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Tag: Netflix

  • The Big Shift: Where is digital taking the M&E industry?

    The Big Shift: Where is digital taking the M&E industry?

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: It’s a rainy afternoon in Delhi and 48-year-old homemaker Sunita is looking for recipes for fritters on YouTube on a smartphone she was recently gifted by her husband. She has made fritters a thousand times in her life and she knows the recipe to it by heart, but she likes to watch chefs online to “learn new tricks” for perfecting her already excellent culinary skills. Sometimes, she plugs in the firestick on her smart TV and scrolls through Amazon Prime and Netflix for old movies. Even her evening TV watching has shifted to apps like Hotstar and Voot, which she is still learning to use properly but nevertheless enjoys the ad-free entertainment on demand. 

    This is not just the story of Sunita, but a whole lot of other people from all age groups and interests. Her husband prefers watching news online rather than switching on the TV channels as it is more comfortable to watch it on his phone, though without earplugs. Their three-year-old grandson is learning his ABCs on yet another mobile app and doesn’t miss his Peppa Pig sessions every evening. And as the never-ending lockdown imposes its dark shadow on his probability to attend physical classes like his parents or grandparents, there are investments being made into paid subscriptions of many educational apps and sites, along with other digital tools. 

    Digital, as we know, is dominating all aspects of our lives. From grocery shopping to learning, to working out, to dating; everything has found a digital counterpart and in many cases a competition. 

    The media and entertainment industry is also not untouched from this trend. As per PwC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2019-2023, digital revenues are accounting for a larger share of the industry’s total revenue, year-on-year, starting at 40.7 per cent in 2014 and reaching 55.4 per cent in 2019. It is expected to reach 61.6 per cent in 2023. 

    India is not far behind from the global trends. In fact, it is one of the top markets to embrace this digital boom. As per EY-FICCI report 2020, digital media overtook filmed entertainment in 2019 to become the third-largest segment of the M&E sector. Digital media grew 31 per cent to reach Rs 221 billion and is expected to grow at 23 per cent CAGR to reach Rs 414 billion by 2022. 

    “Digital subscription revenues more than doubled from 2018 levels and digital advertising revenues grew to command 24 per cent of total advertising spend. The sector continues to grow at a rate faster than the GDP, driven primarily by growth in subscription-based business models and India’s attractiveness as a content production and post-production destination,” read the report. 

    The same report suggests that OTT subscription market will approximate 10 per cent of the total TV subscription market by 2020 and there will be over 40 million connected TVs by 2025. And while there is no concrete comparative data to see the growth of digital in comparison to traditional forms of media, there have been many agencies and people claiming that Covid2019 has only accelerated this process. Several reports by bodies like BARC, Nielsen and Kantar have hinted at the increased time spent on digital platforms during the lockdown. 

    So, is this big shift to digital indicating a slow demise of traditional media?

    Swastik Productions MD Rahul Kumar Tewary notes that while digital media has gained traction during the past few months, there is not going to be a takeover of the market space that television enjoys by it. Both the mediums may overlap to a certain extent, but in the end, these are two different market segments. 

    “I believe digital is growing but TV will remain the same. I don’t think there will be too much of an impact on TV programming. There is a certain age group of consumers for the digital content; there is a trend that the youth of India is moving towards the digital side,” he shares. 

    Locomotive Global co-founder Sunder Aaron adds, “We will come out of this pandemic at some time and the domination of pay television and the advertisement on pay TV will continue. But it will have a new balance with digital media and digital delivery of content. We still are a country where there is low penetration for digital consumption. Mobile consumption is actually high but if you look at wirelines into households, it’s still very low as compared to the rest of the world. Hopefully, we will see an increase in the wireline broadband penetration over several years and that will be a big game-changer for digital delivery and digital content consumption.” 

    But are there enough rigid lines between TV and digital anymore? Once, during an interview, someone had asked to define television and the gentleman then went on to elaborate that television is more than the idiot box we knew a few years back. It has camouflaged in a ‘smart box’ now, which also hosts traditional entertainment as well as the modern digital options. It also enables personal chatting and social media apps on the big screen and has a far bigger role to play as a shared screen as well.  

    And definitely, no one can deny the part of digital technologies in keeping this traditional form of entertainment up. In the past few years, almost all the big GECs and news channels have launched their own apps to keep pace with the digital age. Be it Hotstar, Sony Liv, Voot, or Zee5, all these applications first started as an inventory of television shows and then went on to host original content as well. 

    All the major telecom players are a part of the revolution as they were in the DTH era. With Airtel launching its own entertainment app and partnering with other OTTs to offer its consumers exclusive access to content, Idea offering live channels on its movies and TV apps and the very popular and Jio announcement Jio TV+ aggregating TV as well as OTT content, digital dominance seems to stay here. Even on the regulators’ side, TRAI recently launched a channel selection app to facilitate easy subscription modifications for users. 

    Digital technology is now everywhere and that’s what made it possible for the world to continue running even during the strictest of lockdowns for the past few months. 

    One of the biggest industries to benefit from it has been the online news industry. In an earlier story , Indiantelevision.com wrote on the movement of mainstream journalists like Vikram Chandra and Faye D’Souza to digital content curation. It showed how the democratic environment that digital offers as a medium allows journalists to be more true and free to express themselves. The added technological features and better reach are cherries on the top. 

    While Chandra admitted of being heavily reliant on AI-based execution of his editorial functions and being in advanced-level talks with some of the OTT players to push his content, Pankaj Pachauri said, “GoNews has been successfully able to converge satellite TV technology with digital technology as our product can be uplinked on any satellite channel digitally for broadcast. We have tried and tested this technology during the last general elections with APN news for its prime time broadcast,” highlighting the vast roles digital technologies are playing there. 

    All this, undoubtedly, has opened up the gates to great opportunities for digital marketers. Most of the functions of an agency have turned data-driven and are claiming to provide a never-attained-before hyper-targeted reach to advertisers. 

    Digitalkites sr. VP Amit Lall, a few weeks back, discussed s the ability of marketers to follow a consumer’s journey not just across platforms but also devices to provide them with a seamless experience and help advertisers understand user behaviour better. 

    Madison Media & OOH group CEO told Indiantelevision.com on Media Minds 2 that the entire digital renaissance has been a big part of his successful five-year-long journey at the agency, thus far. He shared that the share of digital in agency billings has increased from two to three per cent to 20-22 per cent in this time. 

    And this digital intervention is not only helping the programmatic, SEO, search, social and other digital aspects of marketing but also helping traditional options to be more targeted and improved. The whole lot of data collection that is done via digital media is used to chart out trajectories for mainline campaigns. 

    Additionally, the oldest mainline medium of traditional advertising, out-of-home (OOH), has begun its digital journey, again pushed by the Covid2019 lockdown. 

    Eyetalk Media Ventures MD Gautam Bhirani says, “Fuelled by technological advancements as more devices connect with the power of internet-of-things, location-based mobile data can bridge the gap between digital-physical worlds and converging them can give us holistic consumer insights. As we adapt to the pandemic induced lifestyle changes often termed as ‘The New Normal’, it is constantly impacting consumer behaviour, sentiment and journey which makes it imperative for us to learn and integrate these learnings in OOH planning. Detailed analysis of mobile data that determine brand affinity, interests, preferences, income size, gender, commute patterns, dwell time in the online and offline world can help identify locations for OOH placement and mobile device IDs can be used to retarget the consumer.” 

    Laqshya Media Group CEO Atul Shrivastava adds his own experience, “Our transformation from an OOH to a multi-media conglomerate has followed a carefully coordinated strategy of delivering the most optimised consumer-contact solution to our clients by combining digital, OOH and experiential. In order to make our OOH and experiential offerings more interactive, we added a digital marketing company to our network, which gives us the bandwidth to offer our clients an unbeatable offline-online combination.” 

    Digital dominance is clearly shaping up a distinct world, dominating the media and entertainment industry. While there are high chances that traditional platforms will survive this big shift, one can look forward to redefined versions of televisions and newspapers. 

    (With inputs from Anjali Thakur and Shikha Singh) 
     

  • Netflix’s ‘Indian Matchmaking’ shows content is the best marketing tool for OTT platforms

    Netflix’s ‘Indian Matchmaking’ shows content is the best marketing tool for OTT platforms

    KOLKATA: A week after Netflix dropped Indian Matchmaking, Mumbai-based matchmaker Sima Taparia had her face splashed on memes and posts on social media. Unlike its reality TV breakout hits Love Is Blind and Too Hot To Handle, Indian Matchmaking does not show a liberal dating culture setup or deep connection of love. Instead, it promotes the Indian arranged marriage trope. 

    Media, content creators and millennials across the globe have expressed their views and written official reviews about the latest trending show. While some think we can’t hide bitter truths for long, some are of the view that Netflix should not have promoted such a tainted social system. The appearance of colourism and casteism has made it receive a fair amount of backlash.

    “While the show normalises patriarchy and racism, the reason why we are hooked (including those of us who are outraged by it), from my observation, is because Indian Matchmaking gives us an opportunity to project our ideals and ‘wokeness’ on the back of the show. Screenshotting problematic statements and uploading it on my Instagram stories is a part of my ‘full watching experience,’” says Dentsu Webchutney creative director Binaifer Dulani.

    The trend again establishes a cliched notion that content is the biggest marketing tool for OTT platforms. The appealing shows broaden the appeal of the platform and help to grow a diversified following. And obviously, content travels globally. The show was not an Indian original from Netflix but it has received a great response from the country. As on Thursday morning, it was trending as the number one show in the country. Oddly, its local originals have not been able to create any buzz lately. 

    “For an OTT player, there are two kinds of products, the tech platform and the content it hosts. And irrespective of the business category, the rules stay the same. No matter how buzzworthy the marketing campaign is, if the product lives up to it, it takes it notches higher. The show almost immediately opened up an undercurrent of conversation and everyone wants to be in on the memes they scroll past. This need for belongingness is a big driver for subscriptions. And a good marketing strategy would only add to it by evolving and capitalising on this wave,” Dulani adds.

    “As the OTT market matures, we would begin to see genre-specific specialised platforms emerge, and so a distinct image. However, as of now most OTT platforms are generic entertainment service providers with content driving their imagery. New content campaigns become their marketing drive to recruit new subscribers and segments,” says Brand-nomics managing director Viren Razdan. 

    The audience has always perceived Netflix as a progressive, socially-aware platform and the platform has always been aware of its take on sensitive issues.

    Dulani adds, “Funnily enough, Netflix has managed to create this persona where you feel it thinks like you and is secretly laughing at some of the catchphrases with you (in spite of the ‘Netflix, what is this trash’ comments). Perhaps because Netflix manages to play the role of creator and spectator seamlessly. Through its owned content on social, it’s part of the Indian Matchmaking meme culture, like the rest of the internet.”

    “However, I feel that all content creators, advertisers and OTT platforms should further content that shows a world that’s more equal and questions problematic norms rather than glamorising them. I strongly believe that time and money should be invested in the pursuit of that versus clickbait. We carry this responsibility together,” she points out.

    Razdan says that in the new scenario, with movie halls going out of the social scene for a while, new releases lining up on OTT platforms are going to create the new blockbuster labels of content viewing.

    For now, Indian Matchmaking, though not made in India, has created all sorts of criticism on social media and has only served to spread the name of Netflix. Despite the negative comments, it could work well in getting more subscribers as Netflix targets India with new lower-priced plans.

  • Netflix’s Rs 349 mobile+ plan not a game changer but can boost subscriptions

    Netflix’s Rs 349 mobile+ plan not a game changer but can boost subscriptions

    KOLKATA: Netflix took its first step to appear as an affordable streaming service last year with the launch of its Rs 199 mobile-only plan. Global executives have spoken of its success repeatedly and implemented similar plans in other markets. Now, it is testing a new Rs 349 plan targeting smartphone users which will allow users to stream HD.

    "We launched the mobile plan in India to make it easier for anyone with a smartphone to enjoy Netflix. We want to see if members like the added choice this offer brings. We’ll only roll it out long-term if they do,” a Netflix spokesperson clarified. 

    Experts believe it will position Netflix stronger in the competitive ecosystem given the large number of smartphone users in the country. SBICap Securities institutional equity research head Rajiv Sharma mentions that all markets or households don’t have wired broadband connection but most of them have a good smartphone and high-speed mobile data. According to him, there is a segment which has an appetite for that plan. Although it will be a niche segment to begin with, depending on the additional offerings it may make a difference, he adds.

    Sharma also says that it’s coinciding with the announcement of the 17 new originals. Hence, these fresh stories can result in a good pick-up. He mentions that the company has to monetise 17 originals by increasing subscriber base and recurring revenue.

    The Rs 199 plan, the cheapest offering from Netflix in India, comes with standard definition (SD) and only allows users to stream on their smartphones or tablets. On the contrary, the upgraded version of the mobile plan will let users to stream content additionally also on computers with HD. 

    Elara Capital VP – research analyst (Media) Karan Taurani says that this new plan which is under testing will definitely not be a game-changer like the Rs 199 plan but it is a good move from the marketing perspective. Segmentation of subscriptions into different price-points will help to communicate with different audiences. He also adds while Netflix mostly has a premium audience, if it is rolled out it will be attractive for low and mid users who have a smartphone. 

    "It’s consistent with this broad theme and goal that we have, which is seeking effective ways to make the Netflix service more accessible. And it certainly has been performing the way that we've expected, which is that it is a significant increase and acceleration in being able to add new members. But also that it's doing it at a way which is, from a revenue perspective, neutral to positive, which we think is a really great position to be in the long term for the business,” Netflix COO and chief product officer Gregory Peters commented earlier on the mobile plans.

  • Netflix’s reinvigorated strategy for the next decade & India’s growing role

    Netflix’s reinvigorated strategy for the next decade & India’s growing role

    KOLKATA: Netflix wants to be the ‘best friend’, the primary choice of streamers across the world. While the streaming rat race is picking up internationally, Netflix is moving fast and expanding its content mix. It has moved on from only focusing on scripted episodic originals to also strive to replicate the success of premium TV in unscripted content, movies and animation. This, for Netflix, is the “next decade” of opportunities.

    “We are so excited about the next decade of Netflix growth. We've definitely got a good start, but the opportunity across the next decade is just amazing for us. It's a lot international but I couldn't be more excited about it, and it will be great to have some help as we expand the globe, and I'm looking forward to that.  And to be totally clear, I'm in for a decade. And as co-CEO, it's two of us full time. It's not like a part-time deal. So it's definitely broadening the management team and help us grow even faster over the next 10 years,” Netflix co-founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings said as he named chief content officer Ted Sarandos as co-CEO.

    Is Netflix in the next ten years the same compared to the last years? Hastings said in an earnings call after Q2 results that it has got a good model for the next ten years and just need to make it better. Netflix has historically spent most of its money on content but it is also working on making the service better, more user-friendly with a smarter UI.

    “A couple of years ago, we only had a premium TV. And now to be really good in movies, to be really good in unscripted, emerging in animation, very strong in local language shows and series, I mean it's an incredible expansion that Ted has pulled off over the last five years. So think of it as just us doing more of that at a higher scale and pleasing more people,” he added. 

    Sarandos, the content king at Netflix said that if the platform aims to be the go-to destination for entertainment, it would not be a smart move to ignore the area of programming that dominates broadcast. Hence, it has been dabbling in unscripted reality. Notably, Netflix has significantly spoken more of animated content in the last one year which is the best weapon of its rival Disney+.

    Hastings said that the content team is coming up with some big bets. “We want to have so many hits that when you come to Netflix, you can just go from hit to hit to hit and never have to think about any of those other services, right? We want to be like your primary, your best friend, the one you turn to. And of course, occasionally, there's Hamilton and you're going to go to someone else's service for an extraordinary film. But for the most part, we want to be the one that just always please you with the convenience, simple and easy choice,” Hastings said.

    Despite leading the streaming revolution, competition is going to be the biggest challenge for the pioneer in the next ten years with deep-pocket rivals like Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max and Peacock having entered the market. Even more of the traditional networks are now pulling off content from Netflix for their digital arms causing a big dent in the library as the evergreen popular shows still attract eyeballs.

    As the US market gets overcrowded with large-scale contenders, Netflix is going to focus highly on international markets. “When I think about what our future is and I think it's just a tremendous next stage of growth that we will see mostly coming from outside the United States. So think of more and more employees outside the United States, more productions, more operations happening outside the US and hopefully, many, many more members outside the US. This is an opportunity to lean in just a little bit more, be proactive and drive a little bit more alignment across those activities where we think alignment will benefit the business and push the optimisation of those activities a little bit more,” Netflix COO and chief product officer Gregory Peters said.

    Meanwhile, Netflix has already set its eye on the largest growing OTT market – India.  It set an audacious goal of getting its next 100 million subscribers from the country. This is a tougher market to crack given the local rivals alongside Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video. In the last quarter, it has added less than three million paid subscribers from the entire APAC region. However, despite the slow growth, Netflix is increasing investment here. A few days ago, it announced 17 new local originals. As the Netflix bosses embrace the excitement for the coming 10 years, reinvigorated content strategy and international expansion can save it from the dwindling position of once-undisputed streaming king and definitely there will more spending to get Indian audiences.

  • Even amidst a pandemic Netflix’s content slate is full

    Even amidst a pandemic Netflix’s content slate is full

    KOLKATA: Wall Street was busy yesterday discussing one of its most favourite stocks in recent years. While Netflix executives spoke about cashflow, subscribers and competition, what interests the audience more is the upcoming content slate. Although production has halted in major parts of Netflix markets, fans don’t need to worry since the streaming service is not going out of new content for 2020 at least.

    What’s new in store?

    Other than returning seasons, Netflix is launching a few brand new shows. On 17 July itself, a day after streaming giant announced its q2 results, Cursed premiered. The brand-new series stars Katherine Langford from 13 Reasons Why and reimagines the King Arthur legend.  It is also coming up with Project Power, an action movie starring Jamie Foxx.

    The platform has a sequel to one of its biggest movies, Kissing Booth 2, the one which led to re-birth of rom-com on the back of Netflix.  One of its most global and most successful series, Umbrella Academy’s new season will be dropping in Q3.

    Film acquisitions like The Trial of the Chicago 7 from Aaron Sorkin and The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run will also amuse viewers later. Moreover, it has also acquired nearly completed seasons of unreleased original series like Cobra Kai (seasons 1, 2 and a brand new season 3) and Emily in Paris starring Lily Collins. 

    What the world watched?

    Never Have I Ever, a fun, young adult dramedy from Mindy Kaling, broke through with 40 million households in its first four weeks. New comedy Space Force also reached the same number of households. 

    In original films, 27 million households chose to watch Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, which was celebrated as a “soul stirring film for the ages.” Extraction (starring Chris Hemsworth) and The Wrong Missy, a comedy starring David Spade and Lauren Lapkus, were also big hits with audiences as 99 million and 59 million households, respectively, chose to watch in their first 28 days.

    Along with scripted shows, Netflix members have loved non-scripted shows which can be added to the watch list.  On the heels of Love is Blind, Too Hot to Handle and Floor is Lava are among the latest buzzy unscripted shows. 

    Wave of protests broke out globally against discrimination following the killing of George Floyd in the US. While a number of people are raising their voices to eradicate white supremacy, they are also turning to anti-racist collection. Some older titles like 13th, American Son and Dear White People – part of its Black Lives Matter Collection saw increased viewing.

    Last but the one of most famous shows were La Casa de Papel (aka Money Heist): Part 4, launched on 3 April, was watched in 65 million households through its first 28 days. If a Netflix member has not watched it, it should go straight to his or her watchlist now.

  • Netflix content king Ted Sarandos named co-CEO

    Netflix content king Ted Sarandos named co-CEO

    KOLKATA: The brain behind the content strategy of the undisputed king in streaming service has additional responsibility now. Netflix has named its chief content officer Ted Sarandos as co-CEO of the company. In addition to that, Netflix has also appointed Greg Peters to be its chief operating officer, in addition to his role as chief product officer. 

    “Ted has been my partner for decades. This change makes formal what was already informal — that Ted and I share the leadership of Netflix,” Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings said while announcing the Q2 result. 

    Sarandos will continue as the company's chief content officer also. “My journey to co-CEO of Netflix has been as a fan of great entertainment. And that's my commitment to Netflix members going forward: to keep pushing the boundaries of what a consumer-first company can achieve for people who love stories,” he said.

    "Ted’s been instrumental to our success as a company. While I saw streaming coming and pushed for it, Ted drove the revolution in our content strategy, which was way ahead of its time and has been key to our continued success. It was typical of his ability to see where the industry – and consumer tastes – are headed. He’s built an extraordinary team, attracting some of the most creative and best entertainment executives from all around the world," said Hastings.

    Sarandos praised Hastings as an unbelievable role model and source of inspiration for him  and stated in an earnings call, “my focus is to continue the successful train we’ve been on for the next 200 million subs around the world.” 

    "Greg’s appointment as COO reflects the strategic and analytical strengths he’s brought to our product team over the past 10 years. As we’ve grown, one of my biggest roles at Netflix has been to be broad across the company, getting to know many different people in every area of our business. This has helped Netflix stay mostly aligned, loosely coupled and very productive. In his new role, I want Greg to take on more of this work so that we continue to improve rapidly. Eventually he needs to know every corner of Netflix better than I do today," added Hastings.

    These changes are part of a long process of succession planning, announced Hastings. "While transitions can be hard, I am optimistic because we have a well established culture that’s built to be flexible and many years to get good at this. I’m committed to Netflix for the long term,” he added.

  • Netflix adds 10.1 mn subscribers in Q2; warns of slow Q3 growth

    Netflix adds 10.1 mn subscribers in Q2; warns of slow Q3 growth

    KOLKATA: It’s not a surprise that Netflix has added 10.1 million paid subscribers in the second quarter of 2020. With the massive shelter-at-home mandate brought in by the Covid2019 pandemic leading to another phase of digital acceleration, the streaming services have emerged as beneficiaries. Although it has beaten the expectations for this quarter, the third quarter subscriber addition guidance is low as the world is gradually adjusting to the pandemic effect and may not jump onto new subscriptions to fight social distancing.

    It forecasts 2.5 million paid net adds for the third quarter compared to 6.8 million in the prior-year quarter. “As we indicated in our Q1’20 letter, we’re expecting paid net adds will be down year over year in the second half as our strong first-half performance likely pulled forward some demand from the second half of the year,” Netflix said in a statement.

    Netflix has added 26 million paid memberships in the first half of 2020 while it achieved 28 million in the year 2019. However, it has mentioned that the growth is slowing as consumers get through the initial shock of Covid2019 and social restrictions. 

    The streaming giant has reported $6.15 billion revenue, 25 per cent growth year over year, while quarterly operating income exceeded $1 billion. Average streaming paid memberships in Q2 rose 25 per cent year over year while streaming ARPU increased 0.4 per cent year over year. Netflix has given a third-quarter estimation of $6.33 billion. 

    “Since our content production lead time is long, our 2020 plans for launching original shows and films continue to be largely intact. For 2021, based on our current plan, we expect the paused productions will lead to a more second-half weighted content slate in terms of our big titles, although we anticipate the total number of originals for the full year will still be higher than 2020,” it said on the pandemic impact on the content slate.

    It also spoke of competitors like WarnerMedia, Disney along with mentioning that Apple, Amazon have been growing their investment in premium content while also regarding TikTok as a competitor given its 'astounding' growth. However, it mentioned that Netflix continues to improve content and service at a faster pace compared to others.

  • Netflix unveils a robust content line-up of 17 upcoming originals

    Netflix unveils a robust content line-up of 17 upcoming originals

    KOLKATA: Netflix has today unveiled an exciting lineup of 17 original stories, including six new films and two new series. From thrillers to romantic comedies to lighthearted dramas, this unparalleled and diverse collection of entertaining stories will launch on Netflix in the coming months. 

    VP-Content, Netflix India Monika Shergill said, “We are excited to share our lineup of stories across formats and multiple genres. We know our members have unique tastes, moods and needs – sometimes, they want to lean back and watch a delightful comedy, and at other times, they want a pulse-pounding thriller that brings them to the edge of their seats. We are so proud to bring these diverse stories created by acclaimed and emerging storytellers and producing partners. Together with the finest stories from around the world and our rapidly growing selection of licensed titles, we want to give our members something to discover and love on Netflix every day.”

    The six new additions to Netflix films include – multi-starrer Ludo, a unique comedy drama about four people whose lives collide with each other (featuring Abhishek A. Bachchan,  Rajkummar Rao, Aditya Roy Kapur, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Pankaj Tripathi and Pearle Maaney); Torbaaz, an emotional story of transformation (starring Sanjay Dutt); crime thriller Raat Akeli Hai  (featuring Radhika Apte, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Aditya Srivastava, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Nishant Dahiya and Shweta Tripathi); Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare, a stirring drama about two cousins and their quest for freedom (starring Konkona Sensharma and Bhumi Pednekar); romantic comedy Ginny Weds Sunny (featuring Yami Gautam, Vikrant Massey) and award-winning animated romance film Bombay Rose, the first Indian animation film ever selected to open Venice Critics’ Week. 

    These distinctive and captivating stories join the upcoming slate of Netflix films which include the inspiring true story of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (starring Janhvi Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Angad Bedi, Viineet Kumar, Manav Vij and Ayesha Raza Mishra); a dysfunctional family drama Tribhanga – Tedhi Medhi Crazy (featuring Kajol, Tanvi Azmi and Mithila Palkar); a horror story set in a village in Punjab Kaali Khuhi (featuring Shabana Azmi, Satyadeep Mishra, Sanjeeda Sheikh and Riva Arora); Serious Men, a witty drama based on Manu Joseph’s novel (starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Nassar, Shweta Basu Prasad); an intense police drama Class Of ’83 (featuring Bobby Deol, Bhupendra Jadawat, Hitesh Bhojraj and Annup Sonii) and a uniquely entertaining dark comedy AK vs AK (starring Anil Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap). 

    The two new exciting series are Mismatched, a young adult romance (starring Prajakta Koli and Rohit Saraf) based on Sandhya Menon’s book ‘When Dimple Met Rishi’ and A Suitable Boy, based on the critically acclaimed book by Vikram Seth (starring Ishaan Khatter, Tabu,  Tanya Maniktala, Rasika Dugal, Shahana Goswami and Ram Kapoor), which will be available on Netflix globally except in the United States and Canada. They join the lineup of upcoming series including the delightful Masaba Masaba (starring Masaba Gupta and Neena Gupta as themselves with Neil Bhoopalam); Bombay Begums, a contemporary drama (featuring Pooja Bhatt, Amruta Subhash, Shahana Goswami, Plabita Borthakur and Aadhya Anand) and a fun dramedy Bhaag Beanie Bhaag (earlier titled Messy, starring Swara Bhasker, Ravi Patel, Dolly Singh and Varun Thakur). 

  • SonyLIV 2.0 seeks to refresh through new-age, youthful vibe

    SonyLIV 2.0 seeks to refresh through new-age, youthful vibe

    KOLKATA: While the lockdown demotivated many, it did not stop OTT platform SonyLIV from taking a bold stop. With new content in-store, SonyLIV is reviving itself as SonyLIV 2.0. A new team which took up the role to lead the platform last year has reimagined the transformation. As the streaming war in India continues with Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5 and MX Player being leading names, the rebranding is likely to give leverage.

    “We wanted to become more new-age, youthful, user-friendly. That was one thing which we wanted to say through the new logo design. Secondly, the V of LIV also resembles the tick mark. So, the entire design came from the fact that this is the right choice of entertainment,” said SPN digital business marketing head Aman Srivastava. The new logo emphasises the ‘liv’ part in a bright yellow colour in contrast to a colourful background with streaks of purple, blue and orange.

    Srivastava said they are informing existing customers about new content through notifications and emailers. Moreover, there is a way to interact with these consumers on the app itself. Apart from that, he adds that SonyLIV has been present on all digital and audiovisual platforms which provides it with the right kind of target audience including its network channels, major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. He added that SonyLIV was always well-played from a distribution point of view as its available across devices, platforms and telecom players. 

    He is also confident about customer retention even after the lockdown easing as it will have new content every week. Moreover, he added that live sports has also started and the sports fans are coming in and there might even be some more new sports content. As television shootings have resumed, catch-up content will also come back. Together, original, live sports, catch-up content will keep subscribers engaged. 

    Just after the launch, SPN digital business and SET content head Ashish Golwalkar said that it would start the journey with Hindi and English content. Although the English library has always been heavy of the streaming platform, it has now collaborated with the best creative minds of the country for good local content. 

    “Currently, we are starting with Hindi and English content. In English content, we have content from Sony Pictures Television, our own studio. We have acquired some content from ITV and NBC. We have an existing Lionsgate library. We have a rich rapporteur of English content. Now, we are launching with Your Honour. We will launch five shows in the next two months.  We have content planned for Hindi, Marathi and English. We have very enriching content from TVF as well,” he said.

    Golwalkar admitted that the space is highly competitive but even then he feels there is a lot of space for content in certain genres like comedy or content that is Indian in approach. According to him, there is not much content in the genre. The online content that is coming from India is revolving around crime, thriller and dark subjects. There are a lot of other stories that can be told and that will allow SonyLIV to create a niche for itself. He added that they would be launching around 15-20 originals in the next 12 months. Some of the content can be dubbed in major regional languages in the coming days.

    The first original with which the rebranded platform started the journey was Your Honor, Created by Applause Entertainment. Deepak Segal, the content head of Applause Entertainment said that it is one of format among six which were acquired from Israel. The show was first adapted and produced by it and then SonyLIV was approached. It has three shows coming up on SonyLIV.

  • Netflix appoints Bozoma Saint John as new CMO

    Netflix appoints Bozoma Saint John as new CMO

    KOLKATA: Netflix has appointed ex-Apple and Uber exec Bozoma Saint John as its new chief marketing officer. Her two-decade long career spans across industries including music and entertainment, consumer packaged goods, fashion, sports and automotive. She will start at the company this August, will report to chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

    Prior to this, she served as CMO in Endeavor since 2018. She is replacing Jackie Lee-Joe who is leaving the company for personal reasons who has been in Australia with her family since the start of the pandemic. Saint John is the third executive to take on the role in less than a year. 

    “I’m thrilled to join Netflix, especially at a time when storytelling is critical to our global, societal well-being,” Saint John said in a statement as per media reports. “I feel honoured to contribute my experience to an already dynamic legacy, and to continue driving engagement in the future,” she added.

    Saint John worked as a chief brand officer at Uber and also worked as head of consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes.She was also associated with Pepsi-Cola North America’s head of music and entertainment marketing.

    “Bozoma Saint John is an exceptional marketer who understands how to drive conversations around popular culture better than almost anyone,” Sarandos said.  “As we bring more great stories to our members around the world, she’ll define and lead our next exciting phase of creativity and connection with consumers,” he added.