ITV

Tag: dittoTV

  • Zee gets aggressive with dittoTV relaunch

    Zee gets aggressive with dittoTV relaunch

    MUMBAI: Media watchers have been speculating for some time about what Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) would do in the live and linear OTT and VOD space with its dittoTV service. The reason: even as rivals Hotstar, Voot and others such as Hooq, YuppTV seemed to be having strategic direction, dittoTV seemed to be going adrift.

    The riposte came from the Zee management yesterday with its announcement that it would be launching dittoTV with a bouquet of 100 plus channels at a price point of just Rs 20 per month.  As part of the relaunch Zee Digital Convergence Ltd (ZDCL) has re-positioned dittoTV as desh kaTV with a promise to make live television available to every Indian via any device – viz phones, tablet or PC. The price gets even more lip smacking for users subscribing for three months (Rs 50), six months (Rs 90) and annually (Rs 170). 

    The platform has tied up with major Indian broadcasters with the exception of the SunTV group and Star India giving it a portfolio of 100 plus Hindi, English and regional language channels, encompassing general entertainment, sports, movies, news and lifestyle on board.

    “With the new avatar of dittoTV, we aim to change the media landscape to suit the evolving media consumption preferences of consumers. It will allow users to control where they watch television in a way that has not been possible before. We are proud to present a platform that will help scale up this transformation by making it affordable for people across a wide economic spectrum,” opines Zeel MD and CEO Punit Goenka.

    dittoTV business head Archana Anand gives the rational for the competitive and low pricing. Says she: “We really wanted to go mass and affordable with this pricing.  We see it serving as your first and only screen, as your second screen or just your TV on the go! Keeping the Indian landscape in the mind, dittoTV will soon be available in all regional languages. A huge aspirational audience of ours is college students who we believe will use this especially given the Wifi in the colleges. They are the specific TGs that we are chasing. We have found that there is a huge need gap in hostels and we intend to be at youth festivals and various events to make sure that ditto is their one stop entertainment destination.”

    She points out to dittoTV’s adaptive technology which will adjust to a range of internet speeds in order to deliver a seamless viewing experience, making it suitable for both urban and rural markets. A broad marketing campaign – which observers say will include TVCs on the Zee network, Siticable and dishTV – has been drawn out to push the #deshkatv and #beeskaTV to the potential target audience.  

    In a bid to encourage sampling of dittoTV, ZEEL has partnered with Birla group owned telecom provider Idea Cellular. Under this, a promotional offer has been drawn up which allows customers in Idea 3G and 4G provider circles to subscribe to dittoTV free of cost, along with select monthly data packs until 31 July 2016.

    “With the rapid rollout of our 4G services and increased penetration of smartphones in the country, we are providing our customers an array of rich digital services to meet their demand for engaging apps and content,” explains Idea Cellular chief marketing officer Sashi Shankar. “TV being synonymous with entertainment for the Indian masses, we are excited to partner with dittoTV to enable consumers to carry their entertainment wherever they go.”

    Anand adds that dittoTV has sewn up carrier billing deals with almost all the telecom providers. Says she: “It’s not just with Idea. But we are glad to have them on board to bundle dittoTV with their data cards.  We have reached out to a wonderful telecom partner for our distribution. They also see this as valid proposition for them because there is nothing more massy which consumes data than TV. They see it as a good service for their subscribers and in the process getting data consumed. So, there is an increased synergy between the two.”

    dittoTV has also reached out to other service providers within the Essel group – Siti Cable and ITZ Cash – to give it a retail push and make it available to subscribers. 

    Will the low rates of dittoTV spark off a price war in this segment? The jury is out. A media observer states that it is quite possible that rivals such as YuppTV, Airtel’s PocketTV may have to reduce what they charge to consumers.  While YuppTV’s larger offering of 200 plus channels (it also offers SunTV channels) is priced at Rs 99 a month, Airtel’s PocketTV is priced at Rs 45 a month for a bouquet of 150 plus channels.  And then there is the Reliance Jio juggernaut which is set to roll with its much larger channel portfolio JioPlay. The pricing for JioPlay has not yet been revealed but observers expect it to bring about a paradigm shift.

    Anand, on her part, is not letting the competitive noise frazzle her. “Reliance is going to disrupt everything in the broadband ecosystem. So I don’t let that worry me at all,” says she. “We are focused on offering our customer a service that’s good and that’s ditto for television, which means, offering television to them wherever they go.” 

    Amen to that!

  • dittoTV to launch new youth centric web series ‘Strugglers’

    dittoTV to launch new youth centric web series ‘Strugglers’

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited’s OTT platform dittoTV has a new feather added to its hat. Zee Digital-Original Content will release a web series titled Strugglers which will go on air from 22 March 2016. The youth centric series revolves around four young boys contemplating a common dream to make a mark in bollywood.

    With only lucky few getting an opportunity to get into the glamorous entertainment industry, the group decides on taking the ‘not so taken’ adventurous road by turning into making a porn movie.

    Catering to the younger mindsets, the 10 episodic series has been divided into two parts. With a long weekend right round the corner, the first four episodes will go on air on 22nd while the rest 6 episodes will entertain the viewers on 23rd.

    The story sheds light on four oddball characters played by Meherzaan Mazda, Errol Marks, Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Ajay Jadhav. They share a common ambition of entering the film industry to which they fail. The group of boys decide on making a porn film in order to gain recognition which kick-starts a great mis-adventure taking them on a roller-coaster ride of sleepless nights, hilarious happenings, devastating heartbreaks and self-liberation.

    Speaking about the new series, DittoTV business head Archana Anand says, “The plot of the series is extremely funny and positive. This is a highly entertaining and youth centric offering and we are hoping to get the audience hooked to dittoTV via a continuous stream of such interesting and engaging series. We have placed it back-to-back so that the viewers can binge-watch the entire series on the coming long weekend”.

    Produced by RPG group, the series might also move to the other channels under ZDCL’s umbrella. The web series will launch simultaneously with its opening episode on Ditto TV and YouTube.

    The platform is focused on markets like the US, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Asia Pacific and some parts of Africa and had recently launched advertiser based video on demand model Ozee.

    dittoTV also plans to carry non-Indian content shortly in the markets where it has been launched.

    With a presence in over 175 countries and a strong content base of over 1000 movies, 4000+ shows and 450+ TV shows, dittoTV has already obtained the largest base for OTT content consumed across the country.

  • dittoTV to launch new youth centric web series ‘Strugglers’

    dittoTV to launch new youth centric web series ‘Strugglers’

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited’s OTT platform dittoTV has a new feather added to its hat. Zee Digital-Original Content will release a web series titled Strugglers which will go on air from 22 March 2016. The youth centric series revolves around four young boys contemplating a common dream to make a mark in bollywood.

    With only lucky few getting an opportunity to get into the glamorous entertainment industry, the group decides on taking the ‘not so taken’ adventurous road by turning into making a porn movie.

    Catering to the younger mindsets, the 10 episodic series has been divided into two parts. With a long weekend right round the corner, the first four episodes will go on air on 22nd while the rest 6 episodes will entertain the viewers on 23rd.

    The story sheds light on four oddball characters played by Meherzaan Mazda, Errol Marks, Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Ajay Jadhav. They share a common ambition of entering the film industry to which they fail. The group of boys decide on making a porn film in order to gain recognition which kick-starts a great mis-adventure taking them on a roller-coaster ride of sleepless nights, hilarious happenings, devastating heartbreaks and self-liberation.

    Speaking about the new series, DittoTV business head Archana Anand says, “The plot of the series is extremely funny and positive. This is a highly entertaining and youth centric offering and we are hoping to get the audience hooked to dittoTV via a continuous stream of such interesting and engaging series. We have placed it back-to-back so that the viewers can binge-watch the entire series on the coming long weekend”.

    Produced by RPG group, the series might also move to the other channels under ZDCL’s umbrella. The web series will launch simultaneously with its opening episode on Ditto TV and YouTube.

    The platform is focused on markets like the US, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Asia Pacific and some parts of Africa and had recently launched advertiser based video on demand model Ozee.

    dittoTV also plans to carry non-Indian content shortly in the markets where it has been launched.

    With a presence in over 175 countries and a strong content base of over 1000 movies, 4000+ shows and 450+ TV shows, dittoTV has already obtained the largest base for OTT content consumed across the country.

  • dittoTV to air Zee Cine Awards 48 hours before its television premiere

    dittoTV to air Zee Cine Awards 48 hours before its television premiere

    MUMBAI:  A great treat for all Indian movie lovers is in store this year, with dittoTV, India’s first OTT platform created by ZDCL (Zee Digital Convergence Limited, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited). dittoTV is all set to show this year’s Zee Cine Awards 48 hours before its television premiere, through its beforeTV feature. With this pioneering move, dittoTV viewers will be on top of things – knowing what their favourite stars were wearing, what they said, the heart-warming speeches, and most importantly,  the winners and the electrifying performances. The awards show, which would be first aired on TV on Saturday, March 5, 2016, will be available for dittoTV viewers on 3rd and 4th of March 2016. 

    Ditto TV business head Archana Anand elaborated,“ dittoTV was developed with an effort to empower viewers to consume their favourite content anytime they want and anywhere they want. With our beforeTV feature, we have been able to take this to the next level by telecasting content even before it hits the tube. We are excited to telecast this year’s Zee Cine Awards two days before its television premiere, and we hope our viewers are going to love it! We look forward to bring more content to our viewers with our beforeTV feature truly saying, ‘Pehle Aap’”

    This year, the award function will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Karan Johar. The event will be in the presence of celebrities such as Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Kriti Sanon, Subhash Ghai, Sonam Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Sushant Singh Rajput and Ankita Lokhande, Rohit Shetty, Vidyut Jamwal, Kajol, Riteish Deshmukh. 

    Apart from the Zee Cine Awards 2016, dittoTV subscribers can also view top rated shows such as Kumkum Bhagya on Zee TV, Dil Dosti Duniyadaari on Zee Marathi and Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai on &TV amongst others. To know more, follow us on Twitter #ZCA2016beforeTV.

  • dittoTV to air Zee Cine Awards 48 hours before its television premiere

    dittoTV to air Zee Cine Awards 48 hours before its television premiere

    MUMBAI:  A great treat for all Indian movie lovers is in store this year, with dittoTV, India’s first OTT platform created by ZDCL (Zee Digital Convergence Limited, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited). dittoTV is all set to show this year’s Zee Cine Awards 48 hours before its television premiere, through its beforeTV feature. With this pioneering move, dittoTV viewers will be on top of things – knowing what their favourite stars were wearing, what they said, the heart-warming speeches, and most importantly,  the winners and the electrifying performances. The awards show, which would be first aired on TV on Saturday, March 5, 2016, will be available for dittoTV viewers on 3rd and 4th of March 2016. 

    Ditto TV business head Archana Anand elaborated,“ dittoTV was developed with an effort to empower viewers to consume their favourite content anytime they want and anywhere they want. With our beforeTV feature, we have been able to take this to the next level by telecasting content even before it hits the tube. We are excited to telecast this year’s Zee Cine Awards two days before its television premiere, and we hope our viewers are going to love it! We look forward to bring more content to our viewers with our beforeTV feature truly saying, ‘Pehle Aap’”

    This year, the award function will be hosted by Shahid Kapoor and Karan Johar. The event will be in the presence of celebrities such as Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, Sonakshi Sinha, Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra, Kriti Sanon, Subhash Ghai, Sonam Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Sushant Singh Rajput and Ankita Lokhande, Rohit Shetty, Vidyut Jamwal, Kajol, Riteish Deshmukh. 

    Apart from the Zee Cine Awards 2016, dittoTV subscribers can also view top rated shows such as Kumkum Bhagya on Zee TV, Dil Dosti Duniyadaari on Zee Marathi and Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai on &TV amongst others. To know more, follow us on Twitter #ZCA2016beforeTV.

  • India’s OTT paid video subscribers pegged at 1.3 million: Frost and Sullivan

    India’s OTT paid video subscribers pegged at 1.3 million: Frost and Sullivan

    MUMBAI: OTT (over-the-top) was the buzzword in the Indian media and entertainment sector in 2015 with multiple players firming up their game plan to tap into the lucrative and booming digital space. With the emergence of numerous OTT service providers in the past two years coupled with the entry of Netflix in India, the space is poised to grow at a fast pace in the years ahead.

    According to Frost and Sullivan’s market insight on the OTT video market in India, there are about 66 million unique connected video viewers in India every month, and about 1.3 million OTT paid video subscribers. Growth in the space can be attributed to increase in smart-phones penetration as well as the improvement in Internet speed in India.

    Despite facing several challenges today, the OTT market growth will be fuelled by various disruptive innovations in technology and business models over the next five years, as per Frost and Sullivan. 

    “With an increase in the use of smart devices in India, content owners and aggregators are using non-TV platforms to improve reach and generate revenues through subscription and advertisement. However, it’s hard to woo the Indian consumer. Success in OTT video distribution will depend on the ability to offer variety of content, new content, at a reasonable price and impeccable user experience,” said Frost and Sullivan research director Vidya Subramanian Nath. 

    While today a few broadcasters such as the Star TV Network and Zee Entertainment are driving services as well as viewership for OTT video with Hotstar and DittoTV respectively, over the next five years, there will be more broadcasters as well as cable and DTH operators expanding their OTT services. However, inadequate bandwidth speeds and the incumbency of YouTube in the market have challenged market participants.

    “India may have over 225 million Internet users, but for consuming video, one needs high-speed broadband access and only about 35 per cent of these users have access to it, informed Nath. “OTT video subscription numbers fluctuate dramatically every month. We find that advertising video on demand (AVOD) is the most preferred mode of OTT video delivery in India currently,” she said.

    Among content types, there is an increasing demand for short duration video content. This is primarily attributable to the average low Internet speeds and changing preferences of many Indian viewers. It is common to find online viewership peak during major sports events like the IPL, elections, or breaking news.

    Platforms such as YouTube offer opportunities for independent content creators who can publish their videos online without the hassles of negotiation with large networks. Now, with the entry of Netflix in India, independent professional content production will continue to grow. Broadcasters who have their own content or video platforms with a variety of publishers are driving the market. While Viacom18 is all set to launch its service called VOOT next month, Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms is also burning the midnight oil to launch its OTT platform – ALT Digital by June this year. Balaji Telefilms CEO Sameer Nair has huge expectations from the platform and expects ALT Digital to have a whopping four million paid subscribers globally by 2020. 

    With substantial investment being pumped in by companies like by Star India (Hotstar), Sony Pictures Networks India (Sony Liv), Zee Enterprises (dittoTV), Eros International (ErosNow) and Singtel, Sony & Warner (HOOQ) amongst others, the competition in the OTT space is set to intensify with the key differentiators being user experience and variety of content offering.

  • India’s OTT paid video subscribers pegged at 1.3 million: Frost and Sullivan

    India’s OTT paid video subscribers pegged at 1.3 million: Frost and Sullivan

    MUMBAI: OTT (over-the-top) was the buzzword in the Indian media and entertainment sector in 2015 with multiple players firming up their game plan to tap into the lucrative and booming digital space. With the emergence of numerous OTT service providers in the past two years coupled with the entry of Netflix in India, the space is poised to grow at a fast pace in the years ahead.

    According to Frost and Sullivan’s market insight on the OTT video market in India, there are about 66 million unique connected video viewers in India every month, and about 1.3 million OTT paid video subscribers. Growth in the space can be attributed to increase in smart-phones penetration as well as the improvement in Internet speed in India.

    Despite facing several challenges today, the OTT market growth will be fuelled by various disruptive innovations in technology and business models over the next five years, as per Frost and Sullivan. 

    “With an increase in the use of smart devices in India, content owners and aggregators are using non-TV platforms to improve reach and generate revenues through subscription and advertisement. However, it’s hard to woo the Indian consumer. Success in OTT video distribution will depend on the ability to offer variety of content, new content, at a reasonable price and impeccable user experience,” said Frost and Sullivan research director Vidya Subramanian Nath. 

    While today a few broadcasters such as the Star TV Network and Zee Entertainment are driving services as well as viewership for OTT video with Hotstar and DittoTV respectively, over the next five years, there will be more broadcasters as well as cable and DTH operators expanding their OTT services. However, inadequate bandwidth speeds and the incumbency of YouTube in the market have challenged market participants.

    “India may have over 225 million Internet users, but for consuming video, one needs high-speed broadband access and only about 35 per cent of these users have access to it, informed Nath. “OTT video subscription numbers fluctuate dramatically every month. We find that advertising video on demand (AVOD) is the most preferred mode of OTT video delivery in India currently,” she said.

    Among content types, there is an increasing demand for short duration video content. This is primarily attributable to the average low Internet speeds and changing preferences of many Indian viewers. It is common to find online viewership peak during major sports events like the IPL, elections, or breaking news.

    Platforms such as YouTube offer opportunities for independent content creators who can publish their videos online without the hassles of negotiation with large networks. Now, with the entry of Netflix in India, independent professional content production will continue to grow. Broadcasters who have their own content or video platforms with a variety of publishers are driving the market. While Viacom18 is all set to launch its service called VOOT next month, Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Telefilms is also burning the midnight oil to launch its OTT platform – ALT Digital by June this year. Balaji Telefilms CEO Sameer Nair has huge expectations from the platform and expects ALT Digital to have a whopping four million paid subscribers globally by 2020. 

    With substantial investment being pumped in by companies like by Star India (Hotstar), Sony Pictures Networks India (Sony Liv), Zee Enterprises (dittoTV), Eros International (ErosNow) and Singtel, Sony & Warner (HOOQ) amongst others, the competition in the OTT space is set to intensify with the key differentiators being user experience and variety of content offering.

  • DittoTV names Archana Anand as business head

    DittoTV names Archana Anand as business head

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) OTT platform DittoTV has appointed Archana Anand as business head.

    Anand steps into the shoes of erstwhile head Manoj Padmanabhan, who put in his papers at the company last month.

    The appointment comes at a time when the OTT industry is at an influx point with competition from the likes of Netflix, Hotstar, Sony Liv, ErosNow et al hotting up. In such a scenario, Zee is looking to focus on DittoTV with renewed strategy in order to have a substantial global offering in the space. 

    Anand comes with close to 20 years of experience across domains. 

    In her previous role as Zee Digital Convergence vice president and head of global business development, Anand had under her gamut responsibilities such as business development, client relationship, product ideation and execution and all of the allied marketing campaigns.

    Prior to Zee, Anand was with OnMobile Global as director and head of information and entertainment services.

  • DittoTV names Archana Anand as business head

    DittoTV names Archana Anand as business head

    MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (ZEEL) OTT platform DittoTV has appointed Archana Anand as business head.

    Anand steps into the shoes of erstwhile head Manoj Padmanabhan, who put in his papers at the company last month.

    The appointment comes at a time when the OTT industry is at an influx point with competition from the likes of Netflix, Hotstar, Sony Liv, ErosNow et al hotting up. In such a scenario, Zee is looking to focus on DittoTV with renewed strategy in order to have a substantial global offering in the space. 

    Anand comes with close to 20 years of experience across domains. 

    In her previous role as Zee Digital Convergence vice president and head of global business development, Anand had under her gamut responsibilities such as business development, client relationship, product ideation and execution and all of the allied marketing campaigns.

    Prior to Zee, Anand was with OnMobile Global as director and head of information and entertainment services.

  • Ditto TV goes OTT first with ‘before TV’

    Ditto TV goes OTT first with ‘before TV’

    MUMBAI: Zee Digital Convergence Limited’s Over The Top (OTT) platform DittoTV now allows viewers to enjoy their favourite content from the channels under Zee Group before airing it on television through their new feature titled ‘before TV’.

    The feature is in line with the company and group’s continued focus on content and service innovations for the consumers.

    Talking about this new initiative, ZDCL CEO Debashish Ghosh said, “The fact that more and more people are finding it easy to cut away from appointment viewing and watch their chosen entertainment anytime, anywhere, has only driven consumer expectations higher and upped the ante for OTT platforms the world-over. While, original content will remain one of the key drivers and focus of DittoTV’s global operations, serious innovations will help give our consumers something new and engaging all-the-time, every time. before TV is one such step in this direction.”

    The company has recently created an original content titled as Life is Music and also plans to launch music based documentary titled as Chords of Change, which will feature musicians narrating their stories of their struggle and registering their protest in various zones across the country through their music.

    The platform is focused on markets like the US, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Asia Pacific and some parts of Africa. It will also carry non-Indian content shortly in the markets where it has been launched.