ITV

Tag: Lionsgate Play

  • Lionsgate Play brings Argentine crime series to Indian audiences

    Lionsgate Play brings Argentine crime series to Indian audiences

    Mumbai: In an attempt to draw the millennial audience to its streaming service, Lionsgate Play is all set to launch a captivating Argentine crime drama on its platform. The series named The Cleaning Lady (La Chica Que Limpia) will premier on Lionsgate Play on 21 May. 

    The Cleaning Lady is an Argentine police drama that revolves around the life of Rosa, a young single woman who gives up her scholarly dreams to take care of her son’s medical treatment. As pressure mounts up, Rosa is forced to work as a cleaning lady at the boxing club in her neighbourhood, where fights and illegal bets are organized. Things take a turn in her life when she is expected to do the unexpected while working as the cleaning lady. 

    The series stars Marcelo Arbach, Antonella Costa, and Martín Rena in the lead roles. The series is directed by Lucas Combina and is scripted by Irene Gissara, Greta Molas, and Lucas Combina. 

    With an IMDB rating of 7.9, it has won several accolades that include Martín Fierro Federal Gold Award and the Martín Fierro FederalAward for the best Federal Fiction series.

  • Lionsgate Play eyeing collaborations to get ahead in Indian market: Rohit Jain

    Lionsgate Play eyeing collaborations to get ahead in Indian market: Rohit Jain

    KOLKATA: In December 2020, Hollywood studio Lionsgate rolled out its independent video streaming app Lionsgate Play here and later expanded its presence in Indonesia. Distribution, payment mechanism, flexible strategy around ARPU – will be the three key factors to make a significant presence in emerging markets in India, according to Lionsgate South Asia and networks- emerging markets Asia managing director Rohit Jain.

    Jain was speaking at Future of Video India 2021 organised by the Asia Video Industry Association. “Globally our view is that streaming is eventually going to settle into a three-tier structure which is no different from linear structure. Technologies will change and that makes it convenient for consumers to sort of watch content but the segmentation of customers and their behaviour don’t change,” he said.

    He further revealed that Lionsgate Play is looking to position itself around the mid-tier. While a large network might be looking at 250-300 million subscribers, it may target 70-75 million subscribers. The OTT platform currently has around 30 million subscriptions worldwide.

    “It is important to let go of the fixation around ARPU. It’s a very incomplete metric unless we look at volumes parallel to that,” Jain commented. Emerging markets like India have huge volume unlike markets like the UK, the US, the platforms don’t have to look at standalone metrics always, he detailed.

    In addition to that, distribution is a key factor in these emerging markets as they are more fragmented markets with mobile-first consumers. Jain stated that distribution has to be far more layered compared to developed markets as the platforms need to work on various factors like b2c app, devices, collaboration with telcos, aggregators.

    Lionsgate Play’s distribution strategy in India does not revolve around reach or access. The platform looks at how it can reach consumers as complementary services through collaborations – how the platforms come together, create data bundles, a-la-carte models etc.

    Additionally, a large part of consumers in these markets are not frequented with net banking, credit cards. Hence, the workaround payment mechanism also becomes far more complicated, Jain noted. “In a sense, these markets will teach you more than western markets,” he added.

    In terms of content strategy in India, the global ethos of cinema scale premium content, edgy, untold, provocative storytelling remains the same. Moreover, its content strategy is based on curated content rather than offering an ocean of content. Lionsgate Play is also looking at a well-rounded content slate for India focusing on multiple genres.

    “Global productions will have audiences but you can’t take away the value of local productions especially in India where local language content always has been very strong. There are multiple things we can do starting from dubbing. We localise our content across seven to eight languages in India. Local originals are also important. Everybody at the end of the day wants to watch local stars. That market will be 10X larger than Hollywood content,” Jain noted.

  • LIONSGATE PLAY ANNOUNCES PREMIERE SLATE OF INTERNATIONAL ORIGINAL SERIES ‘THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE SEASON 3’ on 7 MAY IN INDIA

    LIONSGATE PLAY ANNOUNCES PREMIERE SLATE OF INTERNATIONAL ORIGINAL SERIES ‘THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE SEASON 3’ on 7 MAY IN INDIA

    Lionsgate Play, a premium streaming platform by Starz, is all set to premiere the third season of the critically acclaimed anthology series ‘The Girlfriend Experience Season 3’ from Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh. Written and directed by internationally acclaimed German filmmaker Anja Marquardt, executive produced by Philip Fleishman and starring Brazilian-American talent Julia Goldani Telles.

    The first and second seasons of The Girlfriend Experience were well received by the audience worldwide and achieved positive reviews from critics.

    The third season of ‘The Girlfriend Experience’ is a 10-episode anthology series set amidst the London tech scene and focuses on Iris (Telles), a neuroscience major. As she begins to explore the transactional world of The Girlfriend Experience, Iris quickly learns that her client sessions provide her with a compelling edge in the tech world and vice versa. She then begins to question whether her actions are driven by free will, or something else altogether, and heads down a deep path of exploration.

    The series stages chilly drama about the lives of escorts with dual life narratives that is dark and bold with daring and captivating lead female characters, making it the most compelling drama on screen. The official trailer and key art were released out of the third season’s debut at South by Southwest (SXSW) world premiere.

  • Lionsgate Play marches into Indonesia market

    Lionsgate Play marches into Indonesia market

    KOLKATA: Global streaming platform Starz has launched its direct to consumer OTT app Lionsgate Play in Indonesia, expanding its presence in Asia following a successful launch in India.  With this, Lionsgate Play’s deep library of Hollywood blockbusters, film franchises and first-to-Indonesia original series and boxsets are immediately accessible to a wide Indonesian audience.

    Lionsgate Play Indonesia will bring blockbuster film franchises including The Hunger Games and Twilight Saga, the star-studded global box office hit Now You See Me, Academy Award-winning films from other studios like The Aviator and Babel, romantic drama Remember Me and acclaimed original television series Weeds, Power, Mad Men, and The Spanish Princess directly to Indonesian consumers.

    Starz president and CEO Jeffrey A Hirsch said: “Indonesia is an exciting market for us. The large and diverse population, increased data usage in urban and rural markets, and adoption of OTT across all demographics created an exciting opportunity for us to launch Lionsgate Play. We’re confident that our unique, exclusive and exceptionally curated content will generate a great response from Indonesian audiences.”

    The service has also launched with an attractive price point in Indonesia, making the app available as part of two subscription models, IDR 35 per month and IDR 179 for a year, price points that give Indonesian consumers the opportunity to enjoy the best of global entertainment affordably and at their convenience. Lionsgate Play content will also be made available through various bundle offerings with key partners such as Telkomsel and Telkom. The attractive price points and flexible availability give Indonesian viewers multiple convenient options to enjoy Lionsgate Play.

    Lionsgate Play Indonesia general manager Guntur Siboro believes that the combination of the OTT app launch and the previously-announced partnership with big players Telkomsel and Telkom will bring a seamless customer experience and easy access to Lionsgate Play content for their subscribers. “The partnership allows us to give more Indonesians the best entertainment experience. With a diverse audience reach, Lionsgate Play can be exposed to various levels of society. Everyone can enjoy Lionsgate Play content. Stay tuned for more exciting announcements,” he said.

  • Lionsgate Play says ‘play more browse less’

    Lionsgate Play says ‘play more browse less’

    NEW DELHI: Lionsgate Play has launched its campaign ‘Play More Browse Less’ in India with a quirky digital film featuring actors Tiger Shroff and Ananya Panday. The digital film is developed on the insight that millennials spend too much time today trying to find what to watch and the app, with its curated edgy line-up, looks forward to solving this problem.

    The integrated campaign will be extended across impact properties on digital and social media.

    The film showcases Tiger Shroff pranking Ananya Panday by drawing a moustache on her face while she is sleeping. Seeing herself on a video camera she gets annoyed and tells Tiger to utilise his time better. Tiger says, “Teri tarah browse karne mein time waste nahi karta, Lionsgate Play app hai mere paas (Unlike you, I don’t waste time browsing. I have Lionsgate Play app).”

    Lionsgate South Asia and Networks – emerging markets Asia MD Rohit Jain commented, “Our app launch has received a phenomenal response from Indian viewers. We have been offering curated content from all across the globe to our viewers. We extensively emphasise on edgy content that is easily accessible on our savvy interface. Today the consumer has a plethora of choices but is always struggling as to what to watch next. We have launched our brand campaign basis this insight and bring a promise to our consumer to Play More Browse Less. We are very excited to rope in Tiger Shroff and Ananya Panday and feel they are the right talent to introduce Indian audiences to shows like Normal People, Manhunt: Deadly games, Romulus and No Man’s Land to name a few.”

    Tiger Shroff said, “I am really excited to partner with Lionsgate Play, have loved some of the global movies and shows they have made. Very happy to be a part of their India chapter.”

    Ananya Panday said, “Normal People is one of the shows that I have been waiting for a while and I am really excited it's finally on Lionsgate Play in India. I am really happy to share some of my favourite shows and movies from my watchlist on Lionsgate Play. Really excited to partner with Lionsgate Play."

  • BBC Studios inks deal with Lionsgate Play in India

    BBC Studios inks deal with Lionsgate Play in India

    NEW DELHI: BBC Studios has signed a new content catalogue deal with Lionsgate Play, marking the first-ever partnership between the streaming service in India and the British production powerhouse. The new deal bolsters the premium Lionsgate Play content portfolio with a fresh raft of bold, British drama.

    Lionsgate Play recently made its independent foray in the Indian OTT landscape. The streaming service is currently available on Google Play Store, Apple App Store, Amazon Firestick and via Airtel Xstream, Jio Fiber and Vi Movies and TV.

    Under the agreement, viewers will receive five exciting scripted dramas selected for the Lionsgate Play platform, spanning science fiction, period and contemporary genres to cater to a wide range of viewing interests:

    ·       Brexit: The Uncivil War – Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and an ensemble cast of British talent, the show dives into the activities and strategies behind the ‘Vote Leave’ campaign building up to the European Union referendum of 2016. Produced by House Productions.

    ·       Class – Written by stalwart Young Adult novelist Patrick Ness and set in the iconic universe of Doctor Who, the eight-episode series centres around the Coal Hill School and a group of four classmates-turned-unlikely allies, as they battle against the invasion of the alien Shadow Kin. Produced by BBC Studios and executive-produced by Steven Moffat.

    ·       Les Misérables – An extraordinary cast of A-list actors, including Dominic West (The Wire) and Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite), bring this epic adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel Les Misérables to life, telling the story of fascinating characters caught up in poverty and the unrest of post-revolutionary France. It is produced by Lookout Point and BBC Studios.

    ·       Pure – This critically-acclaimed comedy drama centres around 24-year-old Marnie, as she moves to London for the first time and struggles to control her intrusive obsessive compulsive disorder. It is based on Rose Cartwright’s book of the same name and offers a frank, sympathetic window into mental health. Pure is produced by Drama Republic.

    ·       SS-GB – An epic period drama produced by Sid Gentle Films and based on the novel by Len Deighton, SS-GB dives into a sobering alternative history. It is 1941, and the Germans have won the Battle of Britain. Detective Douglas Archer finds himself working under the brutal SS in occupied London.

    BBC Studios distribution (South Asia) VP Stanley Fernandes said, “These programmes represent the cutting-edge of both BBC and British storytelling as a whole, and we’re really excited to bring even more choice to the discerning Indian viewer, through this deal with Lionsgate. In the midst of India’s dynamic streaming and entertainment landscape, we’re pleased that British drama and formats continue to find new platforms and an enthusiastic public reception in the region, and that these stories are accessible to as wide an audience as possible.”

    Lionsgate South Asia and Networks SEA MD Rohit Jain said, “We are delighted to have partnered with BBC Studios. Indian audiences have always enjoyed British content and the unique content line up provided by BBC Studios covers various genres of entertainment. It is classic, powerful and ground-breaking. We are confident our viewers will be swooped into another world.”

  • Lionsgate Play enters Indian streaming arena with SVoD model

    Lionsgate Play enters Indian streaming arena with SVoD model

    KOLKATA: Another global player makes its official foray in India with the rollout of Lionsgate Play. After running on partnerships for more than a year, Lionsgate has now introduced its independent streaming service. Along with international premium content, it will also deliver high-budget Indian originals. Like other global streaming services, Lionsgate Play will also run on subscription model.

    The service has two pricing points – Rs 99 per month, and Rs 699 per year, which is very competitive compared to other OTT services in India. The app will be available to download across a broad array of platforms and devices including Google Play store, Apple app store and Amazon firestick.

    The platform anticipates continued strong growth in the Indian OTT ecosystem and is capitalising on this opportunity by bringing a host of “new, provocative, and edgy movies and web series”  to the country.

    Starz (a subsidiary of Lionsagte) president and chief executive officer Jeffrey A Hirsch said, “India has always been a key market for us. The large and diverse population, increased data usage in urban and rural markets, and adoption of OTT across all demographics created an exciting opportunity for us to launch Lionsgate Play. We’re confident that our unique, exclusive and exceptionally curated content will generate a great response from Indian audiences.”

    Lionsgate South Asia managing director Rohit Jain added, “We are thrilled to launch the much-awaited Lionsgate Play app in India. We want to provide the finest, never seen before content that will captivate our audiences with bespoke entertainment drawing on the most exciting current releases and our premium library.”

    Talking about content slot, Jain added that it will  be launching Indian originals in the coming months, featuring untold edgy urban stories from some of the best creative minds in the Indian film industry. Jain mentioned that it tied up with the famous B-Town faces like  Anil Kapoor, Mukesh Bhatt, Kunal Kohli and studios such as Endemol Shine, Jar Pictures.

    Starz first launched internationally with its Starzplay international premium streaming platform in 2018. This month it will expand  its global footprint into 55 countries throughout Europe, Latin America, Canada, Japan and India, aiming to become one of the most widely distributed and fastest growing premium OTT services worldwide while entertaining millions of users with bold and curated content.

    The Lionsgate Play app features a broad portfolio of content ranging from the best of original feature film and television dramas, romances, comedies, thrillers and action favourites and premieres, bringing world cinema and television series directly to Indian audiences.

  • MediaCom bags media mandate for Lionsgate Play

    MediaCom bags media mandate for Lionsgate Play

    NEW DELHI: Following a competitive multi-agency pitch, GroupM’s media agency MediaCom has won the media mandate for Lionsgate Play in India.

    As their full form AOR, MediaCom will be responsible for the media strategy, planning, buying and implementation for all media as per Lionsgate’s requirements. The last year has been exciting for MediaCom with a couple of big wins, with Lionsgate adding another feather in their hat. 

    The account will be managed and supervised by the MediaCom Mumbai office.

    Lionsgate is a global content platform whose stellar range of films, television series, digital products and linear and over-the-top platforms are available to audiences around the world. Lionsgate Play is the global giant’s most recent OTT service offering in India, which features internationally acclaimed content such as Twilight series, Hunger Games, Wonder, Now You See Me, John Wick series, recently Oscar-nominated Knives Out and Bombshell to name a few to the Indian audiences.

    Lionsgate South Asia MD Rohit Jain said, “This is an exciting year for Lionsgate Play. We will be launching our B2C app soon and aim to reach out to the maximum number of audiences with the right media mix. We are glad to partner with MediaCom and are confident about their result-oriented approach.”  

    MediaCom South Asia CEO Navin Khemka says, “Content consumption has witnessed unprecedented growth in the last couple of years more so over the last few months as a result of the lockdown. Lionsgate Play has some great content in their arsenal. Being the first OTT platform in the country to also focus on offering key Hollywood content in region-specific language will definitely make the right connect with the Indian consumer. We look forward to creating an unmatched brand experience for them.”

  • Lionsgate Play celebrates one year anniversary, geares up to launch an exclusive app

    Lionsgate Play celebrates one year anniversary, geares up to launch an exclusive app

    KOLKATA: The global content leader and Hollywood studio house Lionsgate entered Indian OTT market in August 2019 with its premium streaming service product, Lionsgate Play. The brand launched its operations in the country by forming a strategic alliance with Vodafone Idea. With this collaboration, subscribers of Vodafone Play and Idea Movies and TV gained access to Lionsgate Play's enormous library of Hollywood content, which is populated by renowned franchises and films like La La Land, Twilight series, John Wick series, Wonder, Dirty 30, Knives Out, American Pie and many more.

     Correspondingly, for unparalleled distribution, Lionsgate Play strategically formed alliances with other telecom partners having enormous reach in India like Airtel for Airtel Xstream app and Jio for JioFiberJioTV+ to give customers of the Indian telco access to Lionsgate’s portfolio of feature film content. Further, Lionsgate Play made itself available on JioTV+ and what began as a smart phone-led content revolution transitioned and expanded to encompass consumer televisions and other large screens in the home.

     With the tremendous response received from the Indian viewers, Lionsgate Play launched Blockbuster Friday series – releasing one new film every Friday. Blockbuster Friday series showcased films from various genres such as horror, comedy, drama, action, thriller, sci-fi and romcoms. This resulted in the rise of viewership and increased stream time per user. Lionsgate Play also hosted Digital Movie Premiers of the Oscar nominated films like Knives out and Bombshell along with John Wick 3to name a few.In addition, Lionsgate Play dubbed many of its popular titles in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bhojpuri for regional-speaking cinema lovers, for them to enjoy Hollywood movies in their preferred language.

    Now having tested the Indian waters and receiving great response from viewers, Lionsgate Play is all geared up to launch an exclusive app very soon. The app will house Cult Hollywood Movies, Popular Global TV shows and a few premium Original Indian shows that are being currently developed. All and all the company is further strengthening its offering as a premium content provider to Indian users.

     Commenting on the partnership,  Lionsgate South Asia managing director Rohit Jain said,“Lionsgate Play’s collaboration with telecom partners in India has witnessed surge in viewership with each passing month. As a premium Hollywood content brand, we introduced fresh quality content for our consumers and provided content as per demands whether it was for action thrillers or romcoms. We made sure there is content for everybody. We are ecstatic about Lionsgate Play’s success on these platforms. We will continue to invest in technology and expand our library for our userbase in India.”

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Lionsgate Play makes its content available to JioFiber customers

    Lionsgate Play makes its content available to JioFiber customers

    KOLKATA: Global content leader Lionsgate has formed an alliance with Jio to bring the Lionsgate Play streaming service to JioFiber customers as part of the Studio’s biggest partnership to date for large screens in South Asia, the two companies announced today. The association will give JioFiber customers access to Lionsgate Play’s blockbuster line up of Hollywood film franchises and other hit movies on JioTV+ in the comfort of their homes.

    As the media landscape continues to evolve, Indian audiences are consuming more and more premium quality content including Hollywood movies on large TV and desktop screens. The unique partnership between Lionsgate and Jio enables Lionsgate Play to bring to customers a deep and diverse slate of horror, comedy, drama, action, thriller and documentary films as well as movies from other genres.

    JioFiber users can access Lionsgate Play content from JioTV+ app on their Jio set-top box. There is no need for separate log-in or downloading of the app. In addition, regional-speaking cinema lovers can enjoy Lionsgate Play’s blockbuster movies, including The Hunger Games franchise, John Wick series, Knives Out, La La Land, The Twilight Saga and many more, in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bhojpuri without any barrier.

    Commenting on the partnership, Lionsgate South Asia managing director Rohit Jain said, “We have recently seen a surge in viewership across Indian platforms as more and more people stream premium content. What began as a smart phone-led content revolution is transitioning and expanding to encompass consumer televisions and other large screens in the home. In response, we will continue to invest in technology and distribution with great partners like Jio that give our consumers the option of watching our movies either on large screens or on their smartphones. This alliance with JioFiber is our first major step amongst several such initiatives to come in taking content on large screens within comforts of consumers’ home”