ITV

Tag: Google TV

  • Half CA adds up as ClearTax joins Amazon MX Player with AI tax twist

    Half CA adds up as ClearTax joins Amazon MX Player with AI tax twist

    MUMBAI: When taxes meet television, even filing feels binge-worthy. Amazon MX Player’s hit series Half CA Season 2 has inked a smart partnership with fintech leader Cleartax, blending reel drama with real-life financial wisdom.

    The tie-up rolled out with a special video starring Ahsaas Channa and Gyanendra Tripathi, introducing Cleartax’s Agentic AI pitched as India’s first 24×7 AI-powered tax expert on Whatsapp. From auto-computing taxes with just a PAN number to answering queries instantly in multiple languages, the tool aims to take the sting out of tax season while speaking the language of Gen Z.

    The collaboration clicks neatly with Half CA’s storyline. The series produced by The Viral Fever (TVF) and now streaming free on Amazon MX Player follows CA aspirants Archie and Niraj as they juggle ambition, academic pressure, and adulthood’s curveballs. Just as the show champions perseverance, the partnership underscores financial literacy as a real-world survival skill.

    Amazon MX Player director Aruna Daryanani said the move was about impact beyond entertainment: “Millions relate to the struggles of CA students. Our partnership with ClearTax simplifies financial literacy in a way that feels authentic and engaging.”

    Cleartax founder Archit Gupta echoed the sentiment, pointing to its AI leap: “By automating complex tax processes on Whatsapp, we’re making planning and filing seamless. Teaming with Half CA lets us connect with a new generation, combining entertainment with tools to build confidence for the future.”

    Half CA S2 brings back favourites Ahsaas Channa, Prit Kamani, Aishwarya Ojha, Anmol Kajani, Gyanendra Tripathi, and Rohan Joshi. The show streams across MX Player’s footprint from mobile apps and Connected TVs to Amazon’s shopping app, Prime Video, Fire TV, Google TV, Xiaomi TV, and Airtel Xtreme.

    For viewers, it’s not just about watching dreams unfold on screen, it’s also about learning to add up in real life.

  • Remote control redefined as Dish TV dials up its Smart+ experience

    Remote control redefined as Dish TV dials up its Smart+ experience

    Mumbai: No more juggling remotes or input sources, Dish TV just changed the channel on home entertainment. The company has launched its new Smart+ device, an all-in-one upgrade that turns regular Android and Google TVs into smart content hubs, uniting live TV and OTT apps under a single roof.

    After the success of its flagship Smart product last year, Dish TV’s latest launch is a smarter sequel that simplifies how viewers consume content. With Smart+, your existing TV morphs into a full-fledged entertainment command centre no new remote required. Want to flip from a TV news channel to a web series on an OTT app? Just press a button on your regular TV remote.

    Built for seamless integration, Smart+ eliminates the need to switch devices or inputs. The intuitive interface not only brings your favourite TV channels and streaming services together, but also lets you set reminders, add shows to favourites, and even keep the kids in check with built-in parental controls.

    Need a quick glance at what’s coming up next? The preview banners and thumbnails offer a visual sneak peek, so you’re never lost in the scroll. Whether you’re a live sports enthusiast, a serial binge-watcher or a casual viewer, Smart+ tailors the experience to suit every screen personality.

    Compact, sleek, and feather-light, the device fits right into any living room aesthetic. And it’s portable too perfect for modern homes that love a little less cable clutter.

    Dish TV India Ltd. CEO & executive director Manoj Dobhal said, “As part of our ongoing commitment to drive innovation in the entertainment industry, we are proud to introduce the Smart+ Device. This product marks a significant advancement in the seamless integration of traditional television and OTT services, catering to the evolving needs of today’s digital consumer. We are confident that this integration represents the future of entertainment. With the launch of the Smart+ Device, we are enhancing both convenience and accessibility while reinforcing our leadership in delivering integrated, next-generation solutions for our customers.”

    The Smart+ device is now available via Dish TV’s official website, Flipkart, and major retail outlets ready to slide into your setup and stream your screen life into something a whole lot smarter.

  • Ease Live IBC launch enables sports fans to interact on all devices – including connected TVs

    Ease Live IBC launch enables sports fans to interact on all devices – including connected TVs

    Mumbai: Ease Live (an Evertz company), the interactive sports experts, today announced that it has developed the capability for its interactive platform to provide perfectly synced interactive experiences on Connected TVs, on top of its existing ability to enable TV viewers to interact with the action on mobiles, PCs and tablets. In addition, IBC will also see Ease Live (IBC: 1. B79) launch and demonstrate a new soccer pack that is integrated with leading sports data providers, and includes templates and functionality designed specifically for operators with soccer rights.

    A hand holding a phone and watching a football game on a televisionDescription automatically generated

    As an industry first, Ease Live recently launched connected TV interactivity for a major US regional sports network, which enabled fans to engage with interactive baseball overlays on Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV and Google TV as well as mobile devices.

    “That the Ease Live platform now enables sports video to be interactive on all connected screens is a huge step forward in engaging the audiences across the screens,” said OTT Advisors & managing partner Chris Wagner. “It’s really a game changer for broadcasters and operators with sports rights looking to drive fan engagement while also unlocking new ad inventory and monetization opportunities.”

    Ease Live is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution embraced by sports leagues, broadcasters, and content providers globally. This interactive graphics platform gives leagues and media companies streaming live sports and other live events the necessary tools to create, build, and provide interactivity to millions of fans and other viewers across multiple platforms in real time. The platform delivers edge-rendered graphic overlays, adding interactive experiences to existing TV, Over-The-Top (OTT) services and apps. With Ease Live, sports fans can interact with in-game statistics, participate in watch parties, polls, trivia, access instant replays and gaming – all without leaving the event.

    Ease Live has enabled streaming service operators to boost viewing duration and engagement by over 50 per cent through interactivity synced to the TV and accessed via PCs, tablets and mobile. The result is that Ease Live helps its customers create exciting new advertising inventory and monetization opportunities.

    “Interactivity on mobile and tablets drives sports fan engagement and lengthens duration of viewing, leading to increased revenue opportunities,” said Ease Live CEO Kjetil Horneland. “The new Connected TV interactivity we’re launching at IBC enables sports leagues, broadcasters and OTT service providers to make all of this possible on the primary screen in the home, the Connected TV, and control the experience through the TV remote. In addition, we are launching a new Soccer pack, that is pre-integrated with feeds from leading sports data providers. By combining ease of launch with device universality and packs for all major sports, Ease Live enables broadcasters and operators to get interactive quickly on all connected devices, while fans can get closer to the action through interacting however they choose, with the sport they love.”

  • Rohan Tiwary is head of business development, APAC at Google TV

    New Delhi: Google on Friday elevated Rohan Tiwary as the head of business development, APAC, Google TV. Tiwary has been associated with the tech giant for over seven years.

    Before this, Tiwary was APAC head partnerships (media, news and entertainment) since December 2019. He was responsible for building strategic partnerships with key players in media industries across the Asia-Pacific and advancing holistic solutions that span the breadth of Google’s suite, to solve the media industry’s business problems.

    “Excited to join the Google TV team and further the vision of connecting users to the content they love in an effortless and efficient manner. Look forward to working with partners from the media industry to uncover the opportunities in the Living Room space. What more can your TV do?” he announced the latest move in a LinkedIn post.

    He has also worked with Accenture, and Star TV Network in the past.

  • Lukup launches on-demand television service in India

    Lukup launches on-demand television service in India

    BENGALURU: Indian company Lukup Media has announced the launch of an on-demand TV service powered by a connected device- the Lukup Player. The device is similar to Apple TV or Google TV, but can also deliver content across multiple screens using WiFi.

    Lukup CEO Kallol Borah said, ““Our TV service is designed to meet the requirements of changing lifestyles and consumer behaviour where more and more people want their entertainment when they have time, on a device of their choice and even when they are travelling and away from home. We also want to bring content and channels not available to viewers in India currently and broaden their choice of content substantially.”

    The Lukup TV service aims to deliver a large number of TV channels in addition to those available on cable and DTH platforms. These additional TV channels will have content from multiple genres including movies, shows, lifestyle and sports. Using the Lukup Player, users will also be able to stream content on more than one screen or device – TV screens, tablets, mobile phones, wireless speakers – at any one time. The service includes unlimited recording capacity starting from 500 GB which can be upgraded without limit. Users can also download content on their mobile devices which they can access offline. With no minimum monthly subscription charges, users can pay per view.

    Lukup CFO Harsha Mutt said,” “The television and broadcast industry in India needs an overhaul since customers’ desire experiential content on a device of their choice, at a time of their liking. To cater to this demand, we are meticulously putting together an elaborate network for delivering content to our customers through an over the top (OTT) TV service. With exclusive content, movies and TV shows available on our video-on-demand platform, we aim to make life easier for our customers, inspiring them to celebrate their joie-de-vivre. Our association with various content providers is a significant step forward in this direction.”

    The Lukup TV service is currently available in Bengaluru and will be available across India in phases. The Lukup Player will be online and in retail stores from October 2014.