ITV

Category: Video On Demand

  • Shotformats’ Niyati Shah recognised for bringing innovation in the telecom sector

    Shotformats’ Niyati Shah recognised for bringing innovation in the telecom sector

    MUMBAI: At the recently concluded high profile award ceremony hosted by World Women Leadership Congress & Awards, they felicitated Women Leaders across the World who excelled in their respective profession and bought in a revolutionary change in the industry. On this special occasion Niyati Shah, MD & CEO Shotformats bagged the award of a ‘Women Leader’ in the Telecom sector for bringing in the path-breaking concept in the mobile space and hence taking the innovations to the higher levels

     

    The Award was presented to Niyati Shah, by Dr. Indira Parikh, President of Foundation for Liberal & Management Education and Dr. Saugata Mitra, Chief People Officer & Group Head HR, Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt Ltd. at Ballroom – Taj Lands End. The award ceremony saw some eminent personalities receiving the honors such as, Sumayya Athmani – MD & CEO National Oil Corporation of Kenya, Massouda Jalal, a political activist in Afghanistan & Former Prime Minister of Women’s Affairs, Sabina Chopra, Co-Founder of Yatra Online, Nisha Jamwal, Columnist & Interior Architect to name a few. The various award categories allotted were:

     

    1.Women Lifetime Achievement Award

    2.Outstanding Women Leadership Award

    3.Women Icon of the year

    4.Women Entrepreneurship Award

    5.Women CEO of the year (public/private/Govt sector) to name the few

     

    Shotformats Digital Works Private Limited is a promising digital distribution and a new media company that develops innovative digital platforms, products, and content to service and reaches audiences via varied digital distribution streams.

     

    During its six years drive in the industry, Shotformats with its brand Biscoot is a path-breaking contender in the mobile space. It also creates and deploy VAS solutions and applications for media houses, telecommunication firms, film companies, labels, application developers and content providers, among others. The company recently launched its e-books & audio books offline apps that also are absolutely consumer friendly supporting the ‘go green’ theory through e-books and educating the segment which is high on illiteracy through audio books. There are many more innovations in the pipeline for the mobile fraternity / telecom space through the offline app store.

     

    Niyati Shah, MD & CEO, Shotformats Digital Works, exclaims; ‘It is an honor for me to get a recognition that gives an inner strength to work hard especially for people who has bestowed trust upon me. I attribute the major pie of my success to my family and my extended family – they are my employees. It gives an immense pleasure to experience how women are now being acknowledged for their contribution across industries.’

     

    About Shotformats Digital Works: Shotformats Digital Works Private Limited is a promising digital distribution and a new media company that develops innovative digital platforms, products, and content to service and reach audiences via varied digital distribution streams.

     

    To visit the website:

    http://www.biscoot.com

    http://shotformats.com

  • Vodafone Sports: Changing the sports viewing landscape

    Vodafone Sports: Changing the sports viewing landscape

    MUMBAI: What do you get when one of the leading telecom players in the country joins forces with one of the biggest television network? The result is uninterrupted, curated and the best delivery of sports content on the go.

     

    The partnership between Star India and Vodafone India will make available to consumers a first-of-its-kind service that brings the best on track, on court and on field action to feature phones as well as smart phones.

     

    Star India COO Sanjay Gupta says: “Sports is something the network truly believes in, and we have put our money where our mouth is time and again.”

     

    Vodafone Sports powered by starsports.com will offer customers premium live and curated in-depth content built around some of the most popular sports in India such as cricket, football, tennis, hockey, golf and motorsport. The portal  (live.vodafone.in/sports) will feature cricket, football and hockey and will cover other major sports like F1, tennis, etc.

     

    Star India head digital Ajit Mohan says: “Since the launch of starsports.com in June 2013, we have witnessed good traction among sports fans and have become the YouTube of sports in India.”

     

    Launched in June 2013, starsports.com has become the go-to destination for following the best of international sports. It has in a way redefined the sports experience through a revolutionary video timeline that is a first of its kind in the world of sports, and allows the viewer to keep track of live sports as well as catch up on games with ease.

     

    The company has also built an advanced technology infrastructure that enables HD quality streaming across multiple devices. It will now bring the power of the proposition to the most important screen in the country – the mobile, for Vodafone consumers.

     

    “The fact that the content available on Vodafone Sports will be generated from starsports.com works well for the network as we will be able to reach the homes where TV sets and internet facility is not easily accessible,” Mohan explains.

     

    Recent studies have shown that there are more mobile handsets in the country than TV sets in homes. With this strategic partnership with Vodafone, Star India has certainly played an ace card. It would now be able to propagate its message of supporting the growth of sports in the nation even better; reaching out to the millions of Vodafone subscribers and delivering live as well as curated content at an economical price.

     

     “Our core business has always been services and after the success of Vodafone Music, we were looking at taking things to a whole new level,” expounds Vodafone CCO Vivek Mathur on the reason for partnering with Star India.

     

    “India in many ways is in the forefront as far as mobile internet consumption is concerned. We are only second to Germany and we truly believe that mobile internet is the future. We were on the lookout for a partner with some terrific content to deliver and we are glad to have found that partner in Star India,” Mathur adds.

     

    As a result of the tie-up with Star, customers using Vodafone Sports will have access to an exhaustive array of legal, unadulterated content at their fingertips, including all the latest news, trivia, scores and results, instant access to live matches, interactive video scorecards, exclusive insight and analysis, columns, photos and wallpapers across sports.

     

    The interactive video scorecard, for example, will allow users to watch the fall of a wicket or replay individual innings highlights for a particular player right from the scorecard, so if you miss a pivotal, game-changing moment in a game, or a match-winning knock, you can replay it at the touch of a button. Apart from live games, customers will also be able to sample additional archived video content, such as the best of M.S. Dhoni’s sixes or Sachin’s straight drives, created from over 10,000 hours of cricket footage.

     

    Gupta says: “Our aim is to change the way sports is perceived in the country. We need to change the mindset of people who feel that sports is a waste of time and resource and will not benefit in anyway. We continue to stay committed to building all sports and the best way to encourage young adults to play sports is to increase the consumption of sports.”

     

    The service will be available exclusively to Vodafone consumers in attractive packages. The ‘Snack Pricing Plan’ will allow consumers to watch a single match for a minimal price of Rs 10 or 20; a curated video clip for Rs 3 or Rs 5 and also give them an opportunity to download wallpapers at as low a price of Rs 3.

     

    The ‘All You Can Eat Plan’ will give the consumer a chance to sign up to enjoy watching a series and the price ranges between Rs 49, Rs 99 and Rs 150. This plan also allows the subscriber to enjoy archival videos of some of the best shots or sixes by a cricketer for Rs 30 or Rs 50 depending on the length of the clips.

     

    And there is also an option to subscribe on a day-to-day and monthly basis at Rs 5 and Rs 150 respectively. Mathur says: “We want to encourage our customers to consume as much of sport as they wish to and thus we have tried to keep the prices very reasonable.”

     

    This is certainly a giant step taken by the Star network in continuing to deliver on its promise of delivering the best in sports, but does it also plan to get its other properties on the digital platform in a big way?. Gupta clarifies: “We do have plans of taking a lot of our other properties on the digital platform in the near future, but currently we are focusing on sports as we as a network truly believe it has struck a chord with the youth of the nation and we will continue to deliver on our promise.”

     

    The road ahead certainly looks very rosy for Indian sports fans and Star Sports as a network is certainly making a statement with such bold moves. Guess it’s time for other broadcasters to wake up and smell the coffee.

  • Shotformats win for all its wonders in the digital space

    Shotformats win for all its wonders in the digital space

    MUMBAI: At the 5th International Summit & Award Ceremony on ‘Global Business Opportunity’ on this Saturday, Shotformats Digital Works, a new-age, digital media company, bagged the ‘Fastest Growing Indian Company Excellence Award’ for its pioneering work in the digital space.

     

    The Award was presented to Niyati Shah, CEO & MD Shotformats Digital Works by H.E Khun Korn Dabbaransi Hon’ble Former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and Chief Justice of India Mr O P Verma at Holiday Inn, Bangkok

     

    Shotformats Digital Works Private Limited is a promising digital distribution and a new media company that develops innovative digital platforms, products, and content to service and reaches audiences via varied digital distribution streams.

     

    During its six years drive in the industry, Shotformats with its brand Biscoot is a path-breaking contender in the mobile Value Added Services (VAS) space. It also creates and deploy VAS solutions and applications for media houses, telecommunication firms, film companies, labels, application developers and content providers, among others. The company recently launched its e-books & audio books offline apps that also are absolutely consumer friendly supporting the ‘go green’ theory through e-books and educating the segment which is high on illiteracy through audio books.

     

    Niyati Shah, MD & CEO, Shotformats Digital Works, exclaims; ‘International Achievers Conference (IAC) concentrates how the organizations can help the social & economic infrastructural development in and around the country. For a company like ours, this was a perfect forum to be acknowledged and I am glad that they have accredited us on our company motive and efforts. I am honored that IAC considered us for this category and we are looking forward to contribute the best of innovations in the digital space across mediums.’

  • Star India partners with Times Internet to distribute IPL on digital in India

    Star India partners with Times Internet to distribute IPL on digital in India

    MUMBAI: Star India has licensed the digital distribution rights for IPL 2014 from Times Internet, the digital arm of the Times of India Group. Star India will offer streaming and video on demand on starsports.com, the Star Sports app, and on mobile operator services powered by Star Sports. Times Internet will distribute IPL streaming and video on demand on its cricket destination on web and mobile, powered by a starsports.com video player. Both companies will market the joint proposition, and Star India will be solely responsible for monetisation, including advertising sales.

     

    Last year, IPL online witnessed a 56 per cent growth in unique visitors, with over 200 million video views. This year, India’s largest media houses will co-distribute IPL, offering unparalleled reach and viewership.

     
    The move deepens Star’s commitment to dramatically shape the sports experience on digital. Launched in June 2013, starsports.com has become the go-to destination for following the best of international sports. It has redefined the sports experience through a revolutionary video timeline that is a first of its kind in the world of sports, and allows the viewer to keep track of live sports as well as catch up on games with ease. The company has also built an advanced technology infrastructure that enables HD quality streaming across multiple devices.

     
    “At a time when more and more fans are following sports across multiple screens, our aim is to deliver an experience for them that is even better than what is on television. This partnership signals our continuing efforts to transform sports and the digital experience, ”said Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Chief Operating Officer of Star India. “We want to make IPL the world’s largest sporting event on a digital platform this year.”

     
    Satyan Gajwani, Chief Executive Officer of Times Internet, said, “We have been offering our users IPL for three years, and it continues to be a major driver in consumption and brand, recognized as one of the largest online video events worldwide with rapid growth. Our partnership with Star will enable an even larger reach for the property across digital devices.”

     
    starsports.com is India’s first multi-sports digital service with availability across the web and mobile. Powered by live and video rights, it covers the best of world sports including major cricket tournaments, BPL, La Liga and Serie A in football, F1, hockey and tennis.

     
    Times Internet is the largest Indian online media entity, with over 40 million monthly visitors across its numerous digital destinations. Its portfolio includes news, lifestyle content, entertainment, ecommerce, mobile VAS, music & movie streaming, and local services.

     

  • Sony LIV celebrates its 1st Anniversary with an open love letter to its viewers

    Sony LIV celebrates its 1st Anniversary with an open love letter to its viewers

    MUMBAI: Sony LIV, Multi Screen Media (MSM)’s premium video-on-demand service has launched a unique campaign to thank its viewers for the successful completion of its first year. The brand has written an open letter to viewers personifying Sony LIV as the doting partner of the viewer and describing the relationship between the two. The thought was derived from all the gestures couples indulge in when they complete their first year of togetherness like sending each other flowers, chocolates, putting up testimonials on social media, etc. The letter highlights all the high points of the year gone by for Sony LIV and its viewers.

     

    The beautifully-designed letter that put Sony LIV’s gratitude in words was sent to viewers through Facebook and emails. Overwhelmed viewers wrote back expressing their joy at such a warm way to involve them in the celebrations. Messages ranged from thank you notes to congratulatory messages on social media. Some of them read like this: “The letter made be blush, such a sweet gesture from Sony LIV” and “I have been watching shows on Sony LIV right from the start and I can totally relate to the sentiment of the letter.”     

     

    While the first few months passed akin to the honeymoon phase of a relationship, soon Sony LIV began innovating and experimenting to keep its partner interested and engaged. The idea was to give LIV’s viewers breaks that were worthwhile and fun. After all, modern life is all about those little escapes from the mundane. It successfully stayed at the forefront in terms of product development and technological advancements by introducing the iOS, Android, Windows and Blackberry applications so that viewers could truly enjoy the brand proposition: “Mazey Ke Break Lo, Kahin Bhi Dekh Lo”. 

     

    Sony LIV also ran various interactive campaigns to create a buzz around its 1st Anniversary. A special logo was created for this occasion, the Sony LIV website held a contest which allowed fans to wish the brand Happy 1st Anniversary in the style of their favourite Sony character. Fans went all out to express their wishes. Some did it in the signature ACP Pradyuman (of the CID fame) way: “Daya Darvaza Todo, Andar Anniversary ka Cake Band Hai, Happy Anniversary!” or in the style of Dr. Hansraj Hathi from Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah: “Arey Komal! Badi Zorose Bhook Lagi Hai, Chalo Jaldi, Sony LIV ka Anniversary Cake Khane! Badhai Ho!”

     

    Also on Facebook and Twitter Sony LIV ran a contest called ‘Gift a Maze ka break’ where people could gift their friends Sony LIV merchandise and movie tickets by tagging them and stating why their friends deserved to win a maze ka break.

     

    The brand came up with promotional videos to drive traffic on the website. Encouraging viewers to participate in the Sony LIVanniversary party from 24th to 31stJanuary where movie tickets, autographed merchandise and gift vouchers were up for grabs.        

     

    Over the past one year, Sony LIV has consistently brought marquee shows from the Sony Network to its viewers on a device that they could access anywhere, anytime. Indian Idol Junior, KBC, Boogie Woogie, Top Gear and other popular shows were brought to the viewers on their preferred device, so that they never had to worry about missing a single episode. The content repertoire expanded over the year to include English shows from AXN and Sports – LIVE streaming of the New Zealand vs India cricket series; thereby catering to different audience groups, both male and female.

     

    Extensive data analysis helped keeping engagement levels high. Innovations such as driving Indian Idol Junior auditions via the online medium and the app, offering the option to vote across all platforms including social media was offered. Also, introducing the play-along gaming application for KBC viewers enabled audiences to become active and facilitated a two-way communication via LIV.

  • SVOD subscriptions on the rise, pay-TV subs declining

    SVOD subscriptions on the rise, pay-TV subs declining

    MUMBAI: A new report from the NPD Group reveals that the number of US households subscribing to premium TV channels over the past two years has witnessed a six per cent decline as against an inverse growth spike of four per cent for SVOD subscribers.

     

    The report, The State of SVOD, states that 32 per cent of US households were subscribed to premium TV channels in August 2013, compared to 27 per cent that subscribed to SVOD services. Overall, digital video transactions were up three per cent since 2012, reaching 70 per cent of all home video transactions in 2013. SVOD made up 71 per cent of all digital video transactions, and it continued to increase faster than all other digital acquisition types.

     

    The SVOD service, Netflix, emerged as the clear leader in SVOD. However, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime are receiving the largest growth benefits in the category, as consumers begin to add on secondary SVOD services.

  • Watch India’s Tour of New Zealand Live and Exclusive, on Sony LIV

    Watch India’s Tour of New Zealand Live and Exclusive, on Sony LIV

    MUMBAI: Watch the much awaited New Zealand vs India cricket series on all digital platforms, with Sony LIV – Multi Screen Media (MSM)’s premium video-on-demand service. Along with LIVE streaming of the entire series, Sony LIV offers you a chance to catch up with a complete package of match highlights, fours, sixes, wickets, best catches and fielding moments, 100’s/ 50’s and 10/5 wicket hauls and the ‘Man of the Match’ moments. Additionally, viewers can also enjoy the special fun moments on and off the field.

    The series will be held in New Zealand and is scheduled from the 19th January 2014 to the 18th February 2014. The 30 day tour starts with five ODIs followed by two Test Matches. Sony LIV is the single-point of entry into the World of Sony Entertainment Network. Viewers can watch the match live on SonyLIV.com or mobile phones and tablets by downloading it from IOS, Android, Windows and Java app stores.

    Speaking on the availability of the cricket series on Sony LIV, Nitesh Kripalani, Executive Vice-President – New Media, Business Development and Digital/Syndication at Sony Entertainment Network, commented, “We want to make 2014’s first India series available to our viewers on multiple digital platforms. Viewers can log on to Sony LIV via any connected device and enjoy the cricketing action live. We have also introduced special content packages from the series to give cricket enthusiasts a complete immersive and engaging viewing experience.”

    SONY SIX, India’s premier sports and entertainment channel has acquired the exclusive broadcast rights to this cricket series.

    Mr. Prasana Krishnan, EVP & Business Head, Sony SIX said, “It gives us immense pleasure to partner with Sony LIV for the series. Sony LIV has been successfully catering to the entertainment needs of the online users across segments. With this association, we wish to extend our commitment to deliver the best of sports entertainment to our viewers across platforms. Our viewers will now be able to follow live cricket action while being on the move.”

    The India tour of New Zealand 2014 bilateral series is a part of the Future Cricket Tour Program (FTP) prepared by International Cricket Council (ICC). This is the first series for the Indian team in the 2014 calendar. The two teams last met in New Zealand five years back in 2009 where India were able to register a series win in New Zealand after 41 years.

     

  • ABC to block DirecTV, TWC, Dish subscribers from watching TV series online

    ABC to block DirecTV, TWC, Dish subscribers from watching TV series online

    MUMBAI: The American broadcasting company, ABC, has announced that it will start restricting access to complete episodes of new TV shows to customers of pay TV providers that it has signed to TV Everywhere authentication deals.

     

    This means that subscribers from DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Dish Network will not be able to watch new episodes of “Modern Family,” “The Bachelor” and other ABC series on ABC.com in the week after their premiere. However, the subscribers from AT&T, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Midcontinent and Verizon can continue watching new episodes on WatchABC.com or through the Watch ABC mobile video app the day after their premiere, according to a notice posted by ABC online in December 2013.

    The company will also stop offering free, ad-supported versions of new episodes through Hulu, but will allow premium Hulu Plus subscribers to watch new programs the day after their initial broadcast. At the cost of $2.99 per episode web surfers can download high-definition programs from Apple’s iTunes store or Amazon Instant Video.

     

    ABC isnt alone, in August 2011, Fox became the first major network to limit access to complete versions of new TV episodes to authenticated pay TV or Hulu Plus subscribers. Both Fox and ABC own equity stakes in Hulu.

  • Sony LIV is now on BlackBerry smartphones

    Sony LIV is now on BlackBerry smartphones

    MUMBAI: After making its content available on various digital platforms, now Sony LIV, Multi Screen Media (MSM), has announced that its premium video-on-demand service will now be available as a free download on the BlackBerry World storefront for the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30 smartphones.

     

    With the new app, the customers can enjoy over 18 years of rich and exclusive content from Sony’s stable, covering genres including drama, comedy, thriller, reality shows and many more on the Sony LIV platform – anytime and anywhere.

     

     

    Sony Entertainment Network EVP, new media, business development and digital/syndication Nitesh Kripalani said: “At MSM, we want our rich content to be easily and conveniently available to users; our alliance with BlackBerry is another step in fulfilling our vision.”

     

    Blackberry director, alliances and business development Annie Matthews said: “BlackBerry’s all-touch smartphones pack performance coupled with HD resolution displays, as well as and the ability to display content from the smartphone directly on an HDTV, giving customers a great platform for consuming video content on demand. We are pleased to have Sony LIV available for the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30 smartphones, offering customers access to another great channel of entertainment and rich content.”

     

    BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Z30 smartphone customers can now catch all the action across the Sony spectrum including Sony Entertainment Television, Max, Sab, Mix, and a whole host of movies also in the pipeline.

     

  • BoxTV integrates mobile payments; introduces new subscription packs

    BoxTV integrates mobile payments; introduces new subscription packs

    NEW DELHI: BoxTV, Times Internet’s on-demand video service, has recently integrated mobile payments on its platform and introduced multiple subscription packs offering a range of plans from a super small three-day plan (weekend pack), seven day plan (week pack), 15 day pack (fortnight pack) all the way up to an yearly pack.

    Data on viewership patterns indicates that a lot of online content consumption happens on weekends and BoxTV’s weekend pack makes it easy for people to watch premium content without paying for an entire month. The mobile subscription plans also enable people without credit cards to buy a subscription plan easily on BoxTV.

     

    BoxTV has integrated a seamless process for mobile payment for smaller duration packs of three, seven and 15 days, which allows users to pay directly from their mobile phones. The prices range from Rs 49 (for a three day pack) to Rs 99 (seven day pack) and Rs 150 (15 day pack). All a customer needs to do is to select the plan and input his or her mobile numbers on the BoxTV website. The user receives a one-time password which once submitted, activates the plan for the given duration. The process does not require any credit information to watch the premium content available on BoxTV at any time. The payment will be charged to the customer’s mobile bill or deducted from his balance.

    For the long-term users, there are multiple plans available which range from Rs 199 for a monthly plan to a yearly plan priced at Rs 1499. For these plans, users will need to subscribe using their credit cards on BoxTV. This provides a lot more flexibility to select a plan which best caters to their individual requirements.

    “The BoxTV team is constantly working towards increasing customer satisfaction and improving overall experience, be it by introducing newer features on an ongoing basis or provides product flexibility by incorporating flexible price packs. Since inception, we received several requests from our users to provide multiple plans and payment options and that is exactly what we have introduced. With the introduction of new subscription packs BoxTV service will cater to all segments of users looking for suitable service, which provides flexibility in terms of payment and a seamless movie watching experience. The mobile payments will allow users without credit cards to watch premium content on BoxTV thereby increasing our overall user-base,” said BoxTV business head Pandurang Nayak.