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Tag: Hungama Digital Media

  • Hungama Play bets big on regional language content

    Hungama Play bets big on regional language content

    KOLKATA: Hungama Digital Media’s VoD platform Hungama Play has unveiled plans to release more than 20 original shows in six Indian languages over the next 12 months.

    These languages include Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and Bhojpuri, which together contribute to over 80 per cent of the consumption on the platform. Hungama Play’s first Telugu original show, Game, releases this week. The show will receive a multilingual showcase and will be available in Tamil and Kannada as well.

    In addition to their availability on Hungama Play, all original web series will benefit from Hungama’s wide distribution network. Most shows will be available to stream through Hungama Play on MX Player, Airtel Xstream, Vi Movies and TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Tata Sky Binge, Tata Sky Binge+, DishSMRT Stick, D2H Stream, DishSMRT Hub, Siti Playtop, ISPs like Meghbela Broadband, Alliance Broadband, ACT Fibernet and Netplus, and smart TVs like TCL, OnePlus TV, LG, Sony Bravia, CVTE, Toshiba and CloudWalker. Additionally, Hungama’s association with Xiaomi will enable consumers to watch the shows via Hungama Play on Mi TV.

    Hungama Digital Media founder & CEO Neeraj Roy said, “The multilingual and multi-genre approach that we have followed for building our content library has helped us increase consumption on our platform by over 3X in the last two years, with the six key languages serving as the primary drivers for this growth. We are committed to strengthening our original programming further by delivering local, relevant and entertaining narratives, now across several languages. We are certain that our programming coupled with our distribution network will help us increase our user-base by 2X over the next year.”

    Releasing on 21 April 2021, Game is a crime drama in Telugu (also available in Tamil and Kannada) that weaves in elements of mystery and thrill, and follows six different people, each involved in a murder conspiracy.  Their quest for the truth sets into motion a plan that throws their lives into chaos. The show stars popular actors from the Telugu entertainment industry – Noel Sean, Srikanth Iyyangar, Kona Sasitha, Vinay Varma and Abhinav Manikanta – in key roles. It is produced by Gangapatnam Sridhar and directed by Ganga Sanampudi.

  • Pay-per-view takes off in India, but has a long way to go

    Pay-per-view takes off in India, but has a long way to go

    KOLKATA: While the last year has seen the entry of new over-the-top (OTT) players, it has witnessed the burgeoning of new business models as well, pay-per-view being one of the most noticeable trends. A number of new entrants, along with some of the existing over-the-top players, launched this transactional model. Very recently, online ticketing player BookMyShow and telecom player Vi introduced their own on-demand services under the TVoD category.

    Despite it being the latest bandwagon, experts are sceptical about pay-per-view’s success in the market. For the value-conscious Indian viewers, who are much more inclined to pay for bundled catalogues, this model will tempt only a minuscule set of audiences. But with effective pricing and marquee content, pay-per-view may increase its attractiveness.

    Vi announced the launch of its pay-per-view streaming service, available on Vi Movies and TV app, in collaboration with Hungama Digital Media. Vi customers will be able to rent premium Hollywood movies at Rs 120 and others at Rs 60 for a period of 48 hours.

    Media expert Rajiv Sharma thinks content under this model should not disappear so soon. According to him, the model can work better if the library is phenomenal, and moreover, whatever is being picked up should be available for long term, at least for six months.

    While movie theatres being shut for a long time led to a line-up of movies pending releases, there is a huge backlog that will not hit theatres right now for multiple reasons. Hence, some of the pay-per-view platforms feel that consumers might shell out for watching movies at home, Elara Capital VP research analyst (media) Karan Taurani said. But he also pointed out that most Indians pay for cinemas considering it as an outing and for the overall experience. So, it can be challenging to get consumers to just pay for one content.  He also mentioned that the model has been tried and tested by DTH players but they have not been able to scale it up.

    ShemarooMe was one of the first players to launch a pay-per-view service ShemarooMe Box Office during lockdown. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd rolled out Zee Plex in October. In early February, BookMyShow’s streaming service debuted under the TVoD model, offering 600 movie titles and 72,000 hours of content. Notably, BookMyShow Stream allows users to either buy or rent a movie and the price point ranges between Rs 40 to Rs 700. Some smaller regional players are also testing the waters with this model.

    Kuarte Digital’s Uday Sodhi noted that the pay-per-view model is not new in India. Earlier, telecom operators had tested this model or other aggregators like Apple also went for this pricing model, albeit OTT platforms have been trying it for the first time in the wake of Covid2019.

    “This model is still at a very nascent stage. Also, if you look at BookMyShow streaming service, this is more of an evolved ticketing system for movies. TVoD is a good proposition for live events, sports coupled with effective pricing. It is very unlikely for major OTT platforms to choose TVoD for mainstream entertainment content,” Sodhi added.

    However, according to Sharma, if pay-per-view is strategised properly, it will give users more flexibility and control over payout. An average user sometimes watches only one-two content in a month paying for the library. With a proper price gap, it might attract that part of the user base. Even so, every piece of content cannot be a marquee property, “killer content” is very rare, which is one of the biggest gaps for this model.

    Among the top players, SonyLIV is dipping its toe in the pay-per-view pool by introducing WWE to its viewers with the WWE Network pack curated specially for fans of pro wrestling. Most experts are of the view that the chances of major platforms exploring this model are very rare. Instead, they will look at innovative comprehensive pricing like Netflix did with its mobile only plan, Taurani stated. To reach critical mass, the subscription should be the focus area for bigger players as of now, experts believe. 

  • Hungama Play premieres ‘Spotless’ a short film based on acid attack survivor

    Hungama Play premieres ‘Spotless’ a short film based on acid attack survivor

    MUMBAI: Hungama Play, a video on demand platform owned Hungama Digital Media, premieres a short film called Spotless that traces the struggles and indomitable spirit of an acid attack survivor.

    The short film will feature activist-turned-actor Shweta Rohira and playback singer Sonu Nigam in lead roles. It’s written and directed by Saurabh M Pandey and produced by Naven Kumar Sharma.

    Hungama Digital Media chief operating officer Siddhartha Roy said, “Spotless delivers a compelling message, making it extremely relevant for the world we live in. The film highlights a critical issue and makes the audience aware of the gravity of the situation.”

    He said, “We have continually worked towards building a diverse library that includes a variety of stories, narratives, languages and genres, and are honoured to premiere a film on a subject as pressing as acid attacks. Spotless will prove to be a thought-provoking experience for our viewers.”

    The story revolves around the emotional and psychological struggle of an acid attack survivor, Aditi (Shweta Rohira) and her husband Varun (Sonu Nigam). It attempts to sensitise the audience about a horrific crime that, for a long time, went unchecked in society.

    The lead protagonist Shweta Rohira while sharing her experience of an acid attack victim said, “Spotless was an extremely moving experience since the narrative is filled with elements of emotional stress, psychological hurdles and acceptance.”

    She added that violence against women has been increasing at an alarming rate. As citizens of this country, it is our duty to be vocal about such issues and work together to arrive at solutions.

    A role that is as challenging as Rohira’s, Sonu Nigam reciting his experience said, “Spotless is close to my heart because of its message and the characters. Both, Aditi and Varun, are strong individuals trying to come to terms with reality.”

    “Varun is an intense yet kind, caring individual, who continues to support his wife through thick and thin. I’m extremely proud of Spotless and look forward to seeing the audiences’ reaction,” he added.

    Meanwhile, Spotless writer and director Saurabh M Pandey said,“The short film is an inspiring journey of a couple dealing with the aftermath of a tragic event in their lives. The short film aims to raise awareness of the trauma faced by acid attack survivors.”

    He added, “While Sonu Nigam has delivered a spine-tingling performance bagging the Best Actor award, Shweta has received admiration for distinguished and an outstanding portrayal of a survivor.”

    The short film will also be available to stream through Hungama Play on Vodafone Play, Idea Movies&TV, Airtel Xstream App, Amazon Fire TVStick, Tata Sky Binge, SHAREit, and Android TVs.

    Spotless will join Hungama Play’s vast content library that includes over 5000 films in English, Hindi and regional languages, more than 1500 short films, 7500+ hours of kids’ content, TV shows, originals and over 150,000 short-format videos in various genres like music, film gossip, humour etc.

  • Hungama Music now streaming on Alexa

    Hungama Music now streaming on Alexa

    MUMBAI: Hungama Music, one of the leading music streaming platforms in the country owned by Hungama Digital Media, today announced the availability of its service on Alexa. Users can now listen to their favorite tracks on the Amazon Echo range of smart speakers as well as the Amazon Fire TV Stick by simply asking Alexa to play songs from Hungama Music.

    The service enables users to stream individual tracks or songs from an entire album and even songs featuring a particular actor or a genre. Playlists curated by Hungama consisting of songs from composers, singers, occasion- specific trends and themes are also available. Users can access Hungama Music’s library on their Alexa devices using simple voice commands such as “Alexa, play Dilbar on Hungama”, “Alexa, play Punjabi songs on Hungama”, “Alexa, play Arijit Singh’s songs on Hungama”.

    Speaking about the association, Siddhartha Roy, COO, Hungama Digital Media said, “At Hungama, we believe in offering our users an enriching experience that combines convenience with the power of choice. Our presence on Alexa, Amazon’s voice-based assistant, will help us ensure a truly multi-channel presence and enhance the users’ experience of listening to music at home. At the same time, the association will make it even easier for our users, existing and new, to explore and enjoy our multi-genre, multi-lingual and original content library.”

    Dilip R.S., Country Manager for Alexa Skills, Amazon India added, “Listening to your favorite music hands-free with Alexa is always a delight. With the availability of Hungama Music on Alexa, users will now be able to enjoy a diverse catalogue of film and non-film music across all major languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and more, by using simple voice commands. The addition of Hungama will further enhance the experience of all Alexa users.”

    To enjoy the Hungama Music service, users need to launch the Alexa app and enable the Hungama Music skill.  Once enabled, users also have the option to make Hungama Music their default streaming service by visiting the ‘Music’ section under settings. This eliminates the need to specify the music service name when asking Alexa.

  • Hungama Music starts original audio programming in Tamil ‘Endrendrum Punnagai’

    Hungama Music starts original audio programming in Tamil ‘Endrendrum Punnagai’

    MUMBAI: Hungama Music has announced its foray into original audio programming from 22 January. Starting with Endrendrum Punnagai, a Tamil audio original, Hungama Music will soon launch additional shows in other key Indian languages including Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi, Bengali and Marathi, among others.

    Endrendrum Punnagai is hosted by RJ Sindhu and is now available to stream on Hungama Music.

    Speaking about the foray into audio originals, Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy said, “Like video content, there is an increasing demand for differentiated and local content on music streaming platforms. Over 48 per cent of our audience consumes content in languages besides Hindi. Our audio originals will help us enhance the user experience by offering an enriching catalogue of exclusive content, besides a multi-lingual and multi-genre library of songs and music videos. We plan to launch five to six audio originals in the next 12 months and aim to increase our regional user base by almost 30 per cent.”

    Hosted by RJ Sindhu, a known name on radio in Chennai – often called the morning energy shot for her listeners, Endrendrum Punnagai will focus on musicians from Tamil Nadu and their contribution to the world of music. The initial episodes of the show will be dedicated to the internationally-acclaimed musical maestro, AR Rahman, with subsequent episodes being dedicated to other well-known musicians from Tamil Nadu.

    Through its audio originals, Hungama will focus on creating locally-relevant audio content that enhances the overall music listening experience and complements its vast library spanning multiple genres and various Indian and international languages.

  • Hungama Digital focuses on storytelling & narrative

    Hungama Digital focuses on storytelling & narrative

     

    MUMBAI: Jumping on the digital content bandwagon, digital entertainment company Hungama Digital Media announced four web series in the first half of this year. On the back of the encouraging response from its first two shows, it forayed into the regional content space recently. While “content is the king” has been hailed as the tagline in the ecosystem, Hungama Digital Media COO Siddhartha Roy also said storytelling and narrative have been the primary focus of the platform‘s content strategy.

    Recently, the streaming platform launched its third original web series Bar Code. Roy said that it took them more than 1.5 years to ensure it was of high quality. To promote the show, Hungama will primarily leverage its own assets in digital media as well as YouTube. Along with that, interesting corporate communication, public relation and outdoor marketing will play an important role.

    Before Bar Code, it released Damaged and Hankaar which got good consumer response. “The response has been encouraging and that’s the reason we went into the regional space. Between the two shows, we have done 48 million episodic views. It gives us a lot of strength to go out and build this space. So you will see a lot of it on the back of this great consumer acceptance,” Roy said.

    Boys with Toys, another show which was announced earlier this year will be launched in the next two months. The first Marathi original show will also be launched soon. In addition to that, there are a number of new shows in store which are in the process of greenlighting or under production. More interestingly, with the first regional show, Hungama will also enter the brand integration territory. “We will not tell a story as we have a brand to work with but we will look at the story and will see if there’s an opportunity in that story to work with the brand,” he mentioned.

    “Now we are reaching out to the target of 53 million users today and of that we have roughly about 32+ million users which consume video product. So, our intent is basically to go out to that audience.  “Along with a large Indian audience, we have a very large South Asian audience when it comes to outside India,” he said.

    While he was asked if international players are putting more pressure on local players, he said Indian market is ever growing and the game is beyond “us versus them”. Consumers will flock towards the content they find interesting. It will be about who can tell a good story and build a community for that narrative.

    “The ecosystem today has roughly 150-180 million consumers who are consuming video. I believe that will grow to 500 million over the next three years. More opportunity to come and much more consumers,” he commented.

    The new player with an ambitious roadmap is waiting for FY 20 with exciting plans. Over time, it will invest more in the digital content space and for better distribution will look at more partnerships.

  • Ad, M&E stalwarts together in IAA’s Sony-backed first cricketing event in Mumbai

    Ad, M&E stalwarts together in IAA’s Sony-backed first cricketing event in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: International Advertising Association (IAA) recently hosted the IAA Cricket League 2016, one of the most successful and largest cricketing events that brought the M&E and advertising fraternity together.

    Cricket being one of the most popular sports in the country and among corporate circles alike, the IAA Cricket League was a huge success with 24 teams from leading advertising and Media and Entertainment entities battling it out against each other to win the champion’s trophy. Presented by Sony Max, the two day event was held on November 5 & 12 at The Islam and Wilson Gymkhana at Marine Lines.

    With many intense rounds of games and a nail-biting finish, the Mid Day team was adjudged the winner, while The Social Street bagged the runners up title. IAA president Neeraj Roy, and IAA vice president Monica Tata presented the winner’s trophy to the victorious eleven from the Mid-Day team.

    Hungama Digital Media CEO & MD Neeraj Roy said, “Sincere thanks to Sony Max for supporting this event and also to all the 24 companies. The game has truly been a winner and my best wishes to Mid-Day. A special thanks to my colleague Atit Mehta for putting this event and also Sports 360 as well.”

  • Ad, M&E stalwarts together in IAA’s Sony-backed first cricketing event in Mumbai

    Ad, M&E stalwarts together in IAA’s Sony-backed first cricketing event in Mumbai

    MUMBAI: International Advertising Association (IAA) recently hosted the IAA Cricket League 2016, one of the most successful and largest cricketing events that brought the M&E and advertising fraternity together.

    Cricket being one of the most popular sports in the country and among corporate circles alike, the IAA Cricket League was a huge success with 24 teams from leading advertising and Media and Entertainment entities battling it out against each other to win the champion’s trophy. Presented by Sony Max, the two day event was held on November 5 & 12 at The Islam and Wilson Gymkhana at Marine Lines.

    With many intense rounds of games and a nail-biting finish, the Mid Day team was adjudged the winner, while The Social Street bagged the runners up title. IAA president Neeraj Roy, and IAA vice president Monica Tata presented the winner’s trophy to the victorious eleven from the Mid-Day team.

    Hungama Digital Media CEO & MD Neeraj Roy said, “Sincere thanks to Sony Max for supporting this event and also to all the 24 companies. The game has truly been a winner and my best wishes to Mid-Day. A special thanks to my colleague Atit Mehta for putting this event and also Sports 360 as well.”

  • Hungama Digital Media launches Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipes app

    Hungama Digital Media launches Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipes app

    MUMBAI: Culinary perfection now in your hands. Sanjeev Kapoor, the pioneer of Indian cooking shows launches an app containing his special recipes along with delectable delights. The app named ‘Sanjeev Kapoor’s Recipes’, features cuisines from India and the world. With a bundle of exciting recipes, cuisines & categories to awaken your inner chef, the ‘Sanjeev Kapoor’s Recipes’ app is sure to make everyone a hit in the kitchen. It is a complete cookery manual that goes everywhere with you to help you in the kitchen. Includes exciting features like ‘Shopping List’, ‘In Your Fridge’, ‘My Khana’, ‘Recipe Box’ and many more.

     

    The app offers a wide range of features developed by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment. With the ‘Sanjeev Kapoor’s Recipes’ app, users can access detailed recipes with pictures, special notes by Sanjeev Kapoor himself and some innovative new features. Users can also learn more about Sanjeev Kapoor in the ‘About Chef’ section of the app; they can locate the nearest Sanjeev Kapoor restaurant with the ‘Restaurant Locator’ feature. The ‘How to Use’ and ‘FAQs’ sections contain a plethora of information and tips regarding the exciting features of the app.

     

    Adding to the list of existing features, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment has included some industry-first special features called ‘In Your Fridge’ and ‘My Khana’. When you have only a few cooking ingredients to choose from, the ‘In Your Fridge’ feature allows users to select a category, add a list of ingredients they possess and look for recipes only as per the ingredients and category selected. The ingredient-based search is an innovation like no other. ‘My Khana’ allows users to submit recipes to the app and follow each other once they sign up. The app carries a gamification feature; users receive points on the recipes submitted. Users can view the top scores on the ‘Leaderboard’.

     

    Commenting on the launch of the app “If you ask me what’s happening in my world today, I would say it’s my new mobile app. Sanjeev Kapoor’s Recipes. With this app cooking becomes easy and fun. The app has everything from recipes for every day dining or festive dining or just cooking up a meal with whatever’s available in your fridge! Cherry on the cake, you can win points and thus exciting gifts by logging in. Now you and I come even more closer, with our common love, cooking!” said Sanjeev Kapoor

     

    Commenting on the features of the app, Neeraj Roy, MD and CEO of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment said, “We are delighted to partner with Indian culinary guru Sanjeev Kapoor to launch the ‘Sanjeev Kapoor’s Recipes’ app, which will assist users access scores of recipes with detailed descriptions and pictures. With the app we hope that we can make routine cooking a more fun and enjoyable experience for our consumers. The app will be available across Android, iOS and Windows platforms.”