Category: iWorld

  • Snapdeal’s top Silicon valley talent Anand Chandrasekaran  quits as CPO

    Snapdeal’s top Silicon valley talent Anand Chandrasekaran quits as CPO

    MUMBAI: The eCommerce industry has seen some major tectonic shifts — Snapdeal engineering vp Bhuvan Gupta, Flipkart’s Sharat Singh, Flipkart’s product office Punit Soni, Flipakart’s Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagor; and now, most recently, Snapdeal’s Chief Product officer Anand Chandrasekaran.

    Snapdeal co-founder Rohit Bansal confirmed the news with his tweet on Tuesday that read,  “@anandc proud of the super work by you and the product team. Hard to believe that this was just 1 yr. Farewell, keep rocking!”

    Chandrasekaran soon replied back tweeting,  “@rohitkbansal thanks for the support. We did in 1 what would take 3 years anywhere.”

    While Chandrasekaran refrained from making any official comments on his future endeavors, word has it that he is looking to start his own business.

    A  former Yahoo executive, Chandrasekaran joined Snapdeal last June to integrate more services, like Uber, into the company’s flagship app, a model similar to China’s popular WeChat. This high profile Silicon Valley recruit quit the Indian startup within a year, adding to the increasingly long list of top hires from the valley by the Indian Unicorns who are moving on to start their own businesses. As per a leading daily the industry has witnessed close to 17 major movements between  Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola, Zomato and Paytm to launch  their own startups.

    When asked to comment on it, Snapdeal’s spokesperson further shared, “Anand has done some stellar work on the product side at Snapdeal. His insights and attention to detail have helped us traverse quickly towards launching and improving products at Snapdeal. We wish Anand the very best for his entrepreneurial journey ahead.” Snapdeal didn’t confirm any possible appointments to fill Chandrasekaran’s shoes any time soon.

  • Snapdeal’s top Silicon valley talent Anand Chandrasekaran  quits as CPO

    Snapdeal’s top Silicon valley talent Anand Chandrasekaran quits as CPO

    MUMBAI: The eCommerce industry has seen some major tectonic shifts — Snapdeal engineering vp Bhuvan Gupta, Flipkart’s Sharat Singh, Flipkart’s product office Punit Soni, Flipakart’s Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagor; and now, most recently, Snapdeal’s Chief Product officer Anand Chandrasekaran.

    Snapdeal co-founder Rohit Bansal confirmed the news with his tweet on Tuesday that read,  “@anandc proud of the super work by you and the product team. Hard to believe that this was just 1 yr. Farewell, keep rocking!”

    Chandrasekaran soon replied back tweeting,  “@rohitkbansal thanks for the support. We did in 1 what would take 3 years anywhere.”

    While Chandrasekaran refrained from making any official comments on his future endeavors, word has it that he is looking to start his own business.

    A  former Yahoo executive, Chandrasekaran joined Snapdeal last June to integrate more services, like Uber, into the company’s flagship app, a model similar to China’s popular WeChat. This high profile Silicon Valley recruit quit the Indian startup within a year, adding to the increasingly long list of top hires from the valley by the Indian Unicorns who are moving on to start their own businesses. As per a leading daily the industry has witnessed close to 17 major movements between  Flipkart, Snapdeal, Ola, Zomato and Paytm to launch  their own startups.

    When asked to comment on it, Snapdeal’s spokesperson further shared, “Anand has done some stellar work on the product side at Snapdeal. His insights and attention to detail have helped us traverse quickly towards launching and improving products at Snapdeal. We wish Anand the very best for his entrepreneurial journey ahead.” Snapdeal didn’t confirm any possible appointments to fill Chandrasekaran’s shoes any time soon.

  • Spuul is now available on Amazon Fire TV and Android TV

    Spuul is now available on Amazon Fire TV and Android TV

    MUMBAI: The VOD platform for Indian and regional content Spuul will now be available on Amazon’s Fire TV and Android TV as an application. The app can be downloaded from the Amazon store and Android Play stores. lt will also be available on other devices such as Kindle, Fire Stick and Fire Phone.

    “With multiple devices and multiple platforms, it’s getting increasingly difficult for consumers to maintain different accounts on different applications and different devices. The Amazon Fire TV and Android TV apps are a step further in make streaming content a smooth, seamless experience for our viewers. Spuul lets you browse through a variety of movies on your phone, tablet, laptop, e-reader or TV wherever you go”, says Spuul Global CEO Subin Subaiah.

    Viewers can link their existing Spuul account with the Amazon Fire TV app and Android TV app whereas new users can sign up on using their existing Facebook account.

    While the interface of both the apps looks simplified and user friendly, it has been designed keeping in mind the appearance of channels on a television set top box. To further enhance the experience, the apps are also entirely remote controlled. While Android TV users can log in with either their Facebook or Google accounts, Amazon users are free to use their gaming controllers as remotes for the Fire TV app too.

    The apps are designed with built-in features such as regular updates of latest Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi and other Indian regional language titles. Through this app, Spuul’s 12 million (1.2 crore) viewers across India, Pakistan, UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Middle East will now enjoy fresh Indian content anytime and anywhere.

  • Spuul is now available on Amazon Fire TV and Android TV

    Spuul is now available on Amazon Fire TV and Android TV

    MUMBAI: The VOD platform for Indian and regional content Spuul will now be available on Amazon’s Fire TV and Android TV as an application. The app can be downloaded from the Amazon store and Android Play stores. lt will also be available on other devices such as Kindle, Fire Stick and Fire Phone.

    “With multiple devices and multiple platforms, it’s getting increasingly difficult for consumers to maintain different accounts on different applications and different devices. The Amazon Fire TV and Android TV apps are a step further in make streaming content a smooth, seamless experience for our viewers. Spuul lets you browse through a variety of movies on your phone, tablet, laptop, e-reader or TV wherever you go”, says Spuul Global CEO Subin Subaiah.

    Viewers can link their existing Spuul account with the Amazon Fire TV app and Android TV app whereas new users can sign up on using their existing Facebook account.

    While the interface of both the apps looks simplified and user friendly, it has been designed keeping in mind the appearance of channels on a television set top box. To further enhance the experience, the apps are also entirely remote controlled. While Android TV users can log in with either their Facebook or Google accounts, Amazon users are free to use their gaming controllers as remotes for the Fire TV app too.

    The apps are designed with built-in features such as regular updates of latest Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi and other Indian regional language titles. Through this app, Spuul’s 12 million (1.2 crore) viewers across India, Pakistan, UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and Middle East will now enjoy fresh Indian content anytime and anywhere.

  • Netflix becomes exclusive US pay TV home for Disney, Marvel, Lucas film & Pixar movies

    Netflix becomes exclusive US pay TV home for Disney, Marvel, Lucas film & Pixar movies

    MUMBAI: The global OTT player Netflix has partnered with Disney to broadcast forthcoming titles throughout the summer. Under the pact that was signed three and a half years ago, the streaming service will become the exclusive US pay TV home of the latest films from Disney, Marvel, Lucas film and Pixar with effect from September 2016.

    Netflix’ chief content officer Ted Sarandos has also announced that Netflix original movie Mascots and War Machine will be arriving the same month. While the earlier is a mockumentary on sports mascots from This Is Spinal Tap writer Christopher Guest, the latter is from acclaimed Australian director David Michod and starring Brad Pitt, in the serio-comic tale of the U.S. military adventure in Afghanistan.

    The partnership with Disney will allow Netflix to offer the movies during the same window as HBO and other paid cable channels but after the DVD and Blu-Ray releases.

    It has also added various films that will be available in its catalogue this summer which includes titles like The Big Short, Hotel Transylvania 2, Spotlight, Goosebumps, the Back to the Future trilogy, the Lethal Weapon franchise, Sixteen Candles and The Wedding Planner. Other new additions include Spotlight, the Jurassic Park series and The Fundamentals of Caring.

    Meanwhile, few Disney movies will not be featured on the platform. Movies that will no longer be aired from next month include titles like Hercules, Mulan and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

     

  • Netflix becomes exclusive US pay TV home for Disney, Marvel, Lucas film & Pixar movies

    Netflix becomes exclusive US pay TV home for Disney, Marvel, Lucas film & Pixar movies

    MUMBAI: The global OTT player Netflix has partnered with Disney to broadcast forthcoming titles throughout the summer. Under the pact that was signed three and a half years ago, the streaming service will become the exclusive US pay TV home of the latest films from Disney, Marvel, Lucas film and Pixar with effect from September 2016.

    Netflix’ chief content officer Ted Sarandos has also announced that Netflix original movie Mascots and War Machine will be arriving the same month. While the earlier is a mockumentary on sports mascots from This Is Spinal Tap writer Christopher Guest, the latter is from acclaimed Australian director David Michod and starring Brad Pitt, in the serio-comic tale of the U.S. military adventure in Afghanistan.

    The partnership with Disney will allow Netflix to offer the movies during the same window as HBO and other paid cable channels but after the DVD and Blu-Ray releases.

    It has also added various films that will be available in its catalogue this summer which includes titles like The Big Short, Hotel Transylvania 2, Spotlight, Goosebumps, the Back to the Future trilogy, the Lethal Weapon franchise, Sixteen Candles and The Wedding Planner. Other new additions include Spotlight, the Jurassic Park series and The Fundamentals of Caring.

    Meanwhile, few Disney movies will not be featured on the platform. Movies that will no longer be aired from next month include titles like Hercules, Mulan and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

     

  • Starkut.com – mushrooming destination for talent & opportunity providers

    Starkut.com – mushrooming destination for talent & opportunity providers

    MUMBAI: Starkut.com is probably the first and arguably the best online platform for the media & entertainment industry. It caters to the needs of over 30 different talent professions along with that of opportunity providers.

    For the talent, it is the need to showcase their credentials on a platform that will reach far and wide, the need to network, apply for appropriate opportunities and share updates in text, pictures and video formats.

    For the opportunity providers – that is film production houses, advertising agencies, casting directors, model coordinators, event agencies and corporates etc. – it is the need for posting an opportunity on a robust platform, search and identify the right talent for their projects and managing all of it online.

    Starkut provides a platform for 32 professions, including Actor, Model, Dancer, Singer, Band, Choreographer, Cinematographer, Fashion Costume Designer, DJ, VJ, RJ, Make-up Artist, Musician, Music Composer, Photographer, Stand-up Comedian, Voice-over Artist, VFX Expert and Writer, among others.

    In a very short span, over 7000 talented professionals across all verticals have signed up. Over 70 registered opportunity providers such as feature film production companies, TV-serial and Ad film production companies, advertising agencies, event agencies, casting directors, fashion designer, photographers and others are enjoying the Starkut experience. Over 100 audition opportunities of varied requirements have been posted so far across various regions and languages, and talents are getting short-listed for the same.

    It seems the industry is just loving it, as the subscriber-base is growing in thousands per month and within just a few days of the Android mobile app launch there have been close to 10,000 downloads. Very soon the iOS App will also be available.

    With the launch of the android mobile app, the talents can do many things on the go, such as creating and updating profiles and portfolio, getting real-time audition notifications and applying for opportunities online. Talents can also enjoy features such as posting updates, reading blogs, networking, and sharing Starkut profiles on other social networking sites. 

    In its endeavour to build and nurture a healthy relationship between the various stakeholders in the media & entertainment industry, Starkut is committed towards introducing various innovations. This will be with a vision not just to build a strong bond between talents and the opportunity providers, but also to benefit the entire Indian as well as global media & entertainment industry.

  • Starkut.com – mushrooming destination for talent & opportunity providers

    Starkut.com – mushrooming destination for talent & opportunity providers

    MUMBAI: Starkut.com is probably the first and arguably the best online platform for the media & entertainment industry. It caters to the needs of over 30 different talent professions along with that of opportunity providers.

    For the talent, it is the need to showcase their credentials on a platform that will reach far and wide, the need to network, apply for appropriate opportunities and share updates in text, pictures and video formats.

    For the opportunity providers – that is film production houses, advertising agencies, casting directors, model coordinators, event agencies and corporates etc. – it is the need for posting an opportunity on a robust platform, search and identify the right talent for their projects and managing all of it online.

    Starkut provides a platform for 32 professions, including Actor, Model, Dancer, Singer, Band, Choreographer, Cinematographer, Fashion Costume Designer, DJ, VJ, RJ, Make-up Artist, Musician, Music Composer, Photographer, Stand-up Comedian, Voice-over Artist, VFX Expert and Writer, among others.

    In a very short span, over 7000 talented professionals across all verticals have signed up. Over 70 registered opportunity providers such as feature film production companies, TV-serial and Ad film production companies, advertising agencies, event agencies, casting directors, fashion designer, photographers and others are enjoying the Starkut experience. Over 100 audition opportunities of varied requirements have been posted so far across various regions and languages, and talents are getting short-listed for the same.

    It seems the industry is just loving it, as the subscriber-base is growing in thousands per month and within just a few days of the Android mobile app launch there have been close to 10,000 downloads. Very soon the iOS App will also be available.

    With the launch of the android mobile app, the talents can do many things on the go, such as creating and updating profiles and portfolio, getting real-time audition notifications and applying for opportunities online. Talents can also enjoy features such as posting updates, reading blogs, networking, and sharing Starkut profiles on other social networking sites. 

    In its endeavour to build and nurture a healthy relationship between the various stakeholders in the media & entertainment industry, Starkut is committed towards introducing various innovations. This will be with a vision not just to build a strong bond between talents and the opportunity providers, but also to benefit the entire Indian as well as global media & entertainment industry.

  • Sports only OTT service Veqta to launch in June

    Sports only OTT service Veqta to launch in June

    MUMBAI: With the aim of expanding its portfolio, Veqta, a digital broadcast network dedicated to sports is all geared up to launch its OTT service in June 2016. With the launch of the platform, the venture will also roll-out its application followed by content in various regional languages.

    Through this platform, sports fans across India can engage into various other categories of sports content that they have not yet explored. Breaking apart from the other content providers, Veqta plans to provide content via on-demand videos and live streaming.

    “Veqta will follow a very friendly content format. There is very little sports content for the viewers. We will be a destination for sports fans to enjoy high quality content coming from the biggest names in the business”, asserts Veqta ‎co-founder and director Varun Mathur.

    It has raised $500,000 (Rs 3.4 cr) in seed funding from Chatsworth Management and sports management company ITW Consulting Pvt. Ltd. The firm had earlier received initial-stage backing from ITW.

    “What will make us different form the rest is our packaging, our different formats of short form and live streaming content as well as feeds in various regional languages which everyone can understand,” says Mathur.

    The platform will follow the freemium model wherein the users will have some content available for free while there will be a pay wall for some premium content. Its offerings will include licensed content and flagship studio content across various ‘underpunctuated’ categories like cricket, football, motorsports, basketball, tennis, badminton and a range of Olympic sports.

    The venture has signed deals with various international partners from the field of sports.  The venture has not locked deals with any advertisers as of yet and are just focused at expanding its consumer reach, building team and strengthening its product development.

    Taking a hint from this, it will be interesting to see whether the other OTT players like HotStar, Spuul, Hooq, Eros Now, Sony Liv, Ditto TV, VOOT, etc, might also look at mushrooming their target niche audiences.

  • Sports only OTT service Veqta to launch in June

    Sports only OTT service Veqta to launch in June

    MUMBAI: With the aim of expanding its portfolio, Veqta, a digital broadcast network dedicated to sports is all geared up to launch its OTT service in June 2016. With the launch of the platform, the venture will also roll-out its application followed by content in various regional languages.

    Through this platform, sports fans across India can engage into various other categories of sports content that they have not yet explored. Breaking apart from the other content providers, Veqta plans to provide content via on-demand videos and live streaming.

    “Veqta will follow a very friendly content format. There is very little sports content for the viewers. We will be a destination for sports fans to enjoy high quality content coming from the biggest names in the business”, asserts Veqta ‎co-founder and director Varun Mathur.

    It has raised $500,000 (Rs 3.4 cr) in seed funding from Chatsworth Management and sports management company ITW Consulting Pvt. Ltd. The firm had earlier received initial-stage backing from ITW.

    “What will make us different form the rest is our packaging, our different formats of short form and live streaming content as well as feeds in various regional languages which everyone can understand,” says Mathur.

    The platform will follow the freemium model wherein the users will have some content available for free while there will be a pay wall for some premium content. Its offerings will include licensed content and flagship studio content across various ‘underpunctuated’ categories like cricket, football, motorsports, basketball, tennis, badminton and a range of Olympic sports.

    The venture has signed deals with various international partners from the field of sports.  The venture has not locked deals with any advertisers as of yet and are just focused at expanding its consumer reach, building team and strengthening its product development.

    Taking a hint from this, it will be interesting to see whether the other OTT players like HotStar, Spuul, Hooq, Eros Now, Sony Liv, Ditto TV, VOOT, etc, might also look at mushrooming their target niche audiences.