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Tag: OTT

  • HBO Max launches in the US with impressive content library

    HBO Max launches in the US with impressive content library

    MUMBAI: Every other week a new streaming service enters the market. But the arrival of HBO Max is more significant. WarnerMedia’s foray into the market creates a buzz because of its big library of TV shows and films from popular brands like HBO and Warner Bros. 

    The new service is available at $14.99 per month which is more expensive than its major competetiors like Netflix and Disney+.  However, the service includes hit TV shows like Friends, The Big Bang Theory. Moreover, the lineup includes movies like Crazy Rich Asians, A Star Is Born, Aquaman,  Joker, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, The Matrix, The Goonies, When Harry Met Sally.

    This new direct-to-consumer experience features 10,000 hours of premium content including the entire HBO service; motion picture and TV series from Warner Bros.’ 100-year content collection; highlights from New Line; catalogue titles from DC, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth and Looney Tunes Cartoons; a selection of classic films curated in partnership with TCM; along with a monthly offering of new Max Originals, guaranteeing something for everyone in the household. HBO Max is available starting Thursday priced at $14.99/month from WarnerMedia.

    “Today we are proud to introduce HBO Max – a dream that was created and nurtured by an incredible team of talented executives who dedicated the last year-and-a-half to making it a reality for consumers nationwide,” WarnerMedia Entertainment and direct-to-consumer chairman Bob Greenblatt said . 

    “However, this is just the beginning of our journey. We will continue to innovate and evolve this one-of-a-kind platform that brings together beloved programming from across the WarnerMedia family and around the world, while also paving the way for the creative voices of tomorrow,” he added.

    The service is currently available only in the US.

  • Voot partners with upGrad, expands content play to edutainment

    Voot partners with upGrad, expands content play to edutainment

    MUMBAI: Leading streaming platform Voot has tied up with the largest online higher education company upGrad. This opens a doorway for consumers and working professionals to seamlessly access the best of entertainment and education videos, all under one roof.

    Voot, home to hours of exciting entertainment content across formats and genres, with this thoughtful partnership, is pioneering the cause for young Indian professionals by providing them quality upskilling content as part of its repertoire. A dedicated upGrad segment on the Voot app will unleash its viewers into a pool of informative content around the new-age domains of data science, blockchain, tech and management, which are carefully curated by upGrad’s in-house content team to help working professionals enhance their employability quotient.

    Additionally, to provide in-depth and accurate knowledge, the playlist will also include new-age anecdotes in the form of snackable videos and sessions hosted by industry leaders and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). The segment will include upGrad Shotgyaan, Crash course in Data Science and a recently curated interesting list of Work From Home (WFH) tech tips as starters with frequent additions being made to the binge-watch content library.

    Voot AVOD business head  Akash Banerji said, “In these times, with digital assuming a decisive role in a user’s life, our objective with Voot is to deliver a truly enriching and inclusive content slate that elevates the user experience and engagement. Blending our entertainment proposition with learning through this partnership with upGrad, is not only an innovative solution for young minds, but also enables us to widen our reach and user base."

    Announcing the partnership, upgrade corporate development president Gaurav Kumar said, “Young India is hooked on to the OTT platforms for their daily dose of entertainment and therefore, it is exciting to have a special window that seamlessly lands them to a new-age upskilling content playlist, that will add up to their professional growth at large. With our insightful storytelling format and innovative execution, we look forward to shedding the stereotypical emotion attached with education of being serious.”

  • Lockdown impact on cable operators: Drop in STB sale and collection from connections

    Lockdown impact on cable operators: Drop in STB sale and collection from connections

    MUMBAI: Despite higher viewership of linear television during the lockdown, the cable operators’ business in India has felt the heat of the Covid2019 pandemic. While sales of new set-top boxes and collection for existing connections witnessed a drop, customers down-traded packs. Due to these factors, especially in view of customers opting for cheaper packs, the multi-system operators (MSOs) expect a high double-digit decline in FY21 revenues.

    According to a survey done by INTIN on 92 MSOs (six per cent of overall base) across India, 63 per cent of cable operators maintained or improved their performance during the lockdown, overcoming several circumstantial challenges. Consumers also seem to be more satisfied as the number of received complaints increased for only 26 per cent operators.

    While many MSOs have stated during the period that they could not provide new connections due to restrictions, the survey points to their concerns. Sales of the new box dropped for 75 per cent of the operators. Moreover, the collection also dropped for 84 per cent of cable operators which could be attributed to the unwillingness for digital payment and the lack of infrastructure, coupled with the social distancing norms.

    Consumer sentiment is not high across industries due to the current economic scenario. It has reflected in the TV distribution business also as 41 per cent of operators experienced consumers down-trading to cheaper packs. Only nine per cent of the operators have witnessed addition of channels. There was an increase in demand for news channels and movie channels along with cable TV channels, but sports, GECs and infotainment reported a drop in demand.

    Owing to all the factors, 77 per cent of MSOs expect their revenues in 2020-21 to drop whereas 32 per cent expect this drop to be more than 25 per cent. However, 66 per cent also do not plan any drop in the pack prices. 

    OTT threat

    While Covid2019 has posed an unprecedented challenge for the MSOs, a larger – and long-term – challenge that is looming over them is the increasing consumer shift to over-the-top (OTT) platforms. Majority of cable operators (54 per cent) anticipate a negative impact of OTT on the cable TV business. However, some of the operators are already bringing change to their business model. For example, 25 per cent of cable operators have already launched their own OTTs. Fifty-seven per cent of operators are selling broadband service also with the hunger for data and higher bandwidth increasing across the country. But the statistics clearly indicate that a large number of MSOs are yet to upgrade their business models.

    Amid this difficult scenario, the report also suggests some healthy practices, such as 100 per cent online payment, launch of targeted consumers offers, easy instalment payment methods, focusing on own content, including launch of OTT and pure cable channels to prevent the de-growth. 

  • Bengali OTT platform Addatimes launches in Bangladesh

    Bengali OTT platform Addatimes launches in Bangladesh

    MUMBAI: Addatimes, Bengali entertainment OTT platform and web channel with music, original web shows and short films, has launched in Bangladesh to coincide with the Eid-Ul-Fitr celebrations. Addatimes is targeting five million subscribers within the first years of its launch. The yearly subscription plan for Bangladesh market is 299 Taka.

    The partnership between Addatimes and LBC Media Entertainment Company, a concern of Agrani Holdings Group, and Allianz FMCG Holdings Ltd was announced recently. As a distribution partner, Agrani Holdings Group will expand Addatimes' reach and business by entrusting the online streaming platform to OEMs, telecom companies and internet service providers, among others. They will also promote the brand in Bangladesh through marketing projects.

     Addatimes founder and promoter Rajiv Mehra said, “Bengali is the eighth-most popularly spoken language in the world and Bangladesh is a country where the Bengali language is all-encompassing. Since Dr Sakib has such an in-depth understanding of the Bangladeshi market, this partnership was a real no-brainer. We at Addatimes feel, that this was the right time to expand our reach and so we have moved forward with this decision. We have all the ingredients to serve the Bangladeshi audience the real feast of entertainment.’

    Addatimes director and co-promoter Nispal Singh Raney said “We at Addatimes are incredibly happy with this new association. We have faith in the abilities of our friends at Agrani and we hope that this is just the beginning of a very fruitful partnership.”

    Agrani CEO Sakib M Rahman commented on the partnership, "Our group has over the years earned the reputation of rapidly developing strategic business environments with a strong understanding of the local culture."

    "Addatimes is one of the most popular Indian-Bengali online streaming giants, offering a wide variety of content. Our distribution network will focus on providing the video-on-demand service across the country. The execution of the OTT platform will be carried out by the group's sister concern companies, Agrani Trading Company Limited and LBC Media Entertainment Company, in Bangladesh," he added.

     LBC also has a strategic association with Insomnia Media and Content Services LLP for curating, developing and producing content for LBC across genres and formats. “We are excited about Addatimes launch in the Bangladesh Market. Insomnia is here to tell compelling Untold stories, with global production values for the evolving audience,” Insomnia co-founder Juhi Parekh Mehta said.

    The Addatimes Prime Bengali web series include the premium web series The Senapatis, and  Oh Mother!, Feluda, Khyapa, One Night Stand and Sufiyana among others. Viewers can watch the first web-episodes of all these shows for free only on Addatimes. The platform has varied content slate including periodic drama to contemporary romance.

  • PallyCon partners with Akamai to offer forensic watermarking protection to OTT Content

    PallyCon partners with Akamai to offer forensic watermarking protection to OTT Content

    MUMBAI: PallyCon, a global leader in digital rights management and forensic watermarking services, has teamed up with Akamai, the intelligent edge platform, to secure streaming video content against piracy and illegal distribution.

    A large number of OTT distributors, studios, and sports rights holders use Akamai for delivering streaming services. To help protect their customers against attempts by pirates to steal their content and minimize their means of distribution, Akamai has developed a comprehensive security ecosystem of anti-piracy providers through its Technology Partner Program. By combining its own capabilities with those of key partners it’s able to address many of the common practices used by pirates such as credential theft, system hacking, rebroadcasting of stolen streams, and VPN abuse.

    PallyCon’s forensic-watermarking service ensures that a content creator can trace the source of piracy of streaming content. Working in tandem with a DRM service – PallyCon offers it as SaaS – forensic watermarking helps creators identify leakages right to the last user who leaks or consumes the content illegally.

    INKA Entworks global business head Govindraj Basatwar says, “We consider it a privilege to partner with Akamai. It has created an innovative integration of forensic-watermarking vendors in its ecosystem, which will boost the fight against piracy. PallyCon has started offering a scalable forensic-watermarking solution to customers using the Akamai edge.”

    Using PallyCon’s forensic watermark service, Akamai users can identify illegal video streams at the relevant leakage points. Once a client has identified illegal distribution, it can proceed to take further action against the violators as per its legal policies.

    Commenting on the integration of forensic-watermarking vendors in the Akamai ecosystem, Amit Kasturia, senior manager of media product management at Akamai, says, “Akamai clients spend millions of dollars creating and acquiring content. They bank on us to protect their revenue streams against piracy. By integrating PallyCon’s forensic watermarking solution into our network, we have bolstered our security ecosystem further. PallyCon’s solution is winning the trust of content creators by helping them identify illegal users of their offerings.” 

    To help clients across different sectors and sizes – from studios to regional distributors – PallyCon offers a range of subscription models. The forensic watermarking service comes clubbed with its DRM service, which a client can try for free for a month. PallyCon’s forensic watermarking suite can be applied to video streams of all resolutions.

  • OTT release won’t disrupt cinema ecosystem, theatres to rebound

    OTT release won’t disrupt cinema ecosystem, theatres to rebound

    MUMBAI: The Advertising Club Bangalore recently organised a webinar ‘The Future of Cinema’ that delved into various aspects of the cinema business and how the industry will deal with this pandemic. The webinar had Friday Films founder producer actor Vijay Babu, MMTV COO PR Satheesh, Interactive Television founder Ajay Mehta, Qu be Cinema CEO Harsh Rohatgi as panellists and the discussion was moderated by Wavemaker South VP Kishan Kumar.

    Amidst this pandemic, Babu announced that his film Sufiyum Sujathayum, which has Jayasurya and Aditi Rao Hydari in lead roles, will premiere in Amazon Prime Video. Babu was praised and criticised for his decision.

    “The last few days have been the toughest period of my life. I had to answer questions from various parts of the industry. Because it is the first film that directly went to an OTT release. We make thousands of movies. Since the birth of the Indian film industry, this is the first time that we have been in lockdown. According to multiple reports, loss to the Indian film industry could be between Rs 1500 to 2500 crore,” Babu said.

    According to him, during this lockdown period, between various languages, there must be 400 to 500 movies that might have completed their shoot or are in some stages of production. This means the money has been invested already. 

    “In my case, the film was completed in January. I was expecting to release the movie during Ramzan. And also every movie has a shelf life. Even if the cinemas are open in September or October there will be a lot of issues that we will face. How to bring back audiences to the theatre is the biggest issue. Will a big-banner movie or a leading actor be able to bring back audiences to the cinemas? Most certainly the answer is no. There will be a wait-and-watch situation,” he added.

    Rohatgi said that India released 1700 to 1800 movies last year out of which 1600 were local productions. Roughly 40 to 50 movies are waiting for release once the lockdown is lifted, which will create a rush. There will also be limited inventories in theatres. These inventories will be taken by big-budget movies once the theatres are opened. Seats will be sold for a larger number of weeks. He points out that this will create challenges for small and big-budget producers. In this case, even if 10 to 15 movies are released on OTT platforms, it should not be a problem for the cinema ecosystem.

    How do you maintain balance between satellite and OTT? Is the acquisition strategy going to change and what are the inventory challenges? These questions were raised by Kumar.

    Satheesh adds, “Theatrical experience is not going to go away. As far as our strategy is concerned we have been looking at broadcast plus OTT and the opportunities are now rising. Vijay Babu’s point of releasing first on OTT doesn’t mean that he will not go to theatres again. There is always an audience for theatre, OTT and television. Also, challenges are always going to be there; some producers might take a different route but it is not necessary that all will do the same thing. Everyone will have a different strategy.”

    Mehta said that in India OOH entertainment options are very less. The role of cinema is very prominent. He mentioned that if you look at US’s data for the last ten years one of the top grossers are franchise films. It includes superhero films, animation movies; these movies need larger-than-life cinematic experience. OTT and television can be substitutes for some of the content, but larger-than-life movies need cinematic experience. He concluded by saying that franchise films will continue to thrive.

  • Netflix to cancel subscriptions of inactive members

    Netflix to cancel subscriptions of inactive members

    MUMBAI: Streaming giant Netflix has taken another step to make the service more user-friendly, by cancelling the membership of inactive subscribers. It will start asking customers who haven’t used its platform in the past year if they want to keep their subscriptions.

    “We’re asking everyone who has not watched anything on Netflix for a year since they joined to confirm they want to keep their membership. And we’ll do the same for anyone who has stopped watching for more than two years,” Netflix product innovation director Eddy Wu said in a statement.

    If they don’t confirm that they want to keep subscribing, Netflix will automatically cancel their subscriptions. These inactive accounts represent less than half of one percent of the service’s overall member base, only a few hundred thousand, and are already factored into its financial guidance. 

    “We’ve always thought it should be easy to sign up and to cancel. So, as always, anyone who cancels their account and then rejoins within ten months will still have their favourites, profiles, viewing preferences and account details just as they left them. In the meantime, we hope this new approach saves people some hard earned cash,” Wu added.

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  • DE-CIX India’s cloud exchange service to benefit M&E industry

    DE-CIX India’s cloud exchange service to benefit M&E industry

    MUMBAI: While cloud computing practices are taking on the online ecosystem, neutral internet exchange operator DE-CIX India launched its DirectCloud Exchange service in the country recently.  It is looking forward to go beyond peering and aims to bring its customers more value for the service.

    In an interaction with Indiantelevision.com, DE-CIX India vice-president and national head Sudhir Kunder spoke on the new cloud exchange service along with other industry-related issues.

    Edited excerpts:

    Which is your target market for the new service?

    Geographically, four locations across India: Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bombay being the hub. As for the target audience it would typically be the higher level of SMBs, SMEs and enterprises because this is where the cost optimisation is going to come. Once you have a larger picture emerging when companies would want to optimise their costs, you will see a lot of adoption in that category and if you see the kind of growth as India is concerned and the requirement of the enterprise to be on multi-cloud the solution we are probably going to catch up soon on the global trends where at least 22 per cent of the enterprises are already on a multi-cloud adoption.

    Are you looking at the M&E sector?

    What we intend to do going forward is to look at the enterprise from a verticalised standpoint. Create a use-case scenario for vertical saying how I am relevant to each vertically because, by being in the ICT space, one is aware of the kind of consumption models that you have across verticals. So there will be a proposition for BSFI, manufacturing and distribution, media and entertainment, etc. In media and entertainment, you will have the entire ISP and OTT segments.

    How are you doing your service promotion?

    When we are referring to the cloud business, what typically happens is the outreach to a minuscule extent will be through the existing ISP because some of them have a huge customer base already in the SMB and enterprise segment. They might not be the primary service providers, but from a redundancy factor, a lot of them are already entrenched in those accounts. So for them, it is already a plug and play kind of an affair, where with the right kind of digital marketing and outreach program, we will be in a position to reach out to the right decision-makers and he just has to know. Since he's already on my access port, all that he needs to do is an order for anything between as small as 10 Mb to as big as one gig or 10 gigs of cloud-connected. We have already generated a base, which is entrenched in the enterprise segment. So what that does for me is these organisations themselves have the reach. All we are trying to be doing with them is to help them monetise their relationship within the existing accountabilities that they have. And we will probably have one of the most lucrative distributions, margin setups and the entire programme; from an ecosystem point of view that the industry would have seen in terms of how much do they put in and what is it the work they get in response. Miniscule amount of inputs from their side is going to lead to a lot of direct and collateral benefits. So if you have to make it a very simplistic channel, which I call from our terminology point of view as a distribution model, that’s the way to go in terms of b2b distribution for cloud service.

    How did you cope with the sudden spike during the Covid2019 period?

    I don't know whether I should call it foresight or whatever but in January, we started looking at our traffic and our network in a microscopic manner. I would do complete slicing and dicing of anybody who's consuming more than 75 per cent of the subscribed port services. I knew what was happening as a real time basis, and this would get me into a review mode. So we already had a program going on whereby there was an outreach happening to my customer saying that, "Hey, guys, you know what you are at 80 per cent and this is what your current consumption is." During Covid2019, it was like a battlefield environment , initially, the fear was very high. Today, the capacity between data centre to data centre right at the onset of Covid2019, has been increased to a capacity level of about 400 odd gigs which can travel from any data centre to any data centre in the bar. This, along with the customer outreach program helped me to ensure that I was able to serve the traffic surge that I saw on my platform. So just to give you some numbers – for OTT traffic we have seen about 258 per cent growth since February, CDN traffic saw 54 per cent growth and gaming traffic increased by 150 per cent.

  • Applause Entertainment partners with IN10 Media Network’s Juggernaut Productions

    Applause Entertainment partners with IN10 Media Network’s Juggernaut Productions

    Mumbai: Applause Entertainment and IN10 Media Network announced a partnership where the two brands will be co-producing premium original content. Under this partnership, Juggernaut Productions, IN10 Media Network’s production arm, will combine forces with the content studio to develop exclusive original IPs and meet the growing demand for qualitative entertainment in the market.

    Under this co-production partnership, Applause Entertainment and Juggernaut Productions will co-fund and co-produce content for the burgeoning OTT market. Two projects have been greenlit and more IPs will be announced in the near future.

    IN10 Media Network MD Aditya Pittie said: “The evolution of the OTT platforms has seen a dramatic change in the manner in which content is made and consumed. The plurality of voices that this medium offers has opened up an exciting new world for all content creators. This partnership between Juggernaut Productions and Applause Entertainment is driven by the philosophy of bringing compelling Indian stories, backed with highest caliber production to the viewers. We look forward to working with Sameer and his team, and leverage the assets and strengths of both companies to bring engaging and binge-worthy stories to the audiences.”

    Applause Entertainment CEO Sameer Nair said: “The demand for quality content is at its peak and partnerships with like-minded content creators, widens the horizons for all the players out there. The current digital ecosystem is most vibrant and with the collaborative creative energies of both corporations, we’re looking forward to creating exciting original stories for our viewers.”

    In India, one of the world’s fastest-growing media markets, Applause Entertainment is a brand that is associated with premium digital content across genres and languages. The studio has created a vast range of successful digital series like the Indian adaptations of shows like ‘Criminal Justice’, ‘Hostages’, ‘The Office’, ‘Mind The Malhotras’, has developed original dramas like ‘Hasmukh’, ‘City of Dreams’, ‘Bhaukaal’ and has also worked on the adaptations of best-selling books like ‘The Scam’, ‘Marry Me, Stranger’ etc.

    Launched less than a year ago, Juggernaut Productions is a platform-agnostic production house specializing in content ideation, production, and post-production, providing world-class content to brands and businesses across platforms. A veteran Creative Producer with over 20 years of experience, Samar Khan is the Chief Operating Officer of OTT division at IN10 Media Network’s production arm. Recently, under his leadership, Juggernaut Productions delivered its first successful and widely-watched series, ‘Code M’.  

    The alliance between the two independent players with proven excellence in creativity and production ushers in an exciting new phase in the business of content creation.

  • OTT release of films: Theatres not to lose appeal

    OTT release of films: Theatres not to lose appeal

    MUMBAI: As theatres continue to remain closed amid the countrywide lockdown, the impact has been felt on the release of scheduled films. While many producers are waiting for theatres to reopen, some of them have chosen the OTT route to cope with the crisis. Multiplex owners are miffed at the newly emerging distribution model. Although the battle between exhibitors and producers is visible now, globally the direct-to-digital model has been coming for quite sometime. While OTT platforms stay at the centre of the controversy, they strongly endorse the co-existence of both the windows and the rest of the industry, too.

    Earlier, we at Indiantelevision.com reported that some of the producers and distributors might look at streaming platforms for an early release. Experts said that large-scale films in India will wait for this crisis to get over to have a proper theatrical release but mid-scale or small-budget films have higher chances of looking at streaming releases if lockdown continues. Unfortunately, the country is still grappling with the Covid2019 crisis and the possibility has proved to be true.

    Movies including Amitabh Bachchan and Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Gulabo Sitabo and Vidya Balan's Shakuntala Devi have lined up for a digital release on Amazon Prime Video along with five others. Ghoomketu, featuring Anurag Kashyap and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, will be available for streaming on ZEE5. Some south Indian films are also looking at releasing on streaming services under pressure.

    “This is a ‘short-term opportunity’ in a unique situation. Eventually, theatres and OTT will have to learn to co-exist because it is the consumer mandate and we have to be where the consumer is. It is similar to a new wave of films being produced in a particular industry or when theatres had to be re-imagined from a single-screen experience to multiplexes,” ZEE5 India programming head Aparna Acharekar says. On ZEE5, movies and originals grew by more than 2X in terms of users; original grew by 203 per cent and movies by 236 per cent.

    TheSmallBigIdea CEO Harikrishnan Pillai says that direct-to-digital doesn’t give the revenue or the 'frenzy' that a theatre release gives a film. According to him, this is not a pleasant decision for a producer or an actor. But if social distancing becomes a norm, there may be decisions for hybrid launches and films of the future might release on all screens together with a unique pricing strategy, he states.

    Although the trend is very clear, analysts still believe the question remains if producers will be able to make up the cost on digital releases. Pillai adds that producers have always been selling satellites overseas and have covered a part of their cost. OTT right was a new norm that added to this revenue. According to him, with an OTT-first release, these films could command a premium but that premium won't cover the loss made by muting the biggest distribution channel, which is the theatre. So, theoretically, revenue loss is imminent.

    “But here’s the twist. When you make a film, there is a chance of it tanking at the box office. So if the film is sold outright to a platform on the back of the starcast and the perception, there is a possibility that the producers will end up hedging possible losses,” he adds.

    “Small and medium films are quickly picked up as they offer good content at a reasonable price and have value for money. For big-budget films, there is a lot of number crunching. In addition to this, producers of big films may have the patience and financial capacity to hold on but the same is not the case with smaller films. But going forward, be it smaller-budget or big-budget, the digital boom will see a lot more movies being released on OTT. And we are positive that consumer habit formation and behaviour post-pandemic will also influence this trend in a major way,” Acharekar notes.

    Pillai comments that films on OTT are also a platform for marketing and nothing sells a content distribution network the way good content does. So when a film releases on OTT, the platform stands to benefit not just from downloads but also from perception.

    “Won’t OTT platforms like to be called the next box office? But this is great for a cash-rich platform and for the early days. As time progresses, prudence will prevail. Big films with big star cast might go for models where they will have a fee and a percentage of new downloads or have a completely different pay-per-view model being developed with the OTT platform and make it the new box office window,” he adds.

    Disney was one of the first studios to foray into this new distribution model, with the streaming release of Frozen 2 on its OTT platform Disney+. However, Walt Disney Ltd CEO Bob Chapek also said in an earnings call that they very much believe in the value of the theatrical experience overall to launch blockbuster movies. But he added that they also realise that either because of changing and evolving consumer dynamics or because of certain situations like Covid2019, they may have to make some changes to that overall strategy just because theatres aren't open to the extent that anybody needs to be financially viable.

    “So we're going to evaluate each one of our movies on a case-by-case situation, as we are doing right now during this Covid2019 situation. I think you know that Artemis Fowl is moving over to Disney+ given the demographics of the appeal of that film, which was not originally the plan. But all our other tent-pole movies have been rescheduled theatrically for later in the year. So we very much believe in the power of that launch platform for our big movies,” Chapek added. Notably, reports suggest that Disney+Hotstar is in talks with big producers in India for acquiring movies.

    However, some analysts are highly optimistic about the never-ending appeal of cinema in India. “India is one of the few countries which does not have anything except cricket as an entertainment and family outing; the screen count (screen penetration) too is very less vs global counterparts given the variety of content (Hindi and regional). We, hence, believe that cinemas will be a priority if people want to go out… Multiplexes will never fall short of content given a large number of releases (almost 400 Hindi films out of a total of almost 1500 films released every year),” Elara Capital VP – research analyst (media) Karan Taurani says.