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Tag: OTT

  • Disney+ launches in seven European countries

    Disney+ launches in seven European countries

    MUMBAI: Disney+ has launched in Europe as the coronavirus continues its macabre journey at different parts of the world. It may be recalled that just a few days ago, the streaming platform launched in India, only to withdraw abruptly the next day.

    The Walt Disney Company’s streaming service will launch in France on April 7.

    The European launch of Disney+ means that it will be available in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. Disney+ will come with a comparatively lower bandwidth utilisation in view of the growing worries about the capability of some broadband infrastructure to manage the likely surge in consumer demand.  

    In 2019 November, Disney+ launched its service in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico. 

    Disney+ provides a treasure-trove of more than 26 original movies and series, films, and television episodes and much more. The launch means that audiences in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland will be able to enjoy streaming of Disney+ on almost all major mobile and connected TV devices, which include smart television, streaming media players and gaming consoles. Disney+ provides commercial-free viewing and unlimited downloads on up to 10 devices, in addition to customised recommendations. While subscribers may set up to seven different profiles, parents are at liberty to set Kids Profiles which feature child-friendly interface. It enables parents to restrict inappropriate content.

    Kevin Mayer, Chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International, said that launching in seven markets simultaneously is a new milestone for Disney. “As the streaming home for Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic, Disney+ delivers high-quality, optimistic storytelling that fans expect from our brands, now available broadly, conveniently and permanently on Disney+. We humbly hope that this service can bring some much-needed moments of respite for families during these difficult times.”

    Meanwhile, the streaming platform (DIS +14.5%) is enjoying its best day as a stock since October 2008. Though at $98.18, it's still significantly off a 52-week high of $153.41, or even the $140 mark of a month ago.

    According to MoffettNathanson, Disney was unencumbered by language barriers unlike Netflix which had to localize its content for various non-English-speaking regions. Moreover, Disney+ is rolling out in Europe at a time when a large part of the population is staying at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown is likely to help the service to boost its subscriber uptake. 

    Unlike other international markets, Disney already has its OTT presence in India through Hotstar which came under its umbrella after the 21st Century Fox acquisition. Bob Iger, the ideator of Disney’s streaming journey, wanted to exploit Hotstar’s popularity in the country and launch the merged and rebranded service during IPL. Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic, the cricket tournament has been postponed and the entry of Disney+ got delayed in India.

  • hoichoi enthralls Bengalis with digital premieres

    hoichoi enthralls Bengalis with digital premieres

    MUMBAI: hoichoi,  the popular OTT for Bengalis worldwide, is bringing multiple digital premieres of new Bengali blockbusters at a time when social distancing and work-from-home are the only choices amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

    The OTT platform has already seen an increase in traffic by 4x rate in the last one week; the traffic is surging 2 to 3 times on a daily basis, said release. A promising increase of the traffic on the platform is also a sign that people have welcomed a library og rich content that is easily accessible.,

    hoichoi already has a big bouquet of content (a mix of classics, latest films and Originals, with a variety of genre to choose from), in addition to a plethora of new content that will be streaming every week. The platform is doing its bit to keep you engaged by initiating a #selfstay form of entertainment.

    For the month of March itself, hoichoi is already streaming, "Rahasya Romancha Series 2" starring Rudranil Ghosh, Rajdeep Gupta, Saoli Chattopadhyay, Kharaj Mukherjee among others- is getting tremendous appreciation, a mega World Digital Premiere of Srijit Mukherji's spin-off to Baishey Srabon – "Dwitiyo Purush", interesting before even TV broadcast and Sandip Ray's much hyped film "Professor Shanku O El Dorado", based on the popular scientist created by his father, the visionary Satyajit Ray. Another series will be streaming from 26th March titled "Ekattor" which as the name suggests is about the fight for the Independence of Bangladesh. Here is a sneak peak of some new content that the audience can expect to soon start streaming: 

    hoichoi Co-Founder of  Vishnu Mohta commented on the traffic flowing in from different countries, “Apart from West Bengal, hoichoi enjoys strong traffic and consumption from Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad with Bangalore and Delhi being no. 2 and no. 3 in terms of overall volume of traffic. Internationally – the US, and the  UK contribute significant traffic with Middle East, Australia and Canada not being far away. The last week also saw a good spurge of traffic coming from Europe and Japan. Bangladesh as a market continuous to growth every day! After the release of Dwitiyo Purush, which is the most anticipated movie of 2020 on hoichoi  even before television premiere, the international traffic has significantly grown!” 

  • Viacom18 beats Monday Blues with fun social media chatter within its brands

    Viacom18 beats Monday Blues with fun social media chatter within its brands

    MUMBAI: The coronavirus outbreak has brought dramatic changes in our lifestyle. To slow down the spread of the pandemic in the country, we have been asked to maintain social distancing. This Monday could have been more gloomy than usual. But, Viacom18 brands started social chatter within themselves to beat the Monday Blues.

    Using #LetsBinge, the brands started talking to each other.  Led by the mother brand, Viacom18, all the other brands followed. From COLORS that encouraged binge watching on VOOT to VOOT that asked MTV India to help it choose between COLORS and MTV shows, to MTV and Vh1 providing music to the background and much more. It also included Viacom18 Motion Pictures or any of our regional channels behind. All in all, it became a long banter chain between Viacom18's channels, whether on air or digital, Hindi or kids or English entertainment, movies or the regional cluster. 

    “We love being close to our fans and engaging with them. So we thought, why not have a social chatter with all our brands; a fun banter on a usually 'blues' Monday, and use the might of the network for something cool. When Viacom18 tagged COLORS and said #letsbinge, COLORS tagged Voot, and so on the chain cut across our channels and reached about 10 million followers. Now that's the power of the digital medium in times of quarantine. We had fun while engaging with our fans and sending out our message to them to watch our content, while sitting at home,” Viacom 18 Corporate Marketing, Communications and Sustainability head Sonia Huria said.

    Through the conversation, the brands wittly highlighted the popular shows and movies available across its portfolio including Barrister Babu, Big Boss, Asur,Marzi, Andhadhun, FRIENDS. While all the brands are constantly reminding people to stay home, there are chances to sound as panic monger and preachy or awkward and opportunistic others. Viacom18 found a different and creative way to stay connected with the audience ruling out both the possibilities. 

  • Research is important while creating content: Nepa India

    Research is important while creating content: Nepa India

    MUMBAI: Research is a key ingredient before the launch of any product or brand. And creating content is nothing without appropriate research about the audience and their choices, explains Nepa India managing director Esha Nagar while giving a presentation at the fourth edition of The Content Hub 2020 organised by indiantelvision.com.

    Nagar, while explaining the nitty-gritty of the research involved in the content business, says, “Research is not everything to make content but it definitely is important to understand the viewers behaviour related to the content, its content taste and the clutter he/she likes.”

    Nagar points out the importance of understanding how the content resonates with the audience. She mentions that the choice of the content is driven by two concepts – behaviour and physiography. Behavioural aspect is dependent on the relevance, brand and category, whereas the psychographics rely on the social and cultural persona of the viewers.

    Nagar says that a binge-worthy content is a dedicated balance between viewers’ resonance and creative fluidity, which includes different phenomenon such as ideas, service, clutter, quality, flow, loyalty among others. Nepa India is in the business of research and the business of media & science.

    Giving an example of an educated middle-age home-maker, Nagar says, despite her busy schedule, a person will certainly take out time to continue watching a show that he/she was binge-watching a night before. She adds that even while travelling, having a meal or in their free time, of even a few minutes, a viewer wants to know and watch more about the content he/she is engrossed in.

    Nepa India’s MD also states it has been proved by a research that content gets major popularity due to word of mouth. She also says that at least 50 per cent of the audience watches a show on OTT platform due to ‘fear of missing out’ and peer pressure.

    Due to the proliferation of over-the-top platforms, content is now consumed across genres, genders, and boundaries. And while pointing out some research numbers, she adds that at least 60 per cent of the south viewers watch Hindi content.

    “Lately, a change in the consumption pattern has been seen in both male and female audience,” says Nagar. “It has been found that at least 45 per cent of women viewers prefer dark themed genre content, whereas 53 per cent of men watch romcom and drama genres.”

    Nagar says, “With over 40 OTT players and growing in the content market, we are on the verge of doubling up its viewer base by 250 million and 88 billion minutes of content per month by 2020. We are in the process of making a super viewer in the content business like an FMCG super consumer."

    Nagar, before concluding her presentation, also guides fellow and budding content creators to help them understand the importance of research involved in the spread of the content. “Research before the release will help the content get proper traction and attention of viewers,” she concludes.

  • Disney+ launch in India stalled due to IPL delay

    Disney+ launch in India stalled due to IPL delay

    MUMBAI: COVID-19 pandemic has stalled the entry of Disney+ in India. The scheduled launch of the streaming service has been paused and the new date is yet to be revealed.  

    “We recently announced that Disney+ would launch in India through the Hotstar service in conjunction with beginning of the Indian Premier League cricket season. Given the delay of the season, we have made the decision to briefly pause the roll-out of Disney+ and will announce a new revised premiere date for the service soon,” the Walt Disney Company APAC President, Star and Disney India Chairman Uday Shankar said.

    Former Disney CEO Bob Iger said in an earnings call after Q1 result that it would be launching the service in India through Hotstar on 29 March at the beginning of the Indian Premier League. After a successful first few months of its domestic launch, Disney+ is now gearing up for its international expansion. Iger wanted Disney+ to leverage the success of Hotstar in India by bundling the two services. During IPL 2019 , Hotstar registered more than 300 million users.

  • Discovery Plus promises curated content for India

    Discovery Plus promises curated content for India

    MUMBAI: Whenever a new streaming service enters the market, the primary challenge is distinguishing itself from others. In a market saturated with nearly 40 OTT platforms offering scripted fiction content, Discovery Plus is trying to position itself with an enticing bouquet of premium real-life entertainment content. After having proven its mettle in the market for over 25 years, Discovery is now looking at making its content available for consumers on convenient devices at a convenient time.

    Talking about the ideation of Discover Plus, Discovery South Asia managing director Megha Tata said they figured out that there was a void in OTT offering in the genre, throwing up a great opportunity in the space.  Tata also noted that one of the biggest challenges most of the OTT players are facing is the extremely high content cost, an unlikely challenge for them.

    “We saw the opportunity was that we had a huge library of content, which is almost like 300,000 hours of content, which gets replenished every year, to nearly about 8000 hours a year, and all this content is owned by us. And a lot of that content has not been seen in India. So clearly, there is an opportunity for us to bring in more content into India, on our platform, which is talking to them in their own convenience, time and device. So that was the birth of Discovery Plus,” she stated.

    And Discovery is not just bringing any content, but specially curated for the Indian audiences. She termed it as a product for India, by India which has been created with an understanding of the Indian audiences. “Languaging” will play a key role on Discovery Plus.

    While differentiated content already is giving an edge to the new entrant over others, the product proposition has also been looked at uniquely. Discovery Digital (South Asia) business head Issac John talks about a vertical scrolling experience for people to first get a taste of the kind of content that is there on the app. He speaks about the ‘Shorts’ section which also offer three or four choices for each video to the user. It can be shared on Whatsapp, can be saved for future consumption, and the full-length episode can be watched. Moreover, there is a ‘MindBlown’ section to give users the best of the best content within the app by putting it as a collection.

    John also mentioned that the app is dropping the episode of ''Into the Wild With Bear Grylls'' featuring Rajinikanth before TV.  The platform is also coming up with a unique special on coronavirus. “So I think our way forward is essentially built on these pillars of how we can give consumers not just a great content, but also great product experience to access that content. So that's something that we are really going after in a big way,” he added.

    “So what is local content to us is as long as it appeals to me in my language. And that is the beauty of this genre. Attacker running in the wild doesn't really matter whether he's running in English or Tamil. So for us original content for localization is languaging, which is something we have very successfully done on linear and we will continue to do on OTT as well,” Tata said.

    Talking about marketing strategy, John said that Discovery content has already a very fanatic user base: the 25 million consumers (he calls them core consumers), who consume more than three hours of content on television. They are essentially activating them through the wide network. The second pool that the new platform is going after is essentially the consumers who have an interest in topics like adventure travel, food, lifestyle, etc. It has also launched a very scaled up performance marketing campaign. The overall marketing strategy will combine both TV and digital.

    “The distribution strategy is primarily linked to, obviously, our main platforms like iOS, Android, and web. But going forward, we will also be present on connected devices. And the reason why we are going mobile-first is because we actually want to listen to user feedback across some of these platforms. And then, obviously, adapt the product a bit, get in some nuances of what we're hearing from consumers in the meantime, and then launch the connected DVP approach as well,” John commented on distribution strategy.

    Although Tata did not reveal any definite time frame for breaking even, she said that as content cost is very negligible and hence the opportunity to be able to break even and become profitable will come hopefully soon.

  • Disney+ arrives on Hotstar; what next for the rebranded service?

    Disney+ arrives on Hotstar; what next for the rebranded service?

    MUMBAI: Disney+ marks its much-awaited arrival in the crowded over-the-top (OTT) ecosystem. Wednesday morning onwards, a large part of Disney+ content catalogue has been made available on Hotstar which now comes under the umbrella of The Walt Disney Co post acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The black-yellow logo of Hotstar has also been  replaced by blue and white design for Disney+ Hotstar. 

    The entertainment giant has made its debut ahead of its scheduled time. Former CEO of Disney Bob Iger earlier said that they would be launching the service in India through Hotstar on 29 March at the beginning of the Indian Premier League. However, Hotstar did not make any statement on the early launch or give any clarity if its a test launch.

    Under the leadership of Iger, the giant media conglomerate has embarked on the streaming war in the OTT world dominated by the likes of Netflix and Amazon. Iger said that Disney+ would remain focused on providing quality content from its core franchises and brands, not just on the quantity of the library. As the service was also gearing up for international launch, Iger noted that they would leverage the success of Hotstar in India by bundling the two services.

    “Disney+ will be more positioned as a premium offering. It will open up a segment of the market that is not largely consuming international content at this point. It will position Hotstar with those consumers. It will improve Hotstar premium positioning,” Deloitte India partner Jehil Thakkar says. 

    “It will help Hotstar target a segment of the market that is actually paying for content. The 30-40 mn people in this country who are willing to play premium prices for an international as well as premium Indian content, It will help Hotstar position well with those consumers,” he adds. 

    Iger said post Q1 earnings that the new streaming service, Disney+ reached 28.6 million subscribers. After he stepped down from his position as CEO, it was reported that he would continue to spend much of his time focusing on the streaming service into the role of executive chairman. 

    “Disney has a big amount of content library and it is largely kids-focused. In India, there are not too many kids based OTT platforms. Kids' content is a big market. Putting Disney content on Hotstar, making the look crisp, it will have a good impact on the subscriber base,” Elara Capital VP – research analyst (Media) Karan Taurani said. 

    Taurani also added that as India is a very fragmented market, the entry of one more global giant who is serious to stay here will not impact the global giants except the smaller players. However, Thakkar is of a different opinion. According to him, Disney+ will first position itself as an international content provider. Hence, it will increase competition for international players primarily. 

    While Hotstar has already established its position in the advertising-based video-on-demand play surpassing 300 million active users, the Disney+ launch will definitely boost its newly launched subscription service also. The huge combined library of those two giants will challenge other deep-pocket international players who also see India as their next frontier of growth. However, the pricing which has not been revealed yet will also be a deciding factor of the new rebranded service’s fate. 

  • Content creators should focus on viewership in the beginning: ‘Gippi’ director Sonam Nair

    Content creators should focus on viewership in the beginning: ‘Gippi’ director Sonam Nair

    MUMBAI: Sonam Nair, the director of Kaafir, Gippi, Khujli and The Trip – Season 2, never had any plans to enter B-town but has been praised by audiences and critics alike. At The Content Hub 2020, an initiative by indiantelevision.com, Nair at spoke at length about directing digital and television series.

    Nair poured her heart out while addressing social stigmas and how she was bullied and body shamed as a kid.  However, things were never easy for her; she had to wait for almost three years to make a sex comedy film. Finally, a short film named based on the same ethos of sex comedy Khujli starring Neena Gupta and Jackie Shroff resurrected Nair’s career.

    Khulji’s success inspired Nair to work for digital platforms.

    Sonam echoes, “I don’t think having lots of special effects and an ensemble star cast works. I think simple, relatable stories that have humour attached to it do. This whole digital platform opened up for me and I could tell stories I wanted to tell. After Khujli I directed the second season of the show called The Trip, I directed Kaafir and now I am working on a story written and directed for Netflix called Masaba Masaba. The show is based on the bond between a real-life mother-daughter duo of ace fashion designer Masaba Gupta and Bollywood actor Neena Gupta."

    Her interest in movies increased only after working in Ayan Mukerji’s Wake Up Sid. Post that she worked as an assistant director in Vishal Bhardwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf. After working in two critically acclaimed movies Nair went on to direct a film based on her own life titled Gippi.

    While addressing the issues prevailing in the content industry Nair said, “It is difficult to sell stories to a particular platform because this not how OTT platforms work. It is an anthology of supposedly six short films that works. Otherwise platforms are quite scared to take just one story. Initially one should focus on viewership and not selling the story to the OTT platforms. With this move you create confidence in audiences and also at the same time prove your work.”

    Expressing her view on the term showrunner Nair said that the term is now a days completely misused. Sometimes a head writer becomes a showrunner, or sometimes a producer is a showrunner. "In my previous show, Kaafir, Siddharth Malhotra was a producer and a showrunner. His gets the credit for bringing in the cast together. He was responsible for the scripts. That makes him a showrunner. I am still figuring out this term. Getting credit for the work which you have not done still scares me.”

  • India lacks bandwidth, financial ability to work in sequences like Hollywood

    India lacks bandwidth, financial ability to work in sequences like Hollywood

    MUMBAI: The last session of The Content Hub 2020 organised by Indiantelevision.com was moderated by Suraj Wanvari with screenwriter-director Karan Anshuman and director Gurmmeet Singh. The duo spoke on their learning while making shows for OTT platforms and the development process of Inside Edge and Mirzapur.

    In conversation with Wanvari, Anshuman and Singh spoke about their journeys as a writer and film director, challenges they faced, development of Inside Edge and Mizapur, OTT platforms, and the genres that will work well on OTT.

    Anshuman said, “Writing is my favourite part of filmmaking. While writing, we have to let the big idea win and we should allow them to come. Hollywood works on sequences and we want to work in the same manner but we don’t have that bandwidth or money to work in a similar format.”

    Singh said, “While in writing best idea wins, but as a director there is always a chance of improvisation as new ideas are always welcomed; it depends from case to case. We keep ourselves creatively open and engaging within the team.”

    Anshuman said, “There is a rigour about how streaming platforms access a project. On OTT there is a proper way of accessibility; there are good creative people who take their decisions.”

    Asked about which genres OTT platforms are looking at and what genres new writers should focus on, Singh said, “Gangster kind of stories has come to a saturation level; platforms are looking at comedy genre but it’s difficult to make them in long format.”

  • There is only good TRP and bad TRP show on TV: Sandiip Sikcand

    There is only good TRP and bad TRP show on TV: Sandiip Sikcand

    MUMBAI: In one of the sessions of day 2 of The Content Hub 2020 organised by Indian Television.com, Sandiip Sikcand shared his thoughts on the challenge television is facing today in a conversation with Indiantelevision.com editor-in-chief, CEO and founder Anil Wanvari. He also briefed the audience on his journey from being a garment exporter to creative director to creative head to producer.

    Sikcand said, “I am a classic example of who can learn at the place of work. My first job in the industry was with Balaji Telefilms’ Kayaamat as a creative director. I have learnt from the best teachers in the industry on how to create characters and take risks.”

    He also said, “The channel people are in same level of stress what the creative people or producers are. I understand both the side and bring learning lessons from the creator and channel and that’s what make me a successful producer.”

    “Over the period of time I have learnt to create characters who resonate with viewers, early from Parvati in Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki to Sonakshi in Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum. Creative head is someone who brings everything to one spot. He/she takes the show from his/her thoughts to screen,” said Sikcand.

    He added: “Yes, we are taking off Kahaan Hum Kahaan Tum but that won’t stop me from creating different stories.”

    Sikcand also believes that the challenge television is facing today is in creating sticky content. “With OTT coming in picture today everybody has an opportunity to watch the show anywhere and anytime on their phone. It’s not like another time when people would rush to catch up their favorite show on television.”

    He also said, “OTT is a blessing and a curse as well. Curse because television doesn’t have a privilege to create any kind of content. So, if television needs to survive we have to keep on telling and creating different stories.”

    He opined, “Television also needs to do things similar to OTT like they only care about views and not about TRPs. Television needs to keep the rating aside and focus on creating good shows. I understand advertising comes from TRPs but we need to change all of these.”

    Sikcand added: “The problem with television is that there is no good or bad content, there is only good TRP show and bad TRP show.”