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Tag: ALTBalaji

  • OTT players ease payment worries with UPI tie-ups

    OTT players ease payment worries with UPI tie-ups

    KOLKATA: The unified payments interface (UPI) service crossed a billion transactions a month last year and is on a constant upward trend. As more Indians make UPI their go-to option for online payment, over-the-top (OTT) platforms are also strengthening their ties with them to be more user friendly.

    Leading OTT player ZEE5, which has seen high uptake of the service on connected devices,  became the first-ever OTT platform to launch an UPI based payment facility on connected devices. Users of Samsung smart TVs now have an option of ‘scan and pay’ by selecting the ‘UPI payment’ mode, ‘scanning the QR’ and ‘paying on their UPI app’. With this easy convenient option, the app is set to empower users by democratising the payment process and allowing customers to make payments through their smartphones. 

    “ZEE5 has been leading the way in innovation through technology with constant upgrades to our interface and navigation to make things smoother for users. In an industry leading initiative, ZEE5 is now offering users the option to make their payments easily online while watching their favorite content through smart TV Apps. The latest update of the ZEE5 app on Samsung Smart TVs has already made UPI QR payments available to users. Customers can now choose their plan, make the payment through UPI within seconds by scanning the QR code, and then continue streaming. This is an exciting juncture for ZEE5 as very few sectors offer this option and we are the first platform in this industry to explore this. ZEE5 has been a pioneer in integrating new technology and options and this is another step that will drive forward our growth,” ZEE5 India expansion projects business head and global product head Rajneel Kumar said.

    SonyLIV 2.0, which has unveiled recently its new brand identity, reinforces its alliances with a series of wallet partners to maximise consumer delight.  In an exciting initiative, LIV premium subscribers now stand to win an array of offers and benefits across six leading payment options like Paytm, MobiKwik, AmazonPay, Payzapp, Freecharge and OlaMoney Postpaid. User can avail a cash back varying from 10 per cent upto 100 per cent subject to the platform. These newly announced cashback offers are available to all LIV premium subscribers in India across operating systems and devices.

    “At SonyLIV, customer delight is of primal importance to us. We are happy to leap ahead in existing partnerships with wallets and add newer ones to the franchise. This is a major step up in our efforts towards strengthening old bonds and building new partnerships keeping in mind consumer behavior & preferences,” SPN digital business growth and monetisation head Manish Aggarwal said. 

    ALTBalaji recently extended its association with payment gateways Paytm and Amazon Pay. As a part of the offering, Paytm will be offering cashback up to Rs 75 on ALTBalaji subscription whereas Amazon Pay customers will get a cashback of a minimum amount of Rs 10 and a maximum amount of Rs 250 on a minimum purchase of Rs 100. The offer will be valid in India for Android and web-only.

    “Keeping the customer at the very core of everything that we stand for, we have always strived towards providing them a seamless experience through our services. Our long-standing association with Paytm and Amazon Pay is yet another step in the right direction that further fosters this bond with our consumers. It will further give us the opportunity to reach out to the masses and make them aware of the engrossing and original content that we have on offer,” Balaji Telefilms group COO and ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya said.

  • ALTBalaji garners 60% rise in viewership and 21% growth in MAU

    ALTBalaji garners 60% rise in viewership and 21% growth in MAU

    MUMBAI: With the number of digitally connected audiences consuming content in Hindi rising, this emerging trend in the country sees ALTBalaji, one of the country’s leading homegrown OTT platforms, yet again scale new heights. Owing to the rapid internet proliferation and digitization in the hinterlands, this demand for Hindi originals has seen the platform’s viewership rise exponentially in May 2020 compared to the figures from May 2019. As per data collected from more than 1800 cities and towns, ALTBalaji garnered a 60 per cent rise in viewership and a 21 per cent growth in MAU (Monthly Active Users). With the Hindi market booming and content consumption headed for sharp growth, these numbers are a growing testament to ALTBalaji conquering the important HSM audience based in Bharat.

    The cities that raked in a two-fold growth in May compared to the same month last year include Patna, Ranchi, Shimla, Jodhpur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Gaya, to name a few. These cities are yet another indicator of the Hindi language subset growing faster than any other spoken language in the country, which represents an increase in new users being added to the user base at a rapid pace. These numbers further attest to an industry report by KPMG titled – ‘Unravelling the digital video consumer’ whose findings reveal that 64% of India’s digital video consumers prefer consuming content in Hindi.

    On the growth, ALTBalaji CEO and Balaji Telefilms group COO  Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “This rise in viewership is a growing testament to the huge untapped Tier 2,3 & 4 markets for OTT players. At ALTBalaji, we are focusing on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi speaking markets and cement our position as a leader in this segment. By tapping into these hinterlands, we’ve realized the growing demand for Hindi originals that those audiences find immensely relatable. This has helped us understand our viewers better and led to us curating more engaging and entertaining offerings that resonate with them.”

    With a vast library of 60+ originals across genres that cater to all kinds of audiences, the shows at ALTBalaji are a mix of thriller, drama, romance, youth drama, horror, comedy amongst others. Each show present on the platform or in the pipeline has been created keeping in mind the audience’s interest across demographic and sociographic segments. Romantic dramas like Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, It Happened in Calcutta, Baarish, Dil Hi To hai etc enjoy a growing fandom amongst women in the 25-45 years TG. While on the other hand, thrillers like Apharan, Ragini MMS, Code M are consumed by men in the 22- 45 age bracket. In addition to the above, shows such as Mentalhood, The Test Case, MOM: Mission Over Mars, Bose: Dead/ Alive, The Verdict – State vs Nanavati are being consumed extensively by urban Indians across all age groups.

  • Modi 2.0: The year gone by for I&B ministry

    Modi 2.0: The year gone by for I&B ministry

    MUMBAI: The ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) recently completed one year in its second term in office at a time when the world reels under the novel SarsCoV2 crises. Through this year, the government has taken several key decisions and measures which have kept the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) busy.   

    Under the leadership of Prakash Javadekar, MIB doled out various significant measures and guidelines that will have a lasting impact on the media and entertainment industry. Here are some key announcements and proposals by the MIB in the past year.  

    OTT industry in self-regulatory mode

    Javadekar stressed on the importance of self-regulation rather than setting up a statutory body for the OTT industry and also assured stakeholders such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Zee5, MX Player, ALTBalaji, Hotstar, Voot and Jio regarding the same. MIB had asked OTT content players in March this year to set up an adjudicatory body and decide on a code of conduct within 100 days. Most OTT players are in favour of mutually agreeable terms and not an imposing statutory body.

    Fake or fact?

    In 2019, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) decided to fight fake news by setting up a fact-checking unit. Aiming for better communication around the pandemic between citizens and the government, PIB also launched a Covid2019 fact check unit. In addition to that, it launched a Twitter handle, @CovidnewsbyMIB, and started #IndiaFightsCorona to share all pandemic-related updates.

    A year of guidelines, advisories and new policies

    From issuing several guidelines and regulations to implementations of advisories and policies, MIB under Javadekar, had a lot to offer in the past year.

    In June 2019, the ministry issued an advisory to all private television channels to carry end credits of the programmes in the language that they are being telecasted in. The step was an initiative towards promoting Indian languages.

    Following this, MIB announced the implementation of accessibility standard for TV programmes for those with hearing disability. It became mandatory for all news channels to carry at least one programme a day with sign language broadcast and subtitles, while other channels were asked to have at least one show a week with similar features.

    MIB also recently issued draft policy guidelines stipulating that social media platforms with 25 million monthly unique users will be eligible for government ads. Under the new policy, the bureau of outreach will also partake in the bidding process, including buying inventory or space for government messaging. To bring community radios at par with TV channels, Javadekar proposed to raise advertisement air time to 12 minutes from seven minutes.

    The ministry has also been issuing advisories to private satellite TV channels to adhere to the Programme and Advertising Codes as prescribed in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995.

    Staying informed

    In an effort to keep spirits uplifted during the pandemic, the MIB directed broadcasters and distribution platform operators (DPOs) to ensure uninterrupted supply of services to subscribers and to cooperate with other players. It also requested all states and union territories to provide a constant flow of authentic information for the public by ensuring operational continuity of the print and electronic media.

  • ALTBalaji partners with Ujjivan Small Finance Bank; offers customers significant value deal

    ALTBalaji partners with Ujjivan Small Finance Bank; offers customers significant value deal

    MUMBAI: Known to be the one-stop destination for entertainment that also provides viewers an affordable viewing experience, ALTBalaji, one of India’s leading homegrown platforms, has joined hands with Ujjivan Small Finance Bank. As part of the deal, Ujjivan Bank customers can avail of a 15 per cent discount on the ALTBalaji subscription by using the Ujjivan Bank RuPay Debit Card.

    Having played a vital role in the massification of content in Tier II and III markets, ALTBalaji has revolutionized how India consumes content. Led by its clutter-breaking shows, that span diverse genres, the homegrown platform has established a foothold in non-metros like no other. With Ujjivan Bank’s diversified portfolio seeing more than 39 per cent of its customers spread across semi-urban and rural markets, this partnership helps ALTBalaji reach out to a fresh set of viewers from Bharat by making their content more accessible.

    Customers can use the offer which is valid till 31 October , 2020 by using the code FIFJ7by. The code is applicable for the Quarterly Subscription pack and its validity will start from the date of activation. Users can click on the link https://bit.ly/ALTBalaji_Baarish_S2 and they will be navigated to the app store or Google Play Store depending on their smartphone. This association will allow ALTBalaji to tap into a new set of customers while simultaneously motivating them to stay indoors.

    "Having established our presence with entertaining Hindi originals, we have been working towards the massification of OTT space across markets. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank's well-established presence will see us tap into a new segment of hinterland audiences and help them discover our engaging content. With a vast number of viewers in these areas having an account with Ujjivan Bank, this association will ease the subscription process for them with value benefits. Users can avail this offer in just a few clicks making it extremely simple and convenient,” ALTBalaji CEO, and, Balaji Telefilms Group COO Nachiket Pantvaidya said.

  • We are in the race to build a niche product, not to increase user numbers: Aditya Pittie

    We are in the race to build a niche product, not to increase user numbers: Aditya Pittie

    “We are not in the race of having x million DAUS or MAUS or active users. We are in the race of building a niche product.” IN10 Media Network managing director Aditya Pittie is pretty much clear about where he wants to position the network’s OTT business in an ever-growing market. Anand Mahindra- and Aditya Pittie-promoted IN10 Media has a bouquet of varied media offerings such as television (Epic TV), OTT platforms (Epic On and Docubay), and production house (Juggernaut).

    During a virtual fireside chat with Indiantelevision Group founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, Pittie asserts that Epic On and Docubay are not driven by number of users. They are rather driven by time spent, organic tractions, etc. Instead of increasing the number of users, the aim is to build a niche product as a vertical player. That is the OTT strategy the company is following. He is also bullish about Juggernaut, which is going to be one of the company’s key businesses going forward. He says that having an asset like Juggernaut will definitely be a big value addition. “We have the probably largest order book in the industry right now with more than 11 shows confirmed for production,” he states.

    Here he dwells at length on the network’s OTT business, strategy, etc.

    Excerpts:

    After the successful entry into the broadcast business, you launched Docubay. Tell us about it.

    Docubay came about because of our love for factual entertainment. We were very interested in documentaries and we believed that as a genre it is the most popular in the world. Prominent OTTs like Amazon have a good library of documentaries. A lot of people across the world enjoy watching them. Then we thought: why don’t we look at a dedicated platform for documentaries. Then we thought of going global, instead of making India-centric. Today, Docubay is a very powerful product; the experience of watching documentaries on Docubay is far superior than any other platform. And we don’t call our subscribers. We call them members, because the idea is to build a community. That’s why it has the tagline of ‘one tribe, many stories.’ The message is that there are many things to explore in this planet, but we are all one tribe. That is the message of Docubay. We just went live on Roku in North America.  And we are one of the very few companies – in the smaller media networks segment – in India that has its own OTT technology in-house. We spent almost a year and a half in building that technology. As an organisation we are really proud of both our OTT products.

    How are Epic On and Docubay faring in terms of pricing and number of subscribers?

    As regards the KPIs and metrics, Epic On and Docubay are not driven by number of users. They are driven by time spent, how many organic tractions, etc. We are not in the race of having x million DAUS or MAUS or active users. We are in the race of building a niche product.  The pricing of Epic On or Docubay is far higher than any of the horizontal or generic OTT. We are very clearly a vertical player. We have very specific offering and then charge a premium for that offering. That is the model we are working on. By no way we try to fret about how many users we have or how faster our user base is growing. We are not hungry just to drive traffic. We wanted quality traffic. Some of the conversion rates that we have in terms of install vs number of people who are subscribing is probably one of the best in the industry. Those are the kind of models we try to work on. Stickiness, higher paying members who are looking for a specific service as opposed to getting everybody to come on the platform and give what they like. That is not our strategy.  

    Since you are not looking at metrics, what is your business game plan to monetise?

    Profitability in the media business is about how much content you want to put out. We have a business plan in place. We believe in a direction we want to take. Going forward, 15 to 20 years from now, when OTTs become mainstream, there will be a big market for vertical OTTs where people will subscribe and pay you a premium for the kind of content you create and curate for them, which is dedicated to the genre they prefer focusing on. So the differentiation is that in horizontal you have all kind of content under one umbrella, whereas vertical is slightly more focused on niche. That is the base model behind our OTT strategy. There are various other vertical OTT players all over the world. They have less number of users, but very viable business model.

    But here you have entered a global space. So are you competing with Curiosity Stream?

    Curiosity Stream has a lot of short-form content and docu-series. Docubay is a feature platform. We only do films. We carry content that has minimum duration of 20-25 minutes. The product offering thus is very different. Theirs is a very knowledge-based, and about science, research, etc. On the other, we give perspective for you to form your own opinion. That is how the documentary genre should be. If you look at the content at Docubay you will realise that they give perspective but let you form your own opinion about the topic. While they are in some degree competition to us, we believe that we are a completely different platform than Curiosity Stream. And we don’t necessarily consider them to be a competition.  

    What is the thinking behind having own production company and forging partnership with Applause?

    I think we need to separate the Applause Entertainment deal from us being in production. While they are connected they are two separate business models. We were able to foresee last year that the demand for content for OTT platforms is going to skyrocket. Unfortunately, good content creators who understand what kind of content works for OTTs are limited in our industry. There are only a handful of players that are able to create good quality content. As an organisation we have created so many hours of content for our broadcasting business. We felt that we could leverage that knowledge and expertise to build successful production business for other platforms. In terms of scale, we felt that the business can be large enough to justify our resources, time, and energy. That’s why we hired Samar Khan to lead our production business for OTT. And Code M was a super-hit (which came on ZEE5 and Balaji).

    And we have the probably largest order book in the industry right now. We have more than 11 shows confirmed for production, with an order book of over Rs 100 crore for the next one year. Juggernaut is going to be one of our key businesses going forward. We are really excited about the ability to create content at scale. Samar and his team have really worked hard to build our good talent of writers and convince OTT platforms that we have the ability to deliver solid products. I am really excited about the Juggernaut business. Having an asset like Juggernaut in our portfolio will definitely be a big value addition.

    You work for local OTTs or big international ones like Amazon, Netflix, etc.?

    I won’t be able to divulge specific contract details because that will be breach of confidentiality with them. We have one or two shows with every Indian platform. We are obviously in conversation with international OTT players. While Samar has a very big pedigree of content creation, Juggernaut as a company is new. So we are building some traction. Our aim is to deliver some hits this year and then start working with OTTs like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO Max, etc. at some point as well.

    What genre is Juggernaut positioned in?

    We have seen the success of Code M and Samar as a content creator has been very good at certain shows, but we don’t want ourselves to be restricted to that. Content creation is a collective effort. Success in content creation happens by bringing the right people together for the right type of project. So we are not focussed on just doing thriller shows, fiction or non-fiction. The idea is to create good content that is in demand by platforms. OTT is such a fast-feedback medium. It is not like television. You come to know the feedback – whether it works or not – the same day of launching the show. And there is so much data. The platforms specifically know what they want, what kind of content works, and in which region. So rather than focusing on a particular genre like thriller or non-fiction, etc., we want to focus on knowing what works with audiences, learning from experiences in creating good content, working closely with the platforms, leveraging our relationships to pre-empt what kind of concepts and stories are going to work down the lane and prepare our content bank to cater to that need. That’s the broad strategy we are looking at. You can see that we are creating shows across genres.  

  • Is it all gloomy for independent OTT players?

    Is it all gloomy for independent OTT players?

    MUMBAI: Though everyone is ravenous to take a bite out of India's rich streaming phenomenon, it's not all hunky dory for independent players. Consumer acquisition, retention and chalking out a sustainable monetisation plan are tougher than they seem. While deep-pocketed giants may survive, the road is rocky for independent platforms. 

    The downfall of two ambitious players

    Towards the end of 2019, Hong Kong-based over-the-top (OTT) platform Viu shut down its India business. The company cited highly competitive nature and the requirement of heavy investment without a path to sustained monetisation. Viu’s downfall was followed by Singapore-based telecom company, Singtel-backed, Singapore-based HOOQ. The service, available across Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and India, which was also backed by Warner and Sony, filed for liquidation last month in Singapore. HOOQ said in a statement that it had been unable to grow fast enough to keep up with global and regional rivals and also noted “significant structural changes” in the OTT video market in the five years since its launch.

    The statements of both Viu and HOOQ show the inability to grow a viable business model amid stiff competition. While the wave of online content started with small independent creators in the country, it's time for them to either join hands with bigger players or exit. Especially, when players like Netflix and Disney+Hotstar are earmarking billions for this market. Homegrown players are also investing highly. The sheer amount of content library, production quality along with smart UIs speak in their favour. 

    What lies ahead for independent players?

    “There is a global recession right now and these OTTs are vouching on a lot of these global fundings, private equity fundings. COVID-19 has a big impact and there will be a recession in many countries and lot of the funding activities will slow down. Because of the current crisis, if their mtrics like success rate, viewership, time spent etc., are not good, many OTTs will also shut down in near to medium term despite being well-funded. India is an extremely fragmented market. We have 35 plus OTTs causing all the more chances of many more shutting down,” Elara Capital VP – research analyst (Media) Karan Taurani says.

    SBICap Securities institutional equity research head Rajiv Sharma brings up three aspects. He talks about customer acquisition which is becoming an expensive exercise for independent OTT platforms with more serious players coming into the picture. He also adds that Netflix can amortise content produced in India in 130 markets. Broadcasters have catch-up TV content, the movies which they had acquired for the broadcasting business as a source of basic traffic for engagement.

    “Independent platforms have a small library, no access to other content or market and moreover, they are working on a small budget. Their mortality rate is high because users will watch something and delete it. So low stickiness means higher customer acquisition cost and whatever they are producing, they are not able to amortise it over a higher set of users. So per unit content cost or production cost is higher. These are the reasons we are seeing independent platforms struggling,” Sharma explains.

    Is it all gloomy for smaller and independent players?

    Platforms like ALTBalaji, Hoichoi are thriving without funding from any big network, broadcaster or tech giant. These two platforms have witnessed good uptake in users with an attractive content slate. Moreover, they have collaborated with existing rivals also to increase their reach and find an alternative source of revenue. While we tried to find what are the factors that help them to survive, both of the platforms cited the parent company’s long-term experience of producing content, hence understanding of consumer preference.

    “I think understanding of the customers is very important and having control over content is very important. Twenty five years of understanding consumers is very important because as we make a show or acquire a  movie, we exactly know what a consumer might want. We have been in the business long. It's not a question of money only. Another thing what works well for SVF is that we  have made 150 plus movies till now. We have relationships with all the producers of the business. So, when we wanted to license a movie, we could do it from every person in the industry. We had production experience, key understanding of content, relation with the industry and talents,” Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta says.

    “Being from the house of Balaji Telefilms, who have been catering to the audiences ever-changing preferences for over 25 years now, ALTBalaji has an advantage unlike no other of having a deep understanding and familiarity with the viewer’s consumption preferences. With content being our biggest differentiator, we have been catering to all kinds of audiences through our diverse content offerings spanning multiple languages. Moreover, Indian originals have picked up pace in the past few days as audiences are on the lookout for local relatable content and are spending more time online. With content being king, there is a growing acceptance amongst consumers to pay for unique narratives and good story telling which keeps them hooked to their screens,” Balaji Telefilms group COO and ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya states.

    Yupp TV, another OTT platform which is tuning its business towards ed-tech direction in India, thinks that being an early mover, consolidation has helped it.YuppTV and YuppMaster founder and CEO Uday Reddy acknowledges, “ All the players who are in space are big broadcasters. They are already in the content space. They are just evolving from linear to digital. I don’t think many independent players are left now. If they don’t invest in capital, they won’t be able to sustain.”

    With the COVID-19 crisis, things are bound to change once the situation normalise.

  • Have 10-12 banked shows to sustain even if lockdown continues: ALTBalaji’s Nachiket Pantvaidya

    Have 10-12 banked shows to sustain even if lockdown continues: ALTBalaji’s Nachiket Pantvaidya

    MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms’ digital arm ALTBalaji recently completed three years. While the management always spoke of profitability and breaking even faster rather than cash-burn and tons of investment, the platform seems on track in achieving its ambitions despite the COVID-19 climate. Though production may be halted, content-hungry subscribers have flocked to the streaming service for their dose of entertainment. Despite the setback, the OTT platform is confident that it has enough shows in the bank to woo subscribers for the next few months even if lockdown persists.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com, Balaji Telefilms group COO and ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya spoke about the growth during post COVID-19 period and overall outlook FY21.

    Edited excerpts:

    ALTBalaji had a good run in the first three years focusing on the Hindi-speaking market. Will there be any significant change in the content strategy going forward?

    We are currently focusing on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi speaking markets and then move ahead. If you look at the geography and demography of the country, 70 per cent of the content consumed is Hindi. As a platform, it makes sense to focus your efforts in one direction and win over the Hindi-speaking population. Hence, this year we are first going to focus on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi space. 

    We will gradually move towards other regional markets as well in the coming years. A host of our Hindi offerings have also been dubbed in Indian and international languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bahasa, Arabic, etc. amongst others. We shall continue to focus on expanding our language content library in the coming years.

    ALTBalaji had the mantra of breaking even within 2021 which you are nearing as per the last investors call. What will be the big target now?

    ALTBalaji has been working towards its goals and is the first OTT platform already on the road to profitability. With our costs getting controlled in the first half of fiscal 2020 and the loss margin further reducing at the end of the current fiscal, we are aiming to break even in 2020-2021.

    Given the national lockdown, all content production has come to a standstill; we continue to monitor the situation closely. We are very confident that the demand for content will increase once the situation returns to normal and are well prepared to resume business and ramp up content sales once the lockdown is over.

    Do you expect a significantly higher-than-expected jump in FY 21 under the current situation?

    We are looking at a 1.7 million active subscription base which is a high record for us. We are adding roughly 17,000–20,000 subscribers per day, that’s nearly doubling the run rate from where we were in February. In Q3, we had already said that our losses were down to single digits, and we are hopeful that in the next 12 months period, we will break even ALTBalaji's business.

    Could you share the current growth under COVID-19? Which genres see more uptake? Did any particular demography or age group consume more content on the platform?

    Indian originals have picked up pace in the past few days as audiences are on the lookout for local relatable content. We believe in creating shows which appeal across segments however, with narratives that are unique or untold.  

    For instance, shows like Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, It Happened in Calcutta, Baarish, Dil Hi To Hai etc., are mostly consumed by women in 25-45 years TG across India. However, thrillers like Apharan, Ragini MMS, Code M are consumed by men in the 22-45 age bracket. In addition to the above, shows such as Mentalhood, The Test Case, MOM: Mission Over Mars, Bose: Dead/ Alive, The Verdict – State vs Nanavati are being consumed extensively by urban Indians across age groups.

    Shows launched in earlier months continue to see good engagement as consumers are now watching more of the library that we have successfully built. The ALTBalaji library as of date has 60-plus shows with engaging content for mass Indian audiences.

    What has been the growth of new subscribers? How will you retain them once the lockdown is lifted?

    Watch times and subscriptions have been seeing strong growth during this period and we are witnessing a high level of growth in all our key markets and demographics. ALTBalaji is witnessing strong uptake of digital subscriptions with an average of 17,000 subscriptions added per day post lockdown vs an average of 10,600 in March 2020 pre-lockdown, a growth of 60 per cent. As of date, the platform has over 1.7 million active direct subscribers.

    With the SVOD OTT space in the country becoming increasingly price-sensitive, we have facilitated growth by keeping our pricing extremely low, at less than a rupee a day (Rs 300/- annually). What works best for us is to concentrate on consumer segmentation behaviour, understanding how to retain the customers better and working on onboarding the new segment who have just been acquainted with the internet. With content being king, there is a growing acceptance amongst consumers to pay for unique narratives and good storytelling which keeps them hooked to their screens. Having said that, we are confident that having sampled our portfolio of exciting, original digital series to a wider audience that has a higher propensity and capacity to subscribe, we will continue as one of the top OTT platforms. 

    Due to the stoppage in production, do you expect any rescheduling of your content slate? Has there been any change in the guidance of expected originals during the calendar year?

    So far, we are on track in terms of the show launches. We have 11-12 shows that have been shot already and only need post-production and editing, which can happen from home as well. So we actually have a stock of 10-12 shows which can be put out in the next six to seven months even if the unfortunate lockdown continues for a few more months. We are in a good position to give out one to two shows per month for the next five to six months. We are now launching, in the next 25 days, Baarish season two and KKHH season three.

    How has the overall ecosystem changed since you started the journey?

    Having set milestones and breaking new grounds for over three years, our journey has been fairly business-positive and will continue to do so. Since its inception, ALTBalaji has been on top of the consumer mind for its unique narratives and clutter-breaking original Hindi content and we have aggressively grown on the back of innovative business strategies. Moving from strength to strength, we’ve today become a major player in the Indian OTT industry and gained further encouragement by the massive increase in subscriber base. With a substantial bouquet of original content across genres that keeps viewers engaged, our app has consistently ranked amongst the top three grossing video streaming apps in the country across the app store (Source: App Annie).

    According to a recent report by PwC, the OTT market is set to grow at a rate of 22 per cent to reach Rs 12,000 crore in the next four years. The soon-to-arrive 5G networks will only work as a shot in the arm for OTT platforms to scale further heights. Digital is an ever-evolving medium and when it comes to OTT players, competition across the industry is soaring high with everyone trying to secure their places in the minds of consumers.

    Last year you struck a deal with ZEE5. How has it helped you? Are you planning any similar deal?

    With our collaboration with ZEE5, we aim towards leveraging each other’s strengths in the OTT domain, to co-create original content. This association is a collaborative process of co-understanding consumer insights and co-marketing to serve the viewer better while reaping in increased dividends for both. ALTBalaji and ZEE5 have established their content strength globally, and the synergy resulted in two of the largest home-grown video streaming platforms coming together to expand their subscription base and grow the binge-watching culture globally.

    ALTBalaji has also successfully completed the first-ever syndication of a digital series to a broadcaster with three hit digital shows now airing on prime time television. Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, Baarish, and Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain are now available between 9 pm and 11 pm on Zee TV. This deal helped generate additional revenues via syndication fees and created a larger consumer funnel for us.

  • ALTBalaji completes three years with over 60 original shows across genres

    ALTBalaji completes three years with over 60 original shows across genres

    MUMBAI: ALTBalaji, one of the country’s leading homegrown OTT platforms, has completed three years, continuing to break new ground and setting milestones on its way to further success.

    On the back of an extensive, diverse content library that spans multiple genres, the platform has established a niche for itself in the originals space and played a vital role in inculcating an individual binge-watching habit amongst Indian audiences. Owing to its resounding mass appeal, ALTBalaji has emerged as the fastest-growing homegrown platform with more than 60 originals to its name and aims to  curate more in the coming days. 

    Since its inception, ALTBalaji has been able to stay well ahead of the curve and grab the audience’s attention through its unique narratives, innovative business strategies, and clutter-breaking original Hindi content. Growing from strength to strength, ALTBalaji has today become a major player in the Indian OTT industry and gains further encouragement by the massive spike in subscribers. With a plethora of original content that keeps viewers thoroughly entertained, ALTBalaji has consistently ranked number three in the list of top grossing video streaming apps in the country across the app store (Source: App Annie).

    Adopting a completely different strategy to its competitors in terms of content creation, partnerships or marketing, ALTBalaji is well on its way to profitability. Witnessing its costs getting controlled in the first half of fiscal 2020 and the loss margin further reducing at the end of the current fiscal, the platform aims to break even in 2020-21. With content being ALTBalaji’s biggest differentiator, the platform has reached out to all kinds of audiences across the length and breadth of the country through a healthy mix of thriller, drama, romance, teenage drama, horror, and comedy, among others.

    Giving importance in growing its regional subscriber base, the leading OTT player has a host of its Hindi offerings dubbed in Indian as well as foreign languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bahasa, and Arabic, amongst others. In their endeavor to engage the audience and offer them an immersive viewing experience, ALTBalaji is also working towards strengthening its UI/UX by focusing on aspects like language interface, voice search, targeted retention strategies, tailored recommendations, quick onboarding, and convenient payment gateways.  

    “ALTBalaji, since its inception, has served as a flag-bearer for clutter-breaking original content and shall continue to do so. Being from the house of Balaji Telefilms, which have been catering to the audiences' ever-changing preferences for over 25 years now, ALTBalaji has an advantage like no other with a deeper understanding and familiarity with the viewer’s consumption preferences. By constantly working on an effective content strategy to cater to individuals, we aim to ramp up our original offerings at an exciting pace. Our core focus right now is to capture the Hindi-speaking market through our innovative content offerings along with expanding our regional language content library in the coming years. As we set sights towards breaking even in this new year, we shall continue to keep our viewers as the focal point, build our strategies around them and cement our position as a market leader in the industry,” ALTBalaji CEO and Balaji Telefilms group COO Nachiket Pantvaidya said. 

    ALTBalaji has been a pioneer in starting the trend of original soundtracks in the web-series space. In addition, ALTBalaji also launched some interesting and innovative initiatives; naming a few would be the ‘Breast Buffer’ campaign which was initiated to create awareness against breast cancer. 

    ALT has also renovated a public school during the launch of the school drama 'Class of 2020, providing better infrastructure for the students. Recently, ALTBalaji associated with Impact Guru for a fundraising effort ‘One Meal at a Time’ for the distribution of food to the underprivileged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further enhancing the user experience, the OTT platform brought its most-acclaimed series Apharan to Alexa, enabling its users to listen to dialogues, the trailer and other exclusive content from this successful show. Fans of the show can enjoy and soak in the immersive and gripping experience provided by the suspense thriller, with just a simple voice command to their favorite Echo device.

    Spanning a host of diverse genres, the year saw plenty of ALTBalaji shows garner rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. Mentalhood, the recently-launched drama on parenthood, went on to earn a resounding 8.9 rating on IMDb. On the other hand, Mission Over Mars (M-O-M), the inspirational tale of four women, raked in a rating of 8.6. ALTBalaji continued to keep the thriller-suspense and courtroom drama genre as exciting as Code M and The Verdict – State Vs. Nanavati received a rating of 8.3 and 8.6 respectively.

    In this lockdown period, ALTBalaji has come to everyone’s rescue by entertaining audiences via their diverse bouquet of originals. Its soaring popularity has resulted in the ALTBalaji app, being one of the top three grossing apps in the OTT category, according to App Annie. With recent launches like 'Mentalhood', which featured a talented pool of actors like Karisma Kapoor, Dino Morea, Sandhya Mridul, Sanjay Suri, Shruti Seth, Shilpa Shukla, and Tillotama Shome, 'Who’s Your Daddy?' and 'XXX Uncensored Season 2', the platform has kept the entertainment quotient high. ALTBalaji will continue to do so with planning to launch almost 25-30 shows this year including 'Kehne Ko Humsafar Hai 3', 'Baarish 2', 'Bebaakee', 'Mumbhai', 'Apharan 2' and many more.

  • ALTBalaji raises fund for distribution of food for needy

    ALTBalaji raises fund for distribution of food for needy

    MUMBAI:  ALTBalaji, one of the country’s leading homegrown OTT platforms, has initiated fundraising for the distribution of food for the needy and the underprivileged as the country is reeling under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund will be used to extend a helping hand to the daily wage earners, labourers and the underprivileged who are struggling to make ends meet.  

    ALTBalaji has associated with Impact Guru to support Annamrita Foundation, who are putting their best foot forward towards ensuring that the underprivileged do not go hungry. With the help of the fundraising, ALTBalaji aims to reach out to maximum people to ensure they get their share of meals and are able to survive the lockdown period with dignity. ALTBalaji will be donating Re 1 for every subscription that they get on their app till 30 April and urges the viewers and people across the country to donate to the cause as well.

    The donation page can be accessed here https://altbalaji.impactguru.com/.

    With crowdfunding being the quickest way to collaborate and mobilize support during times of a crisis, ALTBalaji and Annamitra foundation will utilize the funds in buying grocery items such as lentils, rice, vegetables, cooking oil, flour etc., for meals to be distributed. ALTBalaji will be urging its users and followers via in-app notifications, social media posts and other efforts as this is the time for one to give back to the society and make a difference.

    “It is the need of the hour for all of us to show support to each other and society. Through this effort, the aim is to reach out to the masses and appeal to them by leveraging the combined strength of platforms: ALTBalaji, ImpactGuru and Annamitra. These funds will be utilized to feed the underprivileged across cities and we hope our subscribers and followers will also lend their extensive support as we all stand as one in such tough times,”  ALTBalaji CEO and Balaji Telefilms group COO Nachiket Pantvaidya said.

  • Digital marketing becomes mainstay for OTT platforms during COVID-19

    Digital marketing becomes mainstay for OTT platforms during COVID-19

    MUMBAI: The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a spanner in the works of every single organisation. Even as the media and entertainment industry comes to terms with this ‘new normal’, the over the top (OTT) industry seems to have got a thrust. As digital viewership keeps increasing week on week, it is imperative for streaming services to ensure viewers are aware and engaged.

    Right at the beginning of the lockdown, several services opened up their premium content for free viewing. Since there is hardly any chance in the resumption of OOH advertising in the next few weeks or even months, OOT platforms are mulling over innovative ideas to attract and retain customers. In part two of this series, we explore how these platforms are communicating to its consumers who are stuck at home and hungry for good content.

    The BARC-Nielsen report states that VOD viewership on digital is at 3 hours 59 minutes a day in week three of lockdown, with a 12 per cent increase from pre-COVID time. This is being fuelled by movies and original series. Understanding this change, services have shifted their OOH spends to these two mediums.

    On the digital front, ZEE5 is focusing on reach and frequency campaigns along with expertise on entertainment and news websites. “News and entertainment are our two key segments on digital and TV now since people’s attention is currently diverted there. We have moved a lot of our OOH display advertising to the digital medium. We have also started a lot of video advertising,” says ZEE5 India SVOD marketing head Reilly Rebello.

    Voot Select and Viacom18 youth, music and English entertainment head Ferzad Palia is confident that Voot Select, which launched days before the country went into lockdown, has a huge slate of originals that can easily attract consumers. With the ongoing crisis, the aim is to focus on creating awareness. One of the ways is through chat shows with talented artists from their shows. Palia says that Voot had intended to take this approach even without a lockdown.

    According to Palia, the impact lies in how effectively they use the two available mediums – TV and digital – in the crisis as the words need to be maximised.

    ALTBalaji, the streaming service from the house of Balaji Telefilms, struck a deal with Zee TV to air some of its family dramas. The duo also has an OTT partnership in place. ALTBalaji marketing, analytics & direct revenue SVP Divya Dixit says that for them, digital marketing comprises all social media handles, platforms and websites that are being accessed by the audience.

    “We create backlinks across our media communications to ensure our website witnesses a continuous influx of new and existing users. Influencer marketing is another tool that has worked wonders for us and the shows. When you see actors and vloggers talking about the show and the characters directly with their fanbase, it tends to create a personal bond with the audience and engages them in the journey of their favourite characters and actors,” she says.

    She adds that memes have become mainstream and an important and engaging tool for marketers. So, ALTBalaji has incorporated meme marketing as an integral part of its marketing campaigns. “Besides Instagram and Twitter, we also actively use WhatsApp to engage with audiences,” she adds.

    Switching over to digital, ZEE5 has started moving press screenings online. Rebello says that they have sent the key information to reviewers and media people along with a link to a 20-30 minutes preview.

    MX Player launched eight shows in March and the first week of April for which campaigns were seen across social media to create personalised experiences. “We have digital PR, an increase in spends on mobile marketing, optimising performance marketing to reach out to viewers at every possible touchpoint as well as contextual advertising. More so, since our own platform hosts 75 million daily active users, we have used our own internal inventory to cross-promote across categories. It’s more personalised with focused audience buckets,” MX Player marketing and business partnerships head Abhishek Joshi says.

    Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy states that on the basis of the double-digit growth in consumption Hungama Play has noticed on the platform since the beginning of March, it will continue channel marketing spends on the digital medium for the next set of original shows that are ready for release.

    It is an opportune time for streaming platforms to target existing customers as well as attain new ones to sample the content in the hope that not only viewership but also revenue through advertising and subscription will increase over time.