ITV

Tag: OTT

  • Eros Now Partners with Leading Indian Digital Marketplace FreeCharge to Grow Customer Base

    Eros Now Partners with Leading Indian Digital Marketplace FreeCharge to Grow Customer Base

    Mumbai: Eros International PLC (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment industry, announced today that Eros Now, its cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform has partnered with FreeCharge, one of India's leading digital marketplaces for financial services and products. Through this association, Eros Now will facilitate a free month of access to its vast library of 11,000 plus movies, original shows, music videos and more for FreeCharge customers recharging pre-paid packages via the FreeCharge app. Additionally, this alliance will also give FreeCharge users a 60% discount on Eros Now’s annual subscription, which is otherwise priced at INR 999 (USA $7.99/ UK £4.99 GBP). The users will be able to use this discount by selecting FreeCharge in the payment selection pane on Eros Now.

    India is a fast growing market for the digitization of services, be it entertainment, shopping or payments. The recent report by NITI Aayog found the industry is expected to become a trillion-dollar market by 2023[1], which reflects the fast pace at which the digital payment space in India is growing. There is no doubt that sooner than we would know, the digital payments system will make way to the interiors in the same capacity as it has captured the urban markets.

    Talking about the partnership, Rishika Lulla Singh, CEO, Eros Digital, said, “The adoption and growth of digital ecosystems is currently at its peak. Users are going digital across categories as its hassle free and quick. Eros Now’s partnership with FreeCharge is a seamless blend of two customer centric brands that focus on consumer preferences and expectations. By bringing an exciting offer like this to our 113 million users, we reinforce our promise of bringing the best of entertainment with the top partners.”

    Commenting on the partnership, Sangram Singh, CEO, FreeCharge said, “The Company is continuously working towards creating opportunities to build deeper engagement with the consumers by presenting them more choices through such collaborations. The association with Eros Now is in line to further strengthen our digital payment services and augment customer experience. Such partnerships are an interesting add-on to our suite of offerings and encourage consumers to increasingly adopt FreeCharge to do more than recharges and bill payments. Together we aim to deliver convenience in terms of seamless subscription for the FreeCharge users for their regular dose of entertainment.”

  • HOOQ, Hotstar enter unique strategic partnership

    HOOQ, Hotstar enter unique strategic partnership

    MUMBAI: Southeast Asian OTT platform HOOQ has struck a unique deal with India’s leading streaming service Hotstar. Under the partnership, HOOQ’s 6000-hour catalogue of Hollywood TV shows and movies will be available for Hotstar Premium users.

    The deal is a win-win situation for both. HOOQ can leverage Hotstar’s massive 150 million monthly active users while the latter will be able to upsurge its premium English content easily. Star India’s digital arm already features content from studios like HBO, Showtime, Fox and Disney. Now, titles such as The Big Bang Theory, Arrow, The Flash, S.W.A.T., The Goldbergs and HOOQ Originals like The Oath will be available on Hotstar. Hollywood blockbusters and classics including Wonder Woman, Harry Potter, Spider-Man and Pulp Fiction will be also available on the platform.

    “Hotstar Premium’s English catalogue is unlike anything you’ll find on any other platform in the world – an aggregation of content from across studios and content producers, at a single destination. This partnership with HOOQ, with its portfolio of curated blockbuster Hollywood content, seals the argument – for an English content fan, there is nowhere else to go,” Hotstar CEO Ajit Mohan commented.

    “We are so pleased to announce this collaboration with Hotstar that combines their reach with our offering as the ‘Home for Hollywood’ in India. With the appetite for Hollywood content in India growing at a furious pace, we are poised to offer the Indian customer easily accessible and a very affordable way to watch the best of Hollywood. This partnership with Hotstar underscores our commitment to satisfying the Indian market’s appetite for on-demand content,” HOOQ CEO Peter Bethos commented.

    According to FICCI-EY’s research on India’s entertainment industry, box office collections from Hollywood films, inclusive of all regional language dubbed versions, totalling Rs 8.01 billion in 2017, making up 13 per cent of the overall movie box office in the country. English titles have witnessed significant uptick over last couple of years. As per the FICCI-KPMG Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2017, gross box office collection of English films in India grew by 10 per cent in 2016 compared to 2015.

    “When it comes to English content, Hotstar Premium is uniquely placed in that it boasts titles from global studios like HBO, Disney, Showtime and Fox and now with HOOQ, iconic shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Flash, S.W.A.T and even cult classics like Friends in the fold. Regardless of mood, genre preference or which side of the superhero debate you sit on, Hotstar Premium is the single destination where English content consumers find everything. The partnership with HOOQ firmly strengthens that position,” Hotstar Premium business head Prabh Singh commented.

    “This is the start of a great relationship between HOOQ and Hotstar in India, we are excited to bring to life a wealth of content for a new audience. The OTT market is an exciting space and our belief is that it is imperative for consumers to have easy access to content. With this Hotstar partnership, HOOQ takes another step forward in becoming the service known as the “Home of Hollywood” on major platforms,” HOOQ managing director India Zulfiqar Khan said.

  • OTT players, cable ops find harmony in integration

    OTT players, cable ops find harmony in integration

    MUMBAI: Studies have shown that as far as India is concerned, nothing is going to dethrone TV’s position for a while. But the OTT boom is undeniable. Even TV broadcasters want to have their cake and eat it too by setting up their own video on demand services. Although cord-cutting is not as prevalent in India as developed markets, it is certain that viewing habit of consumers has already started changing. Cable TV (http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/broadband/cable-tv-dth-players-cautiously-optimistic-on-jio-fiber-competition-180706 ) operators are most vulnerable to the major shift in the near-term while DTH players are also under pressure to come up with new strategies.

    Recently, Hathway took a step to bridge the gap between TV and OTT by landing a deal with streaming giant Netflix. Hathway is more vulnerable to the change due to its urban-centric business. Another large operator Siti Networks announced its first hybrid set-top box that has YouTube and YouTube Kids in-built. However, this is not about only cable operators, OTT players also have high chances to reap the benefit of it.

    “Traditional cable players are already penetrated very deep, with 90-100 million TV households and broadband customers too. That is a huge customer base for OTT platforms to leverage. It’s a win-win situation: the OTT (http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/higher-production-values-of-ott-content-wont-put-pressure-on-tv-biz-punit-goenka-180814 platform gets access to the customer base while the cable company can increase subscription ARPUs,” Ernst & Young media and entertainment advisory services partner Ashish Pherwani commented.

    Netflix, the US streaming giant is trying to beef up its business in India very soon. With deep pockets, it wants to make a premium content library. But as the platform has high pricing and still does not have a considerable amount of regional content, it’s not easy for it to acquire customers here.

    KMPG India media and entertainment partner and head Girish Menon said it’s definitely a starting point for cable operators to be able to offer OTT content. With the rapid growth of mobile internet, linear TV may be under threat at least for certain situations. According to him, by offering OTT platforms, these cable operators are protecting their business from digital.

    “The biggest challenge for any OTT platform is physical distribution and customer acquisition. So by a deal with Hathway, Netflix is actually taking them into many more households than they are currently able to access on a direct basis. It partially helps them with both distribution and acquisition challenges,” Menon commented.

    A study by Parks Associates said approximately 33 per cent of cord cutters in the US would have stayed with their service provider if offered a Netflix-style service bundled with broadcast TV channels. In the US, where the cord-cutting started first, viewers love to get both experiences at the same time. As traditional TV still remains the primary screen in India, these integrations can definitely help cable operators to reduce churn and increase stickiness.

    On the contrary, Dolat Capital VP research Karan Taurani thinks the deal won’t help Netflix to acquire customers as the service is not bundled and will cost the same amount of money. According to him, Netflix is much easier on Chromecast.

    “It may help Hathway in some way if they tie up with four to five VoD platforms rather than just one; further, they will also have to provide the set top box with VoD access at a minimal price in line with the price of a Chromecast device which gives access to any VoD platform,” he added. However, the new set top box with a special button on remote for Netflix has been priced at Rs 2999.

    Talking about the benefits of the deals, Menon mentioned another vital point. As most of the cable companies also have broadband businesses, the alliance between cable and OTT players can lead to the broadband growth of the cable companies. Moreover, for cable companies, broadband operates at a much higher margin than traditional cable business.

    It seems as if even broadcasters are growing alert to the potential danger in OTT unless you make them your friend. Recently Zee Enterprises Entertainment Ltd entered into a content deal with Airtel after breaking up with Jio while ALTBalaji partnered Xiaomi with Mi TV. Eros Now, the OTT platform from Eros International, struck a deal with FashionTV.
    It is very certain that the industry is about to see more partnerships along the same line. Even DTH players have also struck few deals with OTT players. Acknowledging it as an upcoming trend, Pherwani commented that every OTT platform is trying to maximise its reach.

    “I think you will see more and more such partnerships and this is not just in cable, even in DTH. The reason behind it is that to a certain extent they are preparing for a future. Because the FTTH broadband roll out front that Reliance has announced makes it a significant player that could actually impact the distribution business of cable and DTH players. So the partnerships are a protection,” Menon commented.

    Large players like Hathway, Siti Networks, Den Networks will find it easy to invest more in the technological update and remain relevant. But small MSOs with lesser investment, cash flow will not be able to survive in the thriving competition. Hence, the cable industry is definitely going to witness a number of consolidations. The DTH and telecom industries have already realised that they need to merge if they want to sustain their businesses.
    Going forward, we will see more partnerships and deals between traditional TV and modern OTT.

  • Eros Now’s original series Side Hero trailer generates over 10 million views in less than a week

    Eros Now’s original series Side Hero trailer generates over 10 million views in less than a week

    Mumbai, September 24, 2018: Eros Now, the cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform owned by Eros International Plc (NYSE:EROS) (“Eros”), a leading global company in the Indian film entertainment, recently launched the official trailer of its first original series – Side Hero on September 18th, has garnered more than 10 million views online. The eight-episode series has begun streaming today, September 24th. The trailer was launched less than a week ago and has since garnered more than 10 million online views, making it the most watched trailer of any Indian OTT original.
    The Side Hero trailer, a unique binge-worthy show taking a stab at “cringe” comedy, based on the life of actor Kunaal Roy Kapur, has generated large online appeal and is now the only original series on any Indian OTT platform to receive such viewership in barely a week. Prior to the series’ launch on Eros Now, the poster and trailer announcement had also seen the highest level of engagement and trended number 1 on Twitter.
    The show and hashtag #SideHero picked up buzz on Twitter prior to its trailer launch for its innovative high-level consumer engagement activities. The digital campaign included fun spoofs and memes of a morphed Kunaal Roy Kapur on super-hit movie posters like Bajirao Mastani, Bahubali, Ra.one and more, extending the OTT platform’s vibrant personality to the show itself. Kunaal’s first Side Hero meme was announced through his debut on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter.
    The digital campaign also ran an exciting contest campaign #HowToBeAHeroIn7Days on @ErosNow twitter page to engage with audiences with the winner bagging an opportunity to be part of an upcoming Eros Now original. The noise and excitement around the trailer and show was further amplified by having an experiential on-the-ground activity with open air screenings for social media influencers with the all-star cast. Apart from the social media buzz, the trailer and show build up was backed by a robust 360° marketing campaign that strategically encompassed elements such as on-air promotions, on-ground associations, radio spots and various PR tools, making it an impactful campaign.

    Commenting on the occasion, Ridhima Lulla, Chief Content Officer, Eros Group said, “We are thrilled with the phenomenal response Side Hero’s trailer has received. The entire social media campaign with its innovations has been instrumental in driving maximum viewership towards the trailer and building curiosity around the series. This accomplishment is testament to our belief in constantly testing waters, being relevant yet different and launching our first show in an unusual comic space. We hope to receive the same appreciation for the series as well which launched today on Eros Now.”
    Side Hero is directed by Rohan Sippy and stars Kunaal Roy Kapur and Gauahar Khan as lead actors. All the episodes of the show are streaming now and available for binge viewing for INR 49 and INR 99 per month on Eros Now.

    Catch the trailer of Side Hero: https://erosnow.com/movie/watch/1063782/an-eros-now-original-series/6893259/sidehero:-official-trailer

  • Facebook appoints Hotstar’s Ajit Mohan as India MD & VP in major coup

    Facebook appoints Hotstar’s Ajit Mohan as India MD & VP in major coup

    MUMBAI: The social media giant Facebook finally ends its hunt to find a head for India operations. Facebook has appointed Ajit Mohan as Managing Director and Vice-President of Facebook India. He will join Facebook early next year.
    In this newly created role of Managing Director for India, a VP-level role, one of the most important responsibilities for this person will be aligning teams and driving Facebook’s overall strategy in India. This is a new structure for Facebook India of having a senior leader reporting into Menlo Park and not Asia Pacific.
    “India is one of the largest and most strategically important countries for Facebook. As we think about what it will take to achieve our mission of bringing people together and building community, we know that investment in India is critical. Ajit’s depth of experience will help us to continue to have a positive impact in India across communities, organizations, businesses and with policy makers”, Facebook Inc vice-president of business and marketing partnerships said David Fischer.
    “I am delighted to take on the mantle of shaping Facebook’s charter in India. It is a unique opportunity to shape the agenda of a company that has brought the world closer together in one of the most exciting markets in the world. I look forward to championing India in Facebook and working with stakeholders across the spectrum to help build deep and meaningful communities across the country” Ajit Mohan commented.
    He joins Facebook from Hotstar, the streaming platform launched by Star India, where he was Chief Executive Officer. He launched and built Hotstar into India’s leading premium video streaming platform. Ajit is an alumnus of McKinsey and Company’s New York office where he worked with media companies around the globe as well as served as a Fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, where he focused on India’s rapid urbanization. He is a graduate of the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

  • Irdeto and Alibaba Cloud Make It Easy to Securely Deliver OTT Content and Services

    Irdeto and Alibaba Cloud Make It Easy to Securely Deliver OTT Content and Services

    MUMBAI: Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group, has selected Irdeto Rights to simplify OTT content protection for its customers. Irdeto’s multi-DRM solution, including ChinaDRM, PlayReady, Widevine and FairPlay support, will enable content owners and operators to quickly deploy OTT services. Alibaba Cloud will utilize Irdeto Control, the head-end of Irdeto Rights, to manage and protect the customer’s video content. Alibaba Cloud is the world’s third-largest provider of public cloud services, providing video services to hundreds of thousands of global companies, including OTT operators, online education companies and short video companies—live, on-demand and content distribution platforms.

    Competition in China’s OTT market is at an all-time high with close to 229 million people subscribing to a streaming service in 2018. In addition, the global subscription OTT market is set to grow 24% in 2018. This trend is fueled by growing internet penetration rates, faster connectivity speeds and a broad shift in consumer preference towards internet-based video consumption. With more options to choose from, subscriber churn rates are high. As a result, premium content and a high-quality user experience across as many devices as possible are key differentiators that are necessary for operators to maintain a competitive edge. Irdeto and Alibaba Cloud help operators not only in China, but across the globe, stay ahead of competitors through quick delivery of OTT services while also ensuring that premium content remains secure.

    Li Bin, Senior Technical Expert at Alibaba Cloud, said: “Alibaba Cloud Video Cloud provides stable, high-quality and scalable video services for customers in the multimedia industry. Through cooperation with Irdeto, we have enhanced the security of audio and video content. For the first time, we launched a video cloud service for copyright protection of all-platform video content in China. This new product greatly simplifies the management of content providers and operators on the content supply of various devices and improves the security of content supply."

    Irdeto has worked closely with Alibaba Group since 2013 to support anti-piracy initiatives on Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platforms. Just last month, Youku, the Alibaba-owned online video streaming service provider, selected Irdeto Rights for ChinaDRM to safeguard premium content delivery.

    “Innovation is critical for operators to succeed in today’s competitive pay TV market,” said Bengt Jonsson, Senior Vice President, Sales & Services, Irdeto. “We want to work with companies like Alibaba Cloud who foster this innovation by providing their customers with secure, premium services. We are thrilled to work with Alibaba Cloud to help operators protect and accelerate the release of new content while also enabling new business models that will increase efficiency and drive revenue.”

    Irdeto Rights, a solution in the Irdeto 360 Security portfolio, is a proven multi-DRM and policy management solution that addresses content challenges at both the headend and client side. It supports all leading commercial DRMs, as well as common encryption standards of MPEG DASH, and unique security technologies optimized to work at peak levels of demand. Irdeto Rights provides operators with increased market reach by supporting all major DRMs, including Microsoft PlayReady, Google Widevine, Apple FairPlay and ChinaDRM.

  • Viacom 18 adds ThinkAnalytics personalized multi-language recommendations to VOOT

    Viacom 18 adds ThinkAnalytics personalized multi-language recommendations to VOOT

    Pay-TV and OTT content discovery and viewer analytics vendor ThinkAnalytics™ today announced that Viacom18 in India has gone live with ThinkAnalytics on the ad-funded OTT service VOOT.  VOOT’s 37 million monthly active users now have personalized recommendations in seven languages on the home screen, making it quicker and easier to find content they want to watch.

    Viacom18 has also deployed the ThinkComposer UX engine and ThinkEditorial, integrated with the ThinkAnalytics Recommendations Engine, enabling its editorial team to automate and streamline content curation and promotions to better meet KPIs and business goals.

    The ad-funded VOOT service offers over 50,000 hours of original, domestic and international content for free. Content includes: COLORS TV, MTV India, Nickelodeon India, a wide range of Bollywood movies, and VOOT Original shows.

    The ThinkAnalytics Recommendation Engine uses machine learning and predictive analytics to understand individual viewer preferences and broader viewing trends in real-time and suggests new content, personalized to each viewer. As a result, operators see a substantial uplift in viewer engagement and loyalty.

    Mohit Srivastava, Head – Product and Engineering, Viacom18 Digital Ventures, said, “When we saw the data showing how much ThinkAnalytics boosts viewer engagement, we knew it was the right service for VOOT and for our viewers. Having ThinkAnalytics intelligent search and personalized recommendations on the main UI makes it easy for viewers to discover more exciting programs from the wealth of content available on VOOT.”

    Peter Docherty, Founder and CTO, ThinkAnalytics added, “ By adding ThinkAnalytics personalized recommendations to the VOOT home screen, Viacom18 is once again staying ahead of the innovation curve and offering its large and loyal customer base the ability to find suitable content fast. This represents the very best in personalized entertainment on a significant scale.”

    For over 15 years ThinkAnalytics has grown to become the leader in content discovery and viewer lifecycle management. By applying advanced machine learning technology and analytics to content discovery, editorial curation, ThinkAnalytics increases viewer satisfaction, boosts engagement across all TV and video content platforms and increases operator ARPU. Viewers’ interests and previous viewing behaviour are analyzed using advanced AI and machine learning techniques to help them find new content they want to watch quickly and easily.

    About Viacom18

    Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. is one of India’s fastest growing entertainment networks and a house of iconic brands that offers multi-platform, multi-generational and multicultural brand experiences. A joint venture of TV18, which owns 51%, and Viacom Inc., with a 49% stake, Viacom18 defines entertainment in India by touching the lives of people through its properties on air, online, on ground, in shop and through cinema.

    About ThinkAnalytics

    ThinkAnalytics’ flagship solution is the ThinkAnalytics Emmy® award-winning Content Discovery Platform, the most widely deployed real-time, personalized content and recommendations engine worldwide. More recently, the company has broadened its reach with ThinkInsight, the industry’s first Viewer and Video Insight Platform built specifically to meet the needs of TV operators. ThinkInsight incorporates the ThinkAnalytics Content Discovery Engine, ThinkBigData, ThinkCpmposer UX engine, ThinkEditorial and ThinkVoice marketing suite of products. It gives TV players a holistic view of their business, with full viewer lifecycle management enabling them to better address key industry KPIs that will help to boost loyalty, ARPU, customer experience and develop new revenue streams.

    The company’s customer base of over 80 video service providers serves more than 250 million subscribers worldwide. Customers include: Liberty Global, BBC, Proximus, Cox, Rogers, Sky, Swisscom, Astro, Singtel, TataSky, Viacom18 and Vodafone. The ThinkAnalytics Content Discovery  Engine now serves over 3 billion recommendations per day and is available as a cloud service or on premise.

    ThinkAnalytics is a private, employee-owned company with offices in UK, USA, Singapore and India.

  • SonyLIV partners Amagi to grow OTT ad revenue

    SonyLIV partners Amagi to grow OTT ad revenue

    MUMBAI: Amagi, a media processing service that targets advertising for TV and OTT, today announced that SonyLIV is using its Thunderstorm cloud-based platform for targeted OTT dynamic ad insertion. As part of the deal, Amagi will monetise premium GEC and movie channels on SonyLIV OTT platform, generating additional ad revenues.

    Using Amagi Thunderstorm, SonyLIV will be able to insert targeted mid-roll ads without the need to change its existing broadcast workflows. The service leverages new-age machine learning techniques to detect ads in channel feeds and replace them with new, targeted ads on the server-side.

    Sony Pictures Network India business head-digital Uday Sodhi said, “SonyLIV is growing its subscriber-base at an impressive rate, making it an ideal digital platform for advertisers to target clearly defined audience segments. We are continuously looking to enhance value for our advertisers. Amagi is a pioneer in the targeted advertising space and this technology partnership provides additional options for advertisers to work with us.” 

    SonyLIV has integrated Amagi Thunderstorm with its in-house ad-decision system and partner ad networks. This allows SonyLIV to maximise ad revenue opportunities in real-time by serving ad spots to the highest bidder. Amagi CEO Deepakjit Singh said, “We are delighted to partner with SonyLIV, and deploy our next-generation ad tech solutions that create new revenue opportunities. The Thunderstorm platform is designed for high concurrency, and to deliver frame-accurate ad insertions at scale. These capabilities become vital for SonyLIV, especially since many of its premium channels have high number of concurrent users.”

  • Five key learnings from OTT platforms for the media and entertainment industry

    Five key learnings from OTT platforms for the media and entertainment industry

    OTT platforms and players are dominating the entertainment space by providing unrivalled flexibility and easy access to view a multitude of shows of various genres as well as original content without censorship. Over the past half a decade, these platforms are emerging as the go-to content consumption destination for users who look for variety and quality content to pass their free time. According to Deloitte, OTT platforms could easily cater to an audience of 355 million by 2020.Its impact on traditional media networks and video distributors has been immense. A lot of conventional entertainment platforms, in fact, can take a leaf out of the books of successful OTT platforms and revamp their offerings to boost growth and enhance viewership. Given below are a few learnings from the OTT platforms that can be beneficial for the media and entertainment industry.

    1) While OTT players started off by providing Hindi and English content, they realized that there is an immense potential in India for regional content, with75% of new internet users expected to consume data in local languages by 2020. OTT players realized that regional content could further drive demand and attract more users across the country . There are several studies that prove that regional content consumption drives thrice the amount of engagement and accessibility, which means the media and entertainment industries, should be able to connect with diverse target groups across India with relevant content to enhance their growth opportunities. As per a report by IAMAI and Kantar IMRB, presently, there are 160 million potential new users for online viewing in urban India and 732 million potential new users in rural India. They can be easily tapped by addressing the issue of the language of access on various platforms.

    2) Discovery of content is of more importance than ever before, as it helps consumers to easily access the content that will appeal to them the most. OTT players  have enabled easy discovery of content for users with AI-based recommendation engines, automatic content display basis, etc. The ability to quickly search all the available content and pair it with any device can be overwhelming for viewers. While quality and entertaining content are prerequisites to augment subscription and grow consumer affinity, the media and entertainment industry should also ensure that their offerings are easily discoverable and the delivery uncomplicated in order to retain or enhance user base. Recommendation engines are considered to be highly powerful personalization tools, as they help improve a visitor’s experience by offering relevant items at the right time and on the right page.

    3) While the real differentiator is content when it comes to OTT platforms, a lot of players are now investing in improving their tech and platform capabilities to ensure that viewers have the best possible experience while consuming their content of choice. OTT platforms have pulled out all the stops to ensure that even during high concurrency periods, such as Cricket or Football season, the viewing experience of users is uninhibited and they are able to enjoy the games without a glitch. All of this requires tremendous innovation and investment in terms of technology, which OTT platforms haven’t shied away from and other players in the domain would do well to emulate.

    4) In times to come, aggregation models will gain prominence and enable consumers to navigate through the vast amount of content available online. Currently, nexGTV is one of the most advanced OTT content aggregation platforms, providing content to multi-screen equipment. Users are easily able tostream media channels ona variety of terminals, like mobile phone, smart TV, high-definition player, etc., anywhere at any time. Apart from offering original shows and series, OTT players are now charging a minimal fee for each piece of content basis the demand witnessed from the users.

    5) Gone are the days when only short-format content such as short films, caught the attention of viewers on OTT platforms. These days, people are equally interested in viewing long-format content on their mobile phones and are eager to finish watching a movie or a web series during their commute time. So it is no more just content snacking, it is serious viewing in India post low cost and steady internet availability that is attracting today’s new-age consumers. The media and entertainment industry should be able to up their ante and release content that is relevant to consumers’ specific interests and viewing preferences, regardless of the length and format of the content.

    The article has been authored by NexGTv head, growth Dushyant Kohli

    The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Indiantelevision.com and we do not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

  • Punit Goenka says talking to Jio to renew content deal

    Punit Goenka says talking to Jio to renew content deal

    MUMBAI: A few days ago Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) had pulled out all its content from Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio. Soon after scrapping the deal with Jio, ZEEL entered into a partnership with another telco operator Airtel . While there were many questions regarding the development, ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka has cleared the air. In an interview with CNBC, he said conversations are still on with Jio.

    “We did have a deal with Reliance Jio and it was up for renewal and our negotiations failed. Hence, we had to pull our content out. Conversations are still on, and I am sure we will find an amicable solution with them as well,” Goenka commented.

    Goenka expects the company’s new big bet ZEE5 to emerge as the number one entertainment app at the end of 12 months from now. Though he did not comment on the number of subscribers, he said that since the platform started showing original content in July, the number of subscribers doubled month-on-month.

    “We are seeing a lot of traction on the OTT platforms and there is no worry yet on the television side of consumption. If you look at the television growth itself, over the last year, we have seen growth in number of television households. We have seen growth in time consumption per consumer on a daily basis,” he also said commenting on the TV business .

    Goenka on a confident note said, TV itself is growing both on advertising as well as on the subscription side. He also added phase three monetisation has started and the company is seeing good traction coming on the subscription from there.