ITV

Tag: OTT

  • Reliance Entertainment Digital has its eye on English entertainment content

    Reliance Entertainment Digital has its eye on English entertainment content

    Reliance Entertainment Digital CEO Manish Agarwal is pretty excited about his company’s date with MipCom this year.  Says he:  “We want to understand the market and its offering and how relevant it is for the digital business. We are always in search of some interesting and innovative content.” 

    For Agarwal, who is into content publishing, participation in Mipcom is likely to become an integral part of doing business, though his company is participating in it for the first time.
    “It gives us an opportunity to explore the large variety of content which we need for the various platforms like BigFlix, Zapak etc. We will obviously focus on networking with more content providers and aggregators across the globe,” says he.

     Reliance Entertainment Digital which launched its over the top (OTT) service BigFlix last year is sorted in terms of Indian programming and now wants add on international content in more genres and languages.

     “We want to expand our offerings to the consumer. Participating in Mipcom will help us explore more opportunities,” he says.

    We want to expand our offerings to the consume and participating in Mipcom will help us explore more opportunities believes Manish Agarwal

     Agarwal says that an increasing group of young Indian consumers is gorging on digitised content on hand held devices and on their PCs. “It is essential for Indian service providers to experiment with new type of content across genres and content-types. And it is just not that Indians will consume only trailers or paparazzi content, they will also look at different content and so we want to explore with a variety of content,” he highlights.

     The focus this year at Mipcom he emphasises will be on acquiring entertainment content – especially that which originates from English speaking nations or with English subtitles.
    “This will be entertainment for English speaking audiences, entertainment for masses and for kids. This is the reason we are going not only for Mipcom, but also for Mip Junior,” he informs.

    For those visiting Mipcom to sell gaming content, expect the Reliance Entertainment 

    representative at your stall. “We will also look at gaming content or gaming IPs on which games can be created. So we are aiming at kids entertainment both in gaming and VOD content which caters to everyone or in niche segments in the country,” says he. “In terms of gaming IPs, since we are present across the globe, we will go for any IP which is popular. So we will be hunting for any IP across different markets in order to get a license to create mobile games

     The OTT service which delivers its content online to connected devices – a la NetFlix in the US – is looking at stacking up its video-on-demand (VOD) menu. “This can subsume movies-on-demand, TV-serials-on-demand and animations-on-demand. And for gaming again we are looking at the mobile platforms.”

    And the company is shopping cheque book in hand. So sellers will indeed be kept busy by this emerging digital giant from India.

  • A two-sided story

    A two-sided story

    MUMBAI: The rupee going into a tailspin or prices shooting through the roof; be damned. The wheels of general entertainment channels (GECs) seem to be in continual motion, what with a new soap here or a new reality show there. Makes one wonder as to what exactly these television majors do to keep their employees happy and productive, despite taxing schedules and OTT deadlines.  

    Well, the answer lies in the kind of incentives and rewards these channels, rather – their human resources teams, are willing to heap on their staff just so as to make them want to come back every morning, ready for the grind.

    And we’re not simply talking boxes of chocolates or free tickets to movies here. Imagine an iPad being gifted for a clean and decorative desk or a five-star hotel stay in Australia or even a shopping spree in Bangkok…

    An example of the kind of moolah these companies are willing to splurge on their employees is Star India, which took its top management (nearly 35 people) on an extravagant tour down under a month or two back.

    While Viacom18 arranged separate tours to exotic destinations like Egypt or more popular ones like Bangkok early this year. In a similar vein, Sony took its employees to Dubai last year whereas Zee ferried its entire team to the beaches of Thailand. We hear Sony is currently planning an itinerary for its annual trip this year.

    While these junkets (even called off-sites) don’t come cheap for these companies, there’s a catch: they aren’t entirely about fun and booze. There are leadership and team-building exercises, presentations on progress reports, panel discussions about the future etc. built into these trips.

    But with employees not expected to shell out anything from their own pocket, they’re fun nevertheless.

    However, there’s another side to this ‘Television (GECs) shining’ story.
    Even as most of them are coughing up crores of rupees on such junkets, there are other channels like news channels that are finding it difficult to survive in the present economic situation.

    There have been widespread instances of companies handing out pink slips to their employees in the past few months.

    First, NDTV shut down its Mumbai operations, followed by Network18 relieving around 350 employees across the network in little over a month. Next in line was Bloomberg TV which terminated the services of nearly 30 employees and the latest to join the bully gang is Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP), which is learnt to have issued notices of non-renewal of service contracts to as many as 127 employees and speculations are ripe that even Business World magazine is closing shop soon.

    According to a study by the New Delhi-based Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), the weak rupee hasn’t spared even Bollywood producers, who’re shying away from shooting overseas. In the past four months, foreign film shoots have dropped 30-35 per cent owing to the volatility in currency.
    Given this not-so-bright side of the television (and film) industry, one wonders if life is truly a soap opera for GECs… 

  • Microsoft builds a brand new collaborative portal for developers

    MUMBAI: Microsoft has released a new developer network experience portal developer.microsoft.com, an intuitive single point of entry to help developers interact with Microsoft. The collaborative portal will enable networking amongst the developer community, offer expert guidance to developers and remotely solve their queries, empowering them to be more efficient as they go from idea to app.

     

    The portal offers a set of functionality to help developers leverage the collective power of the community.  With the second largest developer population based in India with 1.6 million developers; this is a very powerful tool for the entire developer community.  It also allows developers in India to connect with their peers across the world. Experts from Microsoft are just a click away once the developers are on the portal.

    Developers can bounce off their app ideas in a specially crafted area called “Perspective”. Similarly, community blogs and social feeds in the “Connect” area allow developers to share their stories, get advice and connect with Microsoft experts. The new portal provides and organises content in a way that is easy to find, identify and collaborate with.

     

    “The new developer network portal provides a single point of entry for all developers. It also resolves the issue of finding the right information which is often spread between different locations and is difficult to access. It enables developers to be more efficient, learn faster & connect with the vibrant Microsoft developer community across the world,” said Microsoft Corporation (India) director – strategic audience marketing Pratima Amonkar.

     

  • Ditto TV partners with Turner International India

    Ditto TV partners with Turner International India

    Ditto TV, India’s first OTT (Over-The-Top) TV distribution platform from Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (Zeel), further strengthened its content offering, by partnering with Turner International India adding three of their globally renowned  channels – CNN International, Cartoon Network and Pogo to its bouquet.

    Ditto TV subscribers will have access to top news stories across the globe via a live feed of CNN International. CNN International’s coverage of news and current affairs will be available via news packages and programs such as Amanpour, Fareed Zakaria GPS and International Desk. Subscribers will also be able to get the latest updates and current trends in global economy, travel, environment, arts and entertainment in the expert voices of CNN anchors and special correspondents including Richard Quest, Philippe Cousteau and Anthony Bourdain.

    Ditto TV launches its kids’ genre with the addition of India’s leading kids’ channels, Cartoon Network and Pogo. Cartoon Network comes with a global legacy of being kids’ favourite cartoon channel and Pogo is currently the reigning kids’ channel in India. The looped feeds of Cartoon Network featuring hit series such as Ben 10, Dexter’s Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo, etc. and Pogo featuring popular shows such as M.A.D., F.A.Q., CIA, etc., will treat Ditto TV subscribers to an exciting blend of the best of international and local shows.

    Speaking about the partnership, Ditto TV business head Manoj Padmanabhan said, “Our focus is to offer consumers access to the largest collection of premium content, spread across diverse genres, along with rich on-demand video capabilities. Kids’ programming is a growing genre, and Turner India enjoys a lion’s share of the market. There is an ever- growing appetite for international news amongst Indian consumers and live feed from CNN International will provide consumers instant access to the latest on the digital device of their choice. This partnership will further accentuate the experience of seamless video viewing and we are confident that our customers will enjoy the variety that it brings to the Ditto TV offering.”

    Since its inception in February 2012, Ditto TV has already partnered for content with Multi Screen Media (Sony Entertainment Television), TV Today Network, BBC, ZEE, BIG CBS Love and BIG CBS Prime. Today, Ditto TV offers 60 channels across leading genres and rich on-demand video content.

  • OTT, Multiscreen and Cloud TV Spark Innovation for MENA’s Connected TV Market

    OTT, Multiscreen and Cloud TV Spark Innovation for MENA’s Connected TV Market

    NEW DELHI: Connected TV is rapidly evolving in MENA region (Middle East and North Africa), with providers, broadcasters and manufacturers such as STC, OSN (Orbit Showtime Network) and Samsung already offering consumers increased access to content through smart devices.

    This growing saturation of the market provides the backdrop for this year’s TV Connect MENA, which has developed in recent years to focus on IPTV, OTTtv, multiscreen and cloud TV services for regional service providers.

    The number of connected devices, particularly tablets, is fuelling demand for OTT, cloud and multiscreen services in MENA, and is expected to dramatically increase over the next five years. Informa Telecoms and Media reports that 6.5 million tablets were sold across the Middle East and Africa in 2012. That figure is forecast to increase to a staggering 32.1 million in 2016.

    Informa Telecoms & Media research analyst Michael Dean comments on the growth opportunity: “The OTT-content and services landscape across MENA has traditionally been rather barren, but the situation is changing quickly with OTT start-ups starting to emerge, and the number of rival operator initiatives increasing.

    “Mobile broadband may currently be in the nascent stages across much of the region but it is increasingly becoming a greater growth area for rural internet users in many MENA markets. In addition, the Gulf Cooperation Council is scheduling to have LTE networks in place by end-2013, meaning there will be a further rise in mobile data usage. This will undoubtedly place more demand on increased content delivery. Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone already have traditionally high levels of TV content consumption. For example, according to OSN, the average household watches six to seven hours of TV content per day,” adds Dean.

    Focussing on OTTtv, multiscreen and cloud TV services, and the opportunities within the IPTV industry, the annual TV Connect MENA, holds more relevance than ever for service providers, telecom/cable/satellite operators, broadcasters, content providers, gaming aggregators and CE manufacturers.

    TV Connect MENA conference director Kamelija Stefanova comments: “The event will explore OTT and IPTV convergence; offer presentations about developing content monetisation strategies; look at the business of CDNs and data centers for telecom operators; assess the role of advertising agencies in the connected media space; show best practise OTT and IPTV projects; and see how multiscreen services are becoming part of the digital home. We as organisers are in a unique position to provide one meeting place for broadband, LTE and TV markets and offer learning opportunities for maximising the power of 4G/LTE network to offer TV on the Go, utilising user interface for improved content discovery and using apps for on-demand video services.”

  • Zeel elevates Manoj Padmanabhan to business head – new media

    Zeel elevates Manoj Padmanabhan to business head – new media

    MUMBAI: With the sudden exit of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) digital operations business head Vishal Malhotra, the broadcaster has found a replacement in Manoj Padmanabhan, who was senior vice-president marketing (digital) and sales (new media) for the past year.

     

    Manoj will now be heading all the digital operations under Zee Media including Essel group’s OTT platform Ditto TV.

     

    Padmanabhan’s professional interests include digital marketing, marketing strategy, brand management and product marketing.

     

    Padmanabhan started his career at Sansui India in 1997 as the senior marketing manager where he worked for eight years. He then moved on to Tata Communications as DGM – marketing and head of alliances and partner relation where he spent more than two years, before moving on to work with the Zee Network.

     

    At Zee Network he started his stint in 2007, he worked in the capacity of vice president – marketing (digital) for more than five years.

  • Operators see opportunities in OTT cable and broadband services

    Operators see opportunities in OTT cable and broadband services

    NEW DELHI: The Growth of OTT Content: Opportunities and Challenges for Service Providers, a new global survey of cable and broadband operators, finds that most are fairly optimistic about the potential impact of over-the-top services, with 70 per cent saying the potential benefits outweigh the risks.

     

    The results were part of a survey of operators in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa conducted by Incognito Software, a provider of broadband software provisioning and service activation solutions.

     

    “The widespread growth and popularity of OTT content across multiple devices is forcing cable operators to rethink their business models and how best to add value to their subscribers – and the survey results show that there is no single answer when looking at operators of different sizes and across multiple geographies,” said Incognito Software President and CEO Stephane Bourque. “Whether operators take a positive or negative view of OTT content, one thing is constant: their network usage is going to increase.”

     

    The study also found that nearly 82 per cent of respondents have already upgraded their network infrastructure to cope with increased subscriber bandwidth usage and that 75 per cent of the providers who reported a growth in bandwidth consumption attributed the increased demand to streaming video sites.

     

    In terms of managing OTT consumption, the survey found that the most popular approach was fair usage policies (40 per cent), followed by bandwidth caps (34 per cent), and proprietary OTT services (22 per cent), the company reports.

     

    Nearly half of the providers in North America utilise bandwidth caps as their primary means of managing OTT, the survey found. Fair usage and service add-ons are the next most common approaches (33 per cent).

  • Broadcasting and video equipment to show sizable increase in 2013

    Broadcasting and video equipment to show sizable increase in 2013

    NEW DELHI: Broadcast and streaming video equipment market is likely to grow 12 per cent in 2013 from two billion dollars in 2012.

     

    According to Infonetics Research, the market is projected to grow by more than 1/3 by 2017, and adaptive bitrate (ABR) origin and packaging servers are key components in the efficient delivery of over-the-top (OTT) content, especially as more pay-TV providers and content delivery networks move to ABR streaming.

     

    More and more, transcoders are being used to prepare linear broadcast and file-based content for distribution directly to subscribers.

     

    Telco IPTV subscribers have the highest 2012-2017 CAGR (17 per cent) of any pay-TV subscriber segment.

     

    With competition and content heating up, pay-TV providers are transitioning their traditional, broadcast-focused video processing environments to ones that can ingest, process, deliver, and decode video content from multiple sources.

     

    Jeff Heynen, principal analyst for broadband access and pay TV at Infonetics Research, said: “Content owners and studios are also adjusting their workflow and video output to support multiscreen and streaming services.”

     

    Infonetics Research noted that the net result of these transitions is steady investment in the platforms necessary to optimise video streams for a growing list of end devices and formats.

  • Amkette’s EvoTV to have BoxTV application for OTT services in India

    Amkette’s EvoTV to have BoxTV application for OTT services in India

    BENGALURU: Times Internet‘s video-on-demand service BoxTV will be available on Amkette‘s flagship product EvoTV in India, announced BoxTV through a press release.

    Amkette assistant VP Nikhil Bapna, while emphasising his company‘s cooperation with BoxTV, said “Amkette is an innovative company that is always on the lookout for new challenges to develop innovative technologies for. Considering the rapid rise of online video consumption in India, we have designed EvoTV so that it is easy for users to watch OTT content on the television screen. BoxTV has the widest range of high-quality video content, making it ideal for use in India for OTT services.

    EvoTV is a device that converts any TV to a smart TV and more. It offers a customised one click access to all the user‘s favorite apps, social networking sites, browser and games. It seamlessly turns the user‘s existing TV into a gaming station, a movie and music on demand theater and a learning and education hub.

    BoxTV has been working with EvoTV through EvoTV platform applications to provide users with a large library of content. BoxTV claims to have more than 10,000 hours of content, which includes popular movies, TV shows, short films and documentaries that a consumer can watch on television with Amkette‘s EvoTV that has the BoxTV application.

    EvoTV platform‘s BoxTV application has several special functions including those that allow users to quickly access content recommended by the BoxTV editorial team with a single click.

    Also Read:

    Times Internet plans to launch service akin to Hulu

    Times Internet launches BoxTV

    BoxTV partners Sony Pictures & Disney UTV for content

    IPL 6 kicks off with a bang

    Times Internet sees 52 per cent growth in viewership for IPL

  • Monetising OTT: Competing in a new game

    Monetising OTT: Competing in a new game

    SINGAPORE: In this session at BroadcastAsia 2013, Ericsson, sr. director, innovation and business development, content and enabler Jon M Sonsteby focused on how best to monetise from over the top services.

     

    He began his session with a very sleekly executed pre-roll advertisement and at the end he exclaimed, “Pre-roll is great, but let’s think outside the pre-roll ad. How can we best monetise from the OTT platform?”

     

    According to the Consumerlab Annual Research, which Sonsteby used during his presentation, Social TV is really exploding – as more than 60 per cent people use social forums while watching TV – these numbers reveal the results of 100,000 respondents, and reflects the views of nearly 1.1 billion consumers from more than 40 countries globally.

     

    Referring to the Ericsson ConsumerLab TV Video Consumer trends 2012, Sonsteby stressed on the fact that consumers are not canceling their traditional TV subscriptions on a larger scale, though the traction for OTT is growing.

     

    He further went on to explain the trend of scheduled broadcast TV falling from 92 per cent to 87 per cent between 2010 and 2012; the drastic fall in the trend of recorded broadcast TV from 61 per cent in 2010 to a mere 45 per cent in 2012. Whereas, DVD/Blue-ray witnessed a minor fall from 48 per cent to 45 per cent between 2010 and 2012 and PPV a rise by a per cent from 19 per cent to 20 per cent between 2010 and 2012.

     

    In terms of on-demand habits, the consumer’s TV/video consumption on a weekly basis or more has witnessed a rise in short video clips e.g. YouTube from 58 to 62 per cent between 2010 and 2012; even streamed or downloaded movies or TV shows witnessed a rise from 54 per cent to 59 per cent from 2010 to 2012.

     

    Sonsteby also mentioned how basic broadcast viewing has slowly migrated from internet based on-demand to multi-screen experience. He further dwelled into the change in social TV habits, where the maximum hike was witnessed during browsing the internet while watching television from 64 per cent in 2011 to 83 per cent in 2012 and the use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogs) rising from 44 per cent in 2011 to 62 per cent in 2012.

     

    “The important features that consumers are on the lookout for include: excellent video quality, simple user interface, A la cart TV/video service, ad free telecasts, a diverse availability of content and theatrical releases that come on TV too,” Sonsteby explained.

     

     Finally, coming to monetising from OTT, he said, “There are two possibilities to monetise from OTT, one being use of portal ads that include banner, text or rich media and the second being non-portal ads, which include in-stream ads (pre-roll, mid-roll or post-roll) and out-stream ads also called overlay ads.”

     

    Summing up his session, Sonsteby mentioned that consumers want content anytime, anywhere and access across any device or platform. He also mentioned that social media is the go to place in the future and broadcasters or content owners want to continue building brand loyalty and look at newer revenue streams to receive from consumers directly.