ITV

Category: Video On Demand

  • APOS ’17: India’s share of local original shows high, says Nitesh Kripalani

    BALI: Amazon Prime, a global OTT player targeting one of Asia’s biggest markets in terms of size and numbers, feels that, in India, localisation of the content and service would drive subscriber numbers and viewing time.

    Pointing out that Amazon launched the Fire TV stick in India recently with a “localised” experience for consumers, Amazon Prime India director and country head Nitesh Kripalani said, “We localise it from having a voice mode, which can search content not only in English but also in Hindi. We localized it where you can monitor your data usage.”

    Kripalani, who was speaking at Media Partners Asia-organized APOS 2017 in Bali on `India: Placing Bets On New Pipes And Old’ said the strategy of localisation of content in local languages and local payment methods for subscription is being followed depending on consumer feedback. Continuing on localisation, including original content, Kripalani admitted that India was the only market where Amazon has “announced larger number of original shows” in local languages.

    “We have already announced 18 shows for India; first one is coming very soon. We want to change the way how creators create content. We want them to think unconstrained, we are asking them to go back and take a look at those projects they were wanting to make (but were not able to),” he explained, adding the content that his company was encouraging was essentially something with a feature film quality but made in an episodic format.

    Amazon Fire TV stick not only gives the `local’ feel and experience, but also enables subscribers to watch high quality 4K content from Prime Video library and other content providers too on the big screen.

    Because piracy, like in India, is a global phenomenon, Kripalani said Amazon’s goal is to “enable latest movies and TV shows” made available legally and the Indian entertainment market was big enough for such moves.

    Kripalani pointed out that Amazon Prime looked at some of the problems of customers in India on availability of content on multiple services and set about working out a strategy with the goal to bring about change in the way creators created content and created universal shows that customers cared for. Customers, he added, anywhere in the world had similar demands — they care about content selection, they care about reliability and convenient of access and the third was value.

    Dwelling on the journey till now in one of the most exciting but complex market in Asia, Kripalani said that in four months the response from consumers had been very encouraging. “I think success will be if we build our super small market…and the way premium content is consumed (and) that will be a measure of the success.

    “We are very excited with the growth of Fire TV stick and other products that we may bring in and, of course, we are looking at how the entire ecosystem is built in India, “Kripalani concluded, saying that the company is working across an array of India languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Marathi, apart from English, for content development and the way service is available in India.

  • Hooq launches filmmakers guild, 5th original announced at APOS

    MUMBAI: Hooq, one of the the largest Video on Demand service in South-East Asia — announced their latest initiative –Hooq Filmmakers Guild, a South-East Asia wide project that helps turn the most imaginative TV series ideas of filmmakers into reality, thus celebrating Asia, the nation from which great TV arises.

    Hooq calls for film professionals, be it directors, producers or scriptwriters to send in scripts and treatments for a TV series idea they have. From these, the five best scripts, regionally, will be given a funding of USD$ 30,000 to be converted into a pilot episode that will debut on Hooq. Submissions can be from Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia. The best out of these five pilot episodes, decided by Hooq subscribers and a star-studded judging panel consisting of the top film talents around Asia as well as Hollywood (to be announced), will be converted into a full series produced and aired on Hooq.

    “There is incredible talent for TV series making in Asia, and we want to give opportunities to film professionals to turn these amazing ideas into reality. Hooq is built in Asia for Asia and we want to give Asian filmmakers the power to create quality entertainment that gives our customers that escape into worlds of romance, action, adventure and even heroism, all in the setting of their backyard. Hooq Filmmakers Guild does just that, making Asia the nation from which great TV arises!”, Hooq CEO Peter Bithos .

    This project commences from 1 June 2017 and will be open for entries till 1 August 2017. Applicants must be either in film school or working as professionals in the film industry with prior film production experience. They are to submit the script and treatment for a mini-series or a full series with a maximum of 13 episodes for a single season in order to qualify. There will be no restriction to genre, however submissions and productions must be in the language of the applicant’s country.

    This announcement comes one day after Hooq announces four new Hooq original productions – Critical Eleven and Sweet 20 to hit cinemas in May and June 2017 respectively and the other 3 to hit the platform (‘The T Party’) and Marlina and the Murderer in Four Acts) later this year.

  • Netflix to set shop in Mumbai, invest in local content

    MUMBAI: US California-based video streaming service provider Netflix has plans to establish an office in India aimed at stepping up its game in India, according to a National US-India Chamber of Commerce news release. The India office is expected to be based in Mumbai — the company’s fourth in Asia, after Tokyo, Singapore and Taiwan.

    Netflix recently announced that its service will now be available on the DTH platforms of Bharti Airtel and Videocon. It also entered into a carrier billing agreement with Vodafone India.

    Also, the streaming service is planning to invest in making new content for the Indian market, and also come up with new payment platforms, the release stated.

    The NUICC release, citing Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings, said the Mumbai office will be as big as Tokyo within a few years. Hastings added that India had seen the highest growth among all Asian markets for Netflix’s offering, and targets to be among the top five apps on a consumer’s phone.

    Netflix at present has around 94 million users, among which 44 million are outside the US market, according to the NUICC statement.

    The expansion move comes when the company is attempting to be the first to eliminate buffering while at the same time working on technology that enables content to stream at speeds of 100 kbps. Such a move could boost the company in markets like India, the world’s fastest growing smartphone market, where network speeds are among the slowest in the world, the NUICC said.

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  • Netflix viewing is 6% of Hotstar’s in India: 21st CF CFO Nallen

    NEW DELHI: Star India’s parent 21st Century Fox feels that Star’s OTT platform Hotstar future in the Indian market was great and that it has become the `second TV’ in Indian homes that highlights global competitors like Netflix and Amazon have failed to make a dent yet.

    According to 21st Century Fox senior EVP and CFO John Nallen, the portable nature of the app (Hotstar on a smart phone) has made people use it as a “second TV”. Similarity of content on traditional TV on Star channels (“we produce 17,000 hours per year of local Indian product”) is what drives the market, ratings and minutes on Hotstar, he added.

    Speaking to investors in March 2017, Nallen pointed out that there have been 135 million downloads — “the biggest app download in Indian history”– of Hotstar app and in terms of usage in January 2017, it had eight billion minutes of viewing, “ten times of what it had six months earlier”.

    “When I look at the growth of our business, Hotstar is a key piece of it in India, and it also had the opportunity to appeal to the Indian diaspora where we sell our products currently in the US and the UK,” the 21st CF CFO highlighted.  At 21st Century Fox, Nallen oversees all of the company’s financial dealings, specifically overseeing capital market and merger and acquisition transactions as well as various corporate-wide operating initiatives.

    Asked if Amazon and Netflix impacted the OTT market in India as both were investing heavily, Nallen said, “Netflix, not really. It is six per cent of Hotstar viewing (in India). Amazon is investing significantly in local products, which is in Hindi and local languages.”

    According to an official statement from Star earlier this month, Hotstar became the first local service to cross 100 million downloads on the Google Play Store, racing 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.

    The service also announced recently that it has emerged as the primary screen for cricket extravaganza VIVO IPL 2017 in India’s top cities, especially those with more than a million in population.

    Speaking at the CASBAA OTT Summit in Singapore in March, Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan, without elaborating on exact plans, had asserted the platform wanted to expand to other parts of the globe, adding the model could be “global with mobile viewing and tech at the heart of things.”  He did not expand on the territories being targeted for expansion or the investments being made by the company.

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  • Hooq unveils three Asian original productions

    MUMBAI: Hooq will be doubling down on local Asian stories, making a bold move into original content across the region.

    Hooq will be announcing five all-new Asian originals, adding to its already comprehensive Asian catalogue. These five new projects, which will be announced at APOS this week, from across the region and take the form of three movies, a multi-episode series along with five pilots. The projects also transcend genre with romance, comedy and drama.

    “There is a huge thirst for high quality, unique Asian stories, told from an Asian perspective. We aim to satisfy this with Hooq Originals on our platform. These four new Hooq Originals are going to whet your binge-watching appetite for drama, romance and comedies. This is just the beginning of a lot more exciting Asian originals to keep you Hooq’d. We will continue to push boundaries, to evolve and stay committed to delivering unique, compelling and edgy Asian stories to our millions of Hooq customers,” said Hooq chief executive officer Peter Bithos.

    These four new original productions come on the back of Hooq and Globe Studios’ first highly anticipated original production On The Job – the pilot of which will now be released as a full-length movie followed by a 5-episode series forming Season 1. Directed by Erik Matti and co-produced with Reality Entertainment, this thrilling drama of crime, deceit and struggles touch scarily close to the hearts of the current underbelly deep in Filipino societal issues. The full-length feature film is slated for release in August 2017 followed six weeks later by the rest of season 1.

    ‘The T Party’

    The second Filipino original production from Hooq, codenamed ‘The T Party’, centres around today’s modern story of finding love on an online dating app aims to delight and entertain with its sexy, steamy yet funny romances. The development of an eight-episode series is now underway with top directors in the romcom genre including Joyce Bernal, as well as Marvin Agustin in his directorial debut. Each episode will revolve around intertwining stories based on finding love (or otherwise) through a popular dating app. It will be, in most ways, an unofficial guide, and a scandalous expose on the merry world of online dating, as navigated by an insider. This series is scheduled to debut exclusively on Hooq in the late 2017.

    Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts

    Hooq’s first Indonesian original, “Marlina The Murderer in Four Acts” has been selected at the Director’s Fortnight session at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. Marlina is Hooq’s first venture into Indonesian production. Hooq has chosen to co-produce this film with award-winning Indonesian film- maker Mouly Surya and producers Rama Adi and Fauzan Zidni. The film is a co-production between Cinesurya and Kaninga Pictures, Sasha and Co Production, Astro Shaw, Hooq and Purin Pictures. Marlina tells a story of a young widow of the Indonesian hills of the Island of Sumba. Attacked and robbed by a gang of local men, Marlina exacts revenge on the entire gang. The next day, she commences a journey for justice, empowerment and redemption. But her road is long, especially when the ghost of her headless victim decides to haunt her. This is the first Indonesian film to have been selected at Directors’ Fortnight session and the fourth ever selected in Cannes. Marlina is targeted to hit the big screens towards the end of 2017.

    Sweet 20

    In partnership with Starvision and CJ Entertainment, directed by Ody C. Harahap, Sweet 20 is an adaptation from a best-selling Korean movie called Miss Granny. This remake of the Korean comedy tells the story of a 70-year old grandmother, Fatmawati who was transported back to her youth as a 20-year old and becomes a star. However an event occurs where she has to make the difficult decision to remain in her new life or return to being a 70-year old in order to save the life of her grandson. Sweet 20 is slated to hit the big screens in Indonesia this June.

    The fourth and fifth Hooq Original will be announced later this week during APOS.

  • YuppTV makes live streaming easy with Freedocast

    MUMBAI: YuppTV has announced the launch of Freedocast Pro Device and Freedocast Live Streaming Platform. Providing end-to-end solutions for users to go live instantly, anywhere anytime, the pro device and live-streaming platform also enables users to broadcast live videos on multiple platforms such as, Facebook and YouTube Live, Twitter/Periscope and others.

    The latest offering, Freedocast Pro Device broadcasts live videos in HD Quality. The Device can be connected to any video source including camera and switcher to go live and can be easily controlled via Android/iOS App. The App can be used to preview, control & monitor live broadcasts. The Device also has a rechargeable battery supporting over 2 hours of continuous live streaming and offers HDMI IN/OUT & MIC-in for AV source connectivity.

    To best suit the needs of broadcasters, Freedocast Live Streaming Platform is designed as a one-stop-solution providing cloud transcoding & Adaptive Bitrate streaming for best viewing experience in low bandwidths, real-time analytics, viewer interactivity with chat moderation, Ad-integration, pay -per-view, geo-blocking & password protection for control of events. Any external encoder can be used to go live through Freedocast Platform and simultaneously stream to multiple platforms

    Commenting on the launch, YuppTV founder and CEO Uday Reddy said, “The rapid growth of Live broadcasting could change the way users consume content. In this age of information overload, people expect to see events unfold in real-time. Globally renowned for our technical superiority in the field of internet TV and OTT, we at YuppTV are now extending the same expertise in live-streaming. With the launch of Freedocast Pro Device & Freedocast Live Streaming Platform, we further intent to deliver cost-effective, scalable, and robust LIVE broadcasting solutions. We shall continue to innovate and provide the best services to constantly address the needs of our users.”

    Freedocast offers tailor-made solutions for broadcasters to aggregate, edit and broadcast events in-real time to their studios and multiple platforms. This solution is aimed to improve Broadcasters efficiency and productivity to stay ahead of competition. Celebrities and influencers can maximize the value of their social media programs by hosting special interactive sessions through Freedocast. Broadcasting sporting events, webinars, etc can be streamed to multiple platforms to increase the audience size and bring in new revenue streams for the broadcasters.

    YuppTV will demonstrate its new offering Freedocast Pro and Freedocast Platform at NAB show 2017 at YuppTV booth SU11402CM, Las Vegas Convention Centre.

  • Viacom International buys majority stake in Youtube LATAM content producer

    MUMBAI: Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has announced a definitive agreement for the acquisition of a majority interest in Porta dos Fundos. The acquisition will add one of Brazil’s leading short-form comedy content producers and the most influential global YouTube channel, according to the Zefr ranking*, to the Viacom portfolio, expanding the company’s scale in Latin America and further extending its content creation pipeline.

    Under the terms of the transaction, VIMN has an option to further increase its ownership position in Porta dos Fundos in the future.

    Porta dos Fundos, founded by Fabio Porchat, Antonio Tabet, João Vicente de Castro, Ian SBF and Gregorio Duvivier in 2012, is a leading video production company in Brazil known for creating short-form comedy sketches and television programming. Owned and operated by the company, the Porta dos Fundos YouTube channel is also a top 10 global Most Subscribed Entertainment channel** and currently has over 13 million subscribers. The channel recently surpassed three billion video views, making it the fifth most viewed Brazilian video producer on YouTube**. The combination of Porta dos Fundos with VIMN’s popular pay TV networks, which include Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Channel, further strengthens VIMN’s position in Brazil.

    VIMN Americas president Pierluigi Gazzolo, who will oversee the business, commented: “As we continue to build scale in the Latin American region, our investment in Porta dos Fundos furthers our commitment to the Brazilian market and increases our ability to create innovative content, often native to digital platforms, which will complement our existing Viacom brands and capabilities. The talent and creativity showcased by the founding members of Porta dos Fundos in building this brand is impressive, and we are excited to join forces to expand its presence outside of Brazil via our highly successful network of brands around the world. We firmly believe that content ownership is a key driver of success and are happy to add this new dimension to our portfolio.”

    Porta dos Fundos CEO Tereza Gonzalez says: “The partnership with VIMN couldn’t make us happier. The venture is a big step for the group towards expanding into the international market, with new global opportunities for our portfolio both on and offline. Additionally, the deal provides exceptional distribution channels for our content.”

    The Porta dos Fundos founding team has built a powerhouse in the Brazilian comedy genre with innovative content and a tremendous creative vision that will continue to drive the company’s growth and further advance the partnership. Through this venture, VIMN and Porta dos Fundos will collaborate on various new productions in an effort to further strengthen the creative pipeline of original content for the brands’ linear and non-linear platforms. Given VIMN’s strong history in the comedy genre with Comedy Central, one of the company’s flagship brands, this pairing is a great complement and will provide countless opportunities in this area. Previously, the companies worked together on the coproduction of Portatil, a five part series that showcased Porta dos Fundos’ theater show and aired on Comedy Central Brazil in 2016.

    This acquisition will build on Viacom’s long and successful track record of investment in Brazil, which began with the launch of MTV in 1990. Viacom’s portfolio in the market now includes seven branded pay TV networks, including Comedy Central, Paramount Channel, VH1, Nickelodeon and Nick Jr., among others; a suite of authenticated TV Everywhere mobile applications; multiple on-the-ground events and experiences; and an extensive consumer products catalogue. VIMN has maintained a local office in São Paulo since 1998. Given VIMN’s recent acquisition of the number one free to air channel in Argentina, Telefe, and its robust portfolio of pay TV networks, Porta dos Fundos further expands the company’s presence on all media distribution and content creation platforms.

    Porta dos Fundos’ assets also include other YouTube channels, the portadosfundos.com.br website, an extensive library of short-form clips, several television series, multiple mobile applications and games, as well as a line of consumer products.

  • Eros Now available with free Amazon Fire TV subs

    MUMBAI: Eros Now, one of the fastest growing over-the-top (OTT) Indian entertainment platforms, owned by Eros International Plc has announced a strategic partnership with Amazon in India and their recently launched internet streaming device, Fire TV stick.

    Users can enjoy Eros Now’s uninterrupted entertainment services as the app is now pre-installed on Fire TV sticks purchased in India. In addition, Fire TV customers will also receive a three-month free premium subscription to Eros Now, currently priced at Rs 99/month. Following the free trial, Eros Now will receive 70% of all revenue generated from Eros Now subscriptions from Amazon Fire TV. Amazon will be co-marketing the Eros Now service and promoting the app across India with Amazon Fire TV.

    The Fire TV stick can be connected into any high-definition television and used to stream video and audio content, apps, games and more on television. Eros Now offers the widest library of films which caters to the different needs and tastes of the consumer, providing an enriching and fulfilling entertainment experience to the viewer.

    Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said, “The partnership is another step towards tapping a larger consumer and subscriber base, fulfilling their ever-changing entertainment needs and providing them with our unique entertainment viewing experience. With our current subscriber base of 2 million through existing partnerships with leading OEMs like Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Google, Samsung, Lyca TV and all major telcos including Airtel, IDEA, Vodafone, Reliance Jio, our aim is to be platform agnostic, constantly engage with newer customers and achieve greater visibility in the market.”

  • 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.

  • 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.