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  • As Rasoda meme trends on social media, brands jump in to leverage the heat

    As Rasoda meme trends on social media, brands jump in to leverage the heat

    NEW DELHI- For the past few days, Rupal Patel Datta aka Kokilaben from a TV serial Saath Nibhana Saathiya has been trending on social media. The show might have ended in 2017 but scenes from the show have kept the humour alive. It also features other actresses Rucha Hasabnis aka Rashi and Giaa Manek aka Gopi Bahu.

    It started when a Youtuber Yashraj Mukhate posted a hilarious music video which included the dialogues of Rashi Ben Cooker and Rashode Me Kaun Tha! In the scene, Kokilaben is seen scolding her daughters-in-law Gopi bahu and Rashi for putting an empty cooker on the gas.

    “My sister-in-law sent me a message about it. Later my co-actor, Rhea Sharma sent me the rap. My immediate reaction was surprise and shock. I was perplexed about how Yashraj got this clip since I never sang on the show. Later, I realised that it’s a rap and he has used my dialogues for it. I liked it so much that I asked a few friends for his number. I spoke to him and expressed my gratitude,” Rupal said.

    “Only prominent characters or personalities become the subject of memes or caricatures, and I am proud that Kokilaben is one of them,” she added.

    The video instantly became viral and started dominating twitter trends in India. It received more than six million views.

    Participating in a meme trend helps a brand add a dimension of fun to its social media presence and strategy.

    The whole scenario triggered a meme fest online which led brands to join the bandwagon. Even Mamata Banerjee and Jaipur Police also tweeted about it.

    Zomato is known for its quirky posts which grabbed the attention as usual and posted on social media platforms saying; It’s better to order food online, instead of putting empty cooker on stove. Mc Donald’s also tweeted a post which mentioned, McDonald’s k kitchen Mein Fries Hai.

    Even brands like Dunzo, Twitter, Netflix, Hotsar, Parle-G, Manforce India picked up the trend and posted hilarious creative posts on the same.

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    Damn right it's better than yours

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    Kokilaben found out what #Rashi was up to

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  • OTT players up the ante with niche content

    OTT players up the ante with niche content

    MUMBAI: With the digital era progressing at a geometric rate, India’s media and entertainment industry has seen the proliferation of a number of over-the-top (OTT) players, including many international players. As a result, several niche genres of content are finding a place to grow. Viewers are coming to associate each platform with a type of personality represented through its content.

    According to FICCI’s 2018 report, digital subscription in 2017 grew by 50 per cent, riding on the back of niche content. Global content, sports and, increasingly, OTT-only content are also other factors behind the whopping growth of rising viewership on digital.

    India’s burgeoning OTT market already has more than 40 OTT players according to estimates. To draw viewers, each platform has to make a separate identity for itself. Subscription-based video on demand has, however, a long way to go as only three per cent of Indian households are paid subscribers of online video-streaming services. To attract more paying subscribers, the video platforms need to come up with content which users will think are worth paying.

    Despite making inroads into several developed countries, Netflix is yet scraping the surface of the Indian arena. Its major international competitor, Amazon, has left it far behind here. However, Netflix has created its signature with its large number of original series such as The Crown, House of Cards, Bojack Horseman, Stranger Things etc. Moreover, other than the originals, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Rick and Morty, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Sherlock are streaming on Netflix attracting a large number of binge watchers. A report by Netflix stated that 88 per cent of its Indian viewers are binge watchers, the third highest in the world. The country finishes series in three days compared to the global average of four days.

    But the country lacks in good local content. Though it has added some famous Hindi movies to its library, it does not have enough regional content to offer. Realising the demand, Netflix announced a new multilingual original series in partnership with Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment.

    Compared to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video is doing good business in India. According to App Annie’s February report, Amazon Prime Video had 13.4 million active users but Netflix had 6 million active users. One of the main reasons for its success is that Amazon has a brilliant movie library for India’s Bollywood crazy fans. The e-commerce major has potential deals with five big long production houses-Yash Raj Films, Excel Entertainment, Dharma Productions, Vishesh Films, and T-Series. Data shows that Indians don’t mind consuming longer content on data connections. Viewers love to watch Hindi movies on the platform. Amazon realised early on that in multi-lingual India, you can’t make do with just Hindi and so delved into regional content as well.

    Star India’s OTT arm Hotstar is sprinting here with its large content library. The live streaming of sports matches is one of its best features. For multi-lingual audience, it offers a wide range of catch-up content in several languages while urban folks can watch shows from HBO, Disney, Fox such as Game of Thrones and Westworld.  

    IPL streaming on Hotstar is one of the biggest boosts for it. This year, it will be telecast in six languages – Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Bengali. 

    Among other platforms, Voot has youth-centric TV shows including Big Boss, MTV Unplugged, Roadies, Splitsvilla. Gaurav Gandhi’s successor as Voot COO is likely to bring some change. Sony Liv also has exclusive rights of cricket matches from several countries.

    Amidst a huge number of OTT platforms and a long list of contents, content discoverability is a major issue. In this context, almost every platform is unable to satisfy audience with proper suggestions despite having a large variety of contents. To enhance their recommendation engines, the platforms have to implement artificial intelligence and machine learning. However, a recent study showed that none of these are yet able to beat good old word of mouth.

    OTT players have the work cut out for them here. From branding themselves to ensuring there’s something for everyone, the challenges lie spread out.

    Also Read :

    Hotstar Trends 2017: Women, small town, cross-language consumption rises

    Amazon’s content spend at $5 bn a year, confirms report

  • Star India & HBO ink programming deal to screen original content

    Star India & HBO ink programming deal to screen original content

    MUMBAI: Star India and HBO have inked an exclusive programming agreement that will bring HBO original content to a wider audience via Star’s English channels as well as its digital platform Hotstar.

     

    Star India will now air HBO original programming including Game of Thrones and True Detective.

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, “Star is delighted to partner with HBO to bring world class HBO original programming for Indian viewers. Star will become the exclusive destination for screening HBO content in India – once again resetting the benchmark for quality and depth of content offering for its viewers. Fans will be able to watch their favourite HBO Original programs on Hotstar on the same day as the telecast in the United States. Viewers will also be able to see the HBO Original programming on Star’s English channels.”

     

    “Hotstar, is a leading destination for our growing family of content viewers.We have constantly aspired to offer high quality content across genres and languages, and HBO Originals with its outstanding program bouquet, I am sure will be yet another quantum leap in delighting and enthralling our viewers,” Shankar added.

     

    HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink said, “HBO is delighted to enter this new chapter in India with Star. Through the first release of our shows on Hotstar, Indian audiences will now have unprecedented flexibility in how they consume HBO’s much loved premium programming.”

     

    Apart from Game of Thrones and True Detective, other forthcoming series of HBO Originals include Silicon Valley, Veep, and Leftovers as well as new HBO Original series in the forthcoming season, which will include the Scorsese series Vinyl scheduled to air on 14 February and West World. In addition, library favourites such as Entourage, Band of Brothers, The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm will also be available.