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Tag: OTT

  • Vikram Bhatt banks on pay per view for new OTT app

    Vikram Bhatt banks on pay per view for new OTT app

    MUMBAI: Riding on the growing demand for OTT content is producer Vikram Bhatt who recently launched his app VB on the Web.

    Within two days it got 7000 downloads. But Bhatt is being cautious in over anticipating. He says, “It is quite early to judge the performance of app but it has got around 7k downloads in just two days, which is not bad. Let us see what will happen next.”

    He said that India has a history of buying tickets, not subscribing, is where the idea emerged. “VB on the Web is like a theatre. We are making more of a theatre than a subscription-based app. Everything is moving online, whether it is a book show or a retail shop or a music shop. We realised that eventually, theatres are also going to move online. VB on the Web is the first theatre. Just like theatre, you buy tickets for whatever you want to watch on the app,” he said.

    The model is what he calls as TVoD with a charge of Rs 18 for the entire series/season. Currently, Untouchables is now showing on the app and available for Rs 18, which is around Rs 1.2 per episode. There are other deals offers like season pass in which viewers can watch different web series on the app at a discounted price. For example, one for Rs 18 and two for Rs 30.

    Using Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote ‘You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time’ he says that if they get people to pay and give irrelevant content, they won’t return. VB on the Web also gives people the option to watch trailers and then pay for content.

    One of the app’s speciality is its availability to producers so they can display their web series directly.  

    His 2018 line-up for the app includes Twisted 2, Maaya 2, Breaking News and Saharankot. He will not include movies on the platform. “We are now concentrating on original shows and short films of one hour and more are in the pipeline,” he adds.

    Bhatt’s daughter Krishna Bhatt is currently working on Maaya 2 series and will be releasing it in March or April this year.

    While talking about the investment per show, Bhatt opines that the cost per episode in digital is much more than the cost per episode of any general entertainment channel (GEC) show. Ideally, GEC shows cost between Rs 8-10 lakh per episode. But, according to Bhatt, it takes around Rs 1-1.5 crore to create one entire series, which is between Rs 12-15 lakh per episode.

    VB on the Web has tied up with many payment gateway platforms. Airpay has a scheme of watch now and pay later and will soon launch a voucher system with tie ups with general stores.

    Bhatt’s content is also available on other OTT platforms like YouTube and Viu, though they are now VB’s online competitors. But, while talking about the content on the other platforms Bhatt says, “YouTube doesn’t have Untouchables, maybe after 3-4 months we will upload it there and I am just a content provider for Viu. The platform has a different set of content that is created specifically for the platform. It has Spotlight, Gehraiyan and Memories and it will be with them only.”

    Bhatt said that there is no competition with other platforms because they bunch many things. “I am a theatre, I don’t have something or the other to give every day. But, eventually, I will have 6-7 quality web original releases a month. Like a multiplex, even if five shows are running on the app, people can see the one they like and pay for that only,” he adds.

    Whether Bhatt’s theatre will revive audiences will be known soon.

    Also Read :

    Vikram Bhatt to launch OTT platform on 27th Jan

    2017: The year OTTs went regional in India

    Viu set to launch musical drama spotlight 2 on 26th January

  • TRAI seeks to regulate online streaming platforms

    TRAI seeks to regulate online streaming platforms

    MUMBAI: Online streaming platforms may come under the purview of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The regulator is likely to bring out a consultation paper to bring online video-streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar under the regulatory ambit, according to a report in Livemint.

    Industry stakeholders wrote to the TRAI to come up with a pricing framework and is likely to add a section in its upcoming consultation paper on over-the-top (OTT) services. They state that some broadcasters air content for free on their streaming platforms for which they charge customers on cable and DTH.

    Indian broadcasters such as Star, Zee and Viacom18 all have their own OTT sites and apps wherein some content is monetised while some is not kept behind a paywall.

    Some broadcasters and OTT players are up in arms against such a regulation because nowhere in the world does it exist. They claim that people have to pay for data charges if not content. OTT cannot be clubbed with DTH and cable and it comes under rules regarding net neutrality.

    Also Read:

    Pleased with India progress, says Netflix’s Reed Hastings

    Star to air IPL on 10 channels, in 6 languages; live on Hotstar

    Star to air IPL on 10 channels, in 6 languages; live on Hotstar

  • YouTube, FB to corner major ad spend globally over 5 years

    YouTube, FB to corner major ad spend globally over 5 years

    NEW DELHI: New data from UK-based Juniper Research has found that advertising spend on FVoD (free video on demand) content, such as media on YouTube and Facebook, will surge over the next five years reaching $37 billion by 2022. This is up from an estimated $16 billion in 2017.

    In addition, unique users of such content will reach just under 4.5 billion globally by 2022 as the appetite for free video media continues its expanse, a statement from Juniper Research said on Tuesday.
     
    The new research, Digital TV & Video: Network and OTT Strategies 2017-2022, found that leading FVoD provider YouTube, which sees over 1 billion hours watched per day, will face increasing competition from social media platforms. It observed that the delivery of live video content via social media channels will be one of the growth areas for 2018 as users increase the volume of live broadcast content posted to these platforms. Such examples include Instagram, which has over 800 million monthly active users, and Snapchat which has 178 million daily active users.

    Said research author Lauren Foye, “This content will increasingly be of interest to advertisers, especially in view of Facebook’s monthly active user base of over two billion people. The company has launched an app and website ‘Facebook for Creators’ to help users refine video content and generate viewership.”

    Juniper found that this will aid growth in content consumption, with data usage from OTT content surpassing 840 exabytes by 2022, the equivalent of 129 billion hours of 4K streaming.
     
    Recent changes to YouTube’s Partner Programme means that it will only accept channels with more than 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 viewing hours acquired across a year to its shared advertising revenue programme, the research highlighted. This change in strategy results from increased advertiser pressure following several high-profile, offensive, video posts by users.
    Nevertheless, Juniper forecasts YouTube to account for almost a quarter of all FVoD adspend by 2022.

    Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, giving consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

    Also Read :

    We are seeing consumption in languages & low-connectivity areas, says Facebook India’s Saurabh Doshi

    Health & beauty YouTube’s fastest growing vertical in 2017 for India

    Apple commits $4.2 bn for original content

    News Corp’s new ad network takes on Facebook, Google

  • ALTBalaji’s #WomenInGreen campaign delivers the goods

    ALTBalaji’s #WomenInGreen campaign delivers the goods

    MUMBAI: ALTBalaji original The Test Case has been the most talked about show since its release and owing to the buzz around the show a unique campaign has gone viral on internet. #WomenInGreen, a campaign initiated by ALTBalaji, salutes and honours those brave women who dare to wear the green army uniform and are ready to face every challenge and serve the country against all odds. The campaign was kickstarted by Ekta Kapoor who recently posted a video of herself on her social media handle talking about #WomenInGreen movement.

    The movement focuses on how women are playing all kinds of roles in real life today that were traditionally not available to them earlier. It encourages the idea that combat forces in Indian Army should open its doors for Indian women and raises a significant question like – don’t women also have a right to give their life for this country?

    Speaking about the campaign and its impact Manav Sethi, CMO, ALTBalaji said, “Women in combat roles is an idea whose time has come for India and Indian army. Our show The Test Case is an attempt in that direction. We have tried to identify issues and ask some relevant questions through this story as these questions have never been asked before. #WomeInGreen is a campaign to acknowledge and recognise women’s contributions to Indian army. To our surprise, what started with one such Instagram and Twitter post by Ekta and Nimrat, started to spread virally and is still growing. Wonder why many men haven’t participated in it yet!”

    In tandem with the theme of #WomenInGreen, the platform’s upcoming military drama is about India’s first woman combat army officer. The show attempts to highlight relevant issues around women in combat roles in Indian army as Captain Shikha Sharma played by Nimrat Kaur who is also the first TEST CASE. The story revolves around her struggles and battles with traditionally male dominated but highly revered combat arm of Indian army and is all set to stream on the ALTBalaji app and the website this Republic Day.

    By disseminating the message of this campaign, ALTBalaji wants to reinforce that women can achieve any goal they put their mind to and no obstacle is insurmountable. TV celebrities such as Krystle D’Souza, Madhurima Tuli, Nimrat Kaur, Surveen Chawla, Mouni Roy and Zuber Khan thronged the internet with videos of themselves in green supporting the initiative.

  • Times Internet buys MX Player for $200 million

    Times Internet buys MX Player for $200 million

    MUMBAI: Taking another step towards getting on over-the-top (OTT) bandwagon, Times Internet has acquired a majority stake in Seoul-based MX Player in an all-cash deal worth $200 million, according to a report by The Ken. With this investment, Times Internet will be able to launch its OTT video service, which is expected to make a debut in the next few months.

    MX Player is among the very few Android video player applications that support multi-core decoding. The player is very popular in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Iran among other countries.

    Times Internet is currently testing its OTT app on a different version of MX Player, MX Player Online 2018 (beta). All the operations of the OTT app will be headed by Karan Bedi, the former COO of Eros. In 2015, the company launched Box TV in its very first attempt to enter the OTT space. However, the platform was shut down later in the year.

    It is believed that, from $340 million in 2017, India’s online video industry is going to touch $1.6 million in revenue by 2022. Since a couple of years, a lot of major startups have taken a slide in video streaming industry.

    As per the mobile insights and data company AppAnnie, MX Player has been downloaded by 63.6 million Indian users on their Android smartphones so far. This includes 80 per cent low-end smartphones and 20 per cent high-end handsets.

  • YuppTV Originals’ latest web series, Hey Krishna is out to woo & entertain viewers

    YuppTV Originals’ latest web series, Hey Krishna is out to woo & entertain viewers

    YuppTV, the world OTT leader for South-Asian content is back yet again with an original web series. After catching the fancy of the viewers with Endukila and Mana Mugguri Love Story, Hey Krishna is the latest offering by YuppTV Originals. Written by Mahi Illindra, the prominent Telugu writer of “Venkatadri Express” and “Express Raja” fame, Hey Krishna stars Varun Sandesh, Kashish Vohra, ‘Viva’ Harsha, Mounima. The Telugu language original web series will be available on YuppTV’s platform.

    Hey Krishna, is the story of a 25-year-old engineering graduate, who leads a boring life and fails miserably in all his efforts, each time he decides to woo a lady. After a series of unfortunate (and comical) incidents the protagonist is convinced that Lord Krishna is the root cause of all his sufferings and a love life that’s completely missing in action. What follows is a dramatic decision which would change his life forever. Directed by Mr. Lakshmikanth Chenna, who set newer standards in cinema with his Hyderabad Nawabs, Hey Krishna promises to be a laughter riot for the viewers.

    Commenting on the launch, YuppTV of CEO & Founder, Mr Uday Reddy said, “We are delighted to bring to our users the latest original web series, Hey Krishna. I am optimistic that the youth oriented web series will entertain our viewers. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the brilliant pool of talent, comprised by the star cast, writer, director, and the entire team that has worked hard to make Hey Krishna happen.”

    Continuing with the episodic format, Hey Krishna spans over 12 episodes. Hey Krishna is created by Trendloud, while the story is by the Script Tellers. Naresh Kumaran has lent some of his most heart-touching melodies to the original series. Interested viewers can enjoy their direct access to series, binge watching all episodes right now, along with some other winsome content at YuppTV.  
     

  • Pleased with India progress, says Netflix’s Reed Hastings

    Pleased with India progress, says Netflix’s Reed Hastings

    MUMBAI: Netflix CEO Reed Hastings today announced that he was pleased with the progress his streaming powerhouse was making in India. Speaking to Sanford C Bernstein senior research analyst Todd Michael Juenger during a Q4 2017 earnings interview, Hastings said, “We are very pleased with the progress that we’re making in India, throughout Southeast Asia and Japan. So, really, all across the board, we’re seeing growth penetrations that look like the first couple of years of Latin America, which, as you know, has worked out very well for us.”

    Estimates are that Netflix has anywhere between 700,000 to a million paying subs in India. At that level–with the average subscription being Rs 600–the streaming giant is currently turning over anywhere between Rs 42 crore and Rs 60 crore a month, giving it annual revenue of Rs 504 crore to Rs 720 crore. As compared to that, estimates are that Star Plus alone tots up Rs 2,100 crore in revenue.

    “That’s pretty good going for such a new service,” says a media observer. “You can’t forget that it is an international service offering with very limited localisation so far.”

    The company announced that it had registered net global additions of 8.3 million–the highest quarter growth numbers in its history, up 18 per cent compared to 2016’s high of 7.05 million net adds. Netflix’s average paid streaming memberships rose by 25 per cent year on year in Q4. Combined with a 9 per cent increase in ASP, global streaming revenue growth amounted to 35 per cent. Operating income of $245 million (7.5 per cent margin) vis-a-vis $154 million in the prior year (6.2 per cent margin) was slightly above the firm’s $238 million forecast. Operating margin for FY17 was 7.2 per cent, on target with the firm’s goal at the beginning of this year.

    Internationally, Netflix added 6.36 million memberships (compared with the firm’s earlier guidance of 5.05 million), a new record for quarterly net adds for this segment. Excluding a foreign impact of more than $43 million, international revenue and ASP grew by 59 per cent and 12 per cent year over year, respectively. The increase in ASP reflects price adjustments in a wide variety of Netflix’s markets over the course of 2017. With contribution profit of $227 million in 2017 (4.5 per cent contribution margin), the international segment delivered its first full year of positive contribution profit in the firm’s history.

    For Q1, the firm has projected global net adds of 6.35 million (against 5.0 million in the year ago quarter) with 1.45 million in the US and 4.90 million internationally. On the whole, the company has upped its content budget to $7.5-$8 billion for 2018.

    Its original content slate from India should start rolling out sometime later this year. In the earnings press release, the company said, “We’re finding continued success with international originals. High-quality content can travel globally, irrespective of language…we will expand this initiative with over 30 international original series this year, including projects from France, Poland, India, Korea and Japan.”

    In India, the firm has been striking partnerships with platforms such as Videocon d2h and Airtel wherein the Netflix app has been embedded in an easy-to-view user interface. It has been extending this partnership to cable TV MSOs. Said the company: “We are partnering with a growing number of MVPDs and ISPs across the world to the benefit of our mutual customers. These partnerships make it easier for consumers to sign up, enjoy and pay for Netflix while our service allows our partners to deepen their relationships with these subscribers. “

    Hastings revealed that he did not expect Disney’s proposed acquisition of Fox’s India assets, including Hotstar, to impact it any differently than it used to in the past year. “Not particularly. I mean, YouTube gets the most streaming in India, but Hotstar gets the second most. So it’s not a wildly different landscape. So that wouldn’t particularly change our view in India. Hotstar’s a great competitor, and sometimes collaborator now, and I’m sure they would continue to be under Disney,” he said.

  • Hooq to maintain its Hollywood focus in India

    Hooq to maintain its Hollywood focus in India

    MUMBAI: Content differentiates the platform and hook the consumers. To become a differentiator, VoD platform Hooq differentiated its offering by not diluting its energy into various verticals.

    In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, Hooq MD India Salil Kapoor said, “We have the best of Hollywood and locals in all the markets, whereas in India, we are focusing only on Hollywood.”

    “We took this call because there are 25-30 players as far as the Indian market is concerned, and the cost of content is significantly high as compared to other market primarily for the local content. In India, broadcasters and several other players focusing on the local content that has pushed the price of the local content higher. So, we decided that instead of trying and win in every vertical, i.e., Hollywood, Bollywood, Local-Regional and Original, it would be better to concentrate our energy on one,” he added.

    Hooq, which offers content in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and India, is one of the cheapest video-on-demand offerings in India with Rs 89 per month subscription pack, which lets viewers stream and download up to 10, 000 movies and 78 TV shows. Its content includes films owned and distributed by Sony and Warner Bros, such as Wonder Woman, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Baby Driver, Suicide Squad, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

    Kapoor said that the platform has recently launched an additional service in India which will allow viewers to watch the latest Hollywood offerings just after their theatrical release. “We have launched TVoD service in India, in which latest movies (after theatrical release) can be watched on Hooq in a little amount of about Rs 59, while TV shows and other movies will be a part of subscription package.”

    In 2018, Hooq will shift its focus towards providing content in various regional languages. Talking briefly about the same, Kapoor said, “We have launched Spiderman home coming in four languages – English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil. This is something we will do in coming time. We are going to build up a lot of dubbed movies in our systems, so that people around the country can get taste of it.”

    “Although, English content is very popular on Hooq but we also want to give our subscribers an option of watching dubbed content, i.e., content in their own language. We have observed that people are liking it and we have observed the consumption of dubbed content picking up on website as well. However, apart from English, we see a lot of traction in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu as far as consumer interest is concerned.”

    Hooq has different sources of attracting subscribers, one is through the deals with Vodafone and Airtel in which customers get free access to Hooq, and on the other side, they have the partnership with ACT Fibernet, which is a broadband player. While discussing about their distribution partnerships, Kapoor said, “We get a lot of subscribers from partners and we are planning to get into partnership with smartphone brands. We get a large chunk of customers from B to C and from B to B to C.” Currently, Hooq is in partnership with Vodafone, Airtel, ACT Fibernet and ICICI Credit Card, and Hooq will be announcing couple of tie ups soon as they currently are in advanced discussion level. Mobile handset brands like Samsung, Xiaomi and Motorola-Lenovo are on top three positions in terms of usage of watching content on Hooq.

    Salil Kapoor has shifted his focus from D2h to OTT. While talking about the future of television, he said that television is not going anywhere in near future. He said, “OTT is complimentary to the television, a lot of people are shifting from watching TV in standard manner to watching it online.”

    In 2018, the trend will move towards three directions according to Kapoor, which will include – first, TV shows becoming more popular than movies like Live TV or catch up TV is already picking up; second, the numbers of people getting engaged from mobile phone is high, however, the relation of engagement is much higher in the large screens, i.e., TV, will continue to grow, and third is that more and more people want to watch it on demand, so, hardware based boxes through which they can get television interface like Chromecast, dongle, and more will grow very fast. He said that international content is anyway growing In India but regional content consumption will grow fast in 2018.

    Also Read:

    Indian filmmaker among 6 selected for Hooq

    Hooq plans to invest $2 million on original Indian content

  • Times Bridge invests in MUBI streaming service

    Times Bridge invests in MUBI streaming service

    MUMBAI: The investment arm of the Times of India group, Times Bridge, and Danish film-maker Nicolas Winding Refn have invested in specialty streaming service MUBI. The terms of the deal remain undisclosed but are understood to be similar to the revised arrangements under which China’s Huanxi Media became a backer in November 2016 according to a Variety.com report. In that deal, Huanxi paid $2 million for a 1.6 per cent ownership stake, valuing MUBI at $125 million.

    Unlike the global leaders in streaming with all-you-can-eat content menus, MUBI operates by operating a limited and rotating selection of just 30 movies. It contends that curation (selection by humans, not algorithm) creates a community of active users. After 10 years in operation, it currently claims 8 million registered users.

    Times Bridge, which counts stakes in Uber, Vice and AirBnB, regards the investment as strategic. It will provide MUBI with local knowledge, talent outreach and commercial and festival partnerships. India, which is currently waking up to streaming video, already represent MUBI’s third largest market. Subscriptions are sold at Rs 500 per month in India and at $8.99 in the U.S.

    “MUBI is an original idea with a decade’s worth of proven appeal amongst fans of independent cinema worldwide. Film is inextricably linked to India’s heritage and, in a country with rapidly-changing tastes, we are confident that the MUBI platform will delight a meaningful audience seeking high-quality, curated, global cinema,” said Rishi Jaitly, CEO of Times Bridge.

    Winding is expected to provide advocacy and add brand value to the company which already counts Working Title’s Eric Fellner as an angel investor. Winding Refn previously produced new brand identity for MUBI.

    “Times Bridge have shown a highly sophisticated understanding of our business and our goals in the region. India is a unique opportunity for us to engage with a passionate community with deep cultural ties to film,” said MUBI’s founder and CEO Efe Cakarel, in a statement.

    Also Read :

    Alibaba’s India OTT may launch in three months

    Vernacular content consumers to be 2.5 times English by 2021: Deloitte 

  • Alibaba’s India OTT may launch in three months

    Alibaba’s India OTT may launch in three months

    MUMBAI: According to a report by The Ken, Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has announced plans to launch an over-the-top (OTT) video service in India over the next three months. The service will be introduced in partnership with its Indian investee company Paytm and mobile Internet subsidiary UCWeb, the report said.

    However, in a statement made to Indian Television Dot Com, an Alibaba Group spokesperson said: “India is key in our globalization strategy and we are very committed to growing our existing businesses in this market in the long term. As a policy we do not comment on market speculation.”

    “It’s an obligatory play. The global player does it so we have no option but to follow it,” the report quoted a senior Paytm official as saying.

    Over the last several months, Jack Ma-led Alibaba has reportedly been scouring the Indian market looking for quality content creators and production houses in Mumbai.

    The ecommerce behemoth is also reportedly in the process of hiring a strategic alliance head in Gurugram as well as a strategic alliance head for Video in either Mumbai or Gurugram.

    Both of these positions would fall under the Alibaba-owned UCWeb’s business, sources have revealed. It is, however, believed that the move will be spearheaded locally by Damon Xi, head of UCWeb India and Indonesia.

    Currently, Alibaba has two contest-based products in India – mobile browser UCWeb and We-Media, which together boast over 200 Mn users. Launched in March 2017 with an initial investment of Rs 5 crore ($782000), We-Media is a UCWeb-operated platform wherein users can post their own content in the form of articles, photos and videos.

    Alibaba currently has a formidable presence in the Chinese OTT video market through Youku Tudou, which it acquired in 2015. Youku and Tudou are, essentially, two free video sites like YouTube that were merged in 2012.

    Also Read:

    Amazon India to launch 10 originals in 2018

    Aastha TV to launch OTT, VOD service