ITV

Tag: Arunabh Kumar

  • TVF to launch Barely Speaking with Arnub

    TVF to launch Barely Speaking with Arnub

    MUMBAI: After creating quite a buzz during its last season two years ago and reviving the talk show culture in India, TVF is all set to launch Season 2 of the most watched online talk show in India – TVF’s innovative, popular, iconic talk show – Barely Speaking with Arnub – later this month.

    Created as a parody to a TV talk show, the first season of Barely Speaking with Arnubfeatured leading actors and political icons – from Shahrukh Khan, Ranveer Singh and Parineeti Chopra to the current New Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal.

    The popular online show was built on the same ideology and premise on which TVF was initially created, which was to deliver great and awesome content for its audiences.TVF entered the niche market of online talk shows in 2014 with Barely Speaking with Arnub. The talk show became an instant hit with audiences not just in India, but across the world, with each episode clocking over 2 million views!

    In the growing age of digital media where branded online content has taken off in a big way, the silver screen has realised the importance of the web. Barely Speaking with Arnub provides a innovative platform not just to films and filmmakers for their pre-release promotions, but, also to celebrities to showcase their human, more natural side to their fans, not just in India, but across the world!

    Arunabh Kumar, CEO and Founder of TVF says, “TV Channels have tried a lot of talks shows and the new millennium has seen several established actors trying their hand at hosting one. This led to all of the talk shows being more or less similar in India. From radio to television to print media, every domain has been tried and tested by celebrities to connect to their audiences, but no medium connects them better than digital. When we wanted to create an online talk show, we knew that no amount of marketing or promotions would help if we don’t create a talk show with a difference. And that’s when we decided to turn the talk show format on its head and conceive it as the ‘toughest host a guest will ever get!’

    In the growing age of digital media, where online content is spreading like wildfire, every popular celebrity has recognised the importance and power of the web. Stars and celebrities want to connect to young viewers and that’s where we have managed to hit the nail with the TVF Brand which everyone loves and deliver a talk show that stands out. And more so, it helps them stand up for something they believe in with a smile. TVF created ‘Barely Speaking with Arnub’ catering to the digital audiences’ taste and helping humanise some of the country’s biggest celebrities. In the scores of interviews that SRK gives for his movie promotions, what audiences remember is ‘Barely Speaking With Arnub’. It is also the most watched online talk show in India. TVF also created history in India by getting a politician on the show and talk to us as one of us. With the 2nd Season of Barely Speaking, we want to help get more celebrities from across the field connect to new age Indians and share what they believe in. And of course the host – Arnub with a U — ensures to keep the viewers and guests smiling!.”

    Biswapati Sarkar, Executive Creative Director, TVF added, “The funny thing about the show is not that we are making fun of celebrities or that we are parodying the existing Indian journalism culture. It is the fact there is a show at all and real life celebrities are appearing in it. This season, we have expanded the Arnub universe featuring new storylines and characters in his life apart from the interviews. I’m having a great time right now working with the writers on the episodes and really excited to play Arnub once again.”

    Catch the Season 2 trailer of Barely Speaking with Arnub here – http://tvfplay.com/257c9a

  • Arunabh Kumar inspires the Gurgaon crowd at Signature Start Up Masterclass

    Arunabh Kumar inspires the Gurgaon crowd at Signature Start Up Masterclass

    MUMBAI: Signature Start Up Masterclass session in Gurgaon had the storyteller Arunabh Kumar share his passion to paycheck journeyduring a free-wheeling chat with the witty host Cyrus Sahukar.

    Signature Start Up Masterclass is a celebration of the real life success stories and provides a unique platform to passionate individuals who are looking for the right inspiration and guidance by giving them an opportunity to hear their icons share the story of how they managed to successfully convert their passion into paycheck.

    During the Masterclass session, Arunabh shared his story of how his future was decided for him, when he went to Kota to prepare for IIT and made it in the next attempt, however, he had bigger dreams to fulfil. Arunabh came to Mumbai to work in a US Air Force project when he realised his discomfort of working in a technical environment. Through his alumni network he got the opportunity to work as an assistant to Farah Khan in Om Shanti Om, soon to be followed by a stint in the popular Delhi Belly.

    Eventually, Arunabh started The Viral Fever in 2011 as a production house for branded content and later the desire to make originals shows led him to start the YouTube network. TVF is the first company in the country in the area of Youth Entertainment to create Progressive and New-Age Content. He created India’s first original web content – Rowdies – under TVF’s Online Network for Entertainment, that went viral and with 1 million views in less than 5 days. Presently, the channel has over 185 videos and India’s Two Most successful series – Permanent Roommates and Pitchers, with over 50 million views.

    With a 15 member team, 2 offices, one in Mumbai and the other Delhi, and as the 2nd biggest New Media network in the country for youth entertainment, Arunabh Kumar’s story is nothing less than an amalgamation of inspiration and passion.

    To quote the New Media Entrepreneur, “We all have ambitions and dreams but not many are inspired enough to pursue them and that is the reason I am very happy to be a part of Signature Start Up Masterclass as it helps me in encouraging people to follow their passion no matter how crazy it is.”

    The evening witnessed a remarkable turnout at Imperfecto, Cyberhub, comprising of people who were seeking inspiration to turn their passion into paycheck. Following the interactive session, the audience was entertained by a live performance by the band PCRC.

    Signature Start up Masterclass is headed to Pune on 11th June 2016, with Kunal Kapoor and Varun Sheth. Book your tickets on: http://bit.ly/1X6lNUw

  • Arunabh Kumar inspires the Gurgaon crowd at Signature Start Up Masterclass

    Arunabh Kumar inspires the Gurgaon crowd at Signature Start Up Masterclass

    MUMBAI: Signature Start Up Masterclass session in Gurgaon had the storyteller Arunabh Kumar share his passion to paycheck journeyduring a free-wheeling chat with the witty host Cyrus Sahukar.

    Signature Start Up Masterclass is a celebration of the real life success stories and provides a unique platform to passionate individuals who are looking for the right inspiration and guidance by giving them an opportunity to hear their icons share the story of how they managed to successfully convert their passion into paycheck.

    During the Masterclass session, Arunabh shared his story of how his future was decided for him, when he went to Kota to prepare for IIT and made it in the next attempt, however, he had bigger dreams to fulfil. Arunabh came to Mumbai to work in a US Air Force project when he realised his discomfort of working in a technical environment. Through his alumni network he got the opportunity to work as an assistant to Farah Khan in Om Shanti Om, soon to be followed by a stint in the popular Delhi Belly.

    Eventually, Arunabh started The Viral Fever in 2011 as a production house for branded content and later the desire to make originals shows led him to start the YouTube network. TVF is the first company in the country in the area of Youth Entertainment to create Progressive and New-Age Content. He created India’s first original web content – Rowdies – under TVF’s Online Network for Entertainment, that went viral and with 1 million views in less than 5 days. Presently, the channel has over 185 videos and India’s Two Most successful series – Permanent Roommates and Pitchers, with over 50 million views.

    With a 15 member team, 2 offices, one in Mumbai and the other Delhi, and as the 2nd biggest New Media network in the country for youth entertainment, Arunabh Kumar’s story is nothing less than an amalgamation of inspiration and passion.

    To quote the New Media Entrepreneur, “We all have ambitions and dreams but not many are inspired enough to pursue them and that is the reason I am very happy to be a part of Signature Start Up Masterclass as it helps me in encouraging people to follow their passion no matter how crazy it is.”

    The evening witnessed a remarkable turnout at Imperfecto, Cyberhub, comprising of people who were seeking inspiration to turn their passion into paycheck. Following the interactive session, the audience was entertained by a live performance by the band PCRC.

    Signature Start up Masterclass is headed to Pune on 11th June 2016, with Kunal Kapoor and Varun Sheth. Book your tickets on: http://bit.ly/1X6lNUw

  • TVF partners Furlenco in ‘Truth Or Dare With Dad’

    TVF partners Furlenco in ‘Truth Or Dare With Dad’

    MUMBAI:  While the world is raving about Huffington Post’s digital video series ‘Talk To Me’ that urges children to interview their parents, India’s own digital content and web series pioneer TVF has come up with its own variant of the same, only with an added dose of laughter. Calling it an infomercial, The Viral Fever has partnered with furniture rental brand Furlenco to launch ‘Truth or Dare with Dad’.

    Truth or Dare with Dad is a hilarious sketch between father and son and friend, as they go through a grueling fun game of Truth or Dare.  Starring everyone’s favorite from the TVF team, Jitendra Kumar (lovingly known as Jeetu!) enjoy the infomercial as Jeetu teaches his Dad the game and learns many a new thing along the way!

    Commenting on the launch, Furlenco CEO and founder  Ajith Mohan Karimpana said, “TVF is an immensely popular youth-centric digital content platform in our country, which boasts of more than 15,00,000 viewers. The idea of launching an infomercial with TVF came from a simple thought of introducing Furlenco to the youth of this city as well as all the other metropolitan cities, who are also our target group. We aim to make aspirations of Pune’s aspirers more accessible by providing premium designer furniture on rent. They can now Have Everything and Buy Nothing.”

    Having pioneered the web series genre in India and created two very successful web series Permanent Roommates and Pitchers,  The Viral Fever (TVF) ‘s founder Arunabh Kumar added, “Furlenco has made lives of young working professionals simpler without burning a hole in their pockets. As the fan base of TVF is primarily the youth – this collaboration was really exciting for us.”

    Truth or Dare with Dad is written by Chandan Kumar and directed by Raghav Subbu from Team TVF.

  • TVF partners Furlenco in ‘Truth Or Dare With Dad’

    TVF partners Furlenco in ‘Truth Or Dare With Dad’

    MUMBAI:  While the world is raving about Huffington Post’s digital video series ‘Talk To Me’ that urges children to interview their parents, India’s own digital content and web series pioneer TVF has come up with its own variant of the same, only with an added dose of laughter. Calling it an infomercial, The Viral Fever has partnered with furniture rental brand Furlenco to launch ‘Truth or Dare with Dad’.

    Truth or Dare with Dad is a hilarious sketch between father and son and friend, as they go through a grueling fun game of Truth or Dare.  Starring everyone’s favorite from the TVF team, Jitendra Kumar (lovingly known as Jeetu!) enjoy the infomercial as Jeetu teaches his Dad the game and learns many a new thing along the way!

    Commenting on the launch, Furlenco CEO and founder  Ajith Mohan Karimpana said, “TVF is an immensely popular youth-centric digital content platform in our country, which boasts of more than 15,00,000 viewers. The idea of launching an infomercial with TVF came from a simple thought of introducing Furlenco to the youth of this city as well as all the other metropolitan cities, who are also our target group. We aim to make aspirations of Pune’s aspirers more accessible by providing premium designer furniture on rent. They can now Have Everything and Buy Nothing.”

    Having pioneered the web series genre in India and created two very successful web series Permanent Roommates and Pitchers,  The Viral Fever (TVF) ‘s founder Arunabh Kumar added, “Furlenco has made lives of young working professionals simpler without burning a hole in their pockets. As the fan base of TVF is primarily the youth – this collaboration was really exciting for us.”

    Truth or Dare with Dad is written by Chandan Kumar and directed by Raghav Subbu from Team TVF.

  • How will the new breed of content creators fit in the digital space with big daddies around?

    How will the new breed of content creators fit in the digital space with big daddies around?

    MUMBAI: The beauty of digital is that the younger audience can bubble up digital content for the older audience. With videos and internet becoming synonymous with each other, we tend to consume more information in the form of videos in today’s time. Reports say that Indian content gets roughly 7 billion (700 crore) views a month with a watch time of 2 billion (200 crore) hours. And what is driving this massive consumption, but the younger audience? The market is for all age groups, but is largely driven by the youngsters, the millennials. The space has also created a new age of celebrities. Brands are increasingly looking to tie-up with these content creators. The boundaries of broadcast companies, ad agencies, technology companies, music labels, etc., all are morphing into this new medium of entertainment.

    Discussing the birth of a ‘New breed of content creators powered by digital’ was a panel comprising of The Viral Fever CEO Arunabh Kumar, Rajshri Entertainment Private Limited MD and CEO Rajjat Barjatiya, Terribly Tiny Tales founder Anuj Gosalia, East India Comedy founder Kunal Rao, Click Digital studios co-founder Anand Doshi and Ping Digital Broadcast co-founder and director for talent and acquisitions Anagha Rajadhyaksha. The session was moderated by Qyuki co-founder and MD Samir Bangara.

    With big daddies like Hotstar, VOOT, etc, in the digital space, the question that arises is how is this content going to fit in the space or are they going to get stomped out?

    Kumar responded, speaking about his own company, “Obviously there are people sitting with lot of money above us. But the simple difference TVF has is that we started with videos at the time when no one was even watching them. We remain a content company, we wanted to make certain types of shows which no one wanted to produce and hence we started making web series on our own. We wanted to make web series since 2010. We are in love with creating content. The age group of 18-24 is the progressive audience, and they are bored of the stories that come on TV. We still take time and sweat to make something and still get the same amount of joy when someone appreciates it. I don’t think there is any competition. We are still evolving and I don’t think there is any question of competition with the bigger players”.

    Barjatiya said, “I think this is a very sweet spot for us. We have been producing films since 1947 and 10 years ago we started acquiring rights for content. And now we produce 3 hours of short form content for the web every day. We are a platform agnostic company and we have chosen to become the product on other platforms. We want to be the product on others’ shelves. I will never launch my own platform. We have 100 distribution partnerships with national and international companies and we are happy with this. We have got 610 billion (6,10,000 crore) views on Youtube.”

    When asked about the monetisation model that Rajshri follows, Bharjatiya replied, “Organic ads consumed on a platform like Youtube, make an amount of about 10-20 paise per view depending on various factors which comes up to 55 per cent.” He further revealed that long form of premium content works well for the company. “We are getting more traffic from mobile phones and the ad-rates are also inching up. I have been observing that more and more people are watching content on phones.”

    Doshi said, “I think it also depends on the time that you release your video. It also matters. If I release my video when I see a trend, it works more effectively for us. The fill rate also matters in a country like India. Right now we touch 120 million (12 crore) views every month on our network. The concern is that we get 90 per cent traction from mobile. It’s a beautiful scenario and the future is mobile phones but the ad sales are going down.”

    Citing an example, Doshi pointed out one of the spoofs of Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo, Bharjatiya claimed the content from Anand, and hence monetized it. So, the money was directed to Bharjatiya while the subscribers remained with Doshi.

    When asked about the shift from stand-up comedy to sketch, Rao said, “Our motto is to get people out of cinemas to us. No one reads the ads in newspapers. We wanted people to know that stand-up comedy exits. The objective is to reach out to the maximum people. Initially we had to go to places for our shows, but today we don’t have to go everywhere. Content is content; it does not have to be short or extraordinary. We give out very simple content and have roughly 3,50,000 views on our network.”

    The fact that Youtube subscribers cannot be bought or marketed is very well known to all of us. The delivery platforms are blooming up efficiently which is evident by the growing number of views each of the creators gets in a month.

    “In India, subscription is always connected with money. The subscribers don’t know the cost involved and hence don’t click that button often”, added Bharjatiya.

    “On any OTT platform, you pay first and then watch content. But on Youtube, you can watch content first and then subscribe for it. It’s like giving ‘dakshina’,” said Kumar.

    Ping Network basically produces the ‘how to’ videos and fuels search engines. “We are not in the viral business. Our focus is on utility content. As people want to know things every now and then, that is how we have grown. The power of digital is that you are true to your content. If you are pulling out a video, if it’s powerful and is good, the content will definitely work”, said Rajadhyaksha.

    Gosalia added, “We give out tweet size stories and currently reach out to 12 ½ million (1.25 crore) people on social media. We have collaborated with a lot of brands which comes out in the forms of images. We work with around 30,000 writers. We also do text content for brands. We are primarily focused on quality, commitment and reachability.  Videos are difficult and are completely different for us but they have done well for us in the past. For us to stay in this business where we want to scale stories, we went back to text. We are basically attacking the niche-micro fiction and are taking it global.”

    Talking about the money involved, Kumar said, “Way back in 2008, we used to get Rs 20-30,000 for content. The scale has gone up now. The money involved is couple of times more than a TV episode.”

    “In this business, passion is more important than money”, concluded Bharjatiya.

    With these new breed of content creators powered by digital, content will only evolve and leverage various opportunities in a digital consuming world. It will be interesting to see how the industry meets the talent pool in India over the next few years.

  • How will the new breed of content creators fit in the digital space with big daddies around?

    How will the new breed of content creators fit in the digital space with big daddies around?

    MUMBAI: The beauty of digital is that the younger audience can bubble up digital content for the older audience. With videos and internet becoming synonymous with each other, we tend to consume more information in the form of videos in today’s time. Reports say that Indian content gets roughly 7 billion (700 crore) views a month with a watch time of 2 billion (200 crore) hours. And what is driving this massive consumption, but the younger audience? The market is for all age groups, but is largely driven by the youngsters, the millennials. The space has also created a new age of celebrities. Brands are increasingly looking to tie-up with these content creators. The boundaries of broadcast companies, ad agencies, technology companies, music labels, etc., all are morphing into this new medium of entertainment.

    Discussing the birth of a ‘New breed of content creators powered by digital’ was a panel comprising of The Viral Fever CEO Arunabh Kumar, Rajshri Entertainment Private Limited MD and CEO Rajjat Barjatiya, Terribly Tiny Tales founder Anuj Gosalia, East India Comedy founder Kunal Rao, Click Digital studios co-founder Anand Doshi and Ping Digital Broadcast co-founder and director for talent and acquisitions Anagha Rajadhyaksha. The session was moderated by Qyuki co-founder and MD Samir Bangara.

    With big daddies like Hotstar, VOOT, etc, in the digital space, the question that arises is how is this content going to fit in the space or are they going to get stomped out?

    Kumar responded, speaking about his own company, “Obviously there are people sitting with lot of money above us. But the simple difference TVF has is that we started with videos at the time when no one was even watching them. We remain a content company, we wanted to make certain types of shows which no one wanted to produce and hence we started making web series on our own. We wanted to make web series since 2010. We are in love with creating content. The age group of 18-24 is the progressive audience, and they are bored of the stories that come on TV. We still take time and sweat to make something and still get the same amount of joy when someone appreciates it. I don’t think there is any competition. We are still evolving and I don’t think there is any question of competition with the bigger players”.

    Barjatiya said, “I think this is a very sweet spot for us. We have been producing films since 1947 and 10 years ago we started acquiring rights for content. And now we produce 3 hours of short form content for the web every day. We are a platform agnostic company and we have chosen to become the product on other platforms. We want to be the product on others’ shelves. I will never launch my own platform. We have 100 distribution partnerships with national and international companies and we are happy with this. We have got 610 billion (6,10,000 crore) views on Youtube.”

    When asked about the monetisation model that Rajshri follows, Bharjatiya replied, “Organic ads consumed on a platform like Youtube, make an amount of about 10-20 paise per view depending on various factors which comes up to 55 per cent.” He further revealed that long form of premium content works well for the company. “We are getting more traffic from mobile phones and the ad-rates are also inching up. I have been observing that more and more people are watching content on phones.”

    Doshi said, “I think it also depends on the time that you release your video. It also matters. If I release my video when I see a trend, it works more effectively for us. The fill rate also matters in a country like India. Right now we touch 120 million (12 crore) views every month on our network. The concern is that we get 90 per cent traction from mobile. It’s a beautiful scenario and the future is mobile phones but the ad sales are going down.”

    Citing an example, Doshi pointed out one of the spoofs of Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo, Bharjatiya claimed the content from Anand, and hence monetized it. So, the money was directed to Bharjatiya while the subscribers remained with Doshi.

    When asked about the shift from stand-up comedy to sketch, Rao said, “Our motto is to get people out of cinemas to us. No one reads the ads in newspapers. We wanted people to know that stand-up comedy exits. The objective is to reach out to the maximum people. Initially we had to go to places for our shows, but today we don’t have to go everywhere. Content is content; it does not have to be short or extraordinary. We give out very simple content and have roughly 3,50,000 views on our network.”

    The fact that Youtube subscribers cannot be bought or marketed is very well known to all of us. The delivery platforms are blooming up efficiently which is evident by the growing number of views each of the creators gets in a month.

    “In India, subscription is always connected with money. The subscribers don’t know the cost involved and hence don’t click that button often”, added Bharjatiya.

    “On any OTT platform, you pay first and then watch content. But on Youtube, you can watch content first and then subscribe for it. It’s like giving ‘dakshina’,” said Kumar.

    Ping Network basically produces the ‘how to’ videos and fuels search engines. “We are not in the viral business. Our focus is on utility content. As people want to know things every now and then, that is how we have grown. The power of digital is that you are true to your content. If you are pulling out a video, if it’s powerful and is good, the content will definitely work”, said Rajadhyaksha.

    Gosalia added, “We give out tweet size stories and currently reach out to 12 ½ million (1.25 crore) people on social media. We have collaborated with a lot of brands which comes out in the forms of images. We work with around 30,000 writers. We also do text content for brands. We are primarily focused on quality, commitment and reachability.  Videos are difficult and are completely different for us but they have done well for us in the past. For us to stay in this business where we want to scale stories, we went back to text. We are basically attacking the niche-micro fiction and are taking it global.”

    Talking about the money involved, Kumar said, “Way back in 2008, we used to get Rs 20-30,000 for content. The scale has gone up now. The money involved is couple of times more than a TV episode.”

    “In this business, passion is more important than money”, concluded Bharjatiya.

    With these new breed of content creators powered by digital, content will only evolve and leverage various opportunities in a digital consuming world. It will be interesting to see how the industry meets the talent pool in India over the next few years.

  • OTT – The new El Dorado: Nailing the coffin on television?

    OTT – The new El Dorado: Nailing the coffin on television?

    MUMBAI: With the industry buzz word for 2016 being ‘digital content,’ much has been spoken about the vista of prospects that the medium poses for content creators with figures and studies on rapidly growing digital adex often thrown around in the air. But how much of that talk is really translating into reality for those working in the ‘OTT’ or alternate video content business, was the question raised in the Indiantelevision.com organised Content Hub’s penultimate session ‘OTT: The New El Dorado.’

    Panelists on board the discussion were Alt Digital CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya, Isobar India MD Shamsuddin Jasani, The Viral Fever founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar, Big Synergy director Anita Kaul Basu, and Arré CEO Ajay Chacko.

    Just as the title reflects, while looking at the macro picture of digital media of the future, marketers and content creators often forget to ask the basic questions of budget, sustainable revenue models, relevance in future and of course the return on investments.

    Throwing light on ground reality of the matter, each of the panelists shared their insights and experiences.

    I Don’t Watch TV, the upcoming web series from Arré, and its equally disruptive trailer set the tone of the discussion, which was anchored by Indiantelevision.com founder, editor-in-chief and CEO Anil Wanvari.

    Consciously steering away from being called an “OTT” platform, Chacko stated that their new venture was a content brand that believed in disruptive content. Elaborating on the reason, he said, “Digital, like every media transition we have seen in the past, gives you the opportunity to create different tone of content, be experimental and maybe give form to the next big cliché. The need of the hour is social relevance and we not only churn out radical content but also play around with it within the social context. While we crib or joke about the hackneyed television content and the people behind it, the truth is that it isn’t as much. It’s the hackneyed content revenue that compels them to act in a certain way and our effort is to break free from it,” Chacko shares.

    Expanding on the business model of digital platforms, especially with respect to Arré’s on-demand content arm, Chacko confesses that he hails from a very traditional school of thought that Indian content market is ad-funded. “I don’t see an escape from dependency on advertisers even on digital. However, the nature in which a brand or advertisment interacts with content is changing. We are entering an era of the next level of branded content, which has been mastered by my fellow panelist Arunabh (of TVF fame),” Chacko adds.

    Seconding the new form of branded content and possibilities that it brings for marketers, Jasani shares, “From what I have observed, Indian viewers are inherently inclined to not pay for content and that mindset is not changing in the near future. Therefore, ad-funded content is the way forward. The way people are going to consume video will primarily be on demand. It is an interesting crossroad for advertisers and marketers as well on how to use this new age content. Several brands are open to experimenting with branded content with content creators and even take ownership of the content marketing they do. Agencies, marketers and content creators are coming together to make branded content and share the IPs of it, as well as the revenue the property generates.”

    Moving on from the tug of war between television and the second screen, Jasani projects a whole new dynamic in the near future when viewers will be screen agnostic. “A seamless flow of data and videos that is available on all my devices, be it television, laptop or mobile, is what people want in the near future. Therefore, the whole concept of creating for mobile or creating for television needs an overhaul and creators will need to think from a macro perspective.”

    While Jasani paints an optimistic picture on the investment interest advertisers have in the digital content front, TVF’s Kumar begs to differ.

    While taking a question raised in the post session Q&A round, Kumar comes clear on the ground reality of how an advertiser operating in the current landscape thinks of the digital medium as compared to the traditional medium platform for its advertising spends. “Let me be honest, people say digital spend is growing but that’s all lip-service. This is my observation over the last five years. The major advertisers end up striking a deal with a fancy agency and spend crores on TVCs, while their purses become tight when it comes to the digital video space. If brands were to spare even a single digital per cent of what they do on television, it will be a huge boost to the production budget and quality of what digital creators are making. But right now that is hardly happening.”

    Continuing, Kumar further adds, “When we pitch a show to a brand, we have to make it clear that we are not going to make a TVC. We are not asking money for a 30 sec slot, the content for which you have created and paid for. We are actually going to make your brand an integral part of storytelling so that viewers become fans of the show as well as the brand. I believe that is cent per cent more than what a TVC can do for a brand.”

    Jasani admits the challenge the digital believers have in hand is converting the old school thinkers to see the returns that digital content can give, but is equally confident that the change will follow, as the drastically changing content space will only compel the marketers to evolve or be left behind.

     

  • OTT – The new El Dorado: Nailing the coffin on television?

    OTT – The new El Dorado: Nailing the coffin on television?

    MUMBAI: With the industry buzz word for 2016 being ‘digital content,’ much has been spoken about the vista of prospects that the medium poses for content creators with figures and studies on rapidly growing digital adex often thrown around in the air. But how much of that talk is really translating into reality for those working in the ‘OTT’ or alternate video content business, was the question raised in the Indiantelevision.com organised Content Hub’s penultimate session ‘OTT: The New El Dorado.’

    Panelists on board the discussion were Alt Digital CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya, Isobar India MD Shamsuddin Jasani, The Viral Fever founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar, Big Synergy director Anita Kaul Basu, and Arré CEO Ajay Chacko.

    Just as the title reflects, while looking at the macro picture of digital media of the future, marketers and content creators often forget to ask the basic questions of budget, sustainable revenue models, relevance in future and of course the return on investments.

    Throwing light on ground reality of the matter, each of the panelists shared their insights and experiences.

    I Don’t Watch TV, the upcoming web series from Arré, and its equally disruptive trailer set the tone of the discussion, which was anchored by Indiantelevision.com founder, editor-in-chief and CEO Anil Wanvari.

    Consciously steering away from being called an “OTT” platform, Chacko stated that their new venture was a content brand that believed in disruptive content. Elaborating on the reason, he said, “Digital, like every media transition we have seen in the past, gives you the opportunity to create different tone of content, be experimental and maybe give form to the next big cliché. The need of the hour is social relevance and we not only churn out radical content but also play around with it within the social context. While we crib or joke about the hackneyed television content and the people behind it, the truth is that it isn’t as much. It’s the hackneyed content revenue that compels them to act in a certain way and our effort is to break free from it,” Chacko shares.

    Expanding on the business model of digital platforms, especially with respect to Arré’s on-demand content arm, Chacko confesses that he hails from a very traditional school of thought that Indian content market is ad-funded. “I don’t see an escape from dependency on advertisers even on digital. However, the nature in which a brand or advertisment interacts with content is changing. We are entering an era of the next level of branded content, which has been mastered by my fellow panelist Arunabh (of TVF fame),” Chacko adds.

    Seconding the new form of branded content and possibilities that it brings for marketers, Jasani shares, “From what I have observed, Indian viewers are inherently inclined to not pay for content and that mindset is not changing in the near future. Therefore, ad-funded content is the way forward. The way people are going to consume video will primarily be on demand. It is an interesting crossroad for advertisers and marketers as well on how to use this new age content. Several brands are open to experimenting with branded content with content creators and even take ownership of the content marketing they do. Agencies, marketers and content creators are coming together to make branded content and share the IPs of it, as well as the revenue the property generates.”

    Moving on from the tug of war between television and the second screen, Jasani projects a whole new dynamic in the near future when viewers will be screen agnostic. “A seamless flow of data and videos that is available on all my devices, be it television, laptop or mobile, is what people want in the near future. Therefore, the whole concept of creating for mobile or creating for television needs an overhaul and creators will need to think from a macro perspective.”

    While Jasani paints an optimistic picture on the investment interest advertisers have in the digital content front, TVF’s Kumar begs to differ.

    While taking a question raised in the post session Q&A round, Kumar comes clear on the ground reality of how an advertiser operating in the current landscape thinks of the digital medium as compared to the traditional medium platform for its advertising spends. “Let me be honest, people say digital spend is growing but that’s all lip-service. This is my observation over the last five years. The major advertisers end up striking a deal with a fancy agency and spend crores on TVCs, while their purses become tight when it comes to the digital video space. If brands were to spare even a single digital per cent of what they do on television, it will be a huge boost to the production budget and quality of what digital creators are making. But right now that is hardly happening.”

    Continuing, Kumar further adds, “When we pitch a show to a brand, we have to make it clear that we are not going to make a TVC. We are not asking money for a 30 sec slot, the content for which you have created and paid for. We are actually going to make your brand an integral part of storytelling so that viewers become fans of the show as well as the brand. I believe that is cent per cent more than what a TVC can do for a brand.”

    Jasani admits the challenge the digital believers have in hand is converting the old school thinkers to see the returns that digital content can give, but is equally confident that the change will follow, as the drastically changing content space will only compel the marketers to evolve or be left behind.

     

  • TVF, Ola Cabs & the Permanent Roommates association

    TVF, Ola Cabs & the Permanent Roommates association

    MUMBAI: One of India’s popular YouTube channels and digital producers, The Viral Fever (TVF), is back with the second season of its flagship web series Permanent Roommates . And how!

     

    Touting it as the best web series that TVF has put together so far, TFV CEO and founder Arunabh Kumar has high hopes from this ambitious project. The company is making this production in association with call taxi service Ola Cabs as of Permanent Roommates season 2.

     

    While Kumar refused to divulge any details, a source close to the development guesstimated that Ola has shelled out  an eye-popping Rs 2.5-3 crore for backing the production.

     

    Slated to go online on TVF Play and TVF’s YouTube channel on Valentine’s Day, the new season will consist of eight 30 – 40 minute long power packed episodes.

     

    It will take off from where season one left off — the drama in the lives of Internet’s most-loved fictional characters Tanya (Nidhi Singh) and Mikesh (Sumeet Vyas). The episodes are scheduled to air fortnightly. And the theme is “The Third Kind of Love.”

     

    Kumar expects viewership to touch four – five million per episode, which hardly comes as a surprise given last season’s success.

     

    Launched in October 2014, the web series grossed over 12 million views for five episodes that aired on YouTube, with every episode having more than a million views making it the (claimed) second most watched online long form content in the world.

     

    “Our target is to cater to and retain the three million viewers who already follow Permanent Roommates and maybe expand our viewership by a couple of more million. We have weaved the content so that it is not only a youth-based love story but also has elements of interest for the entire family. We have some surprises for all of them,” adds Kumar.

     

    What’s more, with a big chunk of sponsorship money in, the pressure is on the creative geniuses to up the ante now. Season One had CommonFloor as the brand partner; hence, the home was one of the main protagonists.

     

    Will season 2, see them going around in taxis or make mentions of them using the service like the duo does in the promo that released today?

     

    “We do work really hard in trying to integrate the brand’s value through the storytelling and send across the brand statement through the narrative rather than a product placement in a 10-second shot,” says Kumar.

     

     

    If the guesstimated sponsorship amount of Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore is right, then TVF has a budget of Rs 30-35 lakh per episode at its disposal, which is far higher than the commissioning fees for fictional TV shows on GECS which are in the range of Rs 7 to Rs 15 lakh per episode.

     

    “We generally take six to nine months to complete a production. We pay attention to detail and operate on a crew of almost a hundred people,” explains Kumar, adding that one can’t compare it to television as television mathematics work completely differently.

     

    The latest teaser released by TVF has already created a buzz amongst netizens with over a lakh views in just a few hours. Fans can expect a longer promo from 4 February onwards leading up to the show’s launch on 14 February.

     

    Surprisingly, with a scale this high, TVF continues to confidently depend on word of mouth and social buzz to increase its audience.

     

    “We don’t have any solid marketing strategy in place. We will do what we usually do, post messages on our respective social media accounts and our ever attentive fans will spread the word,” Kumar says confidently.

     

    Having said that, TVF is also looking at dabbling in conversational marketing by collaborating with several partners and maybe go beyond digital and make the shows presence felt offline.

     

    In the new content ecosystem, everything goes, doesn’t it?