ITV

Tag: MX Player

  • MX TakaTak announces nationwide talent hunt to mark its first anniversary

    MX TakaTak announces nationwide talent hunt to mark its first anniversary

    Mumbai: MX Player’s short video platform MX TakaTak has turned one and to mark the occasion, the app has announced an extensive UGC talent hunt campaign – #MainBhiSuperstar, between 7-31 July.

    The #MainBhiSuperstar campaign will handpick outstanding talent from the country wherein creators would be required to showcase their acting skills in a 15 second video.

    The talent hunt aims to provide an opportunity for creators to fulfill their lifelong dream of becoming a star. Three best creators will get a chance to star in an MX Player Original, the platform said in a statement.

    “The last one year has seen phenomenal growth for this platform and we’ve successfully built an ecosystem of amazing  influencers and celebrities who keep our large user base entertained with engaging content across multiple categories,” says MX Group CEO Karan Bedi. “We’ve garnered interest from advertisers across categories and we’re delighted to join hands with renowned brands like PayTM and Pepsi to curate entertaining branded hashtag challenges at such a nascent stage of our monetisation journey. In the months to come, we will continue to invest in finding and enabling great creators, further investing in our recommendation engine and bringing our users state of the art features that will enhance their content creation and consumption experience.”

    “#MainBhiSuperstar is our small way of giving back to this large community of aspiring creators by making their dreams a reality and gratifying them with a chance to feature in an MX Player Original. MX Player is one of the biggest stages for the Indian creative ecosystem and this initiative will not only drive synergies between both platforms but also serves as a unique opportunity for the incredibly talented MX TakaTak community to enter the mainstream as actors,” Bedi added.

    MX TakaTak is growing to a large and diverse user base with over 150+ million monthly active users, a community of over 48+ million unique creators, and an impressive 355+ million Installs in this short span of time, the platform further said.

  • MX Player collaborates with MG Motor & Gujarat Tourism for new show

    MX Player collaborates with MG Motor & Gujarat Tourism for new show

    Mumbai: Offering brands innovative content solutions to engage with its large and diverse audiences, MX Player is producing MX Specials that not only appeal to viewers but also meet the business needs of advertisers. The entertainment platform has teamed up with MG Motor and Gujarat Tourism to present “Hidden Taste of Gujarat”, a food & travel show that sees chef Smit Sagar’s immersive journey around Gujarat.

    The show brings together culture, tradition, festivities, landscape, and the lovely cuisine of Gujarat. The five cities that are explored through one episode each include Rajkot, Mangrole, Surat, Dwarka, and Ahmedabad with  Smit Sagar traversing through these different localities and meeting local chefs. The show uncovers recipes and the hidden stories behind them that haven’t been explored in the culinary world, the platform said in a statement.

    Speaking about this association, MX Player’s head of brand partnerships, Pankaj Malani said, “We wanted to take viewers on a delectable culinary journey that brings the rich culture of Gujarat alive, as well as features the ease of travelling its landscape in an MG vehicle. Each episode sees Chef Smit Sagar’s expeditions as he traces a recipe back to its roots and then highlights the stories of the natives of that region. We, at MX Player, constantly strive to make content that is impactful and entertaining and we’re glad to have partnered with MG Motor and Gujarat Tourism for this MX Special.”

    Gujarat Tourism’s commissioner of tourism and MD, Jenu Devan (IAS) said, “The best way to explore a state’s culture is by exploring its cuisine, which is heavily influenced by the geography, history, and traditions of the region. With this MX Special, we hope citizens from across the country are intrigued by all that Gujarat has to offer.”

    Talking about the partnership, MG Motor India’s marketing head Udit Malhotra said, “At MG, our endeavour is to consistently create exciting and meaningful content experiences for our audience. The collaboration with MX Player and Gujarat Tourism for the “The Hidden Taste of Gujarat” is an ode to our home state where we have our manufacturing facility in Halol. Chef Smith Sagar, with his penchant for discovering exciting cuisines across the state, found the perfect partner in his MG that helped him navigate through the rich cultural landscapes with a lot more ease and comfort.”

    All five parts of this MX Special are now streaming for free on MX Player.

  • MX Player deploys H.266, slashes video streaming data usage by half

    KOLKATA: Online video consumption in India has grown exponentially, accounting for 80 per cent of consumer internet traffic. However, the user experience remains highly dependent on data usage and network speed.

    Now, MX Player has upgraded its video encoding & compression technology to H.266 (Versatile Video Coding), cutting down data usage for streaming videos by more than 50 per cent. MX Player as well as MX TakaTak users will be the first in the world to experience the benefits of H.266, enabling them to consume higher quality HD video streams with significantly less data consumption.

    With H.266, MX Player users will be able to stream more content with less data and network bandwidth – video streams will load faster and buffer less since they require only half (or less) the data it would need otherwise. H.266/VVC is the world’s most advanced video codec designed to succeed H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC, used by most streaming video services worldwide today. Unlike its competitors, the H.266 upgrade makes MX Player the first OTT platform in the world to deploy this technology.

    MX Player and MX TakaTak CEO Karan Bedi said, “Video consumption dominates internet usage wherever you go across India, but the quality of experience deteriorates in areas with inconsistent data networks. The new standard is an opportunity for MX Player to give millions of users, regardless of where they are, an exceptional streaming experience that allows them to consume content the way content creators intended: faster loading, buffering-free, and true-to-life HD quality.”

    MX Player SVP Product Sidd Mantri further added, “At MX Player, the future is now. We relentlessly focus on raising the customer experience bar for Indian users. We were amongst the 1st few OTTs to deploy AV1 that reduced data consumption by 20-30 per cent compared to H.265. With H.266, we are taking it to the next level. H.266 offers the most advanced video compression standard available in the world and reduces data usage by more than 50 per cent. Many users in India live on daily data consumption caps, so with H.266 they can watch more as well as watch better on MX Player.”

  • Rahul Sarangi quits MX Player to join Disney+Hotstar

    Rahul Sarangi quits MX Player to join Disney+Hotstar

    KOLKATA: Senior media professional Rahul Sarangi has joined Disney+Hotstar as vice president- head of short form & new content initiatives.

    Last year, when streaming service MX Player branched out into short-format video through MX TakaTak , it had appointed Sarangi as MX Player new business vice president and head.

    Sarangi was earlier with TVF, one of the pioneers in the online content ecosystem of India, as global head-content and business.

    He is an Emmy nominated content creator with nearly two decades of experience across digital and linear content as well as production & content operations (short and long formats across scripted, unscripted & live Sports), with a comprehensive understanding of media business across geographies. He is also an active angel investor.

    In the early days of his career, Sarangi worked with MTV Asia as the senior supervising producer. He worked in India and Singapore in the content team and was also part of the MTV’s regional brand solutions team. Later, he was also a part of the launch team of Colors. 

  • How MX TakaTak plans to sustain its initial success

    How MX TakaTak plans to sustain its initial success

    KOLKATA: MX Player entered the short video race with the launch of MX TakaTak when the Indian audience was looking for a TikTok alternative. It was just one aspirant among a bunch of homegrown apps that were looking to fill the void created by the abrupt ban on Chinese-origin apps. These short form video platforms have been aggressive in customer acquisition but some of them clearly have emerged as leaders; MX TakaTak is one of them.

    It is comparatively easy to acquire a bunch of new users but much harder to retain them. The homegrown short video app is focusing on a couple of factors to hold on to the initial success; consumer experience, creation experience being key components of the strategy, said MX TakaTak business head Janhavi Parikh.

    “One is consumption experience on the platform, that is driven by content, content partnerships as well as the creators that we onboard. It is also driven by our ability to provide the right kind of recommendations to the users so that they get the content they are looking to consume. Those are two very big focus areas for us – building our content and continuing to improve our recommendation,” she elaborated.

    The platform is focusing on the right kind of tools, effects, filters, video editing capabilities to help create better content and retain top creators on the platform. Moreover, there is another segment of creators who are not professional, but just enjoy creating content. For the second segment, MX TakaTak is trying to build a product that can be used easily as the platform has a huge number of long-tail creators as well, Parikh added.

    A recent study by RedSeer Consulting had quantified the market leadership enjoyed by MX TakaTak. Interestingly, the report said the app leads in the net promoter score in the metro cities as opposed to the common notion that “I don’t think it is necessarily just metro cities, we have quite a wide audience” held by its peers.

    “Compared to some other players in the market, we are viewed as a good alternative or a good option because of the kind of content, creators we have onboarded so far,” Parikh remarked, further cementing the claim by adding that MX TakaTak has welcomed 11-12 influencers out of the top 20 former TikTok stars.

    The content they create sort of addresses the sensibility of the metro audience, she noted. In addition to that, the app has managed to create a high quality product from camera, effects, as well as overall user experience perspective which has played a critical role to attract those consumers.

    Is it helping the platform rope in premium brands? There are such brands carrying out campaign experiments on the platform but a number of long-tail of brands are also interested in working with MX TakaTak, Parikh claimed. “Because our audience is very large that cuts across all demographics. We have the premium brands on board with us because short video is such a high engagement platform but we also have other brands interested to work with us,” she stated. Nonetheless, it’s very early days for them from a monetisation perspective.

    Right now, most of the traction for MX TakaTak is coming from the Hindi-speaking market, followed by Maharashtra, Gujarat, South India. As part of its push into building regional content and diversity, the platform has started to focus and onboard creators in south India. However, 60-70 per cent focus is on Hindi content currently, followed by regional content.

    One of the major initiatives that has driven engagement for the app is the Famehouse property. The idea is to create a location where creators from different backgrounds, different stages in their career can come and collaborate, create very engaging content, detailed Parikh. This a very exciting proposition for creators as small-scale influencers get to meet some of the larger creators and learn from each other.

    “As long as we sort of focus on the user experience and keep creating a quality supply of content on the platform, make sure the environment is safe for users which we are doing through a variety of steps, there is a huge opportunity to grow,” Parikh signed off.

  • Illusion Reality Studioz partners with Kunal Kohli for Ramyug

    Illusion Reality Studioz partners with Kunal Kohli for Ramyug

    Mumbai: After successfully venturing into the digital space with the web series State of Siege: 26/11, Illusion Reality Studioz has added another title to their list – MX Player’s highly anticipated series Ramyug.

    Directed by Kunal Kohli, the magnum opus is the latest visual interpretation of Ramayana that uses modern technology in a never-seen before manner to narrate the epic. The MX Original series is also the first mythological web series that has been produced from the ground up and starts streaming on MX Player on 6 May.

    Backed by Abhimanyu Singh, Illusion Reality Studioz has become the go-to destination for animation and VFX needs across industries, with some popular projects under their belt including the Mahayoddha Rama, Battle of Saragarhi 21 Sarfarosh, Vighnaharta Ganesha, ‘American Pie Girls’ Rules’ and ‘Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy’.

    Illusion Reality Studioz, CFO and business head, Nitin Dadoo said, “Lately, there has been an increasing demand for quality content strengthened by advanced visual effects. At Illusion Reality Studioz, we aim to extend our services to create high-quality narratives across mediums. Ramyug is the first mythological show to hit digital screens and it gives us great pride to be in the premier league of creating game-changing and cutting edge content. We will continue to expand our visual effects division to support storytellers”

    Contiloe Pictures was the first to pioneer real-time facial motion capture on the small screen. It has also received the National Award in the Best Animation Film category for the 3D animation feature Mahayoddha Rama. In March, Contiloe Pictures rebranded its VFX division to Illusion Reality Studioz, led by Nitin Dadoo.

    “The team at Illusion Reality Studioz (Contiloe Pictures) has been reliable and extremely proactive, given the pressure of content, delivery, and time to present world-class visual effects. They have truly become a VFX – CGI outfit at par with the best in the world. The detailing in their work is immaculate. Their contribution to Ramyug cannot be described in words. From CGI to VFX, they have created memorable content and truly brought Ramyug to life”, filmmaker Kunal Kohli said about the association.

  • ‘Cruising Legends’ rides again on MX Player, top brands hop on

    ‘Cruising Legends’ rides again on MX Player, top brands hop on

    KOLKATA: MX Player is bringing back an award-winning travel show for another ride – Cruising Legends: Dawn Patrol will see four biking legends quench their thirst for wanderlust and undertake a journey to the easternmost part of India, Arunachal Pradesh, to witness the country’s first break of dawn. Top notch brands like BMW, Gopro, and Castrol 1 Ultimate have already come onboards as sponsors.

    Produced by The Vibe Studio, all four episodes of this travel series are now available to binge on MX Player.

    “In 2020, TheVibe had embarked on expanding its original IP catalogue which was AVoD-based into a SVoD play, and with this an interesting opportunity presented itself from MXPlayer to reboot Cruising Legends, a branded content series produced in 2017 under TheVibe Originals for AVoD, to be converted into a long-format episodic narrative as an MX Original Series. We felt that the property could grow. MX Player’s intervention has scaled up the project and turned it around as a multi proposition, ” TheVibe co-founder Kartik Rao said.

    The thing that makes this series special is that all of the chosen riders have distinct personalities and motivations; their reasons for travelling vary, how they travel and what they do while they travel vary. With each episode, a different rider takes the lead and sets the agenda of that leg of the journey.

    The four riders include Helmet Stories co-founder Harsh Man Rai, biker Candida Louis who’s on a mission to educate the world about the importance of travel, adventurer/biker Ouseph Chacko, and Vir Nakai, who is known all over the globe as the face of Indian motorcycling.

    “We are delighted to be a part of this series,” said BMW Motorrad India director Shivapada Ray. “The BMW G 310 GS is the perfect companion for such an escapade. The bike takes the excitement a step further into the typical GS territory that stands for robust adventures on two wheels.”

    GoPro India head of marketing Mayuri Pitale added, “Cruising Legends raises the bar of unique travel and adventure content in India and there were no better cameras to capture this incredible trip than the GoPro Hero9 Black and Hero8 Black. GoPro cameras are rugged, waterproof and built to withstand dirt, dust, bumps and spills – perfect for the incredible action content in MX Player’s adventure-fueled series. We are proud and excited to have GoPro Advocate, Vir Nakai, participate in the series and amazed by the exotic and treacherous terrain Arunachal Pradesh has to offer.”

  • MX Player promotes Abhishek Joshi to business head – SVoD

    MX Player promotes Abhishek Joshi to business head – SVoD

    New Delhi: Video streaming service MX Player has elevated Abhishek Joshi as business head – SVoD (subscription business).

    “I have been given an additional mandate and responsibility of building the SVoD business from ground up as the business head while managing my existing portfolio,” he stated in a LinkedIn post.

    Joshi joined MX Player in October 2018 as head of marketing and business partnerships and lead marketing function (brand & digital performance) for new business launches like MX TakaTak. Before this, he worked with Sony Pictures Network India as SVP and head-marketing, subscription and content licensing- digital business.

    He became a part of SPNI in June 2015 as VP and head – marketing and analytics, digital business – OTT and led a digital business leadership team. Joshi was also responsible for shaping overall business strategy with core focus being on marketing and communications (online and offline). He handled some of the most talked about campaigns and format brands like Indian Idol 6, IPL, Kaun Banega Crorepati 5, X Factor and a few fiction shows as well.

    In his career spanning over two decades, he has worked with Reliance Big Pictures, Sab TV, ABP Group, Zenga Media and Max.

  • Crime thrillers can take Indian entertainment global: writer-creator Piyush Jha

    Crime thrillers can take Indian entertainment global: writer-creator Piyush Jha

    MUMBAI: Post the Covid2019 outbreak, the Indian entertainment industry witnessed revolutionary changes as OTT platforms gained massive popularity among audiences. OTT originals which were primarily confined to western countries landed on Indian shores, and this inevitable change motivated many passionate writers and filmmakers to make their online video streaming debut. Piyush Jha is one of those master writers who recently forayed into the world of OTT platforms with his new web series Chakravyuh: An Inspector Virkar Crime Thriller. 

    Switching genres from comedy to crime 

    Piyush Jha started his career as a writer-filmmaker in 1999 with the comedy movie Chalo America. Later, he made two more movies, King of Bollywood (2004), and Sikander (2009). And now, after an 11-year-long hiatus, Jha has re-entered the entertainment industry with Chakravyuh starring Prateik Babbar in the lead role. Unlike his previous outings which dealt with comedic subjects, Chakravyuh is an edge-of-your-seat thriller unravelling over eight episodes. 

    The web series directed by Sajit Warrier premiered on MX Player, and received positive responses from all corners. Based on Jha's book Anti-Social Network: An Inspector Virkar Crime Thriller which was published in 2014, the show portrayed the story of the eponymous daredevil cop who fights against the injustices in society. 

    The evolution of a Mumbai-based storyteller

     "I feel great. Audiences (MISSING) have  welcomed Chakravyuh and Inspector Virkar warmly. At this moment, I should thank Kailash Surendranath and Aarti Surendranath of Mayavid who gave us immense support throughout the journey. Until now, Inspector Virkar was only there in the books, and now he has come to the screens," said Jha. 

    According to him, Chakravyuh is more than just a crime thriller, as it is a character-driven story. Jha revealed that the upcoming two seasons of Chakravyuh – also based on his books – will explore the character of Inspector Virkar in different dimensions. 

    Jha also lauded Prateik Babbar for portraying the role of Inspector Virkar with finesse on screen. 

    "As we go to the next seasons, we will see an evolution in his character, as an investigator, as a person who has deep angst in the system, a person who seeks justice in society. All these elements are going to come out. Prateik is actively looking forward to taking this character further," added Jha. 

    Crime thrillers are the way to go

    Jha held the firm belief that crime thrillers have the potential to elevate the Indian entertainment industry to new heights. The genre has always had a global dimension and quality products could appeal to international audiences. 

    "Post the advent of OTT platforms, Indians have been watching crime thrillers from other languages including Spanish, Italian, etc. Crime thrillers always have the ability to appeal to people irrespective of the language barrier. I strongly believe that Indian filmmakers and storytellers should focus on crime thrillers in the future, as quality products will expand the reach of Indian films and series among international audiences," he said. 

    On his upcoming projects

    The filmmaker revealed that he is currently working on two shows, and also plans to make the second season of Chakravyuh. 

    "Apart from the two shows, I am also working on an audio fiction with Amazon audible. That is new territory for me, and I am very excited about it. The audio fiction will be horror-supernatural, a genre that is very new to me. I feel happy as I continue to be a storyteller, and I find myself evolving as time passes by," Jha signed off. 

  • MX TakaTak hops on IPL bandwagon partnering with 7 teams

    MX TakaTak hops on IPL bandwagon partnering with 7 teams

    KOLKATA: Homegrown super app MX TakaTak has become the official short form video partner for seven Indian Premier League (IPL) teams – namely, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

    The platform is now the home of all the fun and entertainment of cricket – from net practice to locker room discussions, quirky dance moves to interesting behind-the-scenes moments. You can catch your favourite cricketers share their candid instances and experiences off the pitch on their official team handles on MX TakaTak.

    Additionally, the app has kicked off the #KhelTakaTak challenge that allows its users to get up-close and personal with their cricket icons through a live meet-and-greet as well as the chance to win some exciting merchandise. As part of #KhelTakaTak, the platform will introduce weekly challenges like the #FanDanceMove where users can add cricketing moves to their dance videos, the #BatBalance that gets them to multitask keeping a bat on two fingers and the #BolCricket challenge where they complete the commentary in a given situation. Along with these, the #KhelTakaTak challenge enables users to use specifically curated stickers to support their teams along with their respective anthems.

    MX Player and MX TakaTak CEO Karan Bedi said, “Our aim has always been to entertain our diverse user base and through this innovative association, users will get a sneak peek into the fun side of cricket, the lives of their favourite teams and cricketers as well as a chance to participate in this year’s tournament fervour with our engaging #KhelTakaTak challenges.”

    Delhi Capitals CEO Vinod Bisht welcomed the partnership, saying it provides yet another way to reach out to fans and engage with them in new and creative ways.