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  • Indian M&E industry can reach $100 billion by 2030: K Madhavan

    Indian M&E industry can reach $100 billion by 2030: K Madhavan

    Mumbai: The Indian media and entertainment industry touched $19 billion in 2020 down from an expected $22 billion, but it’s poised to grow up to $100 billion by 2030, said The Walt Disney Company India and Star India, president, K Madhavan. This goal is ambitious and challenging but not impossible, he added.

    Madhavan was speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) SummitFX – Global AVGC and Immersive Media Summit, which began virtually on Tuesday. “The pandemic forced the M&E industry to adapt, but it is still growing and that is an encouraging sign. There have been changes in the habits of audiences, in the way content is produced and new and evolved methods of distribution”, said Madhavan, who is also the chairman of the CII National Committee on media and entertainment.

    Over 55-60 million Indians subscribed to video-on-demand services, more than doubling from the 23 million in 2019.The paid subscribers are likely to grow to 89 million by the end of 2021, and reach 150 to 160 million by the end of the decade, contended Madhavan.

    “The rise of digital subscription did not lead to a fall in TV viewing audience” he noted, adding that there are 300 million households out of which only 200 million are connected to TV. There are 120 million pay TV households.

    In a developed country, the media and entertainment industry generally contributes three per cent to the country’s GDP. In India, however, the contribution is one per cent. Also, customers in developed countries spend $7-10 for entertainment whereas in India it is less than $1. The pricing in India is very customer friendly, he noted.

    Speaking about the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) industry, he said, “The global market for AVGC industry is close to $260 billion and India’s share of that is less than one per cent i.e., $2.1 billion. The AVGC industry in India has the highest potential to grow and we should aim for a five per cent share of the global market with annualised growth at 25-30 per cent.”

    Similarly, the global gaming market is pegged at $160 billion worth more than music and movies combined. Online gaming in India has grown by leaps and bounds and last year there were 360 million gaming audiences and 17 million viewership of esports in India. “The gaming and esports industry are still in infancy and need freedom to grow without conflicting regulation. The Indian AVGC industry can be a global success story for India, the same as the IT revolution,” said Madhavan. “The emerging esports landscape is projected to grow at 36 per cent CAGR over the next few years.”

    The Star India president also charted a roadmap for India to capture five per cent of the global AVGC market. Currently, 65 per cent of India’s AVGC revenues come from exports. Madhavan emphasised that we need to create B2B opportunities in the country. Policymakers, regulators and industry must work together for ease of doing business. There should be convergence initiatives between technology and the creative sector.

    “There’s a huge demand for VFX and animation, globally and in India but we are not in a position to deliver” he said. To make this happen, job creation in this sector must increase by three to four times in the next four to five years. “We have 400,000 engineers graduating every year, but they need to be trained properly and brought into the content pipeline. There must be regional content creation and distribution hubs in Tier II and III cities.”

    “I’m sure this industry will thrive with innovation,” he summed up.

  • Netflix eyes foray into video gaming, hires former Facebook exec as gaming VP

    Netflix eyes foray into video gaming, hires former Facebook exec as gaming VP

    New Delhi: Netflix is finally making the big move. Even as media conglomerates across the world slug it out to challenge its dominance in the streaming space, the US giant is gearing up for its next step. According to reports, Netflix is planning to expand beyond its traditional streaming business, and make its foray into video gaming.

    On Wednesday, Netflix hired former Facebook, vice president, Mike Verdu, as VP of game development to lead its video games unit, reported Bloomberg. Verdu was previously Facebook’s vice president in charge of working with developers to bring games and other content to Oculus virtual-reality headsets.

    He has previously served as senior vice president of EA mobile, president of studios and chief creative officer at Kabam, CEO of TapZen, and chief executive officer for Zynga from 2009 to 2012. At Netflix, he will report to chief operating officer Greg Peters.

    The idea is to offer video games on Netflix’s streaming platform within the next year, Bloomberg quoted a person familiar with the situation. According to the report, the games will appear alongside current fare as a new programming genre — similar to what Netflix did with documentaries or stand-up specials.

    The reports suggest Netflix will build its gaming team in the next few months, and it has “already started advertising for game-development related positions on its website”.

    The company now has 208 million paid subscribers across the globe, up from 204 million last quarter, and the latest announcement could be its boldest move yet. The announcement comes at a time, when Netflix is looking at ways to catalyse its growth especially in saturated markets like the US. Analysts contend that the move could also enable the company to justify its price hike in the coming few months.

  • COVID-19 impact: Smartphone usage spiked during the lockdown, says report

    COVID-19 impact: Smartphone usage spiked during the lockdown, says report

    KOLKATA: In the wake of the second wave of COVID-19 and lockdown across India, people relied more on their phones to beat boredom. InMobi’s Second Wave Lockdown Audience Insights Report says that, mobile phone usage went up as users searched for entertainment, gaming, music, and social networking while staying indoors.

    According to the report, 2021’s lockdown saw users relying on their smartphones specifically around weekends, compared to weekdays in 2020. Students, working professionals, and mothers were among the most engaged during the second wave lockdown. 

    However, the users’ app consumption behavior varied for each group. Students relied more on music, gaming, and OTT, compared to working professionals who consumed news, OTT, productivity, social, and shopping, while mothers invested their time on gaming, lifestyle, and education apps.

    “We have witnessed a drastic acceleration of the mobile-first consumer economy since the onset of the pandemic. With the second wave, we see that these “new normal” mobile-first consumer habits and preferences have become more mainstream,” said InMobi Asia Pacific managing director Vasuta Agarwal.

    With states reporting all-time high Covid cases, the report observed that 25-35 years old stayed indoors the highest during the lockdown, mostly due to the limited vaccination opportunities. Interestingly, people in the 35-44 age groups were seen stepping out the highest.

    As per the report, hospitals, clinics, and medical stores witnessed a spike of 597 per cent compared to 398 per cent last year. Supermarkets and essential stores saw an 89 per cent spike against 44 per cent last year, as consumers visited local stores to meet their daily needs. While a lot of consumers found cooking as a hobby last year, this year witnessed an increase in footfalls in restaurants from 7 per cent to 23 per cent.

    This was a result of relaxed lockdowns where takeaways and deliveries were allowed, helping consumers break the monotony of home-cooked meals by occasionally eating out. The footfall at each of the above places of interest during the lockdowns in 2020 & 2021 was indexed against overall footfalls observed across the above-mentioned places of interest and supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants, and flea markets.

    Despite transport being open to the public in the second lockdown, travel and transport hubs saw an all-time low during the second wave from 9 per cent last year to 4 per cent now. While rail travel had started to pick up until June, the new cases reported in India again forced people to shelter at homes. While footfall at movie theaters was at a decline, visits to lodging reduced further by 15 per cent, mounting on the already low footfalls due to the fear of the pandemic.

    “Social distancing, work from home, and lock-down regulations have boosted consumer mobile consumption as people rely on mobile entertainment spanning games, social media, and video streaming. With the second wave hitting us, consumers have adopted to the online world already and are well versed with this,” Agarwal added.

  • Akamai Tech & AVIA partner for Asia Pacific Media Summit

    MUMBAI: Where do you get 20 of the brightest minds in the media and gaming industry under one umbrella? Well, come 23 Jun 2021, they will be converging at the second virtual APAC Media Summit, which global cloud technology and security leader, Akamai Technologies, is producing in association with the Asian Video Industry Association (AVIA). 

    “It’s an event that both Akamai and Industry leaders look up to ever since we started in 2019. We had a phenomenal debut when we kicked it off in Mumbai, and we are happy that the journey did not stop because of the pandemic,” said Akamai India, Solutions engineering lead, Deepa Parikh. “2021 is going to be an interesting year. The pandemic has led to increase in digital adoption and increase in digital transformation, across industry sectors and especially in media. In that context, this APAC summit gains significance because the region has so much in common in terms of the operating environment, learnings and outlook.”

    The event will include a keynote conversation around content and monetization strategies and the future of streaming and an overview of the APAC media and gaming industry which has been growing by leaps and bounds. It will also focus on the innovations and tools that could help media houses and esports organizations to secure and protect their content and connect with key players.

    Registered users will get a chance to hear the experiences of industry leaders such as Disney+ Hotstar, president & head, Sunil Rayan; Seven West Media, Technology director, Scott Favelle; Rooter, founder and CEO, Piyush Kumar ; Kayo Sports & Binge, CEO, Julian Ogrin; IQyi, head of international business development, Anna Pak Burdin; Viettel Media, CEO, Vo Thanh Hai; Viacom18 Digital Ventures, COO, Gourav Rakshit; Akamai Technologies, vice president sales, and MD APJ, Parimal Pandya; Sky TV New Zealand, head of information and media security, Steve Lang; Akamai Technologies, APAC marketing director, Sheng Thong Hsin; Akamai Technologies, Regional VP sales APJ, Sid Pisharoti; Mobile Premier League, senior vice-president, strategy and operations, Naman Jhawar and Picture Board Partners, founder, Unmish Parthasarathi among many others. 

    Some of the key issues that are to be discussed during the summit include 

    • The future of video and its impact on business strategies 

    • Securing your content and customers – How is the ecosystem adapting together?

    • Protecting your video consumption journey – Is your bottom line protected? 

    • Creating esports experiences during Covid and beyond – What are some of the recent/popular moats in enhancing gaming experiences whilst staying protected?

    The Indian media houses have been going through a digital transformation for a long time now and Akamai has been a long-term partner to many of them in India, right from being their technical infrastructure partner to being a trusted advisor helping them accelerate this evolution online and through their digital transformation journey. 

    Through this event, both Akamai and AVIA hope to highlight how some of the new trends in the video industry will play out over the coming year in the Asia Pacific region and how media organisations can position themselves for greater success in the new normal.

    “Over the last year, the pandemic gave another push to help these media houses further this digital transition. It has forced media houses to diversify, to pivot to new revenue streams and to secure their content and data. In addition, Akamai has also enabled Media houses to transition seamlessly to working remotely,” said Parikh adding that a lot of these digital media houses have been innovating their new revenue models and moving towards more subscription-based services and having new products bundled in.

    “They are not just relying on ad revenue but exploring other newer formats like podcasts, video reportage, webinars, and Artificial Reality/Virtual reality to enrich their information delivery. Another key trend has been growing vernacular language content consumption both digital print and video largely due to the growing mobile user base,” added Parikh, discussing some of the new trends that have shaped the industry over the last decade.

    This digital transformation has also been accompanied by the rapid growth of streaming video services, especially over the last six years. . According to a report by Media Partners Asia (MPA), the Asia Pacific online video industry grew revenue by 14 per cent to reach $30.5 billion in 2020, mainly due to the lockdown which scaled the adoption of online services. Total online video revenues are projected to reach $54.5 billion by 2025.

    With the rise in engagement during the pandemic, a lot of new data was generated by publishers, OTT providers, and social media platforms, which faced emerging issues around privacy, content scraping, and large-scale cyberattacks.

    “Content lies at the heart of any digital media platform. In today’s digital age, cyber-threats are common and happening in all different forms all across the globe. The most common form of attack on corporate enterprise networks is phishing and the presence of malware. The third layer that needs protection is the End-user data, which can come under threat of credential stuffing attacks and account takeovers. We, at Akamai, feel that digital publishers need to adopt a multi-layered approach and rely on a zero-trust framework to protect themselves from various cybersecurity attacks, ransomware, phishing, advanced persistent threats, identity frauds, web skimming and content encryption to keep them away from content piracy,” added Parikh.

    Some of these issues and topics will also take centre stage at the upcoming event. To know more about how these and other challenges can be addressed by Media companies, interested participants can register at https://www.tickettailor.com/events/mediasummitapac/524244/r/indianongamingnc

    “The attendees can really benefit from the collective insights of industry veterans, analysts, and thought leaders from across the APAC region. We look forward to hosting the summit this year,” she added.

  • Nazara Technologies to acquire gaming agency Publishme

    KOLKATA: Nazara Technologies Limited announced that it has signed a binding term sheet to acquire a majority stake in Arrakis Tanitim Organizasyon Pazarlama San. Tic. Ltd. Sti (Publishme), the largest mobile game publishing agency in the Middle East and Turkey.

    Nazara will invest an amount of around Rs 20 crore for acquiring 69.82 per cent stake by way of primary and secondary transaction through its subsidiary.

    Publishme is a full-service games marketing and publishing agency which works extensively with gaming publishers in Turkey and the MENA region. Nazara’s offerings are already present in India and across emerging and developed global markets such as Africa and North America. With this acquisition, Nazara expands its international footprint in the freemium segment. It will aim to build local execution capabilities cutting across key growth segments namely, freemium, gamified learning and esports.

    Publishme CEO Özgür Özalp says, “We are delighted to join Nazara and lead the company’s foray in the MENA region. MENA is one of the fastest growing gaming markets, with an estimated market size of $4.8bn and has over 160mn gamers in the region (of which 100mn are mobile gamers). Our alliance with Nazara offers a unique blend of network, global reach and local capabilities to further the growth of the gaming industry in the region. With this, Publishme, will become a full-fledged publisher in the MENA region.”

    Says Nazara Founder & Jt MD, Nitish Mittersain, “MENA is a key geography for us and this acquisition will help us in establishing ourselves as a key player in the region. We are excited to have someone with deep regional knowledge and capabilities like Özgür and his team join the ‘Friends of Nazara’ network.”

    The ‘Friends of Nazara’ network comprises of established gaming companies in which Nazara holds majority stakes and works actively with existing founders and management teams to rapidly achieve scale. These companies include Nodwin Gaming and SportsKeeda in esports, Next Wave Multimedia, developer of World Cricket Championship (WCC), the largest mobile-based cricket simulation game and Paper Boat Apps, developers of the popular gamified learning app Kiddopia.

  • Nazara Technologies notches up good financial scores in Q4

    Nazara Technologies notches up good financial scores in Q4

    Mumbai: If you are a gamer, you will know that at times, it looks like you are lagging far behind, with most of your shooters gone. But things turn around and you start scoring, knocking out the rival’s gunmen, and you come out on top. Just like recently, the publicly listed Nazara Technologies has done. The Indian gaming and esports major has reported operating revenue of Rs 123.38 crore in q4, 41.7 per cent higher than the previous year’s corresponding quarter.

    The company has erased all the red ink on its earnings report by notching up growth of 84 per cent year-on-year in profit to reach Rs 4.2 crore, as against a loss of Rs 7 crore (q4 last year).

    “As we operate in the high growth business segments of gamified early learning, esports, and freemium, we continue to prioritise growth over profit maximisation, to achieve and maintain market leadership in the segments we operate in,” said an excited Nazara Technologies group chief executive officer Manish Agarwal.

    The esports segment revenue ballooned to Rs 48.57 crore from Rs 39.77 crore in the same quarter last year. Gamified early learning nearly trebled to reach Rs 50.61 crore, compared to Rs 19.52 crore. However, revenue for the freemium segment declined to Rs 4.32 crore from Rs 4.03 crore. Telco subscription also marginally declined to Rs 17.83 crore from Rs 18.08 crore for the corresponding period in the last fiscal.

    “Prudent financial management is in our DNA. This is clearly visible from the Rs 4,784 million (Rs 478.4 crore) in cash reserves, including liquid investments, as well as the zero debt on our balance sheet. We will efficiently utilise our cash balance to fund any inorganic growth opportunities- ranging from building capabilities to geographic and demographic expansions in our operational domain. To conclude, we are in a good position to continue executing our strategy and maintain our market leadership position in the years to come,” Agarwal added.

    For the financial year 2020-2021, operating revenue grew 84 per cent year-on-year to Rs 454.2 crore. While EBITDA has gone up by 508 per cent year-on-year to Rs 59.6 crore, EBITDA margins have also improved from 3.7 per cent in FY2019-2020 to 12.7 per cent. It has delivered profits of Rs 13.6 crore in the just-ended fiscal year.

  • MPL says ‘Hai Akal, Khelo MPL’ in IPL 2021 campaign

    MPL says ‘Hai Akal, Khelo MPL’ in IPL 2021 campaign

    MUMBAI: Cashing in on the IPL fever, skill-gaming platform, Mobile Premier League (MPL) has launched its latest campaign on TV and digital media platforms. Revolving around the theme ‘Hai Akal, Khelo MPL’, the adverts feature a humanoid brain as the protagonist, driving in the message that anyone with ‘akal’ (brains) can play the game.

    There are a total of seven films in the campaign, of which three are already live and the rest will be released as the IPL progresses. The three films released are a humorous play on the words of popular Hindi language idioms like ‘Akal badi ya bhains’, ‘Akal ke dushman’, and ‘Dimaag ghaas charne gaya hai’. The films push the central idea that one can create their fantasy team on the e-sports platform with basic know-how of cricket during the ongoing T20 tournament. MPL has roped in veteran actor Vijay Raaz for the films’ voice-overs.

    The campaign has been conceptualised by The Womb and brought to life by Early Man Films and was directed by Abhinav Pratiman. “This IPL, we decided to go back to the basics of fantasy cricket- which is to make the best possible team by using your knowledge of the game and your thinking skills. By giving the human brain its own manifestation as a protagonist and by using some very well-known Hindi sayings that we can all relate to,” MPL senior vice president – growth and marketing Abhishek Madhavan said.

    “Passion and love for the game of cricket can at best make someone a great fan of the game. But to play the game either in real life or in the form of fantasy one needs skill. Skill in the form of strong analytical skills and strategic abilities to create the best teams game after game. Our attempt was to bring this alive by creating the brain itself as a device. The campaign uses popular idioms associated with the brain to generate popular appeal,” The Womb founding partner Navin Talreja added.

  • Gaming revenue surged 20% in 2020, audience more diverse: Essence report

    Gaming revenue surged 20% in 2020, audience more diverse: Essence report

    MUMBAI: Last year, the world stayed at home. Outdoor divertissements like live sports and events, and catching a movie at the multiplex were off the table, owing to the Covid2019 pandemic. People had to find new ways to distract themselves from the grim reality; apart from online video streaming, gaming saw a marked uptick in adoption. In fact, 2020 was a breakthrough year for the gaming industry, with revenue spurt of 20 per cent over the previous year, according to a report published by global media agency Essence, a part of GroupM.

    The 'Gaming in the 2020s: Reach, rewards and the new meditation' report is aimed at brands and will help marketing heads understand the full scale of the opportunity presented by this up and coming category, and what they can expect to gain from their efforts. 

    "In recent years, the gaming sector had been steadily growing in note amongst the marketing community but was yet to become a mainstream consideration. It had neither been seriously appraised for its reach potential nor wholeheartedly embraced as a lever for driving brand connection," wrote Essence in their study report. 

    The report stated that an enforced focus on home entertainment and folks spending more time with their children due to the shelter at home guidelines has played a crucial role in elevating the popularity of the gaming sector. 

    Contrary to the previous belief, the Essence report suggested that gaming is not just confined to young people –  it is considerably more diverse, and 83 per cent of all women, and 85 per cent of all men can be classed as gamers. The study report also noted that a massive 71 per cent of 55-64 year-olds engage in the gaming space. 

    "Mobile gaming, in particular, has broad appeal across genders and age groups, and it’s here that older generations certainly feel most comfortable," the report claimed. 

    One of the many effects was a huge increase in exposure to and exploration of gaming, resulting in a greater understanding of its appeal amid widespread news coverage of family-friendly, stand-out titles such as Animal Crossing. All of a sudden, gaming exploded into the general consciousness of consumers and marketers alike. 

    Essence suggested two main reasons for brands to engage, which in turn determine how building gaming touchpoints into the communications plan should be approached. 

    · Incrementality for non-endemic brands — gaming touchpoints should be evaluated in line with any other video, display or out-of-home opportunity.

    · Building equity in the service of growth —  gaming touchpoints can be leveraged in the service of campaigns that are not specifically relevant to the genre, just like all kinds of campaigns can sit happily on the cinema screen, for example.

    Key highlights of the report 

    The global gaming market was valued at $151.55 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach revenue of $256.97 billion by 2025. The pandemic helped spur a revenue surge of 20 per cent to $179.7 billion in 2020.

    For marketers engaging with the gaming sector for the first time, there is an appreciation that gaming is not a ‘channel’ but a form of entertainment around which a unique set of consumer behaviours have been built. These behaviours are broad and exhibited across a hugely fragmented space, inclusive of vastly differing devices, platforms, locations and types of content.  

    NewZoo estimates that the global audience for esports – organised forms of competitive gaming using tournaments or leagues – totalled 495 million in 2020 and will rise to 646 million in 2023, with around 45 per cent watching at least once a month. 

    Beyond esports, streaming has been harnessed by individual players who also broadcast their gaming to live audiences. Users typically employ one of three major platforms, which vary in popularity around the globe. YouGov claims that 49 per cent of Indian gamers engage with YouTube Gaming.

    When it comes to the choice of engaging with rewarded ads versus making an in-app payment, a vast majority of mobile gamers prefer consuming the ad. However, as per a proprietary Mobile Annoyance study conducted by Essence India, mid-game banner ads scored the highest on the Annoyance Index when compared to a range of other mobile ad formats (served both in-game and across other types of publisher content).

  • Digital media, gaming dominated M&E deals in 2020

    Digital media, gaming dominated M&E deals in 2020

    KOLKATA: Over the last few years, the media and entertainment industry has seen a number of major deals with the rapid change in the business. Some of the global merger and acquisition activities have impacted the Indian M&E sector too. Along with that, Indian media companies also witnessed big deals in the traditional broadcasting space as well as increased activity in the digital segment.

    The experts were skeptical about deals in the space as the Covid2019 pandemic derailed the economy. However, the sector witnessed moderate activity in 2020 with 77 deals compared to 64 in 2019. However, overall deal value reduced to Rs 68 billion in 2020 from Rs 101 billion in 2019, the recently released FICCI-EY report revealed.

    The decline in deal value has been attributed to the absence of big deals with only two deals crossing the $100 million threshold as compared to four such deals in 2019. But even before the pandemic, there were fewer high value deals in 2019 compared to earlier years. The overall deal value was significantly lower at Rs 101 billion as compared to Rs 192 billion in the previous year.

    The lockdown during the pandemic boosted the uptake of digital media and gaming. Hence, these two segments together attracted 92 per cent of the investment in 2020. New media increased its share in terms of deal value from 37 per cent in 2019 to 92 per cent in 2020. Considerably, television saw the highest investment in 2019.

    For instance, Dream11 raised $225 million from Tiger Global Management, TPG, ChrysCapital and Footpath Ventures. Dailyhunt got funding of $100 million from Google, Microsoft, Falcon Edge, Sofina and Lupa Systems.

    Moreover, a number of Chinese apps like TikTok, PUBG were banned due to political tension amid India and China. As many of the banned apps were leaders in the space, the sudden vacuum created opportunity for local apps which got investors' backing to scale up their operations.

    The audio streaming segment also saw a few important deals. While Reliance Industries bought a further 10.9 per cent stake in Saavn Media for Rs 6.5 billion from its erstwhile promoters, Gaana raised Rs 3.8 billion from Tencent and Times Internet.

    On the other side, traditional media’s contribution to overall M&E deal value plummeted to eight per cent, compared to 63 per cent in 2019. There were primarily just three deals in the space including the Eros International-STX Filmworks merger, PVR’s rights issue and Inox’s fund raising via QIP, compared to 10 deals in 2019 including four marquee deals.

    Private equity and venture capitalist firms led 70 per cent of the M&E deals in 2020, contributing to 79 per cent of the total funding received in the year. The share of deals led by strategic players fell to 27 per cent compared to 52 per cent in 2019.

    The report forecasts more investments in scalable d2c business models, digital companies with a differentiated product offering, companies with strongholds in next-gen technologies in the next few years. Traditional advertising agencies and tech giants will both continue to invest in niche martech companies. Media entities under financial stress will also look at partnering with a larger strategic player.

  • Stride Ventures leads Rs 17 crore debt round in Pocket Aces

    Stride Ventures leads Rs 17 crore debt round in Pocket Aces

    KOLKATA: Stride Ventures has led a Rs 17 crore debt round in digital entertainment company Pocket Aces. Stride will be a strategic partner in Pocket Aces’ growth journey with their customised offerings and deep relationships across banks and corporates.

    This partnership with Pocket Aces is the twelfth investment from Stride Ventures’ maiden fund, marking its foray in the digital media and entertainment space as gaming and OTT has had a breakthrough year with industry revenues surging and subscriptions rising through the lockdown.

    Stride Ventures founder and managing partner Ishpreet Gandhi said, “Pocket Aces has truly pioneered digital content in India through its data driven approach to content creation. More importantly, the company creates highly relatable content, making it appealing especially for the younger demographic. At Stride, we strive to partner with indigenous companies which have the ability to scale up rapidly by leveraging technology and we see Pocket Aces as a great addition to our portfolio.”

    Pocket Aces co-founder Aditi Shrivastava added, “2020 was an unprecedented challenge for humanity and we were privileged to entertain the Indian audience during this difficult time. The lockdown accelerated adoption of digital media as the primary source of consumer entertainment , and so we innovated rapidly to ensure that we could continue to thrive and increase content output in this new normal. As a result, we saw growth in all our major business lines this year. As we go into 2021, we are more excited than ever about the size of the entertainment opportunity in India and are happy to partner with Stride Ventures on our growth journey. This debt instrument is one of the first of its kind for the sector and we think it underlines Pocket Aces’ leadership of the sector as well as the innovation focus of Stride Ventures.”

    Pocket Aces will utilise the capital raised to scale the current content output and invest further in new content formats and distribution channels. In 2020, Pocket Aces released multiple shows across its channels that kept audiences gripped with stories of love, life, and the new normal. The company has worked with over 100 brands across sectors including Tinder, Hindustan Unilever, PureMe, Bacardi, Unacademy, and Mondelez, among others. 

    On the other hand, its game streaming and e-sports platform Loco, has hosted some of the biggest mobile gaming tournaments India has ever seen. Loco also entered into strategic partnerships with Red Bull, Fnatic, NBA 2K League, and other leading brands. The year also saw Pocket Aces launch Clout, its talent management division, which exclusively represents over 60 of the digital industry’s finest and most popular faces.