ITV

Category: Video On Demand

  • Sony LIV premieres ‘Suryaputra Karn’

    Sony LIV premieres ‘Suryaputra Karn’

    MUMBAI: Sony LIV, Multi Screen Media (MSM’s) digital video entertainment brand, as part of strengthening the platform premiered the mythological show, Suryaputra Karn on its web and app platforms.

     

    Fulfilling its promise of a digital-first approach, MSM screened the pilot episode of this big-ticket primetime show exclusively on its digital entertainment brand on 29 June, 2015 at 4 pm while the on-air premiere will follow at 8:30 pm.  
     

    Catering to the demand of its viewers for entertainment on their preferred digital devices anytime anywhere, Sony LIV has launched a series of digital premieres of extremely popular entertainment properties from around the world.

     

    From the highest grossing Indian film of all time, PK to the world premiere of television’s most engaging thriller, Hannibal, Sony LIV continues bringing the best of content to its viewers before it is seen on any other platform.  
     

    Fearless, witty, steadfast and charitable are just a few qualities which best describe Karn. The show will take viewers through his less-discovered journey, from ‘being called the ‘soot-putra’ to becoming a warrior’ in the most captivating way.

     

    Moreover, the show will highlight different facets of his life, like his relationship with his birth-mother Kunti and his foster mother Radha, his animosity for the Pandavas and his unconditional loyalty towards his friends. With breath-taking locales, stellar performances, never-seen-before action and advanced VFX effects, Suryaputra Karn promises to be a visual delight seldom seen on television!

     

    While Aditya Redij will be seen playing the elder Karn, the fearless and talented Vishesh Bansal will play the younger one and Mouli Ganguly will mesmerize the audience as Radha. And the stunts have been orchestrated by ace Bollywood action director, Tinu Verma.

     

    Speaking on the digital premiere of the show, Sony Entertainment EVP and digital head Uday Sodhi commented, “After the success of Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanumaan, we realized the kind of enthusiasm that exists amongst netizens for period dramas with elaborate visuals, mythical narratives and state-of-the-art special effects. To cater to the viewers’ preferences, we decided to offer them a digital-first premiere of a show that offers this entire package and also turns the spotlight on one of the most revered Indian mythological characters in a whole new way.”

      

    Sony Entertainment Television senior EVP and business head Nachiket Pantvaidya added, “Karn has always been one of the most intriguing characters of Mahabharata and his story deserves to be told in the most magnificent manner. The powerhouse performances coupled with the mind blowing visuals and interesting storyline will set the show apart from other mythological shows that we have seen till date. The show also helps us in further strengthening our programming line-up. We are thrilled to collaborate with Swastik Production for the launch of Suryaputra Karn.”

     

    Swastik Production producer Siddharth Kumar Tiwary opined, “Taking ahead our legacy of creating biggest of mythologies on TV, this show will depict every aspect of Karn’s life – the journey of the making of a legend. This is a premium series and will have gone all out in presenting the series in a grand scale. It’s great to partner with Sony Entertainment Television as we share a common vision of giving high quality content for the viewers.”

     

    Besides the first episode, Sony LIV will also offer exclusive behind-the-scenes content and moments to fans. They can also get a sneak peek into the making of the highly immersive and technologically astounding show.

  • Mr. Netflix, are you ready for India?

    Mr. Netflix, are you ready for India?

    After tasting global success, Mr. Netflix is revving up to thrust into India by 2016. But let’s take a breather here. We are talking about a country which debates about Bharat and India and where a part of the demography still views its favourite content in black and white CRT TV.

     

    While youngsters these days are widely speaking about Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, dear Mr. Netflix wait before you get buoyed by all these series that generates millions for you, as Indians still believe in ‘torrent’ing .

     

    In India, while some of the best movies, made by the greatest filmmakers have been uploaded on YouTube, what has worked is the bathroom comedy by All India Backchod. Why do I talk about this, because if one has to believe the sources, Netflix is meeting a lot of producers across India to rope in quality content for the subscription based video on demand (SVOD) platform. 

     

    I know that the unprecedented number of downloads of Hotstar has tested your temperament and you can’t wait to enter the lucrative Indian market, but this video on demand (VoD) platform from Star India, got most of its downloads, thanks to Cricket, a religion in India. The app has so far been downloaded by more than 10 million Android users.

     

    Hotstar was placed in the top spot in the Google free app category even taking over Facebook and Whatsapp while the ICC Cricket World Cup was on. Now that the World Cup and IPL are over, the platform is not even in the top 10. This substantiates the fact that Hotstar’s unprecedented success was because of the two cricketing events.

     

    So what are you thinking now, Mr Netflix? Hotstar does not have adequate content? Hold on, the platform has 20,000 hours of content spread across seven languages. This includes 120+ full length TV shows and 500+ movies. This apart, the app also live streams popular sports like Cricket, Football, Tennis and Kabbadi. In short, Hotstar caters to a very large and diverse audience.

     

    Hotstar is not the only VOD platform India has. Right from Zee’s DittoTV, Spuul, Zenga, YupTV to the speculated Viacom 18’s soon to be launched VOD platform, competition will be tough. So, Mr Netflix it’s not just another regular expansion of business, you are going to enter a war: A war of over the top (OTT) services.

     

    Not only domestic players, but international ones like HOOQ and Vuclip among others have already entered the Indian market. HOOQ launched in India in May 2015 with a subscription plan of Rs 199.

     

    The subscription based platform has managed to secure 10,000 downloads in the two months since its launch. So Mr. Netflix, you may just have to change your strategy and become an ad based VoD platform, to woo Indian consumers. If industry sources are to be believed, Netflix is looking for a possible tie up with HOOQ for its India launch.

     

    Mr Netflix if you are thinking you will change your strategy and take the ad route let me throw a few numbers. Of the Rs 414 billion Indian advertising budget, only 10.5 per cent is expected to be spent on digital. Eating into this 10.5 per cent will be giants like Google, Yahoo and Bing among others, leaving you with a meager percentage share of the ad pie. If this satisfies you, join the fight and prepare yourself with some melodrama content that can please the advertiser.

     

    By now you must be thinking: what do 1,280 million people in India do and what about the 300 million smartphone exaggeration? Let’s take the number route again. Yes it’s true that India is about to dethrone the US and become the second largest mobile internet market by having more than 300 million wireless internet users and the year-on-year growth rate stands at 31 per cent. The main reason behind it is availability of smartphones at a low price which is enabling the penetration in rural India. But Mr Netflix what content will you provide in rural India? Malgudi Days? And you think rural India will accept it? On a Rs 5,000 smartphone Malgudi Days will look like Guilever Travels and produce sound like a radio. So not convincing!

     

    I know what is lucrative — 210 million wireless internet connections which is estimated to reach 402 million by 2017 and 528 million by 2019. While urban India widely speaks about 3G, majority of them disable their 3G service and stay satisfied with Edge or 2G service. 3G is largely alien to rural India. To add to your vivid imagination, while you are widely reading about smartphone penetration, 66 per cent of the urban internet traffic comes from desktop. 11 per cent of active urban consumers use tablets to access internet of which only 16 per cent consider tablets as their primary device for internet access.

     

    So Mr Netflix, if you still have zest let me present to you the fiercest competition: Television, which you think will diminish with the emergence of digital. Yes, there are close to 300 million internet users whereas only 168 million television households in India. But if one takes a closer look, the168 million households amount to 825 million television viewers.

     

    The growth rate of internet users is also expected to be much higher compared to that of television. From 2014-19 television is expected grow at a CAGR of 3 per cent, when pitched against the huge CAGR 18 per cent for internet users. The television growth can go much higher if more areas are empowered with electricity.

     

    So, only if there is a complete paradigm shift, with five national MSOs and six DTH players committing a bundle of mistakes and a Tsunami of technology comes in to change the entire infrastructure, a concept like SVOD may work, otherwise it may just perish.

     

    Mr Netflix let me introduce a term to you which you might have never come across throughout your journey – ‘buffering’. To watch a video at 144p one has to go through numerous buffering so guess what will happen to someone who wants to watch an Argo or Apocalypse Now.

     

    The only ray of hope for you Mr. Netflix is 4G. Airtel has already launched 4G in some parts of the country and Reliance Jio is expected to launch by 2015 end. 4G is supposed to be a lot faster compared to 3G but the price is yet to be determined. Why did I mention price? As the current scenario goes, to watch 1GB of content one has to pay around Rs 300. So for 10 GB worth of content, one has to pay approximately Rs 3,000 — an amount that can give 500 channels on television for 10 months.

     

    The other ray of hope is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Digital India’ vision.

     

    Mr Netflix don’t worry India believes in Atithi Devo Bhava (Guest Is God) and hence will welcome you with grace and gratitude, like the nation did with Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.

     

    But at the end of the day as Charles Darwin said ‘Survival of the fittest.’

  • Sony LIV to premiere Aamir Khan’s ‘PK’

    Sony LIV to premiere Aamir Khan’s ‘PK’

    MUMBAI: Sony LIV, Multi Screen Media’s (MSM’s) digital video entertainment brand serving and streaming content both on mobile & web, is all set to bring the movie that created history.  An exceptionally well crafted movie ‘PK’ directed by Rajkumar Hirani will be premiered on 22 June onwards for a week at Sony LIV app and web. So now one can watch their favorite movie end number of times for free!

     

    Cinema lovers and Aamir Khan fans now have the chance to delve into the rib-tickling histrionics of the lovable alien played by the superstar as he questions the religious dogmas and superstitions that plague India. With Anushka Sharma, Sushant Singh Rajput, Boman Irani, Saurabh Shukla, and Sanjay Dutt in supporting roles, viewers will journey with PK as he makes satirical observations about the peculiarities of human behavior and beliefs.

     

    So whether you missed the film on the silver screen or you’d like to immerse yourself in its comical moments and applause-worthy dialogues all over again, don’t forget to tune into Sony LIV!   

  • VoD broadcast primetime viewing sees 22% growth

    VoD broadcast primetime viewing sees 22% growth

    MUMBAI: The total time spent on viewing Free on Demand (FOD) television content in the Broadcast Primetime category increased 22 per cent compared to the previous year, with 32.8 million more hours per month watched in Q1 2015 than two years ago.

     

    A report titled ‘State of VOD: Trend Report’ by Rentrak includes two years Video on Demand analysis and year-to-date metrics from Rentrak’s On Demand Essentials measurement service. Since Rentrak started issuing the report five years ago, findings show that time spent watching Broadcast Primetime on Demand has doubled.

     

    Insights from the Rentrak report include:

     

    Free on Demand (Broadcast Primetime): Transactions are up 19.8 per cent

     

    Free on Demand (Cable Series Content): Transactions are up 8.2 per cent

     

    The majority of primetime viewing On Demand happens after day three, with more than 50 per cent occurring day seven and beyond.

     

    “Much has been written about the movement from TV to digital viewing, however, Rentrak shows that while live TV viewing is slightly down, television viewership is largely unchanged as more viewership is occurring on DVR and VOD over 28 days,” said Rentrak corporate president Cathy Hetzel.

     

    “With 100 per cent of all primetime series shows now available on VOD, consumers know that favourite shows will be available when they want to watch. The water cooler effect is also driving higher usage as consumers now have the opportunity to watch shows they hear about, from the first episode on,” Hetzel added.

     

    “It is no surprise that Free on Demand continues to see growth. On Demand is truly the ultimate engagement medium. No commercial avoidance for primetime content available on FOD makes On Demand one of the most effective platforms on which to target your most desirable consumers. Our recent ‘Report’ proves that VOD advertising should be sold at a premium price,” said Rentrak CEO and vice chairman Bill Livek.

  • Ping & One Network Entertainment partner to power digital video creators

    Ping & One Network Entertainment partner to power digital video creators

    MUMBAI: PING Digital Network has inked a strategic alliance with multi platform network of online video content One Network Entertainment, with a focus on the comic genre.

    As part of this alliance, the two companies will be launching a first of its kind ‘Creators Collective’ to provide creators everything to become successful publishers.

    The Creators Collective is an initiative designed for creators to produce content, collaborate with other creators and learn the art to becoming a publisher. With regular workshops by experts, sessions by and for brands, advertisers and creators, this will become a vibrant content creation hub.

    One and Ping now boast of about 10,000 sq ft of studio cum office space in Mumbai comprising creative teams, equipment with live broadcast and production facilities, and edit suites along with all the resources that creators require to showcase their talent. Inspired by the YouTube Spaces, The Creators Collective will enable talent to hone their skils & collaborate with other talent to create break through content.

    PING Network co-founder and director Rajeshree Naik said, “We are delighted to partner with One Network Entertainment to  further strengthen our proposition of being a one-stop shop for the best digital video creators in India. This alliance is also a testimony of our own DNA as creators making us the preferred platform for the creator community. Through this partnership we also add the much sought after genre of comedy to our exisiting content making it more attractive for brands & advertisers. We now become a network of over 550 channels with close to 85 million views a month bringing huge scale to the both creators & advertisers.”

    One Network co-founder Abe Thomas added, “One Network with over 70 million views and a distribution network across 20+ global video platforms, is very enthused with the synergies that we can jointly exploit with an MCN like Ping Network. We believe that through this partnership we will be able to collaborate with brands and advertisers and provide them with opportunities to interact, collaborate with a wider range of creators.”

    Ping Network co-founder & vice president  talent and acquisitions Anagha Rajadhyaksha added, “We have already had some great brainstorming sessions and look forward to the possibility of jointly creating some exciting and engaging formats. We are also looking at getting at least 100 new premium talent on line over the next six months.”

  • Netflix to launch in Italy in October 2015

    Netflix to launch in Italy in October 2015

    MUMBAI: After targeting to launch in Spain this October, Netflix Inc is also looking at arriving in Italy in October 2015.

     

    This autumn, Internet users in Italy will be able to subscribe to Netflix and instantly watch a broad selection of TV series and movies in high-definition or even Ultra HD 4K on nearly any Internet-connected screen.

     

    At launch, the Netflix offering will include such original series as Marvel’s Daredevil, Sense8, Bloodline, Grace and Frankie, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Marco Polo and critically acclaimed documentaries Virunga, Mission Blue and docuseries Chef’s Table as well as various stand-up comedy specials. Additionally, younger viewers will find a wide selection of programming for kids. Netflix is fully localized, offering Italian subtitles and dubbing.

     

    Viewers will continuously be offered new titles. Among the shows scheduled for launch later this year are Netflix Original series Narcos and Club de Cuervos as well as Marvel’s Jessica Jones, the second of four Marvel series that will be available exclusively on Netflix, leading up to the mini-series event The Defenders, which reunites characters from the previous four.

     

    Netflix members can also look forward to the first Netflix Original feature films, with announced titles including Beasts of No Nation, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon The Green Legend, Jadotville and The Ridiculous 6.

  • Prime Focus Technologies signs deal with HOOQ

    Prime Focus Technologies signs deal with HOOQ

    MUMBAI: Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), a subsidiary of Prime Focus, has inked a deal with Asian over-the-top (OTT) player HOOQ, which recently launched in the Indian market.

     

    With this, PFT’s CLEAR Operations Cloud will help package and deliver content on HOOQ. 

     

    HOOQ will deliver both Hollywood films and television series, as well as popular local movies and programs to customers anytime, anywhere by enabling them to stream and download the shows on their device or platform of choice. HOOQ, which is the OTT service from Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment, is being rolled out in Asian markets like India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, from the first quarter of 2015. 

     

    The biggest challenge for any OTT platform is speed of delivery as content exists in different formats, varied quality standards, no subtitles, dubs, edits etc. Piecing this puzzle quickly for consumption requires technology. That’s the advantage of PFT’s CLEAR, Hybrid Cloud-enabled Media ERP Suite. As part of the deal, CLEAR Operations Cloud will manage key workflows including content processing and packaging. The solution initially includes managing over 20,000 hours of Indian and Hollywood content for HOOQ.

     

    “Prime Focus Technologies is thrilled to be a part of a transformative OTT solution in Asia. Consumer behavior is changing rapidly and HOOQ will surely have the first mover advantage in the Asian market. Our ‘Digital Next’ offering, Operations Cloud is uniquely placed to match scale, complexity and disruptive vision of HOOQ to securely present premium global and local content to a billion Asian viewers anytime, anywhere,” said PFT founder and CEO Ramki Sankaranarayanan.

     

    “Prime Focus Technologies is a known name in innovative Cloud solutions especially in the Asian market. Their experience and technology prowess will add huge value in managing project of this scale and size,” added HOOQ CEO Peter G. Bithos.

  • CloudWalker partners You Broadband for VoD services

    CloudWalker partners You Broadband for VoD services

    MUMBAI: Mumbai based technology start-up CloudWalker Streaming Technologies has partnered with internet service provider You Broadband to build a new video on demand (VoD) platform, which will provide a variety of digital content to the users of You Broadband. The VoD services will be accessible across web, mobile and tablets.

     

    Additionally, CloudWalker will also plug content in the VoD portal. Users will get access to 25,000 hours of content comprising movies, trailers, TV shows, and documentaries across different Indian and global languages.

     

    The new platform will allow You Broadband to extend its service offerings to its existing consumer base and help them reach to a newer set of audience. With this, You Broadband is also looking at a level playing field with players who provide VoD on their platforms.

     

    CloudWalker Streaming Technologies founder Jagdish Rajpurohit said, “We have noticed that despite the fact that big DTH players and large content creators have come up with VoD models, the MSOs and ISPs are unable to replicate this success. Although they realize the opportunity, they are facing challenges in terms of content and technology. Our aim is bridge this gap by providing them technological support and content in setting up the platform.”

  • HOOQ targets tier I Indian cities as early adopters; plans original series

    HOOQ targets tier I Indian cities as early adopters; plans original series

    MUMBAI: Come June and India will witness its first subscription based video-on-demand platform HOOQ.

     

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the platform will compete with over the top (OTT) players like Hotstar and Ditto TV amongst others. As a major differentiating factor, HOOQ will be providing content that has not been available before to Indian consumers and intends to target tier I cities in the country as early adopters. However, the app will be available to all smart phone users nationally. The service also offers content for all age groups.

     

    The OTT player is in the Indian market for the long haul. With a view to gather substantial number of users in the coming years, HOOQ is also looking at starting its own original series, a la Netflix, which had launched its exclusive made-for-web series House of Cards.

     

    In a conversation with this website about its readiness to improve the platform, HOOQ India head Krishnan Rajagopalan said, “We are constantly going to be evolving the product and the content based on user feedback. This is very much a company philosophy and it’s really up to the user to give us feedback. The better feedback you give, the better the product will be.”

     

    When queried whether the Indian audience is ready for a particular genre, which has more traction Rajagopalan said, “We are going to have different categories. The app will have all Indian languages and feeds and by the time we launch it will be more Indianised. It will be much more relevant, have genres that matter, top action, top rom-com; we will have it all.”

     

    Talking about the Indian market, Rajagopalan said that since India was a fascinating market, there are bound to be challenges. “This is a first product in its category. I don’t think there is anybody doing what we are doing, which is to offer premium content that is not there on ad supported platforms. So we are spending a lot of money, tens of millions on marketing, content and technology. A major challenge is that there will be a lot of consumer education required in the early days and we clearly need to have the right content. We need to have the right distribution partnerships to make it as convenient to the consumer as possible. Not necessarily a challenge, but there are steps that we need to take before we become ubiquitous.”

     

    While the company has not yet chalked out its marketing strategy, plans are to take ‘Go To Market’ (GTM) marketing route when the service’s commercial launch takes place in June.

     

    Speaking about Warner Bros’ association with HOOQ, Warner Bros general manager N Muthuram said, “Singtel will have a strategic presence in the Indian market with their partnership with Airtel. While we are licensed to HOOQ, we also have other local partners and we have been providing content to others as well. The deal with HOOQ is to have access to all of the content that is relevant to the consumer.”

     

    As reported earlier, the platform will have 10,000 movies and series from Hollywood, Bollywood and regional content for just Rs 199 a month. HOOQ is a joint venture with Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. It will provide content from international as well as local players and has already partnered with 60 local partners.

  • Mr. Homecare strengthens brand; partners with Uber

    Mr. Homecare strengthens brand; partners with Uber

    MUMBAI: With on-demand services being extensively used by consumers, new ventures are rushing in to get the best possible professional services from on demand cabs to housekeeping to baby-sitting, or even having plumbers, electricians, carpenters on call.

     

    The last few years have seen start-ups working towards brining convenient services to the consumer. One such start-up is Mr. Homecare, a platform for users to book professional on-demand services such as deep cleaning, pest control, car care, AC maintenance, plumbing, electrical support and many more.

     

    Promoted by the Vora brothers, Rushabh and Sahil, Mr. Homecare began operations in February 2015. Their experience with their facility management business, SILA, which has over 1500 employees and manages over five million sqft of real estate, has helped them start operations in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore within a few months.

     

    In order to meet the need of the on-demand economy, Mr. Homecare and Uber have forged a partnership.

     

    Through this association, any Uber consumer, on showing his Uber receipt and promo code to Mr. Homecare will get a 15 per cent discount on Mr. Homecare services. Additionally, Mr. Homecare customers who are new Uber users will get their first Uber ride up to Rs 300 for free.

     

    Mr. Homecare co-founder Sahil Vora said, “It’s been about three months since we launched our services and we have received very positive responses from consumers, which for us is great validation of the idea. Our partnership with Uber aims to give the best of both on-demand services, and we look forward to more such associations.”

     

    “It is exciting to have partnered with a brand like Uber. On-demand services is going to be a big thing in India in the coming years and we are glad we are one of the pioneers in the industry,” Mr. Homecare co-founder Rushabh Vora added.

     

    “Uber has always been at the forefront of the on-demand economy and is excited to partner with and support start-ups with the same aim – one that brings convenience to the Indian consumer at the press of a button. Mr. Homecare is bringing cutting edge services to Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune that has, until now has not been available in these cities. Uber and Mr. Homecare have entered into a partnership that aims to bring the best of both platforms to the discerning consumer,” said a spokesperson from Uber.