ITV

Category: iWorld

  • 420TV VoD to showcase ‘wonders of weed,’ Cannabis to be $44bn industry

    MUMBAI: Recognizing the increasing entrenchment of cannabis in the global zeitgeist, 420 Entertainment Group, comprising OWNZONES Media Network, the upstart global OTT technology/entertainment hybrid company, along with cannabis entrepreneurs Genesis Media and Alex Nahai Enterprises (ANE), will launch 420TV, a new video-on-demand channel, hailing the wonders of weed.

    420TV will feature original, multi-episodic series, as well as long- and short-form news, information and entertainment content focusing on all things cannabis. All content will be shot in 4K. The announcement has been made by OWNZONES CEO Dan Goman and ANE CEO Alex Nahai.

    Available this fall through the OWNZONES.com platform, 420TV is the first premium 4K video-on-demand network to tap into cannabis’ growing prominence in today’s mainstream lifestyle. Cannabis is projected to be a $44 billion industry in the next three years, according to Marijuana Daily News.

    420TV expects to attract viewers across generations, ranging from millennials to boomers who are either curious about or converted to the cannabis lifestyle. While the channel will launch on OWNZONES.com, and its mobile applications, it will quickly expand through OWNZONES’ worldwide multi-platform distribution network, utilizing the full spectrum of OWNZONES’ capabilities, including programming, technology and global distribution.

    “The nation’s evolving laws, growing interest and changing attitudes have created a multitude of opportunities to educate, entertain and expand public acceptance of cannabis, in all of its various applications,” said Goman. “As a hybrid technology and entertainment company, OWNZONES is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the explosive growth of the marijuana industry. We have found the ideal partner in Genesis with years of expertise and credibility in the cannabis business and will provide 420TV a real inside perspective in this burgeoning space.”

    “This is an industry with many benefits, and we are creating an effective and engaging means for promoting established companies and new brands to consumers. 420TV will provide that connection. The 4K video on-demand service is just the beginning – we intend to establish 420TV as a franchise brand for multiple lines of related businesses,” Nahai added.

    420TV’s news, information and entertainment programming currently in development includes:
    Pot Cast – Daily news programming chronicling the advent of the legal marijuana industry. With a team of 60 journalists nationwide, Pot Cast will present short-form news segments on the political, business, financial and cultural aspects surrounding the disruptive rise of this new industry. Signature segments include “Pot-Counter-Pot” and “This Week in Pot History.”

    Medical Marijuana Miracles – True stories of real people who have used medical marijuana for unique relief of symptoms and diseases.

    Marijuana Moguls – Fascinating series about the bold new entrepreneurs emerging in the cannabis industry.

    Cannabis 411 – An informative and educational series covering every step from how to grow weed to how to consume it.

    OWNZONES Programming Head Doug Lee will oversee the original programming line-up and manage the day-to-day business of 420TV. Lee is a seasoned media executive with over 25 years of experience in global entertainment, having held senior programming and channel positions at HBO, News Corp. and MGM Studios.

    420TV will deliver dozens of hours of original programming produced exclusively for the multi-platform channel, in addition to acquired long and short form entertainment. Other content categories in development include fashion, comedy, music and animation as well as acquired feature films, documentaries, music and live streaming events.

  • Time for OTT review? Delhi & K’taka top Net readiness, K’taka & Delhi lead in digital start-ups

    NEW DELHI: Will the OTT and VoD companies recast their strategies now that Delhi has emerged as the top-ranked state in terms of overall Internet readiness, overtaking last year’s winner Maharashtra?

    Delhi takes the first slot not only amongst small states and Union Territories but also when all states are taken together. The capital city-state is followed by Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

    Delhi gets this rank primarily because of its fabulous e-infrastructure and e-participation according to a pioneering report titled ‘Index of Internet Readiness of Indian States, published by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Nielsen.

    Releasing the report, Electronics & Information Technology Ministry (MeiTy) Aruna Sundararajan said: “We are hopeful that India will leapfrog from the present 155th position to world’s top 5th in connectivity, within the next 5 to 6 years. India today is one of the most rapidly digitising economies in the world with the telecom industry leading the change. Things have improved multifold with state governments of Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana among others taking proactive steps to improve connectivity and internet reach.”

    “The combination of various indigenous digital platforms along with innovative and disruptive startups holds the greatest scope for digital transformation in India. Post demonetisation, the country today has 3 million POS as compared to 1,50,000 POS earlier which is clearly a transformation and going forward too the infrastructure for digital payments will grow 3X within a span of one year.” she added.

    Among the smaller states, Delhi is at the top followed by Chandigarh and Puducherry. Chandigarh is ranked second in both e-infrastructure and e-participation. Puducherry ranks after Chandigarh when measured on the e-infrastructure index.

    Significantly, even within smaller states, the northeastern states ranked low in terms of overall Internet readiness. Therefore, much more needs to be done in the form of investment and infrastructure development in the region. Among the northeastern states, Nagaland tops the list, closely followed by Manipur and Tripura. Nagaland leads in IT environment and performs moderately well in other categories to get to the top.

    Internet readiness index is a composite benchmark of four components, i.e., e-Infrastructure index, e-Participation index, IT-Environment and government e-services index. All four components have equal weightage in this model. Separately, a fifth Index (named the Core Internet Index) has been created this year, consisting of select variables already used in constructing the above indices. The purpose of the index is to give a sharper perspective for digital industries looking to expand their business in Indian States.

    The overall top rankers amongst states as per their scores in the various indices are as follows:

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    One of the key highlights of this year’s report is measuring the digital start-up eco-system of states. The report finds that Karnataka, Delhi and Maharashtra are the top three states with the highest number of digital start-ups. The study says that of the total 242 start-up incubators in the country, 61 start-up incubators are in Tamil Nadu. About 83% of these incubators are in 10 states, i.e., Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, Gujarat, West Bengal, Delhi and Rajasthan. In the North East, except for Manipur where a single start-up incubator is present, none of the other states have one.  

    The report highlights the performance of the states regarding different measures of Internet readiness index. Given the rapid advancement in e-services and e-commerce, it is essential to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the states. While this would help the business and governments to leverage the strength, policy measures can also be taken where improvements are required.

     

  • Balaji to PayU VoD subscription

    MUMBAI: PayU India has partnered with ALTBalaji, the digital platform of Balaji Telefilms Limited for opening an additional method of payment for the OTT platform’s subscription services. Payment options provided through PayU Biz are Credit Card, Debit Card, Net Banking, Itz Cash, Yes Pay, Ypay, PayU Money wallet and UPI. The global OTT entertainment platform – ALTBalaji will offer 250 hours of original content and subscribers in India and abroad will have the option to pay through PayU.

    ALT Digital Media CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “Our vision of providing a seamless experience to our subscribers is fulfilled by the ease with which PayU enables payments in India and abroad. By enabling UPI based payments we hope to pioneer digitally payments for entertainment a reality on our platform and reiterate our commitment towards Digital India. We hope to leverage the wide variety of payment options that PayU brings to ALTBalaji.”

    PayU India head SMB business Pradeep Shekhawat said, “The association will move us forward in our endeavor to double our digital transactions by year end, which currently stands at around INR 6,000 crore per month. Using our secured payment gateway, consumers pay through Credit Card, Debit Card, Net Banking, Itz Cash, Yes Pay, Ypay, PayU Money wallet, UPI & USD and enjoy ALTBalaji’s subscribership.”

    PayU has presence in 16 high growth markets in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa with an active user base of 30 million and processing 150 million transactions in 2016 worth a combined $4.2 billion.

    Created to provide an alternative to mainstream Indian entertainment & TV content, ALTBalaji will bring fresh and interesting stories to audiences in varied genres. The platform will offer original content of 250 hours in the first year of its launch.

    ALTBalaji app launched on 16 April 2017 with five new shows and will release new shows every fortnight for its viewers to binge watch. The content is created by some of the best talent of the Indian entertainment industry, including critically acclaimed directors and actors. The long illustrious list of artists comprises of Nagesh Kukunoor, Juhi Chawla, Nimrat Kaur, Rajkumar Rao, Hansal Mehta, Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Sameer Soni, Yudhishtar Urs, Dipannita Sharma Atwal, and more.

  • Airtel & Amazon partner for Fire TV Stick with voice remote

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel has announced a partnership with Amazon for Amazon’s Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote, which was launched in India today.

    Customers purchasing Amazon Fire TV will get free 100 GB high speed data via Airtel Broadband or Airtel 4G Home Wi-Fi to enable them to enjoy online content on their TV. In addition, Airtel Movies, the OTT app from Airtel, will offer Airtel mobile and broadband customers access to an exciting collection of thousands of popular Bollywood movies & premium TV shows across a host of genres.

    Bharti Airtel consumer business and chief marketing officer Raj Pudipeddi said, “We invite customers to experience the Amazon Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote Fire TV on Airtel and also enjoy thousands of movies with Airtel Movies.”

    While the data offer can be availed by existing as well as new Airtel home broadband and 4G home Wi-Ficustomers, free access to content on Airtel Movies will be available to all Airtel mobile customers as well. The data quota can be availed in buckets of 35GB per month for three months from the date of activation. To activate the Airtel offer, customers of Amazon Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote have to just launch Airtel Movies and follow a few simple steps.

    Airtel 4G is available to customers in all 22 circles across India and the Airtel 4G home Wi-Fi device enables a seamless high speed Wi-Fi experience in homes with the added benefit of portability. Airtel has been rated as fastest mobile network in India by Ookla. Airtel Broadband is available to customers in 87 cities and offers high speed broadband with speeds up to 100 Mbps with cutting edge offerings like V-Fiber that power digital homes of the future.

    Airtel 4G Home Wi-Fi is currently available only in Delhi, Mumbai, Karnataka, Kerala, Haryana, Kolkata, Punjab and Maharashtra.

  • Hotstar becomes first ‘Made in India’ platform to reach 100-m downloads in two yrs

    MUMBAI: Hotstar is the first ‘Made in India platform’ to cross 100 million downloads on Google Play Store, and it has raced to this milestone in two years.

    Over the last two years, Hotstar has been consistently blazing the trail on setting new benchmarks for a consumer Internet company. From being the fastest growing platform in the world to introducing technological innovations in streaming, Hotstar has been the pioneer in opening up the premium video category in India.

    This week, Hotstar shattered yet another ceiling. It became the first local service to cross 100 million downloads on the Google Play Store. On the Play Store downloads chart, the online video platform has raced far ahead of many other consumer Internet companies in India, including e-commerce services like Amazon India and Flipkart, taxi ride services like Ola, payment apps like Paytm, and even news services like Times of India, NDTV and Dailyhunt. Almost all of Hotstar’s downloads have come from India. The service reached this milestone within just 2 years of its launch in 2015.

    Across the Play Store, App Store and other Android app stores cumulatively, Hotstar has crossed more than 200 million downloads since launch.

    The service also announced recently that it has emerged as the primary screen for VIVO IPL 2017 in India’s top cities, those with more than a million in population. In a newspaper announcement last week, Hotstar revealed massive growth in viewership over the previous year, including a five times increase in watch time and a 12 times increase in concurrent viewership on the platform.

  • Amazon Prime launches animated Baahubali episode with Fire TV Stick

    MUMBAI: To mark the launch of Fire TV Stick in India, Amazon Prime Video today announced the launch of Baahubali: The Lost Legends exclusively for its Prime members.  

    Just days ahead of the theatrical film release of historic saga Baahubali 2, Amazon Prime Video is launching the animated series of the epic franchise, Baahubali: The Lost Legends. Created by SS Rajamouli, Graphic India and Arka Mediaworks, the audience can now watch the premiere Episode 1 of this Amazon Prime Video Exclusive series with fast follows of remaining episodes in a few weeks.

    Fire TV Stick is a powerful streaming media device that plugs into an HDTV and provides access to thousands of streaming movies, TV shows, apps and games. 

    For a limited time, Prime members who purchase a Fire TV Stick receive Rs 499 credit back to their Amazon Pay balance.  Customers enjoying a 30-day Prime free trial receive the credit when they purchase an annual membership.  The all-new Fire TV Stick is available on the company web site and select retailers across India for just Rs 3,999 (including tax) as reported earlier by www.indiantelevision.com.

    “Our association with a visionary like Rajamouli is what will differentiate our content in India for discerning audiences. We are sure this Amazon Exclusive Baahubali: The Lost Legends – will be a special animated series that is sure to capture one’s imagination. The timing is perfect as we announce the launch of Fire TV Stick with Voice Remote; the best way to watch Prime Video,” said Amazon Prime Video India director and country head Nitesh Kripalani. He added, “Our aim is to solve the problems our customers face and with Fire TV Stick, customers can watch our latest and exclusive movies and TV shows from the comfort of their living rooms.”

    Rajamouli said, “What we managed to showcase in the films was just the tip of theiceberg.  From the minute I started working on this story, I knew the world of ‘Baahubali’ can’t be encompassed into a film or two, simply because there’s so much more to tell and animation is another way to do that.  We are happy to be collaborating with Graphic India and Amazon to bring the ‘Lost Legends’ to audiences through Amazon Prime Video.” 

    Baahubali: The Lost Legends is an animated series created in partnership with leading character entertainment company Graphics India and Arka Mediaworks.  Baahubali: The Lost Legends is set before the Kalakeya invasion depicted in the ₹600 crore blockbuster movie.  The series will take the viewer back in time as a prequel to the movie narrative; with a focus on the young lives of Baahubali and Bhallaladeva. The narrative revolves around the two brothers competing to rule the greatest kingdom of its age, and the epic adventures they must endure to prove they are worthy of the crown.

    Synopsis: Before the war with the Kalakeya. Before Katappa killed Baahubali. Before the death of Sivagami. Two young brothers competed for the throne. One would go on to become king, and the other would go on to become a legend. Experience the secret stories from the world of Baahubali in this all new animated series. 

    Two brothers competing to rule the greatest kingdom of its age and the epic adventures they must endure to prove they are worthy to one day wear the crown. A new animated series created by visionary filmmaker Rajamouli and Indian superhero creator, Sharad Devarajan. 

    Witness a lost age of legends and heroes and experience the world of Baahubali in a whole new way! The animated series will feature new, never before revealed stories about the characters from the film including dozens of new characters that will expand the world of Baahubali and reveal hidden secrets for millions of fans.

    The executive producers are Rajamouli, Devarajan, Shobu Yarlagadda, Prasad Devineni, Jeevan J. Kang, Ashwin Pande and Narendra Deshpande.

    Starting today, customers can also watch Suicide Squad – one of 2016’s highest grossing movies in the WW box office, and winner of an Oscar award – A DC Comics superhero movie from content partners, Warner Bros. 

    Written and directed by David Ayer, Suicide Squad stars Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis and more.  The story revolves around a secret government agency which recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse.

    To add to Prime Video’s extremely popular Comedy Specials, customers can from today enjoy Kenny Sebastian, one of India’s top comedians with over 57MM views on his YouTube page, and over half-a-million followers on Twitter.  

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    Amazon Prime subs may get Fire TV device for Rs 1999 this month

  • Quick, crisp facts sans opinion: GoNews launch live-streamed from Global Exhibition on Services

    NEW DELHI: GoNews, an app-based news channel, was officially launched on Tuesday at CII’s Global Exhibition on Services. True to its adage of providing news on the go, the occasion was live-streamed to over 20,000 smartphone users who had downloaded the app, besides scores of followers on social media.

    Speaking on the occasion, GoNews founder and editor-in-chief Pankaj Pachauri said that creation of the app-based news channel was done on purpose so as to disseminate basic information and hard facts to viewers having no or little access to satellite TV.

    Pachauri, a former TV news journalist who had also done a stint as the former PM Manmohan Singh’s media advisor, said research and data convinced him that satellite TV news was losing its viewership as well as sheen because it had become “highly opinionated” and was increasingly becoming “hostage to advertising.”

    “We must deploy emerging technologies in media and save avoidable costs by constantly focusing on innovation and R&D. Unfortunately, this is not being done enough and it is hurting the bottomlines of all the news organisations,” he said while speaking at GES 2017.

    According to him, “There are more smart phones in India than TV sets now and viewers, particularly the youth, are fed up of news in the long format. They want their news without opinion or bias and they want it quickly. They hate it when the videos buffer. That is why the GoNews app is light on data size as well as data consumption. This is so because we are not force-fitting satellite content into a website and website content into an app. We are creating the content primarily for the app.”

    The app also puts the choices in the hands of viewers by allowing them to select the amount of content they want to watch on different subjects. “That is why we say ‘whenever you have time, that’s `prime time’,” Pachauri quipped.

    The CII’s Exhibition on Services is a three-day event in which 73 countries and nearly 600 exhibitors are participating. The exposition will continue until Thursday.

    Later, Pachauri told indiantelevision.com that the reception to the app based news channel made him believe that he and his team, probably, have made the correct decision to go mobile. “There were several queries on whether we were looking for additional funding and I had to tell those people that the venture is comfortable at this point of time. But the feedback from the audience was really encouraging,” he added.

    GoNews delivers personalised news to viewers on their smart phones and smart TVs at a time of their choosing. As per information made available by GoNews, news stories are citizen-centric and not consumer-centric, credible, co-creative and concise. The channel is collaborating with content generators in rural India to offer news and stories that often go unreported or are not available at other news outlets.

    In addition, GoNews provides live streaming of important news events from its studio and from the field, depending on the importance of the event.

    GoNews was founded and led by the veteran journalist Pachauri who has a wide experience of working with some of the top international and Indian broadcasters for over three decades. The team comprises senior journalists, drawn from the field of broadcasting, management and academia. GoNews is the first digital offering of Cloudburst Mediaworks Private Limited.

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  • Amazon Prime subs may get Fire TV device for Rs 1999 this month

    MUMBAI: Giving competition to Roku, Google Chrome Cast and similar streaming devices, Amazon Fire TV streaming gadget may be about to be launched in India this month. Reports have come in that the device will be available for Prime members at a starting price of Rs 1999.00, and for Rs 3999.00 for other subscribers. 

    Officially, Amazon neither confirmed nor denied the development when indiantelevision.com called up.

    Airtel last week launched its first Internet TV set-top box at Rs 4999 with three months complimentary primary subscription. Reports of Reliance Jio planning to launch internet TV STB are also out. 

    Although Fire TV may not replace your DTH, Fire stick users will be able to access apps such as Youtube, Netflix, and of course Prime video. Prime subscribers will get unlimited access to the Amazon prime videos, shows and movies. 

    Besides Amazon, Reliance Digital and Croma will reportedly stock this product in chosen cities initially, and distribution is planned to expand to other cities step by step. Fire TV products are sold in stick or a TV box forms.

    Fire stick’s main OS is a tweaked version of Android with Amazon UI added in. This gadget is powered by 1GB RAM and a Quad-core processor and the primary feature is a Alex-backed voice command so that it could be operated by a remote. 

    The stick measures 85.9 x 30.0 x 12.6mm, and is shaped to plug directly into an HDMI port on the back of the TV. Amazon’s hardware is a bit wider than a standard HDMI cable. On the side of the stick is a micro USB port for powering the device. Amazon also adds in a power adaptor in the box, and its USB cable is generally longer, so as to reach the power strip. The device has seen some upgradation Wi-Fi has been upgraded to 802.11ac standard, which would help content to buffer faster. 

    Among the cons are — the device isn’t smart enough to know which streaming service a particular show is available on. Resolution is limited to around 1080p, although this could be understandable in a limited budget.

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    Amazon Fire TV: Autism channel now available free

  • Data tech, telecom & auto-driven India’s battery mkt to reach US$ 8.6bn by ’22

    MUMBAI: Emergence of new data transmission technologies such as 4G would require upgradation of technological infrastructure such as establishment of new telecom towers, etc. This is projected to buoy growth in India’s battery industry in the coming years, as batteries form an integral part of operational telecom towers and associated infrastructure.

    ‘Research and Markets’ has recently released a report “India Battery Market By Application, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 – 2022.” The battery market in India is projected to reach US$ 8.6 billion by 2022, on account of growing demand from automobile and industrial sectors, the report stated.

    Companies studied in the report included Amara Raja Batteries, Base Corporation Limited, Exide Industries, HBL Power Systems, Luminous Power Technologies, Okaya Power, Samsung SDI Co., Southern Batteries, Su-Kam Power, and TATA Autocomp Gy Batteries.

    The battery market in India is mainly driven by growth in power sector, surging transportation needs, increasing battery integration in consumer electronics and rising fuel saving initiatives. In India, several government measures such as promotion of solar power and clean fuel based automobile technologies are anticipated to propel demand for batteries in the country over the course of next five years. Moreover, rising investments in infrastructure developments coupled with growing telecom sector is projected to bolster growth in the country’s battery market during 2017-2022.

    Strong growth in domestic production and exports of automobiles, coupled with expanding vehicle fleet is projected to drive demand for batteries from OEMs as well as replacement segments through 2022. Moreover, rising penetration of two-wheelers in semi urban and rural India is projected to surge replacement demand for two-wheeler batteries during the forecast period.

  • Indian biz leader’s e-comm SME wins top Arab award

    MUMBAI: Doha-based company Q-Tickets has won ‘Best Digital SME of the Year’ in Qatar IT Business Awards 2017. 

    In the recently held ‘Qatar IT Business Awards 2017’ Q-tickets (Quick Tickets) won the award by ICT Qatar, becoming the only private player to get this recognition. Founded by the well-known entrepreneur & internet visionary Dr. Tejinder Singh in 2013, Q-tickets has been on a high this year as it was also the official online ticketing partner of the recently-concluded Pakistan Super League held in the UAE and Pakistan. 

    Dr. Singh has been honoured several times for his business acumen. Last year, he was named the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ by Arabian Business Awards and Forbes named him as one of the top Indian business leaders in the Arab World every year consecutively thrice.

    It was for the first time tickets were offered online for PSL- T20 in Lahore. Last year, Q-Tickets won ‘Fastest Growing Company of the Year’ award at Arabian Business Awards 2016. The judging panel praised the success of Q-Tickets as Qatar’s local ticketing solution provider being the only ticketing platform in GCC to have full-service ticketing capabilities, master pass integration, PCI compliance & debit card payment integration.

    Q-Tickets, a world class ticketing solution company based in Doha, is fully owned and operated by Q-Tickets W.L.L under the leadership of founder & managing director Dr. Singh and is the largest e-commerce platform in Qatar. Currently having presence in Qatar, Bahrain, UAE and Oman, Q-tickets has earned fame and name for itself quickly in the region due to the cutting edge technology capabilities and highest level of service orientation.  The ticketing portal currently has over a million subscribers making use of its services to book e-tickets for various things such as movies and other events 

    Speaking about the success of Q-Tickets, Dr. Singh said, “It is the result of our untiring efforts and commitment towards providing the best possible services in the region, we are really happy that our efforts have been recognized through this prestigious award, it is truly an honor.”

    Dr. Singh is known for his knack of starting entrepreneurial projects successfully. He is the brain behind successful start-ups such as BPO+, Eazydox, q-healthcare, 360-wifi, AtPik, The Wallet and Penalty Kick.

    With over 25 years of experience in inception & turn around of many ventures in Back-office, voice, non-voice, E-BPO, Tech, ITES, B2C, E-Commerce, Ticketing & many other projects, he has been responsible to generate employment for more than 9000 people in GCC till date. He is also a Board Member: EO Qatar Chapter (Entrepreneurs’ Organization) & on board of IBPN Board (Indian Embassy Qatar Chapter). He has to his credit a special mention by ID world Congress in Milan, Italy and Entrepreneur of the year 2016 award by ITP.