ITV

Tag: OTT

  • Impact of Covid2019 on global ad spends on Indian ad industry

    Impact of Covid2019 on global ad spends on Indian ad industry

    The Covid2019 pandemic has presented serious challenges when it comes to stabilising the overall economy amidst lockdown, one of which is changing industry dynamics. Covid2019 has impacted the way brands, agencies and various other businesses work which disrupted the ever-evolving advertising and marketing industry. The world’s leading economies have witnessed a downfall in the revenue as the businesses are shut. While there is no handbook that one can follow in such crisis, it is essential for advertisers to re-calibrate their entire approach and connect with the right target audience.

    Since people spend maximum time staying at home during the quarantine, connecting with them through digital media is convenient. In such cases, advertiser’s needs to know the tactic of how to keep their audiences engaged through right media platforms and how to make the brands invest through them.

    Are brands taking a responsible route? Shifts that were witnessed

    Restrictions on travel due to lockdown have posed to be a threat for Out-of-home (OOH) advertising and seems to be a medium that has no realistic lockdown replacement as it has majorly been impacting revenues. But what has actively taken over the current scenario during these tough times and has saved brands from sinking is the way online advertising is responding to it. Brands have started focusing on alternative ways of boosting their businesses online by taking a different approach towards dealing with the current scenario.

    Is global ad spends sinking?

    Spending has now made a shift from the traditional means of advertising from newspaper ads, hoardings, printed pamphlets etc., to digitally active platforms. These include social media like Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and also digital OTT Platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Spotify, Voot etc. 

    Global ads are expected to sink this year as the pandemic has led to dip in travel and tourism and entertainment industry among others, all of which has impacted demand. This change in the global ad spending is what is been highlighted in the way brands have chosen to spend particularly on platforms as a means to increase their sales during and post lockdown. One of the major reasons why ad spends are sinking is because of the attitudinal shift in consumer behaviour. Most advertising companies will experience negative impacts on their business as ad revenues are dropping at a faster pace.  

    Even when sales are at halt because of the pandemic, what was to be noticed is the way how brands did not stop advertising. They continued to create awareness through digital platforms by posting TVCs and coming up with creative ways on Instagram pages which strongly depicted how brands are posing to be with their audience even during these tough times. 

    Creatives from various brands like Metro, Mochi, Burger King, Swiggy, Zomato, Audi etc., have found different ways and means to stay connected with their audiences on typical topics like lockdown, quarantine, isolated, pandemic while playing around strategically with these terms. Changing their logos to promote social distancing, etc brands like Dominos, Swiggy, Big Basket have even started safely delivering groceries by following WHO's guidelines at your door steps to hold credibility in the eyes of its consumers.

    Impact on Indian advertising industry

    While industry is actively dealing with the challenges of OOH during these challenging times, advertisers have now realised that digital progression is the only savior. Digital is the best medium for advertisers to reach their end users. We can already see a shift in Flipkart’s Big Billion Day sale, Myntra’s end of reason sale, etc has always happened in a particular way, but have a possibility of changing due to the crises.

    (The author is co-founder and managing director, Makani Creatives. The views expressed are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them.)

  • ALTBalaji garners 60% rise in viewership and 21% growth in MAU

    ALTBalaji garners 60% rise in viewership and 21% growth in MAU

    MUMBAI: With the number of digitally connected audiences consuming content in Hindi rising, this emerging trend in the country sees ALTBalaji, one of the country’s leading homegrown OTT platforms, yet again scale new heights. Owing to the rapid internet proliferation and digitization in the hinterlands, this demand for Hindi originals has seen the platform’s viewership rise exponentially in May 2020 compared to the figures from May 2019. As per data collected from more than 1800 cities and towns, ALTBalaji garnered a 60 per cent rise in viewership and a 21 per cent growth in MAU (Monthly Active Users). With the Hindi market booming and content consumption headed for sharp growth, these numbers are a growing testament to ALTBalaji conquering the important HSM audience based in Bharat.

    The cities that raked in a two-fold growth in May compared to the same month last year include Patna, Ranchi, Shimla, Jodhpur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Gaya, to name a few. These cities are yet another indicator of the Hindi language subset growing faster than any other spoken language in the country, which represents an increase in new users being added to the user base at a rapid pace. These numbers further attest to an industry report by KPMG titled – ‘Unravelling the digital video consumer’ whose findings reveal that 64% of India’s digital video consumers prefer consuming content in Hindi.

    On the growth, ALTBalaji CEO and Balaji Telefilms group COO  Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “This rise in viewership is a growing testament to the huge untapped Tier 2,3 & 4 markets for OTT players. At ALTBalaji, we are focusing on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi speaking markets and cement our position as a leader in this segment. By tapping into these hinterlands, we’ve realized the growing demand for Hindi originals that those audiences find immensely relatable. This has helped us understand our viewers better and led to us curating more engaging and entertaining offerings that resonate with them.”

    With a vast library of 60+ originals across genres that cater to all kinds of audiences, the shows at ALTBalaji are a mix of thriller, drama, romance, youth drama, horror, comedy amongst others. Each show present on the platform or in the pipeline has been created keeping in mind the audience’s interest across demographic and sociographic segments. Romantic dramas like Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, It Happened in Calcutta, Baarish, Dil Hi To hai etc enjoy a growing fandom amongst women in the 25-45 years TG. While on the other hand, thrillers like Apharan, Ragini MMS, Code M are consumed by men in the 22- 45 age bracket. In addition to the above, shows such as Mentalhood, The Test Case, MOM: Mission Over Mars, Bose: Dead/ Alive, The Verdict – State vs Nanavati are being consumed extensively by urban Indians across all age groups.

  • ShemarooMe partners with Celcom to entertain audiences in Malaysia enabled by Apigate

    ShemarooMe partners with Celcom to entertain audiences in Malaysia enabled by Apigate

    MUMBAI: ShemarooMe, the OTT platform from the house of Shemaroo Entertainment today announced its partnership with Malaysia’s leading telecom player – Celcom Axiata Berhad (Celcom) which is enabled by Apigate, a leading global content monetization ecosystem. This partnership comes in line with ShemarooMe expanding its geographies in 150 countries which further strengthens ShemarooMe’s foothold in Malaysia by expanding its presence in South East Asia, at the same time enhancing the telecom operator’s consumer experience.  

    Through this collaboration, Celcom subscribers can get access to ShemarooMe’s vast content library of multi-genre, multi-regional content. The offerings include Bollywood Premiere, Bollywood Classic, Regional, Devotional, Kids and Comedy content. Furthermore, the video streaming platform will be soon adding the most loved genre Bollywood – Indonesia Bahasa dubs along with Bengali and Nepali movies to its content catalogue. 

    Commenting on the association, Ms. Kranti Gada, COO, Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd. said, “Shemaroo has always aimed at entertaining the asli fans of Bollywood across the world. This expansion is in line with the platform being available in 150 countries to satiate the Indian masala entertainment needs of one and all. Bollywood content holds a special place in the hearts of Malaysian audiences and our association with Celcom will help strengthen our foothold in that market. We enter the market with our promise of wholesome entertainment where the audiences can get access to a wide variety of Bollywood, Regional and Devotional content and thus build a deeper engagement with consumers in the country.”

    Sharing his thoughts on the association, APIgate APAC senior vice president  Raja Mansukhani said, “Apigate has been at the forefront of catering to the ever growing demand for digital entertainment services and we are happy to announce our association with ShemarooMe that will enable Malaysian audiences’ to access a wide variety of live and on-demand entertainment content on mobile devices.”

    With this partnership, ShemarooMe is expanding its presence in the South East Asian market and further strengthening its global presence. The video streaming platform exists in more than 150 countries, including Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Middle East and North Africa.

  • ZEE5 offers its premium subscription to JioFiber users

    ZEE5 offers its premium subscription to JioFiber users

    MUMBAI: While the world is still battling the effects of the pandemic and the resulting shutdowns and restrictions, ZEE5 has risen to the occasion to keep all those at home constantly entertained. With constant innovations and upgrades, the Super-App has been ceaselessly leading digital transformations to create a wholesome entertainment ecosystem that caters to each segment of their diverse audience.

    Furthering these efforts, ZEE5 now offers its premium subscription to JioFiber users. This complimentary subscription to ZEE5’s premium content is available to new as well as existing JioFiber users on Silver plan and above.

    The association offers JioFiber users unlimited entertainment through complimentary access to ZEE5’s library of 4500+ movies and 120+ originals for eligible customers. With continuous content additions across 12 languages, JioFiber’s users can look forward to an exciting library of content that is ready to keep them company 24/7. With ZEE5’s addition, Jio further strengthens its entertainment offering for its JioFiber customers.

    Speaking on this collaboration, ZEE5 India business development and commercial head Manpreet Bumrah stated, “As India’s Entertainment Super-App, ZEE5’s focus has always been on delivering the best of entertainment to every segment of our diverse audiences through custom plans. This association is in line with our vision to further consolidate our presence across the country by leveraging the synergies between the two iconic consumer brands. And this step will benefit the users of Jio and ZEE5 by bringing the convenience of streaming a choice of content, be it shows, originals or popular movies. With the lockdown, we have witnessed a significant uptick in subscriptions and streaming on our platform and this integration will help us keep JioFiber customers engaged and entertained, across spectrum of devices.”

  • VOOT adds to its robust content slate, partners with Cult.Fit & Isha Foundation

    VOOT adds to its robust content slate, partners with Cult.Fit & Isha Foundation

    MUMBAI: To help de-stress and cope up with the current situation, people are increasingly turning to digital platforms to maintain physical and mental well-being. VOOT, India’s leading streaming platform understands this, and has associated with Cult.Fit, India’s biggest health and fitness start-up and Isha Foundation, founded by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev that aims to bring physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. The partnership opens doorways for its users to seamlessly access the best of fitness workouts and provide solace and guidance on how to stay calm through such trying times. With these thoughtful partnerships, VOOT, home to 70,000 hours of entertaining content across formats and genres is now diversifying the content under the larger umbrella thought of body, mind & soul, beyond the core offerings of new shows, originals and movie titles.

    VOOT AVOD business head Akash Banerji said, “As we battle with uncertainty and tough times, there is a need for positivity and calmness in our daily lives. With digital consumption taking an upward swing, our aim at VOOT is to deliver content that is as diverse as it is relevant. By strengthening partnerships across industries, we believe in giving the best experiences to our consumers. Considering the implications of the on-going crisis on the direct consumer, through our collaborations with Cult.Fit, Isha Foundation and upGrad, we look forward to consistently work towards offering a wider and deeper content library to our viewers to keep them fit – mind, body and soul.”

    In association with Cult.Fit, the DIY workout segment will engage its viewers with 12 episodes of workout sessions every week. The segment will include some of the most intense workout sessions such as high intensity interval training (HIIT) focusing on endurance, and mobility which have been carefully curated to help beginners achieve adequate levels of fitness.

    Cult.Fit growth and marketing head Naresh Krishnaswamy said “With the pandemic, people have become more conscious and are gravitating towards working out from home. This has led to a tremendous number of users working out with us on our platform. At a time when there is such a demand for health and fitness, the partnership with VOOT will prove to be strategically viable for both businesses. Together our objective is to expand our reach and help users avail the best content we have to offer from the comfort of their homes.”

    Speaking about the partnership, Isha Foundation said “The world is going through very challenging times. Many people are experiencing anxiety, fear and loneliness. This darshan series from Sadhguru is an offering to enhance inner balance and spiritual wellbeing of all. We hope it will be able to uplift people’s spirit and help them tide through this crisis.”

  • EORtV expands core team with new appointments

    EORtV expands core team with new appointments

    MUMBAI: EORtV, an over the top (OTT) media service platform announced some more key appointments to its core team. The streaming service that was launched recently is now available on Playstore.

    Joining the team are the following industry experts. Bharat Bhushan Nautiyal has joined as an executive director. He is a physics graduate from Mumbai University is a senior journalist and editor of "Nutan Savera", a Hindi weekly published from Mumbai since 1993, known for its fearless journalism and credible reportage & commentary on social, economic, political, and current affairs. His other business ventures include several real estate and infrastructure projects in Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. His vast network helps him to create and market amazing business opportunities for his business partners. Through his philanthropic work, Nautiyal also actively contributes towards social upliftment of the marginalised classes and works towards women’s empowerment. He is also a part of the creative team of Dreamzz Images.

    Miiheer Shah has joined as a chief strategy officer. He has deep knowledge of competitive environments, resulting in tailored solutions which support strong, collaborative partnerships. He started his career as one of the youngest motivational leaders of the world at the age of 16. Since 2003, he has transformed more than 2,00,000 lives globally. Creator of the famous Prime Performance Training™️. & Param Meditation techniques, he has acted in famous Gujarati play, Ek Aham Ni Rani & produced the critically acclaimed Marathi Movie, Krutant under his production house Rain Rose Films in 2019. As an entrepreneur, he successfully founded – Goal Cafe, 361 Degree India & Rain Rose Hotels & Restros Pvt Ltd. Shah also has formed an NGO – School Of Ur Life ( SOUL ) working towards life skill training and counseling support for all ages.

    Peter Fernandes has joined as a Chief Marketing Officer. He began his professional journey with Indian Express. Known as a tough negotiator, he worked in various organisations including stints with Hindustan Times Media Limited and then with Radio City 91.1 FM where he was instrumental in launching 13 new broadcast stations across India being in the Purchase Department as Senior Manager Commercial – Project Head. He also spent a decade in all at Zee Entertainment Enterprise Limited followed by a stint at Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd as the Vice President of the Commercial Department. He was a consultant for Outdoor Advertising Professionals and joined Red Eye Technologies as COO and worked successfully in the expansion of the organisation. In his 26 years of professional journey, Peter has developed executable go-to-market strategies, profitable cost effective models and built and led teams that drove high revenue growth.

    Dominic Savio D’souza has joined the team of EORtV as its general counsel. He is a legal professional who has been part of the Indian Media & Entertainment Industry for over two decades. In addition to completing his studies in Law, he has a Masters Degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. He has been appointed as vice chair at the Indian National Association of Legal Professionals.
    D'souza has been closely associated with several national and international production houses, major media conglomerates, having various business interests in print, broadcasting, internet and broadband, new media and OTT platforms, broadcast channels (news, general entertainment and sports) and print and newspaper publications too. His involvement includes litigation and non-litigation related matters pertaining to M&E and IP and also to Property, Labour and Corporate matters. D'souza advises the Indian governmental bodies and industry trade bodies in the media, IP, the broadcasting and telecom regulatory sectors and shares his knowledge pro-bono, both via educational institutions as well as professionally and has been part of various National and APAC IPR summits and conferences. 

    Welcoming all the professionals to the team , EORtV executive directors, Dr Kaushik Izardar and Deepak Pandey jointly shared a statement saying, "We are delighted to have Bharat Bhushan Nautiyal and Miiheer Shah join our team to offer their expertise across varied fields to help establish EORtV as one of the leading players in its genre. Both have global management talent with a proven track record of driving significant growth and creating strategic value in companies. The addition of new members is a great way to continue furthering our objective of creating a world where individuals of all abilities are fully accepted, respected and included."

    "Peter and Dominic have been outstanding long-term partners and have created tremendous value for the firms they've worked with. We've been extremely fortunate to have experienced first-hand their ability to help companies scale their businesses while creating unique assets that have real intrinsic value. We are excited to partner with then and to leverage our expertise and network of relationships to drive growth," they added.

  • Discovery Plus app launches on Amazon Fire TV

    Discovery Plus app launches on Amazon Fire TV

    MUMBAI: Discovery Plus is catching on with passionate communities across the country appreciating and enjoying the world-class content across 40+ genres such as Science, Adventure, Food, Lifestyle among others. In addition to being available on Android, iOS and on the desktop & mobile web, Discovery Plus is now also available on Amazon Fire TV. Within a week of the launch on Amazon Fire TV, Discovery Plus proved its mettle in the living room screen experience by netting an impressive 41.3 minutes per subscriber* per day.

    Discovery Plus also augmented its content to celebrate the launch with a collection of new ‘Big Screen Delight’ titles dropping every day of the week. Over the last week, Discovery Plus dropped marquee content specials including NASA and SpaceX: Journey To The Future, Carter’s War, Space Launch: America Returns To Space, How The Universe Works and Expedition Asia with Ryan Pyle. Additionally, starting today audiences can now stream Nature’s Strangest Mysteries Solved, Mythbusters and season 10 of the very popular show Gold Rush on their Fire TV devices.

    Discovery Plus, emphasizing the big-screen delight experience, launched a new marketing campaign that will run across all 14 Discovery network channels as well as on all key digital platforms. Discovery Plus is also amplifying spends on performance marketing to ensure that all enthusiasts are aware of new platforms debut on Amazon Fire TV.

    “One of the foremost demands put forth by ardent fans of Discovery+ has been met with the launch of our app on Fire TV. Our tremendous engagement on FireTV bears testament to that. Besides the convenience of consuming the largest repository of premium real-life entertainment content across devices, our audiences have loved the experience of watching Discovery+ on big screen and that’s what this launch on Fire TV allows us to provide. Our marketing campaign too builds on this simple, yet critical insight,” Discovery digital South Asia business head Issac John said.

    “Our endeavour has been to offer Fire TV customers the widest selection and a frictionless way to discover their favourite content. Discovery Plus indexes a vast range of content about our planet, its rich culture, history, flora and fauna as well as the contribution of science and technology in the evolution of the human race. We are excited to add this selection to Fire TV customers in India,” Amazon Devices India head Parag Gupta said.

  • SonyLIV 2.0 announces its content line-up for the first month

    SonyLIV 2.0 announces its content line-up for the first month

    Mumbai: With a refreshed brand identity, SonyLIV is all set to bring forth an array of original content ranging from thrilling fictional narratives to real-life incidents and many more. Challenging the predominant beliefs of morality and ethics, SonyLIV’s very first original content titled Your Honor, a dark and morally complex thriller, is all set to go live on 18 June.

    Your Honor is adapted from the Israeli series Kvodo, distributed by Yes Studios, has been produced for Applause Entertainment by Sphereorigins and is directed by the National-award winning director, E.Niwas. Life was good for an upright, honest and reputed judge Bishan Khosla until he found himself facing a life altering situation. His only son gets involved in a hit-and-run case. While Bishan is about to turn in his son to the police, he learns about the victim's identity. 

    Oscillating between the complexities of morality and ethics, Jimmy Sheirgill brings to life the agony of Bishan Khosla in this thriller. Joining Jimmy Sheirgill in this enticing new offering are renowned actors like Mita Vashisht, Varun Badola, Yashpal Sharma, Parul Gulati, Suhasini Mulay, Richa Pallod, Kunj Anand, Pulkit Makol, and Mahabir Bhullar.

    Offering a power-packed monsoon binge, SonyLIV also releases Manoj Bajpayee’s critically acclaimed film Bhonsle alongwith a dark comedy Kadakh starring Ranvir Shorey. The english shows For Life and Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector also make their Indian debut on the platform. While the former is inspired from a true story, the latter is a thriller adapted from the book “The Bone Collector” by Jeffery Deaver.

    Sony Pictures Networks India digital business and SET content head Ashish Golwalkar commented, “SonyLIV Originals are Indian stories created for a global market. The storytelling therefore will have a signature Indian ethos and authenticity. Your honor is the first such show and will be followed by an interesting line up of Indian stories coming soon. We are delighted to partner with Applause Entertainment, Sameer Nair, Director E Niwas and a stellar cast spearheaded by Jimmy Sheirgill to bring Your Honor for our subscribers.”

    Talking about the partnership, Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair said, “We are glad to partner with SonyLIV as they embark on their journey of originals. Your Honor is the first of our four originals scheduled to go live on the all new SonyLIV and we are sure the audience will enjoy this show. We look forward to a longer association ahead with SonyLIV.”

  • Dish TV India’s Watcho premiers new series It’s My Pleasure

    Dish TV India’s Watcho premiers new series It’s My Pleasure

    MUMBAI: Finding new ways to add fun and humor to lives, Dish TV India Limited, India’s leading DTH Company premiered a new web series on its OTT platform Watcho titled It’s My Pleasure. Conceptualized by Bhavya Attrey and produced by Filmycurry, the seven-episode drama series is a light-hearted attempt to look at the consequences of the situation when you want to pursue your dream startup. 

    The series revolves around the life of a young man named Raman who works for an MNC and is juggling between his work-life and desires to dive into the ‘start-up’ world with an unconventional business idea of ‘adult toys’ which challenges the convention of ‘acceptable and respectable’ business. Bold comic and thought-provoking at the same time the show features talented star cast like Keshav Sadana, Sadika Sayal, Anushka Sharma, Lavina, Manoj Bakshi, Saif Ansari, the series is a perfect blend of drama and emotions. Directed by Harkirat S Sandhu and written by Reena Kamath, the series showcases the life of a budding entrepreneur and the challenges he faces within family and society for his audacious idea of a startup selling ‘adult toys’.

    Commenting on the launch of new series, Dish TV India Ltd marketing corporate head Sukhpreet Singh said, “At Watcho, we are determined to offer our subscribers fresh and engaging content across genres in multiple categories. We are continuously investing our time and effort to bring out the daily dosage of entertainment in the most delightful way. To further revolutionize the viewing experience and engage with the audience, we have launched new series for our viewers, which deals with a sensitive and bold subject in a tasteful, emotional, funny, and extremely real manner. The characters in this series are hilarious and we can’t wait for our audience to enjoy it.” 

    Focused on short format storytelling suitable for digital consumption, Watcho offers many more original web series like 4 Thieves, Dark Destination, Love Crisis, Ardhasatya, The Senti Mentals, Chhoriyan, Rakhta Chandana and original influencer shows like Look I can Cook, Bikhare Hain Alfaaz to name a few. Watcho content cuts across all genres including but not limited to; Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Romance, Food, Fashion, and Poetry.

  • Amazon Prime Video strikes partnership with Jio

    Amazon Prime Video strikes partnership with Jio

    MUMBAI : Amazon today announced its collaboration with Jio, India’s largest and fastest growing digital service company, to provide JioFiber subscribers access to premium content on Amazon Prime Video app on its set-top box. In addition, Jio will offer one year of Prime membership worth Rs 999 a year to JioFiber customers on Gold and above broadband plans, at no extra cost.  Through this deal, JioFiber customers can now seamlessly access the Amazon Prime Video app on their TV and enjoy Amazon’s latest and exclusive blockbuster Hollywood, Bollywood and Indian regional movies, top TV shows, stand-up comedies, kids programs, including critically acclaimed Indian and global Amazon Originals.

    JioFiber customers, on Gold plans and above, can activate their Annual Amazon Prime Membership by signing in using their Amazon account or create a new Amazon account through their Jio Set-top box and by logging into MyJio app or Jio.com.  Customers who are not eligible can simply recharge with JioFiber Gold and above plan to avail the offer. Existing Amazon Prime Members can directly sign-in to the Amazon Prime Video app on their Jio Set-top-box and start watching Prime Video’s wide selection of content including critically acclaimed Indian Amazon Originals like Paatal Lok, Four More Shots Please! The Family Man, Mirzapur and much-loved global Originals like Jack Ryan, Marvelous Mrs Maisel, The Boys amongst many others.

    “We are delighted to work with Jio to make Amazon Prime membership available to Jio Fiber customers” Amazon Prime Video India director and country general manager Gaurav Gandhi said.

    “With the annual Prime membership consumers will have access to the full bouquet of Prime benefits – unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive video content, free and fast shipping, access to exclusive deals, ad-free music on Amazon Music, unlimited reading through Prime Reading and mobile gaming content with Prime Gaming.  At Amazon, we constantly strive to offer customers, the best-in-class entertainment. With this launch, we will further extend the reach and access of Amazon Prime Video in India, giving more customers the experience of watching our broad selection of popular Amazon Originals, blockbuster movies, Indian as well as international shows, on their TV sets,” he added.

    “Our partnership with Amazon Prime Video opens up a new world of entertainment for JioFiber customers. Jio continues to provide an enriched experience to its customers and this tie-up enable JioFiber users avail one year of Amazon Prime membership at no extra cost,” Jio strategy head Anshuman Thakur said in a statement.