ITV

Category: iWorld

  • Facebook introduces immersive product for advertisers

    Facebook introduces immersive product for advertisers

    MUMBAI: Facebook has launched a new product called Canvas for advertisers, which allows them to combine video, photographs and copy in an ad.

    Canvas was originally announced in September last year. These immersive advertisements aim to draw more attention of the user into their ads, by blocking out all other content. When users click a Facebook News Feed ad connected to Canvas, it opens a full-screen, rich media page inside of Facebook rather than forcing users to wait for a mobile website to load.

    In a blog post, Facebook said, “We’re committed to building great mobile experiences for people and doing so also opens up new creative possibilities for advertisers. We’ve invested in engaging experiences like video and the carousel format to empower advertisers with more creative space to share their brand and products on mobile.”

    Said to load 10 times faster than other ads would otherwise, Facebook also stated that in their research 53 per cent of people viewed more than half of the ad and average view time was 31 seconds. Currently, these ads are available for Android and iOS, while the social media giant evaluates how to expand this option to other versions and apps such as Instagram.

    “This space was designed and invented and inspired by our relationship with the creative community,” Facebook CCO Mark D’Arcy said at a press event.

    Canvas is an evolution of the earlier Carousel ads, which allowed users to swipe through multiple product or brand photos if they were interested in more information.

  • Facebook introduces immersive product for advertisers

    Facebook introduces immersive product for advertisers

    MUMBAI: Facebook has launched a new product called Canvas for advertisers, which allows them to combine video, photographs and copy in an ad.

    Canvas was originally announced in September last year. These immersive advertisements aim to draw more attention of the user into their ads, by blocking out all other content. When users click a Facebook News Feed ad connected to Canvas, it opens a full-screen, rich media page inside of Facebook rather than forcing users to wait for a mobile website to load.

    In a blog post, Facebook said, “We’re committed to building great mobile experiences for people and doing so also opens up new creative possibilities for advertisers. We’ve invested in engaging experiences like video and the carousel format to empower advertisers with more creative space to share their brand and products on mobile.”

    Said to load 10 times faster than other ads would otherwise, Facebook also stated that in their research 53 per cent of people viewed more than half of the ad and average view time was 31 seconds. Currently, these ads are available for Android and iOS, while the social media giant evaluates how to expand this option to other versions and apps such as Instagram.

    “This space was designed and invented and inspired by our relationship with the creative community,” Facebook CCO Mark D’Arcy said at a press event.

    Canvas is an evolution of the earlier Carousel ads, which allowed users to swipe through multiple product or brand photos if they were interested in more information.

  • Mark Zuckerberg gets ‘Reactive’ with Facebook

    Mark Zuckerberg gets ‘Reactive’ with Facebook

    MUMBAI: It’s been seven years since Facebook introduced us to the “Like” button on the social media platform and ever since then it has become an integral part of our daily lives. In order to improve the experience, Facebook recently was on a testing spree to find alternatives to the existing button. After a demand for the “dislike” button and an intensive research, Facebook recently launched “Reactions,” an extension of the Like button, which gives users more ways to share their reaction to a Facebook post in a quick and easy way.

    Talking about the release and the new update, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “Not every moment you want to share is happy. Sometimes you want to share something sad or frustrating. Our community has been asking for a dislike button for years, but not because people want to tell friends they don’t like their posts. People wanted to express empathy and make it comfortable to share a wider range of emotions. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the right way to do this with our team. One of my goals was to make it as simple as pressing and holding the Like button. The result is Reactions, which allow you to express love, laughter, surprise, sadness or anger.”

    The ever-so-famous “Like” button has not been replaced, but has now got exciting new additions, which include the expressions such as ‘love,’ ‘haha,’ ‘yay,’ ‘sad,’ ‘angry’ and ‘wow.’ Facebook has ensured that the recent additions do not clutter on the screen and confuse the users; hence the “like” button will look just as it always has. Users will have to hold the mouse over the “like” options for the ‘reactions’ to show up.

    Speaking about the aim on improving the news feed for the users, Facebook product manager Sammi Krug said, “Our goal with News Feed is to show you the stories that matter most to you. Initially, just as we do when someone likes a post, if someone uses a Reaction, we will infer they want to see more of that type of post. In the beginning, it won’t matter if someone likes, “wows” or “sad” a post — we will initially use any Reaction similar to a Like to infer that you want to see more of that type of content. Over time we hope to learn how the different Reactions should be weighted differently by News Feed to do a better job of showing everyone the stories they most want to see.” 

    While this interesting update will bring in a new experience immediately for the users, advertisers on Facebook will have to wait for few more months to understand the user reactions on their respective ads. It is expected that the idea of using the Facebook’s new emoticons – anger, humour and others will be useful to improve the target audiences. But how much impact would that have? Only time will tell.

    For now, it’s time to experience and observe how fans respond to the new feature, and Zuckerberg and team spend time learning from this addition and use “our reactions” to improve.

  • Mark Zuckerberg gets ‘Reactive’ with Facebook

    Mark Zuckerberg gets ‘Reactive’ with Facebook

    MUMBAI: It’s been seven years since Facebook introduced us to the “Like” button on the social media platform and ever since then it has become an integral part of our daily lives. In order to improve the experience, Facebook recently was on a testing spree to find alternatives to the existing button. After a demand for the “dislike” button and an intensive research, Facebook recently launched “Reactions,” an extension of the Like button, which gives users more ways to share their reaction to a Facebook post in a quick and easy way.

    Talking about the release and the new update, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “Not every moment you want to share is happy. Sometimes you want to share something sad or frustrating. Our community has been asking for a dislike button for years, but not because people want to tell friends they don’t like their posts. People wanted to express empathy and make it comfortable to share a wider range of emotions. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the right way to do this with our team. One of my goals was to make it as simple as pressing and holding the Like button. The result is Reactions, which allow you to express love, laughter, surprise, sadness or anger.”

    The ever-so-famous “Like” button has not been replaced, but has now got exciting new additions, which include the expressions such as ‘love,’ ‘haha,’ ‘yay,’ ‘sad,’ ‘angry’ and ‘wow.’ Facebook has ensured that the recent additions do not clutter on the screen and confuse the users; hence the “like” button will look just as it always has. Users will have to hold the mouse over the “like” options for the ‘reactions’ to show up.

    Speaking about the aim on improving the news feed for the users, Facebook product manager Sammi Krug said, “Our goal with News Feed is to show you the stories that matter most to you. Initially, just as we do when someone likes a post, if someone uses a Reaction, we will infer they want to see more of that type of post. In the beginning, it won’t matter if someone likes, “wows” or “sad” a post — we will initially use any Reaction similar to a Like to infer that you want to see more of that type of content. Over time we hope to learn how the different Reactions should be weighted differently by News Feed to do a better job of showing everyone the stories they most want to see.” 

    While this interesting update will bring in a new experience immediately for the users, advertisers on Facebook will have to wait for few more months to understand the user reactions on their respective ads. It is expected that the idea of using the Facebook’s new emoticons – anger, humour and others will be useful to improve the target audiences. But how much impact would that have? Only time will tell.

    For now, it’s time to experience and observe how fans respond to the new feature, and Zuckerberg and team spend time learning from this addition and use “our reactions” to improve.

  • Zee Digital launches AVOD platform OZEE

    Zee Digital launches AVOD platform OZEE

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited (ZDCL), the digital arm of media & entertainment conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has launched a new video on demand platform called OZEE. 

    The platform will follow the AVOD (advertiser based video on demand) model. Pertinent to note here is that Zee already has an over the top (OTT) platform in DittoTV.

    The new platform OZEE will celebrate life at the consumers’ own pace and will offer entertainment in a manner that resonates with the vision of ZEEL’s corporate philosophy – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Family.

    The app highlights enhanced user experience, tempting first time exploration followed by loyal viewing on personal gadget. An official statement said, “The name hence inspired by the ‘O’ symbolising the circle that encompasses our universe and the entertainment we seek in it – the world of Zee.”

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited MD and CEO Puneet Goenka said, “In India, entertainment is life. The fact that today people are finding it easy to cut away from appointment viewing and are able to watch their chosen entertainment anytime and anywhere, has only driven consumer expectations higher. The video on demand platform has become the need of the hour and we are excited to bring to our viewers this whole new level of entertainment. OZEE will offer a user friendly platform and the comfort of watching your favourite ZEE show/movie at your convenience. Living in the ‘instant’ era, OZEE will make content available within minutes of its television telecast. With this offering, we hope to conquer the hearts of our viewers as much as we have been doing with our other products.”

    Zee Digital Convergence Limited CEO Debashish Ghosh added, “We believe that OZEE will define the future consumption benchmarks of Entertainment Content from ZEEL and deliver an effortless and pleasurable experience to all viewers of On Demand content on OZEE – irrespective of location, age group, SEC and comfort with technology platforms. While OZEE will deliver the best entertainment content from ZEE – which viewers have loved over decades – it is also designed to make the viewing experience truly unique and trouble free. We hope the world will love what OZEE has to offer”. 

    OZEE will launch with the following shows across each channel:

    The platform will also showcase exclusive content, be it award shows, movie premieres or concerts; anything and everything to do with entertainment.

  • Zee Digital launches AVOD platform OZEE

    Zee Digital launches AVOD platform OZEE

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited (ZDCL), the digital arm of media & entertainment conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has launched a new video on demand platform called OZEE. 

    The platform will follow the AVOD (advertiser based video on demand) model. Pertinent to note here is that Zee already has an over the top (OTT) platform in DittoTV.

    The new platform OZEE will celebrate life at the consumers’ own pace and will offer entertainment in a manner that resonates with the vision of ZEEL’s corporate philosophy – Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The World is My Family.

    The app highlights enhanced user experience, tempting first time exploration followed by loyal viewing on personal gadget. An official statement said, “The name hence inspired by the ‘O’ symbolising the circle that encompasses our universe and the entertainment we seek in it – the world of Zee.”

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited MD and CEO Puneet Goenka said, “In India, entertainment is life. The fact that today people are finding it easy to cut away from appointment viewing and are able to watch their chosen entertainment anytime and anywhere, has only driven consumer expectations higher. The video on demand platform has become the need of the hour and we are excited to bring to our viewers this whole new level of entertainment. OZEE will offer a user friendly platform and the comfort of watching your favourite ZEE show/movie at your convenience. Living in the ‘instant’ era, OZEE will make content available within minutes of its television telecast. With this offering, we hope to conquer the hearts of our viewers as much as we have been doing with our other products.”

    Zee Digital Convergence Limited CEO Debashish Ghosh added, “We believe that OZEE will define the future consumption benchmarks of Entertainment Content from ZEEL and deliver an effortless and pleasurable experience to all viewers of On Demand content on OZEE – irrespective of location, age group, SEC and comfort with technology platforms. While OZEE will deliver the best entertainment content from ZEE – which viewers have loved over decades – it is also designed to make the viewing experience truly unique and trouble free. We hope the world will love what OZEE has to offer”. 

    OZEE will launch with the following shows across each channel:

    The platform will also showcase exclusive content, be it award shows, movie premieres or concerts; anything and everything to do with entertainment.

  • India’s OTT paid video subscribers pegged at 1.3 million: Frost and Sullivan

    India’s OTT paid video subscribers pegged at 1.3 million: Frost and Sullivan

    MUMBAI: OTT (over-the-top) was the buzzword in the Indian media and entertainment sector in 2015 with multiple players firming up their game plan to tap into the lucrative and booming digital space. With the emergence of numerous OTT service providers in the past two years coupled with the entry of Netflix in India, the space is poised to grow at a fast pace in the years ahead.

    According to Frost and Sullivan’s market insight on the OTT video market in India, there are about 66 million unique connected video viewers in India every month, and about 1.3 million OTT paid video subscribers. Growth in the space can be attributed to increase in smart-phones penetration as well as the improvement in Internet speed in India.

    Despite facing several challenges today, the OTT market growth will be fuelled by various disruptive innovations in technology and business models over the next five years, as per Frost and Sullivan. 

    “With an increase in the use of smart devices in India, content owners and aggregators are using non-TV platforms to improve reach and generate revenues through subscription and advertisement. However, it’s hard to woo the Indian consumer. Success in OTT video distribution will depend on the ability to offer variety of content, new content, at a reasonable price and impeccable user experience,” said Frost and Sullivan research director Vidya Subramanian Nath. 

    While today a few broadcasters such as the Star TV Network and Zee Entertainment are driving services as well as viewership for OTT video with Hotstar and DittoTV respectively, over the next five years, there will be more broadcasters as well as cable and DTH operators expanding their OTT services. However, inadequate bandwidth speeds and the incumbency of YouTube in the market have challenged market participants.

    “India may have over 225 million Internet users, but for consuming video, one needs high-speed broadband access and only about 35 per cent of these users have access to it, informed Nath. “OTT video subscription numbers fluctuate dramatically every month. We find that advertising video on demand (AVOD) is the most preferred mode of OTT video delivery in India currently,” she said.

    Among content types, there is an increasing demand for short duration video content. This is primarily attributable to the average low Internet speeds and changing preferences of many Indian viewers. It is common to find online viewership peak during major sports events like the IPL, elections, or breaking news.

    Platforms such as YouTube offer opportunities for independent content creators who can publish their videos online without the hassles of negotiation with large networks. Now, with the entry of Netflix in India, independent professional content production will continue to grow. Broadcasters who have their own content or video platforms with a variety of publishers are driving the market. While Viacom18 is all set to launch its service called VOOT next month, Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms is also burning the midnight oil to launch its OTT platform – ALT Digital by June this year. Balaji Telefilms CEO Sameer Nair has huge expectations from the platform and expects ALT Digital to have a whopping four million paid subscribers globally by 2020. 

    With substantial investment being pumped in by companies like by Star India (Hotstar), Sony Pictures Networks India (Sony Liv), Zee Enterprises (dittoTV), Eros International (ErosNow) and Singtel, Sony & Warner (HOOQ) amongst others, the competition in the OTT space is set to intensify with the key differentiators being user experience and variety of content offering.

  • India’s OTT paid video subscribers pegged at 1.3 million: Frost and Sullivan

    India’s OTT paid video subscribers pegged at 1.3 million: Frost and Sullivan

    MUMBAI: OTT (over-the-top) was the buzzword in the Indian media and entertainment sector in 2015 with multiple players firming up their game plan to tap into the lucrative and booming digital space. With the emergence of numerous OTT service providers in the past two years coupled with the entry of Netflix in India, the space is poised to grow at a fast pace in the years ahead.

    According to Frost and Sullivan’s market insight on the OTT video market in India, there are about 66 million unique connected video viewers in India every month, and about 1.3 million OTT paid video subscribers. Growth in the space can be attributed to increase in smart-phones penetration as well as the improvement in Internet speed in India.

    Despite facing several challenges today, the OTT market growth will be fuelled by various disruptive innovations in technology and business models over the next five years, as per Frost and Sullivan. 

    “With an increase in the use of smart devices in India, content owners and aggregators are using non-TV platforms to improve reach and generate revenues through subscription and advertisement. However, it’s hard to woo the Indian consumer. Success in OTT video distribution will depend on the ability to offer variety of content, new content, at a reasonable price and impeccable user experience,” said Frost and Sullivan research director Vidya Subramanian Nath. 

    While today a few broadcasters such as the Star TV Network and Zee Entertainment are driving services as well as viewership for OTT video with Hotstar and DittoTV respectively, over the next five years, there will be more broadcasters as well as cable and DTH operators expanding their OTT services. However, inadequate bandwidth speeds and the incumbency of YouTube in the market have challenged market participants.

    “India may have over 225 million Internet users, but for consuming video, one needs high-speed broadband access and only about 35 per cent of these users have access to it, informed Nath. “OTT video subscription numbers fluctuate dramatically every month. We find that advertising video on demand (AVOD) is the most preferred mode of OTT video delivery in India currently,” she said.

    Among content types, there is an increasing demand for short duration video content. This is primarily attributable to the average low Internet speeds and changing preferences of many Indian viewers. It is common to find online viewership peak during major sports events like the IPL, elections, or breaking news.

    Platforms such as YouTube offer opportunities for independent content creators who can publish their videos online without the hassles of negotiation with large networks. Now, with the entry of Netflix in India, independent professional content production will continue to grow. Broadcasters who have their own content or video platforms with a variety of publishers are driving the market. While Viacom18 is all set to launch its service called VOOT next month, Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms is also burning the midnight oil to launch its OTT platform – ALT Digital by June this year. Balaji Telefilms CEO Sameer Nair has huge expectations from the platform and expects ALT Digital to have a whopping four million paid subscribers globally by 2020. 

    With substantial investment being pumped in by companies like by Star India (Hotstar), Sony Pictures Networks India (Sony Liv), Zee Enterprises (dittoTV), Eros International (ErosNow) and Singtel, Sony & Warner (HOOQ) amongst others, the competition in the OTT space is set to intensify with the key differentiators being user experience and variety of content offering.

  • Netflix to launch original anime series ‘Perfect Bones’ globally

    Netflix to launch original anime series ‘Perfect Bones’ globally

    MUMBAI: Netflix has inked a deal with Production I.G that sees the upcoming original Anime series Perfect Bones to premiere only on Netflix. This marks the first ever original Anime title to debut all episodes simultaneously in 190 countries around the world.

    Directed by Kazuto Nakazawa, the 12-episode series is set in the future where scientists have tried to create the ‘perfect human’ in hopes of keeping peace in the universe. After nearly achieving their goal through several children, the scientists send their ‘new humans’ for further training where they are kidnapped by an evil organisation set on using their powers to implement their own concept of a new world order.

    “We are incredibly excited to work with Production I.G, who have worked on hit series such as Attack on Titan and Psycho-Pass, in bringing one of the most daring new Anime titles produced today to all Netflix members and Anime fans around the world,” said Netflix vice president, international originals Erik Barmack. “In an era where the Internet knows no bounds, we are proud to deliver high quality original Anime to fans all over the world, at the exact same time, no matter where they live whether it be Japan, France, Mexico, the US, and beyond.”

    Production I.G president & CEO Mitsuhisa Ishikawa added, “Among all the tv series and films Netflix offers, the titles I personally find the most amazing are Netflix originals. Production I.G is eager to present another impactful title brought through our creators’ passion and imagination. We’re very excited about Perfect Bones!”

    This marks a milestone in Anime distribution innovation for Netflix – enabling members around the world access to great stories faster.

  • Netflix to launch original anime series ‘Perfect Bones’ globally

    Netflix to launch original anime series ‘Perfect Bones’ globally

    MUMBAI: Netflix has inked a deal with Production I.G that sees the upcoming original Anime series Perfect Bones to premiere only on Netflix. This marks the first ever original Anime title to debut all episodes simultaneously in 190 countries around the world.

    Directed by Kazuto Nakazawa, the 12-episode series is set in the future where scientists have tried to create the ‘perfect human’ in hopes of keeping peace in the universe. After nearly achieving their goal through several children, the scientists send their ‘new humans’ for further training where they are kidnapped by an evil organisation set on using their powers to implement their own concept of a new world order.

    “We are incredibly excited to work with Production I.G, who have worked on hit series such as Attack on Titan and Psycho-Pass, in bringing one of the most daring new Anime titles produced today to all Netflix members and Anime fans around the world,” said Netflix vice president, international originals Erik Barmack. “In an era where the Internet knows no bounds, we are proud to deliver high quality original Anime to fans all over the world, at the exact same time, no matter where they live whether it be Japan, France, Mexico, the US, and beyond.”

    Production I.G president & CEO Mitsuhisa Ishikawa added, “Among all the tv series and films Netflix offers, the titles I personally find the most amazing are Netflix originals. Production I.G is eager to present another impactful title brought through our creators’ passion and imagination. We’re very excited about Perfect Bones!”

    This marks a milestone in Anime distribution innovation for Netflix – enabling members around the world access to great stories faster.