Tag: Over the Top

  • Ormax launches sports tracker to measure marketing punch

    Ormax launches sports tracker to measure marketing punch

    MUMBAI: Ormax Media has unveiled Ormax Sports Track, a syndicated research tool that measures how well sports tournaments perform among India’s digital audience. The Mumbai-based media research firm already tracks theatrical films, streaming originals and television launches—now it is turning its attention to the lucrative world of sports content.

    The timing is shrewd. Streaming platforms are splashing serious cash on sports rights, treating them as tentpole content to drive subscriptions and advertising revenue. With 678.2m sports fans in India, the prize is substantial. At any given moment, 25-30 sports properties are either live or preparing to launch across various over-the-top (OTT) platforms, spanning cricket, football, kabaddi, tennis and wrestling.

    Ormax Sports Track measures four key parameters on a 0-100 scale. “Buzz” captures unaided recall—how many viewers spontaneously remember a tournament when asked about current or upcoming sports events. “Reach” tracks aided awareness—the percentage who recognise a tournament’s name when prompted. “Appeal” measures definite viewing intent among those aware of the property. “Potency” gauges how many would subscribe to a paid platform specifically to watch the tournament.

    The tool is powered by weekly online surveys of 600-plus regular OTT sports viewers. The sample mirrors demographics from Ormax’s Sports Audience Report 2024, split equally between metros (Mumbai, Delhi NCR, southern metros and Kolkata) and non-metros (west-central, north and south regions).

    Subscribers receive reports twice weekly: a mid-week update every Tuesday and an end-of-week summary every Friday, complete with target group trends for properties on their platforms. Each tournament is tracked from launch announcement through to the final whistle.

    For sports marketers and streaming executives, the service promises to decode which campaigns cut through the noise in India’s crowded digital sports arena. With millions riding on rights deals, knowing what resonates with audiences could prove invaluable.

  • Streaming’s next blockbuster AI regional content and interactive boom

    Streaming’s next blockbuster AI regional content and interactive boom

    MUMBAI: India’s digital entertainment landscape is witnessing a blockbuster transformation, with over 500 million viewers tuning into over-the-top (OTT) platforms, making it one of the largest streaming audiences in the world. At Content India 2025 Allied Global Marketing MD, APAC Jamie Crick presented a deep dive into India’s surging OTT market, revealing a sector in overdrive. As data prices drop and internet speeds surge, India’s appetite for on-demand content is growing faster than a viral meme.

    The numbers tell a compelling story. In 2023, India recorded 96 million paid OTT subscriptions, driving a 10 per cent rise in revenue to Rs 9,900 crore (1.2 billion dollars). Meanwhile, advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) proved to be a major money-spinner, contributing Rs 6,800 crore (850 million dollars), a staggering 40 per cent increase from the previous year. Clearly, whether audiences are paying for subscriptions or watching ads in exchange for free content, the demand for digital entertainment is skyrocketing.

    With over 80 streaming platforms vying for attention, the content buffet is expanding rapidly. While Hindi continues to dominate, regional content is emerging as the true scene-stealer, now accounting for 50 per cent of total OTT consumption. As more platforms invest in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Marathi, and Malayalam productions, the industry is witnessing a significant democratisation of content, bringing hyper-local stories to the national mainstream. Projections indicate that over 60 per cent of future content investments will go towards non-Hindi programming, underlining the massive shift in viewer preferences.

    Technology is playing a lead role in shaping the industry’s future. With AI-driven hyper-personalisation, viewers now spend less time searching and more time watching, thanks to smart recommendations tailored to their interests. Interactive content and live streaming, from gaming to sports to reality-based formats are becoming mainstream, turning passive viewing into an immersive experience. The rise of short-form content is further redefining audience engagement, especially among younger viewers who prefer snackable entertainment over traditional long-form storytelling.

    Interestingly, affordability isn’t deterring audiences. With 62 per cent of Indian households now paying for digital entertainment, the willingness to invest in quality content is evident. The emergence of new monetisation models, including microtransactions, premium ad tiers, and brand collaborations, signals a shift in how platforms generate revenue while keeping content accessible.

    As international giants battle homegrown platforms, the race for eyeballs is heating up. With 5G rollout accelerating, smartphone penetration soaring, and AI making content discovery seamless, the OTT revolution in India is far from reaching its season finale, it’s just getting started.

  • OTTplay releases a series of TVCs with AI-based personalised recommendations

    OTTplay releases a series of TVCs with AI-based personalised recommendations

    Mumbai: OTTplay has announced the launch of its first-of-its-kind personalised artificial intelligence-based feature that recommends content from a library of over 65,000+ web-series, movies, and shows, in 18+ genres and across many languages.

    The platform has tapped into the latest AI-powered technology and developed the feature in-house to equip audiences with smart recommendations. The platform aspires to democratise content offered across OTT platforms by handing it over, thus empowering the users to discover content they are most likely to enjoy.

    The one-of-its-kind streaming platform is promoting the unique AI-based feature with its all-new digital ad campaign with an all-new tagline “OTTplay se pucho, OTTplay pe hee Dekho aur Majey Karo Multiply!”

    Considering this is an innovative concept introduced in India, the digital ad aims to educate audiences about the benefits of the feature. The 20-second teaser videos are quirky and filmic, making fun of the inherent difficulties in selecting the most crucial piece of content to watch—’Aaj kya dekhun.’

    The three ad films, “Alien,” “Exorcism,” and “Interrogation,” which are each based on different scenarios, are focused on figuring out the solution to this biggest puzzle and cleverly plugging OTTplay in the process.

    With its personalised recommendation feature and the recently launched OTTplay Premium, which offers access to the content of 12 OTTs with a single subscription, OTTplay solves the problems of “OTTplay se poocho and OTTplay pe dekho” giving a glimpse into the OTT ecosystem in India’s future for content discovery.

    Commenting on the latest AI-based feature, OTTPlay co-founder & CEO Avinash Mudaliar said, “As category creators, OTTplay’s latest AI-powered technology has revolutionised content navigation in India’s OTT ecosystem. We are razor focused on providing audiences with the convenience to discover and consume content from across OTT platforms. Our recommendation engine analyses user activity on the platform and aims to showcase curated content based on user preferences, making the content consumption experience seamless.”

  • MX Player joins Tata Play Binge as its 17th OTT platform

    MX Player joins Tata Play Binge as its 17th OTT platform

    Mumbai: Tata Play Binge and MX Player have collaborated to entertain India and Bharat together. Following this partnership, MX Player will join the band of the 16 existing popular OTT platforms on Binge like Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5, SonyLIV, Voot Select, hoichoi, Planet Marathi, NammaFlix, Chaupal, SunNxt, Hungama Play, Eros Now, ShemarooMe, Voot Kids, CuriosityStream, EPIC ON, and DocuBay. Content from all these platforms is available to the viewers of Tata Play Binge through a single subscription and a single user interface. Viewers can also enjoy free content on Tata Play Binge.

    With the latest addition, viewers will have access to an additional 5000+ films and 800+ shows in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and other languages from MX Player, further strengthening its commitment to offer viewers the best of entertainment. 

    MX Player will unlock a differentiated content library on Tata Play Binge consisting of MX Originals, Bollywood and Hollywood movies, South Indian dubbed movies, Korean dramas and more.

    Subscribers of Tata Play Binge who have MX Player as part of their package will get to enjoy an ad-free content viewing experience without any interruptions. Tata Play Binge can be accessed through large-screen connected devices—Tata Play Binge+, an Android set-top box, and the Tata Play edition of the Amazon FireTV stick, along with the Tata Play Binge mobile app and the website.

    Commenting on the addition of a new partner app, Tata Play chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “We now proudly host 17 coveted OTT apps under one roof and aim to create a unique and robust platform for all things entertainment through Tata Play Binge. Teaming up with MX Player and adding its rich content library to our OTT aggregation platform will bring great value to our viewers; and together, we hope to expand the viewership base of each other.”

    Speaking of this collaboration, MX Player business head-SVoD Abhishek Joshi said, “At MX Player we are committed to creating an immersive digital entertainment ecosystem that provides our users with content that is universally appealing and engaging. Our partnership with Tata Play Binge gives us an opportunity to make our content widely accessible and available, further strengthening our existing user base. We are delighted to partner with them in their endeavour to bring the best of entertainment and unleash the power of an enriching content viewing experience for all viewers.”

  • OTT streaming platform aha enters Malaysia

    OTT streaming platform aha enters Malaysia

    Mumbai: aha, one of India’s leading regional language OTT platforms, launches in Malaysia with a robust content offering for the local Tamil diaspora.

    The platform entered the Malaysian market on 19 September 2022 as part of their effort to expand their presence in Southeast Asia. The launch was inaugurated by minister of human resources YB Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, aha brand ambassador Anirudh Ravichander and aha CEO Ajit Thakur at Park Royal Collections Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

    Since its debut, aha has engaged its audience by telling stories about their home land, featuring some of the most loved celebrities in India. The 100 per cent Tamil regional OTT platform, aha Tamil, features a number of blockbuster films and exclusive originals.

    Actor Simbu and incredibly gifted musician Anirudh Ravichandran are the brand ambassadors for aha. To mark its arrival in Malaysia, the OTT streaming service came onboard as a co presenting sponsor of the Anirudh Live in Malaysia 2022 concert, which was held on 17 September at the Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil.

    On the occasion of the Malaysia launch, Saravanan said that he is excited about aha’s unique efforts in content collaboration and investment in original content with local talents and production houses, which will undoubtedly give global exposure to the Tamil content industry here in Malaysia.

    aha is proud to be the first Indian OTT entity that is committed to investing in local content and to uplifting the Tamil entertainment industry in Malaysia by leveraging local talents and production houses. Through this integration, aha hopes to stay relevant in Southeast Asia and is looking at aligning the OTT landscape and providing a seamless experience for consumers in Malaysia and India.

    Commenting on Malaysia launch, Thakur said, “At aha, we are proud of our unique proposition of providing 100 per cent local entertainment to the audience and we are delighted to bring 100 per cent local entertainment now to Malaysia.  With the launch of aha in Malaysia, we will not only offer the best of Tamil movies and originals to the audience but also source and create content with local film-makers and artists.”

    aha Tamil business head Chidambaram Natesan said, “‘Yaadhum Oorey Yaavarum Kaeleer,’ Malaysian Tamils best represent this line by the famous Tamil philosopher Kaniyan Pugundranar. Malaysian Tamils have always welcomed everyone with great warmth to their land. We are confident that aha Tamil’s launch in Malaysia will be supported with the same love and affection.

    He added, “aha Tamil OTT started with the core idea of ‘Tamizhal Tamizhil Tamizharuku’ (in Tamil, by Tamil, for Tamil people) and now we are in Malaysia to carry forward the same proposition.”

  • MX Player to bring new original and international shows in September

    MX Player to bring new original and international shows in September

    Mumbai: MX Player announced its latest slate of originals and international series on Friday. The OTT platform brings plenty of drama, fiction, romance, mystery, and thrill with the web-shows scheduled to launch in the month of September.

    As a part of MX’s original series slate, Shiksha Mandal is set to launch on 15 September.

    Shiksha Mandal is a hard-hitting narrative inspired by true events that revolves around the biggest scam in the educational system in India. With a socially relevant premise, Shiksha Mandal will reveal corruption, fraud, cheating, and criminal conspiracy that affect vulnerable students in India.

    Shiksha Mandal is directed by Syed Ahmad Afzal and stars Gauahar Khan, Gulshan Devaiah, and Pavan Raj Malhotra in lead roles.

    In addition to Shiksha Mandal, as a part of their latest content category – MX VDesi, MX Player is also bringing six acclaimed international shows from across the globe, including one of the most popular Korean dramas, Boys Over Flowers, which started the K-wave in India with the same love of melodrama, intricate storylines, and adrenaline-pumping action.

    The shows included in the pipeline for a September launch are:

    Boys Over Flowers

    The 21-episode long Korean drama, Boys Over Flowers, starring Ku Hye Sun, Lee Min Ho, and Kim Hyun-Joong, launches on 7 September in Hindi. The blockbuster series follows the story of a humble girl who attends the prestigious Shin Hwa High School. She is immediately bullied by the leader of F4 (the four richest boys), who eventually falls in love with her. However, she has a crush on his best friend. Whom will she pick? Tune in to find out.

    Alphas

    Up next is the Hollywood hit series Alphas. Alphas are ordinary citizens with amazing abilities, including superhuman physical and mental abilities, who operate within the department of defence. A secret group, led by pre-eminent neurologist Dr. Lee Rosen, investigates cases that point to others with similar Alpha abilities. With its unique premise, this show will keep you on your toes throughout 12 episodes. The science fiction drama will be streamed in Hindi from 14 September onwards.

    Secret of Love

    All 30 episodes of the hit show Secret of Love will be streamed in Hindi from 21 September onwards on MX Player. The show revolves around the story of Su Yi, who loses her memory after getting burnt in a fire accident. She meets Li Jia Cheng, who has countless ties to the incident. The pair form a tactical partnership on equal footing after Su Yi challenges his outlook and beliefs.

    Signed, Sealed and Delivered

    A crew of postal detectives seeks to unravel the mysteries behind undeliverable letters and packages from the past, delivering them at crucial moments in the Hollywood production Signed, Sealed, and Delivered. Watch 34 episodes of this series in Hindi starting 21 September.

    Wild District

    After the signing and approval of the Colombian Peace Agreements, a deadly guerrilla warrior escapes from the forest and makes his way to Bogotá, where he attempts to reintegrate into society. Watch all 20 episodes of this Spanish series in Hindi streaming from 28 September onwards!

    Innocent Defendant

    At the Seoul central district prosecutors’ office, a prosecutor wakes up one morning to discover that he is a death row inmate. He is temporarily amnesiac and is unaware of the events that led to his arrest. Before his time is out, he tries to jog his memory and clear his name. Catch this award-winning Korean series starring Seong Ji, Ki-joon Uhm, and Jo Jae-yoon on 28 September in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, and Malayalam!

  • aha announces “Highway” starring Anand Devarakonda & Abhishek Banerjee

    aha announces “Highway” starring Anand Devarakonda & Abhishek Banerjee

    Mumbai: The local entertainment platform, aha, has announced ‘Highway’, a psychological thriller starring Anand Devarakonda and Abhishek Banerjee in a never-before-seen avatar. 

    Directed and written by K.V. Guhan, and produced by Venkat Talari, the film will hit aha screens very soon. aha, has launched the poster of the original movie on 6 August.

    “Highway” is a psychological thriller about a photographer Vishnu (Anand Devarakonda), falling in love with Tulasi (Manasa), who was sheltered all her life. When everything is going great, his life turns upside down when a serial killer named D kidnaps his lady love. Will the hero be able to save her in time? 

    aha has a solid vision to bring audiences engaging content, and recently aha original ‘Color Photo’ also won the Best Regional Award – Telugu at 68th National Awards. With another original titled ‘Highway’ coming soon, aha again is set to showcase the commitment to audiences by providing 100 percent local entertainment.

  • Voot launches first OTT season of Bigg Boss Kannada

    Voot launches first OTT season of Bigg Boss Kannada

    Mumbai: Viacom18-owned, Voot, is all set to exclusively launch its first-ever OTT season of Bigg Boss Kannada on 6 August 2022.

    Kannada superstar Kiccha Sudeep will host the OTT season.

    For the six-week digital exclusive season of Bigg Boss OTT Kannada, Voot welcomes Vimal Elaichi as ‘co-presenting’ sponsor and Paytm as ‘special’ partner.

    Comprising shows and movies like ‘Humble Politician Nograj’, ‘Badava Rascal’, ‘Honeymoon’, ‘Dear Vikram’ etc., the platform has successfully amplified its regional content repertoire to reach out to its Kannada viewers.

     
     
     

     
     
     
     
     

     
     

     
     
     

     
     

    A post shared by Voot Select (@vootselect)

    Following the overwhelming success of its reality show Bigg Boss OTT Hindi last year, Voot will once again unleash over-the-top entertainment and drama for all its Kannada viewers, starting 6th August 2022. With six weeks of unprecedented access, engagement and interactivity, viewers will get a chance to watch exclusive cuts, round-the-clock content drops, and a fully interactive 24*7 live feed from the house.

    Talking about bringing Bigg Boss OTT to its Kannada viewers, Viacom 18 digital ventures chief operating officer Gourav Rakshit said, “Kannada has been an important market for us at Voot, and our recent movie slate has helped us consolidate our leadership in the market. Voot’s success with Bigg Boss OTT Hindi in 2021 proved to be a game-changer in the digital entertainment space, and we’re excited to launch Bigg Boss OTT Kannada, reinforcing our commitment to bringing fresh and engaging shows to Voot audiences across the country.”

    Speaking on the maiden edition of Bigg Boss OTT Kannada, Viacom18 business head of Kannada cluster Param said, “Year-on-year, Bigg Boss has been delivering outstanding and ground-breaking editions across languages, both on television as well as digital. The Kannada market has always stayed ahead of the curve and the launch of Bigg Boss OTT Kannada will further create an immersive and engaging experience for all our Kannada viewers. We are hopeful that the upcoming digital edition will take the show’s fandom a notch higher and engage and interact with viewers like never before.”

    Adding to it, Kichcha Sudeep said, “It’s really exciting to see the growing anticipation for the first OTT season, and the new avatar will surely live up to this craze. As the promo suggests, the OTT season will be a dream come true for the Bigg Boss fans to see 24×7 live action with entertainment, drama, and a lot more that will certainly keep our viewers hooked for 6 weeks. The madness has just begun. Stay tuned.”

  • Docflix – a cure for the infodemic plaguing the medical fraternity?

    Docflix – a cure for the infodemic plaguing the medical fraternity?

    Mumbai: Leading pharma company Mankind Pharma has launched an OTT platform called Docflix exclusively for doctors, paramedics and aspiring doctors.

    The platform is launched by the newly set up digital team at Mankind under the guidance of Mankind Pharma head of digital Rinkesh Shah. The new team brings in a plethora of experience in the health care professional (HCP) engagement space and has observed the growth of the medical professional’s space in India and Asia in the last decade.

    In conversation with Indiantelevision.com Mankind Pharma senior president, sales and marketing Sanjay Koul speaks about OTT platform Docflix which only targets the medical fraternity.

    Koul told, “Mankind Pharma has hired a team of alumni of the National Institute of Design to ensure the best representation of data and figures, directors, and script writers who can weave science into a story to deliver the message in a fun and engaging way.”

    “It is a new age OTT platform with a wide range of scientific content tailored to various practice needs of doctors. Design, story, and convenience are three strong pillars of the platform that will deliver unique, authentic, and reliable scientific content,” he added.

    Sharing the vision behind Docflix, Koul said, Docflix is a manifestation of Mankind’s understanding of the new definition of learning and is meant to be a platform that will not only present the best of medical science but also delve into the art behind the science.

    “With Docflix, we envision a new age global knowledge platform that will be a humble partner in the learning journey of all our doctors,” he said.

    Sharing details about the content line up on Docflix, he said that the platform will have twenty different shows on varied subjects, a few shows include Science Simplified, Legend Inside The White Coat, Stitch In Time, Cardio Unflip, Digital For Doctors, Medico-Legal Cases In India, and Vantage Point among others.

    Explaining where Docflix stands in the age of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, he said, there is currently no video-only platform for doctors globally at scale. Docflix is one of .

    Not just on OTT platforms, there’s a lot of informative content available across video sharing platform YouTube as well. Sharing how Docflix will make a difference, Koul noted, “Content for doctors today is just delivering science. A doctor is a student all life. It’s important to make the content which is short, has a story and is engaging; however, very little content covers these parts. Docflix will fill this gap for the medical fraternity.”

    According to him, it’s not the OTT platforms but YouTube channels, global players like learning platform Osmosis, clinical news platforms Medscape and M3 that are the real competitors of Docflix.

    On being asked if he really thinks that while people are already bombarded with a lot of content, Docflix will really make a difference? He answered, “The new world brings a problem called infodemics. Means, we have a lot of information but there’s a dearth of reliable, relevant, and palatable content. Plus, the convenience of accessing this on a high-tech platform is a necessity today for doctors which is missing.”

    “We are the ones breaking the saturation and the need for this is very high,” he highlighted.

    Talking about the marketing strategy for Docflix, he said, “We are looking at unique never tried mediums to market Docflix. Other than the large field force of Mankind, we will use all digital and social media promotional channels.”

    “We also have AI-based automation engines to personalise communication with customers,” he noted.

    However, the platform is not going to have any advertisers unlike most OTT platforms. “We at Mankind are committed to supporting doctors in their knowledge and learning journey and thereby aid them in taking their clinical decisions faster. We are currently not taking any advertisers onboard,” said Koul.

    He concluded, Docflix will feature a three-level subscription model and none of them is paid. The subscriptions are based on different levels of the learning journeys of doctors. It’s a free platform for doctors.

  • Optiminastic Media launches OTT production house 4Dots Production

    Optiminastic Media launches OTT production house 4Dots Production

    Mumbai: Digital marketing agency Optiminastic Media has launched 4Dots Production, a full-fledged OTT production house. The launch of 4Dots Production marks Optiminastic Media’s foray into the digital entertainment industry.  

    4Dots Production will work closely with OTT, digital and social media platforms to create interesting web shows for millennials across India and the world. “The production house aims to bridge the existing gaps in the current ecosystem with content that is immersive, unique, fresh and first of its kind thus creating newer opportunities and engagement techniques for brands and platform custodians,” said the statement. 

    4Dots will bring together some of the most talented, experienced and hands-on professionals from the entertainment space and aims to create an engaging concept-oriented project that targets the millennial consumer. For its maiden project, it has partnered with director Arbaaz Afzal, DOP Nawaraj Thapa, executive producer Ganesh Kharal, associate director Aradhya Mahashilkar, and writer Siddharth Goyel.

    Speaking on launching a specialist production house, Optiminastic Media founder Akshae Golekar said, “Over the last four years, Optiminastic Media has had an interesting journey dotted with many milestones across the internet marketing industry. The OTT sector in India and globally is filled with opportunities and keeping this in mind, and with the intent of becoming a significant part of this sector, we have launched 4Dots Production as a production house that will innovate, design and create shows specifically for OTT and digital platforms. There currently is a dearth of production houses that create such content and we believe that with the right partners by our side, we can bridge this gap. We have partnered with some of the industry’s most talented people and will work closely with them as we embark on this new journey.”