ITV

Tag: OTT platform

  • Watcho collaborates with India Film Project season 11

    Watcho collaborates with India Film Project season 11

    Mumbai: Dish TV India’s OTT platform Watcho has partnered with Asia’s noted content festival India Film Project (IFP) for its 11th season to encourage emerging artists and content creators to showcase their work.

    Watcho will exclusively host three of IFP’s prominent challenges including ‘50 Hour Filmmaking Challenge,’ ‘50 Hour Music Challenge,’ and ‘7 Day Storytelling Challenge.’ Participants can submit their original content on Watcho’s creator platform Watcho Swag, and subsequently view their entries on the app, said the statement.

    Apart from other prizes, Watcho-IFP winners will get an opportunity to showcase their content on TV. Winners will be announced during the four-day virtual festival starting from 22 October, it added.

    “At Watcho, we aim to bring fresh, short-form and on-the-go snackable video content for our viewers across genres. We are providing a platform for emerging content creators to exhibit their talent and reach a large audience with Watcho Swag,”said Dish TV India’s corporate head of marketing DishTV and Watcho Sukhpreet Singh. “Our partnership with IFP will provide them with significant exposure to a broader audience while allowing viewers to access the repository of creative and unique user-generated content.” 

  • Amrita forays into OTT segment with Planetcast

    Amrita forays into OTT segment with Planetcast

    Mumbai: Malayalam GEC Amrita has launched its OTT platform Amrita Live on Planetcast’s multiscreen digital platform on Monday.

    Amrita Live will exclusively stream content related to spiritual leader Amritanandamayi Devi known to her devotees as Amma. As a part of the strategic partnership, Planetcast will host Amrita Live digital platform’s content from its library comprising over 5,000 hours and various live events, it said in a media statement.

    “By launching our own OTT platform, we will offer our target customers, the luxury of watching content as per their convenience. We are committed to adopting technological & digital solutions for improving the overall operations,” said Amrita TV COO Jayakesh Nair.

    Planetcast’s multiscreen digital platform is a SaaS platform, which offers an agile, advanced, easy to deploy, and easy to manage OTT ecosystem. “Amrita Live is actively strengthening its presence in the international market by launching its OTT service. Together, we will work for massive viewership with multilingual content through versatile apps available on popular platforms, devices, and appliances,” said Planetcast Media Services COO Sanjay Duda.

  • Lionsgate Play to exclusively premiere 73rd Emmy Awards in India

    Lionsgate Play to exclusively premiere 73rd Emmy Awards in India

    Mumbai: Starz’s streaming service Lionsgate Play has announced that it will be exclusively premiering the 73rd Emmy Awards on 20 September at 5:30 a.m in India.

    The latest edition of the Emmys will be hosted by Cedric the entertainer and unlike last year’s largely virtual event, it will have an in-person ceremony in Los Angeles. The ceremony will be directed by Hamish Hamilton and some of the biggest Hollywood stars are expected to make a special appearance this year.

    “Emmys has been the most-watched and popular awards ceremony globally including India and we are thrilled to telecast it live so that people can watch it effortlessly,” said Lionsgate EVP Amit Dhanuka. “We take this as a great opportunity for us to showcase this ceremony which is loved across the world.”

    Lionsgate Play currently has content available in six Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Bhojpuri.

  • Prime Video rolls out Amazon original profile image feature in India

    Prime Video rolls out Amazon original profile image feature in India

    Mumbai: In continuation of its recently launched global feature, Amazon Prime Video customers in India will now be able to take on the persona of their favourite character from Amazon India originals as their profile avatar on the streaming service.  

    Available on all devices that support Prime Video, the images can easily be used by customers to update their profiles. From Munna Tripathi in “Mirzapur” to Srikant Tiwari in “The Family Man”, Siddhi Patel in “Four More Shots Please” and Haathiram Chaudhary in “Paatal Lok”, and many more – viewers have an array of characters to choose from for their profile avatars.

    “Born out of deeply local and authentic narratives, our originals have introduced customers to characters that have not only become a part of pop culture but have also made their way into everyday lives,” said Amazon Prime Video India director of marketing Sushant Sreeram. “The launch of these avatars is just another way for us to enable fans to engage deeper with the shows and characters they love.”

  • Shah Rukh Khan teases OTT debut in Disney+ Hotstar’s latest promo

    Shah Rukh Khan teases OTT debut in Disney+ Hotstar’s latest promo

    Mumbai: Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan has set the social media and his followers abuzz on Sunday when he posted a teaser on his social media that seemed to hint at a possible collaboration with Disney+ Hotstar. 

    In the promotion for the OTT platform, the actor is shown having self-doubts after his manager points out that all his showbiz contemporaries have made their web debuts on the streaming platform. The ad takes a humorous dig at the star himself, as he is seen gloating over the sea of fans clamouring to catch a glimpse of their screen idol from the gallery of his residence. 

    Khan then gets a reality check from his manager who reminds him that things may not always be so rosy in future if one does not keep up with the changing times. He enlightens the star that all his peers like Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt have already made their appearances on Disney+ Hotstar via shows and films, while Khan is yet to make his debut on the web. 

    The ad shows SRK having FOMO (Fear of Missing Out, for the unversed) anxiety as he takes in this piece of information.

    The promo which ends with the teaser ‘To be continued’ was posted by the actor with the accompanying loaded caption of ‘Picture toh abhi baaki hain, mere doston’ – a popular dialogue from his film “Om Shanti Om” – which also seems to suggest along the lines of an upcoming announcement.

     

     

    This was enough to set off speculation amongst the star’s zillions of fans and followers, on what could SRK be possibly hinting at. 

    While the creative did not reveal any more details it definitely indicates a tie-up between the star and the streaming platform is on the cards. Whether it is for a new show, film or else an exciting new web series, remains to be seen.

  • Mukund Cairae to head media networks division at Toonz

    Mukund Cairae to head media networks division at Toonz

    Mumbai: Close on the heels of launching its OTT platform, global kids and family entertainment player Toonz Media Group has appointed former Zee Entertainment chief operating officer Mukund Cairae to give strategic leadership to the new SBU, that seeks to expand to more territories in the next two years.

    Toonz Media Group is all set to venture deeper into the platform entertainment business and has constituted a new SBU – Toonz Media Networks – with the aim of widening the scope of the company’s platform business.

    Apart from its well-established YoutTube ecosystem as well as television channels in Russia and LATAM, Toonz Media Networks SBU will supervise the launch of the group’s new linear television channels in the fast-growing kids’ television markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore & MENA, said the company in a statement on Thursday.

    With 1000+ hours of content in multiple genres ranging from pre-school to tween as well as the family audience, Toonz will bank on its rich library to bring world-class shows and films to families across the world via the mini screen, it added.

    “I think this is the right time for Toonz to focus more on platform entertainment. The content industry is booming around the world and demand for kids’ content, especially, is unprecedented,” said Toonz Media Group, CEO, P Jayakumar. “We have consolidated our position as a leading kids and family entertainment company in the last 20+ years, with a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from animation production to emerging technologies.”

    “The idea is to monetise Toonz’s content in various geographies across the globe, especially in the emerging markets, via our in-house content delivery platforms,” said Toonz Media Networks, president, Mukund Cairae. “Toonz will partner with telcos as well as digital platforms to launch channels in these geographies. This includes both linear and on-demand channels. For on-demand platform, we will start off with the Middle East market.”

    Cairae added that apart from the market potential, each of these geographies have been identified based on the scope for revenue capturing and effective content repurposing, in order to make it relevant and adaptable to the local markets. As part of this, Toonz’s home-grown content will be dubbed into a slew of global languages like Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, Arabic, Urdu, Thai, French, and Swahili.

    Additionally, Toonz will also be actively pursuing content partnerships in these regions to co-create premium content, including e-Sports, to engage the tweens and teens besides the kids audience category.

  • Zee5 onboards Lloyd Xavier as marketing director, South

    Zee5 onboards Lloyd Xavier as marketing director, South

    Mumbai: Video streaming service ZEE5 has brought on board Lloyd Xavier as marketing director for the South region, as per his updated LinkedIn profile.

    Xavier’s appointment comes at a time when the OTT platform is focused on its growth and expansion strategy in the southern markets.

    Starting his career as an analyst with Deloitte in 2010, Xavier has over a decade of experience in the field of marketing, digital and social. He was last associated with Arha Media and Broadcasting as assistant vice president, marketing.

    Previously, he worked with Telugu streaming platform aha as AVP – marketing, Network18 as senior marketing manager, YuppTV as marketing manager.

    He holds a master’s degree in business administration from MIT, School of Business, Pune.

  • NH Studioz announces NH Plus OTT platform

    NH Studioz announces NH Plus OTT platform

    Mumbai: Film production company NH Studioz is all set to launch its OTT platform NH Plus.

    With NH Plus, NH Studioz aims to bridge the gap and become a one-stop shop for all the film buffs across demographics, said the company in a statement on Wednesday.

    Commenting on the launch of NH Plus, NH Studioz, director, Shreyans Hirawat said, “With NH Plus, we have planned to explore the digital ecosystem because coming from the entertainment sector, we believe that entertainment is all that people need at the end of the day and that’s when we decided to launch the OTT platform. With the blend of films and classics, our focus is very simple as the audiences are adapting tech and OTT, we would like to reach the desi film audiences.”

    “In today’s time, customer acquisition is the major challenge for any OTT player and we envisage the same challenges,” he further stated.

    While other platforms are focusing both on films and TV shows, NH Plus would focus only on films. The audiences will be able to access titles like “Sholay”, “Sarkar”, “Baghban”, “Krantiveer”, “Pink” and many more on the upcoming OTT platform.

    Hirawat said the company plans to roll out various offers on the subscription plan since the business model would be hybrid in nature. “We will be starting with 200 films and target to add a decent number each month,” he added.

  • Netflix inks multi-year partnership with Excel Entertainment

    Netflix inks multi-year partnership with Excel Entertainment

    Mumbai: Netflix on Wednesday announced a strategic multi-year partnership with Excel Entertainment, the production company behind Bollywood blockbusters like “Dil Chahta Hai”, “Rock On”, “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”, “Lakshya”, “Toofaan” and the “Don” franchise. This creative pact dovetails Netflix’s diverse series slate in India, it said.

    As one of the pioneers in on-demand long-form storytelling, Excel Entertainment will produce a variety of stories under its series banner Excel Media & Entertainment for Netflix members in over 190 countries commencing with two projects tentatively titled “Dabba Cartel” and “Queen of the Hill”.

    Dabba Cartel is a story of five housewives who run a high-stakes secret cartel. Set in the backdrop of jazz-rich 1960s Mumbai, Queen of the Hill chronicles the dynamic relationship between two ambitious women that will change the city forever.

    Commenting on the partnership, Netflix India, vice-president- content, Monika Shergill said, “We are excited to join hands with Excel Entertainment, one of India’s path-breaking creative studios. They have continuously pushed the boundaries of entertainment and given us stories that have stood the test of time.”

    “Our partnership with Netflix marks a new global chapter for Excel Entertainment after 20 eventful years in storytelling. We are excited with the opportunity to create a variety of extraordinary stories to entertain people in India and around the world. We are thrilled to begin this next chapter with Netflix,” stated Excel Entertainment producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.

  • DistroTV partners with Raj Nayak’s House of Cheer

    DistroTV partners with Raj Nayak’s House of Cheer

    Mumbai: Advertising video on demand platform DistroTV has partnered with House of Cheer to onboard South Asian channels. The platform will cater to USA, UK, and Canadian audiences making it easier to distribute, market, and monetise content at no cost.

    The company is also in advanced discussion with a further 15 to 20 channels that include regional languages like Tamil, Telugu & Malayalam. DistroTV plans to scale this operation over the next 12 to 18 months in other international markets.

    “The DistroTV Desi Bundle is an easy pathway to reach the 20-million, strong South East Asian diaspora across North America and the EU, representing a large revenue opportunity,” said the company in a statement.

    DistroTV is a division of California-based media technology company DistroScale and has partnered with Indian TV broadcasters such as Times Network, Republic Media, News24, Mastii TV, E24 to distribute their content globally. It offers Indian channel content through a free service called DistroTV Desi focusing on entertainment, lifestyle and news geared toward the South Asian population abroad and airs in native languages including Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi among others.

    “Today’s broadcasters and content creators face a few critical challenges, They struggle with the cost of content delivery, with understanding how to best drive viewership, and with how to effectively market and monetise their content,”  said DistroScale, co-founder and chief executive officer, Navdeep Saini, adding that, “At DistroTV, we aim to address all of these issues so that content creators can focus solely on their craft: producing meaningful content that will resonate with viewers.”

    “DistroTV makes it easier than ever for Indian content creators and channels to distribute and monetise their content globally, without worrying about the setup, infrastructural, and ad costs, which is a huge saving on their bottom line,” said House of Cheer, managing director and advisor to DistroTV, Raj Nayak.

    “The channel owners can simply focus on producing engaging content, and we will host and monetise their content, as well as syndicate their channels to other large streamers to widen their international distribution, income, and revenue opportunities,”  DistroScale, vice president of business development and content acquisition, Rajesh Nair.

    “DistroTV ensures that all content is aggregated into one OTT platform, with the flexibility of having both linear TV and VOD. The platform absorbs all associated costs for content delivery, streaming, and marketing so that broadcasters and content creators do not pay any upfront investment or infrastructure costs. Leveraging its vast network and deep relationships with advertisers, DistroTV also monetises content for all clients,” said a statement.

    “Unlike other streaming providers, DistroTV also offers transparency to content owners through its LIVE dashboard, which allows for direct, real-time access to key viewership and revenue metrics at any given time. Metrics in the LIVE dashboard include viewer location, time of day shows were watched, the frequency of watching a show, and even how many ads a particular viewer saw during episode breaks. With access to key viewership metrics, broadcasters and content owners are able to make informed decisions and tweak strategy in real-time to drive maximum viewership and increase monetisation,” it added.