ITV

Category: Video On Demand

  • Indian content at Netflix to be creatively lead by Disney’s Simran Sethi

    Indian content at Netflix to be creatively lead by Disney’s Simran Sethi

    MUMBAI: Netflix is plumping up on executives of Indian origin as it continues to build its content catalogue targeted at the 1.3 billion strong population nation. Amongst the first to be hired for India was former Star TV-exec-turned-independent film producer,  Swati Shetty, who has been shuttling between Los Angeles and India. The latest to be recruited is experienced programming executive from traditional media, Freeform’s SVP – scripted development Simran Sethi. Sethi has left the Disney-owned network Freeform (earlier ABC Family)  to join Netflix International Originals Production Group in its in the Los Angeles office as the creative executive for India. Her immediate reporting superior is executive Erika North.

    Netflix, in the past couple of years, has been employing executives from traditional TV networks and studios.

    It, along with Amazon Prime Video, sees India’s 300 million smartphone users  as the great hope for global expansion.

    Netflix, which rated India’s Spectranet speed in July as climbing up to 3.19 Mbps, recently unveiled the Gateway Shows that lead to a heroic binge as it seems to know what viewers watch. Viewers are finding their way to the adventures of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist through shows as diverse as the Defenders crew. And, it’s by design – more than 80 per cent of the shows are discovered through Netflix recommendations.

    “At Netflix, we know genres are just wrappers, which is why we work hard to create algorithms that help members break these pre-conceived notions and make it easier for them to find stories they’ll love, even in seemingly unlikely places,” said Netflix VP of product Todd Yellin.

    A couple of months ago, Netflix head honchos Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings met with Indian filmstars Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan as a part of its effort to break through in the subcontinent before competition does. Now, Netflix is bringing in experts such as Sethi to head India content.

    Sethi had joined Freeform in August 2015 where she helped lead the programming rebrand of ABC Family to Freeform, including developing the new series Famous in Love, The Bold Type, late-night show Truth & Iliza,  the upcoming Marvel series Cloak and Dagger,  the mermaid thriller Siren, and the Black-ish  spin-off, among others. Before joining Freeform, Sethi worked at NBC, Sony Pictures Television and Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison after receiving her MBA from Stanford Business School.

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    Can’t wait to harness Millarworld’s creativity, says Netflix’ Sarandos

     

  • Shemaroo associates with ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’

    Shemaroo associates with ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment, one of India’s leading integrated media content houses, acquires rights for the live feed of one of the most popular Mandals of Maharashtra – ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ for mobile, Internet and DTH platforms. Shemaroo Entertainment will distribute content of Lalbaugcha Raja (video and images) to all the telecom operators.

    Consumers will now be able to enjoy live darshan & ‘maha aarti’ of Lord Ganesha on their mobile and TV sets. It will be available on Shemaroo’s latest android app “Gods” and few other select mobile apps. One can also SMS – “SELBR” to 56060 to enjoy the Darshan, post which, a link will be received on the mobile set and one can enjoy live darshan of ‘Lalbaugcha Raja’ by simply clicking on it. Live Darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja will be available from 25 August 2017 onwards. Consumers who want to enjoy the Live Darshan on their TV will have to subscribe to the devotional service from their DTH Operators. Live Darshan will be available on Airtel – Om Shakti (Service No 674), Tata Sky- Devotion (Service No 1051), Dish – Bhakti Active (Service No 1069)& Videocon – D2H Darshan (Service No 481).

    Shemaroo director Jai Maroo said, “It feels great to be blessed with an opportunity to distribute the Live Darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja to lakhs of devotees across India on various platforms. Every year we make an effort to make the Darshan easier and a better experience for our consumers. Hence, this year it is also available on our own app – Gods. Also expanding the number of platforms means reaching to a wider audience. We also take pride in the fact that Shemaroo is one of few companies in India that offers such a wide range of content to all the platforms where entertainment is consumed.”

    Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshostav Mandal secretary Sudhir Salvi added, “We are glad to continue our association with Shemaroo for seven consecutive years. It is through Shemaroo’s efforts that these devotees are able to enjoy the Darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja in the comfort of their homes.”

  • Hotstar rolls out attractively-priced Premier League offer

    Hotstar rolls out attractively-priced Premier League offer

    MUMBAI: From time to time, Hotstar, the VOD streaming service from Twenty First Century Fox’s  Star India, has been making short-term promotional subscription offers through its payment partners like HDFC, Citibank, PayTM and what have you.

    Subscribers have either been getting 100 per cent cash back for one month or two months depending on the subscriber’s card. Including the first free trial month, that effectively gives an annual subscription at anywhere between Rs 1, 800 or Rs 2,000 as compared to the monthly subscription price of Rs 199.

    However, since 11 August, it has been running an extremely tempting subscription scheme called the Premier League offer, which has a sticker price of Rs 999 for nine months. The only catch: the payment is non-refundable and has to be made using a debit card and is for a limited period till 12 September.

    The idea obviously is to get potential football lovers who have been fence sitting  so far to sign up with a massive discount of around 40-50 per cent.

    Over the past year, the government has been driving consumers toward digital payments, and also open bank accounts. The Indian consumer – normally wary of piling too much debt – has been loathe to sign up for a credit card. However, opening a bank account normally gets a bank customer a debit card in most cases.

    By pushing the Premier League offer, it is hoping to make it a very lucrative proposition for those consumers and others to start using their debit cards.

    Hotstar, smart TV apps of which are in the pipeline, currently offers around 50,000 hours of movies and television content together across eight languages, and almost all major sports are covered live.  

    Even as the research firm KalaGato reported 73 per cent jump in Hotstar’s market share in 10 months, that is expected to spurt further with the addition of the CBS catalogue, and of course Game of Thrones which has been in the news for its crackling seventh season and its leakage from different partners worldwide, including India.

    Recently announcing a pipeline with 18 originals from India, Amazon Prime offers perceptibly the most reasonable annual plan at Rs 499. Sun TV’s Sun NXT subscription plans start from Rs 50 per month. Netflix however is expensive – with plans starting at Rs 500 per month, but is reflective of the catalogue size and its target audience, the crème de la crème of Indian consumers.

    Amazon Prime has reportedly bagged a market share of just 9.66 per cent, Sony Liv pocketed 6.96 per cent share and Airtel-run Wynk Movies was at 6.36 per cent, the KalaGato report had added.

    We reached out to Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan, but received no response.

     

  • Shemaroo cautiously optimistic on Indian Rlys’ entertainment service bid

    Shemaroo cautiously optimistic on Indian Rlys’ entertainment service bid

    MUMBAI: Well, it may be one of the 24 media and tech companies that have evinced initial interest in providing wi-fi delivered entertainment on demand content to passengers of Indian Railways, but Shemaroo Entertainment is still evaluating the business proposal. Reason: it involves investment of billions of rupees in setting up the whole system, especially on moving trains that may pass through broadband dark areas, which is a technologically challenging work.

    Shemaroo whole time director & CFO Hiren Gada told indiantelevision.com, “It is a technically complicated work. It involves latest technology access, hardware components and a big capex investment. The technology involves giving access to content via a wi-fi platform that will work within a rail coach when the train is moving.”

    According to Gada, an in-house team is preparing a business plan to get a “better sense” of the potential costs and return on investments though, admittedly, the Indian Railways do offer captive eyeballs. “Once we have worked out the costs and equipments needed to put the mechanism in place, we’d make a final decision. If revenues don’t match up to our costs, then it may not be viable for us to bid,” he added.

    The Indian Railways’ local wi-fi network will be available to everyone on board via a distribution box and passengers will be able to log in through their phones or other smart devises to access the entertainment content, according to some media reports.

    Shemaroo, along with 23 other media companies like Viacom18, Zee and Hungama, has shown initial interest in the Indian Railways’ proposal to offer entertainment content on 3,000 trains. The bid will be valid for five years and extendable by another five years.

    The proposal that seeks to raise approximately Rs. 5 billion in non-fare revenues is similar to entertainment services offered on all international and some domestic flights by airlines.

    According to reports where government officials have been quoted, a distribution box will be installed in the coaches, which will be updated regularly for a seamless experience for passengers. However, it is not clear yet how the Indian Railways proposes to monetize such a service from the passengers.

    “Based on the actual revenues that get generated, there could be some additional amount that Railways may share (with the service provider) if the revenue reaches a certain level,” Gada explained the revenue share model proposed by the Indian Railways.

    The tender documents are slated to be opened in the afternoon of 24 August 2017 after bidders have made their final submissions. Only one service provider (successful bidder) will be permitted per designated sectors. The project is being tendered on a revenue sharing model.

    The project shall be executed on a build operate and transfer model. Some of the pre-qualification demands made by the India Railways include the prospective bidders/consortium members having relevant experience in

    India or abroad in providing i) content either as content IP owner/linear broadcaster/aggregator/ OTT player (ii) in providing technology solution in entertainment domain for transport/Railways sector and (iii) experience in monetisation of content through either advertisements or subscriptions.

    Can this project help in making more enjoyable a journey on Indian Railways, apart from the scenic beauty of the country’s hinterland that is visible on long-haul trains? Only once the service starts, the question, probably, would get answered.

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    Virgin America signs on Disney, Fox, Paramount & Warner Bros for in-flight content

    Akshar Advertising bags bulk ad tenders for Mumbai railway stations

  • Voot originals’ strategy of disruptive shows unfolds with ‘Yo Ke Hua Bro’ from 18 Aug

    MUMBAI: Voot’s “Yo Ke Hua Bro,” the 5-part comedy web-series starring Aparshakti Khuranna, Gaurav Pande, and Shamita Shetty is set to go live on 18 August 2017.

    Viacom 18’s video-on-demand streaming service Voot is all set to launch its next Voot Original – “Yo Ke Hua Bro”. Set in the heartland of Haryana, Yo Ke Hua Bro is an edgy comedy that brings to life the comic capers of the desi dumb and dumber! The show is set to add a new shade of rustic humour to the diverse palette of Voot Originals. The show with the bros — Aparshakti Khuranna & Gaurav Pandey along with the divas Shamita Shetty and Ridhima Pandit is set to go live on August 18th, 2017 only on Voot.

    Set in Haryana where hormones are raging and the sex ratio is skewed we meet 2 ‘BROS’ who don’t yield results! Be it clearing their graduation, their entrance exams, landing a girl or even a date… this original series is full of moments that will make most bro’s go “Yo Ke Hua Bro”. But the biggest Yo Ke Hua Bro moment is when these desi bro’s land themselves in a Kaand! Yes you heard that right! Boys in a kaand that will exemplify the male species! What is this scandal? Watch the show to find out more!

    The show will see actors Aparshakti Khuranna (Famously known for his character in Dangal), Gaurav Pandey (critically acclaimed for his role in Badrinath Ki Dulhania) essay the roles of the 2 Bro’s. The stunning divas Shamita Shetty and Ridhima Pandit will essay the roles of the sassy women who challenge the boys. In a special appearance will be the digital phenomena Sumeet Vyas, in a never see before role of a maverick cop.

    Speaking about Voot Orignals, Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi said: “We have a very aggressive original’s strategy that will see a slew of innovative & disruptive shows being brought alive. Our endeavour with Voot Originals like Yo Ke Hua Bro is to ensure that we create content that engages & entertains the discerning digital viewer. We will see many more such differentiated originals from Voot in the coming months.”

    Viacom18 Digital Ventures head of content Monika Shergill said: “We are looking at launching many more series this year each with a differentiated pitch. Kick starting this plan with our latest offering – Yo Kay Hua Bro is set in heartland India. It is a comic caper with a unique twist! Men beware… we are about to spark the imagination of many women!!”

    Yo Ke Hua Bro is Voot’s eight original since its launch in May 2016. With shows like It’s not that Simple, Shaadi Boys, Badman, Untag amongst other, Voot has created a wide palette of content catering to the entertainment needs of the discerning viewers. Voot “Yo Ke Hua Bro” with its high decibel humour, spirit and desi chutzpah is all set to go live.

  • Ownzones’ SVoD brings ‘Best Westerns Ever’ to Amazon, Roku, iOS & Android

    MUMBAI: The Western genre rides again thanks to a new SVOD channel being launched by Ownzones Media Network. The OTT EntTech company will bring Best Westerns Ever to Amazon video channels and via the Ownzones app currently on Roku, iOS and Android platforms beginning today, giving fans exclusive access to hundreds of iconic Western films and TV series at a nominal monthly subscription fee of $1.99.

    Today’s news comes on the heels of Ownzones’ successful rollout of Best TV Ever, a subscription content service for fans of vintage TV series that has seen exponential growth, revealing a great demand for niche programming. ‘Best Westerns Ever’, the next in Ownzones’ plans for a full stable of niche vertical channels, was created to satisfy this demand for underserved fans of the Western genre.

    ‘Best Westerns Ever’ will boast more than 400 film and TV titles featuring the genre’s biggest stars, including John Wayne, Dennis Hopper, Gene Autry, Kirk Douglas, Marlon Brando, Bob Denver, Roy Rogers, Jane Russell, Fred Astaire, Burt Lancaster, and Maureen O’Hara, along with cult classics and rare treasures, such as “The Cisco Kid” and “Bonanza” and films like “Rawhide,” “Billy the Kid Wanted,” “Red River Valley” and “The Over the Hill Gang.”

    “In launching these niche channels, we are recognizing and responding to vastly underserved audience segments by developing exciting, affordable consumer offerings that appeal to their viewing passions,” said Ownzones head of programming Doug Lee.

    “’Best Westerns Ever’ is a robust channel offering sure to delight Western superfans, who will no longer have to pay high prices to gain access to the titles they love. We’re delivering the best of the genre in feature films and series with one-click convenience.”

    Lee adds that, as the end of the traditional TV bundle nears, viewers will be looking to subscribe and spend more in niche OTT services that are of interest to them.

    Ownzones’ launch of ‘Best Westerns Ever’ and success of Best TV Ever validate the company’s business model, which leverages the consumer’s purchase mindset with the organic search capabilities of its partners.

    These new content services will continue to expand to other distribution platforms to meet the growing consumer demand. Both products will also be available on Ownzones.com.

  • Game of Thrones episode leak with Star TV watermark traced to Prime Focus Tech; 4 people arrested

    NEW DELHI: “You know nothing, Jon Snow,” Ygritte told her reluctant lover, delivering one of the most iconic lines in the drama series. But  the Maharashtra police do know who leaked  episode four from season seven of  the blockbuster HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ with the Star India watermark about 10 days back. And, the source of the crime is Prime Focus, a technology partner of Star. 

    Police investigations done in Mumbai and Bangalore have shown that present and former employees of Prime Focus, technology vendor for Star India, were responsible for the leak. GOT airs in India on Star channels and its digital platform Hotstar.

    “The information and material collected at the Bangalore office (of Prime Focus) and the Mumbai Police station were collated, studied and analysed by the police. On being satisfied, the investigating agency sufficiently established the role and involvement of various persons, both existing and former employees as well as outsiders,” Maharashtra special IGP (cyber) Brijesh Singh said in a statement yesterday, adding four persons were arrested on 14 August 2017.

    It transpires that the leak, which was one in the series of many leaks globally involving, GOT in recent times, happened in Prime Focus Technologies’ Bengaluru office.

    The police said interrogations revealed that more than one person was involved, included outside people, who had access to the raw data of the TV series. All the accused persons were produced in a court and later sent to police custody till 21 August 2017.

    During investigations, Prime Focus had come forward accepting the leak had happened at its end. It also lodged a police complaint against one of its serving employees alleging that he, along with another former employee and other persons, illegally gained access to the episode and leaked it online.

    Indiantelevision.com could not independently reach out to Prime Focus for the company’s reactions to the developments on online leak. 

    In a separate statement Star India said, “This was the first time that an incident of this nature has occurred. We are deeply grateful to the police for their swift and prompt action. We believe that valuable intellectual property is a critical part of the development of the creative industry and strict enforcement of the law is essential to protecting it.”

    On 4 August 2017, The Verge had reported an unaired episode of GOT appeared on the Internet early that morning. While HBO’s servers were breached earlier that week, this episode leak happened at GOT producer HBO’s distribution partner in India, Star India, and the company’s logo appeared watermarked throughout the leaked episode.

    According to The Verge, Smartprix spotted a direct link to the MP4 of the episode over at Star India’s own distribution site, allowing people to download GOT freely before sharing it with Google Drive links on Reddit.

     

    ALSO READ:

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/enews/content-piracy-making-b-casters-invest-in-good-tech-for-security-brian-morris-vp-tata-communications-161026

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/english-entertainment/star-world-to-host-first-live-got-debate-on-facebook-170421

    https://www.vox.com/2015/4/12/8394447/game-of-thrones-leak

  • Subramaniam is Prime interim head as Amazon seeks new leader

    MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Video India director – content Vijay Subramaniam has been appointed as the interim head till the time a suitable replacement is found for Prime India head Nitesh Kripalani who quit two days ago. Kripalani will however remain on the rolls of Amazon India till November.

    “We are looking to fill this position. In the interim, Subramaniam has stepped in,” an Amazon spokesperson said.

    Subramaniam, who has over 20 years of experience in television, radio and print, also worked with Disney, Turner, Magna and Star. He quitt Disney Media Networks in April 2017, and joined Prime shortly later. Before joining Disney, Subramaniam was with MTV India as the advertising sales director, responsible for delivering revenue objectives for MTV. 

    While free Youtube, which makes money with ads, is successful in India, Prime Video is among the first SVoDs which is succeeding owing to scale.

    Also Read:

    Amazon Prime country head Nitesh Kripalani quits

    Amazon Prime plans to add more originals & evaluating regional content

  • SonyLiv to scale up via Amazon Fire & Apple TV, courtesy Cisco IVP

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) and Cisco will together extend SonyLiv video experience to Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV customers in India.

    The Cisco Infinite Video Platform (IVP) provides SonyLiv with a fully cloud-based infrastructure, allowing it to offer more than 40,000 hours of broadcast-quality premium viewing experiences, including Live TV.

    Cisco IVP features superior security protocols that protect the video content from all kinds of threats. Through Cisco IVP, SonyLiv will be able to scale up, brand and market its OTT app on Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV in India.

    Users have access to rich content including movies, a strong line-up of events across all sports, shows, music, TV shows and much more across multiple devices and platforms.

    SonyLiv EVP and Head – Digital Business Uday Sodhi said,“SonyLiv has reinvented how users immerse themselves in unmatched entertainment experience. Our association with Cisco provides us the ability to extend our SonyLiv offering to a new set of consumers,allowing them access to our vast content catalogue. Our focus is on bringing the best of Cisco’s technology expertise and our content prowess to establish new benchmarks in the OTT space.”

    Cisco India & SAARC MD – service provider business Sanjay Kaul said, “Superior-quality videos are the way forward. Video will be 75 per cent of India’s mobile data traffic by 2021. Therefore, it is imperative that content-providers are equipped to scale up and deliver dynamic user experience. Cisco’s Infinite Video Platform offers SonyLiv an opportunity to secure its place as the leader by delivering broadcast-quality entertainment to Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV consumers.”

  • Rajeev & Surveen’s digital debut on ALTBalaji’s Haq Se

    MUMBAI: OTT platform for original and exclusive shows ALTBalaji has announced the star cast of its new show Haq Se. Ekta Kapoor has brought two extremely popular faces together, Rajeev Khandelwal and Surveen Chawla.

    Rajeev will be debuting his digital innings with ALTBalaji’s Haq Se. There is a lot of buzz around the lead pairing, which is, needless to say, both fresh and inspiring. Creators of the show are really excited about them playing the lead roles. Other than them, famous actors like Simone Singh and Karanveer Sharma are playing important roles.

    Haq Se is set in the beautiful valleys of Kashmir, apart from being a beautiful love story Haq Se is also a captivating story about four sisters Meher, Jannat, Bano and Amal in Kashmir, Haq Se explores their ambition how are they bound down by their geographical situation and the rising fundamentalism in the region. The show is directed by Ken Ghosh, who has directed films such as Amit Sahni ki List and Phir Se and quite a few web shows prior to Haq Se.

    Notable cast also includes: Parul Gulati as Jannat Mirza, Aanchal Sharma as Bahira Mirza and Nikeesha Rangwal as Amal Mirza.