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Tag: Eros Now

  • Voot, EROS Now part of UK’s first ever on-demand Asian TV apps pack by Virgin TV

    Voot, EROS Now part of UK’s first ever on-demand Asian TV apps pack by Virgin TV

    MUMBAI: Virgin TV has become the UK’s first ever Pay TV provider to add an on-demand library of films and shows through two Asian entertainment apps.

    The Desi App Pack, which Virgin TV customers can add to their package from Thursday 28th February 2019, brings together two of India’s biggest entertainment apps – Eros Now and Voot – into an easy to access apps pack that allows TV viewers to watch a range of shows and movies at a click of a button.

    There are multiple hours of content for viewers to watch which is available in more than 10 languages.

    Voot is home to exclusive original productions including It’s Not That Simple, Feet Up with the Stars and hit shows Bigg Boss, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Silsila Badalte Rishton Ka amongst others and over 400 movies.

    Eros Now has a blockbuster library of more than 12,000 films including original productions such as Operation Cobra and Enaaya.

    Those who currently have Asian Mela TV as part of their subscription can add the service for just £6 per month. It is £12 per month for all other customers.

    Customers can add the service though their TV set box or over the phone. To access the Desi App Pack, customers will need a V6 box and go to channel 800 and press the red button on their remote.

    Over the past year Virgin TV has invested and bolstered its Asian TV offering with new channels and upgraded many standard definition channels to HD.

    David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said: “We designed our V6 TV box to work seamlessly with on demand apps such as Netflix and to maximise the power of our fibre network for instantaneous access to the limitless programming available on demand. The addition of the Desi apps further strengthens our lead in the on demand viewing experience”

    Commenting on the integration deal, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO – Eros Digital said: “With increasing consumption of cross border content and popularity of Indian films, we are excited to announce our collaboration with Virgin Media. Eros Now is the largest South Asian Video Service with close to 16M paid subscriber’s world over and the United Kingdom is one of our primary international markets. We are happy to cater to this growing community with best of Indian content and remain focused on expanding our global presence by exploring opportunities to connect with local audiences.”

    Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO & MD, Viacom18 said: “The UK consists of a vibrant Asian diaspora and is indeed one of our stronger overseas markets. Virgin TV’s Desi Apps pack is a winning proposition for all involved – consumers can now view the best of entertainment, on demand on VOOT, and it opens up an entire range of audiences for our content as well.”

  • Eros Now partners with Vindicia to further enhance the entertainment experience

    Eros Now partners with Vindicia to further enhance the entertainment experience

    MUMBAI: Today at Mobile World Congress, Vindicia, an Amdocs company (NASDAQ: DOX) and a leader in business-to-consumer digital services monetization, announced that Eros Now, a cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform has selected Vindicia CashBox to enhance consumer experience. Through this alliance Vindicia CashBox will help in accelerating the subscriber growth of Eros Now around the world.

    Eros Now offers a vast library of over 12,000 Indian films, music videos, TV shows, original web-series and short-format content to more than 142 million registered users and 15.9 million paying subscribers. The platform delivers the best blockbuster movies in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Punjabi as well as Indian music, music videos, high-end digital original series and the recently launched Eros Now Quickie, a new short-form content segment.

    Commenting on the strategic alliance, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO – Eros Digital said, “Eros Now has been a front-runner with its technological advancement and the only Indian player to have global reach. This alliance with Vindicia will enhance the consumer experience and offer seamless transaction capabilities. With changing consumer dynamics, the association will also help to provide subscriber intelligence that will bring business agility to continuously boost the overall video watching experience, thus driving consumer retention, global connecting and increasing subscriber growth.”

    Watch Ali Hussein, Chief Operating Officer at Eros digital, highlighting how Vindicia CashBox will enable Eros Now enhance consumer experience.

    “With the continued and growing traction of our media business in the Asia Pacific region, we are thrilled that Eros Now has selected Vindicia CashBox to support all aspects of their digital subscription business requirements,” said Darcy Antonellis, head of Media, Amdocs. “With the implementation of CashBox, Eros Now can immediately start to reallocate resources from digital services monetization to more strategic areas as they expand their offerings both within India and internationally, enabling them to more effectively sign-up new customers and retain existing ones.”

    As a leading provider in the entertainment technology space, Amdocs continues to execute on its media strategy, helping its customers deliver premium content services across multiple channels and capture a leading position in the digital economy. Vindicia CashBox is an extension of this industry leadership and addresses the demands of OTT and Internet companies to provide enhanced digital experiences while also driving higher subscription revenue growth.

    Vindicia CashBox is a SaaS-based digital subscription platform for digital goods that accelerates business growth via data-driven insights, improved customer acquisition and extreme ease of use for subscribers. Other benefits include scalability and reliability; big data and AI-based analysis; go-to-market flexibility; international and multiple payment options; and finance, tax and anti-fraud capabilities.

  • Eros Now, Jean-Claude Biguine India collaborate

    Eros Now, Jean-Claude Biguine India collaborate

    MUMBAI: Eros Now, the cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform owned by Eros International, a global Indian entertainment company, has announced a special partnership with French salon and spa chain, Jean-Claude Biguine (JCB).  In India, where the entertainment industry influences beauty trends, this strategic alliance offers Jean-Claude Biguine India’s clients access to the world of entertainment through the OTT player’s massive library of over 11,000 films, original web-series, music, and short-format content – Eros Now Quickie.

    Customers utilising services at the premium salon chain can now further enhance their ‘me time’ experience while indulging in beauty regime by enjoying compelling content from across genres. The offer of an Eros Now premium subscription will be available across all JCB outlets in India to JCB’s paying customers.

    Commenting on the partnership, Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said, “Eros Now has emerged as a market leader in curating special plans to cater to the growing demand for digital content. We always work towards creating innovative partnerships to reach a diversified audience. This alliance with Jean-Claude Biguine India brings together the best of both worlds – entertainment and beauty – and works as a gateway for beauty enthusiasts to enjoy unlimited entertainment on Eros Now.”

    Jean-Claude Biguine India CEO Samir Srivastav said, “It is our constant endeavour to promote client delight and experiences at Jean-Claude Biguine Salons. It also means stepping up to become more cognizant of potential needs. With a constant rise in digital engagements through interactive, entertainment apps, it was befitting for us to join hands with Eros Now. Through this initiative, we also hope to effectively add more value to the long-standing relationships with our clients.”

  • Eros Now’s Original Web-Series Smoke Nominated at the Prestigious South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Film Festival 2019

    Eros Now’s Original Web-Series Smoke Nominated at the Prestigious South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Film Festival 2019

    MUMBAI: Eros Now, the cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform owned by Eros International Plc, a Global Indian Entertainment Company, announced today that its original web-series Smoke, which was released on October 26, 2018, has been nominated by SXSW Film Festival 2019 in the ‘Title Design Category.’

    The 2019 SXSW Film Festival celebrates the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries.  As an essential destination for global professionals, the event features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities. South By Southwest dedicates itself to honoring individuals and companies that create the most innovative, creative, and inspirational work in their respective fields. The festival is scheduled to take place between March 8 – 17, 2019. The crime-drama series – Smoke is contending with the likes of Aquaman, Black Panther, Deadpool 2, Spiderman Homecoming, Mowgli, Sacred Games, amongst othersunder the Title Design Category. 

    Commenting on the nomination, RidhimaLulla, Chief Content Officer, Eros Group said, “We are delighted for this significant recognition at prestigious SXSW 2019. The nomination of Smoke at SXSW Film Festival 2019 supports Eros Now’s endeavours to offer innovative and path breaking content for its global viewers. The powerful performances by the actors, along with the skilful writing and direction makes it a strong contender for the award.”

    Smoke was the first and only Indian original web-series that was premiered at MIPCOM 2018, Cannes, under the ‘Made in India Originals’ category. The 11-episode series garnered rave reviews from the audience with an 8.9 IMDB rating. The series is directed by Neel Guhaand features India’s finest actors such as KalkiKoechlin, Jim Sarbh, GulshanDevaiah, MandiraBedi, Neil Bhoopalam, AmitSial, Satyadeep Mishra and the late Tom Alter.
     

  • Manav Sethi joins Eros International as group CMO

    Manav Sethi joins Eros International as group CMO

    MUMBAI: Former ALTBalaji chief marketing officer Manav Sethi has joined content powerhouse Eros International, Indiantelevision.com has reliably learnt. In his latest gig, the senior executive has been handed the role of group chief marketing officer, reporting into CEO Eros Digital Rishika Lulla.

    Sethi joined ALTBalaji in January 2017. He created and implemented brand strategies to build awareness and loyalty of the platform.

    His experience spans over fifteen years in managing and scaling up teams across product, engineering, technology, and marketing both at national and international levels.

    Before taking up the high-profile role at ALTBalaji, he worked with ASKME.com. Sethi has also played a key role in various business verticals of Reliance Big Entertainment.

  • Eros Now named ‘Best OTT Platform of the Year 2019’ at British Asian Media Awards

    Eros Now named ‘Best OTT Platform of the Year 2019’ at British Asian Media Awards

    MUMBAI: Eros Now, over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform owned by Eros International Plc, won the prestigious ‘Best OTT Platform of the Year 2019’ at the British Asian Media Awards.

    The prestigious award was presented to Eros Now at a ceremony held at the renowned Kings College, London in the presence of several prominent personalities, including Lord Swraj Paul, for entertaining South Asian audiences by offering an unparalleled library of over 11,000 films, original web-series, music and short format content.

    The British Asian Media Awards aim to acknowledge emerging trends and felicitate campaigns that have transcended and connected with the South Asian audience through various mediums. Eros Now, referred to as one the pioneers in the OTT category for its exclusive and compelling content, caters to all age groups.

    Commenting on the prestigious win, Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said, “We are delighted for this significant recognition at the British Asian Media Awards. This demonstrates Eros Now’s unprecedented leadership and popular offering for the South Asian diaspora. The win further emphasizes our constant endeavour to deliver the best of entertainment to the growing demand for digital content.”

  • Eros Now Expands its Presence in Indonesia Through Partnership with XL Home of XL Axiata

    Eros Now Expands its Presence in Indonesia Through Partnership with XL Home of XL Axiata

    MUMBAI: Eros International PLC (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, announced today that Eros Now, its cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform, has partnered with major cellular provider XL Axiata’s  home entertainment and fibre optic internet offering – XL Home in Indonesia.

    XL Axiata is a part of the Axiata Group, which offers an array of innovative telecommunications products and services ranging from voice, SMS and Value-Added Services (VAS) to mobile data covering more than 93% of the population throughout Indonesia and having a robust subscriber base of 53.9 million. With the rise of more choices in viewing content habits, XL Axiata has recently launched XL Home, a home broadband entertainment service, backed with speedy and stable fibre optic internet connection that allows customers to choose their favourite entertainment and pay for the content or television channels they prefer.

    This association further leverages the platform’s global position and cements Eros Now’s presence in key emerging markets like Indonesia. Indonesia is one of many countries in Asia with a thriving community of Bollywood film fans. The partnership between Eros Now and XL Home will allow consumers easy access to home entertainment with fibre optic internet, offering Eros Now’s massive library of over 11,000 films, original shows and music videos. From classics like Ram Aur Shyam to blockbusters like Devdas, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and Bajirao Mastani, consumers will have access to a wide array of quality entertainment at a monthly subscription of IDR 26,000 ($1.79 USD) and an annual subscription of IDR 260,000 ($17.93 USD). 

    Commenting on the association, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital said, “We want to continue creating strong differentiated content strategies and cater to the growing influence of Indian content worldwide. The collaboration with XL Home enables Eros Now to expand its reach to a larger consumer base in Indonesia who can enjoy their favorite Indian entertainment content on XL Home.”

    XL Axiata's Director or Corporate Strategy and Business Development, Abhijit Navalekar, said, "XL Home is enthusiastic in forming a partnership with Eros Now, in order to, mutually, providing high quality content for XL Home customers. Through this partnership, we also want to show our dedication and commitment in providing comprehensive and relevant content. Supported by high speed and stable fibre optic internet connection, we are optimistic in providing fantastic XL Home experience to our customers."

    As previously announced in September of this year, Eros Now entered the Indonesian market through a distribution partnership with Xiaomi’s Mi TV. The integration with XL Axiata further affirms Eros Now’s penetration strategy in the Indonesian market.

  • Eros Now Begins Production of Original Series FLESH starring Swara Bhasker

    Eros Now Begins Production of Original Series FLESH starring Swara Bhasker

    MUMBAI: Eros International PLC (NYSE: EROS) (“Eros”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, announced today that Eros Now, its cutting edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform, has launched another intriguing and compelling original web series, FLESH. A provocative human drama starring a spectacular ensemble cast of Swara Bhasker, Akshay Oberoi, Vidya Malvade, Kavin Dave and Yudhishtir Urs among others began production this month for an early 2019 release. The series is being co-produced by Siddharth Anand and directed by Danish Aslam of Break ke Baad fame.

    The gritty series is set against the global human trafficking industry and how a belligerent cop, played by Swara Bhasker, neglects the law and takes matters into her own hands.

    Written by Pooja Ladha Surti, best known for her work on acclaimed films like Andhadhun, Badlapur, Phobia, Ek Hasina Thi amongst others, Pooja has etched yet another captivating narrative around the dark world of human trafficking.

    Commenting on the new series, Ridhima Lulla, Chief Content Officer, Eros Group said, “We continue to build our focus on providing a unique experience in the digital world with captivating stories backed by skilled talent. We want the consumers’ digital experience to be defined by creating strong, extraordinary and unforgettable content. Flesh is a flagship Eros Now show that promises to have all the gripping elements to hook audiences”. 

    Producer Siddharth Anand, added “It’s a definite high point to produce such an incredible series with Eros Now and we want to present a perfect blend of dark reality and entertainment through Flesh. The superb script, cast, genre and drama are the key ingredients that will keep the viewers captured till the end”.

    Talking about her new web series, Swara Bhasker said, “To associate with brave, bold, relevant and impactful characters and projects is a dream for any passionate actor. I am delighted to become a part of Flesh and looking forward to working with this fantastic and talented crew. For the first time in my career, I am playing a cop and my fans will be witnessing a new version of myself in this Eros Now original series.”

  • OTT platforms chasing the regional pie

    OTT platforms chasing the regional pie

    MUMBAI: It isn't just the broadcast sector that's woken up to the call of the regional, but even the budding over the top (OTT) platforms.

    On the stage of Vidnet 2018, hosted by Indiantelevision.com, experts from India’s leading OTT platforms were present. Voot Originals head and VP Viacom Tanya Bami, Eros Now VP editorial and content strategy Piyush Bhatia, monozygotic CEO Ravi Luthria, Arre Sharan Budraja and Spuul content head Girish Dwibhashyam shared their views on the state of content on OTT. The panel was moderated by Monozygotic founder Rajiv Laxman.

    Dwibhashyam highlighted about Spuul’s SVOD format and said that initially its primary focus was largely outside India but over a period of time, it captured users in India as well. According to him, currently, long form and live television are more suited for SVOD and for short form content which is less than 10 minutes, AVOD is the way to go. He added, “Earlier, viewership used to come from Mumbai, Delhi metro belt but in the last 9-10 months the consumption has started coming in from the small towns for regional languages like Bhojpuri, Punjabi and that is the trend that we are observing these days. So our focus in India will be more in vernacular languages as we believe that the next 400 million internet users will be different from people right now and they will largely speak vernacular language and would want to watch the content in their own language rather than English language.”

    Bami agreed to Dwibhashyam's point about Indian audiences getting inclined towards regional content. She said, “Half of the population is supposed to parallelly grow by 23 per cent in the next couple of years. So, those are people moving away from TV and if they were to watch TV, they will be already on Voot.” Furthermore, according to her, people are moving away from conventional mainstream content and are looking at the international channels and OTT platforms and those are the stories that are offered in regional languages which will gain traction from the viewers. “So the attempt is to move into pure-play storytelling and that will attract newer audiences to the ones who are digital natives. So to top-up the footfall that we may have is why we would go SVOD. Each show will attract the audiences like we did a very big experiment with a popular show on MTV, Kaisi ye Yaariyan, by bringing it on Voot.”

    Throwing light on the original content on the platforms, Bami said that serving original content is a must, but content strategy is also important. She said that the platform will be able to maximise and juice it up around content like extra dose, or behind the scenes or probably any sort of engaging content to the audiences will attract eyeballs. She explained by giving an example of Bigg Boss’s content strategy on Voot with Video Vichaar.

    Commenting on the same, Bhatia also added that original content is everyone’s primary focus on every OTT platform. While Luthria said the industry should get into more collaborations and developing content base because that will drive the industry. “Three years down the line you see the problem coming in that there are so many things happening. Also, if you are saying that there is no consolidation, then there will be more disruptive content because everyone will be running behind the same pie. So, I suggest there should be collaborative, creative content development.”

    Dwibhashyam concluded by saying that the Bible for content for OTT will be the internal consumption dashboard. “I think the future is going to be where we have seen it with Netflix or Amazon that how they used their internal data, that every platform today knows what content is actually getting consumed and what type of content works basically and in future consumers are going to see the stuff that they would like to watch.”

  • Eros Now Joins Freesat’s OTT Line-up

    Eros Now Joins Freesat’s OTT Line-up

    MUMBAI: Eros International PLC (NYSE: EROS) (“Eros”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, announced today that Eros Now, its cutting edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform, is now available to Freesat consumers across the UK for a subscription fee of £5.99 per month.  Freesat is the UK’s leading subscription-free satellite TV platform with a reach of over 2 million households. With over 128 million registered users and 13.0 million paying subscribers as of September, 30th 2018, Eros Now offers the largest library of over 11,000 Indian films, music videos, TV shows and originals. 

    Eros Now is the number one destination for Bollywood (Hindi) and other regional Indian content. The platform offers access to a selection of HD entertainment content which is constantly updated to include the best of blockbuster movies in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Punjabi as well as Indian music and music videos.

    The addition of the Eros Now app enables Freesat customers to enjoy premium Indian entertainment on-demand. Complementing the current on-demand offering, which includes iPlayer, ITV Hub, Netflix and YouTube amongst others, Eros Now will help Freesat bring together the best content from the South Asia’s key TV and film selection.

    Alistair Thom, Managing Director at Freesat, said: “We are delighted to work with Eros Now to strengthen our growing on-demand line-up. At Freesat, we are constantly looking at partnerships which deliver great value to our viewers and add variety to the content we offer. Our ambition is to provide the best of TV from all over the world and introducing this exciting Bollywood platform to our viewers is a great step in that direction.”

    Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital at Eros Now, said: “Our integration with Freesat is a further step in our endeavor to reach out globally to those seeking the best in Indian entertainment across multiple screens and seamless user experience by being platform agnostic. We are excited to bring our app into Freesat’s 2 million homes and provide them with rich and compelling content from movies and music, to TV shows.“