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Tag: Streaming service

  • EU nations cooperate to take down pirate global streaming service

    EU nations cooperate to take down pirate global streaming service

    MUMBAI: What does it take shut a global  illegal streaming service originating somewhere in Europe?

    Try this for size: The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation  (Eurojust ). The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol). The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA). Italian, Croatian, Romanian, Swedish, Swiss, Dutch, Chinese  and the UK authorities.

    Quite a handful, right?

    Well, they all worked down together late November  to take down one of the world’s largest illegal streaming services, according to a  press release issued by Eurojust.  In a large-scale operation, over 100 searches were carried out against 102 suspects. Eleven suspects were arrested in Croatia.

    The suspects illegally distributed material from streaming services online, including films and series. They also pirated more than 2,500 television channels, mainly sports. The illegal service served more than 22 million users worldwide. They were able to make over Euros 250 million in illegal profits per month. The economic damages to the copyright holders of the material is estimated at Euro10 billion. 

    To evade authorities, the suspects allegedly used encrypted messaging services to communicate and false identities to register phone numbers, credit cards, server rentals and TV subscriptions.

    On 26 November, during an international operation, the servers hosting the illegal streaming were seized and shut down, disrupting the services.

    Collaboration between authorities was set up at Eurojust to effectively pull the plug on the illegal streamer. Coordination meetings at Eurojust’s headquarters allowed authorities from Italy, Croatia, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK  to work together on the investigation and plan the operation to shut down the service and arrest the suspects. Europol supported the operation by deploying experts and analysing the available intelligence during the investigation phase. 

    The cooperation between the authorities culminated in a joint operation to take down the services on 26 November. The operation  involved over 270 officers from the Polizia Postale carrying out 89 property searches in 15 Italian regions. An additional 14 searches were conducted by law enforcement agencies abroad, including five addresses in the UK, and further searches and seizures in the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Germany and Croatia,  according to the AAPA.

    During  the searches in Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia, the UK  and China, over Euros 1.6 million in cryptocurrency and Euros 40,000 in cash was seized. Croatian police arrested 11 suspects. AAPA said that “the immediately seized proceeds represent only a fraction of an illegal business that is alleged to yield approximately Euros 3 billion per annum.”

    The operation was massive as can be ascertained from the results achieved:  102 suspects were identified  with the arrest of 11 people after searching 112 houses. 100 domains were blocked with 29 servers being taken away along with 27 different IPTV equipment and devices. During the searches 560 resellers names were discovered along with an assortment of drugs and weapons. 

    AAPA co-president Mark Mulready said: “We applaud the efforts of the Catania public prosecutor’s office, the Croatian state attorney office for suppression of corruption and organised crime, Europol, Eurojust, and all of the law enforcement agencies involved in these operations. The scale of these multi-jurisdictional law enforcement actions highlights the considerable challenge our industry faces when dealing with such sophisticated international pirate networks.

    “We are proud to have collaborated with our law enforcement partners to provide technical training and in-field support to assist them in successfully tackling the world’s largest pirate network.   We are very grateful to the AAPA members who supported this action day, including Premier League, Sky Group, Nagravision, Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), beIN Sports, United Media, Friend MTS and Irdeto.  We will continue to closely collaborate with law enforcement agencies in Europe and beyond to enable them to successfully identify, investigate and prosecute large-scale cross-border pirate networks.”

    The authorities involved in the actions were:

    * Italy: Public Prosecution Office Catania
    * Croatia: The Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime 
    * Netherlands: Fiscal Information and Investigation Service; Public Prosecution Service Rotterdam 
    * Romania: Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism; Direction for Fighting Organized Crime – Cyber Crime Fighting Service
    * Sweden: National unit against organized crime at the Swedish Prosecution Authority; Swedish Police Authority
    * Switzerland: Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland; Federal Office of Police 
    * United Kingdom: City of London Police

  • Prime Video channels expands with Punjabi streaming service Chaupal addition

    Prime Video channels expands with Punjabi streaming service Chaupal addition

    Mumbai: Prime Video, India’s most loved entertainment destination, today announced the addition of Chaupal, India’s leading Punjabi video streaming service, to Prime Video channels. Chaupal offers a curated line-up of popular Punjabi language content including a wide library of the latest and blockbuster Punjabi movies and web series. Prime members can now purchase an annual add-on annual subscription to Chaupal with a special introductory offer of Rs 599, available only through Prime Video channels.

    Chaupal’s immersive and engaging multi-genre content includes popular titles across movies and series, such as Kaali Jotta, Aaja Mexico Chaliye, Outlaw, Chal Jindiye, Khao Piyo Aish Karo, Panchhi, and Paani Ch Madhaani, to name a few. In addition to this, Chaupal will also offer subscribers an opportunity to stream the latest theatrical movie releases, beginning with Carry on Jatta 3 (available from 7 September onwards), an uproarious comedy with charismatic performances and an irresistible storyline that has struck a chord with audiences across the world and emerged as a mega-blockbuster worldwide.

    Commenting on the collaboration, Chaupal VP of strategic partnership and alliances Mahesh Sharma said, “With Chaupal, we want to provide the best Punjabi language content to our viewers. For us, this integration is a milestone, and we believe it will have a significant impact in driving the Punjabi content consumption across the length and breadth of this country in the long term. We are thrilled to partner with Prime Video Channels to offer subscribers relevant, world-class Punjabi entertainment and, at the same time, take our content deeper across India.”

    Prime members can purchase an add-on subscription to Chaupal at a special introductory offer of Rs 599 annually.

    Prime Video channels benefits for Prime members include:

    •    No hassle login & billing: Customers do not have to juggle between multiple usernames, passwords and billing due dates. With Prime Video channels, all premium content subscriptions are managed within a single destination – Prime Video apps and website.
    •    More time watching, less time deciding: Customers don’t have to spend time toggling between their favourite services to discover what’s new and popular. With Prime Video channels they can browse in one place, search across all their premium subscription and get personalized recommendations. All of this without ever having to leave the Prime Video app or website.
    •    Enjoy your favourite features, no matter which service: Customers can enjoy IMDb’s X-Ray feature and a single consolidated watch list and download library for offline viewing. Subscribers can also manage data consumption and much more across all their premium channel subscriptions.
    •    More choice: With Prime Video channels, Prime members can access thousands of additional titles across 21 OTT services, including Chaupal, BBC Player, BBC Kids, Animax + GEM, Lionsgate Play, discovery+, Eros Now, DocuBay, ManoramaMAX, hoichoi, MUBI, AMC+, ShortsTV, VROTT, Acorn TV, NammaFlix, Stingray All Good Vibes, iwonder, Curiosity Stream, MyZen TV, and Museum TV.
  • Amazon Freevee unveils new slate of originals

    Amazon Freevee unveils new slate of originals

    Mumbai: During the Amazon presentation at NewFronts in New York City, streaming service platform Amazon Freevee (formerly IMDb TV) announced an increased slate of originals, with multiple pickups of scripted and unscripted content. 

    The free streaming service greenlit a new cooking competition series called “America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation,” the coming-of-age drama “Beyond Black Beauty,” the family competition series “Play-Doh Squished” and the music documentary “Post Malone: Runaway.” Freevee also picked up a second season of “Bosch: Legacy” and a third and fourth season of Uninterrupted’s “Top Class: The Life and Times of the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers.”

    Additionally, Amazon Freevee has secured a short-term film licensing agreement with Disney Media And Entertainment Distribution for a limited selection of titles such as “Deadpool,” “Deadpool 2,” “Logan,” “Hidden Figures,” “Murder on the Orient Express,” and “The Post” which will be available to customers on the free streaming service. This news follows the previously announced Freevee deal with NBCU for an exclusive network window for films from Universal Filmed Entertainment Group’s 2020-21 theatrical slate, including titles such as “Dolittle,” “The Invisible Man,” “Promising Young Woman,” “F9,” and “Sing 2.”

    Amazon Freevee also announced that it has increased its free ad-supported TV (Fast) offering to more than 75 channels, including exclusive linear channels for the Canadian sitcom “Kim’s Convenience,” as well as the original “The Kids in the Hall” comedy series. In addition to these exclusive channels, Fast programming on Freevee includes curated, thematically programmed channels, such as popular movies and TV shows, comedy shows, and animated shows; Freevee and Prime Video Originals channels, such as Judy Justice and Bosch; and syndicated channels with several distribution partners, including A&E, BBC, and Scripps, featuring an array of genres and with content selection based on customers’ wide variety of interests.

    “By developing and programming inspired, fan-favorite Original series and movies – produced and delivered by Amazon Studios in partnership with some of the industry’s best creators and studio partners – and by securing exclusive, highly sought licensed content, we have built a destination where viewers know they can discover and enjoy something new, or indulge in something they already love,” said Amazon Freevee co-heads of content and programming Lauren Anderson and Ryan Pirozzi. “We’ve also built a home for talent where their ideas will be nurtured and brought to life, and are building a brand where advertisers know they will find popular, compelling programming. Today’s announcements about our upcoming slate showcase our continued commitment to delivering customers the premium content they crave – always free of charge.”

  • HBO Max partners with Series Mania Institute to boost video production in Europe

    HBO Max partners with Series Mania Institute to boost video production in Europe

    Lille, France: The shortage of writing, production, and directorial talent is being bemoaned by one and all at a time when demand for content is booming worldwide. WarnerMedia EMEA is doing something about it in France to start with. EVP & head of original production, EMEA Anthony Root at the content powerhouse- on 23 March – announced that it is going to be putting in a million dollars over the next three years behind an initiative SeriesMania Institute being pushed by fast growing TV series festival SeriesMania.

    Present at the Series Mania Forum during the announcement were the festival’s founder & general director Laurence Herszberg, and Series Mania Institute project manager Pierre Ziemniak. HBO Max will be joining Newen (founding partner), France Télévisions, and Entreprises et Cités, The Series Mania Institute, launched last year, is an initiative devoted entirely to training the professionals of tomorrow’s European TV series.

    The organisation also benefits from the support of the Lille European Metropolis (MEL), the Hauts-de-France Region, and the CNC, as well as partnerships with some of the leading European schools, including La Fémis and Sciences Po Lille. Its European course Eureka Series is supported by the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Union.

    Herszberg says, “Since its creation, our mission with the Series Mania Institute has been to be the incubator for creating new talent and developing an impressive European network, while reinforcing the training of these professionals in the field of series and audiovisual content, including scriptwriters, directors, producers, and broadcasters. Now, thanks to HBO Max and their generous funding, along with all of our partners, we are well positioned to devote the necessary training to these new talents who will create the European series of tomorrow. I could not be prouder than to be making this announcement today.”

    HBO Max EMEA General Manager Christina Sulebakk adds, “Europe is home to an incredible breadth and depth of talent and in partnership with the Series Mania Institute, we’re thrilled to provide the support and resources to nurture the next generation. At HBO Max, we recognise that programming is only as good as those who are empowered to make it and through this initiative, we’re excited to play a meaningful role in helping creatives to do their best work.”

    Unit Audiovisual Industry and Media Support Programmes, European Commission head Lucia Recalde highlights, “Creative Europe MEDIA is proud to be a partner of the Series Mania ecosystem, first through Series Mania Forum, and now with Eureka Series, the European training programme of Series Mania Institute. HBO Max supporting the Institute marks an important step in the integration of international SVOD platforms to the European industry, and a major creative opportunity for European series professionals”.

    Opened in 2021, the Series Mania Institute is the first school entirely devoted to training future series professionals. The Institute is made up of three programmes, including: Eureka Series, an intensive three-month training course for emerging television drama series writers and producers from all over Europe, a Master’s Programme at Science Po Lille for future managers, and Le Tremplin/Springboard, a platform to help identify, initiate, and guide young talents in the Hauts-de-France region. Through these programmes and future initiatives, the Series Mania Institute delivers world-class training to creators and storytellers from diverse backgrounds and origins and develops the next generation of remarkable European series makers, contributing to a strong future for the European audiovisual industry.

  • Disney+ Hotstar to premiere 11-episode prequel to hit show ‘Anupama’

    Disney+ Hotstar to premiere 11-episode prequel to hit show ‘Anupama’

    Mumbai: Streaming major Disney+ Hotstar has announced that it will release a 11-episode prelude to Star Plus’ hit television series “Anupama.”

    The forthcoming series will see actor Rupali Ganguly reprising her popular role in the digital space. Joining her will be on-screen husband played by Sudhanshu Pandey, as well as the entire cast from the series. The episodes of the prequel will be released over 11 days exclusively on the streaming service.

    “Experimenting with new formats is a norm at Disney+ Hotstar, and this vision has led to the genesis of a prequel of the audience’s favorite television show,” said head content Disney+ Hotstar and HSM entertainment network Gaurav Banerjee. “Following the response of our recent titles, and the avid fan following for Anupama, we took the opportunity to further deepen their connection with the character in an all-new format. We are confident that this exciting format will resonate well with India’s series-loving fandom and make the viewers fall in love with the character once again.”

    Launched in July 2020, “Anupama” has already aired over 500 episodes. A Hindi adaptation of the popular Bengali series “Sreemoyee”, the show is centered on the life of a Gujarati homemaker.

  • AMC Networks launches streaming service AMC+ in India

    AMC Networks launches streaming service AMC+ in India

    Mumbai: Global media and entertainment company AMC Networks on Tuesday announced the launch of its streaming service AMC+ in India. The service will be available on Apple TV channels and via Apple TV app at Rs 199 per month.

    AMC Networks is known for its hit series “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul,” “The Walking Dead,” “Mad Men” and more. The programming on the service will be subtitled in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, said the statement.

    AMC+ will feature original exclusive series such as “Firebite” featuring Yael Stone and Rob Collins, animation comedy “Ultra City Smiths” featuring Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, John C Reilly, and Debra Winger. There are also series in the pipeline including “That Dirty Black Bag” starring Dominic Cooper and “61st Street” starring Emmy winner Courtney B Vance. AMC+ will also premiere the eight-time Australian Academy award-winning film “Nitram” from director Justin Kurzel on 30 March.  

    Later this year, AMC+ will introduce new content from ‘The Walking Dead Universe’ and premium original dramas from top US producers including a new franchise based on Anne Rice’s best-selling novels.  

    AMC+ also offers access to AMC Network’s targeted streaming service Acorn TV at no additional cost. Acorn TV offers ad-free shows from Britain including exclusive original productions such as Queens of Mystery, Under the Vines and The Madame Blanc Mysteries, fan favourites such as Line of Duty and Doc Martin, and acclaimed series 19-2 and East West 101, among others.

    “AMC+ offers viewers a premium line-up of celebrated and award- winning series including our signature dramas, wildly original comedies, and compelling true crime series, along with a curated collection of new and independent films,” said AMC+ general manager Courtney Thomasma. “With our pipeline of highly anticipated new series from the U.S. and the beloved international mysteries and dramas from Acorn TV, the AMC+ bundle brings epic, thrilling stories and iconic characters together with one subscription. We are excited to offer our slate of original programming directly to audiences in India for the first time through Apple TV channels.”

  • Amazon closes acquisition deal with movie studio MGM

    Amazon closes acquisition deal with movie studio MGM

    Mumbai: Amazon has completed its $8.45 billion acquisition of movie studio Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) recently. MGM is the studio behind franchises such as ‘James Bond’ and ‘Rocky’.

    The decision to close the deal comes after a deadline passed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to challenge the deal. Earlier this week, the European Commission had approved the deal.

    Amazon is set to acquire 4000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes, 180 Academy Awards and 100 Emmy Awards. It will bolster the content catalogue offered on its video streaming service Amazon Prime Video. The talent at MGM will be merged with Amazon Studios to create diverse entertainment choices for consumers.

    MGM’s catalogue includes TV shows such as “The Handmaid’s Tale”, “Fargo”, “Vikings” and films such as “12 Angry Men’, ‘Basic Instinct’, ‘Creed’, ‘Raging Bull’, ‘Silence of the Lambs’, ‘Tomb Raider’ as well as this year’s Oscar nominee ‘Licorice Pizza’.

    The MGM staff will join the organisation of Prime Video and Amazon Studios senior vice president Mike Hopkins. Amazon had announced the deal in May 2021.

  • Discovery Plus, HBO Max to merge into one streaming service

    Discovery Plus, HBO Max to merge into one streaming service

    Mumbai: Discovery, which is expected to close its acquisition of WarnerMedia in the second quarter of 2022, confirmed its plans to combine its streaming service Discovery Plus and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max into one service rather than offer the two platforms as a bundle.

    Discovery chief financial officer Gunnar Weidenfels who addressed the Deutsche Bank 30th Annual Media, Internet and Telecom Conference said that Discovery is making preparations to combine the two streaming services. But before they are combined, the first step of integration will be some form of bundling as the company figures out the best way to merge the two platforms.

    On 11 March, Discovery Inc stockholders approved various matters relating to the acquisition of WarnerMedia from AT&T to create Warner Bros-Discovery Inc. The transaction will bring together WarnerMedia’s entertainment, sports and new assets with Discovery’s non-fiction, international entertainment, and sports business.

    Direct-to-consumer service Discovery Plus had 22 million subscribers, while HBO Max had 73.8 million subscribers at the end of 2021.

  • Disney+ Hotstar’s Indian entertainment content is underappreciated: Disney CFO

    Disney+ Hotstar’s Indian entertainment content is underappreciated: Disney CFO

    Mumbai: The Walt Disney Company SVP and CFO Christine McCarthy said that Disney+ Hotstar owes a large part of its success to live cricket, but the Indian streaming giant’s entertainment content is underappreciated. The Disney executive was addressing the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference 2022 on Tuesday.

    “India is a big market. There’s a lot of focus on the IPL. Disney+ Hotstar users enjoy the current IPL sports program on the platform. But they also enjoy a lot of other sports programming, whether it’s other cricket rights, other international sports. Something that’s very underappreciated is the amount of general entertainment and the quality of that entertainment and viewership in the Indian market,” McCarthy told Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Swinburne.

    She further added, “In 2021, of the 15 top viewed series on direct-to-consumer, nine of those came from Disney+ Hotstar. So, there’s content that people are going to view just like here in the United States, a lot of people view sports, sports is something that’s a very popular type of content to consume, but they also consume other types of content. And, so, when you think about the number of hours and the quality of the content that is being produced in the Disney+ Hotstar originals, that’s something we’re very proud of. And we think that that will continue to make that business one that consumers will engage in.”

    When asked if Disney+ would be able to achieve its 2024 guidance, McCarthy stated, “I know some people were skeptical on our last earnings call when we said that we could still make our guidance and this actually related to something in India regarding the IPL. But we feel good about where we are with that 230 million to 260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024.”

    The Disney executive also said that the company is not only looking at subscriber growth but also profitability. “And we like those two because we think it injects the right kind of tension for really managing the business. We’re driving towards that, and we feel really good because of the content that we have; the brands we have, the intellectual property we have to work with. And once again, we’re learning more.”

  • AT&T likely to close WarnerMedia-Discovery merger by June-end

    AT&T likely to close WarnerMedia-Discovery merger by June-end

    Mumbai: US major AT&T has reported its fourth-quarter financial results on Wednesday. The company’s WarnerMedia segment posted revenues of $9.9 billion, a growth of 15.4 per cent year-on-year driven by content licensing and direct-to-consumer subscription growth. The company said that it expects the WarnerMedia-Discovery transaction to close by the second quarter of 2022.

    “We are encouraged with how the process for the WarnerMedia deal is progressing and now expect the transaction to close in the second quarter,” said AT&T CEO John Stankey. “Coming off an outstanding year with HBO Max, we plan to hand off the business with a strong exit velocity, and we look to further our international momentum and deliver more world-class content for viewers.”

    He further added, “When the deal closes, the investments made in both content and HBO Max growth, coupled with strong execution by the team, will ensure Warner Bros Discovery is positioned as a leading global media company with the depth of content and the capabilities required to lead in the next era of media.”

    WarnerMedia’s streaming service HBO Max added 13.1 million subscribers in 2021 and currently has a base of 73.8 million subscribers globally. The investor presentation also revealed that WarnerMedia saw a DTC subscription revenue growth of 11.5 per cent from $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter.

    In May 2021, AT&T announced that it had proposed a merger between Discovery Inc and its media subsidiary WarnerMedia, which would be spun off into a new publicly-traded company to be known as Warner Bros Discovery. The merged entity would be led by Discovery CEO David Zaslav. The transaction was approved by the European Commission in December 2021 and it is expected to be completed in mid-2022.