ITV

Tag: OTT

  • Balaji Telefilms goes big on movies and OTT, trims TV bets

    Balaji Telefilms goes big on movies and OTT, trims TV bets

    MUMBAI:  Balaji Telefilms is flipping its script. In a year marked by a strategic overhaul, the Ekta Kapoor-backed entertainment house has declared a decisive pivot from television towards high-growth verticals: movies, digital streaming, and branded content.

    Addressing analysts on its FY25 earnings call, group chief executive and CFO Sanjay Dwivedi outlined a transformation roadmap: “Movies will be our growth engine, digital will scale next, and television—once our mainstay—will become the third line of business.”

    The studio reported consolidated revenue of Rs 453 crore in FY25, down from Rs 625 crore the previous year. Yet net profit surged to Rs 84.6 crore from Rs 19.4 crore, largely due to a rights-heavy strategy in film and digital. The PAT margin stood at 18.7 per cent, and the company ended the year with Rs 172 crore in cash and mutual funds.

    Balaji’s OTT platform ALT Balaji saw a turnaround. Once burning Rs 120–145 crore a year, its cash burn has now dropped to just Rs 35 lakh a month. The platform added 3.29 lakh subscriptions in Q4 FY25, with total active subscribers crossing the 2 million mark.

    The company is also phasing out its pure SVOD model in favour of a hybrid SVOD–AVOD play, supported by a short-form vertical content app called Kutting. YouTube strategy and advertiser-funded content (AFP) are set to bolster revenue.

    Crucially, Balaji sealed a long-term content partnership with Netflix, spanning original films, binge series, telenovelas, and reality formats over 3 to 7 years. “This is not a one-off deal—it’s a foundational alliance for the future,” said Dwivedi.

    Balaji is betting on movies to power future growth. It has de-risked the vertical by recouping up to 90 per cent of production costs via pre-sales and co-production deals. In FY25, films contributed 30 per cent to revenue.
    Its upcoming slate includes Vrushabha (starring Mohanlal), the Priyadarshan-directed Bhoot Bangla with Akshay Kumar, and Vvan, a collaboration with TVF featuring Sidharth Malhotra.

    The studio targets 6 theatrical releases per year and is building on a franchise playbook with sequels like Dream Girl, LSD, and Shootout.
    TV content production touched 133 hours in Q4, with four shows on air. However, broadcaster yields remain 25 per cent below pre-Covid levels, and Balaji is cautious about further TV expansion.

    “TV is a volume game now. Rates aren’t recovering. We’ll stick to 6–8 shows a year, with a cap around Rs 350 crore,” said Dwivedi.

    New shows include Bade Achhe Lagte Hain – Phir Se and a reboot of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
    The company is also experimenting with AI-led production, launching a series titled Kalnagri on its platform. Regional expansion is on the cards, starting with Tamil and Telugu.

    On YouTube, Balaji hit 1 million subscribers in a month, banking on a mix of new shows and IP-retained repurposed content—especially as Indian viewers seek alternatives to banned Pakistani serials.

    Balaji has a Rs 300 crore B2B order book from leading OTT platforms. It expects digital to contribute 20–25 per cent of revenue in two years. The company is not planning a spin-off of the digital business for now, but hints at unlocking value once scale justifies it.

    “We are storytellers, not just platform owners,” Dwivedi said. “Our job is to find the next big content wave—whatever the screen.”

  • Bharath C.S. takes the helm as content director at Kuku TV

    Bharath C.S. takes the helm as content director at Kuku TV

    BENGALURU: Bharath C.S.., a seasoned creative director with over two decades of experience in content creation and digital production, has been appointed as the new content director for micro drama at Kuku TV. The move, effective June 2025, sees Bharath bringing his extensive background from industry giants like Amazon and various top television networks to the burgeoning micro-drama segment.

    With a career spanning leadership roles at Amazon, Culture Machine, Udaya TV, Zee TV, ETV, and UTV, Bharath has consistently delivered high-impact content across television, digital, and over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

    During his tenure at Amazon, he was instrumental in spearheading the MPAM automation tool, which significantly enhanced content delivery speed and precision. His impressive portfolio includes producing over 500 television shows (both fiction and non-fiction), more than 1,000 television commercials, and over 100,000 digital assets.

    At Culture Machine, he successfully established regional digital channels, tapping into the unique cultural landscape of south India and boosting engagement for Tamil and Telugu audiences.

    Bharath’s appointment is expected to bolster Kuku TV’s strategic and creative output in the rapidly evolving digital content space, particularly in the creation of concise, impactful narratives

  • Balaji Telefilms merger proposal for ALT Digital and Marinating Films with itself gets NCLT sanction

    Balaji Telefilms merger proposal for ALT Digital and Marinating Films with itself gets NCLT sanction

    MUMBAI:  Balaji Telefilms has received the green light from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, for its Composite Scheme of Arrangement that merges its wholly owned subsidiaries — Alt Digital Media Entertainment and Marinating Films — into the parent company. The appointed date for the merger has been set as 1 April 2024.

    The scheme, sanctioned under sections 230–232 of the Companies Act, aims to simplify the group structure, slash redundancies, and boost operating efficiency across its content empire — from streaming platform ALTT to reality show production and IP development.

    According to the tribunal’s order, the merged entity will benefit from economies of scale, unified cash flow management, and enhanced resource optimisation — all under the Balaji banner, which is already listed on NSE and BSE. No shares will be issued, given the transferor companies are fully owned by the transferee.
    The consolidation brings together:

    * Alt Digital, home to subscription-based OTT content under the ALTT brand;
    * Marinating Films, known for unscripted and event IP;
    * and Balaji Telefilms, India’s leading producer of Hindi and regional TV content.

    The merger was approved by shareholders at an April 2025 meeting and has cleared all statutory hurdles, including SEBI, BSE, NSE and tax authorities. The company has also settled creditor objections and responded to pending GST disputes, with all liabilities transferring to Balaji Telefilms post-merger.

    In short, Balaji is scripting a cleaner, leaner, and meaner future — bringing its IP under one tent to better play the platform and profit game. The final step? Filing the certified order with the Registrar of Companies, which will trigger the scheme’s effective date.

    More drama, less duplication — just the way Ekta Kapoor likes it.

  • Azim Lalani co-founds Bullet, hopes to fire up the two-minute microdrama revolution

    Azim Lalani co-founds Bullet, hopes to fire up the two-minute microdrama revolution

    MUMBAI — Azim Lalani, the digital maverick who’s seen it all from India Today to Fanory, (a career of more than a score years) has now strapped on a new role — co-founder and chief business officer at Bullet, a mobile-first microdrama OTT platform that promises to shoot cinematic stories straight to your phone in under two minutes.

    With a sharp eye on Gen Z and a regional-first, multilingual content play, Bullet isn’t just banking on binge culture — it’s reinventing it. Backed by tokenomics and built on blockchain, the platform wants to do more than stream — it aims to spark a creator economy explosion.

    “As CBO, I’ll be driving business strategy, growth partnerships, content, and monetisation,” Lalani said. “We’re not just building a platform — we’re architecting a storytelling ecosystem that’s sustainable, scalable and rooted in innovation.”

    He gave a shoutout to co-founder and CTPO Saurabh Kushwah for leading the tech charge, and thanked the leadership at Zee Entertainment Enterprises for supporting new-age innovation.

    Lalani’s previous innings include launching Fanory to help creators go direct-to-fan with coin-based monetisation, leading Money9 at TV9, and steering convergence and brand solutions at Network18. Prior to that he did time at India Today, Rediff and Indian Express. 

    Now with Bullet, he’s loading the chamber with big ambitions — where every story is sharp, short, and shot with purpose. Creators, got a drama to drop? The stage is yours — but make it snappy.

  • EY-AIDCF report: Indian cable TV faces dire times unless government and regulator step in with regulatory reforms

    EY-AIDCF report: Indian cable TV faces dire times unless government and regulator step in with regulatory reforms

    NEW DELHI: India’s cable TV industry is on the ropes, reeling from a perfect storm of digital disruption, regulatory overkill, and changing viewer habits. A blistering new report by EY and the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) reveals a 40 million plunge in pay TV homes since 2018—down from 151 million to just 111 million in 2024—and warns that the bleeding isn’t over yet.

    By 2030, the figure could drop to as low as 71 million, as Indians flock to OTT, Free Dish, and smart TVs offering slicker content, better tech, and zero monthly bills. The fallout? A staggering 31 per cent collapse in employment across the Local Cable Operator (LCO) network, with up to 1.95 lakh jobs on the chopping block.
    The pay TV playbook, once defined by “kam daam, zyada samaan,” is now buckling under rising channel rates, bundling woes, and what LCOs call a “regulatory regime rigged for broadcasters.”

    A whopping 93 per cent of LCOs surveyed reported a drop in take-home income, with 79 per cent saying their earnings have nosedived by over 20 per cent since 2018.

    * Revenue for major distribution platform operators (DPOs) has shrunk by over 16 per cent since 2018, while EBITDA margins have plunged by 29 per cent.

    * Cable TV subscriptions have halved to 60 million, while smart TVs connected to the internet hit 50 million monthly active sets in 2024.
    * Pay TV now makes up just 58 per cent of the TV pie, down from 81 per cent in 2018, even as India’s TV household base touched 190 million.

    Despite being the backbone of India’s broadcast reach—physically connecting over 500 million people—LCOs remain the industry’s ignored foot soldiers, calling out a “top-heavy system” that allegedly favours deep-pocketed broadcasters and digital players.

    AIDCF proposes radical surgery: from activating over 20 million inactive set-top boxes and offering subsidies in “TV dark” zones, to limiting near-simultaneous OTT releases of pay TV content, and ensuring a level playing field between cable, OTT, Free TV and FAST channels.

    But with TRAI’s piecemeal tariff reforms (NTO 1.0 to 4.0) fuelling more legal duels than industry stability, stakeholders are demanding a full-blown reset. As OTT juggernauts steam ahead and content increasingly lives in the cloud, the cable industry’s survival may hinge not just on policy support but on reinventing itself as a digital services hub, not just a pipe.

    As the report bluntly puts it: without immediate intervention, the sun may set on the 30-year reign of India’s cable TV kings.

  • India TV’s grand screenplay: new OTT app offers a family plot twist

    India TV’s grand screenplay: new OTT app offers a family plot twist

    MUMBAI:  India TV, the erstwhile broadcasting juggernaut, has curtailed its dependence on conventional linearity, launching its brand-spanking-new India TV OTT App. This isn’t just another streaming service; it’s a calculated manoeuvre to expand the group’s digital footprint, offering a veritable smorgasbord of news, the cult classic Aap Ki Adalat, fitness regimes, devotional content, infotainment, lifestyle tips, and a plethora of podcasts.

    The timing is no coincidence, capitalising on the booming digital content industry where platforms enjoy a liberating freedom from the shackles of traditional censorship. This strategic pivot leverages India TV’s established reputation for credible news and its uncanny knack for understanding the Indian psyche.
    The move into the OTT arena is underpinned by a laser focus on “premium, exclusive and streaming audience-first content.”

    Forget dusty archives; this app is brimming with bespoke digital delights, including news, podcasts, learning shows, and even original AI-generated stories.

    What really sets the India TV OTT App apart in a rather crowded market is its commitment to delivering “meaningful content in a clutter-free, family-friendly space.”

    This audience-first gambit, coupled with OTT’s inherent flexibility and accessibility, positions India TV to significantly amplify its presence in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

    India TV managing director Ritu Dhawan said: “Our vision for the India TV OTT App is to be the single, trusted digital destination for every Indian family.” She added, “We’ve meticulously crafted it to deliver credible information and enrichment, fostering collective viewing experiences that truly strengthen family bonds. It’s our unwavering commitment to providing a safe, inclusive, and thoughtfully curated space for all.”

    For those keen to tune in, the India TV OTT app is readily available on the Play Store of Smart TV platforms. Designed for communal viewing, it spares households the tedious chore of flicking between multiple apps or wrestling with myriad subscriptions.

    Boasting a user-friendly interface, smart navigation, and seamless live streaming across genres, the app is undeniably future-ready. With this shrewd expansion into OTT, India TV continues to lead the charge in content innovation, reinforcing its pledge to serve a multi-platform, multi-generational audience with content that is not just credible and inclusive, but truly made for India.

  • Criminal Justice scores a killer debut with record OTT opening

    Criminal Justice scores a killer debut with record OTT opening

    MUMBAI: It’s official, Criminal Justice: A Family Matter has taken the law into its own hands… and the top spot on India’s OTT charts. According to audience estimates for the week of May 26 to June 1, 2025, the gripping legal drama clocked an explosive 8.4 million viewers, making it the biggest OTT original opening of the year across pay and freemium platforms.

    The numbers don’t just hold court, they rule. This marks the best opening for any original on JioStar (previously Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema) since January 2023, making it a rare case of a sequel delivering more punch than its predecessors.

    Backed by a tight script, returning fan-favourite characters, and a family-centric twist on its signature justice narrative, the show has managed to strike the perfect balance between suspense and sentiment. And clearly, audiences across India are here for it.

    In a landscape brimming with crime thrillers and family dramas, Criminal Justice: A Family Matter has carved out its niche by fusing both genres with legal intrigue and numbers suggest the strategy is working. With 8.4 million Indians tuning in to at least one episode, it’s not just a courtroom drama; it’s a cultural phenomenon in the making.

    Gavel down, this verdict is unanimous: Criminal Justice is 2025’s hottest trial yet.

  • Scroll no more RunnTV streams ahead in instant entertainment game

    Scroll no more RunnTV streams ahead in instant entertainment game

    MUMBAI: Stuck in scroll purgatory again? RunnTV says it’s time to run from decision fatigue and straight into effortless binge mode. In a world where OTT fatigue is real and growing, RunnTV is ditching the dilemma with a cheeky new campaign that asks the eternal question: “Kab tak karoge scroll?”

    The digital-first push, launched across platforms, taps into a pain point that every streamer knows too well wasting minutes (sometimes hours) scrolling for something to watch, only to give up or rewatch the same old comfort show. The campaign’s ad films nail the mood: a remote-flipping viewer visibly exhausted by choice paralysis, a mobile scroller stuck in a never-ending loop both rescued by one smart switch to RunnTV.

    As India’s first independent FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) platform, RunnTV delivers lean-back, linear entertainment without the hassle of choosing. No subscriptions. No painful decisions. No more doomscrolling. Just tap in and zone out.

    The platform features a curated mix of live TV-style channels from movies, music, short films, and kids content to news and infotainment. RunnTV also auto-personalises your viewing experience based on your habits adjusting language, sequencing and channel preferences all while you watch.

    “We wanted to show people what they feel daily,” says the RunnTV marketing team. “The average user spends over 20 minutes daily just trying to decide what to watch. RunnTV is the antidote to that fatigue.”

    The campaign positions RunnTV not just as another app, but as a refreshing fix in an overcrowded OTT landscape. Whether you’re a casual viewer, serial scroller or a full-blown binge beast the message is clear: skip the search, ride the Runn.

    Available across TV and mobile, RunnTV doesn’t require a login but recommends one for a more customised feed. And with its no-subscription, ad-supported model, it’s aiming squarely at OTT-weary users across India who just want to watch something anything now.

    So, next time you find yourself endlessly scrolling through thumbnails, remember: entertainment shouldn’t feel like work. With RunnTV, it’s one tap and done.

  • Spain’s pirate party: nearly half of OTT viewers sail the high seas of illegal streaming

    Spain’s pirate party: nearly half of OTT viewers sail the high seas of illegal streaming

    MUMBAI:  While the Motion Pictures Association (MPA)  loves pointing fingers at India for its piracy woes, they may want to swivel their gaze towards Europe. New data from consultancy firm GECA reveals that a staggering 47.4 per cent of OTT viewers in Spain are tucking into pirated content—no paid subscription in sight.

    The pirate’s treasure chest? Movies top the loot list at 32.8 per cent, followed closely by TV series (30.6 per cent) and sports (18.4 per cent).

    The biggest buccaneers are aged 18–24, followed by the slightly older but no less rebellious 25–34 crew. Even the silver surfers are getting their share—piracy among the 55+ age group has jumped 4.5 points, now clocking in at 32.6 per cent.

    Notably, piracy among 25–34-year-olds surged 5.2 points, hinting at an underground boom even among the prime-income streamers. Whether it’s a protest against high prices or just a thrill of the steal, one thing’s clear—Spain’s illegal streaming scene is alive, well, and growing.

  • LiveU Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire the Business and Technology of Actus Digital, Enhancing Video Monitoring and Analytics, and Deepening AI Capabilities

    LiveU Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire the Business and Technology of Actus Digital, Enhancing Video Monitoring and Analytics, and Deepening AI Capabilities

    Hackensack, NJ:  LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video contribution, production and distribution solutions, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Actus Digital’s business and technology, significantly enhancing its recording, monitoring and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities and accelerating its mission to help customers improve operational effectiveness and create more value from video.

    Actus Digital, renowned for its intelligent monitoring and compliance platforms, used by premier broadcasters and media agencies worldwide, brings powerful content analysis, Quality of Experience (QoE) monitoring solutions, and advanced AI enabled tools that will complement the LiveU EcoSystem, delivering workflow simplicity and operational efficiency. The LiveU EcoSystem is a set of innovative IP-video solutions, that add efficiency and shorten workflows across the entire video production chain, including multi-cam 5G contribution encoders and cloud-based ingest, production and IP-video distribution solutions, making the two solution portfolios highly synergistic.

    “We are delighted to be welcomingActus Digital to LiveU,” said Samuel Wasserman, CEO and Co-founder of LiveU. “Their exceptional, market-leading monitoring platform and AI expertise, combined with our shared commitment to reliability, quality, and customer service will significantly strengthen our entire offering in line with our overall strategy.”

    “The LiveU EcoSystem is IP-Positive, meaning it accepts all the major video protocols for maximum interoperability and ease of use for our customers. With Actus Digital, we can now give our customers the valuable ability to monitor and gain insights from all these different feeds in a single solution, so that they can always be sure of their LiveU experience,” he continued.

    Sima Levy, President and Founder of Actus Digital, added: “Joining LiveU provides our customers with easy access to a comprehensive, high-reliability IP-video EcoSystem, backed by world-class support. Combining the LiveU EcoSystem with the Actus Intelligent Monitoring Platform delivers powerful new capabilities to our customers across radio, TV, OTT and the internet. In fact, more and more of our customers have asked for integration with LiveU and we’re excited to be able to combine our resources and expertise to serve them better.”

    This latest strategic acquisition by LiveU adds a peerless intelligent monitoring and compliance logging platform with advanced AI tools to the LiveU product portfolio, enhancing the ability of content creators and storytellers everywhere to generate more value from their video.

    About LiveU

    LiveU offers a set of high-quality IP-video solutions for any live production – the LiveU EcoSystem. Built on its open, adaptable platform, the LiveU EcoSystem adds efficiency and shortens workflows across the entire video production chain, from contribution and production to distribution. Through innovative story-centric workflows, we help customers share their stories with a global audience in the most dynamic and engaging way. At the core of our EcoSystem lies LRT™ (LiveU Reliable Transport), LiveU’s pioneering protocol for IP bonding and wireless connectivity, ensuring rock-solid resiliency and low latency from any location. Our rich portfolio ranges from our portable multi-cam/compact 5G encoders for live transmission to next-gen cloud ingest, digital production and global distribution solutions. Customers can go live from anywhere with our advanced, network-agnostic connectivity solutions – combining cellular (including private 5G), fiber and satellite. With over 5,000 customers in 150 countries and world-class customer support, LiveU’s technology is the solution of choice for global broadcasters, sports, public safety and other organizations. LiveU is a multi-award winner, including Frost & Sullivan for global product leadership and Technology & Engineering Emmy® Awards. LiveU is an Anglo-American company, headquartered in Hackensack, New Jersey, USA. For more information, please visit www.liveu.tv, or follow us on X, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or Instagram.

    About Actus Digital

    Since 2005, Actus Digital has set the standard for intelligent media monitoring and compliance logging, trusted by broadcasters, media regulators, public sector organizations, and governments worldwide. With over 1,300 installations, Actus delivers a next-generation browser-based platform, built on its industry-leading QA Compliance Logger and enhanced with advanced solutions like Actus MV (interactive multiviewer), Actus AI Media Insight (AI-powered content analysis), Clip Factory Pro (content repurposing), OTT StreamWatch (OTT/FAST monitoring), and Actus RVM (remote post-STB monitoring). Each product can stand alone or be fully integrated into one unified, powerful platform — maximizing innovation, flexibility, and operational efficiency.
    Actus supports all broadcast video and streaming protocols, including ATSC 3.0, SMPTE 2110, and is available as a turnkey appliance, software/VM-based system, or SaaS. With global offices and 24/7 support, Actus Digital is committed to innovation, service excellence, and customer satisfaction.
    For more details, please visit actusdigital.com.