ITV

Tag: OTT platform

  • MTV Format ‘Warsaw Shore’ scores record view on TVN’s OTT platform

    MTV Format ‘Warsaw Shore’ scores record view on TVN’s OTT platform

    MUMBAI: Polish broadcaster TVN S.A. launched the fifth season of MTV format “Warsaw Shore” on its player.pl OTT platform to record numbers.

    The polish broadcaster is reporting more than 1.6 million views of the series since 28 February, when the season’s first new episodes were made available immediately following its premiere on MTV Poland.

    Based on the worldwide phenomenon “Jersey Shore,” one of the highest rated shows on MTV, “Warsaw Shore” follows a group of young fun-lovers who have come to Warsaw to pursue their dreams of fame and glory. Unafraid of anything, they allow the cameras into their lives to capture their adventures and all-night parties. Season 5 promises an emotional journey, packed with fights, affairs and real friendship.

    TVN’s player.pl platform allows viewers to watch “Warsaw Shore” episodes just after their premiere on the MTV Poland linear channel. Users may choose between a free-of-charge variant and a paid option without ads. Additionally, player.pl users can watch all previous seasons of the show, including “Warsaw Shore – Watching with Girls,” a spin-off of the fourth season.

    “Warsaw Shore’ is a key show for us, enjoying record popularity for years, while TVN and its player.pl platform are very important to us as partners,” said  Viacom International Media Networks Polska VP marketing & product  Daniel Reszka.  “We are happy that, with player.pl, we will continue to be able to deliver this show to an even wider audience. We believe that close cooperation between a strong TV player and a robust online service will lead to excellent results and synergies that cannot be achieved by working alone.”

    TVN Management Board, Digital & e-Commerce member Christian Anting said, “The cooperation between player.pl and Viacom International Media Networks Polska is another step towards the expansion of the library addressed to the millennials, who tend to consume media via the Internet. From now on, aside from the broad range of TVN programs and player.pl own productions, our users can access all seasons of the extremely popular ‘Warsaw Shore’ show.”

    “Warsaw Shore” is still present on the various MTV platforms. As always, premiere episodes are shown on Sundays at11.00 p.m. on MTV Poland. Fans will find shorts and unpublished making-of clips on social media and the mtv.plwebsite, while complete episodes of the show without commercials will be available in the paid section of the MTV Play application.

    All previous seasons of “Warsaw Shore” have been extremely popular. “Warsaw Shore” was the first show in the history of the Polish unit of MTV to be broadcast in other European countries, such as Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and more. Social media is the basic channel for communicating with the fans of the show. The Facebook fan page of “Warsaw Shore” has garnered more than half a million fans already.

    The Polish portfolio of Viacom International Media Networks includes the following TV channels: Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon HD, Nick Jr., MTV, VH1, VIVA, Comedy Central, Comedy Central Family and Paramount Channel HD. The linear offering is complemented by applications (MTV Play, Nickelodeon Play and other) and websites offering a total of more than 700 hours of video content, 100 games and 50,000 video clips. Globally, the company is a member of the Viacom group.

     

  • MTV Format ‘Warsaw Shore’ scores record view on TVN’s OTT platform

    MTV Format ‘Warsaw Shore’ scores record view on TVN’s OTT platform

    MUMBAI: Polish broadcaster TVN S.A. launched the fifth season of MTV format “Warsaw Shore” on its player.pl OTT platform to record numbers.

    The polish broadcaster is reporting more than 1.6 million views of the series since 28 February, when the season’s first new episodes were made available immediately following its premiere on MTV Poland.

    Based on the worldwide phenomenon “Jersey Shore,” one of the highest rated shows on MTV, “Warsaw Shore” follows a group of young fun-lovers who have come to Warsaw to pursue their dreams of fame and glory. Unafraid of anything, they allow the cameras into their lives to capture their adventures and all-night parties. Season 5 promises an emotional journey, packed with fights, affairs and real friendship.

    TVN’s player.pl platform allows viewers to watch “Warsaw Shore” episodes just after their premiere on the MTV Poland linear channel. Users may choose between a free-of-charge variant and a paid option without ads. Additionally, player.pl users can watch all previous seasons of the show, including “Warsaw Shore – Watching with Girls,” a spin-off of the fourth season.

    “Warsaw Shore’ is a key show for us, enjoying record popularity for years, while TVN and its player.pl platform are very important to us as partners,” said  Viacom International Media Networks Polska VP marketing & product  Daniel Reszka.  “We are happy that, with player.pl, we will continue to be able to deliver this show to an even wider audience. We believe that close cooperation between a strong TV player and a robust online service will lead to excellent results and synergies that cannot be achieved by working alone.”

    TVN Management Board, Digital & e-Commerce member Christian Anting said, “The cooperation between player.pl and Viacom International Media Networks Polska is another step towards the expansion of the library addressed to the millennials, who tend to consume media via the Internet. From now on, aside from the broad range of TVN programs and player.pl own productions, our users can access all seasons of the extremely popular ‘Warsaw Shore’ show.”

    “Warsaw Shore” is still present on the various MTV platforms. As always, premiere episodes are shown on Sundays at11.00 p.m. on MTV Poland. Fans will find shorts and unpublished making-of clips on social media and the mtv.plwebsite, while complete episodes of the show without commercials will be available in the paid section of the MTV Play application.

    All previous seasons of “Warsaw Shore” have been extremely popular. “Warsaw Shore” was the first show in the history of the Polish unit of MTV to be broadcast in other European countries, such as Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and more. Social media is the basic channel for communicating with the fans of the show. The Facebook fan page of “Warsaw Shore” has garnered more than half a million fans already.

    The Polish portfolio of Viacom International Media Networks includes the following TV channels: Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon HD, Nick Jr., MTV, VH1, VIVA, Comedy Central, Comedy Central Family and Paramount Channel HD. The linear offering is complemented by applications (MTV Play, Nickelodeon Play and other) and websites offering a total of more than 700 hours of video content, 100 games and 50,000 video clips. Globally, the company is a member of the Viacom group.

     

  • Viacom18 launches its AVOD platform VOOT; to move its entire content library

    Viacom18 launches its AVOD platform VOOT; to move its entire content library

    MUMBAI: Finally setting to rest about when it would launch its OTT platform, Viacom18 launched its digital VOD platform VOOT. VOOT will be an advertising led VOD platform and will be available for free on iOS, Android and web.

    In a major move aimed at curating the largest repository of kids’ characters in the Indian OTT space, VOOT will house popular characters from across networks – from Nick characters like Dora, Spongebob, Motu Patlu to external popular characters like Chhota Bheem and Pokemon. In what it claims to be another first for an Indian OTT player, VOOT has launched with the largest repository of original content. VOOT Originals will roll out shows in both long and short formats across genres like comedy and drama. Bollywood actors Gulshan Grover, Baba Sehgal, Alok Nath and a host of celebrity scriptwriters and directors will be front-lining these shows. Furthermore, Viacom18 will move its entire content library, including COLORS, MTV and Nick, to be digitally available only on VOOT.

    Commenting on the launch, Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats said, “India is at the cusp of a digital boom with over 400 million (20 crore) internet users and 200 million plus (20 crore plus)smart phone users spending significant amount of time online with entertainment and allied content being the prime driver. As more people move towards consuming content online, it is time for Viacom18 to move into the world of connected screens. Hence VOOT.”

    VOOT’s target audience strategy is in line with Viacom18’s larger strategy – it is a one stop destination for tots to adults. And this is where VOOT brings its unique proposition. Explaining further, Vats added, “With Kids’ content and our entire VOOT Originals line-up, the focus was to get people addicted to happiness. Through our content strategy, that is what we have held true. Our television channels also provide a very robust content bank that we will build upon, for the digital consumers. VOOT will be Viacom18’s singular gateway to quality and differentiated content, in the digital medium.”

    Echoing his CEO’s enthusiasm, Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi explained further, “As a network we are a content powerhouse, be it through our television channels or through our film studio. Our content strategy for VOOT is true to Viacom18’s philosophy of inclusive entertainment. Between VOOT Originals, VOOT Kids, our network content and content-around-content created exclusively for the platform, the idea is to peddle happiness to the ‘always wanting’ India, racing to go digital. Our marketing campaign, set to kick off in the next few days, also highlights this brand philosophy that is at the core of VOOT. ”

    With digital advertising led video-on-demand category set to develop into a $1 billion business opportunity, Viacom18 has lined up an aggressive mix of business, content and marketing strategies. “From a business standpoint, we are following the advertising led VOD model. As the market matures in the next 12-24 months, we will be evaluating both freemium and subscription led models,” explained Gandhi.

    The VOOT bouquet of offerings will include fresh, new content mix, keeping in mind the varied demands of the consumer base. VOOT has planned six originals through its launch phase, and is all set to introduce India’s first mockumentary – Badman. Written and directed by Soumik Sen and co-written by stand-up comedian Anubhav Pal; this 4-part film has Gulshan Grover playing himself. Soadies, a comic spin off of the ever popular Roadies, was also unveiled at the launch. With Baba Sehgal in the lead role, the web sit-com produced by Frames has all his trademark antics to laugh your guts out.

    Comedy rules the roost on VOOT. With a web series ‘Chinese Bhassad’ written by Raahil Qaazi (Co-writer of Do Dooni Chaar) and directed and produced by Saurabh Tewari and a talk show with a ‘twist; called’Sinskari’ starring Alok Nath and produced by Monozygotic is all set to keep you in splits this April!

    In the ‘Content around content’ category, there will be specially curated and platform exclusive shows, exploring never before seen footage and storylines to get you hooked. Rounding up the VOOT content mix, will be all of Viacom18’s channels’ shows. The OTT platform will offer a personalised experience and intuitive product features to engage the always on generation. With VOOT Viacom18 continues to enrich the lives of every Indian with something for everyone.

  • Viacom18 launches its AVOD platform VOOT; to move its entire content library

    Viacom18 launches its AVOD platform VOOT; to move its entire content library

    MUMBAI: Finally setting to rest about when it would launch its OTT platform, Viacom18 launched its digital VOD platform VOOT. VOOT will be an advertising led VOD platform and will be available for free on iOS, Android and web.

    In a major move aimed at curating the largest repository of kids’ characters in the Indian OTT space, VOOT will house popular characters from across networks – from Nick characters like Dora, Spongebob, Motu Patlu to external popular characters like Chhota Bheem and Pokemon. In what it claims to be another first for an Indian OTT player, VOOT has launched with the largest repository of original content. VOOT Originals will roll out shows in both long and short formats across genres like comedy and drama. Bollywood actors Gulshan Grover, Baba Sehgal, Alok Nath and a host of celebrity scriptwriters and directors will be front-lining these shows. Furthermore, Viacom18 will move its entire content library, including COLORS, MTV and Nick, to be digitally available only on VOOT.

    Commenting on the launch, Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats said, “India is at the cusp of a digital boom with over 400 million (20 crore) internet users and 200 million plus (20 crore plus)smart phone users spending significant amount of time online with entertainment and allied content being the prime driver. As more people move towards consuming content online, it is time for Viacom18 to move into the world of connected screens. Hence VOOT.”

    VOOT’s target audience strategy is in line with Viacom18’s larger strategy – it is a one stop destination for tots to adults. And this is where VOOT brings its unique proposition. Explaining further, Vats added, “With Kids’ content and our entire VOOT Originals line-up, the focus was to get people addicted to happiness. Through our content strategy, that is what we have held true. Our television channels also provide a very robust content bank that we will build upon, for the digital consumers. VOOT will be Viacom18’s singular gateway to quality and differentiated content, in the digital medium.”

    Echoing his CEO’s enthusiasm, Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi explained further, “As a network we are a content powerhouse, be it through our television channels or through our film studio. Our content strategy for VOOT is true to Viacom18’s philosophy of inclusive entertainment. Between VOOT Originals, VOOT Kids, our network content and content-around-content created exclusively for the platform, the idea is to peddle happiness to the ‘always wanting’ India, racing to go digital. Our marketing campaign, set to kick off in the next few days, also highlights this brand philosophy that is at the core of VOOT. ”

    With digital advertising led video-on-demand category set to develop into a $1 billion business opportunity, Viacom18 has lined up an aggressive mix of business, content and marketing strategies. “From a business standpoint, we are following the advertising led VOD model. As the market matures in the next 12-24 months, we will be evaluating both freemium and subscription led models,” explained Gandhi.

    The VOOT bouquet of offerings will include fresh, new content mix, keeping in mind the varied demands of the consumer base. VOOT has planned six originals through its launch phase, and is all set to introduce India’s first mockumentary – Badman. Written and directed by Soumik Sen and co-written by stand-up comedian Anubhav Pal; this 4-part film has Gulshan Grover playing himself. Soadies, a comic spin off of the ever popular Roadies, was also unveiled at the launch. With Baba Sehgal in the lead role, the web sit-com produced by Frames has all his trademark antics to laugh your guts out.

    Comedy rules the roost on VOOT. With a web series ‘Chinese Bhassad’ written by Raahil Qaazi (Co-writer of Do Dooni Chaar) and directed and produced by Saurabh Tewari and a talk show with a ‘twist; called’Sinskari’ starring Alok Nath and produced by Monozygotic is all set to keep you in splits this April!

    In the ‘Content around content’ category, there will be specially curated and platform exclusive shows, exploring never before seen footage and storylines to get you hooked. Rounding up the VOOT content mix, will be all of Viacom18’s channels’ shows. The OTT platform will offer a personalised experience and intuitive product features to engage the always on generation. With VOOT Viacom18 continues to enrich the lives of every Indian with something for everyone.

  • Hotstar extends partnership with ICC World Twenty20 2016; Announces associate sponsorship agreement

    Hotstar extends partnership with ICC World Twenty20 2016; Announces associate sponsorship agreement

    MUMBAI: Star India’s OTT platform Hotstar today (7 March 2016) extended its partnership with ICC World Twenty20 2016 through a sponsorship agreement with cricket’s international governing body, the ICC, for the 2016 edition of its mega event.

    The agreement makes Hotstar an associate sponsor of the tournament and ensures on-ground visibility for the platform at all venues for the entire duration of the month-long tournament. In addition to the sponsorship agreement, Hotstar also holds the exclusive digital rights for the live broadcast of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 

    Hotstar president and head Ajit Mohan said, “We are delighted to have deepened our association with the ICC World Twenty20 2016. With the sponsorship, we are reinforcing our commitment to our users and delivering on the promise that whenever there is cricket, Hotstar is the place to follow the game. Continuing on our efforts over the last one year, we are focused on creating a delightful proposition for cricket fans.”  

    ICC Chief Executive, David Richardson said, “We are delighted that Hotstar has decided to strengthen its support of cricket and relationship with the ICC as a global partner of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016. Through the media rights partnership, Star India reaches out to a global television audience, which is further expanded via its digital platform, Hotstar. With the extension of the relationship to include sponsorship, Hotstar will now have the opportunity to engage and interact with the in-stadia cricket enthusiasts.”

    Richardson further added, “As the momentum builds ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2016, Hotstar will launch a series of campaigns to further drive up the anticipation among cricket lovers for this eagerly-awaited event.”

  • Hotstar extends partnership with ICC World Twenty20 2016; Announces associate sponsorship agreement

    Hotstar extends partnership with ICC World Twenty20 2016; Announces associate sponsorship agreement

    MUMBAI: Star India’s OTT platform Hotstar today (7 March 2016) extended its partnership with ICC World Twenty20 2016 through a sponsorship agreement with cricket’s international governing body, the ICC, for the 2016 edition of its mega event.

    The agreement makes Hotstar an associate sponsor of the tournament and ensures on-ground visibility for the platform at all venues for the entire duration of the month-long tournament. In addition to the sponsorship agreement, Hotstar also holds the exclusive digital rights for the live broadcast of the ICC World Twenty20 2016 

    Hotstar president and head Ajit Mohan said, “We are delighted to have deepened our association with the ICC World Twenty20 2016. With the sponsorship, we are reinforcing our commitment to our users and delivering on the promise that whenever there is cricket, Hotstar is the place to follow the game. Continuing on our efforts over the last one year, we are focused on creating a delightful proposition for cricket fans.”  

    ICC Chief Executive, David Richardson said, “We are delighted that Hotstar has decided to strengthen its support of cricket and relationship with the ICC as a global partner of the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016. Through the media rights partnership, Star India reaches out to a global television audience, which is further expanded via its digital platform, Hotstar. With the extension of the relationship to include sponsorship, Hotstar will now have the opportunity to engage and interact with the in-stadia cricket enthusiasts.”

    Richardson further added, “As the momentum builds ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 2016, Hotstar will launch a series of campaigns to further drive up the anticipation among cricket lovers for this eagerly-awaited event.”

  • ‘Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon’ culminates on Hotstar after 8 episodes

    ‘Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon’ culminates on Hotstar after 8 episodes

    MUMBAI: Star Plus’ popular show Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, which was renamed as Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon Ek Jashn on the network’s OTT platform Hotstar, is now reaching its climax after eight episodes. 

     

    The Hotstar original series, which was launched on 24 November,  ended on 15 December.

     

    It may be recalled that on Star Plus, the show went off air almost three years ago.

     

    As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, the show took the lead characters’ Arnav (Barun Sobti) and Khushi’s (Sanaya Irani) story forward, picking up from where the serial ended on the channel.

     

    Also read: After IPKKND, five other television shows OTT can bring back!

     

    Produced by Entertainment Mafia, the show was brought back on Hotstar with eight 10-minute episodes, showing a day in the life of the protagonists, set three years into their marriage.

     

    A source close to the channel informed this website, “The show has done phenomenally well for Hotstar. It became one of the biggest hit in terms of original content. It had also done well for the channel on social media. On Twitter, the show trended at least four to five times.”

     

    The source added, “The first season of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon Ek Jashn is over but going forward, the network may come up with more such seasons. While nothing has been decided as yet, but looking at the response, there might be a second season in the offing soon.”

     

    Speaking about the per episode expenditure on digital, another sources says, “The per episode expenditure is almost similar to television for this show. On Hotstar, there were only eight episodes but on television, big shows see 200-300 episodes being made. However, on digital the cost remains more or less the same.”

     

    Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon was among the top rated show on Star Plus in 2011-12 before it went off air in November 2012. The show was also immensely popular among international viewers.

     

    According to the source, the show on also garnered an exceptional response from advertisers.

     

    It now remains to be seen if Star brings a second season of the show on its OTT platform.

  • Telecom Ministry sets up committee to study net neutrality

    Telecom Ministry sets up committee to study net neutrality

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently issued a Consultation Paper on over-the-top (OTT) services, the Telecom Ministry has set up a committee of its own to examine the whole issue of Internet usage in the country including the newly-highlighted debate on net neutrality.

     

    Telecom Ministry director (security) R Shakiya said that the committee was expected to finalise its recommendations towards the latter half of next month.

     

    Although there was no plan for the committee to give a hearing to stakeholders before finalising its report, he assured stakeholders present at a meet organised by ASSOCHAM that he would forward its request to the Minister in this regard.

     

    Meanwhile, he made it clear that OTT meant communication services like WhatsApp or WebChat and not sites related to e-governance. Similarly, internet governance is independent of net neutrality.

     

    He also said that Digital India was a delivery-oriented scheme and it would be erroneous to confuse it with Internet growth.

     

    Meanwhile, he added that India had asked the International Telegraphic Union (ITU) to conduct a study into how the traceability of the user can be brought in the present regulations.

     

    ASSOCHAM itself is also expected to form a paper on net neutrality.

     

    ASSOCHAM chairman for the National Council on Telecommunications T V Ramachandran, while holding that he was all for net neutrality and there was no reason for consumers to pay extra for services foisted on them, said telecom corporations have been discriminated against and wanted them to find ways to avoid this as far as net neutrality is concerned. 

     

    He cited a US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) statement, which said that these “…new service offerings, depending on how they are structured, could benefit consumers and competition.” The FCC, however, has ruled against a move that violated net neutrality principles.

     

    The net neutrality debate has arisen after Airtel launched a platform called Zero on which Internet companies could sign up to allow its users free-of-cost access.

     

    Other speakers included Pradeep Kumar Verma, who is a Scientist with the Department of Information Technology, and ASSOCHAM senior director Ajay Sharma among others.

     

    A representative of Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) wondered if TRAI, which sought views by 24 April, should interfere as net neutrality was more a matter of content than carriage and the regulator only dealt with carriage issues. He felt that the best body to deal with the issue was the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

     

    Meanwhile, in its paper on OTT, TRAI devoted one full chapter on net neutrality. It suggested that to ensure a thriving and neutral Internet, the issues that needed to be addressed are:

     

    i. The Internet must be kept open and neutral. Reachability between all endpoints connected to the Internet, without any form of restriction, must be maintained.

     

    ii. All data traffic should be treated on an equitable basis no matter its sender, recipient, type, or content. All forms of discriminatory traffic management, such as blocking or throttling should be prohibited.

     

    iii. Network service providers should refrain from any interference with internet users’ freedom to access content (including applications of their choice).

     

    iv. There should be restricted use of packet inspection software (including storage and re-use of associated data) to control traffic.

     

    v. Complete information on reasonable traffic management practices and justifications for the same must be accessible and available to the public. TSPs should be transparent and accountable to any changes in practices.

     

    vi. Non-neutral treatment of traffic for “voluntary” law enforcement purposes must be prohibited unless there is a legal basis for it.

     

    In view of this, TRAI sought to ask the stakeholders about their views on net-neutrality in the Indian context; what forms of discrimination or traffic management practices are reasonable and consistent with a pragmatic approach; what should or can be permitted; should the TSPs be mandated to publish various traffic management techniques used for different OTT applications; and how should the conducive and balanced environment be created such that TSPs are able to invest in network infrastructure and CAPs are able to innovate and grow. 

     

  • Indigenous STBs, courtesy ABS Productions

    Indigenous STBs, courtesy ABS Productions

    MUMBAI: Efforts have been on to spur Indian companies to manufacture cable TV set top boxes (STB) domestically – the government has been encouraging and nudging the private sector to do so.  The Mumbai-based ABS Seven Star group – which runs a health channel and a cable TV network in Mumbai – seems to have taken the bait. It has set up a new company called ABS Productions Pvt Ltd which has designed standard definition (SD), high definition (HD) and hybrid STBS – both MPEG2 and MPEG4 – and contracted Videocon group company Trend Electronics to manufacture them at its Aurangabad plant.

     

    “Trend Electronics also makes STBs for Videocond2h and it has very good experience doing so. Hence we have struck up a manufacturing alliance with it,” says ABS Seven Star CMD Atul Saraf.

     

    Saraf has hired a 20 member team for the STB manufacturing initiative – 14 of these are working on the software while the rest will be looking after the hardware. While the manufacturing unit has a 30,000 STBs per day capacity,  its first order will roll out of the assembly lines by 15 May.  “The first order is for our cable TV network ABS Seven Star, which is close to 50,000 boxes,” he says.

     

    Saraf points out that close to $1 million has been pumped into R&D while designing the STBs locally.

     

    Saraf is a firm believer of indigenous manufacturing of STBs. “When the government mandated implementation of digitisation, it was since then, that I was against importing boxes from abroad. These plain vanilla Chinese boxes are of poor quality and need to be replaced every couple of years. Also, a big disadvantage is that there are no service centers,” he says.

     

    He reveals that local manufacturing will ensure better service standards apart from generating employment.  “Phase III and IV markets will need approximately 100 million STBs.I hope to capture about 5 per cent of this by next year” he says.

     

    Based on the Broadcom chipset – ensuring better video quality – the higher end boxes will have a recording facility as well, apart from being able to deliver internet.  The Hybrid STB will also deliver a video on demand service. “We are not tying up with any OTT platform for this, but will create our own platform to facilitate the VOD service,” says he.

     

    In order to ensure better service, 200 Videocon d2h service centers, across India, have been roped in to bandage and spruce up the STBs should they face any problems in close proximity to their installation.

     

    ABS Productions has priced the  MPEG2 SD box at  Rs 1200-1300, the MPEG4 SD box at Rs 1400-1600, the MPEG4 HD box at  Rs 2,300-2,400 while Hybrid Box is priced at  Rs 3,500-3,800. 

  • Netflix crosses 40 million subscribers base in Q3

    Netflix crosses 40 million subscribers base in Q3

    MUMBAI: Netflix has announced its third-quarter results. The OTT platform that has added 1.3 million US subscribers-11 per cent higher than the prior year Q3, now has a total US base of 31.09 million subscribers.

    Internationally, net additions were significantly up from the prior year at 1.4 million new members, driven by the company’s expansion to the Nordics and the Netherlands. In addition, there was a surge in low-quality free trials in September in Latin America that temporarily boosted the total member number.

    Together Netflix’ total global base is just over 40 million, a 25 per cent increase year-over-year.

    Netflix expects Q4 net additions to be approximately equal to Q4 of the prior year.

    Revenue-wise the streamer continues to show thinnish margins thanks to the amount that it spends on content acquisition, bringing in $32 million of profit on $1.106 billion revenue. In Q4 it expects to expand its contribution margin about 400 basis points year-over-year to about 23 per cent.

    “That means that sequentially our target contribution margin is slightly down Q3 to Q4,” the company said in its earnings statement. “As a reminder, we shifted our contribution margin target a few months ago from ‘100 basis points of quarterly sequential improvement’ to ‘400 basis points Q over prior year Q’, so we are right on target with our articulated margin growth strategy. Our $7.99 price is working very well for us for both membership growth and contribution margin growth.”

    When it comes to its content strategy, the original series get most of the headlines, but the company said that a bigger percentage of overall Netflix viewing is generated by its exclusive complete season-after series. During the quarter, it launched new seasons of The New Girl, The Walking Dead, Scandal, Breaking Bad, Revolution and Pretty Little Liars.

    However, original content remains a top priority, it said. “Over the next few years we aspire to support creation of some of the most compelling and remarkable content ever produced. Coupled with the flexibility of our internet viewing and power of our personal recommendations we will keep changing television for the better.”

    Orange is the New Black has been a tremendous success for the company and will end the year as its most watched original series ever and, “as with each of our other previously launched originals, enjoys an audience comparable with successful shows on cable and broadcast TV. We have seen sustained social media buzz in the months after its debut and it is also one of the most critically well received TV shows of 2013,” it added.

    In addition to Orange is the New Black, during Q3 Netflix launched the new Ricky Gervais series Derek and broadened its original content offering with the acquisition of stand-up comedy specials from Russell Peters and Aziz Ansari, premiering exclusively on Netflix in October and November, respectively. It also rolled out a second set of episodes of Mako Mermaids, our original series directed at the teen audience, and will soon expand into original documentaries, a category that does well on the Netflix service.

    “This quarter we will premiere our inaugural second season of a Netflix original series with the return of Lilyhammer starring Steven Van Zandt,” the company said. “We will also be launching our first animated original series with Dreamworks Animation, Turbo F.A.S.T.”