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  • ‘One World: Together at Home’ global special to air on Sony PIX, AXN, SonyLIV on 19 April

    ‘One World: Together at Home’ global special to air on Sony PIX, AXN, SonyLIV on 19 April

    MUMBAI:‘One World: Together at Home’ — a globally televised and streamed special in support of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic – will air on Sony PIX and AXN on 19 April At 8 pm and will be live streamed on SonyLIV at 5.30 am with a repeat at 8 pm.

    Launched by international advocacy organization Global Citizen, and the World Health Organisation, ‘One World: Together at Home’ will show unity among all people who are affected by COVID-19 and will also celebrate and support brave healthcare workers doing life-saving work on the front lines.

    Curated in collaboration with Lady Gaga, the ‘One World: Together At Home’ broadcast special will include performances and appearances by Alicia Keys, Amy Poehler, Andrea Bocelli, Awkwafina, Billie Eilish, Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Burna Boy, Camila Cabello, Celine Dion, Chris Martin, David & Victoria Beckham, Eddie Vedder, Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John, FINNEAS, Idris and Sabrina Elba, J Balvin, Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Kerry Washington, Lang Lang, Lizzo,  LL COOL J, Lupita Nyong’o, Maluma, Matthew McConaughey, Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Pharrell Williams, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Sam Smith, Shah Rukh Khan, Shawn Mendes, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, and Usher.

    ‘One World: Together at Home’ is not a telethon – it is a historic, first-of-its kind global broadcast event to celebrate the heroic efforts of community health workers, and to support the World Health Organization in the global fight to end COVID-19. The broadcast will feature stories from frontline healthcare workers on the COVID response, commitments from philanthropists, governments and corporations to support and equip frontline healthcare workers around the world, with masks, gowns and other vital equipment, and to local charities that provide food, shelter, and healthcare to those that need it most.

    According to both, Danish Khan – business head, Sony Entertainment Television, Studio Next and digital business and Tushar Shah – business head, English cluster, Sony Pictures Networks India, “The concert is reflective of our solidarity during this situation and an effort to applaud the bravery of the frontline workers. We are happy to collaborate with Global Citizen and convey this powerful message of One World to our viewers.”

  • Netflix and its India story

    Netflix and its India story

    MUMBAI: Netflix has been making  a good catch wherever it has been spreading its net over the past three years. But viewers in Indian waters do not get snared easily by the bait of snazzy and edgy content like in other parts of the world and that is something the streamer learned the hard way. It made a scratchy debut with just a handful of original shows and a thin catalogue of local content in 2016. Net result: only the top sliver (in the hundred thousand or so) of India’s 1.3 billion populace bit and it was left wondering why the service was not getting traction like it was elsewhere.

    The answer lay in localisation: India’s masses care very little about Stranger Things or Black Mirror – Bandersnatch – two series that fired viewers’ imaginations in several countries. Indians would rather watch a Naagin or a Nazar. And just having a Sacred Games and a couple of local movies and shows were not enough to make Indians flash out their check books or credit cards to pay the stiff Rs 700- plus monthly fee in a market where cable TV offered a smorgasbord of 700 channels at less than half that price. And CEO Reed Hastings' promise to shareholders that India would bring in the next 100 million subs seemed like an empty one.

    Cut to 2020: the SVOD platform seems to be getting its act right and has rolled out a slate of local originals –both films and series – like Yeh Ballet, Sacred Games, Jamtara , Leila, Delhi Crime – and many more are in pre-prod stage or on the shooting floor.

    According to media reports, its financials too are getting better. Netflix’s India business grew more than 700 per cent during financial year 2019 recording revenues of Rs 466.7 crore and a net profit of Rs 5.1 crore. Hastings continues to have lots of faith in India’s entertainment-hungry viewers: he has kept a stash of Rs 3000 crore to invest in original content over the next two years.

    India needs that kind of investment; maybe more. There are more than 150 free-to-air channels offering TV shows (fiction and drama), movies and a lot more. Premium cable and satellite pay TV general entertainment channels at Rs 12 to Rs 19 also don’t cost that much. And they offer entertainment which suits the milieu that they are living in and even meets their aspiration needs. The main Indian broadcasters Zee TV, Sony, Star and Viacom18 have strong streaming services, ZEE5, SonyLIV, Hotstar and VOOT, which not only serve the linear feeds of the GECs but also offer the shows and movies on demand, apart from offering premium digital-only originals. Then there are independent streamers like AltBalaji, MX Player, hoichoi and ShemarooMe, which too have interesting programmes for their viewers.

    What bodes well for Netflix is that it has invested in local hires like Monika Shergill, Srishti Behl Arya, Aashish Singh with lots of experience in the local media and the entertainment industry. Earlier, for the first two years, Netflix executives in Los Angeles had oversight over the India office and the content that was being acquired and churned out. The perks of a team familiar with local content is already reflecting in the recent content slate.

    Since the end of 2018, the dramatic change in the overall approach has become noticeable. The platform has joined hands with big names of B-Town like Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan, Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Banerjee and Vikramaditya Motwane. Kashyap’s Sacred Games was the first Indian original series to give the platform prominence in the cluttered market. While Red Chillies Entertainment’s Bard of Blood was critically acclaimed, Dharmatic Production’s Drive received negative feedback. At Indiantelevision.com’s The Content Hub 2020, Netflix’s Aashish Singh said that a number of people watched the film adding that the service does want to create content for every mood of the member and every segment.

    The diversity of Indian audience may sound a cliched and over-stated fact but no one can deny the truth. Film-buff Indians can now watch erstwhile star Manisha Koirala in its upcoming original film Maska. The platform has also slated a comedy special original Ladies Up. Mighty Little Bheem will also get a new season soon. To battle with the broadcaster-led platforms like Zee5, Hotstar, Voot, which have legacy content and international rival Amazon Prime Video with its shopping benefits, Netflix must reach into the heartland or Bharat as it is called. Especially when it looks to sign on that humongous 100 million subscribers from the country.

    Indians are price-sensitive consumers and it's a well-known fact. As is the fact that India is a mobile-first video consumption market thanks to cheap handsets and almost-free data plans. Last year, Netflix hit both these peculiarities by launching a mobile-only pack for Rs 199 per month as against the Rs 799 for the premium large screen experience. In its latest investor conference call, Netflix chief product officer Greg Peters said that thanks to this, they have been able to add incremental subscribers along with an increase in retention.

    The platform is also coming up with more innovative marketing strategies. Over the last year, Netflix India’s social media presence has also started gaining more word of mouth in the vast e-universe of the country. It is also recently testing a Rs 5 plan for the intial month which has again created good chatter. Moreover, it recently added a feature which allows users to make their watchlist decision easier. On the back of the new top 10 feature, Netflix members will notice a newly designed row that will show them what's popular in India.  

    One of the major challenges for Netflix is increasing its awareness to beyond tier-I and tier-II cities. More vernacular, localised content may give the platform a fillip in India’s interiors where smart phones work, even if TVs don’t because of frequent power outages. Although competition is bound to rise for the streaming service in India with the entry of Disney+, there’s optimism abounding about Netflix’s Indian journey in the days, months and years ahead. It looks like its story will have a happy ending.

  • Content executives believe ‘doing it the right way’ should be the focus

    Content executives believe ‘doing it the right way’ should be the focus

    MUMBAI: Doing it right! This was the fundamental view of the panel of content creators that participated in a discussion on ‘uncovering opportunities for great content’ during the fourth edition of The Content Hub 2020, an initiative by Indiantelevision.com.

    The panel, moderated by Bulldog Media and Entertainment co-founder and producer Akash Sharma, comprises of Zee Studios Originals vice-president and head Ashima Avasthi, Contiloe Pictures Pvt Ltd chief creative officer Abhimanyu Singh, SonyLIV head of original content Saugata Mukherjee.

    The panel was also of the view that the recent surge in content creation and consumption is mainly because of technological advancement and awareness within the audience. Due to these factors, the boundaries across the world have come down and local stories are becoming global.

    In this regard, Avasthi while giving her input said, “The content boom in India was about to happen. Individual viewing has eventually increased all thanks to the emergence of smartphones and high-speed internet. As technology grows, the boundaries between countries are coming down.”

    Zee group’s film production and distribution arm Zee Studios last year had rolled-out an independent digital content subsidy Zee Studios Originals, which will produce premium, original content and create new IPs (intellectual properties) for all digital platforms of the group globally.

    She added, “Despite the surge of individual viewership, there is no difference between binge and traditional watching, both have respective markets. However, television gives only a single opportunity, whereas the digital platform is providing viewers’ a variety.”

    Meanwhile, Singh was of the view that the number of increasing screens such as mobile, laptop, smart TV, etc., are directly proportional to the number of increasing audience. He said, “The television audience is no more identifying the content shown on the channels and is done with it. Currently, the content market is driven by what consumers want and watch.”

    He added, “It’s the right time to re-invent the grammar of telling stories and digital platforms have this acumen to show these stories with a new tale. India has a quality to tell its own Narcos story and we have many stories to tell the world.”

    Abhimanyu’s Contiloe Pictures' upcoming State of Siege: 26/11 will feature on ZEE5 from 20 March 2020 and took at least a year to complete, said Singh.

    Another panellist, Mukherjee, pointed out that the growth of the internet has helped content to boom. “Digital has enabled the diversified connection of content, which has been appreciated the across continents in the world,” he said.

    Mukherjee added, “There’s scope and space for everyone, be it TV or OTT (over-the-top) platforms; it's never us versus them.” He believes that content will find its place and reach across borders. Moreover, broadcast content won’t go away because there’s a big market for it already.

    Echoing the thoughts of Singh, the SonyLIV head said, “The big difference between TV and digital platform is the grammar of storytelling. We should re-invent and tell stories which are quintessentially Indian and draw a line of how Indian platform is different from global digital platforms.”

    Saugata, talking about SonyLIV’s future plan, said: “We don’t want to get stuck with thriller or love stories; rather we are going to try everything to lure the consumers to the platform.”

    Being positive of the growth of the digital content, the panel mentioned that this is the perfect time to enter the business. However, the only thing that should be adhered to is whichever form or format is done, it should be done in the right way as content creation is not an easy task and takes blood and sweat.

  • SonyLIV to enter Originals race, get fresh look by next year

    SonyLIV to enter Originals race, get fresh look by next year

    MUMBAI: The over-the-top media game is just heating up and Sony Pictures Networks is all set to revamp its digital platform SonyLIV by next year. It will roll out a few new originals in another six-eight months in both Hindi and regional languages.

    SonyLIV is an ad-based video-on-demand platform in the OTT space and majorly runs the content that is being broadcasted on its network television channels across genres.

    SonyLIV’s head – original content Saugata Mukherjee, during an exclusive chat with indiantelevision.com, says: “By next year or so, there is a plan to re-launch SonyLIV. Our focus is to bring some of the real variety on the platform and to get to work with really interesting filmmakers and storytellers.”

    He adds: “We have on board some filmmakers and some of our originals are already in production. And hopefully, we shall have enough slate to talk about by the end of this year.”

    The OTT space has received an overwhelming response from the individual audience for the extraordinary and out-of-the-box content that is being produced and shown on the digital platforms. US-based Netflix and Amazon being leaders in the market, dominate the space.

    Mukherjee, highlighting the content strategy of the platform, says: “We are going to invest a lot on Hindi original content and step two would be to invest in Southern language content such as Tamil and Telugu. However, right now the focus is on the Hindi content and then the regional.”

    “Data gives us a lot of numbers and drives us towards the south,” says the SonyLIV head. “If there’s a big skew in the south, we need to cater to that. And thankfully, we have real-time data, which clearly points out that we have a great piece of an audience in the southern part of the country.”

    Out of four broadcaster-led OTT platforms, Zee Enterprises’ ZEE5 and Star India’s Hotstar have already entered the game of originals along with the content they broadcast on television. However, the other two – Network18’s Voot and Sony Pictures’ SonyLIV – are yet to embark on their original content journey.

    Voot, however, is all set to begin the journey in another a month’s time, as confirmed by the platform’s head Gourav Rakshit during an exclusive chat with indiantelevision.com. “We are set to launch at least four new originals in Hindi within the next 30-45 days,” he said. The platform earlier in January has turned itself to subscription video-on-demand from ad-based video-on-demand.

    According to Mukherjee, it’s been two years since the proliferation of OTT has happened and it’s just a start. He believes there’s enough space for everyone just like there’s space on television for Sony, Zee, and Star. They have their own set of audience and running a successful business for so many years now, he explains.

    “Unlike other OTT platforms, the good part of the broadcaster-led OTTs is that they are already sitting on a huge amount of content they have produced and realised the importance of IPs created by them,” he says.

    “The good thing about SonyLIV is that we have some marquee sports properties this year such as Tokyo Olympics, Euro Cup, and we plan to monetise them really well. Since we have a strong cohort and ardent subscribers here, we need to take care of them by making original content,” Mukherjee concludes.

  • SonyLIV on-boards Saugata Mukherjee; strengthens its focus on Hindi original content

    SonyLIV on-boards Saugata Mukherjee; strengthens its focus on Hindi original content

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India have on-boarded Saugata Mukherjee as Head – Original Content, Digital Business. In his new role, Saugata will be spearheading the Hindi original content initiatives for SonyLIV and expand the footprint of the platform. Prior to this, Saugata was working with Hotstar as Head of Development and Creative | Editor – Hotstar Specials.

    With a career spanning over 15 years, Mukherjee has held key leadership positions across broadcast and digital, creating and curating new content. He was associated with Star TV since 2013 as Vice President, Head of Commissioning where he acquired, incubated and produced new shows for the network. He was eventually elevated as Editor – Content Studio, where he was responsible for content acquisitions, development and strategy. He moved to Hotstar in 2018 where he was leading the content strategy and production for the platform.

    At SonyLIV, his role will be crucial in curating and scaling up the original content library. Mukherjee also holds experience in publishing, having worked in editorial roles at HarperCollins, NIIT, A. M. Health Company, Rupa & Company besides Pan Macmillan India in the start of his career.

  • SonyLIV strengthens original content team by roping in Hotstar’s Saugata Mukherjee

    SonyLIV strengthens original content team by roping in Hotstar’s Saugata Mukherjee

    MUMBAI: As all streaming platforms in India are becoming more bullish on original content slate, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) is also rebuilding its digital team. Few months after handling SonyLIV’s responsibility to Danish Khan, the over-the-top (OTT) platform is roping in Saugata Mukherjee to head its original content, as per sources.

    Mukherjee has been associated with Hotstar since July 2018  as head of creative and development for Hotstar Specials. “As the creative head of the specials, my mandate is to strategise, commission, develop and curate the Specials slate for Hotstar,” as he puts it on his Linkedin profile.

    The content strategist has been associated with Star TV Network since 2013. He commissioned, acquired, incubated and produced new shows for the Star TV network. Later as the editor of Star Plus, he was responsible for acquisition, development and content strategy.

    After a long stint at SonyLIV, Uday Sodhi moved on from the organization last year. He was responsible for the introduction of its subscription model, re-launch of the platform and the international launch of SonyLIV subscriptions, among others.

    At the time of publishing the story, SonyLIV denied to comment on the news. Mukherjee was also unavailable for comment.  He is likely to join early February.

  • SonyLIV to live stream 16 simultaneous feeds of Australian Open 2020

    SonyLIV to live stream 16 simultaneous feeds of Australian Open 2020

    MUMBAI: Foraying into the New Year, SonyLIV, India’s first premium video-on-demand platform, brings a visual treat for all its tennis aficionados with the decade’s first major sporting event – Australian Open 2020. Upping its ante in sports streaming, the platform, this year, will exclusively showcase live matches from across all 16 courts starting January 20 for its subscribers. With the big three Djokovic, Nadal and Federer headlining the tournament along with youngsters like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, all the action will go live across 16 courts from Melbourne only on SonyLIV for the first time ever.

    From the largest gamut of legendary players to some high- octane nail biting matches to a record prize money of USD 49.1 MN, there are enough and more reasons to binge onto Australian Open 2020. Not only is Novak Djokovic looking to defend his title in men’s singles, stakes are high for Serena Williams as well who bids for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, this time. But all eyes would be on the epic clash of titles between the greats – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. While the former will look to continue his record beyond 20 grand slams, Nadal will go all out to come at par with the legend with 19 titles. Who will make the cut? 

    By building up further on live sports streaming, SonyLIV pushes the envelope in consumer delight by offering them the best from the tournament at one go. With 16 simultaneous feeds on the platform, subscribers will stand witness to all the action, beyond the central courts and stay updated on their favourite players on the go. 

    Home to the biggest sporting tournaments, SonyLIV has a packed calendar for fans ahead with the 16th edition of Euro 2020. Starting June 12, 20 teams will battle it out for a month across 12 cities in UEFA nations for the ultimate title. Next up is the 2019–20 UEFA Champions League with 79 teams from 54 UEFA member associations participating in the big clash. Also, in line is Olympics 2020 kicking off in Tokyo on 24 July with over 60 participants from India across 6 sports.

  • SonyLIV ropes in Manish Aggarwal as digital business growth and monetization head

    SonyLIV ropes in Manish Aggarwal as digital business growth and monetization head

    MUMBAI: As the digital business of Sony Pictures Networks (SPN)witness’s expansion in the leadership team, SonyLIV on boards Manish Aggarwal to strengthen the squad. Manish as Head – Growth and Monetization, Digital Business, will be responsible for strategizing the subscription business (Both India and International) of SonyLIV. He will also be responsible tomaximize revenue through, syndication, licensing and partnership for the platform.

    Aggarwal comes with over 19 years of experience traversing leadership roles in verticals like content acquisition, partnerships, advertising revenue maximisation, consumer insights generation and innovations in digital. Prior to joining Sony Pictures Networks, Manish worked with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Pvt. Ltd as Principal Cluster Head-Advertising Sales. He has also worked with Le Ecosystem Technology India Pvt. Ltd, Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd and Procter & Gamble to name the few.

  • OTT & streamers 2019: Full steam ahead!

    OTT & streamers 2019: Full steam ahead!

    MUMBAI: If 2018 was big for the over-the-top (OTT) platforms, 2019 was even bigger for the ecosystem. Existing platforms pumped in in even more money into content creation, distribution and customer acquisition even as new players made a grand entry. While in the previous year, the focus was just on content creation, 2019 was about course correction, forging partnerships, striking distribution deals, entering new segments, innovating and getting to know the consumer better. Not just for the homegrown players but for the big international ones as well.

    2019 was the year when indiantelevision.com evolved its Vidnet OTT confab into one which offered conferences, training and masterclasses from some of the creators of successful originals.

    New kids on the block:

    Maybe a little late in the day, but a few platforms started their journey this year and created a buzz in the market. In February 2019, Times Internet launched a new avatar of its one of the most ambitious bets, MX Player. To grab a bigger slice of the ambitious video streaming market, the OTT platform commenced its play with five MX Original Series. Shemaroo Entertainment Ltd, one of the legacy players, which owns a rich content library, forayed into the space around the same time. However, Shemaroo banked on its existing content for ShemarooMe rather than burning cash for original content. But while MX Player went totally advertising-led, ShemarooMe took the freemium route.  

    Later in the second half of the calendar year, IN10 Media, a diversified vertical of infotainment channel Epic TV launched a new subscription-based documentary streaming platform DocuBay. The last quarter witnessed another major announcement – the launch of VOOT Kids from the house of Viacom18 which has already established a significant digital play with VOOT.  Unlike its main OTT platform, Viacom18 is relying on subscription for the kids’ platform right from the get-go. 

    Moreover, the year was equally eventful in the global OTT market as well. Tech giant Apple forayed deeper into streaming with the launch of its subscription-based video streaming service Apple TV+ in November. A few days later, Walt Disney launched its much-awaited streaming service Disney+ at a very reasonable sticker price. While the former made its streaming service available in India at Rs 99 per month, what the Star Disney combine will do with Disney+ in India has to still to be worked out, considering the huge popularity of Hotstar.

    More investment in original content:

    Along with new OTT platforms entering the market, the existing platforms also increased their investments in original content.  ZEE5 from Zee Entertainment Enterprises spent the year increasing its focus on large-scale originals, franchises, digital original films and regional language shows even as it has already developed a robust original content library across languages.

    Among  the shows that struck a chord with viewers include: Rangbaaz, which was launched late 2018 soared in 2019. The Kunal Khemu-starring BP Singh-produced Abhay too made its mark after being launched in early 2019. Kaafir – an original from Siddharth Malhotra’s Alchemy Films – too was much talked about. Zeel took its successful TV show Jamai Raaja to Zee5 in the shape of Jamai 2.0 during the year.

    After banking on catch-up and sports content for a long time,  Star India’s Hotstar also decided to invest in premium original content. Reportedly, Hotstar jumped onto the bandwagon with a Rs 120 crore investment plan. The primary reason to launch originals is to convert users into paid subscribers in the face of increasing competition. Hitherto, adapting successful foreign shows by infusing local flavours had been an important aspect of Hotstar’s strategy but it is certain that the platform is not going to limit itself to adaptations.

    Another player with deep pockets, Amazon Prime Video, also scaled up its local content offering along with a stellar roster of movies. With highly acclaimed originals like Made in Heaven, The Family Man, the OTT platform has already attracted enough user attention. Moreover, the second seasons of earlier hits are also in pipeline.

    Amazon Prime Video’s international rival has gradually evolved its investment in India – Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in his latest visit revealed that it is committing Rs 3000 crore in this year and next for Indian content.

    Other homegrown players like VOOT, SonyLIV also realigning their focus on original content as they don’t have significant play in the segment.

    Innovation with pricing:

    The streamers are not only experimenting with content to make build consumer love, but they are also jiggling around with pricing  in order to find the sweet spot which appeals to consumers. Rather than directly slashing prices, the streaming platforms have opted for sachet pricing.

    All the major players – Hotstar, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ZEE5, SonyLIV followed this strategy.

    Hotstar launched a Hotstar VIP pack at Rs 365 a year, much lower than its premium service which is priced at Rs 999 per year. SonyLIV has already tested a weekly subscription package priced at Rs 29 only. While ZEE5 has  launched special packages in languages including Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, it is looking at a mobile-only plan as well.

    Even ALTBalaji is also likely to consider having sachet pricing in the next two years.

    Most importantly, Netflix in an industry-first move launched a mobile-only pack in India priced at Rs 199. Maybe the myth that Indian consumers are shy to pay for content has been broken but the players have also realised Indian consumers are value-conscious.

    Experimenting with new partnerships:

    At the same time when the platforms were trying to differentiate in the crowded space, they also forged interesting partnerships. The new entrant MX Player stitched content tie-ups with Sony Liv, Arré and Hoichoi. Hotstar did a deal with Hooq to make its Hollywood offering stronger. But the most interesting one was the betrothal announcement between ZEE5 and Alt Balaji. It went way beyond content syndication – more towards content sharing, an arrangement that includes co-creation of a number of premium originals which will be available to subscribers of both the platforms.

    Although telco-partnerships have proved to be helpful for OTT platforms, the profitability of platform-to-platform alliances in the long-run yet remains to be tested.

    Key people movements:

    Along with changes in business plans, content strategy, the OTT platforms reshuffled their teams in 2019 as well. Netflix continued expanding its Indian team with TV and streaming veterans being hired locally,  including the appointment of Voot content head Monika Shergill, and the BBC’s Myleeta Aga. VOOT on its part recruited its new COO Gourav Rakshit from Shaadi.com keeping its subscription business in mind. After Uday Sodhi quit, SPNI handed the reins of SonyLiv to television vet Danish Khan. Ekta Kapoor-led ALTBalaji has seen high profile exits as CEO Sunil Lulla and COO Sunil Nair quit the organisation this year.

    2019 was exciting for the OTT platforms undoubtedly. The cloud of content regulation over the platforms also seems to be clear as the government has reportedly agreed to allow the streamers to self regulate.

    But a few of the old issues like lack of OTT measurement systems, lower broadband penetration, content piracy are still proving bothersome.

    In addition to that, the global and Indian economic crises, a hike in telecom and data tariffs may prove a dampener for the industry, if not in the long-term, at least for the first half of the next calendar year.

    So the challenges will continue to dog the streamers as they plod on to conquer a nation’s TV junkies.

  • Reimagining SonyLIV: the story begins

    Reimagining SonyLIV: the story begins

    MUMBAI: Way before international streaming giants entered the Indian over-the-top (OTT) market, Indian broadcast networks had already rolled out their digital offerings. Sony Pictures Networks India's (SPNI) digital arm SonyLIV – one of the early-movers in the “streaming race”, is now undergoing transformation under a new leadership team. While its business has largely been driven by advertising revenues and catalogue offerings till now, the streamer is all set to increase its focus on subscription and original content.

    Led by digital veteran Uday Sodhi for around half a decade, SPNI rejigged its team, plonking in old-time SPNI executive Danish Khan to lead it, adding to his responsibilities as business head of its leading GEC Sony Entertainment Television. Khan roped in the A-Team that works with him at SET, Ashish Golwalkar and Aman Srivastava, to also help him revitalise SonyLIV. Golwalkar, the content head at SET will now help build the streamers slate, while Srivastava, who steered the rebranding and positioning of SET, will also have the digital business marketing title on his visiting card. Amogh Dusad as head – programming and new initiatives, digital business has been given the mandate of strategic planning, operations, viewership management and analytics for SonyLIV.

    Golwalkar says his experience at SET will help him steer the streamer’s content play well. “As we jokingly say that on SET, in any case, we make digital content. The digital traction of SET is very good because as a channel we are largely urban. We are focussed on metros and newer metros and the urban markets and digital growth is also happening here which very nicely coincides,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. “In terms of learning, of course, it is a different medium. So we will have to evaluate the content basis that.”

    “However, there are certain inherent aspects that we have as a network in terms of the ethos of content and the kind of people we talk to. I think we will take a lot of synergies from that piece and we will navigate those people who are already there on the network and look after how we navigate them to our own digital platform as opposed to them straying to some other OTT platforms. I think that’s going to be a challenge but I think we’ll do it,” he adds.

    Golwalkar confesses that for any streamer the real traction for subscription is driven by premium sports or premium content and SonyLIV is going to play both. As the network already has premium sports properties, the major focus will be on originals for the next few months.  “Anyway, we did not have any significant original content play before this,” he says.

    In terms of language, Hindi and English are going to be important languages, followed by Marathi and Bangla as SPNI already has linear television channels in those markets. The platform will also consider some of the south languages also.

    “We already have Sony Pictures Television content, some of it is with other OTT platforms. So we will see how we can attract more studios and international content to SonyLIV, the talks are on. These relationships with the international studios are forged over many years. Some of the relationships we already have and some of them we intend to kind of build,” he comments on English content portfolio.

    “We have just started SVOD last year. We started the relationship with Lionsgate which gives us almost 400-500 hours of content. Some of the bigger shows from their slate include Power, Anger Management, Sweetbitter. We strengthened our Hollywood offering with SPT content also. We believe that there is an audience for English content also. It has just been six to eight months into the journey.  I think we will continue to push and strengthen Hollywood offering,“ comments Amogh Dusad, another key person in the transformation.

    “We are looking at the entire piece like a strong SVOD service coming and the idea is to be in touch with the consumers whether online or offline or on any social media or the basic consumptions on the app to ensure that what we show on the app  is in sync with his /her taste and preferences. And a lot of work is going to happen in the next two months,” Dusad adds.

    The reason for the SVOD shift: with higher investment in originals and acquisition of premium TV content, reliance on just ad revenues is proving a challenge for Indian streamers. The subscription curve is growing at a faster clip than the ad revenue one, although the Indian market is going to remain an ad-led one as per experts. A recent KPMG report projects subscription revenue from OTT platforms to grow to Rs 22 billion in FY20 and Rs 62 billion by FY23.

    “The insights tell you what are the triggers that get a person to start sampling the product and what is it that keeps the person as well. So what it helps especially for us is to design the consumer experience around that,” explains Srivastava. “So, one is an experience which is on the app, the other is the interaction with the brand outside the product as well. We will also have to work on is where do you get the consumers as insights will play a role where you find a like-minded set of audiences. All of these help in defining the consumer journey – some of who are on the platform, some of who are not on the platform and some who are not even aware of the platform. So we are going to work around all three sets of people using all kind of insights we get on or outside the platform.”

    Is pricing going to stay put or will a new package be drawn up?

    “Everything is up for change. As all were saying, all businesses go through a transformation, so SonyLIV, the digital business in SPN, is going through one such transformation and everything is up for discussion. What we are very sure is that we are going to shift the focus more towards subscription, currently, a large bulk of it is ad revenue. It’s a no-brainer that if anyone wants to have a play in this, we will have to drive subscription,” Golwalkar sums up.