ITV

Tag: Hotstar

  • Star India adopts Hotstar-only model in US, channels to go off cable TV from 5 January

    Star India adopts Hotstar-only model in US, channels to go off cable TV from 5 January

    MUMBAI: There’s a lot happening at Star India at the moment with its integration into the media and entertainment giant Disney underway. A crucial aspect of that arrangement played out on Thursday as president 21st Century Fox, Asia and chairman and CEO of Star India Uday Shankar was named chairman Star and Disney India, and president The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific as part of an international business unit restructuring.

    Another interesting development that has taken place at Star India is the bet it has taken to adopt a digital-only approach in the key US market.  Starting 5 January, Star India’s TV channels will be streaming only on Hotstar in the US. The entire Star India network, including Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Vijay, Maa, Asianet and Movies OK, will no longer be available on any cable TV provider in the US including Dish TV, Sling TV, Comcast, Verizon.

    While Star is the first major Indian broadcaster to go this route, others will eventually follow suit, an industry expert told Indiantelevision.com on the condition of anonymity, adding that the decision makes 'complete sense' given the current dynamics of the US market.

    The phenomenon of cord-cutting which stemmed from the US accelerated rapidly this year. According to a recent report by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 1.2 million people migrated from traditional cable TV in the 3rd (July-September)quarter, one of the worst quarters in pay-TV history. 

    Star’s decision could deliver a huge boost to its international OTT arm by driving up its subscription numbers.

    “As an innovative and disruptive media company driven by world-class content and technology, Star India is connected with several hundred million viewers all over the world. Every international market is unique, and therefore our business strategy and approach is customised to each region. We strongly feel that in the US, a digital-only approach would best suit the market, and therefore we have decided to make all channels of the Star India Network available exclusively on our digital streaming platform Hotstar, which is the go-to streaming platform for the South Asian diaspora in the US," a Hotstar International spokesperson told Indiantelevision.com.

    Earlier this year, a study predicted that the number of cord-cutters in the US would climb to 33 million adults in 2018.

    "However, while we have gone ahead with a digital-only approach in the US, in other markets, we believe that the powerful combination of linear TV and digital streaming provides a robust entertainment experience to consumers,” the spokesperson added.

    Apart from Star India channels streaming on its OTT platform, properties like the Indian Premier League (IPL) are likely to be available on cable TV through the Fox network, a Star India executive, who did not wish to be named.

    Unlike India, OTT subscriptions are much cheaper in the US when compared with DTH and cable. While most of the OTT apps charge $10-15 per month, traditional cable subscription costs close to $80. Moreover, the use of smart TV is a trend that’s on the rise, facilitating a better streaming experience for consumers.

    Notably, Hotstar extended its premium subscription in the US in 2017. At the moment, Hotstar's monthly pack is priced at $9.99, while annual pack costs $99.99 in the US.

    While Star's super streamer in India is way ahead of its rivals, the move to go digital-only is bound to help it in gaining ground against Netflix and Amazon Prime in the US, in addition to saving the company high maintenance costs of running a television network.

    Be it going all-in on Indian cricket, investing early in digital or taking a position against TRAI's tariff regime, Star India under Uday Shankar has always donned an aggressive and innovative approach. The company's latest play in the US is in line with that very template.

    (With inputs from Gargi Sarkar)

  • Ranjana Mangla joins Star Sports as VP – emerging sports

    Ranjana Mangla joins Star Sports as VP – emerging sports

    MUMBAI: Ranjana Mangla has joined Star Sports as vice president – emerging sports, Indiantelevision.com has learnt. Mangla, who took charge of her new role on Monday, was the national revenue head of India Today TV in her last gig.

    Mangla has previously worked with Discovery Jeet where she served as director – ad sales, India. Other than sales responsibilities, she also managed content partnerships for the entire network. She has also been part of Viacom18 as vice president – sales, spending more than four years with the media and entertainment conglomerate.

    Mangla has over fifteen years of experience in large and medium sales team management, complex commercial deal negotiations with expertise in revenue strategy, large scale product launches and C-level market relations.

    Starting her career as a marketing and PR specialist in Visionaire India, she has also worked with NDTV Lifestyle, NDTV Imagine, Star India, and the Dainik Bhaskar Group of Publications.

    Mangla’s appointment seems to be in line with Star India’s vision of driving growth with sports as a big pillar. Apart from cricket the Star Sports bouquet of channels broadcasts Pro Kabaddi, Indian Super League, I-League, Super Cup, Premier League, Bundesliga, Badminton World Federation events, Premier Badminton League, Ultimate Table Tennis, and other premium sports such as Formula 1, Wimbledon, The French Open and US Open.

    Earlier this week, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports along with Star Sports kick started the countdown to Khelo India Youth Games with an appeal to encourage India to play more- with the evocative ‘#5MinuteAur’ campaign.

    Khelo India Youth Games, which are a part of the Khelo India programme, will be held from 9 to 20 January 2019 in Pune, Maharashtra. The games will be telecast live across Star Sports Network and Hotstar in five languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

    Mangla was named national revenue head of India Today TV in July this year.

    India Today Group CEO Vivek Khanna too called it quits last month in a letter dated 30 November 2018. The resignation was informed to the Bombay Stock Exchange on the same date stating that he plans to pursue other professional opportunities by the company.

    Khanna joined India Today Group in November 2017.  

  • CNN explores why the future of the internet is Indian

    CNN explores why the future of the internet is Indian

    MUMBAI: India’s future role in the tech sector is under the spotlight in a special report for CNN Business – the first CNN article published in Hindi.

    CNN’s Rishi Iyenger reports that India has more than 500 million internet users, but also more unconnected people than any other country. As challenges arise in other markets in China, Brazil and across Africa, this makes investing in India the biggest opportunity in global tech today.

    Told in a unique interactive, CNN Business speaks to representatives from Google, Netflix, Paytm and policy advisors on how the Indian market is not only shaping their product, but also how digital giants are battling it out with homegrown rivals such as Flipkart, Ola and Hotstar.

  • Vidnet2018: Regionalisation, localisation the way forward for the OTT industry

    Vidnet2018: Regionalisation, localisation the way forward for the OTT industry

    MUMBAI: Over the top (OTT) is no more a baby. The ecosystem has been eating and growing slowly, taking centre stage in several media and entertainment related scenarios.

    On the stage of Vidnet 2018, hosted by Indiantelevision.com, experts from India’s leading OTT platforms were present. ZEE5 India CEO Tarun Katial, Amazon Prime Video India business director and head Gaurav Gandhi, YouTube India entertainment head Satya Raghavan, Voot head marketing and partnerships Akash Banerji and Hotstar consumer and revenue lead Prabh Simran Singh shared their key learning in a session named ‘Lessons from Battlefronts’.

    Moderator of the session, Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor in chief Anil Wanvari made the prelude of the session saying that it has been few years since the OTT ecosystem started in India and how it has been challenging since then. He also mentioned YouTube has been a pioneer much before any other platform. Another leading platform Hotstar came in later. He started the discussion asking market leader YouTube's Raghavan what have been the lessons over the years in terms of consumers, consumption and the way the market is playing out.

    While asked what the industry has learnt, Raghavan mentioned a very important point that is obviously putting consumer the “queen” before anything. He shared how consumer taste and presence dictate the core of content.

    “Second is that it takes a whole village to build this entire ecosystem. It was only when accessibility opened up and all of us saw that it’s not just that 100 or 150 million people who are out there to consume a content. The depth is just amazing that this country has as evident by television. So when we saw access open up, when we saw consumers coming up from every part of the country, creation started to follow. Today, there are creators on YouTube who are uploading content from over 400 locations in the country,” he added.

    Gandhi, now with Amazon Prime Video India, saw the OTT industry very closely since a nascent stage. According to him, people are hungry for good stories and Prime Video goes bigger with every original show. Added to that, he thinks going regional is essential for streaming services given the diversity of the Indian market. He also highlighted the fact that adding value to service makes customers want to pay.

    “I think given how diverse we are for streaming, regional is essential. The more you go regional, the bigger counts you get. We have now six languages of content. We have seen tremendous growth there. We have introduced Hindi UI, we will be following up it with Tamil and Telugu very soon. So, regionalisation and localisation is the second big thing,” Gandhi commented.

    Agreeing with Gandhi, Katial also highlighted the importance of going more regional and adding more languages to the library. While tech giant Google has been promoting voice search lately, Katial also believed that both in the top and bottom end of the market, searching by ‘type’ is not the way to go. Considerably, ZEE5 has voice search available in 12 languages.

    Voot’s Banerji added to these insights that delivering a good viewing experience for consumers is essential along with good content. Banerji also added that as a platform Voot believes that the depth of content in the library is important along with the width.

    For Hotstar, live sports has been very critical in building its business. Breaking the myth that sports is a large screen experience, Prabh Simran Singh commented that consumers also love to watch it on the small screen. Rather than screen, moment matters. He also added that uni-dimensional focus on business model helps as Hotstar built both SVOD and AVOD category side by side.

    All the experts also agreed on the polarised nature of the Indian market. While there are consumers wanting low bandwidth video, there are plenty of them wanting HD quality video. One segment may fit into AVOD business model, another one for high-end subscription. Smart TVs are emerging as an important device for consumption at the same time with feature phones priced at Rs 1500. While young audience still dominates digital space, consumption of spiritual content in older age group, educational content among kids are likewise prevalent.

    “There is no one type of customer, there are so many kinds of customers and it is how we fulfill their desire. The biggest challenge we have is how our storytelling can keep pace with people’s desire and provide the kind of content they want,” Gandhi commented.

    However, a comment from Raghavan sums up the most unique nature of OTT industry here. According to him rather than a battlefront, the Indian market is an amazing place to partner and collaborate with multiple players in the entire value chain.

  • Vidnet2018: OTT industry says innovation the need of the hour

    Vidnet2018: OTT industry says innovation the need of the hour

    MUMBAI: In the last couple of years, over-the-top platforms have emerged as mainstream entertainment source going beyond “mail-metro-millennial” phenomenon for a sizeable population in India despite television still holding its dominance.

    The beauty of the Indian market is its diversity enabling opportunities for various business models and content in several regional languages along with Hindi and English. However, with the growth of the industry, new challenges in different areas including technology and regulations are cropping up. To delve deeper into the issues, experts across the entire ecosystem came together at Vidnet 2018 hosted by Indiantelevision.com powered by Verizon which had ZEE5 as title partner. The long day summit became a perfect stage to discuss relevant issues concerning the industry as well as to gain new insights.

    At the beginning of the event, a very interesting session with Hulu Japan CCO Kazufumi Nagasawa moderated by Indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari set the tone for the day. The spokesperson shared the state of Japanese OTT market which is super crowded as well. But in contrast to the Indian market, most players are focused on SVoD service in Japan. However, Hulu Japan stands with 1.8 million paying subscribers with more than 50,000 hours of content. The session was followed by Verizon Digital Media Services EMEA and India managing director Taylor Riese who also said they are listing the challenges in the market with infrastructure in India.

    The attraction of the day was definitely the power packed session with speakers from the most popular OTT services and digital video platforms in India. ZEE5 India CEO Tarun Katial, Amazon Prime Video India business director and head Gaurav Gandhi, YouTube India entertainment head Satya Raghavan, Voot head marketing and partnerships Akash Banerji, Hotstar consumer and revenue lead Prabh Simran Singh shared their key learnings.

    Gandhi debunking the myth that Indians don’t want to pay for digital content saying that if customers see value in product they won’t mind paying and Katial mentioned an important fact that content cost in OTT is not going to be same as TV. While the session was named as “lessons from battlefront”, all the experts more or less agreed that the Indian market gives best opportunities for partnerships and collaborations.

     

    In another impacting session, Green Gold Animation founder and MD Rajiv Chilaka, Pocket Aces founder Ashwin Suresh, Contiloe founder Abhimanyu Singh from, SVF Entertinment president Ravi Sharma and Goldi Behel discussed the power of local storytelling. While five of them have been a part of the experience in creating versatile content targeting a particular audience, they highlighted how the time is perfect for content creators to be in the space owing to the new digital mediums. Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair, another veteran in the production business, mentioned another important fact that content is not a commodity that someone can win with a price war, rather it has to be won with a good story.

    Other than content, topics like the need for unified video measurement for better data was discussed in presence of IPG Mediabrands India CEO Shashi Sinha, MX Player CEO Karan Bedi, BARC India COO Romil Ramgarhia and Eros Now COO Ali Hussein.  Sinha said industry stakeholders need to arrive at a consensus for unified measurement to be a reality in India. Interestingly BARC India COO commented their technology is fully equipped to measure digital video.

    Content is king but it cannot conquer customers alone if distribution is not well enough. Nowadays people watch OTT content via various devices including basics like smart TVs, smartphones. Telcos also bundle OTT apps with their services to acquire more consumers as well as make it easy for those platforms to spread out. Questions related to making better innovations in distributions were discussed by ALT Balaji COO Sunil Nair and Viu head monetisation and distribution Sameer Gogate.

    Even the confab delved deep into the creator’s brains, tech strategies as various production houses, cloud servicing companies were also present in the conference to discuss their play. Ongoing issues like how to regulate OTT platforms were also discussed by two eminent lawyers, Abhishek Malhotra and Nidhish Mehrotra. Other industry stalwarts including Eros Now COO Ridhima Lulla, Hotstar EVP and chief marketing officer Sidharth Shakdher, Facebook entertainment partnerships head Saket Jha Saurabh, Arre co-founder and CEO Ajay Chacko, ZEE5 business head Manish Aggarwal, Vertice Entertainment founder and CEO Varun Mathur also shared key insights through different sessions.

    Though the ecosystem is evolving, it will take more time to say what’s going to work or what not.

  • Netflix has no plans to introduce cheaper offerings in India

    Netflix has no plans to introduce cheaper offerings in India

    MUMBAI: Denying market buzz about Netflix’s plan to introduce cheaper subscription plans in India, the streaming video giant’s CEO Reed Hastings said that an executive’s comments suggesting otherwise had been “misunderstood.”

    Hastings in an interview with Reuters noted that the OTT platform had three price tiers in India: Rs 500 ($6.90) for a basic plan, Rs 650 ($9.00) for a standard plan and Rs 800 ($11) for premium. Compared to the amount Netflix charges in the US, these prices are only modestly lower.

    “We see the typical mix across these three plans (in India) that we see in many other countries like the US, which would indicate that we don’t have a pricing issue. Because if it was, everyone would be on the lower price plan,” he said.

    After posting Q3 result in October, chief product officer Greg Peters said in an earnings call, “We’ll experiment with other pricing models, not only for India, but around the world that will allow us to broaden access by providing a pricing tier that sits below our current lowest tier.” This comment was widely perceived as an indication of the company’s plan to introduce lower pricing.

    “It got misunderstood as a decision that we are going to have lower prices in India, which is not something we are particularly contemplating,” Hastings said against this backdrop.

    However, Netflix boss did not deny that it’s not easy to penetrate a billion household with this subscription rate in Indian economy. Rather focusing on English-language, English-entertainment households will help to have a higher income. According to him, the high-end focus is “a practical, realistic” place to start and eventually targeting a broader audience.

    Hastings said Netflix could still thrive although Netflix has competitors in India including YouTube, Hotstar, Amazon who offer cheaper options for the audience. As YouTube is free, and Amazon is cheaper and cable is extremely inexpensive, that creates a consumer expectation. But Netflix boss added that the cost of Netflix in India was “like going to the movie theatre 2-3 tickets a month, but you get to watch a lot more.”

    While Netflix currently has more than 130 million subscribers worldwide, Hastings has said the India market could deliver the next 100 million subscribers.

  • Hotstar appoints Sameer Kapoor as Vice President – Agency Ad Sales

    Hotstar appoints Sameer Kapoor as Vice President – Agency Ad Sales

    MUMBAI: Hotstar, India’s leading premium streaming platform, announced the appointment of Sameer Kapoor as Vice President – Agency Ad Sales. In his new role, Sameer will be responsible for driving the relationship with media agencies to deliver measurable and impactful media strategy for clients through Hotstar.

    Sameer brings over 17 years of media and marketing experience to the table, having managed offline and online platforms in leadership roles across diverse industries and geographies. Sameer joins Hotstar from Google, where he was Head of Brand Measurement for the India & Southeast Asia markets. Prior to that, he sharpened his media management experience with Starcom as Vice President, overseeing the Samsung account, and Madison World as General Manager, handling Bharti Airtel.

    Commenting on his appointment, Sameer Kapoor said, “I’m thrilled to have joined the incredible team at Hotstar. As India's leading OTT platform, Hotstar offers tremendous value to users and marketers alike. In my role, I look forward to building stronger partnerships with agencies, enabling them to offer the most effective media solutions for modern multiscreen consumers.”

    Gulshan Verma, SVP and Head – Client & Agency, Hotstar added, ‘Sameer is joining us at a time when Hotstar has firmly established its might in digital video, through its massive content catalog and extensive set of advertiser tools to deliver highly targeted solutions for clients. It’s an exciting part of our journey and we’re excited to have Sameer drive the agency agenda for Hotstar.’

  • Guest Column: Innovation in the business news channel space in terms of coverage

    Guest Column: Innovation in the business news channel space in terms of coverage

    Business news genre has come a long way in the last 20 years of its existence in India and so has the business news coverage. It all started with covering stock markets and related news. However, I believe, there is business interest involved at the heart of almost every major event around the world. Be it a country deciding to invade another country or why the center of world cricket has shifted to England to Asia. In fact, most of these events impact stock markets, businesses and economies in some or the other way.

    I see business news covering the business aspect of all of these in a more holistic way and not restricting itself to coverage of stock markets only. I also think that since many of us need to know about personal finance management, business news channels can educate masses about personal finance management as well and make us understand the basics of investing in stock markets. BTVI has a show called Financial Planner to address this concern. We also have a feature show called Aspire that covers business aspects of luxury, lifestyle and entertainment.

    With important state elections coming and upcoming national election in India, we have upped the ante of our political coverage. In a vibrant and buoyant economy like ours, journalistic activism is critical and important. Knowing so, we have firmed up our investigative journalism over the last one year.

    This holistic approach has yielded positive results for us as we lead the English business news genre post market hours and on weekends with viewership share of 41 per cent each.

    Scope of a comparatively new news channel in the business genre.

    At present, the entire business news genre depends heavily on stock market related content which remains largely the same on all channels. Though the content post market hours (4 pm onwards on Monday to Friday) and on weekends can differ, from the viewership, revenue and brand perception perspective, the market hours programming (8 am to 4 pm on Monday to Friday) is the key to success in this genre in its current format.

    Besides, in the last couple of years, English business news genre has shrunk at all India level with average weekly viewership going down from 1009 GVTs in 2017 to 956 GVTs in 2018.  Even in terms of ad volumes, the FCT consumption has dropped by 15 per cent from 2017 to this year.

    Considering all the factors mentioned above, I don’t see a scope of a new news TV channel in the English business genre space. However, regional is a completely different and interesting proposition to evaluate.

     How can a business news channel increase its reach & viewership

    Well, there are traditional ways of ensuring OTS levels through distribution and marketing activities. But that’s not a sustainable way to function. The idea is for content and brands to reach out to the right TG. Why should that outreach be focussed on or limited to television platform? Why not on emerging digital platforms? In my opinion, expansion of digital footprints by existing brands is a way forward to increase the brand’s reach and awareness and translate part of that increased reach into television viewership.

    For example: BTVI is now available on with its LIVE streaming Not only on Hotstar, Jio TV, Yupp TV  but also on trading apps like that of Axis Direct, Kotak Securities, IIFL Markets and HDFC Securities. This is the relevant audience and we have seen a huge upside on impressions by reaching to our audience through these platforms.

    Source for all viewership data points: BARC India, TG:22+MalesAB, Market:6MegaCities+Guj1mn+, Period: Wk30-33 2018

    (The author is the COO of BTVI. The views expressed are personal and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)

  • HOOQ, Hotstar enter unique strategic partnership

    HOOQ, Hotstar enter unique strategic partnership

    MUMBAI: Southeast Asian OTT platform HOOQ has struck a unique deal with India’s leading streaming service Hotstar. Under the partnership, HOOQ’s 6000-hour catalogue of Hollywood TV shows and movies will be available for Hotstar Premium users.

    The deal is a win-win situation for both. HOOQ can leverage Hotstar’s massive 150 million monthly active users while the latter will be able to upsurge its premium English content easily. Star India’s digital arm already features content from studios like HBO, Showtime, Fox and Disney. Now, titles such as The Big Bang Theory, Arrow, The Flash, S.W.A.T., The Goldbergs and HOOQ Originals like The Oath will be available on Hotstar. Hollywood blockbusters and classics including Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Spider-Man and Pulp Fiction will be also available on the platform.

    “Hotstar Premium’s English catalogue is unlike anything you’ll find on any other platform in the world – an aggregation of content from across studios and content producers, at a single destination. This partnership with HOOQ, with its portfolio of curated blockbuster Hollywood content, seals the argument – for an English content fan, there is nowhere else to go,” Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan commented.

    “We are so pleased to announce this collaboration with Hotstar that combines their reach with our offering as the ‘Home for Hollywood’ in India. With the appetite for Hollywood content in India growing at a furious pace, we are poised to offer the Indian customer easily accessible and a very affordable way to watch the best of Hollywood. This partnership with Hotstar underscores our commitment to satisfying the Indian market’s appetite for on-demand content,” HOOQ CEO Peter Bethos commented.

    According to FICCI-EY’s research on India’s entertainment industry, box office collections from Hollywood films, inclusive of all regional language dubbed versions, totalling Rs 8.01 billion in 2017, making up 13 per cent of the overall movie box office in the country. English titles have witnessed significant uptick over last couple of years. As per the FICCI-KPMG Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017, gross box office collection of English films in India grew by 10 per cent in 2016 compared to 2015.

    “When it comes to English content, Hotstar Premium is uniquely placed in that it boasts titles from global studios like HBO, Disney, Showtime and Fox and now with HOOQ, iconic shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Flash, S.W.A.T and even cult classics like Friends in the fold. Regardless of mood, genre preference or which side of the superhero debate you sit on, Hotstar Premium is the single destination where English content consumers find everything. The partnership with HOOQ firmly strengthens that position,” Hotstar Premium business head Prabh Singh commented.

    “This is the start of a great relationship between HOOQ and Hotstar in India, we are excited to bring to life a wealth of content for a new audience. The OTT market is an exciting space and our belief is that it is imperative for consumers to have easy access to content. With this Hotstar partnership, HOOQ takes another step forward in becoming the service known as the “Home of Hollywood” on major platforms,” HOOQ managing director India Zulfiqar Khan said.

  • Facebook appoints Hotstar’s Ajit Mohan as India MD & VP in major coup

    Facebook appoints Hotstar’s Ajit Mohan as India MD & VP in major coup

    MUMBAI: The social media giant Facebook finally ends its hunt to find a head for India operations. Facebook has appointed Ajit Mohan as Managing Director and Vice-President of Facebook India. He will join Facebook early next year.
    In this newly created role of Managing Director for India, a VP-level role, one of the most important responsibilities for this person will be aligning teams and driving Facebook’s overall strategy in India. This is a new structure for Facebook India of having a senior leader reporting into Menlo Park and not Asia Pacific.
    “India is one of the largest and most strategically important countries for Facebook. As we think about what it will take to achieve our mission of bringing people together and building community, we know that investment in India is critical. Ajit’s depth of experience will help us to continue to have a positive impact in India across communities, organizations, businesses and with policy makers”, Facebook Inc vice-president of business and marketing partnerships said David Fischer.
    “I am delighted to take on the mantle of shaping Facebook’s charter in India. It is a unique opportunity to shape the agenda of a company that has brought the world closer together in one of the most exciting markets in the world. I look forward to championing India in Facebook and working with stakeholders across the spectrum to help build deep and meaningful communities across the country” Ajit Mohan commented.
    He joins Facebook from Hotstar, the streaming platform launched by Star India, where he was Chief Executive Officer. He launched and built Hotstar into India’s leading premium video streaming platform. Ajit is an alumnus of McKinsey and Company’s New York office where he worked with media companies around the globe as well as served as a Fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, where he focused on India’s rapid urbanization. He is a graduate of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.