ITV

Category: iWorld

  • YouTube & Vimeo to stream record DD show, producers explore tieups with pvt channels

    MUMBAI: The record-breaking two-season-old cshow with 400 million viewership across the globe which questions gender discrimination and patriarchal attitude is now prepared to bring its stories to the digital media through a web series.

    Challenging regressive cultural and social norms around early marriage, family planning, domestic violence and sex selection, Population Foundation of India’s show has already set edutainment shows record by achieving the record total reach from telecast of 131 episodes and broadcasts on All India Radio FM stations.

    Population Foundation’s executive director Poonam Muttreja told IANS that they planned to develop and disseminate edutainment content from the show on digital media platforms as well as increase online viewership through YouTube and Vimeo. Population Foundation team has shortlisted 10 stories from the show’s field interventions in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh which was in-depth, either through direct outreach programmes or through calls received on the Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS).

    About season three, Muttreja said, they were engaged in a consultative process with a range of experts, stakeholders, and civil society organisations to prioritise the issues that need attention. She said they would be continuing their partnership with All India Radio and Doordarshan and also explore partnerships with private channels to telecast the show as the issues were relevant for the Indian society.

    Also Read :

    Which Indian show has 400m viewers across 50 countries?

  • YouTube 1.5x of FB, short-form popular, 65% in non-metros & 80% may pay premium: Kantar

    MUMBAI: In an attempt to understand the dynamics of mobile video consumption space in India, Culture Machine and Kantar IMRB presented an environment scan of consumption of video and OTT platforms.

    Highlights:

    – YouTube remains the king of online video consumption, with 1.5x the reach of second-ranked Facebook
    – Short-form video (<10 min.) remains the most popular format among mobile users, but it’s also gaining traction among PC users
    – Non-Metro consumers accounted for 65% of video views on smartphone
    – 1 in 3 mobile smartphone video viewers is accessing an OTT video Platform
    – 80% of OTT consumers would consider paying a premium to access exclusive content

    The advent of 4G services and subsequent reduction in mobile data costs have acted as significant catalysts for mobile video consumption. The video streaming landscape in India is being radically transformed, but information regarding viewership remains hard to come by. This report sheds light on the budding landscape of mobile video to enhance perspectives and drive decision-making for marketers interested in the mobile video phenomenon.

    Key Findings:

    – Short-form video remains the most popular format among smartphone users, with 85% of viewers preferring a video length of 10 minutes or less
    – YouTube leads the charge with maximum reach among online mobile video viewers
    – The average smartphone user devotes more than 3 hours a week, watching video content on their smartphones
    – 1 in 3 mobile smartphone video viewers is accessing an OTT video platform
    – 80% of OTT consumers would consider paying a premium to access exclusive content

    Facebook vs YouTube

    – YouTube remains the king of online video consumption, with 1.5x the reach of second-ranked Facebook. But this dominance has come under threat as Facebook is proving to be not just a platform that drives views but also delivers engagement for content
    – The frequency of accessing Facebook in a month is almost 2.5x times greater than YouTube
    – Entertainment/Comedy is the most popular genre on both platforms
    – Vernacular/Regional Content is the most engaging content across categories on YouTube
    Over-the-top (OTT) video services
    – Mobility factor and ability to consume content on-the-go emerges as the clear driver for growth
    – Women and those aged between 15-24 are most likely to be avid users
    – Weeknights are the most popular time slots for OTT consumption

    Culture Machine CEO Sameer Pitalwalla said, “Digital’s rapid growth continues and video is the fastest growing piece of that pie. This report was the result of Culture Machine’s proprietary technology platform Intelligence Machine which we used to understand the video landscape in India. Thereafter, the collaboration with Kantar IMRB was natural, given their global standing in creating reports and coming up with deep-dive analyses on data points.”

    Kantar IMRB MD Hemant Mehta said, “Mobile video has definitely come of age and is the new leveler. Over 40% of users are from the lower socio-economic groups (SEC C/D/E) and as many as 65% are from non-metros. Also, mobile video is not a youth phenomenon anymore – with over 25-year-olds contributing equally. For me, two things stand out: the strong engagement levels that women have with mobile videos and the fact that it’s not just about entertainment. We found that Education while being the third most watched genre, generated over a billion views; especially for the content-focused on toddlers and preschoolers.”

    The report combines Big Data and a deep understanding of smartphone consumer behaviour including –

    – Intelligence Machine – Culture Machine’s AI powered video intelligence platform that scans 3 billion videos daily.
    – Mobi Track: Kantar IMRB’s 8000-strong proprietary smartphone panel that tracks behavioural data.
    – Interviews with 1500 video OTT consumers across India.

  • Speedy b’band: IOX & Alcatel to build first open cable connecting Mauritius & Rodrigues to S Africa & India

    MUMBAI: Spanning more than 8850 km, c will provide Mauritius with route diversity and connect Rodrigues for the first time to a submarine cable, enhancing ultra-high speed broadband services.

    A new submarine cable system, IOX Cable System, spanning more than 8850 kilometers, will enhance communications capabilities along the India to South Africa route, providing the first open cable in Mauritius and connecting for the first time the island of Rodrigues.

    IOX Cable Ltd – a Mauritius-based company – and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Nokia, have signed a turnkey agreement for the deployment of the IOX Cable System, which will increase the availability of ultra-high speed broadband services, and reinforce Mauritius as a communication hub in sub-Saharian Africa.

    The IOX Cable System will stretch from Mauritius to Rodrigues, to the east coast of South Africa and then on to the east coast of India. Providing an ultimate design capacity of over 13 terabits-per second per fiber pair, the system will allow easy connectivity to current and future undersea cables on the east and west coast of Africa, delivering a gateway to the continent and a new alternate route between Asia and Africa.

    The system’s deployment will support ultra-fast data transmission to address the growth of digital communications and cloud computing requirements, enabling IOX to offer differentiated services, while strengthening service, reliability and redundancy to existing cables.

    Arunachalam Kandasamy, Founder and CEO of IOX Cable Ltd said: “IOX is committed to delivering its end-users with advanced infrastructures that incorporate technology innovations. Leveraging ASN’s state-of-the-art technologies we will be able to continue to support and drive broadband infrastructure development based on new socio-economic models centered around the new digital economy.”

    Philippe Piron, President of Alcatel Submarine Networks said: “We are proud to support IOX in this project, one which will be a step-change in capacity for Maurititus and Rodrigues. ASN is confident that the bandwidth, resilience and traffic routing of the IOX Cable System, combined with our technology capabilities, will enable us to address the fast-evolving expectations and demands of end-users.”

    The IOX Cable System will integrate ASN’s latest innovations in subsea communications, including the 1620 SOFTNODE and ROADM branching unit offering dynamic features for enhanced system resilience as well as utilizing ASN’s highly reliable submarine repeaters, all managed by its end-to-end submarine network management system. As part of the contract, ASN will also be in charge of project management, system design, marine operations and system commissioning supported by IOX’s own team of industry experienced personnel.

  • OTT: Videos’ augmented quality, content search & personalised recommendations vital, says Corpus COO

    MUMBAI: Millennials are changing the dynamics of video consumption by preferring their handheld devices to conventional TV viewing. With improving infrastructure and internet penetration in India, the technology of delivering seamless video over-the-top is also evolving.

    Corpus Media Labs, a video technology enabler, specializes in providing end-to-end wireline and wireless OTT platform across multi-screens.

    According to a report, 72% of the time spent by a smartphone user is on watching video, and it is estimated that India will cross 500 million smart phone users by 2017. This generation wants their content to be like instant noodles – Spicy, Instant and On-demand. They expect an apt search result and quick discovery of their favorite content with more personalized recommendations. Besides new content, millennials also look for a seamless video quality and intuitive user experience on their OTT platform.

    Corpus Media COO Dave Maan believes that OTT shouldn’t just be an alternative to broadcast and cable — it needs to be an improvement. In addition to matching broadcast and cable video quality, it needs to offer viewers what broadcast and cable can’t, things like interactivity, personalised advertising, engaging user interfaces, and access anytime, anywhere.

    “Augmented perceptual quality of the videos, search & discovery of the content, personalised recommendations are the most crucial elements for user experience,” he says.

    Corpus Media Labs has developed a robust B2B OTT platform, called Video Corpus, which can deliver Live TV, Video on Demand (VOD), Music on Demand (MOD), 4K content, Catch-up TV across multiple screens. Corpus Smart Analytics collects over fifty data points on user’s behavior and their consumption patterns and bring meaningful statistics for driving marketing and promotion strategy of the contents on the OTT platform. After their success in wireline and wireless platforms, Corpus has now entered “Streaming on Wheels” which is focused on providing Content on Demand (CoD) on public transports like buses and railways.

    Corpus exhibited at Broadcast Asia 2017, held in Singapore, where they launched B2B Content on Demand (CoD) Platform. The exhibition proved to be a great success, with many global content providers showing interest in Content on Demand (CoD) . Corpus also showcased their much talked triple play platform operating in Andhra Pradesh state as AP FibreNet-a state government initiative.

  • SonyLiv ties up with Web Talkies, claims to have become India’s largest original VoD co

    MUMBAI: In a major move which potentially redefines the country’s digital entertainment landscape, SonyLIV has announced its strategic partnership with Web Talkies. Under the association, seven original web series from Web Talkies, including popular shows like CM CM Hota Hai and Maid in India (Season 1 & 2), will now be available on SonyLIV’s web and mobile platforms.

    A paradigm-changing development for the industry, this association follows close on heels of SonyLIV’s recent partnerships with several leading original content creators across India. Web Talkies is a unique platform for personal entertainment which creates, acquires and delivers highly-relatable and engaging content for Indian viewers. Its original web series, like Current 440 Volts, Gang of Big Boys, Border Border, Samadhanki Samasya and Mushaira Unplugged, have received an impressive response from viewers, thanks to their quirky takes, witty dialogues, and humour.

    With its extensive library of diverse and high-quality original content offerings, SonyLIV – the digital platform of Sony Pictures Networks India has become a comprehensive melting pot of India-based digital entertainment. The platform also recently tied-up with Pocket Aces to add high-quality short-form comedy and food-related videos to its vast content library.

    Comments Uday Sodhi, EVP and Head – Digital Business, SonyLIV: “Having pioneered and popularised the concept of original entertainment in India, we wanted to go a step further and curate the best of original content from across the country on our platform. Our partnership with Web Talkies is yet another step in that direction to offer high-quality entertainment to our esteemed viewers. Through our strategic partnerships as well as our own offerings, we have created the biggest repository of premium original content in the country. Complete entertainment offerings across genres of content is our intent and this partnership is a progression in that direction.”

    Virendra Shahaney- Chairman and Managing Director, Web Talkies: “Our partnership with SonyLIV gives our content a great platform and we are sure that this milestone will be crucial in making Web Talkies content the most watched digital content in India.”

  • Dekkho claims 200% m-o-m growth in first quarter, fastest growing short-format app

    MUMBAI: Dekkho, a leading online video streaming platform, has released statistics on its performance, indicating an impressive first quarter for the newly launched brand. The platform has emerged as India’s fastest growing app in the short-format video segment, achieving a whopping 200% month-on-month growth.

    Within only a span of three months since its launch, Dekkho’s network has touched over 1,000,000 unique visitors without any ATL marketing campaigns.

    Dekkho also received 1000+ reviews with an average rating of 4.6 on the Play Store. Dekkho is available both on iOS and Android.

    Having launched its beta version in December 2016, Dekkho went live at the end of February 2017 on iOS, Android and the web. Through its mobile-first strategy, the platform is actively tapping the growing number of smartphone users in the country and offering them the most accessible entertainment options. This is evident in the fact that more than 90% of users on Dekkho consume content through mobile devices. Dekkho aims to take independent creators, which constitute 85% of the video production market to multiple distribution channels, including its native apps, website, affiliate websites, OEMs and Telecom players. The platform focuses on driving a simplified browsing and viewing experience for its users by bringing them the most relevant content through peer group recommendations as well as by matching it with their viewing preferences. In addition, features like sharing videos on social media and artist interactions drive the highest number of young users to the platform with nearly 33%+ users belonging to the 25-34 years age segment. Dekkho is monetised by video advertising, which is currently dominated by Facebook and Google, and is slated to become a Rs 20,000 crore market by 2020.

    Dekkho co-founder Tanay Desai said, “Our prime focus has been user retention and engagement through interactive features. We have outdone most short-format peers through superior delivery of video. We are investing in content licensing and upscaling technology infrastructure to offer users with a selection of highly engaging and new-age content on a smart platform. We have creators across music, food, fashion, travel, comedy, lifestyle and fitness. Dekkho feels the pulse of the audience in terms of snackable video and aims to become the default destination for short-format video across multiple languages. Moreover, our collaborations with content creators, telecom operators and equipment manufacturers provide fully customized solutions to meet a user’s daily need for a premium viewing experience. Scripted content has been done with across numerous business models. Various media houses and telcos have tried AVOD, SVOD and TVOD, albeit with lukewarm success. On the unscripted side, which is a way larger pie, we are the company with deep Indian roots. Our long-term goal remains focused on creation of a sustainable, three-way ecosystem for creators, advertisers, and users through a free-to-use service.”

    Dekkho has deployed an intelligent content recommendation feature, which has resulted into 1.6x growth in views per user session. Dekkho’s video play rates are over 90%, which is amongst the highest in the premium segment for any OTT platform. The web platform has a watch-time of a staggering 11 minutes+ per visit, while the mobile platform records 8+ minutes of watch-time for each visit. Each user consumes 7 pages on the web platform per visit and 4-5 pages on the app. Live channels and content on Dekkho contribute nearly 3 times to watch-time statistics with a 94% rate of video ad completions. Its weekly and monthly user retention is 2.5-3 times that of the industry average in the short-format category, hosting 60%+ of its user base on a monthly active (MAUs) basis. In a bid to scale its operations, Dekkho has undertaken strategic partnerships with some of the largest OEMs and telecom players for content distribution in order to realize its goal of touching the mass over the next year.

    Offering content across various genres like music videos, fashion, food, travel, lifestyle and comedy, Dekkho adds nearly 1000 hours of licensed content from producers and distributors each month to its library. Dekkho’s library consists of over 150,000+ videos, 12,000+ hours of content, and 80+ channels across seven languages.

  • Amazon ropes in Excel for Inside Edge (updated)

    MUMBAI: Amazon is leap frogging and getting more and more local production houses on board for the launch of its premium video service — Prime Video — in the country. After getting Vishal Bhardwaj and Vidhu Vinod Chopra on board, Amazon has now managed to rope in Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar-owned Excel Entertainment to make its show — Power Play, it is stated on Excel’s web site.

    Amazon Prime Video and Excel Media and Entertainment are also coming together to launch Amazon India’s original show, titled ‘Inside Edge’. It is a story that does not mince words, pulls no punch, and takes no prisoner. And beneath it all, it is a story of passion, courage, and love, New Kerala Dotcom reported.

    Amazon Video India director and country head Nitesh Kripalani said that they were very excited to announce Amazon India’s original “Inside Edge” partnering with Excel, launching in over 200+ countries worldwide. Indians love both cricket and entertainment; and Excel’s expertise in storytelling makes them the perfect choice for Amazon Original.

    Excel Entertainment’s director Ritesh Sidhwani confirmed that they are working on a series but has not revealed anything about Amazon’s involvement or other details.

    Sidhwani said that they have worked on the shows for the eight-nine months. Power Play is a show based on cricket and showbiz-theme. A person aware of the matter has suggested that Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti are also involved in the making of Power Play.

    This move from Excel is also tied to its move into the digital space. The company has recently acquired a 10 per cent stake in mobile application Flickbay.

    Another crime-based show is also said to be in the works. It is a gangster epic set in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. The production for the same will start in December. It is said to be loosely based on Narcos, a series produced by Netflix. It will also be in Hindi and English and the producers will get a presence on Amazon’s global platform, including some degree of branding and promotion.

    Amazon has set aside around $300 million from Jeff Bezos’ recently announced $3 billion additional investment. The amount will be used to produce original content as well as acquire rights of the local content. Amazon has already hired Aparna Purohit as head for creative development.

    Netflix, which launched in India last year, has also announced its first Indian original series – Sacred Games.The series will be based on Indian Author Vikram Chandra’s critically acclaimed best-selling novel of the same name. For this, it has partnered with Phantom Films to produce and shoot the Hindi-English series in multiple locations of India.

  • Yash Raj partner YuppFlix offers Sultan, Fan & Befikre TVoD & SVoD

    MUMBAI: World’s largest OTT player for south-Indian content, YuppTV, has announced its partnership with one of the leading Indian production houses, Yash Raj Films (YRF).

    As part of the association, YuppTV will now host popular Hindi movies produced by Yash Raj Films on its movie-on-demand service, YuppFlix. These titles include the latest and popular offerings by Yash Raj Films, such as Sultan, Fan, Befikre, Dhoom:3, among others, that will be available in TVOD model within India and in SVoD/TVoD models outside India.

    Uday Reddy, Founder & CEO of YuppTV, said, “We are glad to offer our users a stimulating assortment of latest movies made under their banner. At YuppTV, we are driven with the vision to extend the most captivating entertainment solutions to our expat community of users and view this association as another step in the same direction. I am affirmative that our global audiences will enjoy the latest offering at YuppTV and we will continue to bring more awaited movies on YuppFlix.”

    Commenting on the association, Anand Gurnani, Vice President – Digital, Yash Raj Films, said, “We are glad to expand the digital reach of YRF’s bouquet of movies across global markets. We are affirmative that users across different countries will be happy to watch and enjoy their favourite YRF titles online on YuppFlix.”

    YuppTV users across the globe can now enjoy the latest collection of movies through its movie-on-demand service, YuppFlix. In addition to the fascinating bouquet of movies from Yash Raj Films, YuppTV is further committed to updating its movie catalogue on a weekly basis. With such an envious collection of popular movies, global users can easily access these movies on all YuppTV platforms, including the website and Android and iOS apps and via internet-enabled devices.

  • Alibaba enters Indian internet space with investment in ticketing

    NEW DELHI: The Chinese infotainment giant Alibaba Group’s entertainment arm Alibaba Pictures Group Limited has invested Rs 1.2 billion to acquire a majority stake in Chennai-based online ticketing platform TicketNew.

    This will enable TicketNew to strengthen its position and expand its services across India.

    This is Alibaba Pictures’s first acquisition outside China in internet ticketing industry.

    TicketNews presently has around 3,000 screens in its network across India with an average ticket booking history of 100.000 per day, it is learnt.
    With the partnership in place, the company hopes to take its network to cover 300,000 in the next eight months, the source added.

    TicketNew Founder Ramkumar Nammalvar while TicketNew has a strong base in the South, especially in the neighbourhood theatres in tier-II and tier-III cities, it does not have much presence beyond that.

    Nammalvar said the company wanted to reach wider audience and expand to other cities, which requires substantial financial and technological resources.

  • Airtel-Telenor India merger approved by CCI

    MUMBAI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI), vide its letter of 5 June 2017, has approved the proposed merger of Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited with Bharti Airtel Limited.

    Telenor India and Airtel had on 1 June filed the joint company application before the New Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal for approval of the proposed scheme of merger.

    Airtel recently stated that it has received the merger approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) and Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

    The Sunil Bharthi Mittal owned company entered into a deal with Telenor South Asia Investments to buy Telenor India’s operations in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, UP (East), Assam, and UP (West). These seven circles provide about 35 per cent to Airtel’s total revenue. Airtel will also get on some of the Nordic telco’s political liabilities.