ITV

Tag: Arr

  • Arre to launch new series ‘A.I.SHA – My Virtual Girlfriend’

    Arre to launch new series ‘A.I.SHA – My Virtual Girlfriend’

    MUMBAI: Arre, the digital media brand co-founded by Ronnie Screwvala, B. Saikumar and Ajay Chacko will premiere a new sci-fi thriller series titled A.I.SHA – My Virtual Girlfriend. The platform has associated with Gillette Flexball for the series which will release on 9 April 2016.

    The web series is the story of a relationship between a man and woman…only, the woman is the first-of-its-kind Artificial Intelligence Simulated Humanoid Assistant (A.I.SHA), created by the show’s protagonist, Sam.

    Tech geek and coder Sameer Luthra (Sam) is frustrated with life and his soul-sucking boss (Sid, played by Raghu Ram). A.I.SHA, his secret project, is what keeps him going. A.I.SHA is the best thing that ever happened to Sam. A.I.SHA is beautiful, A.I.SHA is smart. A.I.SHA is also crazy. Can A.I.SHA redeem or ruin Sam’s life? Do we truly understand the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? What if AI was to become self-aware? Is it man and machine or man versus machine?

    Produced by Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman through their first production venture, Monozygotic, Ram will also be seen playing a pivotal role in the show. “I’m very excited to step into creating fiction for the first time in my career with A.I.SHA. With the arrival of a new-age digital media destination like Arré, there is a scope for telling fresh, new, and edgy stories for young people that’ll never be told on TV. I hope the new viewers like what we’ve worked so hard to create,” said Ram.

    Commenting on the association and the initiative, Gillette India country marketing manager Karthik Srivatsan said, “Gillette is extremely proud to collaborate with Arré in launching, A.I.SHA, India’s first digital sci-fi thriller web series. The partnership resonates the core belief at the heart of Arré and Gillette. While Gillette’s core philosophy has always been to innovate, to serve evolving consumer needs, Arré has come up with this modern-age content destination in line with evolving viewership patterns. While, with the recent launch of Gillette FlexBall, Gillette has rebuilt the modern man’s shaving with the revolutionary FlexBall technology that has been specifically engineered to provide a three dimensional motion for the ultimate shaving experience, A.I.SHA is the first-of-its-kind clutter-breaking online series, which we are sure will keep the audience glued.”

    To bring technical authenticity, the series has also partnered with Palo Alto Networks, the next-generation security company,as the cyber security advisers and Dell as the technology partner.

    Watch the trailer of the web series:

    A.I.SHA #MyVirtualGirlfriend Trailer | An Arre Original Web Se…

    Sam is a 26-year-old app developer, a loner and a loser, until he creates the most beautiful app of his life. His revenge on his bullying boss, Sid, is his magnum opus – A.I.SHA. But all is not perfect with his perfect creation. What happens when the app gets a mind of her own? Sam can run, but can he hide from his Virtual Girlfriend? #MyVirtualGirlfriend

    Posted by Arre on Tuesday, April 5, 2016

  • Arre to launch new series ‘A.I.SHA – My Virtual Girlfriend’

    Arre to launch new series ‘A.I.SHA – My Virtual Girlfriend’

    MUMBAI: Arre, the digital media brand co-founded by Ronnie Screwvala, B. Saikumar and Ajay Chacko will premiere a new sci-fi thriller series titled A.I.SHA – My Virtual Girlfriend. The platform has associated with Gillette Flexball for the series which will release on 9 April 2016.

    The web series is the story of a relationship between a man and woman…only, the woman is the first-of-its-kind Artificial Intelligence Simulated Humanoid Assistant (A.I.SHA), created by the show’s protagonist, Sam.

    Tech geek and coder Sameer Luthra (Sam) is frustrated with life and his soul-sucking boss (Sid, played by Raghu Ram). A.I.SHA, his secret project, is what keeps him going. A.I.SHA is the best thing that ever happened to Sam. A.I.SHA is beautiful, A.I.SHA is smart. A.I.SHA is also crazy. Can A.I.SHA redeem or ruin Sam’s life? Do we truly understand the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? What if AI was to become self-aware? Is it man and machine or man versus machine?

    Produced by Raghu Ram and Rajiv Laxman through their first production venture, Monozygotic, Ram will also be seen playing a pivotal role in the show. “I’m very excited to step into creating fiction for the first time in my career with A.I.SHA. With the arrival of a new-age digital media destination like Arré, there is a scope for telling fresh, new, and edgy stories for young people that’ll never be told on TV. I hope the new viewers like what we’ve worked so hard to create,” said Ram.

    Commenting on the association and the initiative, Gillette India country marketing manager Karthik Srivatsan said, “Gillette is extremely proud to collaborate with Arré in launching, A.I.SHA, India’s first digital sci-fi thriller web series. The partnership resonates the core belief at the heart of Arré and Gillette. While Gillette’s core philosophy has always been to innovate, to serve evolving consumer needs, Arré has come up with this modern-age content destination in line with evolving viewership patterns. While, with the recent launch of Gillette FlexBall, Gillette has rebuilt the modern man’s shaving with the revolutionary FlexBall technology that has been specifically engineered to provide a three dimensional motion for the ultimate shaving experience, A.I.SHA is the first-of-its-kind clutter-breaking online series, which we are sure will keep the audience glued.”

    To bring technical authenticity, the series has also partnered with Palo Alto Networks, the next-generation security company,as the cyber security advisers and Dell as the technology partner.

    Watch the trailer of the web series:

    A.I.SHA #MyVirtualGirlfriend Trailer | An Arre Original Web Se…

    Sam is a 26-year-old app developer, a loner and a loser, until he creates the most beautiful app of his life. His revenge on his bullying boss, Sid, is his magnum opus – A.I.SHA. But all is not perfect with his perfect creation. What happens when the app gets a mind of her own? Sam can run, but can he hide from his Virtual Girlfriend? #MyVirtualGirlfriend

    Posted by Arre on Tuesday, April 5, 2016

  • Arre’s first sitcom ‘I Don’t Watch TV’ to launch in February

    Arre’s first sitcom ‘I Don’t Watch TV’ to launch in February

    MUMBAI: Arré, the digital media company founded by Ronnie Screwvala along with B Saikumar and Ajay Chacko, is all set to launch its first sitcom in February 2016.

     

    The show titled as I Don’t Watch TV (IDWT) is a wild comedy on the evolving Indian TV industry. The first season consisting of five episodes is already shot and will launch in February, while the second season is under production.

     

    The show will draw commentary on Indian celebrities and the growing obsession with Bollywood. The show is produced by Nakuul Mehta and will star some of the biggest names from daily soaps.

     

    Directed by Ajay Singh, the show will give a close personal look at the daily soap world through Mehta’s eyes.

     

    Other personalities that will be seen on the show are Drashti Dhami, Karan Patel, Rithvik Dhanjani, Kritika Kamra and Karan Wahi amongst others. The show will also feature Alekh Sanghal and Ram Menon.

     

    Not restricting itself to daily soaps, the show has a humorous cameo by film critic Rajeev Masand.

     

    Arré founder and MD B Saikumar said, “Arré aims to be a multi-genre, multi-format content brand and for the mobile and digital consumer who is increasingly moving away from TV – to that end, I Don’t Watch TV, is perhaps the ideal sitcom to launch our video slate with. We don’t believe in doing the straight and narrow and after Ho Ja Re-Gender, a social experiment on gender issues, we now present IDWT, which is a fictionalised, irreverent, yet realistic look at the idiosyncrasies of the daily soap industry. And Nakuul represents the honesty and the dichotomy of this age – and we’re thrilled that he is so passionate about this project himself.”

     

    Mehta said, “We found a great synergy with the folks at Arré and their backing of disruptive ideas makes them a perfect platform for IDWT. This series is truth meets part fiction meets part bizarre, which in essence is Indian television, today. It has been our labour of love and we have been keen to tell this story for a long time as it is personal and quite intense in a lot of ways, though it’s presented in a humorous and edgy way.”

  • Arre’s first sitcom ‘I Don’t Watch TV’ to launch in February

    Arre’s first sitcom ‘I Don’t Watch TV’ to launch in February

    MUMBAI: Arré, the digital media company founded by Ronnie Screwvala along with B Saikumar and Ajay Chacko, is all set to launch its first sitcom in February 2016.

     

    The show titled as I Don’t Watch TV (IDWT) is a wild comedy on the evolving Indian TV industry. The first season consisting of five episodes is already shot and will launch in February, while the second season is under production.

     

    The show will draw commentary on Indian celebrities and the growing obsession with Bollywood. The show is produced by Nakuul Mehta and will star some of the biggest names from daily soaps.

     

    Directed by Ajay Singh, the show will give a close personal look at the daily soap world through Mehta’s eyes.

     

    Other personalities that will be seen on the show are Drashti Dhami, Karan Patel, Rithvik Dhanjani, Kritika Kamra and Karan Wahi amongst others. The show will also feature Alekh Sanghal and Ram Menon.

     

    Not restricting itself to daily soaps, the show has a humorous cameo by film critic Rajeev Masand.

     

    Arré founder and MD B Saikumar said, “Arré aims to be a multi-genre, multi-format content brand and for the mobile and digital consumer who is increasingly moving away from TV – to that end, I Don’t Watch TV, is perhaps the ideal sitcom to launch our video slate with. We don’t believe in doing the straight and narrow and after Ho Ja Re-Gender, a social experiment on gender issues, we now present IDWT, which is a fictionalised, irreverent, yet realistic look at the idiosyncrasies of the daily soap industry. And Nakuul represents the honesty and the dichotomy of this age – and we’re thrilled that he is so passionate about this project himself.”

     

    Mehta said, “We found a great synergy with the folks at Arré and their backing of disruptive ideas makes them a perfect platform for IDWT. This series is truth meets part fiction meets part bizarre, which in essence is Indian television, today. It has been our labour of love and we have been keen to tell this story for a long time as it is personal and quite intense in a lot of ways, though it’s presented in a humorous and edgy way.”

  • Netflix a damp squib; broadcasters long term gainers: Edelweiss

    Netflix a damp squib; broadcasters long term gainers: Edelweiss

    MUMBAI: While the world is going gaga over Netflix’s simultaneous launch in 130 countries across the globe including India, financial services company Edelweiss is not too impressed, at least in the medium term.

     

    So when all and sundry are trying to predict and second guess the impact Netflix’s launch will have on the over-the-top (OTT) scene as well as on the broadcast industry in India, according to Edelweiss, the impact of Netflix in India will be limited on direct to home (DTH) and cable TV players over the medium term.

     

    Citing the reasons for the same, Edelweiss lists:

     

    1) Netflix does not have local content

    2) Free content is easily available on Erosnow, Hotstar, YouTube

    3) Steep pricing at 2-3x prevailing cable TV/DTH rates

    4) Broadband speed beyond top cities will be a huge challenge

    5) Lack of India cricket matches

     

    The Indian pay TV market is on its way to embrace OTT platforms, especially for sports content, following increasing usage of internet. According to the company, this will be an additional source of revenue for broadcasters like Zee, Sun TV and TV18 over the longer term. “However, most broadcasters already have their OTT platforms and are yet to sign content deals with Netflix,” the company said in its report.

     

    A successful OTT in US:

     

    Netflix is a successful OTT in US as cable TV ARPU is $60 per month versus Netflix’s ARPU of $20-24. Secondly, the US has higher broadband penetration (~80 per cent) with good speed; and original content is dished out by Netflix. However, in India, Netflix currently lacks these advantages.

     

    “Hence, we do not expect Netflix to have any major impact on Indian DTH/cable TV players over medium term. Netflix has a long way to go before tasting success in India,” Edelweiss said.

     

    Pricing, slow broadband key challenges in India:

     

    As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, in India, Netflix’s subscription rates are Rs 500, Rs 650 and Rs 800 for basic, standard and premium packs respectively. “These are 2-3x the prevailing cable TV/DTH rates. Besides, broadband will entail additional costs,” the report added. 

     

    Internationally, Netflix has done well riding attractive pricing, which is almost half the cable TV/DTH rates, and original content. While the company currently does not enjoy these benefits in India, in a bid to attract subscribers, it is offering free services in its first month of operations. 

     

    According to Edelweiss, plans are also afoot to facilitate streaming via laptops, TV, smart phones and tablets. “However, we believe in India where subscribers pay ~Rs250-450 per month for cable TV (includes sports channels), Netflix’s rates are on the higher side. Broadband speed will also be a challenge. Netflix requires minimum speed of 512kbps and recommends 3mbps speed for SD content and 5mbps for HD videos, which further limits its expansion plans,” the report said.

     

    Sports missing, India savours diverse content:

     

    Netflix is currently beaming international TV shows in India along with English and Hindi movies. “The company is currently not offering local content. Sports content, the main driver of the OTT platform, is also not offered. With India being a country with diverse culture it consumes content in eight different languages. Currently, Netflix is beaming only English content which will attract only niche audience,” the report added.

     

    With Netflix’s subscription price being by far the steepest in India as compared to competition, some of whom even offer content for free on their platform, it remains to be seen whether other players up their price, match Netflix’s or continue to offer content at a lower price. That said, with growing competition in the space from the likes of Arré, ALT Digital, DittoTV, ErosNow, HOOQ, Hotstar, Netflix, nexGTV, Sony Liv, Spuul, Voot and YuppTV, Netflix’s content strategy in the near future will be the key differentiator, which will separate the best from the rest.

  • What Indian OTT players can learn from the US market

    What Indian OTT players can learn from the US market

    India’s consumers are just about beginning to experiment with video on demand content delivered over the internet. And a flood of OTT platforms and content creators has suddenly flowed onto the digital highway. Whether it is YouTube or Hotstar or DittoTV or Zenga TV or Hooq or Voot or Arre or nexGTv they have taken their first few steps to understand what consumers want, how they want to consume their content, and how much are they are willing to transact to view that content. 

     

    More evolved OTT markets like the US have already got a headstart and have got immense learning thanks to the availability of fat pipes of bandwidth making OTT almost ubiquitous. Can Indian OTT players learn from those experiences? Some tend to disagree, because the Indian consumer is unique and as different from the American subscriber as chalk is rom cheese. 

     

    But nonetheless for those who want to still find out how the US OTT market is performing and have not managed to get their hands on this study we are encapsulating it for you. Clearleap is a company that works with the likes of HBO, Scripps, and A+E Networks to deliver viewing experiences across screens. It has conducted a survey to learn more about which streaming services US consumers use, what their viewing habits are, and what they value most in an OTT offering. The results offer a look at how average users perceive streaming services, and how they engage with them.

     

    The Key Takeaways from the report are:

     

    Going OTT isn’t an option anymore – it’s a mandate. To stay relevant, reach audiences and grow revenue, content providers need to not only provide a streaming option to consumers, but also address the unique behaviours of today’s younger television viewers. In order to be successful in today’s television market, prospective OTT providers should follow the best practices below:

     

    (a) Ensure a good value. Consumers are willing to pay slightly more (up to $25 per month) if the service has the content they want. Balancing great content and a fair price is the key to attracting viewers and minimising churn.

     

    (b) Make it easy to browse, discover new content, and channel surf. While younger viewers may be more knowledgeable about what they want to watch after they log in, older viewers may not be as familiar with the content available on each service. Improve your user experience by including simple features that encourage discoverability and surface relevant content proactively.

     

    (c) Optimise for screens of all sizes, as tablet and smartphone viewing is significant. Mobile video will only grow in popularity. Get ahead of your viewers’ evolving habits by optimising your service for all screens at launch, and offering apps on key devices such as streaming boxes, mobile phones, and gaming consoles.

     

    (d) Offer tiered pricing solutions to match login-sharing habits. Especially since younger streaming service users are prone to sharing, new services should offer tiered subscription packages that prompt users to pay slightly more to watch content on multiple devices at the same time.

     

    (e) Consider the gaps in the market. While movies and TV series are widely available on Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, live television is missing from the streaming market. Many current streaming service users wanted broadcast channels (41.26 per cent) in their ideal offering, with sports (28.15 per cent), local (20.28 per cent), and news (15.91 per cent) also highly rated by respondents. Content owners should capitalise on the white space by investing in live content that isn’t already easily accessible online.

     

    To Read the full report, click here

  • Arré to launch provocative docu-reality series on gender-swap

    Arré to launch provocative docu-reality series on gender-swap

    MUMBAI: Come January 2016 and the Indian digital landscape is poised to get a new player Arré, which is the brainchild of media veteran Ronnie Screwvala and his A-Team B Saikumar and Ajay Chacko.

    The Arré digital media brand housed under UDigital, has already chalked up its content strategy and is looking at disrupting the Indian digital ecosystem by launching the first digital reality series. The provocative docu-reality series, which is based on the Israeli format Re-Gender distributed by Armoza Formats, gives men and women a chance to experience life as the opposite gender.

    While Arré has not yet zeroed in on the title of the show in India, it will begin shooting the series in two – three weeks’ time at Chhatarpur in Delhi.

    In Re-Gender  six men and women will explore their own nature and the other gender ‘s as well. The series is modeled on a psychological-social experiment, dealing with the essence of the male and female experience, through the other gender’s eyes . The show is a daring social experiment that breaks down the rules of gender perception and challenges society-defined gender stereotypes. In the series, men will become women and the women, men. Through their assignments out in the real world as well as through dynamics with each other in the house, where they will live cut off from the world for a month, the contestants will discover certain not-so-obvious truths about the opposite sex.

    The six participants will undergo intense gender training as well as emotional and physical transformations. Each participant will make a personal journey on the show to better understand themselves and their relationships.

    Armoza Formats founder and CEO Avi Armoza said, “We’re extremely excited about this venture with Arré and to see Re-Gender become the flagship series for this fresh new platform. The issues that the show deals with not only make for riveting viewing but also provoke important discussions in our society.”

    UDigital co-founder and managing director B. Sai Kumar added, “We are hoping to break new ground with a show like Re-Gender on digital media, in India. The definition of gender roles and expectations are evolving everyday and is a much talked about and debated subject in India. We wish to bring our lens to the topic through a first of its kind entertainment series with elements of drama, reality, emotion, new experiences with social learnings all rolled into one.”

  • UDigital launches new brand viz Arré

    UDigital launches new brand viz Arré

    MUMBAI: Ronnie Screwvala, B Saikumar and Ajay Chacko founded digital media venture UDigital has announced a new brand named- Arré. The venture plans to go live with it later this calendar year.

     

    Arré portrays a range of emotions; from the ‘surprised and the questioning’ to the ‘friendly thumbs up affirmative’ to ‘disagreement and protest’ to ‘Arré yaar!’ It crosses boundaries of language, audience groups and geographies. Arré  will be an original  content  destination  which will  be  a  unique  storytelling  platform  across  genres and formats.   

     

    Arré will express itself across mediums, from text to graphic art to podcasts and video in multiple genres such as reality and fiction, factual and opinionated as well as pure entertainment. It is working with collaborators across the spectrum in developing original content;   from   writers,   artists,   journalists   and   storytellers   to   independent   filmmakers, established production houses as well as upcoming talent in fiction, reality and non-fiction genres.

     

    UDigital, managing  director B Saikumar said,  “Arré  was  born  out  of  the  need  to  create  a  truly  disruptive  digital  product.  Our  philosophy  is  to  continuously  challenge  the ‘moulds’ of format, media and structure to create content that is reflective of good storytelling in a digital environment. Much like the name, we hope to make Arré, the brand, a part of daily conversation in India and globally!”  

     

     The word Arré is one of the most commonly spoken Indian colloquial term which signifies ‘Hey’. While its origins are in Hindi, it is an expression that’s not only understood throughout the length and breadth of the country but has also been included in the Oxford dictionary of the English language, as an ‘all purpose Indian-English interjection’.

     

     The accent on the é in Arré is reflective of the varied expressions and emotions that the brand will straddle, as well as its international outlook. 

     

    The logo and visual identity of Arré is being designed and developed by AREA 17, an interactive agency based in Paris and New York. AREA 17 has an acclaimed body of work on international brands in media such as Vice, Quartz, The Atlantic, Style.com, Facebook, Pinterest and more.