Mumbai: After a successful run with its own original content, Watcho is expanding its selection by offering packages of the most well-liked OTT platforms, giving its customers access to a vast array of new digital material while maintaining the ease of a single subscription.
Through a single login and subscription mechanism, Watcho will provide OTT content from Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, Sony LIV, Lionsgate Play, Hungama Play, Hoichoi, Klikk, EpicOn, Chaupal, and Oho Gujarati.
Subscribers will also have access to a massive library of original content, which includes 35+ captivating web series, UGC content, snackable shows, and live TV from Watcho exclusives. DishTV’s plans will be expanded as more OTT platforms join Watcho to make it a comprehensive entertainment destination.
By juggling multiple platforms, Indian OTT viewers struggle to keep up with the latest content. Watcho’s latest OTT aggregation service lives up to its “One Hai Toh Done Hai” promise, which seeks to deliver the convenience of a single plan and payment package to contribute to the ease of access to maximum content in one place while improving the viewing experience.
Furthermore, as an introductory offer (available for a limited time), DishTV, D2H, and Siti Cable subscribers can use and enjoy the new service for free for one month. Once subscribed, users would be able to access OTT content via the app or web on mobiles, tablets, laptops, and televisions.
Speaking on the launch, Dish TV India CEO Anil Dua said, “As pioneers of DTH technology, Dish TV India has played a significant role in changing the Indian television landscape.”
With rapid digitization, evolving consumer preferences, and a paradigm shift in the industry dynamics, we are moving a step ahead by aggregating video streaming apps (OTTs) and thereby expanding Watcho’s offerings. With Watcho’s new service, we have strengthened our OTT content distribution platform by creating a single subscription gateway that delivers amazing value and convenience to our subscribers.
“With the introduction of these new services, we intend to make Watcho a one-stop entertainment destination with original content, linear TV, and on-demand diverse entertainment anytime, anywhere, and on any screen,” he added.
Dish TV India marketing (DishTV & Watcho) corporate head Sukhpreet Singh said, “Watcho—Our home-grown OTT platform has been steadily growing its reach and crossed the 60 million plus downloads mark at the end of FY Q1 2022. The platform has been working towards carving a space for itself in the competitive and energetic streaming video services industry.”
The industry is brimming with multiple OTT apps, which leaves consumers struggling to search for their preferred content. To address these consumer challenges, we are introducing the Watcho OTT aggregation service that will augment overall digital content consumption at an affordable price point. With this, we want to democratise the accessibility of various OTT platforms from a single platform.”
Disney Star distribution head (International and India) Gurjeev Singh Kapoor added, “We are delighted to associate with Dish TV for Watcho. As Disney+ Hotstar continues to offer best-in-class content, through this association, we look forward to making our vast library of content accessible to new audiences. The consumers of Watcho will be able to binge-watch and enjoy the best of the content of Disney+ Hotstar.”
Speaking about the partnership, ZEEL South Asia alliances and partnerships head Vivek Arora said, “At ZEE5, our endeavour has always been to expand our presence, democratise content consumption and make it accessible to audiences across markets. We are happy to partner with Dish TV for Watcho, which aims at broadening the horizons of digital content consumption in India. ZEE5 offers an invigorating slate featuring diverse content across genres, along with catch-up TV, old classics, and blockbusters across languages. We shall continue to strengthen our connection with the audience through innovations and alliances, offering unique entertainment exposures for an enhanced experience on the platform.”
Speaking on the launch, Lionsgate executive vice president Amit Dhanuka said, “We at Lionsgate Play are elated to partner with Dish TV’s Watcho on their latest bundling offering. With the ever-evolving OTT space in India, app bundling plays an important role in helping brands reach a wider consumer base and will continue to do so in the future as well. With this extensive partnership too, we aim to offer the audience the best of our content at a great price and provide them with an enhanced viewing experience.”
“The digital ecosystem is constantly evolving, and so are consumers. In today’s market, one needs to be present across platforms, and aggregation is increasingly playing an important role in helping users to find what to watch. With Watcho, we hope to expand our premium and multiform offerings to a larger set of audiences across the country,” said EPIC ON COO Sourjya Mohanty.
Adding to this, Hoichoi COO Soumya Mukherjee stated, ” We always aim at making Hoichoi easily and widely accessible to our customers. Being a part of Watcho takes us a step forward in that direction. With this form of OTT aggregation, viewers can access a large number of platforms with just a single login. This adheres to our motive of providing our customers with the most convenient and enjoyable viewing experience and fits into our journey of spreading Hoichoi’s reach to all audiences.”
Angel Television (Klikk) director Abhay Kumar Tantiya said, “We’re extremely happy and proud to partner with Watcho. Dish TV has long been one of the market leaders in the DTH space and has launched an OTT platform, Watcho, which will serve as a marketplace for other OTT platforms. Therefore, we are extremely happy to expand this relationship and push it forward with Watcho. Hopefully, this journey promises to be a memorable one alongside other OTT platforms. We’re looking forward to catering to more people and reaching a greater mass. Only onwards and upwards from here.”
Oho Gujrati co-founder Abhishek Jain commented. “Today, Oho Gujarati is the foremost regional OTT platform in the Gujarat market. With more than 25 original shows, we look forward to adding two new originals every month. After widespread acceptance in Gujarat, we were looking to partner with national players for a bigger reach. Watcho, a venture by DishTV, is a complete entertainment package that offers new and convenient ways of enjoying your favourite shows and movies. We feel that it is the perfect vehicle to reach a larger audience base, and we are glad to be a part of its wide range of offerings. We look forward to entertaining more and more people with exciting Gujarati shows and films across the globe.”
Chaupal managing director Sandeep Bansal said, “Chaupal signifies entertainment beyond boundaries, where regional languages and cultures interact, giving a glimpse of the Indian panorama. At Chaupal, we always believed in giving our subscribers a wealth of choices in terms of new content offerings in their mother tongues—Punjabi, Haryanvi, and Bhojpuri, to begin with. Since its launch in 2021, Chaupal has witnessed a huge surge in content consumption on large screens and connected devices. We are hopeful that the association with Dish TV’s Watcho will further boost Chaupal’s engagement and help its content traverse all barriers of region and language. We are thrilled about the collaboration between both brands.”
Speaking about the association, Hungama Digital Media CEO Siddhartha Roy said, “Hungama Play has a diverse, multi-lingual, and multi-genre library of content. Our association with Watcho enables us to offer consumers wholesome entertainment led by an incredible library of movies, TV shows, and Hungama originals. We are excited to partner with Watcho and are certain that the content experience offered by Hungama Play will delight the consumers of Watcho and also expand the reach of our content to a new customer base.”
