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Tag: Manav Sethi

  • Industry hails doubling of digital allocation

    Industry hails doubling of digital allocation

    MUMBAI: One of the key points that came out of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s Union Budget 2018-19 was the focus on Digital India. The allocation was doubled to Rs 3073 crore and the budget was clearly beyond wooing voters.

    The government has decided to increase digital intensity in education and technology will be the biggest driver in improving quality of education. Jaitley aims to move from blackboard to digital board schools by 2022.

    About Rs 14.34 lakh crore is to be spent on rural infrastructure. According to the budget, five lakh Wi-Fi hotspots will be setup to provide broadband access to five crore rural citizens, at the cost of Rs 10,000 crore.

    ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi said, “It’s a great effort from the government if it’s executed well for connectivity. It is easier but more relevant to connect small villages and towns in India on Internet rather than roads. This connectivity has the potential to impact not only India’s entertainment options but their means of livelihood, healthcare and education.”

    HAL Robotics MD Prabhakar Chaudhary says that the government has understood the need and capability of technology. “It’s great to see that the government is recognising future technology for building the nation’s future. Not only does this help in job creation but also advances the nation in competitive global space.”

    Instappy founder & MD Ambika Sharma believes the move with empower society in areas like broadband and mobile connectivity. “Furthermore, the allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for the five lakh WiFi hotspots to provide broadband access to five crore rural citizens is also promising. With nearly 70 per cent of the country’s population living in rural and semi-urban geographies, the move will give the vision of a digital India a big boost and provide businesses an opportunity to upscale.”

    Staqu CEO and co-founder Atul Rai believes that this year’s budget has not only taken significant steps towards the digital India vision but also towards inculcating the latest technologies like artificial intelligence for the national development. He said, “With NITI Aayog to establish a national programme for artificial intelligence, we look forward to supporting the nation with R&D support and more programmes like ABHED which is already assisting the polices forces with AI capabilities. With the advent of new technologies and the Indian government being equally eager to adopt them, we strongly foresee the nation to be on the road to transformation and emerge as one of the leading digital nations on the world map.”

    Said BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta: “Budget 2018 is clearly focussed on driving rural sector growth. This should result in higher rural incomes and therefore higher standards of living in rural India. Our baseline study indicated that economic prosperity and higher living standards go hand in hand with TV penetration and higher TV consumption. With only 2/3rd of Indian homes having access to TV, there is huge headroom for growth here, and this year’s budget should help drive up TV ownership and consumption in rural India. As head of a tech-driven research company, I am also excited to see government’s focus on machine learning, artificial intelligence and other such technologies of the future. One dampener for industry is the hike in basic customs duty on certain electronic equipment including LCD/LED/OLED screens, which would make TVs more expensive. Our barometers too are likely to get more expensive, and this will raise burden on industry for our planned panel expansion.” 

    Contradictory to that, nexGTv COO Abhesh Verma opines thinks that doubling the budget for the digital India scheme will be emerging as a major move towards assisting the nation to progress further. He commented, “The second development of investment of Rs 10,000 crore for rural Wi-Fi hotspots, giving five crore citizens access to broadband speed internet by the deployment of five lakh Wi-Fi hotspots should help bring more consumers online, increasing digital consumption of services like OTT, entertainment, banking, and e-commerce. We at nexGTv feel that all these steps are a definite plus for the significant growth of the digital businesses in the country.”

    In the same track, News18.com editor language Nidheesh Tyagi feels that Arun Jaitley has really shown this government’s serious emphasis for digital India. He said, “An extra Rs 10,000 crore is provided to bring 50 million people through five lakh wifi hotspots in rural areas to this side of the digital divide. I am sure much of this action is going to happen in languages. We hope to see more use of digital payment through mobile spreading in the tier 3 / 4 towns and villages besides more connectivity on mobile, broadband and access to government services. Digitisation of agricultural markets will also benefit some 300 million farmers.” But he feels that more could have been achieved by reforms in telecom sector.

    Haptik founder & CEO Aakrit Vaish has a similar opinion as Rai. He commented, “With NITI Aayog to establish a national programme for AI, this will not only significantly aid job creation but will also assist the government to move towards its vision.”

    Government will take measures to stop cryptocurrency circulation, as it is not considered legal tender. Jaitley proposes use of blockchain technology to encourage digital payments and curb the use of cryptocurrencies, setting up of a national programme to encourage AI and providing easy internet access to villages.

    Also Read:

    Industry holds bright outlook for budget 2018

    Union Budget 2018:  Populist budget fails to excite industry at large

    Guest Column: M&E sector pins hopes on a developmental budget

  • Known actors profitable to web series: ALTBalaji’s Manav Sethi

    Known actors profitable to web series: ALTBalaji’s Manav Sethi

    MUMBAI: Bollywood actors are seeking refuge in TV and online series. The spurt of content with known big-screen faces points to a trend of getting value out of their established names.

    ALTBalaji has launched a plethora of shows with A-list names. “It is more profitable to sign an actor when he does justice to the role and the script does justice to the actor. It is not about celebrity or non-celebrity. We are the first one to sign Rajkumar Rao for an online series. We, as creative shop and storytellers, don’t go behind celebrities, we go behind actors,” says ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi.

    Actor selection is not dependent on his one time success or failure. “When we script, we check which talent will be suitable,” he adds.

    The actor’s fee in movies is significantly higher than web series. Actors are paid in the range of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore for a series, which is significantly less than their movie fee. What makes them settle? Sethi answers, “Movie is a medium that is restricted and constricted whereas online shows give them a lot more freedom, versatility and options and I believe that entices them.” He adds that another crucial factor is the ability of web series to reach out to far and diverse audiences.

    The tactic also works for the creator because they can ensure their work reaches millions of people with less marketing and communication. The production cost goes up by 25-50 per cent if they sign a known face.  

    ALTBalaji launched a web series The Test Case on Republic Day with actors like Juhi Chawla, Nimrat Kaur and Rahul Dev. A few days back, ALT had roped in Vivek Oberoi for its upcoming web series Family (working title). Before that, it came up with Bose: Dead or Alive with Rajkumar Rao. Earlier, Ragini MMS Returns had the Bengali beauty Riya Sen. Soon, Haq Se will stream with Bollywood actors like Rajeev Khandelwal and Surveen Chawla in the lead.

    ALTBalaji is heating up the online content game by releasing web series back to back in 2018 with the promise of doing about 200-250 hours of original content this year. The VoD player is betting high on popular Bollywood and TV actors, which increases the cost but still gets them significantly better results.

    Also Read :

    Regional content on ALTBalaji to constitute 15% of show hours 

    Selective, snackable, short episodes, niche mktg vital, says Manav Sethi as ALTBalaji ranks among top OTTs

    ALTBalaji bets big on first-time producers with Haq Se

  • ALTBalaji’s ‘The Test Case’ stands out amongst the rest with raving reviews from the critics and the viewers

    ALTBalaji’s ‘The Test Case’ stands out amongst the rest with raving reviews from the critics and the viewers

    ALTBalaji’s eagerly awaited show ‘The Test Case’ featuring Nimrat Kaur in the lead, streamed on the ALTBalaji app and website on 26th January, 2018 and in just three days of its launch the #ALTBalajiOriginal has been a hit online!

    Nimrat Kaur who essays the role of Captain Shikha Sharma in the show has passed the test with raving reviews from critics and the audience alike. The internet has been abuzz with viewers and critics praising the show’s concept, storyline, direction and performance of every actor, part of the show.

    The show has been garnering tremendous support from women as well as men from the different strata of life as it attempts to break gender stereotypes with its concept. ALTBalaji’s social media campaign #WomenInGreen has been an instant hit too with celebrities as well as the aam aadmi joining the campaign and urging others to do so.

    While the critics and audience are bowled over by Nimrat Kaur’s bravura act in The Test Case, performances by the talented Atul Kulkarni, Annup Soni, Rahul Dev and Juhi Chawla are also being appreciated.

    Being called #TheBestCase, it’s a show that’s ahead of its time and the one that should not be missed. The show attempts to highlight relevant issues around women in combat roles in Indian army as Captain Shikha Sharma (Nimrat Kaur) in the show is first such TEST CASE and her struggles and battles with traditionally male dominated but highly revered combat arm of Indian Army.

    Talking about the success of the show ALTBalaji of Officer Marketing Chief, Manav Sethi said, “We are elated with the response to The Test Case. It’s a powerhouse show of ALTBalaji and the one that’s ahead of its time. The show is different from other shows available on various other OTT platforms and we are glad that the show is appreciated for being distinct and stands out amongst the rest.”

    Directed by Vinay Waikul, featuring Nimrat Kaur, Atul Kulkarni, Rahul Dev, Manit Joura, Annup Soni, Sameer Kochhar, Akshay Oberoi and Juhi Chawla The Test Case is streaming now on the ALTBalaji app and the website.

  • ALTBalaji bets big on first-time producers with Haq Se

    ALTBalaji bets big on first-time producers with Haq Se

    MUMBAI: There has never been a better time to be a producer in India. The entertainment industry, despite several challenges, is exploding with consumers willing to lap up stories that were not told before. In the race to experiment and create fresh content, two producers jumped into the pond of content production after being afforded the opportunity by one of the bigger OTT platforms-ALTBalaji.

    ALTBalaji is all set to kick start the new year with a big bang by launching a new Urdu web series Haq Se in the third week of January. The 20-episode series is an adaptation of classic novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, which is produced by the producers of Mano Rama Pictures – Karan Raj Kohli and Viraj Kapur.

    This is the first on air project of Kohli and Kapur and they have collaborated with Star Plus for two daily soaps. Manor Rama Pictures is aiming to set their second project with ALT in 2018 and have discussed a brief of another series with them.

    The digital series have many film-centric names attached to it, like, Ken Ghosh is the director of the series. The story and screenplay is written by Devika Bhagat, who has written the film Jab Tak hai Jaan whereas Renuka Kunzru wrote the dialogues for us. The star cast includes popular names like Rajeev Khandelwal, Surveen Chawla, Parul Gulati, Simone Singh, Rukhsar, Aanchal Sharma, Nikeesha Rangwala, Pavail Gulati and  Karanvir Sharma. Even, the DOP has earlier worked on the projects like Baaghi, and used a multi-camera setup for shooting the series in Manali and Mumbai. The series is filmed on two cameras on most days on Arri Alexa XT. 

    According to ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi, “The series is shot in Manali largely as we wanted to give the backdrop of Kashmir. As far as FY 2017-18 is concerned, this is the second biggest show of ours after Bose. It is a women-skewed show, although the average women-men skew on the platform is 45 and 55. We will be leveraging the marketing on television and largely on digital with an investment under a million dollar. Out of this, 70 to 80 per cent investment will be on digital. The total marketing budget for the year is under $ 10 million.”

    In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Karan Raj Kohli and Viraj Kapur shared the experience of their first digital project.

    Tell us something about your series and your experience while shooting it.

    Karan: Ekta Kapoor is a very dear friend, so on a random day we discussed doing a new show together. We met and shot some ideas past each other and then she came up with the idea to work on an adaptation of a classic novel called Little Women. It is a beautiful story based on four sisters in the era of World War II. We decided that we need to Indianise the story considering it’s based on a different time. We started the process and worked on adding more spices in the story, how do we make it more Indian, more coordinated with present age and more relatable to brand India.

    We decided to get Rajeev Khandelwal onboard. We also started casting while developing the characters. This was the most special part of the journey. We had several filters while casting. We had to ensure the girls looked Kashmiri and that they had similar features, they could speak a bit of Urdu, and each character stood out but seemed like a part of the same big family. 

    Is this your first web series?

    Karan: Yes, this is our first web series. We would like to call it a digital series, along the lines of other international platforms since this is not a show that releases completely on a social platform. The difference between a digital series and a web series is that the latter is free and meant for snacking and targets audiences that tune in and tune out. Whereas a digital series is paid content that is high concept and has the same challenges that film does to bring audiences to tune in for a fee. So it has to be cutting edge and fresh that is not available to audiences in other mediums i.e. TV or film. 

    Are you planning for a second season?

    Viraj: Yes, we already have a contract in place and are in talks for a second season. Since this is a novel adaptation, we have covered only 75 per cent of the first novel and there are three more sequels to the book so it is going to be a long series. Most probably, we are going to be doing one season a year, anywhere from 15-25 episodes. Digital series is a new medium, so later when things get more streamlined, there may even be two or more seasons in a year. The first season consists of 20 episodes.

    How much is the investment per episode?

    Viraj: It is a Rs 10-15 crore project. Generally for any web series on ALT, Netflix and Amazon, the budgets range from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 2 crores per episode and per episode cost of this project is somewhere between Rs 50-75 lakh.

    Did you get any advertisers onboard?

    Viraj: There is no in-film branding since it is paid content. One can tune in to watch episode after a pay-wall for a minimal annual subscription fee. We haven’t started our promotional process yet. But most part of it will be handled by Alt. We are going to have the trailer and episode launch in early Jan.

    How many days did it take to complete the shoot?

    Karan: 82 days – roughly about 50 days in Mumbai and 32 days in Manali. Our crew was local from Mumbai itself. We did not hire any locals from Manali. We had a line producer who was organising things there. The size of our team was about 100 people excluding juniors and 250+ with juniors.

    What are your previous works? What are the two projects with Star Plus?

    Karan: Yes, we were doing two projects for Star Plus, one is a finite series with about 100 episodes and the other one is infinite. They are still under wraps and will be on air soon. They are regular telenovela styled shows. However, Viraj and I want to create content that has a social message, a take home for our audiences. We do not want to create content solely for entertainment or for the sake of it. We want to put out content that leaves a lasting impact even after having switched off the TV or having left the cinema hall, something that stays with them, something to really think about right before they sleep. 

    What are your marketing strategies for Haq Se?

    Viraj: Since this is a digital series, we will be relying heavily on digital push like social media and digital mediums to promote this. From our end, we will be setting up interviews next month with the press and will be uploading bytes too on our social media pages.

    How are you going to earn from this?

    Viraj: We have been commissioned by Alt, we invest the entire amount and they procure it from us. It’s a cost-plus scenario for Manor Rama. However, the IP rights are with AltBalaji.

    Were the actors given any kind of special training?

    Karan: There were a couple of delays considering the director held workshops with the cast to make them all feel together, like blood bound sisters. We were to shoot the series in Kashmir first, but because of the slight unrest, we decided to shoot in Manali. 

    At which locations did you shoot?

    Karan: We have shot the series in Manali and Mumbai. Each prop in each room to bathroom, everything was sourced locally from Kashmir or designed from scratch. Every single location and thing and even a painting has been created from scratch for the shoot. Same goes for every costume, Winnie Malhotra has designed the outfits.

    Other than Urdu, what are the other languages spoken in the series?

    Viraj: The series is in Hindi with splashes of Urdu. It is a mix of three languages, i.e., Urdu, English and Hindi, primarily Hindi because we do not want to alienate our audiences, and we need to have mass appeal. But Urdu is very similar to Hindi, so our writers did a lot of research in terms of figuring out the right words, the local dialect etc.

    What are your other line-ups for the year 2018?

    Viraj: We are in talks with Star TV for two shows for which we have already shot pilots. We have another project that is still in the writing process. We are also making a film, that’s under wraps right now, but will be announced early next year. 

    Also Read –

    Regional content on ALTBalaji to constitute 15% of show hours 

    Ragini MMS Returns to ALTBalaji with racy marketing

    ALTBalaji show Bose ‘anthem of protest’ is full of adrenaline, says Hansal Mehta

  • Regional content on ALTBalaji to constitute 15% of show hours

    Regional content on ALTBalaji to constitute 15% of show hours

    MUMBAI: The year 2017 has witnessed the phenomenal growth of regional languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali, over Hindi and English. OTT players like ALTBalaji, Viu, Amazon, SonyLIV, Voot, Hotstar, Netflix, and YuppTV have taken a deep dive into offering regional content this year.

    ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi observes that though English is a niche audience in India, most competitors aren’t focusing on originals beyond Hindi. “We realised that consumption from non-HSM has been growing where people watched these shows with subtitles. We have also noticed traffic coming from states and cities where these languages are predominant. Then we started to integrate the ‘potential’ universe from a marketing point of view to the ‘consumption’ universe and that is when interesting patterns and trends started to emerge. At that point, we started to invest in creating these stories in languages apart from Hindi as there is latent willingness to consume and pay for it, too.”

    ALTBalaji has released its first Tamil show Maya Thirrai with 16 episodes. Not only did it get audiences from Tamil Nadu but even Tamil-speaking population from Singapore and Malaysia. Even the Bengali original Dhimaner Dinkaal’s trailer garnered traction from Dhaka. “In the next four to six quarters, we will launch originals in more languages. 15 per cent of our total show hours will be regional content and we are heavily investing in it,” adds Sethi.

    ALTBalaji has already launched its comedy show Standup in various regional languages like Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi. Now, it has announced dubbing of some of the most popular original shows like Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, Dev DD, Bewafaa Sii Wafaa, Romil and Jugal and The Test Case in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil languages for the regional audience.

    OTT giants believe South Indian languages have the biggest growth possibility and revenue potential. Sethi ascribes the highest revenue potential to the Tamil market because it has a higher payment curve, affluent audiences who are also educated and the mobile uptake is more.

    Viu is focusing on the Telugu-speaking regions with shows such as Cinema Pichollu, Pelli Gola and Pilla. Voot hasn’t tapped any new language yet but is working on three regional series. Amazon Prime has a line-up of many new Hindi originals that will be dub in multiple languages like Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali. It has already released some of the regional language blockbusters like Arjun Reddy, VIP2, Nene Raju Nene Mantri, Dhananjoy, Bhikariand others soon after their theatrical release. SonyLiv is also looking for an expansion in Marathi and Gujarati languages and it has started looking at south Indian and Bengali language now.

  • Regional OTT content more than just catch-up TV

    Regional OTT content more than just catch-up TV

    MUMBAI: The rise of digital content platforms has forever changed television viewing in India. The revolution in the over-the-top content (OTT) and video-on-demand (VOD) industry in the country is reminiscent of the growth of satellite television during the 1990s. Due to the rollout of 4G services and exponential growth in the smart phones, the OTT industry expanded widely in 2017 in India.

     In the past two years, the competitive landscape has evolved quickly with the entry of 25 to 30 OTT service providers in India. There were nearly 10 investments in OTT and OTT technology companies during 2016 and competition is heating up in terms of who is acquiring the exclusive rights of TV shows as well as in terms of launching originals. Millions of rupees are being invested in content production and acquisition by all major players. According to the Accenture 2017 Digital Consumer Survey, the surge in VOD in India is pegged at 78 per cent, which is growth in the number of consumers of VOD services in India.

    When a brand addresses a regional demographic in its language, it builds an emotional connect with it. Likewise, when video content players such as OTTs serve content in vernacular mediums, people tend to associate better with them. And 2017 has seen almost every player dive into the regional language pond.

    The entertainment sector has woken up to the huge potential of the regional OTT language content with platforms like ViuClip, YuppTV, Amazon, ALTBalaji, SonyLIV, Voot, Hotstar, and Netflix providing exclusive regional content.

    In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com’s Kirti Chauhan, Viu country head (India) Vishal Maheshwari, ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi, Voot COO Gaurav Gandhi, Amazon Prime Video content director India Vijay Subramaniam, SonyLIV EVP and head digital Business Uday Sodhi, YuppTV CEO Uday Reddy, and Amagi Media Labs co-founder Baskar Subramanian spoke about the current scenario of regional content language on various digital platforms. The inputs by media experts of the industry from Stratagem Media MD Sundeep Nagpal and Lodestar Media GM Deepak Netram overviewed the role and the potential of regional content in the OTT space.

    Among the trends that emerged, include: the current OTT ecosystem is geared towards serving the youth. Said Netram, “Maximum users are in the age group of 18 to 34 years spending 15 minutes plus on average on consuming content via apps and more than 55 minutes overall in a day.”

    Defining regional content

    “Content available in languages catering beyond the Hindi and English-speaking masses in India would be categorised as regional content. The focus of the content is shifting from what is popular across India to what is popular in a select region. At Viu, we are creating relevant and contemporary entertainment to cater to these masses,” commented Maheshwari.

    Gandhi said that besides Hindi, the VOD’s focus on regional languages like Marathi, Kannada, Bangla, Gujarati, and Tamil.

    Amazon Prime’s Subramaniam thinks that their content mix is significantly local. “We have a line up of multiple new Hindi originals coming up that would also be dubbed in multiple languages. We already offer the latest movies in Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali,” he said. In Bengali, we have tied up with Shree Venkatesh Films, in Tamil, we have partnerships with Dream Warrior Pictures, V Creations and Studio Green; in Telugu, we have tied up with Lakshmi Narasimha Productions, DVV Entertainments, and in Marathi we have tied up with Everest.”

    Amazon Prime Video availed some of the blockbusters of 2017 like Arjun Reddy, VIP2, Nene Raju Nene Mantri, Dhananjoy, and Bhikari soon after their theatrical release.

    The new player in town, ALTBalaji, has added another angle. “Regional content cannot be defined under state boundaries. The democratisation of labour and movement in jobs have showed that language travels across the region from where it originates. So, it will be wrong to look at regional content from location stand point, it has to be looked at from language stand point,” said Sethi.

    The early entrant, YuppTV, shared plans to have Telugu content. For now, it is launching content in Tamil and, going forward, it will feature content in Malayalam, Marathi, and Bengali, too.

    SonyLIV’s Uday Sodhi is gung-ho about regional content. “Besides Hindi, we have a strong catalogue of Bengali content. We are now aggressively looking at adding other languages on our platform as we have created original shows in Marathi and Gujarati. We are looking for acquiring content in south Indian languages to make our regional language portfolio strong,” he said.

    According to Netram, 25 to 30 per cent of the audience visiting the OTT platforms consume regional content and it is expected to reach around 50% by 2018. Maharashtra and the South are the two dominant markets in India at the moment.

    Beyond catch-up TV

    While discussing the restrictions of regional content, Amagi’s Baskar Subramanian said, “I feel that regional OTT is largely driven by television content like what they call catch-up TV.”

    Sodhi, however, believes that catch-up TV is the starting point for consumers because they are familiar with it. SonyLIV is witnessing significant consumption of films, short films and original shows on the platform.

    Sethi offers a different perspective. “Not many investments are being made in creating shows or narratives or stories that have the propensity to be consumed by 10 to 20 million people outside TV. But now ALT is investing a lot in creating shows outside TV.”

    Added Maheshwari, “Video on demand around the country has moved beyond catch up TV. While there is a sizable amount of regular television content consumption on these platforms, the growing effort to create locally relevant originals is establishing the demand for experimental and fresh content created for the digital-first audience.”

    YuppTV, which already has a big basket of TV content to watch on-demand, now has a small basket of originals for binge watching. Reddy said that they have created their own linear TV playout so people can watch it like a typical TV format as well. “We have created epic engagement of audience with our own and syndicated content. Our goal is to have 20 per cent of our own YuppTV content. We will be announcing four more shows soon.”

    Besides making Viacom18’s TV shows available as catch-up TV, Voot is providing exclusive content around the TV shows. Gandhi said that they are now starting to create original series for Voot in regional languages.

    Working with language experts

    Viu works with creative minds from the particular region they are catering to. This builds a content base for them that the millennial audience can resonate with. Said Maheshwari, “We are consistently working with creative talent that has the knowledge and expertise to create content in specific regional languages. We have an in-house team of researchers who dive deep into market and consumer insights. We work with studios big and small, independent producers as well as creative folks.”

    Reddy said that they have content team experts who had been in the industry and going forth, they will be hiring more experts for other regional languages.
    Gandhi added, “We work with our TV networks in each of the regional markets to create and curate the content in the respective language. We also have a regional content team at Voot, which focuses on shows for their respective language.”

    SonyLiv, meanwhile, has a team that looks at the content and understands the content beyond languages.

    Even Amazon’s Subramaniam said that the platform has dedicated teams that assess content demand amongst customers in each region based on various factors.  “A combination of these factors decides our content strategy.”

    Sethi too agreed on having a language expert on board, giving the example of the soon-to-be released Bose and Dhimaner Dinkal series, which have a Bengali expert. “Our choice of the production house is also guided by the person’s understanding of the nuances of that particular region’s language, traditions, culture, and many more things.”

    “The benefit of taking OTT players to regional sectors is that they give them a platform to talk to the local audiences in their language, helping advertisers to engage more efficiently,” pointed out Netram. Nagpal, however, thinks that the benefits for OTT players is just to capture eyeballs from a different screen and different audiences, while they are young, with fresh content and win them over from TV.

    Market research

    According to Sethi, both primary as well as secondary research needs to be done before undertaking a new language sector. “Our secondary research is all about the shows, which have come live, sources of data that have guidance, whether the show worked in particular region, how did it work, what was the monetisation opportunity in that show and many more. From the stand point of primary research, it is largely based on picking up the focus group. While doing our Bengali show research, we spoke to a group of Bengali people to identify the kinds of stories and drama they would like to consume. In our secondary research, we looked at the data consumed on Facebook and Youtube along with the growth in consumption.”

    Baskar Subramanian believes that there are two things to consider for regional content creation. First is the economics of production and second is the cultural nuisances of those regions that can be captured exclusive to the TV content.

    Maheshwari said, “Our strategy is deeply anchored in technology and consumer insights. Research affirms that regional content on OTT will command close to 30 per cent of the overall share in the years to come. Indian language internet users will drive the next phase of internet adoption in India. This new generation of users will come on board from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. With this potential increase in consumer base, there will be immense demand for intriguing regional content.”

    Sodhi said that they have we looked at the original content in language while doing Marathi and Gujarati shows. He said, “We found that both are underserved markets and, besides the television content, there is very little digital only content is available but a lot of our consumers come from these regions, which made it a perfect combination to serve content in these languages.”

    “At Amazon, we keep customers as our prime focus. The best way we customise and select our content is by giving our consumers what they want. We invest a lot of time and effort in market research to understand what customers want in order to deliver it to them,” said Subramaniam.

    Voot is currently open only to those languages on that have a strong TV network content. Based on internet penetration, digital video penetration, content availability, and preference of the native language over Hindi, Voot is looking at opening other markets, too.

    Said Nagpal, “Given the rapid penetration of mobile and growth rates of internet services in the hinterland, as well as the reducing tariff rates of bandwidth and downloads, the biggest challenge can well be to produce compelling content.”

    Content creation and marketing strategies

    For promotion, Voot uses its TV networks and other digital media assets as well. ALTBalaji, however,  focusses largely on digital for marketing. “On digital, it becomes easier for us to target in terms of reach and frequency,” added Sethi.

    At Viu, the content ecosystem is driven by consumer demand and their anticipated entertainment needs. This includes a mix of licensed and originally created content. The platform is focussed on locally relevant content in every market and does not believe that one size fits all. “We knew Korean dramas did well in Malaysia and Indonesia, and decided to put the content on our Indian app as well. Since then, we have witnessed a lot of consumption by a small group of people,” said Maheshwari

    Sodhi’s team is capable of targetting the right content to the right user with the help of analytics, which tells them which audience is coming from which spoken language region. And, similarly, based on the content engagement matrix of YuppTV, Reddy and the team designs the content strategies. YuppTV has its own platform intelligence to build the content strategy. For marketing, they use social media platforms.
     
    Revenue potential

    As the audiences grow across regional language content, monetisation will grow as well. “While this was small so far, it is beginning to become interesting,” Gandhi believes. “It is an early evolving market. We are still at early stage when revenue started coming in. However, we are confident that over the next 12-18 months, we will see significant numbers in revenues,” said Sodhi.

    “With urban markets saturating with content, the regional content demand will be the next thing that OTT platforms are likely to tap into. This will command close to 30 percent share in overall revenue,” Maheshwari added.

    “After Hindi, regional has acquired the maximum share in terms of viewership and monetization ability. From monetization and ROI stand point, largely Tamil language has the highest potential because it has far invite, they are higher on payment curve, they are affluent, they are educated and the mobile uptake is more,” said Sethi.

    While sharing the current regional content on their platforms Sethi said, “15 per cent of our total number of hours of shows will come from regional content. We are investing a lot in regional talent across genres because they have tremendous appeal in terms of following. However, SonyLIV currently have regional content of around 10 per cent, besides Hindi and English, said Sodhi.

    Nagpal commented that OTT content can be made available for advertising almost immediately, but it would take about 2 years to reach a critical mass for advertisers to recognize its value. But the options to market can be many more than just airtime. Wherein, Netram thinks that this is an active aspect, monetization has already started and is expected to further ramp up looking at the consumption pattern. He said, “OTT Platforms like Ozee are centered on the regional content and are monetizing it well.”

    Regional programming

    Maheshwari said that there is an immense scope for original content in regional language. “For Viu, we are focused on creating and providing a mix of regional content beginning with Hindi and Telugu. Currently, we are focusing on Telugu as a region with shows such as Cinema Pichollu, Pelli Gola and PillA. We aim to provide undubbed shows. Instead, we are creating bilingual content in Telugu and Hindi that has universal appeal.”

    Gandhi agreed and said, “We are already working on digital original series across 3 regional languages already.”

    Subramaniam believes that homegrown and original content are significant drivers of viewership and box office collections already. Local stories help them to remain relevant, relatable and eventually widen audience reach.

    Sethi, Reddy and Sodhi accepted that the market has tremendous scope. And the regional content growth will only come from original shows made in various regional languages.

    Where Nagpal thinks that Regional advertisers are still not enthusiast about digital regional content, Netram believes they are.
    Nagpal said, “Not yet, but this will not take time, once the content starts flowing out. There are enough regional success stories to go by. However, “Netram said, “Yes the OTT Platforms are very kicked about the regional content and the same is shown by the way it’s been consumed, special web series in the regional language have also been created.”

    Growth potential

    Gandhi said “Our biggest regional language on Voot is Kannada. We are also seeing good growth in Marathi. We are extremely bullish on our Tamil language play as well, especially as we launch our TV network in that market soon.”

    Sethi believes that Tamil, Bengali, Kannada and Telugu languages has the biggest scope for growth.

    Sodhi said that they have seen significant adoption for South Indian languages which includes Tamil, Telugu, Kannada & Malayalam and then Marathi, Gujarati, Bengali and Punjabi by audience.

    Because YuppTV have started a little early in Telugu, the platform has higher audience numbers in it. Reddy firmly believes that Telugu, Hindi and Tamil, other regional languages like Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali have a big scope for growth.

    Maheshwari said, “We have launched Telugu and Hindi, we are contemplating other language content to get added to our regional repertoire.”
    Netram said, “Identify content that is working well on TV, get the same content in the regional language, for example if a big reality show on TV gets the highest viewership. South being the second highest region to consume regional content, the same could is also been leveraged on OTT.” However, Nagpal only suggests to just watch the growth of technology.

    While talking about the investment in regional content language, Maheshwari said, “Content investment is required to seed adoption. This investment partly goes towards licensing content and partly towards producing originals. In a market like India where there are many OTT players, differentiation is the key. When we do originals, we let the script, production quality required for the script to reach its full potential and audience reach and monetization expectations define the budget for a show. Sometimes, it is well below TV production scale and sometimes it is much bigger.”

  • Ragini MMS Returns to ALTBalaji with racy marketing

    Ragini MMS Returns to ALTBalaji with racy marketing

    MUMBAI: A tagline, splattered across auto rickshaws, that is sure to make your head turn twice. That’s the effect that the makers of ‘horrex’ digital show Ragini MMS Returns and ALTBalaji want to have on you.

    ‘Ragini ka Naya MMS Dekha Kya?’ (have you seen Ragini’s latest MMS?) is the eye catchy and racy lines visible on 20,000 autos in 11 cities of north and west India-Mumbai, Delhi, Indore, Bhopal, Lucknow, Gwalior, Kanpur, Chennai, Agra, Bangalore and Pune.

    Commenting on the auto-rickshaw branding activity to promote the digital show, ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi said, “Within 6 months of the launch, ALTBalaji has become India’s top repository of original, unique and edgy content. We have ensured that its digital extension, Ragini MMS Returns, is a right mix of edgy content, rich talent and a marketing strategy that will create strong visibility for the show. Auto-rickshaw branding activity is an initiative that is sure to capture attention and intrigue individuals across key cities and maximum internet consumption regions.”

    First look of the show along with teasers and trailers have already piqued audience curiosity across various online and offline platforms. This strategy is planned, keeping in mind the high usage of internet across Western and Northern belt of India.

    Ragini MMS Returns redefines boldness and sensuality all over again with actors like Riya Sen, Karishma Sharma, Nishant Malkani and Siddharth Gupta in the lead. The show explores Ragini’s life, which is entangled beyond understanding, into the deadly cocktail of horror and sensuous chaos.

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  • ALTBalaji show Bose ‘anthem of protest’ is full of adrenaline, says Hansal Mehta

    ALTBalaji show Bose ‘anthem of protest’ is full of adrenaline, says Hansal Mehta

    MUMBAI: ALTBalaji is all set to stream the mysterious tale of Subhash Chandra Bose in their new show Bose Dead/Alive. The character of Bose has been played by Rajkummar Rao.

    On 18 August, ALTBalaji launched the 2.12-minute video trailer of Bose. The trailer begins with a voiceover that says, “The world thinks Bose is dead.” In the sneak peek, people ponder over Bose’s death or if this is yet another disappearing act.

    The video ends with the news of Bose’s death published in a newspaper, but a voice in background hints at his return.

    The title track of the show has been released with an aim of amplifying the audience excitement. The fast-paced, thrilling number, penned by Mc Todfod and Doktorgandu, has been rendered by the composer Neel Adhikari and Q (Qaushiq Mukherjee).

    The title track of Bose is available for streaming on websites – Hungama, Gaana and Saavn. Adhikari is known for his work in Brahman Naman and Saheb Bibi Golaam. Q has done films like Gandu and Tasher Desh. The release of the song is the gripping stunt to keep the audience on the edge, while setting a perfect background for the show.

    Directed by Pulkit, Bose Dead/Alive seeks to clear the air around the enigma of Subhas Chandra Bose, whose life and death left people baffled for decades.

    ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi said, “The song has been beautifully composed and captures the beat of the show. We released it on leading streaming platforms as it ensures wider reach and core TG presence.”

    The show will trace the journey of the freedom fighter from being an introverted 14-year-old to a 48-year-old brave nationalist. There are perhaps more myths to Bose than accurate histories. From ageless rumours in Kolkata about Bose pulling off histrionics akin to those of superheroes to his eventual destination after a plane crash in 1945, there are countless theories.

    Bose: Dead/Alive is all set to paint the mystery red.

    The show’s creative producer Hansal Mehta said, “We wanted the soundtrack to reflect the spirit of Bose. The track had to be subversive, a ‘cool’ anthem of protest and something that would represent the thriller that Bose’s life journey was. I’ve been a huge fan of Q, both for his films and his music. He has rapped his heart out for this number. It is such a cool composition, so edgy and such an adrenaline rush.”

  • ALTBalaji identified local talent for regional language comedy shows, says Manav Sethi

    ALTBalaji identified local talent for regional language comedy shows, says Manav Sethi

    MUMBAI: ALTBalaji, an OTT platform for original and exclusive shows, has launched regional stand-up comedy in Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati and more Hindi videos on its digital platform.

    The short, snacky and hilarious videos feature famous comic artistes – Bharat Ganeshpure, Sagar Karande, Anirudh Madesia, Suresh Albela, Pratap Faujdar, Amit Khuva and Dharsi Baredia. The entire library offers English subtitles for easy understanding.

    ALTBalaji is catering to the diversified needs of a population that speaks multiple language and experience life differently as per their culture. The content offers a slice of life of these cultures, be it anecdotes of a Sardar traveling to Germany, a Gujarati stuck in a bizarre situation in Bengaluru or a Marathi talking about cricket. The comedians add tadka to everyday mundane events and serve them up loaded with the perfect garnish of humour. They leave nothing and no one, from Lucknow to Valentine’s Day to Dhoklas to Rajinikanth! The laughing riot is bound to tickle audience’s funny bone.

    ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi said, “Based on consumer insight, we understood that the stand-up available to viewers is mostly English or Hindi, neglecting the regional language demand and so we have identified local talents from these regions and got them on board. The highly talented, witty and humorous artistes bring in the flavour of their language and culture on stage; hope the viewers like it.”