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Tag: Hoichoi

  • hoichoi’s new web series Case Jaundice streaming now

    hoichoi’s new web series Case Jaundice streaming now

    MUMBAI: After the initial buzz garnered through the sudden release of the Poster of Case Jaundice, hoichoi launched the official trailer of the original in a virtual press conference. After the successful build-up, the first five episodes of Case Jaundice (total- 10) are streaming now on hoichoi. The rest of the episodes will be streaming from 22 May.

    This series marks a lot of firsts for the cast: the first web series of Ankush, the first web series of Parambrata for hoichoi and finally, the first lead role of Anirban Chakrabarti on hoichoi besides his ever-green portrayal of Eken Babu. All three of them came together with director Subhankar Chattopadhay to host a virtual press conference from the Facebook page of hoichoi to discuss their decision to do a web series completely shot from home, which of course has its challenges, and also, to launch the official trailer of the series.

    The conference was moderated by a popular ex-TV journalist of a leading channel.

    With the first five episodes streaming from today, Case Jaundice is a satire of 10 episodes. Two compelling lawyers, Sen played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay and Das played by Ankush, present an endearing argument in a courtroom, one of them representing human beings and the other representing coronavirus. In each episode, a debate drives the narrative between Das and Sen, moderated by the judge played by Anirban Chakrabarti, who at times becomes partial in his witty comments. Every episode has a different case put forth in front of the judge, resulting in humorous conclusions!

    Here are the 10 episodes:

    Ep1

    Humans Vs. Corona (In Bengali: Manush Bonam Corona Virus)

    Ep2

    Police Vs. Mask (In Bengali: Police Bonam Mukhosh Pora Jonogon)

    Ep3

    Private Vs. Public Society (In Bengali: Ruddho Shomaj Bonam Khola mela Shomaj)

    Ep4

    Work Vs. Home (In Bengali: Office Bonam Poribar)

    Ep5

    Man Vs. Wild (In Bengali: Badurkheko Bonam Aw-Badurkheko)

    Ep6

    Work From Home Vs. Work From Office (In Bengali: Work From Home Bonam Work From Office)

    Ep7

    The Slumber Vs. The Bong (In Bengali: Lyadh Bonam Bangali)

    Ep8

    Classic Romance Vs. Digital Romance (In Bengali: Shonaton Prem Bonam Digital Prem)

    Ep9

    Cinema in Theatres Vs. Censorship Board (In Bengali: Cinema Hall’er cinema Bonam Censor Board)

    Ep10

    The Police Vs. The Pro-Corona People (in Bengali: Police Bonam Coronar Kaachkola)

    Parambrata Chattopadhyay, thrilled about the release of Case Jaundice, said, “We had a lot of fun shooting from home, though a lot of challenges were there, however, the end result was to enthrall the audience with a fun yet witty web series and I think we have delivered it quite successfully. Hoping our audience resonates with our thoughts too.”

    Ankush added: “Hosting a virtual press conference with my fellow cast members and director was an unusual and unique activity, ideated and executed by the glorious team of hoichoi. We worked twice as hard to deliver this content and it was all for our audience; their entertainment is our number 1 priority. Case Jaundice is a series that highlights the issues and crises of the World now and thus, becomes relatable and relevant for everyone to watch!”

    Case Jaundice is streaming now with its first 5 episodes, followed by the next 5 on 22nd May, exclusively on hoichoi.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Hoichoi’s Vishnu Mohta on lockdown subscriber metrics, pre-production plans and team collaboration

    Hoichoi’s Vishnu Mohta on lockdown subscriber metrics, pre-production plans and team collaboration

    MUMBAI: The OTT industry has been able to evade a large chunk of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with users thronging to streaming services for entertainment during lockdown.

    SVF-backed Bengali OTT service Hoichoi is also witnessing the sudden growth of paid subscribers, new users and engagement at a 4-5x rate. While there is a worry of churning new content as shootings have paused, Hoichoi is working to keep its story bank ready with more focus on pre-production right now to have a quick pick up after the crisis is over.

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com, Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta speaks on how the situation has worked in the platform’s favour, how its content team is working and how the teams are coordinating effectively during work from home.

    Edited excerpts:

    How has the current situation unfolded for Hoichoi?

    Hoichoi is growing very fast. We have noticed a 4-5x growth in a lot of metrics overall, from the subscriber point of view, from an engagement point of view and from the number of new people coming on the platform. To be accurate, we have seen a 5X growth from paid-subscription point of view. 

    But the worry is that there's not going to be enough series that are going to be ready because West Bengal was first to stop all shootings and we went into lockdown even before the national lockdown. So there has not been much shooting during March and April. So, which new shows will be launched and how will you launch them?

    Have you noticed any particular demographic consuming more content during this lockdown?

    Everyone is watching equally, but the interesting thing is that there are so many people in the 50-plus age group who are also at home and watching it on devices like Amazon Firestick. That's a very interesting demographic. So, I think, now, Hoichoi is becoming a platform for everyone. Some people want to see old movies, some people want to see new movies while some people want to see original shows. 

    We have launched something called Live TV also so that people don't have to browse on other apps and say on Hoichoi all day. We have curated the best movies that we have on Live TV and we have created different TV channels out of it.

    How is the coordination taking place between your teams?

    We are working fairly well actually. Being a digital company, most of our content, documents have always been on Microsoft Teams which is meant for remote working. We already have teams in the US and Gurgaon, etc. So it's not been too much of a big effort.

    We get on a call every alternate day for one to two hours in the morning and everybody talks about what they're up to such as challenges, dependencies, etc. So, there is a little bit of interaction, also, in that virtual conference where all the team leaders are present. And different teams get on a call every day between themselves. So it's working out good.

    I think it also helps to be away from the office because you have fewer interruptions. People are more productive and they are working to the point and trying to get the job done.

    What are the key areas you are focusing on currently?

    We are working on customer happiness a lot, technical changes and innovations like Live TV. We have added some free-to-air channels. We are trying to create as much engagement channels as possible. In fact, we had seven or eight world digital premieres during this lockdown period. We have been lucky that we had that much content available that we could premiere on Hoichoi for the first time. 

    Are you planning to push some of your premium content to TV channels as those are running out of fresh content?

    We have discussed with a few people, but it's not something that we can announce at this stage. We have had discussions with Star, Zee and all these bands, but a deal has not been signed yet. But, on our platform, we have made a lot of content, including some new ones, free.

    Are you looking at easier payment gateways as more subscribers hop on board?

    We are going to start Google Pay very shortly. We never used to support Google Pay seamlessly. You could do UPI always, but now we have enabled an ability to pay via Google Pay in a much smoother manner because you don't even have to put in your UPI ID. We are launching referral programs where a subscriber can refer Hoichoi to a friend and both will get one month extra subscription. 

    How are you scripting shows now and ideating future projects?

    It's time for us to make sure that we finish scripting faster for all the content that we want to make so that pre-production can be better than ever. And we will try to gear up as much as possible so that when it opens our shoot can start immediately when it is safe enough to do it. We have also managed to create a story bank for the next six months already. So, instead of setting two or three shoots at a time, we will start four to six. After this gap period of probably two months, it will go back to normalcy maybe and then we will activate multiple teams to do multiple jobs at one go.

    Will you be looking at cutting down budgets given that a significant part of the year has been eaten up by the crisis? Will there be lay-offs for cost-cutting?

    We don't know yet about our budget.  It is very difficult to predict at this point. We are just taking one step at a time. Right now the business is up and we are in a growth phase. Another thing we have announced is that we're going to give a percentage of our subscription revenue earned during this period to various entities like the PM CARES, CM relief fund, Bangladesh relief fund, etc. However, there will be no lay-offs at Hoichoi. 
     

  • hoichoi launches live TV with FTA channels

    hoichoi launches live TV with FTA channels

    MUMBAI: hoichoi has another innovation up its sleeve – it’s incorporating a Live TV section on the hoichoi App and website.

    As the name suggests, Live TV will have certain ‘Free-To-Air Channels’ that will simultaneously broadcast on hoichoi. However, hoichoi went up a notch to create its own segment titled ‘hoichoi Channels’ which will have carefully curated content from hoichoi’s vast library of movies and shows where the user does not have to go through discovering or searching a specific content. This segment is differentiated by genres; an initiative by hoichoi to increase engagement on the platform, to cater to audience of all ages.

    Over time, hoichoi has seen significant growth in its consumption on TV devices like Fire TV, Android TV, Mi TV, Apple TV and Roku. A major reason for this spike has been the growth in its 35+ users who have now become one of the top demographic segments for hoichoi. Most of these people prefer and enjoy the functionality of a TV channel. As such, hoichoi decided to curate some of the best content from its library to cater to these users.

    Though a few OTT platforms in India have already consolidated a Live TV section, hoichoi stands out as the first OTT platform to create its own segment of Live Content Binge Watch; the user gets the look and feel of television with various premium movies and web series, all in one app.

    The hoichoi channel sections have been divided genre-wise and is part of the current hoichoi subscription. The FTA (Free-To-Air) segment is free of any cost for customers along with the hoichoi free tab. The details given below:

    hoichoi Blockbusters 

    A channel that promises to keep you entertained with its blockbuster Bengali movies, non-stop! Get closer to your favourite Bengali actors from Prosenjit to Dev, Anirban Bhattacharya to Mimi, Abir to Parambrata, and their superhit films like Durgeshgorer Guptodhon to Amazon Obhijaan, Shah Jahan Regency to Crisscross, Chander Pahar to Baishe Srabon and the list is endless. For the first time, you have never-ending collection of Bengali Blockbusters at your fingertips, curated to your taste. 

    hoichoi Comedy 

    A channel to provide you endless laughter…enjoy a laughter riot with a bouquet of Bengali web series like Eken Babu, Japani Toy or Dupur Thakurpo and an array of films starting from classics like Sharey Chuattor, Mouchak or Bhanu Pelo Lottery, to recent hits like Bibaho Obhijaan, Roga Howar Sohoj Upay, Obhishopto Nighty, Haripada Bandwala and so on. Take a tour through this channel and let the laughing saga continue. 

    hoichoi Free 

    Non-stop entertainment and that too for Free, isn't that a stellar deal? Here's the one stop location for all genres of entertainment starting from Bengali movies, like Bidhatar Khela, Aandha Prem, Agni Juddho to Bengali Short Films, like Biulir Dal o Alo Posto, Audition and Wallet.  On top of that get a taste of their Originals like Hello, Dhanbad Blues, Charitraheen for which some the episodes are available for free consumption and so much more. 

    hoichoi Family 

    Binging on blockbusters or classics, with the whole family around – what's better than that? A one-stop destination for non-stop Bengali entertainment, perfect for your family with variety of Bengali movies like Posto, Mukherjee Dar Bou, Shubhodrishti, Prem Amar, Bibaho Diaries, Haami and the list is endless. Fix a movie date and enjoy binge watching with the youngest and the eldest member of the household. 

    hoichoi Classics 

    Take a trip down the memory lane with characters from Pather Panchali,  Sanyasi Raja, Mouchak or with the iconic duo Goopy Bagha in Hirok Rajar Deshe. Let Sata Bose from Chowringhee welcome you to a plethora of Bengali classic cinemas, anytime, anywhere. So, if you want to submerge yourself into non-stop nostalgia, this is the place. 

    hoichoi Thrillers 

    If you are in the mood to have a chill run down your spine with mind-bending thrillers, search no more! Be it the eccentricities of Byomkesh or your next door Bouma Detective, spend your day solving mysteries and busting crimes with your favourite sleuths. From the drama and thrill of Hello or Paap, from the darkness of the internet in Dark Web or Six, hoichoi has lined up a crazy list of top-notch thrillers to keep you hooked to #WatchFromHome. 

    In addition to the above, hoichoi will have several TV channels on the platform, all free to watch, for its audience. hoichoi has segregated this to 24*7 news, music and music videos and other forms of entertainment a television provides as a medium. 

    The TV channels section currently include: 

    Kolkata TV 

    One of the top Bengali news channels that not only provides news 24*7 but also entertainment with multiple interviews of Bengali artistes, events and latest blockbuster songs. 

    Sangeet Bangla 

    The no. 1 Bengali music channel – serves as a suitable platform for the film and music industry of Bengal, acting as a perfect media partner to reach the target viewership. It is an endeavour to showcase the resplendent Bengali culture through its music and movies, which is unique and typically a characteristic of the land. 

    Bangla Talkies 

    Good packaging, high production standards and quality content have positioned the channel as one of the most preferred choice of the Bengali music loving audience. From break-free compilations to karaoke and retro to romantic, BT offers a variety of shows showcasing different genre of music and moods serving an audience of all age groups. 

    DD Bangla 

    The classic Doordarshan in Bengali language. The network’s programming consists of a library of serials, infotainment series, cartoons, news and current affairs, social programs and even films. the network's programming consists of soap operas. 

    Aamar Cinema 

    A 24-hour Bengali Movie Channel for the mass! It is a mirror of daily life, happiness and sorrow, struggle and enjoyment, relations and deviation. All kinds of flavours are explored in this channel – “Bangliana” will be reflected like a spectrum through this kaleidoscope. 

    Sadhna News 

    Catering to the contemporary and the traditional viewers, this Hindi 24*7 news channel focusses on News and Entertainment. 

  • Hoichoi taking measures to reduce internet consumption overload

    Hoichoi taking measures to reduce internet consumption overload

    MUMBAI: In the wake of COVID-19 security measures, where the government is advising the population to stay home, work from home and follow social distancing, internet consumption has risen to such an extent that the COAI (Cellular Operators Association of India) has requested prominent streaming platforms to reduce their bitrates.

    In such a situation, it is essential for OTT platforms to cooperate and stream content strategically. Thus, Hoichoi is already taking significant steps to initiate the process of rolling back its bitrates. It will be complying with the COAI in limiting network congestion while its audience-base can enjoy their favourite content undisrupted with a seamless viewing experience.

    As per the requests laid out by the COAI, the measures being implemented are:

    -Hoichoi has disabled 1080p (HD – High Definition) downloads from its Offline Download feature.

    -There are no advertisements or pop-ups running on the platform, as Hoichoi is an SVOD streaming service.

    -Hoichoi is also working to limit streaming to 720p max, to be executed at the earliest.

    Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta commented, “Careful monitoring is being done in every step of the way so we can do our bit during these tough times. While we welcome the 4x spike in traffic we are gaining from users for our content, it is essential to also remember that requisite actions should be taken to not overburden our network providers and telecom partners.”

  • hoichoi enthralls Bengalis with digital premieres

    hoichoi enthralls Bengalis with digital premieres

    MUMBAI: hoichoi,  the popular OTT for Bengalis worldwide, is bringing multiple digital premieres of new Bengali blockbusters at a time when social distancing and work-from-home are the only choices amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

    The OTT platform has already seen an increase in traffic by 4x rate in the last one week; the traffic is surging 2 to 3 times on a daily basis, said release. A promising increase of the traffic on the platform is also a sign that people have welcomed a library og rich content that is easily accessible.,

    hoichoi already has a big bouquet of content (a mix of classics, latest films and Originals, with a variety of genre to choose from), in addition to a plethora of new content that will be streaming every week. The platform is doing its bit to keep you engaged by initiating a #selfstay form of entertainment.

    For the month of March itself, hoichoi is already streaming, "Rahasya Romancha Series 2" starring Rudranil Ghosh, Rajdeep Gupta, Saoli Chattopadhyay, Kharaj Mukherjee among others- is getting tremendous appreciation, a mega World Digital Premiere of Srijit Mukherji's spin-off to Baishey Srabon – "Dwitiyo Purush", interesting before even TV broadcast and Sandip Ray's much hyped film "Professor Shanku O El Dorado", based on the popular scientist created by his father, the visionary Satyajit Ray. Another series will be streaming from 26th March titled "Ekattor" which as the name suggests is about the fight for the Independence of Bangladesh. Here is a sneak peak of some new content that the audience can expect to soon start streaming: 

    hoichoi Co-Founder of  Vishnu Mohta commented on the traffic flowing in from different countries, “Apart from West Bengal, hoichoi enjoys strong traffic and consumption from Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad with Bangalore and Delhi being no. 2 and no. 3 in terms of overall volume of traffic. Internationally – the US, and the  UK contribute significant traffic with Middle East, Australia and Canada not being far away. The last week also saw a good spurge of traffic coming from Europe and Japan. Bangladesh as a market continuous to growth every day! After the release of Dwitiyo Purush, which is the most anticipated movie of 2020 on hoichoi  even before television premiere, the international traffic has significantly grown!” 

  • OTT India 2019 – key trends and crystal ball gazing for 2020

    OTT India 2019 – key trends and crystal ball gazing for 2020

    While  creating this write up on something that’s as wide and far as India OTT we decided to be as objective as possible and use data to establish and talk about some key trends that we see both unique as well as interesting on how the sector is evolving.

    App Annie is a third-party app analytics tool that provides the starting point to map the market within the limitation of the methodology that they use. While it cannot be a gospel of truth, its a good indication of trends. Hope you find this useful high-level dynamics.

    Some caveats and assumptions that we have made:

    • Data is App Annie for Jan-Dec 2018 and Jan-Oct 2019 extrapolated for Jan-Dec 2019

    • SVOD classification: including Telco, International and few independent apps

    • AVOD/Freemium classification: including Broadcast and other independent apps

    1. How does the India OTT market compare with some of the countries emerging OTT markets?

    • In terms of the # of OTT players India continues to be the most competitive in the world.

    • In India, while a few players seem to have stopped reported by App Annie they have been replaced by another set of new players keeping the total number of players to 33 as reported the same vis-a-vis 2018

    • The India market continues to be represented uniquely by all 4 segments of players – Broadcasters who have risen well to the challenge, International players with deep pockets like Netfilx, APV and Apple TV, the telcos and finally a large number of independents like VIU, Balaji Alt, Eros Now, HoiChoi.

    • Other territories are less competitive (or benign?) vs India OTT with the International players dominating in most markets. With exception of the MENA region, hardly any broadcasters participating as vigorously as in India

    • Crystal Ball Gazing: It will be interesting to see how much consolidation accelerates in 2020 with Disney Plus and more activity from the defenders?

    2. How has the India OTT market progressed vs 2018 on downloads and on consumption?

    • The number of downloads has remained flat vs 2018 but the Minutes Consumed increased by 64%. Is there some sign of maturity and loyalty setting into the behaviour of the consumer now?

    • Indians are consuming on an average 118 billion minutes per month consuming on OTT apps in the country. Clearly that’s coming at the cost of more traditional video sources.

    • We don’t think OTT will kill TV but the challenge is now very real and visible. Is potential finally turning to reality?

    3. The most polarising part of the OTT business. What is the interplay between the SVOD and the AVOD services?

    • Downloads growth is flat between the two segments. On Minutes growth, the SVOD services seem to have made gains although they still lag the AVOD / Freemium in terms of absolutes.

    • Clearly the paying or free trial customer is making full use of the SVOD access. Depth of content, highly visible shows in terms of promotions by the SVOD players like Netflix and APV seem to be winning customers.

    App Annie data also indicates how skewed the market is towards the top cluster. In terms of minutes share, 90% of the total minutes is contributed by 6 apps with the remaining 27 players giving 10% of minutes share. These top OTT apps by minutes share are:

    While 2018 was a year of making a splash with never before seen production mounting on the OTT space, heavy marketing spends to support these launches 2019 did come across to be a year of and consolidating. Focus on revenue and recovery of investments (real profitability is still some time away) was high.

    Some bets on 2020:

    • Original content launches will be the flavour of the season with all the effort and our suspicion is that the hours of content here will rival that of a GEC channel producing and releasing first run content.

    • Regional will continue to grow. More regional OTT launches – be it from broadcasters or from International players will be seen and there will also be a few independents like in the case of Telugu launching services.

    • The “for whom” will assume a stronger accent on content productions. More TG focused web originals will emerge instead of GEC style of content catering to a wider base

    • Technology driven by personalization, AI powered discoverability to unearth content specific to viewers will take on a deeper play.

    • SVOD players will innovate on pricing or payment mechanisms to deepen penetration, AVOD players will push for innovation on monetization beyond inventory to realise their reach potential

    2020 promises to be a tough year for the players but an exciting one for consumers who will continue to be spoilt for choice.

    (Vishal Maheshwari is country manager, and DS Ramakant Raju is associate director, growth marketing at Viu India. The views expressed are their own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

     

  • MX Player announces 20 new originals by March 2020

    MX Player announces 20 new originals by March 2020

    MUMBAI: Bringing viewers stories that matter, stories that are authentic and powerful narratives that evoke emotion – the brand has now announced 20 new originals by March 2020, making it a colossal 35 originals by the end of the business year.

    Hosting one of the largest collections of premium content available for video on demand in India, the platform has 1,50,000 hrs of “Everytainment” including content from their partners like SonyLIV, Applause, HoiChoi, SunNxt, TVF, Radio Mirchi, Dice Media and Arre amongst others.

    Elaborating on the same, MX Player  CEO Karan Bedi said, “To bring alive our next slate of amazing originals, we have collaborated with writers and directors par excellence, a stellar talent pool of superlative performers and stories which are a class apart! With our scale and penetration that is unparalleled in India, we truly have succeeded in building an entertainment ecosystem with widespread appeal.”

    Here’s a look at some of its marquee properties for the year.

    This November, fans will be treated to a musical extravaganza like none other with the launch of Times of Music which features the who’s who of the music world as a part of the show – including Vishal-Shekhar, Bappi Lahiri, Salim-Sulaiman, Pyarelal-ji, Amit Trivedi, Rajesh Roshan, Agnee, Euphoria, Indian Ocean, Shantanu Moitra and Amaal Malik just to name a few. This series heroes a never-seen-before concept where each episode features two legends – veteran composers and new age artistes – performing their renditions of each other’s most celebrated songs.

    An ode to Indian weddings and the shaadi season is an MX Original Series ‘Shaadi Fit’ that traces the journey of 4 young couples who are put through an intensive journey to turn into the best shape of their lives physically, mentally and emotionally for their wedding day.

    Investing in regional content across genres and languages, MX Player adds ‘Ek Thi Begum’ and ‘Samantar’ to its Marathi slate. The former is a thrilling revenge drama where a woman, pushed to the brink emerges as a dominant force to avenge her lost husband while ‘Samantar’ is another ambitious regional project featuring the superstar of Marathi cinema – Swapnil Joshi in the lead. The brand is also dabbling with 2 Bhojpuri shows – ‘Madhuri Talkies’ and ‘Runaway Lugaai’, while the Tamil slate brings you the most awaited series by National Award-Winning Director – Gautham Vasudev Menon – ‘Queen’.

     ‘Call it Magic’ is a crime thriller which stars acclaimed performers like Ranvir Shorey, Akshay Oberoi, Shweta Basu Prasad and Mrinmayee Godbole as the leads and its next is a relationship drama about love in your 20s, 40s and 60s – ‘Pawan and Pooja’ which features an ensemble cast including Mahesh Manjrekar, Deepti Naval, Gul Panag and Sharman Joshi amongst others.

  • hoichoi is now available on PatchWall on Mi TVs

    hoichoi is now available on PatchWall on Mi TVs

    MUMBAI: hoichoi, a leading Bengali entertainment platform with over 2,000+ hours of content, is now available on PatchWall on Mi TV, India’s number 1 Smart TV brand by Xiaomi. 

    This partnership was announced earlier this month along with four Mi TV 4X series ahead of hoichoi’s 2-year completion in the industry. Since then, Hoichoi has been rolled out to all Patchwall users across India. All Mi TV customers across India can access their favourite content on hoichoi which offers a variety of Movies, Classics, recently released Films (as World Digital Premieres), Original Series, Music Videos and much more. hoichoi will be providing Bengali content to over 2 million customer-base of Mi TV being the sole Bengali (regional) platform on PatchWall currently. 

    The new Mi TV 4X (65) is the flagbearer of the new Mi TV 4X series, with a large 163.9cm HDR LED display with Xiaomi’s in-house VPE (Vivid Picture Engine), and more. The Mi TV 4X series has been announced with an aim to bring 4K for everyone; it comprises of its flagship Mi TV 4X (65) along with Mi TV 4X (50), Mi TV 4X (43). The series is also the first in the world to come with Google’s Data Saver Mode.  The new generation of Mi TVs are powered by a new and refined version of PatchWall based on Android 9 Pie, designed specifically for the Indian market while retaining support for Google Assistant thus enabling universal voice search, PatchWall now provides a large selection of latest content: 700,000+ hours of digital content across 18 different content partners. 

    As hoichoi completes two years of Business Operations, one of the focus points for the 3rd year is ensuring seamless availability of hoichoi content on multiple devices, especially on TV screens. hoichoi is already available on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, and Roku App. Mi TV is a recent addition to their repertoire.

    Commenting on the partnership, Vishnu Mohta, Co-Founder of hoichoi, said: “PatchWall allows seamless integration of hoichoi on all Mi TVs where users can choose the interface (English or Bengali) to watch their preferred content. As hoichoi is an audience-first platform and we believe in delivering not only the content of their choice but also the devices they prefer, Mi TV comes as a wonderful addition to our library of devices which will keep growing according to the needs of our consumers.” 

    Eshwar Nilakantan, Category Lead – MiTV, Xiaomi India said, “With our content first philosophy, we hope to bring each Mi TV user a unique experience with a personalised interface. All this and much more is possible with PatchWall inbuilt into each Mi TV. hoichoi has been synonymous with ground-breaking regional content for the digital medium in the East and we are extremely proud to have brought them on-board with their high-quality immersive content offerings for all our Mi Fans. We hope to build great properties together. Mi TV offers over 700,000 hours of content and hoichoi is a very important partner who share similar brand philosophies as Xiaomi in terms of disrupting respective industries.” 

  • Riya Sen joins existing cast of Mismatch for Mismatch 2

    Riya Sen joins existing cast of Mismatch for Mismatch 2

    MUMBAI: After the success and hype of Mismatch, a comedy series by hoichoi which was streaming in September 2018, the world’s largest Bengali streaming service is now returning with Season 2. They have already brought back many of their Originals for a new season from last year – Hello S2, Dupur Thakurpo S2, Holy Faak S2, Chupkotha S2, Byomkesh S4 and more. 

    Though it is the Season 2 of Mismatch, the story-line has been changed with entirely new characters, having more fun elements than the previous season. The main cast remains the same with Rachel White, Rajdeep Gupta and Mainak Banerjee and even the director, Soumik Chattopadhyay. The exhilarating factor is that actress, Riya Sen returns to the Bengali content world after a long hiatus to star in her debut Bengali web series with hoichoi. 

    The unveiling of the cast was done in Myx, a lounge in Park Street, Kolkata in the presence of media and rest of the cast and crew talking about their excitement to start shooting for Mismatch 2. 

    The story of this season is about two couples: Abir (Rajdeep Gupta), Mishka (Riya Sen) and Anirban (Mainak Banerjee) Aditi (Rachel White). Aditi is Mishka’s boss. Whereas Anirban is a musician. Aditi is a hard taskmaster at her office, and everyone is petrified of her. Abir's sexual fantasies are almost like a nightmare for Mishka. On the other hand, Aditi is a dominating wife who acts and reacts like a boss even with her husband Anirban. Making Anirban scared of her, which ultimately leads to their unhappy conjugal life. When Abir finally persuades Mishka to be the hot wife to his bold fantasies, as luck would have it, the couple gets Anirban as the Bull. But Mishka and Anirban eventually fall in love. Abir gets furious and seeks Aditi's help and they end up being friends. As the plot unfolds Aditi finds out about her husband's infidelity, that creates havoc. Will these two couple clear this mess and end up being together or this is the start of another mismatched journey? 

  • hoichoi brings exciting offers for its subscriber-base by associating with GrabOn

    hoichoi brings exciting offers for its subscriber-base by associating with GrabOn

    MUMBAI: hoichoi, world’s largest digital content platform for Bengali movies & shows has entered into a unique partnership with coupon giants GrabOn. This tie-up will provide users with amazing discounts on a wide variety of verticals from food, fashion, travel, recharge and more from their merchants. hoichoi will be promoting these coupon & promo codes sourced from GrabOn on their social media platforms and also through other channels, to give their consumer base enthralling concessions in varied categories. At the same time, GrabOn would be creating a microsite and list all the offers available across categories which users who subscribe to hoichoi can avail. The microsite will again be promoted through hoichoi’s social channels and their user base through email, sms and other mediums. 

    Vishnu Mohta, Co-Founder of hoichoi, commented: “hoichoi will be the one of the first OTT platforms to enter in an interesting partnership with GrabOn. This will enable our subscribers to get offers from GrabOn through their website to avail them at their own accordance. We are a ‘customer-first’ company and we have always been focused at giving something extra to our subscribers. This partnership with GrabOn allows exactly that!” 

    GrabOn’s Founder & CEO, Ashok Reddy stated: “The partnership will help the market leaders break through to a whole new user demographic helping them save big on online shopping and purchase. This alliance will benefit both the parties, as hoichoi subscribers can avail the best discounts while GrabOn users can enjoy the extensive content library like originals and movies which hoichoi provides.”