ITV

Category: Video On Demand

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Amazon Prime launches animated Baahubali episode with Fire TV Stick

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Also Read:

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

  • Dekkho & Times release ‘Wakhra Swag’ fame Inder’s exclusive video

    MUMBAI: Wakhra Swag, Navv Inder’s collaboration with Badshah has crossed over 70 million hits across platforms.  Navv Inder is back with a new romantic song with lyrics by Navi Kamboz which will be launched on Dekkho, the online video streaming platform. The music video, produced by Times Music will be exclusively available for the first two days on Dekkho.  Users can download and watch this video exclusively on the Dekkho mobile app, now available on iOS and Android.

    Commenting on the song, Navv Inder says, “This is my debut romantic single for all my fans, especially for those who are in love. The video has been shot beautifully and is a visual treat and I’m thrilled to release it on Dekkho’s unique platform”

    http://www.dekkho.com/music-details/5399369934001/

    Commenting on the launch Dekkho co-founder Vinay Pillai said, “Navv Inder is quickly becoming one of the most popular artists in the country today. He is an absolute sensation with his ever-growing fan base and is stepping into a novel territory with this new track. We are sure that his fans will love this romantic song. Our collaboration with Times Music gives us access to their premium videos, some of them on a first-window basis. We look forward to disrupting premium content even further with this alliance so our users can enjoy the widest range of music for all moods.”

    “Navv Inder is one of the most amazing artistes that Times Music works with and this single penned by Navi Kamboz is an absolute smash. We look forward to working with dekkho on releasing many such collaborations in the future” said Times Music COO Mandar Thakur.

    Headquartered in Mumbai, Dekkho is a new-age video streaming service established in March 2016. Catering specifically to the diverse entertainment needs of Indian viewers, Dekkho allows its users to watch free, high-quality, multichannel premium content with advertisements. Times Music is one of India’s leading music entertainment companies and a division of South Asia’s largest media conglomerate, The Times Of India Group. 

  • Govt may invite bids for railway TV content this month, market pegged at Rs 2.3k cr

    MUMBAI: Content on demand on trains and at stations is a sizeable market, says a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and, the Indian Railways estimates the infotainment market to be around Rs 2,277 crore in three years’ time.

    The Railway Ministry, in a bid to revamp railways, may invite bids for Content on Demand (CoD) and rail radio services in April. Services that would be included under the CoD initiative are — movies, TV serials, short videos, kids’ shows and devotional content. The CoD would also include streaming audio such as regional songs, movie songs, and devotional music; and providing electronic newspapers, gaming and educational content.

    Railways’ bids for app-based cab services will also be invited by May.

    The video, radio, digital music and digital gaming contracts will be for a period of 10 years. The railways is, through these initiatives, expecting revenue of Rs 16,000-20,000 crore in the next 10 years.

    As per the BCG report, to provide offline content, railways may have to shell out Rs 38,000 per coach. But, the online content will be expensive — for Rs 25 lakh each. Coaches are required to be well equipped to offer content streamed via the internet.

    The non-fare revenue plan is to roll out rail radio and CoD on one-third of the trains in the first year and most of the remainder in the second year. Ideas such as allowing weddings at stations or giving branding rights of trains and stations to FMCG companies.

    Content companies such as Balaji Productions, Eros Entertainment and Shemaroo Entertainment, and aggregators such as Fever FM, Radio Mirchi, Hungama and Bindass may be interested in bidding. Internet players and service-providers in the offline streaming market include Moving Talkies, Dwingloo, PressPlay TV, Fropcorn, TouringTalkies, Zonk, CloudPlay and MyFreeTV.

    Telecom companies such as Vodafone, Idea, Airtel, are also expected to be interested. The content providers will offer to the passengers both, paid and free content. The service provider shall provide only ‘U’, ‘U/A’ and ‘PG’ rated video content. ‘A’ rated content shall not be allowed.

    This government policy includes providing video and radio content through WiFi in stations and on trains, leasing spaces on platforms to automated teller machines, giving outdoor spaces for installing advertising hoardings and billboards.

    According to the railways, the entertainment CoD will be provided on the personal devices of passengers at stations and in trains and in a phased manner, which will be listed out in the Tender Document. The licensee/service provider will be permitted to provide streaming video and audio content services. Radio, however, will not be allowed at stations.

  • Amazon Prime global head: Committed quality shows Indians love, partners Kabir for Netaji’s ‘true story”

    MUMBAI: Amazon has announced an Indian original series based on Subhash Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army to be directed by one of Bollywood’s top directors and producers, Kabir Khan.

    The Forgotten Army (working title) will mark Kabir’s Khan’s debut in OTT digital video services. The series is scheduled to start production by the end of 2017.

    The Forgotten Army is a war epic, an Indian band of brothers of sorts, which will touch upon several stories, including the contribution of women in the Indian National Army.

    “We had made a commitment to our Indian customers to deliver high-quality, binge-worthy shows that they’ll love to watch, and our association with Kabir Khan greatly reinforces our commitment towards this promise,” said Prime Video global content head Roy Price. “Our aim is to build a compelling lineup of Indian shows, working with the greatest talents from the industry. Our association with Kabir Khan is one of the many such partnerships that India will see. We know our Prime members are going to love the epic war story being brought to life with Kabir Khan helming the project.

    He further added, “Our aim is to build a captivating lineup of Indian shows, working with the greatest talents from the industry.”

    “These are super exciting times for any content creator in India and I am elated to make my debut in the digital space with Amazon Prime Video’s India Original,” said film director and producer Khan. “Amazon Prime Video provides greater access to reach new and vast Indian audiences. They are also bringing in global talent and knowledge to collaborate with Indian scriptwriters and content creators to further hone their skills and know-how. I am excited to make this truly international series which has a scale and reach far greater than any Hindi film.”

    Based on true events, this series is about a war “we were not told about and of soldiers we thought did not exist.” This series is the dynamic true story of the men and women who fought a heroic war for the independence of India as part of the Indian National Army which was forged out of British defeat in Singapore during WWII and led by the charismatic Bose. They fought against all odds and paid the ultimate price but they did not succeed… and against the dazzling success of Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent movement to free India, they soon became the forgotten army.

  • BBC seeks out new digital ideas for collaboration in India

    MUMBAI: The BBC World Service is creating opportunities for Indian digital and tech companies as it expands services on mobile platforms in the region. Interested companies will then have a few weeks to work on their proposal and submit their idea.

    The BBC’s expansion this year will reach all across India with the launch of new TV and digital services in Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi and Telugu, while current services in Tamil, Hindi and English will be enhanced. Further to this, the BBC’s base in New Delhi will become its biggest outside the UK.

    The BBC has been leading in digital innovation across new story formats and platforms in India – this has included a WhatsApp coverage feed during the 2014 Indian Elections and the use of LINE for BBC Hindi content. It is now looking to expand its digital experimentation and collaboration in an exciting new project powered by the BBC’s digital innovation team Connected Studio.

    There will be three events this month to kick off the search for experienced digital companies with great ideas, as follows:

    19 April, Gurgaon: http://bit.ly/2nCOE6x

    21 April, Hyderabad: http://bit.ly/2nquETG

    25 April, Bangalore: http://bit.ly/2nROHOa

    Details will be presented to attendees at the events and BBC experts will available.

    This initiative continues the BBC’s investment in digital innovation across Asia. Information on past Connected Studio briefs and the innovative ideas that were prototyped and built with small digital companies across Africa and Asia is available here.

    BBC Connected Studio is an open innovation programme that explores and develops new digital ideas for BBC Online. It works closely with the wider digital and creative industries, sharing tools, assets and expertise to meet specific digital briefs from teams across the BBC.

  • Paramount blockbusters on Amazon Prime in India, deal signed

    MUMBAI: Amazon Prime will offer unlimited free fast delivery on India’s largest selection of products, early access to top deals and unlimited streaming of latest and exclusive movies, TV shows and Amazon Originals. Amazon has announced its association with Paramount to offer subscription streaming of Paramount’s new releases and fan-favorite films in India.

    Under the deal Amazon will have streaming rights to recent releases such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Star Trek Beyond, and 10 Cloverfield Lane, amongst others. In addition, Prime Video subscribers will also have rotating access to popular movies and classics from Paramount’s renowned library including franchises like Transformers, Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, Madagascar, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda.

    Amazon Prime Video India director and country head Nitesh Kripalani said, “Our goal is to provide our customers with the best movies – be it local or international. We are excited to work with Paramount to bring their future slate of films to our Prime Video customers along with some of the most popular movies in film history.”

    “We are delighted to have reached this agreement with Amazon to bring our world-class films to fans across India,” said Paramount TV Licensing & Distribution SVP Regional Sales Asia Pac Jonathan Greenberg said, “Our goal is to deliver our content to viewers how and when they want it and Amazon Prime Video offers an exceptional platform for fans to enjoy new and favorite films on demand.”

    Amazon Prime Video recently launched in India with an aim to bring customers the best entertainment experience.

  • Amazon Prime subs can watch NFL live, 10-game deal signed

    MUMBAI: As a growing number are switching to mobile entertainment, Amazon Prime has decided to stream US National Football League games live.

    A company spokesperson said that Amazon will live-stream 10 games exclusively for Prime members. Yahoo streamed the first NFL game in 2015.

    Before the deal was announced, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube were also in the running. It was learnt that Amazon marched ahead of all for the digital distribution rights. Although Amazon declined to comment on the deal value, it is understood to be around US$ 50m for ten games in a year. Amazon plans to recover its investments by running ads during the games.

    Amazon has over 60 million Prime subscribers worldwide, according to analyst reports.

    Also Read:

    Amazon Prime brings Fugay & Autograph on Gudi Padwa

    Amazon Prime expands reach, available to Voda subs

     

     

  • Hotstar brings back comedy show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai

    MUMBAI: India’s leading video-on-demand platform, Hotstar, today announced the return of cult comedy show Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, for its viewers this May. A show that still enjoys active fandom several years after it went off air, and one that’s often been hailed as being well ahead of its time, Sarabhai vs Sarabhai will return exclusively on Hotstar as a part of the Hotstar Originals bouquet.

    The show will take a seven-year leap and will return with the entire well-loved cast, featuring Satish Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Sumeet Raghavan, Rupali Ganguly, Deven Bhojani and Rajesh Kumar, as well as a slew of new characters. Produced by Hats Off Productions’ Jamnadas (JD) Majethia and Aatish Kapadia, the 10-part series will further expand Hotstar’s signature content bouquet, called Hotstar Originals.

    “From Maya’s haughty retorts to Rosesh’s epic poetry, every component that made Sarabhai vs Sarabhai timeless, will very much remain the hallmark of this series. That said, there’s much more hilarity and some brand new characters to look forward to. The wisecracky, intelligent soul of the show, will return exactly as our fans remember it, with more laughs and new stories,” says Hats Off Productions founder JD Majethia.

    “With Hotstar Originals, our intent is to bring to audiences, inspired content that goes on to define its specific genre, be it On Air with AIB, Tanhaiyaan or Cineplay”, added Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan. “Sarabhai vs Sarabhai did exactly that some years ago, bringing Indian audiences a kind of sharp, witty and contemporary comedy that they had never seen before. The buzz and love around the show was so strong that we had to bring it back.”

    Sarabhai vs Sarabhai is based on the life of a hilarious Gujarati family living in Mumbai. “Each character in the family is replete with their own distinct quirks, and trust me when I say that each of these characters is based on real people in my extended family. I play around with them in my head and then write the episodes, and if I feel like I’m having a blast, then I feel sure that the viewers will too,” shares Aatish Kapadia, the writer and creator of the show.

    The show’s originality and humour have earned it a spot amongst the best of Indian television, with millions of fans eagerly anticipating its return.

  • SeaChange powers Quickline multiplatform video with time-shifting & catch-up TV

    MUMBAI: Swiss cable network operator The Quickline Group has raised the bar on personal television excellence with its introduction of Quickline TV, based on an end-to-end suite of integrated software and services from SeaChange International spanning multiplatform content management and delivery, monetization and subscriber experience, including RDK-V-based set-top box software.

    The Quickline Group is one of the leading full-service providers of entertainment and communication in Switzerland. With its scalable and open SeaChange platform, Quickline maintains an optimally efficient, centralized video operation that supports 25 independent regional cable television operators representing approximately 400,000 Swiss households. Quickline is the country’s third-largest TV provider and fourth-largest Internet and telephony provider.

    SeaChange Adrenalin multiscreen television software, integrated with SeaChange’s RDK-based Nucleus set-top software, drives Quickline TV from the back office operation through to TVs, PCs and mobile devices at home and on the go. Quickline TV achieves the pinnacle of truly differentiated personalized TV services with its innovative subscriber profiles, which give multiple viewers on a single household cable subscription the ability to enjoy uniquely curated experiences across devices, presenting thousands of hours of on-demand video, recommendations and time-shifted TV programming to suit an individual’s own content tastes and viewing preferences.

    SeaChange also delivered Quickline TV’s OTT device apps for Android and iOS enjoyment, in addition to leading end-to-end integration of third-party technology providers for content delivery network, video encoding, content security and advanced set-tops, among other components.

    “Quickline is on a mission to produce meaningful innovation that results in Switzerland’s best entertainment and communication experience,” said Quickline Residential MD Yann Steulet. “Quickline TV is the latest success to embody our desire to win and inspire consumers with unsurpassed value every day. Through its meticulous focus on monetising high-quality video everywhere, SeaChange has been instrumental in helping us to elevate multiplatform entertainment to a new level in the Swiss market and for the world at large.”

    “SeaChange is accustomed to collaborating with many customers to define the forefront of innovative entertainment,” said SeaChange CEO Ed Terino. “With Quickline’s groundbreaking achievements in personalisation, ease of enjoyment and RDK implementation, we believe the eyes of the media world will be on Quickline TV as a new ideal for video service provider evolution.”

    SeaChange develops open software solutions that perfect mission-critical performance in multiplatform content management, video back office, advertising and user experience. SeaChange offers proven interfaces to empower service providers and content owners with flexibility to innovate with the widest range of third-party technologies to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving market for video entertainment. SeaChange is deployed across a variety of clients and devices, including solutions developed organically by service providers themselves, best-of-breed client/device solutions, and now with the option of also leveraging a rich set of extensively customizable clients, which provide the front-end for Quickline TV.