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Tag: Middle East

  • Lehar sprints into sportswear with new Rannr shoe brand launch

    Lehar sprints into sportswear with new Rannr shoe brand launch

    MUMBAI: Lehar Footwear is lacing up for a big leap. The Jaipur-based company, best known for slippers and sandals, has announced the launch of Rannr, its new sports and athleisure footwear brand designed to blend comfort, durability and style for India’s mass and mid-market consumers.

    Backed by five manufacturing facilities in Rajasthan and Haryana, Rannr will hit the ground running with performance-driven shoes that promise everyday versatility at accessible prices. The target: young professionals, fitness buffs, students and lifestyle-conscious shoppers who want value without compromise.

    Lehar is rolling out the brand through its network of more than 520 distributors across 27 states, alongside e-commerce platforms and a new direct-to-consumer site. The company’s long-term play includes expanding into running, training and lifestyle footwear, while also scouting export opportunities in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

    Lehar Footwear, chairman and whole-time director, Raj Kumar Agarwal said, “With Rannr, our goal is to make reliable, stylish, and performance-oriented sports shoes available to millions of consumers looking for quality at the right price. This is not just about entering a new segment but shaping the future of footwear for India’s next generation.”

    Lehar’s expansion into sports shoes comes on the heels of strong growth. The company clocked its highest-ever revenue of Rs 277.2 crore in FY25, and Rs 142.2 crore in Q1 FY26. Having recently ventured into EVA footwear with brands such as Crozi, Hilux and Bliss, Lehar now wants Rannr to be the name Indians think of when they think of affordable sportswear.

  • Heena Chaudhari steps up as associate director for strategic activations at Sony group Corp

    Heena Chaudhari steps up as associate director for strategic activations at Sony group Corp

    MUMBAI: Heena Chaudhari has gone up a level once again. The seasoned strategist and investment ace has been promoted to associate director – strategic markets’ activations at Sony group Corp , where she’ll be steering high-impact business initiatives across India and the Middle East.

    With a power-packed portfolio that includes investment management at Sony Innovation Fund and a board observer role at Nodwin Gaming, Chaudhari is no stranger to spotting what’s hot in media, entertainment, and gaming before the world catches on. Now, in her new gig, she’s charged with turning strategic visions into high-octane action.

    Her Sony journey began in 2023 as strategic markets’ activations manager, and in just under two years, she’s earned her stripes by crafting clever market entry plays and forging high-value collaborations in two of Sony’s most promising growth zones.

    Before Sony, Chaudhari held leadership roles at Embold Technologies GmbH and Yoozoo Games, juggling strategy, HR, sales ops, and product development like a pro. She’s been in the trenches with startups, scaled up global projects, and even donned the CEO’s right-hand cap more than once.

    Armed with over a decade of experience and a resume that reads like a masterclass in cross-functional execution, Chaudhari isn’t just moving markets—she’s redesigning how legacy giants like Sony grow in emerging ones.

    Her superpowers? Investment foresight, operational precision, and boardroom charisma. With the gaming and streaming boom in full swing and the Middle East–India corridor heating up, Heena Chaudhari’s next play could very well be Sony’s best move yet.

  • IndiaCast lands Fast channel DesiPlay TV on Mena region’s Starz On

    IndiaCast lands Fast channel DesiPlay TV on Mena region’s Starz On

    MUMBAI: It’s making real fast plays (no pun intended) in the middle east and north Africa.

    We are referring to DesiPlay TV,  the Fast channel, from the Mukesh Ambani-owned Viacom18.  

    IndiaCast Media Distribution (IndiaCast), the content asset monetisation arm of Viacom18 and Network18, today announced DesiPlay TV’s launch on Starz On in the middle east & north Africa (Mena), marking the Fast channel’s  availability on two key streaming platforms in the region offering audiences a diverse range of Indian entertainment content and making it accessible to a wider audience of Hindi entertainment enthusiasts across the region. 

    DesiPlay TV, a curated collection of popular Hindi television shows and Indian cinema  films, has garnered popularity among viewers worldwide. With this launch, DesiPlay TV is now available on leading Fast platforms, including Starz On, Shahid, Telus, Pluto TV, Plex, Sling, Rakuten TV, and Yupp TV, providing audiences with easy access to the rich tapestry of Indian storytelling across Mena, Americas and Europe. 

    The Fast channel vertical has witnessed rapid growth in recent years, driven by the increasing demand for affordable and accessible content.  The middle east, with its diverse population and growing digital penetration, presents a lucrative market for Fast channels. DesiPlay TV’s presence on Starz On, a prominent streaming platform in the region, is expected to further fuel its popularity and reach among Hindi content consuming audiences. 

    Says IndiaCast executive vice-president & head of international business Govind Shahi:  , “We are thrilled to further solidify DesiPlay TV’s presence in the Middle East through our partnership with Starz On. This expansion is a testament to the growing demand for Indian content globally. We believe that DesiPlay TV’s unique blend of entertainment and cultural richness will resonate with viewers in the region.”

    Starz On & evision head of content Sunil Joy adds:  “As part of our ongoing commitment to providing our audience with the best possible content, we are excited to announce the addition of DesiPlay TV to our platform. This partnership aligns with the growing demand for Asian content in the region and allows us to offer our viewers a more diverse and engaging entertainment experience.”   

  • InMobi expands partnership with Microsoft Advertising into Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa

    InMobi expands partnership with Microsoft Advertising into Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa

    MUMBAI: The leading provider of content, marketing, and monetization technologies InMobi on Tuesday announced an expansion of its partnership with Microsoft Advertising to support enterprise and strategic advertisers in southeast Asia, middle east, and Africa. They will offer marketers an integrated solution to power their campaigns built on the search and native display capabilities of Microsoft Advertising and the mobile ad tech capability of InMobi’s advertising platforms.

    InMobi and Microsoft have been in a strategic partnership since July 2018 to help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation by providing them with insights, audience, and engagement platforms for a connected world. The partnership was expanded in 2019 as InMobi added the Microsoft Advertising products and solutions to its offerings in India.

    Speaking of this association, Microsoft Advertising APAC vice president Nick Seckold said, “Over the last two and a half years InMobi has done a wonderful job establishing Microsoft Advertising’s Indian footprint while doubling revenue over the same period. InMobi’s extensive knowledge and expertise of the digital advertising ecosystem in India combined with their trusted client relationships has delivered significant growth despite the effects of the pandemic. InMobi’s successful track record in India has led Microsoft Advertising to extend their coverage across southeast Asia where they will be tasked with building close relationships with advertisers and agencies to grow the business in the region.”

    Microsoft Advertising’s EMEA and LATAM vice president Mark Richardson said, “Microsoft Advertising are thrilled that InMobi will further expand their representation of our full suite of advertising offerings to strategic and enterprise clients in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa as part of our continuation to expand our sales and marketing efforts into this region. Microsoft Advertising offers advertising solutions that reach people across Microsoft properties including Bing, Microsoft News, Edge, and Outlook as well as on partner sites like AOL and Yahoo.”

    As part of the expansion, the Microsoft Advertising business at InMobi general manager Rohit Dosi will take up additional responsibilities for growing the Microsoft Advertising business across southeast Asia, middle east, and African markets and leading the global relationship with Microsoft.

    “The extended partnership between Microsoft Advertising and InMobi will enable marketers to deliver a unified brand experience to customers by bringing together the best of search and native display platforms across both organisations,” he said.

    “We are positioned uniquely to bring Microsoft Advertising to marketers in southeast Asia, middle east, and Africa through our deep appreciation of marketers’ needs, a keen understanding of the markets, and a customer-obsessed team,” Dosi added.

    Talking about the benefits of this partnership, Angara vice president of marketing Ankit Maheswari said “The InMobi team is pivotal to the success that Angara witnesses with Microsoft Advertising. Their proactive approach has time and again enhanced campaign efficiency, driven innovation, and delivered healthy returns for the brand. We are looking forward to replicating this success across multiple geographies and markets and going from strength to strength with InMobi as a partner.”

    On the promise of the expansion, Commerce Pundit digital marketing head Anand Mistry shared, “In the last two years, the partnership with the InMobi team has consistently enabled us to grow business and maximise ROI for our clients on the Microsoft Advertising platform. The strategic inputs and executional excellence from InMobi have not only added value to our client’s business but also deepened Commerce Pundit’s relationship with them. The comprehensive insights shared by the InMobi team on search, shopping and native display have been pivotal in exploring and scaling our business across new locations globally. We are excited to see the partnership reach new heights in the future!”

  • CARS24 expands operations to UAE and Australia

    New Delhi: E-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles, CARS24 is set to disrupt the used automobile ecosystem around the globe. The company has launched its business in Australia and UAE and is gearing up to launch business in Southeast Asian and Middle East countries this year.

    As part of its expansion strategy, CARS24 will use its India playbook to expand globally and continue to invest in technology to transform the consumer experience in buying-selling cars, it said on Thursday. “In the last six years, we have worked very hard to revolutionise the way our consumers buy or sell their cars in India. Interestingly, the pain points of used car consumers across the globe remain pervasive. We are sure with our expertise and experience of operating in a diverse market like India, we will be able to cater to the needs of our new customers as well,” said CARS24’s co-founder and CEO Vikram Chopra.

    Elaborating on the company’s international expansion plans, Chopra said, CARS24’s launch in markets of UAE, Australia and Southeast Asia marks a milestone moment in its growth story. “CARS24 is well-poised for explosive growth internationally and we will continue to offer our burgeoning roster of offerings to newer markets that have been at the forefront of embracing new technology and innovation,” he added.

    CARS24 has earmarked an investment of over $100Million for international markets in 2021. These investments will be used to build the brand in these new territories coupled with a strong supply of cars for the platform, and a state-of-the-art workshop to recondition cars to ensure top quality, the company said in a statement.

    Currently, CARS24 is shipping cars to customers across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah and to Brisbane in Australia, shortly followed by Sydney and Melbourne as well. “We are delighted to be spearheading the global expansion of CARS24 in the Australian market. Australia is a car-loving nation of consumers who have had no alternative to the traditional used car buying model – until now. Australians are truly ready to embrace 100% online car buying; and with the support of our founders, we have incredibly high expectations for our growth in this market.”, said CARS24 Australia, GM Australia, Olga Rudenko.

    Founded in 2015, CARS24 has grown rapidly over the years, using product, tech and data science, to fuel the growth in the Indian used cars sector and enabling a quality experience for sellers and buyers, completely online & from the comfort of their homes.  

  • Online video to take lion’s share of video biz revenue in the Gulf by 2025: MPA

    Online video to take lion’s share of video biz revenue in the Gulf by 2025: MPA

    KOLKATA: As more people shift to alternative entertainment options, online video business is going to surpass pay-TV in next five-ten years worldwide. A report by Media Partners Asia (MPA) has projected that online video will account for the lion’s share of total video industry revenue by 2025, with both pay-TV and free TV in six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Within the region, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will continue to contribute over 70 per cent pay-TV and online video revenues in aggregate by 2025.

    According to MPA, the GCC video industry – comprising free TV, pay-TV and online video – will generate revenues of $1.6 billion in 2020, representing a 13 per cent year-on-year contraction with deep declines in TV advertising and subscription, only partially offset by the significant growth of online video. Covid2019 related macro issues have exacerbated headwinds across the TV sector. A rebound is expected in 2022 but the TV industry will face difficulties in the long term. Overall, GCC video industry revenues are forecast by MPA to increase to $2 billion by 2025, a CAGR of 5 per cent from 2020.

    MPA vice president Aravind Venugopal said: “The GCC’s vibrant and highly competitive video ecosystem has seen some significant changes in the past few years. Online video services continue to grow, driven by: low-cost pricing; telco partnerships, including hard bundles; and the availability of premium local and global content online, including increased investment into exclusive originals.”

    Even with telco partnerships, which help to broaden the customer funnel, the longer-term success of OTT platforms will rest on their ability to retain customers, manage subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) and increase lifetime value (LTV).

    “Over the next five years, the focus will move to the acquisition of high LTV subscribers via D2C. Market consolidation is also likely as the GCC region will be unable to support 15+ platforms with many competing in the same customer segments. New entrants into the market such as Disney+ Hotstar and HBO Max, could provide further impetus to industry growth, competitive intensity and consolidation,” he added.

    Venugopal also noted that the slow pace of innovation by pay-TV operators combined with high prices of subscription based video services, and the proliferation of broadband have contributed to the decline of pay-TV. IPTV has maintained subscriber growth, driven primarily by hard bundled triple-play services. However, as telcos re-examine their cost structures and investments in content and platforms, there remains an impending threat of the breaking of the hard bundle, which could further endanger pay-TV, he surmised.

    The report further states that within the GCC online video sector, three business models have emerged in recent years: freemium operators, led by MBC-owned Shahid, PCCW-owned Viu and Zee’s Weyyak; SVoD operators, led by Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, STARZPLAY, Jawwy TV, Watch iT and OSN Streaming; and AVoD operators, including YouTube and TikTok.

    Given the diverse demographics and large expat population in the region, several services targeted at specific language/ethnic groups have also launched in recent years. These include the Indian and South Asian segment, which are key audiences for Zee5, SonyLIV, Eros Now and YuppTV. As platforms seek to further expand their customer base and drive consumption, investment in Arabic originals has become a key battleground. While the Covid2019 pandemic and the economic-political crises in the region have impacted production activities, MPA has forecast that productions will return to normalcy by Q1 2021 as economies recover.

    In the telecoms sector, fixed broadband has been relatively insulated from economic woes given its utility-status in UAE and low penetration in KSA. However, mobile services, particularly prepaid, have experienced subscriber declines. The UAE and Qatar leads the region, both in terms of fibre connectivity and penetration with over 90 per cent of homes having access to fixed wired services via fibre. From a mobile perspective, the GCC is well connected, with a highly competitive environment (ex-UAE) keeping retail prices relatively affordable. Data consumption remains fairly high, driven primarily by video services. There remains further scope for growth, especially in markets with low fixed broadband penetration.

  • ZEE5 Intensifies outreach in the middle east; rolls out a slew of initiatives

    ZEE5 Intensifies outreach in the middle east; rolls out a slew of initiatives

    MUMBAI: Close on the heels of its success across various SAARC markets and its recent rollout of content in international languages, global digital platform ZEE5 now embarks on the next phase of its international journey with its new global campaign ‘Full-on Entertainment’. Deepening our connection with audiences across countries, this new campaign will define ZEE5’s global identity as the go-to destination for high-impact, high-octane entertainment.

    As part of this campaign, the global streaming platform now rolls out a slew of initiatives across multiple priority markets, with the Middle East being amongst the first few that it initiates its immersive customer engagement activities in.

    South Asian audiences in the Middle East get treated to a set of on-ground experiences especially curated by ZEE5. The initiatives include a 4-week movie experience every Thursday at different locations. The first screening was held at Al Naboodah Ruwayyah in Dubai on 4th July and will be followed by another at DIP 2, Dubai on 12th July. Over the next few weeks more screenings will be organised at several other locations including Jabel Ali and Saja Sharjah. ZEE5 will screen the Bollywood box-office hit Simmba, starring Ranveer Singh and Sara Ali Khan, giving audiences a taste of classic Indian entertainment filled with drama, action and emotion.

    ZEE5 has also partnered with leading local brand Choithrams and looks to further increase this footprint through these and other partnerships. 

    Commenting on the initiatives, Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, “Given the vast diaspora of South Asians in The Middle East as well as its appetite for desi content, this is the first of the three markets where ZEE5 kicks-off a range of consumer engagement activities. Our new campaign ‘Full-on Entertainment’ invites people into a world of entertainment that takes them on a journey of emotions and keeps them on the edge of their seats. For this we are rolling out a multitude of interactive initiatives, where we have the chance to engage with our audiences across the Middle East and build deep conversations with them.”

  • x-dream-distribution and partners at CabSat2019

    x-dream-distribution and partners at CabSat2019

    Following our success at CabSat 2018, we decided to bring our innovative products and services to it once again. Join x-dream-distribution GmbH in Dubai from 12-14 March 2019 at CabSat on the Bavarian booth in Hall 3.

    x-dream-distribution GmbH presents innovative ingest, Social ingest andoutgestsolutions by Woody Technologies and transcoding and live broadcasting software by Capella Systems, as well as ingest and playout software by Libero Systems, and microservices toolkit for broadcaster by Squared Paper.

    All the latest features that have been presented at BVE2019 and even more, will be available to all our visitors at CabSat in Dubai, Middle East & Africa's only event for content, broadcast, satellite, media & entertainment industry professionals looking to create inspiration, action & reaction.

    Partner products and news CabSat 2019

    Capella Systems (USA)

    Cambria FTC // Cambria Cluster

    Already in 4th generation, the Cambria FTC and Cambria Cluster are an innovative transcoding product… Most resentstandardfeatures:

    •    SD / HD / UHD and up to 8K
    •    xAVC, ProRes, DNxHD, JPEG2000
    •    H.264 & H.265
    •    HDR support
    •    DASH, HLS, MSS
    •    Dolby E & Dolby Vision
    •    S3 read&write

    Cambria Live // Cambria Broadcast Manager // Live Edit

    New release of Cambria Live Series v4.1, a software-based production suite for professional live streaming broadcast production. This all-in-one system handles live switching, production functions, encoding, and distribution.

    •    MPEG-DASH and CMAF support for Akamai
    •    Failover (backup stream) support for DASH/HLS with Akamai
    •    Ad Pre-fetch request to Yospace HLS/DASH targets
    •    Software-based cue tone trigger feature
    •    Embed splice_event_id from SCTE into Ad Preset

    Flow Works (Germany)

    Distributed MAM with distributed workflow support for media processing.
    •    FlowCenter – highly integrated, complete workflow and asset management solution.
    •    Flow ANT – micro media management appliance with GPU acceleration
    •    All-new Flow Archive GUI (Editorial GUI).

    Libero (Turkey)

    •    Libero Playout is a software-based playout automation system which provides powerful, flexible and user-friendly broadcasting solutions via a client-server architecture.
    •    Libero Ingest is a flexible multi-channel ingest, transcoding and encoding software with powerful and user-friendly features.

    Metaliquid (Italy)

    Customized on-premises and cloud state of the art AI recognition and classification services to meet specific industry needs. Metaliquid has developed a proprietary deep learning framework and neural network architectures.

    •    Face recognition
    •    Shot and setting recognition
    •    Sensitive contentdetection
    •    Opening and closingcreditsdetection
    •    Sport actionsclassification
    •    Content type, audio and language classification

    Squared Paper (United Kingdom)

    The Busby Enterprise Service Bus & microservices toolkit is specially designed for the broadcast industry:

    •    monitoring hardware and software systems and applications
    •    workflow orchestration from small to large and complex
    •    event recording for SLA reporting and later analysis
    •    controlling external devices and services, etc.

    Teamium (France)

    Feature rich, simple to use resource scheduling and collaboration management solution exclusively designed for video production.
    •    Cloud-basedproductionmanagement
    •    Resourceplanning and scheduling
    •    User definedbusinessprocesses
    •    Consumer grade userexperience
    •    Realtime financialdashboard

    Woody Technologies (France)

    •    Version 3.1 of all Woody software will be released, bringing several major enhancements.
    •    New Woody in2it Server, a unique client-server ingest tool for all media formats, with web-based intuitive UX and strong workflow control features, streamlining local and remote ingest workflows.

    •    Woody in2it Go, the ultimate tool for reporters on the field to encode, transfer and notify their footage or stories to the broadcaster facility.
    •    Woody Social, ingest from any social network directly to your production environment.
    •    Woody in2it Server, Woody Ingest, Woody Outgest and Woody Social can now be deployed in a scalable architecture containing multiple nodes. This brings two major improvements – redundancy and load balancing – for large Woody deployments.

    x-dream-media (Germany)

    Software integrator with an entire commitment to the media IT developing its own software products for file-based workflows and asset management.
     
    •    Signiant Managers + Agents and XDM WFM – workflow manager with integrations to many 3rd parties file processing and publishing software
    •    OneGUI – job, workflow and farm monitoring & reporting, search & filtering, multi-tenant, various 3rd parties (e.g. Harmonic, Telestream, Capella, MOG, Interra)
    •    Ingest Browser – media browsing, previewing, trimming and workflow start, watchfolder, storage indexing, file search
    •    MFP – multi format player with frame accurate positioning, side-by-side view, audio leveling, SDI output and playlist support
    •    SERVUS node – software-only videoserver, recorder and IP-streamer

     

  • Bizongo launches new brand identity; consolidates its leadership in the packaging industry

    Bizongo launches new brand identity; consolidates its leadership in the packaging industry

    MUMBAI: India’s only unified platform for all kinds of packaging solutions, Bizongo announces the launch of its new brand identity reinforcing the company’s leadership as India’s largest one-stop packaging platform. In addition to launching a new logo, the company has undergone a complete brand revamp for its solutions – Procure Live, Design Square and Partner Hub. The identity is in line with the company’s mission to become synonymous with its brand tagline ‘Everything Packaging’. Backed with robust technology solutions and a strong foothold in the current Indian market, Bizongo now plans to enter international markets of USA, Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Launched in 2015, Bizongo continues to aid, empower and create value for the $50 bn packaging ecosystem in India.

    Bizongo’s new identity represents the company’s value proposition that encompasses everything from design and development to procurement thus unifying the complete packaging experience on a single digital platform.

    Bizongo has solved packaging procurement and quality issues faced by Food & Beverage, FMCG, Consumer Durables, Automobile, and Engineering companies amongst others by delivering reliable, sustainable and high-quality packaging solutions. Simultaneously, Bizongo has been responsible for improved productivity and increased revenues for packaging manufacturers in India by providing robust technology-driven solutions to SMEs.  Since inception, Bizongo has experienced a consolidated growth of 5000% and 350% in the last financial year.

    On launching the new brand identity, Aniket Deb, CEO, Bizongo said, “Bizongo was founded on the firm belief that creativity and technology combined, have the potential to set into motion transformation across industries. Today, we have evolved to become a brand that has been responsible for bringing in experience, efficiency, and innovation to the packaging ecosystem. We have also advanced rapidly to become the go-to choice for India’s leading companies for all their packaging needs. The evolution into a single platform that caters to all needs of packaging required us to give this company an identity that resonated with the same idea. A massive growth rate called for a massively appreciated and understood identity.

    The new identity was crafted with one simple, crucial idea in mind. Bizongo is everything packaging. The challenge was to show that we as a company provide packaging for everything that visibly exists around us – be it consumables, cosmetics, gadgets, tools, automotive parts, or even chemicals. It was a beautiful journey discovering with our creative partners, how to translate this idea into an identity. The complete process has culminated into a hollow logo, which signified that we could encompass everything that came to us. We are everything packaging.

    We believe we can create tremendous value by enabling businesses to design, develop and source – reliable, responsible, sustainable and smart packaging everywhere. The new identity for the company hence plays a significant role in driving our vision and steering us to newer heights.”

    Bizongo’s identity will visually echo the company’s forte, and its promise, to be a one-stop platform for everything packaging in India. This identity has been designed and developed by Mumbai based design and digital company, The Minimalist.

  • Indian diaspora remains sustainable audience for OTTs

    Indian diaspora remains sustainable audience for OTTs

    MUMBAI: With the Indian diaspora spread out all over the world, media enterprises have found them to be a worthy group to target. Over-the-top (OTT) players, especially, are finding the diaspora audience a rewarding pursuit. Some platforms use Bollywood to grab their attention while others are targeting millennial audiences with original content.

    One the one hand you have players that believe in stock content. Yupp TV has been at the forefront of targeting Indian diaspora through catch-up content. Realising the scarcity of Indian entertainment content for the expat community, Uday Reddy founded the venture. While there is scepticism about whether audiences would pay for catch-up content, Yupp TV has relied on SVOD model for the diaspora and a freemium one in India.

    Another OTT platform, Spuul, which also has a large presence outside India, takes the help of popular Bollywood titles to attract them. According to its own viewership statistics, the Indian diaspora has a strong inclination to watch Bollywood movies during leisure time.

    On the other hand, a new bunch of players wants to break out of the monotony of catch-up and Bollywood content. Arre, a youth platform launched by ex-TV18 execs B Saikumar and Ajay Chacko, gets a good handful of viewers from abroad for both videos and articles.

    “Our show Aisha which is primarily a sci-fi thriller/drama is among the most consumed. It is also one of the most awarded shows from India, internationally. Our other shows like Real High (adventure travel reality), Official Chukiyagiri/ CEOgiri also see a lot of international audiences. We also get a lot of readers on our articles internationally,” Arre co-founder Chacko says.

    Chacko feels that the younger audiences want original quality programming of modern India and not the staid staples like Bollywood and catch up.

    Holding the same belief, ALTBalaji CMO Manav Sethi feels that content must be unique to get people to pay. “It is very important for today’s consumers who consume content on mobile, paying for data, to watch differentiated things,” he says.

    While it comes to market outside India, the US is definitely a promising one, followed by the Gulf countries. For Arre, the US is the largest market outside of India while for ALTBalaji both come in the list of top-five markets. Canada, with a huge number of Punjabi people, is also an attractive market. In fact, on Spuul, other than Hindi content, Punjabi is the highest consumed content.

    Depending on the dominant diaspora language in the region, platforms tweak content accordingly. For example, if Canada has more Punjabi people, there will be more Punjabi content for Canada. ALTBalaji released a Tamil show Maya Thirrai, which got traction in Singapore and the UAE, while its Bengali show Dhimaner Dinkaal received got a great response in Bangladesh. Chacko reveals that through YuppTV, Arre gets significant traction for shows, especially the ones dubbed in Telegu among the Indian American diaspora in the east and west coasts of the US.

    Two neighbouring countries of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, also demand Indian content. The similarity in culture, language, dialect, lifestyle and moreover, the pattern of same entertainment content paves the way for OTT players to explore the business there.

    These audiences are a good way for OTT players to also get some revenue since most of them only have SVOD or TVOD options. Players say that the diaspora is more likely to pay for content that keeps them connected to their roots. The average revenue per user is higher outside the country. They also have a huge repertoire of choices with good quality in international OTT platforms.

    Some platforms want to go beyond the diaspora communities and reach out to other global audiences as well.

    “So far, it has been a sustainable model for us, as we have been working on multiple verticals of content but, going forward, we will be paying more attention to India than last year and separate content for specific markets,” Spuul content head Girish Dwibhashyam says.

    Due to the diversity of the diaspora, there is no one formula fits all solution. Content creators have to rely on good quality original content to keep these audiences glued.

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