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Tag: OTT

  • Have 10-12 banked shows to sustain even if lockdown continues: ALTBalaji’s Nachiket Pantvaidya

    Have 10-12 banked shows to sustain even if lockdown continues: ALTBalaji’s Nachiket Pantvaidya

    MUMBAI: Balaji Telefilms’ digital arm ALTBalaji recently completed three years. While the management always spoke of profitability and breaking even faster rather than cash-burn and tons of investment, the platform seems on track in achieving its ambitions despite the COVID-19 climate. Though production may be halted, content-hungry subscribers have flocked to the streaming service for their dose of entertainment. Despite the setback, the OTT platform is confident that it has enough shows in the bank to woo subscribers for the next few months even if lockdown persists.

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    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com, Balaji Telefilms group COO and ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya spoke about the growth during post COVID-19 period and overall outlook FY21.

    Edited excerpts:

    ALTBalaji had a good run in the first three years focusing on the Hindi-speaking market. Will there be any significant change in the content strategy going forward?

    We are currently focusing on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi speaking markets and then move ahead. If you look at the geography and demography of the country, 70 per cent of the content consumed is Hindi. As a platform, it makes sense to focus your efforts in one direction and win over the Hindi-speaking population. Hence, this year we are first going to focus on ensuring that we dominate the Hindi space. 

    We will gradually move towards other regional markets as well in the coming years. A host of our Hindi offerings have also been dubbed in Indian and international languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bahasa, Arabic, etc. amongst others. We shall continue to focus on expanding our language content library in the coming years.

    ALTBalaji had the mantra of breaking even within 2021 which you are nearing as per the last investors call. What will be the big target now?

    ALTBalaji has been working towards its goals and is the first OTT platform already on the road to profitability. With our costs getting controlled in the first half of fiscal 2020 and the loss margin further reducing at the end of the current fiscal, we are aiming to break even in 2020-2021.

    Given the national lockdown, all content production has come to a standstill; we continue to monitor the situation closely. We are very confident that the demand for content will increase once the situation returns to normal and are well prepared to resume business and ramp up content sales once the lockdown is over.

    Do you expect a significantly higher-than-expected jump in FY 21 under the current situation?

    We are looking at a 1.7 million active subscription base which is a high record for us. We are adding roughly 17,000–20,000 subscribers per day, that’s nearly doubling the run rate from where we were in February. In Q3, we had already said that our losses were down to single digits, and we are hopeful that in the next 12 months period, we will break even ALTBalaji's business.

    Could you share the current growth under COVID-19? Which genres see more uptake? Did any particular demography or age group consume more content on the platform?

    Indian originals have picked up pace in the past few days as audiences are on the lookout for local relatable content. We believe in creating shows which appeal across segments however, with narratives that are unique or untold.  

    For instance, shows like Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, It Happened in Calcutta, Baarish, Dil Hi To Hai etc., are mostly consumed by women in 25-45 years TG across India. However, 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 age groups.

    Shows launched in earlier months continue to see good engagement as consumers are now watching more of the library that we have successfully built. The ALTBalaji library as of date has 60-plus shows with engaging content for mass Indian audiences.

    What has been the growth of new subscribers? How will you retain them once the lockdown is lifted?

    Watch times and subscriptions have been seeing strong growth during this period and we are witnessing a high level of growth in all our key markets and demographics. ALTBalaji is witnessing strong uptake of digital subscriptions with an average of 17,000 subscriptions added per day post lockdown vs an average of 10,600 in March 2020 pre-lockdown, a growth of 60 per cent. As of date, the platform has over 1.7 million active direct subscribers.

    With the SVOD OTT space in the country becoming increasingly price-sensitive, we have facilitated growth by keeping our pricing extremely low, at less than a rupee a day (Rs 300/- annually). What works best for us is to concentrate on consumer segmentation behaviour, understanding how to retain the customers better and working on onboarding the new segment who have just been acquainted with the internet. With content being king, there is a growing acceptance amongst consumers to pay for unique narratives and good storytelling which keeps them hooked to their screens. Having said that, we are confident that having sampled our portfolio of exciting, original digital series to a wider audience that has a higher propensity and capacity to subscribe, we will continue as one of the top OTT platforms. 

    Due to the stoppage in production, do you expect any rescheduling of your content slate? Has there been any change in the guidance of expected originals during the calendar year?

    So far, we are on track in terms of the show launches. We have 11-12 shows that have been shot already and only need post-production and editing, which can happen from home as well. So we actually have a stock of 10-12 shows which can be put out in the next six to seven months even if the unfortunate lockdown continues for a few more months. We are in a good position to give out one to two shows per month for the next five to six months. We are now launching, in the next 25 days, Baarish season two and KKHH season three.

    How has the overall ecosystem changed since you started the journey?

    Having set milestones and breaking new grounds for over three years, our journey has been fairly business-positive and will continue to do so. Since its inception, ALTBalaji has been on top of the consumer mind for its unique narratives and clutter-breaking original Hindi content and we have aggressively grown on the back of innovative business strategies. Moving from strength to strength, we’ve today become a major player in the Indian OTT industry and gained further encouragement by the massive increase in subscriber base. With a substantial bouquet of original content across genres that keeps viewers engaged, our app has consistently ranked amongst the top three grossing video streaming apps in the country across the app store (Source: App Annie).

    According to a recent report by PwC, the OTT market is set to grow at a rate of 22 per cent to reach Rs 12,000 crore in the next four years. The soon-to-arrive 5G networks will only work as a shot in the arm for OTT platforms to scale further heights. Digital is an ever-evolving medium and when it comes to OTT players, competition across the industry is soaring high with everyone trying to secure their places in the minds of consumers.

    Last year you struck a deal with ZEE5. How has it helped you? Are you planning any similar deal?

    With our collaboration with ZEE5, we aim towards leveraging each other’s strengths in the OTT domain, to co-create original content. This association is a collaborative process of co-understanding consumer insights and co-marketing to serve the viewer better while reaping in increased dividends for both. ALTBalaji and ZEE5 have established their content strength globally, and the synergy resulted in two of the largest home-grown video streaming platforms coming together to expand their subscription base and grow the binge-watching culture globally.

    ALTBalaji has also successfully completed the first-ever syndication of a digital series to a broadcaster with three hit digital shows now airing on prime time television. Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat, Baarish, and Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain are now available between 9 pm and 11 pm on Zee TV. This deal helped generate additional revenues via syndication fees and created a larger consumer funnel for us.

  • ZEE5 emerges as top pick for brands, courtesy user growth, ad-suite, transparent measurement

    ZEE5 emerges as top pick for brands, courtesy user growth, ad-suite, transparent measurement

    MUMBAI: Brands cannot overlook over-the-top (OTT) platforms while planning media mix. Broadcaster-led streaming services like ZEE5, Hotstar, VOOT with their impressive number of monthly active users and large scale of content have started taking away some of the TV ad dollars. But the lack of unified measurement has been one of the major concerns of brands as they want clarity on impact and reach. However, while the industry is grappling with the hardship, ZEE5 has initiated numerous partnerships to offer measurable results to its advertiser community.

    ZEE5 entered partnerships with Moat, a standard verification across the digital industry that measures viewability of video and display ads. The streaming service’s digital creatives are exceeding Moat benchmarks thus giving more confidence to brands that users are spending more time viewing them and ads are reaching completion more frequently. While the Moat benchmark of ad playing to completion is 39.4 per cent, ZEE5 has touched 71 per cent. For Moat’s audibility, the benchmark for the percentage of impressions where the video was audible at a given period of time is 47.5 per cent, while ZEE5 has almost doubled to 93.9 per cent.

    A recent report from Deloitte Global predicted that revenue from ad-supported video services will reach an estimated $32 billion in 2020 whereas Asia (including China and India) will lead with $15.5 billion in revenue in 2020, nearly half of the global total. Although the report came out before COVID-19 crisis and there might be changes in statistics, but the increasing affinity of brands towards streaming services is significantly noticeable. At such a critical juncture, ZEE5 will have an edge over others on the back of credibility from a third-party tool.

    Last year, ZEE5 also integrated with Nielsen to deliver the best accountability for brands and partners on their advertising front. The Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings (DAR) provides a method of measuring online advertising audiences, delivering reach, frequency and gross rating point (GRP) metrics along with demographics like age and gender. Moreover, DAR reports demographic information from Facebook, with Nielsen correction & calibration factors.

    ZEE5 has been taking proactive measures as AVOD business is poised for growth. The Deloitte report also added that these streaming services are in the process of convincing advertisers to shift some of the TV ad budgets to streaming video by placing forward innovative ad models and personalised content. 

    As brands look at more consumer insights and metrics while deciding on marketing mix spends,  ZEE5 also offers data from the Media Rating Council (MRC). MRC is a standard devised to determine whether an ad impression is viewable or not. According to MRC, a display ad will be considered as “viewable” if 50 per cent of the ad creative is visible for at least one second in the viewable space of the browser. ZEE5 is overreaching CTR and VTR also, as per MRC standard. While other OTT platforms have 30-40 per cent VTR, ZEE5 has more than double, ranging between 75-85 per cent. At the same time, ZEE5 achieves 0.5-1 per cent CTR while other OTT platforms attain 0.2-0.5 per cent.

    ZEE5 is leaving no stone unturned to maximise the ROI for brands. It launched an industry-disrupting ad-suite last year which helps deliver brand KPIs on aspects like reach, saliency, lead generation and SOV while allowing for segmentation, personalisation and measurability to ensure higher returns on marketing investments. 

    AdVault helps advertisers to reach its target through a vast range of solutions as per the campaign needs. AMLI5 supports bands to intensify the impact by offering influencers marketing, social media, content marketing, brand integrations, SMS-email campaigns. On the other hand, Play5 helps brands integrate with the content through customised gamification, branded polls and quiz. Wishbox enhances the chart aiming at higher engagement through video commerce. Infonomix leverages the flexibility and effectiveness of Ad Suit to deliver value through action led campaign planning.

    ZEE5’s humungous number of monthly active users have already accentuated its top position in the pecking order of the streaming services. The platform has also been named ‘India’s Most Desired Video Streaming Brand’ by TRA’s Most Desired Brands 2020 report. The smart user interface and depth of content across languages have taken it beyond the premium tier easily. ZEEL’s big bet on OTT has undoubtedly emerged as a way for brands to reach masses on the back of its content, tech and data. 

  • Big growth in viewing in India led by originals: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos

    Big growth in viewing in India led by originals: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos

    MUMBAI: Last year, Netflix rolled out a mobile-only plan in India to suit the country's preference for smartphones over laptops. Moreover, it was a way to delve deeper into a market where its basic Rs-500-a-month subscription plan was sharply expensive compared to homegrown OTT giants. The bet got the success it hoped for and Netflix followed the footprint in other markets as well. After nearly a year, the streaming service seems satisfied in the uptake of mobile-only plans as well as its overall growth here.

    “It's a plan (mobile-only plan) that we've tested for a while and we have rolled it out now in a bunch of countries: India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. And it's consistent with the broad theme and goal that we have which is why we're seeking effective ways to make the Netflix service more accessible to more and more people around the world,” Netflix chief product officer Greg Peters said in an earnings call.

    This strategy has helped Netflix witness a significant increase in acceleration and addition of new members. From a revenue perspective, it's also helping the company go from "neutral to positive", which Peters says will be good in the long term for the business.

    While all streaming players have witnessed magical growth in users during this COVID-19 lockdown, everyone is keen to know about Netflix’s growth in the period. Peters said he would not draw any strong contrast between India and other countries around the world. He mentioned that it is putting high effort to make the offering more competitive and attractive to members.

    “We've seen a big growth in viewing in India and have had great success for our local originals. Most recently was She andGuilty and a few others have been driving a lot of engagement in local content on our India service and they also are big fans of our global original content like Lacasa de Papel. So we're growing the business of licensed originals, international and domestic, across the board,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said.

  • Netflix adds whopping 15.77 mn subscribers during lockdown, warns of future growth decline

    Netflix adds whopping 15.77 mn subscribers during lockdown, warns of future growth decline

    MUMBAI: Netflix has brought good news for its investors with a high jump in subscriber growth. The streaming service added a net 15.77 million paid streaming customers in the first quarter of 2020, much higher than the previous guidance, due to the worldwide lockdown. However, it has also warned of a decline in viewing and growth further down the road as governments will lift the home confinement orders with progress against COVID-19.

    “Our internal forecast and guidance is for 7.5 million global paid net additions in Q2. Given the uncertainty on home confinement timing, this is mostly guesswork. The actual Q2 numbers could end up well below or well above that, depending on many factors including when people can go back to their social lives in various countries and how much people take a break from television after the lockdown,” the company stated in a letter to its shareholders.

    “Some of the lockdown growth will turn out to be pull-forward from the multi-year organic growth trend, resulting in slower growth after the lockdown is lifted country-by-country. Intuitively, the person who didn’t join Netflix during the entire confinement is not likely to join soon after the confinement,” it added.

    Netflix founder-CEO Reed Hastings later said in an earnings call that the long-term implication is still tough to predict as the world is grappling with uncertainty. But he also added that they are certain about "internet entertainment's" growth in people's lives and it will be gradually more important in the next five years.

    In its first quarter report, the streaming service reported revenue along the line of guidance despite nearly double growth of subscribers as sharp rise in dollar has offset international revenue. The revenue for the quarter was at $5.77 billion, while net income stood at $709 million with EPS of $1.57. 

    As it has paused most of its productions across the world in response to the crisis, the impact will be less cash spending this year as some content projects are pushed out. This will shift out some cash spending on content to future years. Netflix hopes this dynamic may result in more lumpiness in its path to sustained free cash flow profitability. 

    “The one thing that's not widely understood is that we work really far out, relative to the industry, because we launch our shows all see all episodes at once, and we're working far out all over the world. So our 2020 slate of series and films are largely shot, and we are in post production remotely in locations all over the world. So, and we're actually pretty deep into our 2021 slate. So we're not anticipating big moving things around,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos commented in an earnings call on the production stoppage’s impact on Netflix.

    However, the streaming giant remains equally uncertain about when production will resume. But it has emphasised that it will look for the ability to test for the virus, work with production partners and local governments. It will also try to learn from its current experiences in Iceland and South Korea where productions are still on and will apply the same to other geographies, as Sarandos shared.

  • Eros International to up its game in Chinese market & digital biz post STX merger

    Eros International to up its game in Chinese market & digital biz post STX merger

    MUMBAI: At a time when production houses across the world are grappling with losses, Eros International (Eros) has announced a merger with US-based STX Entertainment (STX) under a stock-for-stock agreement. In a rare deal, two content houses from Bollywood and Hollywood have joined hands aimed at serving a larger geographical footprint including the US, China and the Indian markets. While both the organisations had difficulties in the recent past, the deal may bring some relief thanks to their complementary nature. Eros International’s digital arm, Eros Now, is also positioned to benefit amidst the raging OTT war.

    Although the timing of the deal may look odd, the talks began nearly six months ago. Eros International India CEO Pradeep Dwivedi terms the deal with STX Entertainment as a strategic fit.

    In the interview with Indiantelevision.com, he dwells at length on the global content powerhouse the post-merger combined entity is set to create.

    “What we really want to do is to take the best of Hollywood and Bollywood, combine these stories and create a big third leg in China. And the China leg is not just about distribution, it is actually about creation of content, leveraging the Chinese talent on the acting side, directing, photography, VFX, production, post production, music, sound, everything. So there's just tons of activity that is going to happen in China as a consequence of this merger, partly because some of our investors do have Chinese origins coming from Hong Kong,” Dwivedi explains the rationale.

    He also explains the complementary nature of the two entities making it a win-win deal. While STX has Tencent and Alibaba films as partners on the production side, Eros has a huge distribution model in China including partnerships with Shanghai Film Corporation and China Film Distribution Corporation.

    “So at the base level, STX continues to make some movies for the US market, Eros continues to make movies for the Indian market, which becomes almost 60- 70 per cent of our production output. About 20-25 per cent production output will be Indo-US collaboration that Adam Fogelson and I will jointly collaborate and work out as to what we want to do on that. Then there is another 10 per cent layer on top of that which will be all the Chinese movies that we want to make,” he adds.

    Moreover, STX does not have an OTT play but will be able to leverage Eros’s existing OTT play. Until now, the former has been selling some content to a few platforms like Amazon and Netflix.

    The advantage of the deal is that it allows deciding whatever STX content is getting produced afresh will be on Eros Now or be offered to other platforms. The content can be monetised through Eros Now’s subscriber base first and will also help to increase the subscriber base. On the other hand, the content can be monetised from outside deals as well. “That's really one of the advantages that we have on the OTT side coming from this merger,” he highlights.

    “If you look at just the sheer size of the markets that we're addressing with the joint venture, today India already has around 140 crore people. America has another population of 38 crore roughly, and then you add China’s 140 crore on top of that. So what we are ending up with is close to 300 crore of people in the world, which is the potential market between these three countries alone, and I'm not counting other markets like Europe. It's essentially half the population of the world which typically will be covered by the footprint of what we are doing right now,” he points out.

    Dwivedi also assures that there will not be any significant impact on manpower. Manpower costs as well as percentage of overall cost base are not outside the industry. While the combined company is expected to generate approximately $50 million in run-rate operating synergies, he says it will come largely on account of financing integrations and process integration.

  • Dish TV India’s OTT Platform Watcho sees 50% surge in content consumption

    Dish TV India’s OTT Platform Watcho sees 50% surge in content consumption

    MUMBAI: Leading DTH company Dish TV India has rolled out a variety of short format, snackable original content on its OTT platform Watcho in response to the increase in the viewing needs of their customers,

    Over the past one month, the platform has witnessed a 50 per cent surge in content consumption, leading to a steep hike in their subscriber base and adding 1 million new subscribers in a month bringing it up to 3.0 million. Watcho has also seen a spike in the time spent by viewers on the platform during March 2020. This sudden increase can be attributed to the recently added new and fresh content on the platform and the overall surge in consumption of content during the ongoing lockdown.

    Additionally, during the lockdown period, Watcho’s streaming bandwidth has been better optimized to reduce network load on the internet by reducing the native resolution of the app to 480p without compromising on the quality. The company undertook this move to ensure the delivery of uninterrupted content to the viewers and keep them entertained 24*7. 

    “We are excited to share that Watcho has witnessed solid growth in its customer base and content consumption since January 2020. The rapid growth is
    the result of our strategy to create short, engaging content which is the preference of viewers nowadays. Since the inception of Watcho, we have invested in building a unique content library which includes original series & shows, cutting across genres like drama, comedy and Thrillers. As a result, Watcho is fast emerging as the preferred entertainment destination among young audiences,” DishTV India Ltd executive director and group CEO Anil Dua said.

    Focused on short format storytelling for digital consumption, Watcho offers many original fiction shows like 4 Thieves, Love Crisis, Ardhasatya, Mortuary, 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. 

  • How regional producers are struggling during COVID-19

    How regional producers are struggling during COVID-19

    We have been subjected to further extension of COVID-19 lockdown. By now we all have got used to the situation with right from the PM and CM issuing the do’s and don’ts of the coronavirus; they also are asking us to be at home and "entertain" ourselves by TV/OTT entertainment. It’s such irony and the truth is that every time any catastrophe strikes us, including the world wars in the past, the one thing that has kept us all engaged and "alive" is this very "entertainment".

    I am happy to be one of the members of this cult of the vast film industry that’s spread across the pan world and in India and regionally.

    As a filmmaker, I am being very honest that I was lucky till today that I never had to bear the brunt of any catastrophe until this Covid-19 struck on me literally. My maiden film ‘Abaani CD's release got terminated by a sudden lockdown announced by the government. Only to prove that nothing is ever constant in this whole evolving world and for filmmakers whose films were aligned for a mid-March release came to a screeching halt. March and April have been witnessing a maximum release every year especially in the Marathi region and even this year was jam-packed by about eight Marathi films and two big Hindi movies. Abaani Cd was slotted in the premium category due to the presence of two stalwarts: Amitabh Bachchan and veteran Vikram Gokhale. However, our misfortune was that we could not compete and are now almost subjected to no release or have a digital release.

    So how does one cope up with situations like this and what are the situations ahead for us all? One thing is sure that cinema has really evolved a lot from big screen to an idiot box to computers and now on to your mobile phones- OTT. So all of us are now subjected to an OTT release and the ones who can afford to wait can re-align the release until this whole drama fizzles out. But I have my doubts about people turning up to theatres as China is one of the biggest cinema markets which had to shut theatres after the COVID-19 attack. So the impact is not only on the filmmakers but also on the theatres, exhibitors as well as the distributors.

    The second larger issue is that even if there are many OTTs in the market stacked up with over 5000 hours of entertainment already, I am unsure if they would want to go out and buy additional content. The question arises on how much of focus would be on the regional cinemas is a task in itself. Now coming to the selling of the satellite rights, this is one area which I feel can work for filmmakers if they are willing to go in for a world premiere on television. In a scenario where the filmmaker chooses to go for a standalone television premier, he would be subjected to only revenue sharing by digital mediums. "Pay per click" as televisions and OTTs’ audience is almost the same and hence the digital platforms will never buy it by paying a license fee and instead choose the other option.

    The only ray of hope is that you choose any platform to be it TV or OTT at least will be assured that it will be watched but again my statistics don't make me happy as at the max if the content is above average or good at the max you shall get an audience of until 10 lakhs on OTT and about 50 lakhs on television, so not even 10% of the total population of Maharashtra will watch it.

    The answer to this frankly lies in how we would make films in future and how are we going to secure it, especially Marathi cinemas? One should sell the film as early as possible to an established platform and secure your cost of the project, second is lower the cost of the projects are best suited for these situations and the third is to start making cinemas for home experience by keeping the production expense low and add a certain margin to give it away permanently.

    However, if luck is your way none of the above situations can affect you and the answer to that is “the content!”. Whatever be the scenario if your project is good, be ready to earn from home.

    The author is a film producer, brand imaging expert, business incubator, head of talent management and a philanthropist. The views expressed are that of the author and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them

  • Flipkart launches campaign for ‘Entertainer No. 1’, unique stay-at-home reality show

    Flipkart launches campaign for ‘Entertainer No. 1’, unique stay-at-home reality show

    MUMBAI: With an aim to address the need for positive entertainment during this time, Flipkart and Varun Dhawan recently launched 'Entertainer No. 1’ – a unique stay-at-home reality show under the Flipkart Originals umbrella. To promote the show, the brand has introduced a TV and digital campaign featuring Varun Dhawan, asking the country to participate in this unique show. Filmed on a smartphone by the actor at his home, the concept and execution of the film drives home the show's message of innovating when entertaining from home, while practicing social distancing.

    The TVC is centred around Varun creatively using everyday essentials as props, to bring out the true ‘entertainer’ in him. He is seen performing various acts including rapping using a bucket as a drum set, donning a hip hop look while cleaning, using the shower head as a mic – all in a quest to find India’s most talented entertainers and inspiring millions of Indians to stay at home as they bring out their creative best. Conventionally, a TVC shoot of this nature involves several creative and production discussions, all of which were done on video calls from home.

    “At a time when the nation is spending all their time indoors, we found an interesting opportunity to use entertainment and cheer up India in a special way. Through Entertainer No 1, we are bringing a unique stay-at-home reality show to our audience, that provides budding entertainers a platform to stay connected during this difficult time. What sets this show and its marketing campaign apart, is the way it has been conceptualized and brought to life, entirely from home,” Flipkart customer marketing and digital businesses head Vikas Gupta said.

    Varun Dhawan said, “Being an entertainer, I constantly seek different ways to keep people in positive spirits and this show has given me a great platform to do so. This was a one-of-a-kind shooting experience for me and it required me to be more involved at every step of the way. I truly enjoyed working on this campaign and I look forward to judging  some interesting entries for ‘Entertainer No. 1’ from across the country.”

    “This has truly been a paradigm shift in Ad film making. We always had the notion that work from home was not too productive and here we were creating and bringing to life an entire show along with creating and releasing communication for it, from home. I would like to believe this is unprecedented. And I feel truly exhilarated that we could achieve this task in a never seen, never done before manner. This is history of sorts where we created India’s first digital reality show without stepping out of our homes. Every step of the creation was exciting, challenging and digital in it’s true sense,” Marching Ants co-founder Joy Ghoshal said.

  • Eros International, STX Entertainment join to create global entertainment content force

    Eros International, STX Entertainment join to create global entertainment content force

    MUMBAI: Eros International and STX Filmworks have entered into a definitive stock-for-stock merger agreement to create the first publicly traded, independent content and distribution company with global reach and unique positions in the US, India and China.  The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions and is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2020.

    The combined company will be called Eros STX Global Corporation.

    STX Entertainment is a fully-integrated global media company specialising in the production, marketing, and distribution of talent-driven motion picture, television and multimedia content. It is the first major entertainment and media company to be launched at this scale in Hollywood in more than twenty years.

    Founded in 2014, STX Entertainment is a leading independent Hollywood studio focused on producing, marketing, owning and distributing film and television content for global audiences across traditional and digital media platforms.

    To date, the company has released 34 films grossing over $1.5 billion in global box office receipts, including such leading titles as Hustlers, Bad Moms and The Upside. STX Entertainment has a deep global distribution network spanning 150+ countries with world-class partners. STX Entertainment has a differentiated asset-lite, capital efficient business model, unique strategic relationships and well-established access to the Chinese entertainment market. STX Entertainment generated revenue of over $400 million in calendar year 2019.

    The combined entity will have a robust pipeline of feature-length films and episodic content with powerful, well-established positions in the world’s fastest-growth global markets. The combined company, with $125 million of incremental equity, will boast a strong and revamped capital structure and superior liquidity position at close with $264 million of pro forma net debt, $195 million of pro forma cash balance and $120 million of available revolver capacity as of December 31, 2019. The combined company, which following the consummation of the transaction will be publicly traded on NYSE, will possess a strong management team led by highly experienced executives from both entities.

    “We are thrilled to join with STX Entertainment as this represents a landmark step in our company’s transformation. We are already at an inflection point as we move to a more consistent, stable and high growth revenue profile with our digital over-the-top (OTT) platform. This merger will not only fuel our growth but will also diversify our underlying sources of revenue and subscribers with a truly global play, building a powerhouse between East and West. We are well positioned to create long-term value for our shareholders, partners and employees,” Eros International executive chairman and chief executive officer Kishore Lulla said.

    “Collectively, we will have a unique capability to present our film and episodic libraries and pipeline of original content to a broad and growing global audience through multi-year output deals, strategic alliances and our market leading Eros Now streaming platform,” he added.

    “This company will be financially strong and uniquely positioned to compete immediately thanks to its global footprint, strong revenue and recapitalized balance sheet, including a large new equity commitment. These significant investments and no meaningful debt maturities in the near-term enable the company to pursue strategic investments in key growth areas, including traditional and digital distribution, film acquisition, TV production and development of original episodic content,” Lulla added further.

    “The combination of our two companies creates the first truly independent media company that deeply integrates the expertise and creative cultures of Hollywood and Bollywood. Kishore is a legend in the Indian entertainment industry and a pioneer in OTT content development and distribution in India. Together we will have the relationships, management expertise and resources to create new content and grow rapidly in the largest and most attractive global markets. On day one, we will have the ability to tap into our significant combined libraries and draw upon our deep relationships with A-list actors, directors and producers across the globe to create even more compelling content for millions of consumers,” STX Entertainment executive chairman and chief executive officer Robert Simonds stated.

    Transformational Combination Creates Strategic and Financial Benefits

    · Robust pipeline of film and episodic content with multi-channel distribution: The combined company is projected to release approximately 40 feature length films, including seven sequels to prior hits and 100+ originals of episodic content, in 2020. The combined company’s global multi-channel distribution across pay-TV via Showtime, digital via Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and Eros Now, the #1 Subscription Video on Demand (“SVOD”) platform for Indian content based on size of OTT library, reduces reliance on theatrical monetization. Eros Now’s strategic and distribution partnerships with Apple, NBCUniversal, Microsoft and YouTube, as well as STX Entertainment’s global output and distribution agreements covering 150+ territories, provides unique opportunities for rapid content proliferation.

    · Well-established positions in the fastest growing and largest global markets: In India, the world’s fastest growing media market, the combined company will have a leading box office presence and one of the largest libraries of Indian language films. In China, the world’s second fastest growing media market, the combined company will have existing production and distribution capabilities plus relationships with the most popular “A-list” talent in this market. In the United States, the combined company will have the leading box office share among independent Hollywood studios, with a successful film library and a substantial film and episodic content pipeline.

    · Strong capital structure and fully funded business plan enables long term stability and drives growth investment: Recapitalized balance sheet with $125 million of incremental new equity funding and meaningful extension of average debt maturities. The combined company will have a fully-funded business plan, a conservative capital structure, and superior liquidity position with $264 million of pro forma net debt, $195 million of pro forma cash balance and $120 million of revolver capacity as of December 31, 2019. In addition, the new company’s risk-mitigated production / distribution model requires limited company equity investment to produce content at scale, features low overhead and utilizes third-party funding to drive attractive margins and returns on investment.

    · Substantial operating synergy opportunities: The combined company is expected to generate approximately $50 million in run-rate operating synergies within 24 months of closing, stemming from integration and scale benefits, optimization of global content distribution and enhanced monetization of the Eros Now platform.

    · A newly constituted board of directors and senior leadership team: The initial Board of Directors of the combined company will include nine board members comprised of highly regarded media, private equity and public company executives with four Directors selected by Eros International (with one independent Director), four Directors selected by STX Entertainment (with one independent Director) and one independent Director selected jointly. Drawing talent from both companies, the combined entity will have a team of industry-leading creative, operational and financial experts, with deep knowledge of key global growth markets and U.S. public company governance experience. In addition to Lulla and Simonds, Andrew Warren, currently STX Entertainment’s Chief Financial Officer, will serve as CFO; Rishika Lulla Singh, currently Chairman of Eros Digital, and Noah Fogelson, currently STX Entertainment’s EVP of Corporate Strategy and General Counsel, will each serve as Co-Presidents; and Prem Parameswaran, currently Chief Financial Officer of Eros International, will serve as Head of Corporate Strategy. To ensure sustained market focus, Adam Fogelson will continue to serve as Chairman of STX Motion Pictures Group, while Pradeep Dwivedi will continue to serve as CEO-India.

  • ZEE5 announces its new section dedicated for kids

    ZEE5 announces its new section dedicated for kids

    MUMBAI: As over-the-top platforms become the go-to-place across all age groups, leading streaming service ZEE5 has announced its entry in the kids category with ZEE5 Kids, a special section within the service. The new service will have over 4000 hours of content across nine languages, targeting the age group of two to early teens.

    “We want to touch every cycle of a consumer’s life,” ZEE5 India programming head Aparna Acharekar said, adding that the circle of ZEE5 becomes complete with having fun, entertainment, and education together.

    The new kids section will be on the advertising model now. Since ZEE5 originals are in the pipeline for the kids section and some of the big IPs from the network will also come live, a subscription model will be looked at in the future.

    ZEE5 Kids’ content is a mix of acquired and exclusives by onboarding the leading production house like Lionsgate and Cosmos Maya. It will also be launching exciting exclusive digitals like Gadget Guru, Guddu and Bapu which will be released over upcoming timelines.

    “We are very excited to share our new offering, ZEE5 KIDS, a unique and smart confluence of entertainment that is designed to meet the learning needs in a child-safe environment. The product is deliberated to augment the intellectual abilities of children in a FUN learning way by providing bespoke content ranging from shows, movies, reality and DIY shows to nursery rhymes in nine languages and across genres,” Acharekar added.

    Acharekar also assured that the launch has been announced only after ensuring parental control.