ITV

Category: Video On Demand

  • Sony LIV’s original web series #Love Bytes tots 1 million views

    Sony LIV’s original web series #Love Bytes tots 1 million views

    MUMBAI: Living up to its promise of taking the digital-first approach, Multi Screen Media’s VOD platform Sony LIV has garnered 1 million views for its first-of-kind web series called Love Bytes.

     

    The show centres around an urban Indian romance and is relatable for the digital destination’s millennial audience, unlike the regular soaps that air on TV. Tailored for Gen Z, it deals with the real life situations between a young couple.

     

    Speaking about this initiative, MSM executive vice president and digital entertainment head Uday Sodhi said, “With Love Bytes, we offer consumers a digital-first experience while setting a benchmark in the video entertainment space. Sony LIV plans to further invest in original content with new concepts and ideas.”

     

    Directed by Vishal Mull, Love Bytes stars Kushal Punjabi and Sukhmani Sadana.

  • News Corp snaps up social video ad platform Unruly for $176 million

    News Corp snaps up social video ad platform Unruly for $176 million

    MUMBAI: News Corp has agreed to acquire global ad platform Unruly Holdings for a sum of approximately $176 million.

     

    The expected purchase price for the acquisition consists of a cash payment at closing of approximately $90 million (or ?58 million), subject to certain adjustments, and up to $86 million (or ?56 million) in future consideration primarily related to payments contingent upon the achievement of certain performance objectives.

     

    “Unruly is a feisty and creative company with a start-up sensibility that fits perfectly with our own approach to developing businesses in the digital age. The acquisition will serve as a catalyst for our brands, helping to extend our expertise in the digital and mobile video area, whether through the fast-growing realtor.com in the US, Fox Sports in Australia, News America Marketing, HarperCollins Publishers, or our market-leading mastheads around the world. Unruly complements our traditional editorial and commercial expertise with contemporary insight into how people read, watch, buy and sell in the digital era,” said News Corp CEO Robert Thomson.

     

    “We have a track record of acquiring businesses with unique capabilities, allowing them the freedom to do what they do best, while providing a global platform to accelerate their growth and realize their potential,” he added.

     

    Led by Unruly’s three co-founders, it will operate as a separate business unit, reporting to News UK CEO Rebekah Brooks.

     

    Unruly will continue to work with its existing roster of global advertisers and publishers and collaborate with News Corp businesses around the world.

     

    “We have always been pioneers in our field, so combining the formidable reach and resonance of our titles with their cutting-edge technology and video expertise will help accelerate our growth in this digital age,” said Brooks. “We look forward to working with one of Europe’s most highly regarded tech teams to create new premium video inventory for our News UK mastheads and other businesses, and to provide advertisers with best-in-class brand solutions across all platforms.”

     

    Founded in 2006, Unruly is a video distribution platform and tracks video sharing and delivers verifiable video views via paid media across mobile, desktop and tablet devices. With its data set of two trillion video views and sophisticated targeting capabilities, the company uses historical sharing behavior to predict the potential for video ads to go viral across all digital touch points.

     

    Unruly’s suite of advertising products includes: ShareRank, In-Feed advertising, In-Page advertising and Skippable In-Stream Advertising.

     

    In the coming months, News Corp business units will begin to offer Unruly products to their advertising and agency partners. This will mean a significant increase in premium video and mobile inventory, a stronger content marketing offering and, ultimately, improved returns for News Corp’s advertisers. 

     

    Unruly’s platform has attracted top tier advertisers, including such brands as adidas, Dove, T-Mobile, Evian and Renault.

     

    “We are absolutely delighted to join the News Corp family, and connect our scaled distribution, social data, and content optimisation tools with the premium ad inventory of News Corp businesses, and their highly-engaged audiences. It’s a tremendous milestone and an exciting new chapter for the whole Unruly team,” said Unruly co-founder and co-CEO Scott Button.

     

    “We are incredibly grateful for the passion and dedication of the whole Unruly team that has today resulted in this phenomenal opportunity for the business. Unruly’s enthusiasm for transforming video advertising and our agile development culture will continue to drive our innovative approach towards digital marketing as we help advertisers reconnect with consumers and future-proof their video strategy,” added Unruly co-founder and co-CEO Sarah Wood.

     

    Unruly’s third co-founder is chief technology officer Matt Cooke.

     

    Unruly employs 200 people in 15 offices, and regional hubs in London, New York and Singapore. 

     

    The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of September.

  • #fame gets Lauren Gottlieb on ‘Ask me anything’ series

    #fame gets Lauren Gottlieb on ‘Ask me anything’ series

    MUMBAI: ‘Ask Me Anything’ is back on the #fame app and this time with Lauren Gottlieb, who shot to stardom with her stint in India’s first dance based 3D movie Any Body Can Dance.

     

    Gottlieb will answer all questions about her dancing career, her time in India, her like and dislikes and more. Right from her journey as a contestant in popular American dance show So You think You Can Dance to becoming a judge on the on-going Indian celebrity dance showJhalak Dikhlaja, Gottlieb has come a long way.

     

    She will also talk about her ramp debut at the recent Fashion event and her popular item numbers.

     

    Gottlieb will be live on 16 September at 8 pm on the #fame mobile app.

  • Star India ropes in AIB for news comedy series

    Star India ropes in AIB for news comedy series

    MUMBAI: Star India has roped in India’s premier comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB) for new news comedy series called On Air with AIB.

     

    The show will go on air in October and have 10 English and 10 Hindi episodes. It will first release on Star’s OTT platform Hotstar, followed by weekend airing on Star World and Star Plus.

     

    All four members of AIB – Gursimran Khamba, Tanmay Bhat, Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya synchronously said, “We have no idea why anyone in their right minds would ask us to inflict our views on unsuspecting audiences. Also, we live in such a perfect country where everything is amazing and where the maddening, infuriating and often silly state of affairs is not a comedic goldmine, so why would you have us do news comedy? But we’re doing this because we want to see what it’s like to be on a show that requires us to put on pants.”

     

    Taking a cue from insult comedy, which AIB is infamous for, Star India CEO Uday Shankar added, “I am told that based on extensive, exhaustive research, AIB are considered mildly entertaining and we should give them a show on our network. I have complete faith that we will regret this in the months to come.”       

     

    Star India digital head Ajit Mohan said, “We are sort of excited to bring AIB’s brand of mature humor to our platform. This may be the start of a new era of quality content in India, I am told. Janta hamein maaf karein.” 

     

    On Air with AIB will be a weekly series with English and Hindi episodes dropping simultaneously on Hotstar on Thursdays and on Star World and Star Plus on Sundays.

  • Hotstar unveils original talk show with Malishka as host

    Hotstar unveils original talk show with Malishka as host

    MUMBAI: Star India’s OTT platform Hotstar, which tasted success on two of its original shows for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 – One Tip One Hand and Juicy Half Volley, is now planning to launch another original show.

     

    RJ Malishka has been roped in to host a 60-minute Hotstar original talk show called M Bole Toh.

     

    Kickstarting the series with actors Kangana Ranaut and Imran Khan, the show will offer quirky conversations between the three on topics ranging from relationships to marriage to what being ‘good friends’ in the industry means. Ranaut and Khan will be seen in the upcoming film Katti Batti.

     

    During the show, Malishka will chat with stars who will share funny behind-the-scene anecdotes and pranks as well as offer insights into their personal lives. The host will also nudge the guests into spilling their hidden secrets through gripping, fun conversations and games with healthy dollops of madness.

     

    M Bole Toh will cater to the ever-growing demands of Bollywood fans, which are always keen on knowing more about stars.

  • ‘What’s Wrogn With Virat?’ asks exclusive video on hotstar!

    ‘What’s Wrogn With Virat?’ asks exclusive video on hotstar!

    MUMBAI: Using exclusive content to drive interest, engagement and conversations amongst the digitally active, premium young audiences on mobile, India’s largest digital content platform, hotstar, has now added an exclusive video with Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli and cricket lovers.

     

    The video is now live and available exclusively to the users of hotstar, which has raced to over 25 million downloads within just over 7 months of its launch.

     

    Cheekily entitled What’s Wrogn With Virat?, the video offers several never-seen-before, humorous and heartwarming takes on India’s batting sensation and heartthrob of the nation, Virat Kohli.  It begins with  young cricket fans sharing their opinions on a variety of topics like what they feel is wrong with Virat, their take on his aggressive play on the field, Virat as a captain, who between Dhoni and Virat is the better captain, the position Virat should bat on, the strategy the Indian team should adopt, and more. Even as the youngsters freely speak their minds, they are blissfully unaware that Virat himself is watching them from the adjacent room, and reacting to each comment as only he can. Emotions hit the roof when, to the surprise and shock of the young cricket fans, Virat suddenly appears in front of them while they are in mid-sentence!

     

    The youngsters’ candid opinions and Virat’s reactions to them, and then the speakers’ own reactions when Virat walks on to the set, are what the video builds up to. The best part, of course, is the answer to the question in everyone’s mind: How will Virat react to their feedback, and how he will interact with them.

     

    To know, watch  What’s Wrogn With Virat, live now, exclusively on hotstar, the fastest grown digital content platform with a truly rich and compelling content library of over 50,000 hours from sports, TV shows,  movies, events and more in seven languages

     

    hotstar is the destination of choice for marketers and brand custodians seeking to reach its large and premium, digitally enabled and active young audiences across India. Film producers are increasingly looking at hotstar as a preferred choice for digital-first promotional content premieres for the young, upwardly mobile and discerning audiences of hotstar.

     

  • Disney Movies Anywhere partners Amazon & Microsoft’s stores

    Disney Movies Anywhere partners Amazon & Microsoft’s stores

    MUMBAI: Just in time for the early digital release of one of the biggest movies of the year, Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disney has named significant partner and device additions to its cloud-based digital movie service, Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA).

     

    Continuing to expand upon its promise to provide more ways to buy and watch Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars movies at home or on the go, DMA has partnered with azon Video and Microsoft Movies & TV.

     

    Starting today in the US, Amazon Video and Microsoft Movies & TV customers can connect to Disney Movies Anywhere and access their digital collection across the Disney Movies Anywhere ecosystem, including via the new Disney Movies Anywhere app for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and for Amazon’s Fire tablets, Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.

     

    In addition to the Disney Movies Anywhere app, customers can access and watch titles in their Disney digital collection directly through the Amazon Video app for TVs, connected devices and mobile devices, or online at Amazon.com/amazonvideo, and via the Microsoft Movies and TV service on Windows and Microsoft Xbox devices or at microsoft.com/en-us/store/movies-and-tv.

     

    Launching on 15 September, with the release of Disney’s live action Cinderella, the Disney Movies Anywhere app will become available on the Roku platform and Android TV allowing consumers to access their DMA movie collections. Disney Movies Anywhere already works with iTunes, Google Play, and Walmart’s VUDU.

     

    “We’re thrilled to bring these new partners to Disney Movies Anywhere, expanding its reach into the living room and beyond with an unprecedented Disney experience that is both easy and fun. As consumers seek to build their digital libraries and protect their purchases for the long term, Disney Movies Anywhere makes it easier than ever to buy once and watch anywhere,” said Disney/ABC Home Entertainment & Television Distribution president Janice Marinelli.

     

    In celebration of this partner launch, for a limited time Disney Movies Anywhere is offering a free digital copy of Disney•Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. to new and existing members who connect an iTunes, Amazon Video, VUDU, Microsoft Movies & TV or Google Play account for the first time.

  • Sooperfly launches kayaking web series ‘Paddle Hard’

    Sooperfly launches kayaking web series ‘Paddle Hard’

    MUMBAI: After launching the mountaineering series – Mission Everest 2015 last week, Sooperfly is now gearing up to retell the story of a lone sea expedition with Paddle Hard – an eight episode YouTube web-series starting 10 September, 2015.

    The 120 Media Collective’s content creation and distribution arm has partnered the sea-farer and IIT graduate Kaustabh Khade to tell his story of weathering storms and wild creatures at sea.

    Sooperfly business head and senior vice president Vishal Nongbet said, “Paddle Hard is in line with our interest supporting fresh and compelling content through bespoke distribution. Kaustubh’s trip to the party capital has all the elements intact; only, we view it from the other side of the beach!”

    Accomplishing the challenge in the shortest possible time, the 17 year old seafarer has entered the Limca Book of Records and has dedicated the funds to support underprivileged children and youth.

    Khade said, “Magic Bus uses sports to change lives, which is what motivated me to work with them. Engaging with anyone, child or adult, through sports helps cross many boundaries over the long term that can prove otherwise difficult to surmount.”

     

    Khade was inspired by Magic Bus, which aims to take children out of poverty through a programme of mentoring and coaching. He associated with the NGO to help these children by raising funds for Magic Bus India.

     

    Magic Bus founder and executive chairman Matthew Spacie added, “We are extremely delighted to have Kaustubh take this challenge in support of the lakhs of children whose lives we are part of. Together, we hope to create a new generation of economically independent and socially aware citizens who are fully equipped to participate in shaping their country’s future.”

     

    Watch the Paddle Hard preview here – https://youtu.be/u-7SNUjZHMc

  • Zee’s three channels launch in Canada on Jadoo TV

    Zee’s three channels launch in Canada on Jadoo TV

    MUMBAI: Zee TV has been launched in Canada’s Jadoo TV on 1 September. The company has reached a subscriber licensing agreement for its flagship networks Zee TV Canada, Zee Punjabi and Zee Cinema with Jadoo TV.

     

    Asia TV USA general manager Sameer Targe said, “Canada is one of the fastest growing markets for us. Our business has more than tripled in last two years. This move helps us to further consolidate our position in the market. Jadoo TV has been one of the pioneers in over the top play, which has been the fastest growing category of access.”

     

    Jadoo TV founder and CEO Sajid Sohail added, “We’re excited about bringing Zee TV channels to the largest South Asian viewership base in Canada on Jadoo TV. Zee TV is not only popular amongst the Indian diaspora in Canada, but also has great appeal amongst the greater South Asian community. The addition of Zee TV, Zee Cinema, and Zee Punjabi will enhance our entertainment offering, making JadooTV the best value for end users. With this agreement, Jadoo TV has further cemented its position as market leader in the OTT space for South Asian diaspora worldwide.”

     

    Zee TV Canada is currently available on all satellite, cable, telco and IPTV platforms. Zee TV Canada will be available in HD to all Jadoo TV subscribers.

  • Shemaroo acquires mobile rights for live video content distribution of Lalbaugcha Raja

    Shemaroo acquires mobile rights for live video content distribution of Lalbaugcha Raja

    MUMBAI: For the fifth consecutive year, Shemaroo Entertainment has acquired the exclusive video content rights of Lalbaugcha Raja for mobile platforms.

     

    Consumers will now be able to enjoy aarti, live darshan and many more videos of Lalbaugcha Raja anywhere and anytime on their mobile handsets. All they need is to send an SMS – ‘SELBR’ to 56060. They will receive a link on their mobile via which they can access the content.

     

    Live darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja will be available from 17 September, 2015.

     

    Shemaroo Entertainment will distribute content to all telecom operators. The company will also provide live feed of the deity to selected mobile apps with good subscriber base to reach to a wider audience.

     

    During the 10 days of Ganesh Utsav, around 1.5 million devotees come each day to seek the blessings of Lalbaugcha Raja. This number has been growing every year.

     

    Shemaroo Entertainment director Jai Maroo said, “We feel happy to be once again be blessed with the opportunity to offer darshan of Lalbaugcha Raja to the devotees. There are millions of people who believe in Lalbaugcha Raja, but not all of them are able to come for his darshan. They can now easily watch the Raja live on their mobile handset.”

     

    “We not only plan to tie up with the telco giants but also join hands with popular mobile apps to make sure that we reach to the maximum number of the devotees,” he added.

     

    Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshostav Mandal secretary Sudhir Salvi added, “We are glad to partner with Shemaroo for the fifth consecutive years to distribute content of Lalbaugcha Raja to his devotees through mobile platform. The divine power of prayers offered to the deity here is fulfilled, but not all the devotees get the opportunity to get his darshan. Our association with Shemaroo will help people across the country to get live darshan of their God anytime and on any network.”