to the Video Quality Experts Group (VQEG) standards to ensure results could not be contaminated. Akamai also created fictitious brands to remove any previous emotional association with the business models and used the same content across all the brands to nullify the impact of content type on the respondents.

    Meanwhile, Kaltura, a video technology provider, and Akamai entered into an agreement to extend their Net Alliance partnership to combine the power of Akamai’s Predictive Content Delivery with Kaltura’s TV Platform. Leveraging Akamai’s Predictive Content Delivery and CDN products, along with the Kaltura TV Platform’s deep customer behavior and content consumption intelligence, the joint solution facilitates predictive on-device caching of content, using smart resource management to efficiently download content in the background while on a strong Wi-Fi connection. The content is downloaded based on each user’s profile and history, and offered to the customer at any time for smooth offline viewing on any device regardless of network connection and quality. The solution is designed to allow video content providers to offer each user their preferred content with an excellent viewing experience.

  • SonyLiv’s content mirroring contemporary trends key differentiator, says Uday Sodhi

    MUMBAI: Lives today are a rigmarole of never-ending deadlines, household chores, family commitments and work life pressures. This cyclical orchestra of mounting pressures and waning pleasures leave an indelible impact on modern day relationships. With its focus on compelling storytelling that mirrors trends in our society, SonyLIV released its two latest short films – ‘Papa We Love You Too’ and ‘The Gift’ and had the celebrities participate in an engaging discussion on the subject – ‘Digital storytelling that mirrors relationship trends in contemporary Indian Society.’

    In its endeavour to present great narratives coupled with exemplary performances and production values, SonyLIV is creating ripples in digital entertainment with the release of its short films. Starring actors Jimmy Shergill, Lekh Tandon, Gul Panag, Mandira Bedi and Kushal Punjabi both films are poised to resonate with the audiences and take them on a reflective entertainment journey.

    The film ‘Papa We Love You Too’ revolves around the protagonist Vikas, portrayed by Jimmy Shergill, who is a 40-year old single parent. A workaholic, his life centers around his professional achievements and materialistic acquisitions, eventually weakening his bond with his 8-year old son. The shadow of this relationship is also reflected in the one that Vikas shares with his father, played by veteran director, writer and actor Lekh Tandon.

    ‘The Gift’, on the other hand, is an edge-of-the-seat thriller which describes the complexities of contemporary relationships, with actors Kushal Punjabi, Gul Panag and Mandira Bedi portraying powerful roles. The stylized narrative lays special emphasis on the visuals while the quick paced editing throws light on how the ruthlessness of modern life and our overarching desires make us commit incomprehensible acts.

    SonyLIV EVP Uday Sodhi says: “The key differentiator of SonyLIV versus other digital players is our ability to constantly provide content that mirrors trends in society. In the category of short films alone, we have a library of more than 500 originals. Compelling story telling coupled with superior performances is a winning formula for creating lasting impressions. These films echo our sustained efforts at providing our audiences with original, unique and thought-provoking content that resonates long after its runtime is over.”

  • Inter-Ministerial group examining TSPs’ system issues

    NEW DELHI: Communications minister Manoj Sinha has said that an inter-ministerial group (IMG) has been formed to examine systematic issues impacting viability and repayment capacity in telecom sector.

    He said the IMG would furnish recommendations for resolution of stressed assets at the earliest and recommend policy reforms and strategic interventions for telecom sector.

    The IMG has held wide consultations with Banks and telecom service providers and is likely to submit its report shortly.

    The Minister assured that the necessary corrective steps will be taken by the Government for ensuring orderly growth in this sector in terms of services to the common-man including in rural areas.

    The Minister said this in a meeting with promoters of telecom service providers where representatives of Department of Financial Services and State Bank of India were also present.

    The industry put forward the problems of telecom sector causing financial stress on the companies and roadmap for addressing the situation.

  • Digital entertainment: FreeCharge partners ALTBalaji, Eros Now & SonyLIV

    MUMBAI: FreeCharge, a digital payments platform, has announced its partnership with ALTBalaji, largest digital platform for original shows from India, to provide easy, secure and fast digital payment solutions for users.

    FreeCharge, India’s leading digital payments platform today announced its partnership with ALTBalaji, largest digital platform for original shows from India, to provide easy, secure and fast digital payment solutions for users.

    The company also recently partnered with Eros Now and SonyLIV to accommodate a large set of millennials’ preferences of watching their favourite movies and shows on the go and to binge watch at their convenience.

    These partnerships enable FreeCharge users to subscribe and pay for leading digital entertainment services on their platforms and cater to a wide set of audiences present across. Aimed at young audience, the objective of the tie-up is to provide users easy, secure and 2-click pay and check out option for quality entertainment content.

    Talking about the partnership, FreeCharge COO Ankit Khanna said, “The audience today have slowly begun shifting towards online platforms for their entertainment needs and streaming services provide innovative content with a mass appeal. We are happy to be the payment facilitators for leading digital entertainment companies such as ALTBalaji, Eros Now and SonyLIV to ensure customers get quality entertainment without any difficulty. The aim is paying for preferred movies and shows should be as convenient as accessing them online.”

    FreeCharge is building an ecosystem of merchants to make consumers’ daily payment transactions frictionless and convenient. With this partnership, FreeCharge further expands its usability across more consumption buckets of its consumers. The company which has tie-ups across brands and categories both offline and online aims to become the most preferred option for digital payments by making available easy, secure and less than 10 seconds pay and check out options to consumers.

  • Vice Media to build largest OTT platform, expand to 80 markets by early ’18

    MUMBAI: Capital infusion of $450 million in Vice Media, which is a partner of Times of India, will help accelerate its expansion from 30 to 80 markets by early 2018 for the youth-focused media group. Known for its online videos and edgy reporting, Vice operates a popular YouTube channel and also produces news programming for Time Warner’s HBO.

    Boosting Vice’s reported valuation to around $5.7 billion, and making CEO Shane Smith a billionaire, the Brooklyn, New York-based company has received investment from the equity fund group TPG, saying that the funds would help it “build out its content portfolio and delivery capabilities in the US and internationally.” Vice has earlier received investments from Disney, Comcast’s NBCUniversal, and 21st Century Fox, among others.

    The funds “will allow us to build up the largest millennial video library in the world — enabling Vice to widen our offering to include news, food, music, fashion, art, travel, gaming, lifestyle, scripted and feature films,” Smith said in a statement.

    Smith said Vice would be working on a standalone video platform (OTT) that could deliver video on demand, in the manner of Netflix, and a direct-to-consumer offering, Arab News reported.

    Vice said that it would put TPG’s investment toward building subscription streaming and video services to complement its video on digital channels as well as Viceland cable network. Vice will also use the new investment to help fund its push into scripted programming, Multichannel News added.

  • Dharma’s Baahubali & Humpty Sharma etc movies to be on YuppTV

    MUMBAI: YuppTV, a leading OTT brand for South-Asian content, has entered into an alliance with Dharma Productions, one of the most successful productions houses in India today.

    As part of the association, YuppTV users across the globe, excluding India, can now watch various blockbusters by Dharma Productions, including Kapoor & Sons, Ok Jaanu, Brothers, Baahubali: The Beginning (Hindi), Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania and more. The movies will be available on YuppFlix, an on-demand movie streaming platform by YuppTV.

    YuppTV CEO Uday Reddy said, “The association is set to present our global users with an exciting collection of blockbusters by Dharma, including Baahubali: The Beginning (Hindi), Kapoor & Sons and more. We are affirmative that our users across the Globe will enjoy the latest and popular cinema on YuppFlix.”

    YuppTV has been actively refreshing its movie catalogue. YuppFlix, the on-demand movie streaming platform by YuppTV, offers its users latest and exciting collection of movies that are rigorously updated.

  • Ooyala hires Syncplicity’s Mike Nikzad as COO

    MUMBAI: Ooyala, leading provider of software and services that simplify the complexity of producing, streaming and monetizing video, has appointed Mike Nikzad as its chief operating officer (COO). With more than 25 years of business operations and engineering leadership experience, Nikzad will be responsible for leading daily operations of the business with emphasis on Ooyala’s product lifecycle, including inception, development, delivery, support, and all customer deployments.

    Prior to Ooyala, Nikzad was the COO of Syncplicity, a prominent software-as-a-service (SaaS) company for enterprise file collaboration, where he achieved substantial transformation across the business in under two years resulting in a significant growth in sales. He also held COO positions with EMC’s Consumer and Small Business division and NewNet Communication Technologies.

    Focused on customer engagement, support and success, Nikzad has built his career, and subsequent business growth, by ensuring customers are center to all strategic, product, and corporate decisions.

    Ooyala COO Mike Nikzad said, “With our portfolio of IVP solutions, backed by analytics and strong partnerships—including Microsoft and Adobe—I’m confident in our ability to generate tremendous value for our customers.”

    “We will work to forge strong customer partnerships driven by leading edge solutions and a customer first ethos,” said Ooyala CEO Jonathan Huberman.

  • CCI reviewing Jio-RCom pact for sharing 800 MHz spectrum

    MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm has sought approval from the Competion Commission (CCI) for the proposed spectrum sharing deal with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications. The CCI website states that the deal is under review.

    Jio is waiting for an approval from the CCI for pacts entered into with Reliance Communications (RCom) and its subsidiary Reliance Telecom Ltd (RTL) for using 800 MHz spectrum, PTI reported. Jio, as is known, is the latest entrant in the highly competitive Indian telecom market.

    Jio had entered into an agreement with RCom for acquisition of right to use some spectrum in the 800 MHz band. Besides, it had, in January 2016, signed agreements with RTL and RCom providing with the option related to use of the spectrum.

    The pacts were “pursuant to the guidelines for trading of access spectrum by access service providers” issued by the Department of Telecommunications on October 12, 2015, as per the notice submitted to the CCI. According to the notice, Jio was testing its network for providing high definition voice, mobile telephone services, video, data and messaging as on the date of entering into the agreements.