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Tag: streaming

  • Netflix hikes subscription prices in the US

    Netflix hikes subscription prices in the US

    KOLKATA: Netflix has hiked the prices of its subscription plans in its home market, the US. This marks the video-streaming service’s first price changes in the US since an increase rolled out early last year.

    In the latest round of price hike, which has been anticipated for a while, the company has raised the standard plan by $1 to $13.99 per month. The premium plan that allows more people to watch the service on different screens simultaneously will now cost $2 more at $17.99 per month. The basic US plan remains the same at $9 per month.

    "We understand people have more entertainment choices than ever and we’re committed to delivering an even better experience for our members,” Netflix said in a statement. “We’re updating our prices so that we can continue to offer more variety of TV shows and films.”

    The price bump will be immediately effective for new subscribers, but will be rolled out for existing customers in phases over the next few months. The move comes amid global surge in streaming during Covid2019-fueled lockdowns in several countries.

    Netflix has added 2.2 million net subscribers in the third quarter of 2020. For Q4, it has forecast 6.0 million paid net adds.

  • Amazon Prime Video makes Mirzapur Season 1 available for free

    Amazon Prime Video makes Mirzapur Season 1 available for free

    KOLKATA: As the release date for the most-anticipated season two of Mirzapur fast approaches, the excitement for the show is increasing every single day. So much so that the team of Amazon Prime Video is all set to give die-hard fans like us the full first season at no cost! With Season 1 of the show streaming on the platform, Amazon Prime Video has now uploaded the entire first season on their official YouTube channel to gear up the audience up ahead of the second season hitting the platform.

    In a nutshell, Mirzapur is the story of Kaleen Bhaiyya, the King Of Mirzapur vs the Pandit Brothers, Guddu and Bablu.  What initially begins as a battle for power, leading to the throne of Mirzapur, eventually shapes the destiny of the city, influencing its business and its politics. While season 2 of Mirzapur is all set to premiere on 23 October, fans can binge-watch Season 1 and enjoy the world of Mirzapur while they wait for the second season to drop!  

    Fascinating viewers in a terrific first season, the show featured Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Shweta Tripathi, Rasika Duggal and Kulbhushan Kharbandha in the lead. While Tripathi stole the show essaying the role of Kaleen Bhaiyya, the King Of Mirzapur, Ali Fazal and Vikrant Massey packed a punch as Guddu and Bablu Pandit – the wannabe gangsters. Shriya played the love interest of Ali and Shweta, as Golu, was seen as a studious girl entering into college politics. Rasika Duggal played the role of Beena – Kaleen Bhaiyya’s wife and Kulbhushan Kharbanda played Kaleen Bhaiyya’s father, a don of his era. Joining them in Season 2 are Vijay Varma, Priyanshu Painyuli, Isha Talwar, Amit Sial, Anjum Sharma.

    With all eyes firmly fixed on what happens next on the show, the makers have kept everyone’s curiosity high by not revealing much about the story. Produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under their banner Excel Media and Entertainment, the second season of Mirzapur will premiere on 23 October on Amazon Prime Video.

  • How Netflix is scripting India story?

    How Netflix is scripting India story?

    KOLKATA: This is an age of binge-watchers and Netflix is yet the undisputed king of the new era. Taking off with House of Cards to luring the audience to their screens with La Casa De Papel (Money Heist), the streaming giant has re-written the script of media and entertainment industry across the world. Once a US unicorn, it is now changing the reality of the industry across the world now. India indeed remains at the heart of its international expansion.

    As Netflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos says, “It's hard to say, how it (Indian market) could be more important. We have said from the beginning that India is a critical market in the world for us.” In a candid conversation with Film Companion editor Anupama Chopra at ET Global Business Summit Unwired 3.0, Sarandos shares insights on how Indian content is travelling outside the world, Indians are adopting global content and how the streaming giant itself is building up its understanding of the market gradually.

    Sarandos highlights that the Indian market is important not only for Netflix but for the global M&E industry. While it has been always adored for great storytelling and great cinema, the appetite for great TV content is also increasing. He says that they are very heavily invested in bringing out original stories from India. “But more importantly, we are not just growing it for India. We will grow these stories to be for the global platform so that people around the world are enjoying these stories,” he adds.

    Read more news on Netflix

    According to him, the Indian stories are travelling everywhere. Netflix’s first marquee content in India, Sacred Games played in every major market throughout Europe and Latin America. Mighty Little Bheem is now the most-watched non-English animated series in the US. On the other side, the reciprocal is true too as Indian subscribers are watching content from Spain, Korea, Japan at large scale. While the Indian stories are travelling globally, Sarandos mentions that the platform is mindful of local sensitivities.

    “It’s a very dynamic place. One of the things that I miss most since these travel restrictions of Covid2019 have been implemented is my opportunities to come to India. It's one of the most fascinating fast-moving dynamic places in the world. The energy on the ground is just you can feel it in your bones when you walk down the street,” Sarandos expresses his love for the market.

    The man who decides what the world will watch is fascinated with the consumption pattern of the Indian audiences. He is surprised by the way the Indian audience has embraced Roma and the overall diversity, breadth of programming. In the last year, more than 80 per cent of Indian subscribers have seen a film every week on Netflix.

    However, the streaming giant’s original movie slate in India is not qualitatively consistent compared to the global market. Sarandos thinks the inconsistency is due to the trial and error method as it has not been very long since when the platform has started building its Indian content library. He reassures that there will be constant improvement. “We're becoming much more ingrained in the creative culture of India,” he states.

    Streaming has been one of the very few businesses across the world which has not been crushed by Covid2019. More and more people have resorted to good stories. While the streaming services have been able to entertain the audience with fresh stories yet, the long pause in the shooting has been one of the main concerns of those platforms. Netflix is not an exception.

    Sarandos acknowledges that getting back to production safely tops the priority list to resist any interruption in the story. While it has been particularly challenging in India, it is also seeing very encouraging signs with more than 10 originals scheduled to be back for production in November. 

  • ViacomCBS to rebrand CBS All Access to Paramount + for early 2021 launch

    ViacomCBS to rebrand CBS All Access to Paramount + for early 2021 launch

    MUMBAI: Paramount+ is the brand name of the new global streaming service that ViacomCBS will be rolling out in Australia, Latin America and the Nordics in early 2021. This was revealed by the company’s president & CEO Bob Bakish who had announced in June 2020 that its subscription video on demand CBS All Access will be rebooted and relaunched with additional premium programming.  

    Said Bakish: “Paramount is an iconic and storied brand beloved by consumers all over the world, and it is synonymous with quality, integrity and world-class storytelling. With Paramount+, we’re excited to establish one global streaming brand in the broad-pay segment that will draw on the sheer breadth and depth of the ViacomCBS portfolio to offer an extraordinary collection of content for everyone to enjoy.”

    Read more news on Paramount 

    Bakish also announced a slate of fresh shows and series which would be available to subscribers of Paramount+:

    .  The  Offer, a scripted limited event series from Paramount Television Studios, based on Oscar-winning producer Al Ruddy’s extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making The Godfather. The 10-episode event series is written and executive produced by Michael Tolkin (Escape at Dannemora and The Player). Ruddy will also serve as executive producer, and Emmy-winning producer Leslie Greif (Hatfields & McCoys) will executive produce and be a writer on the series.

    .  Lioness, a spy drama created by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone) with Sheridan, Jill Wagner, David Glasser, David Hutkin, and Bob Yari set to executive produce. Based on a real-life CIA program, Lioness follows a young Marine recruited to befriend the daughter of a terrorist to bring the organization down from within. The series is produced by Paramount Network and 101 Studios.

    Read more news on ViacomCBS

    .  A reimagination of the Emmy®-nominated series Behind the Music entitled MTV’s Behind The Music – The Top 40, which will unlock MTV’s vault from the past 40 years for a unique and intimate look at the 40 biggest artists of all time, through their voices and their eyes. The series will be produced by Creature Films and MTV Studios.

    .  The Real Criminal Minds, a true crime docuseries based on the hit CBS Television series, and produced by XG Productions in association with CBS Television Studios and ABC Signature.

    .  The service is also developing a revival of The Game  as part of BET’s programming on Paramount +  from CBS Television Studios and Grammnet Productions.

    The new original series announced today join the service’s previously announced plans for Kamp Koral, a new original children’s series from Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants, and the service’s role as the exclusive SVOD home to The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run in early 2021. Additional new original content will be announced ahead of launch.

    This programming will join  CBS All Access’  robust existing offering of more than 20,000 episodes and movies from BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and more, as well as exclusive original series including  The Good Fight, The Twilight Zone, Tooning out on The News, No Activity, Why Women Kill, Interrogation, The Thomas John Experience, and Tell Me A Story, The Stand, The Man Who Fell to Earth,, The Harper House, Guilty Party, Star Trek: Discovery Star Trek: Picard, animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Strange New World.

    Since the transformation of  CBS All Access  began in late July, the service has experienced significant growth and engagement. With the addition of a diverse mix of content, including UEFA, Big Brother Live Feeds, star Trek: Lower Decks, and more than 3,500 episodes from across ViacomCBS’ brands, the service broke a new record for total monthly streams in August and experienced one of its best months ever in terms of new subscriber sign-ups. In addition, the average age of new subscribers in August was measurably younger than the service’s overall average subscriber age, due in large part to the addition of UEFA and the newly added content from various ViacomCBS brands.

    Leading up to the early 2021 rebrand to Paramount + ,  CBS All Access  will expand its content offering to more than 30,000 episodes and movies and continue to develop additional original series across brands including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and more, transforming it into a diversified super service for the ViacomCBS portfolio.

    “The response from consumers in just the early weeks of the service’s expansion already illustrates the tremendous opportunity ahead of us in bringing these phenomenal ViacomCBS brands together in one premium streaming home under the new Paramount +  name,” said ViacomCBS chief digital officer & ViacomCBS Digital CEO Marc DeBevoise. “With the addition of even more content from across the portfolio as well as the new exclusive originals we are announcing today, we look forward to the early 2021 rebrand and bringing existing and new subscribers more of the compelling, genre-spanning live sports, breaking news and mountain of entertainment ViacomCBS has to offer.”

    Earlier this month ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) president & CEO David Lynn had said that the super streamer would not be launched in India as it already has successful streaming operations in Voot and Voot Select in partnership with Viacom18 and Reliance. 

  • New-gen kids prefer OTT platforms to kids’ TV channels

    New-gen kids prefer OTT platforms to kids’ TV channels

    KOLKATA: Back in the ’90s or early 2000s, kids had control over TV remotes during their vacation. Many kids would not have finished their meals without Mickey Mouse or Tom and Jerry on the screen which later became Pokemon and The Mask as well. With getting older, the names changed to Hannah Montana, That’s So Raven or High School Musical. Television occupied the childhood years of Gen Y and early Gen Z with some remembering their parents disconnecting cable just before board exams. The unfortunate Covid2019 pandemic has given an extended holiday to kids of today.   

    We all say major childhood habits grow into a lifelong trait. In that way, the future of linear television seems bleak as today’s kids are glued to video-on-demand services through smartphones, tablets and connected devices. Disney, the network which has amused several generations of kids has decided to shut three of its channels in the UK this fall. 

    Its new streaming service Disney+ will be home to content from Disney Channel, DisneyXD and Disney Junior from 1 October. Not only Europe, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, and Go Disney have been removed from Singapore’s Starhub and Singtel network. Although Disney+ is not available in Singapore yet, experts have speculated that it might soon enter the market.

    Why is Disney pulling off its kids’ channels from linear TV while its other channels still remain on? A network which has achieved over 50 million subscribers for its new streaming service in six months, is definitely looking at the long term game. A PWC data from 2019 showed that children between the ages of two and 11 watch 35 per cent fewer hours of live and time-shifted TV than they did in 2014; teenage viewing fell faster and was down almost 50 per cent over the same period. The statistics speak for Disney’s move to ditch traditional TV. It might be pulling off the oxygen supply via TV but it is injecting streaming in their blood.

    The change might be slower in India and as experts say linear TV and OTT will co-exist at least in the near future. If we look at BARC-Nielsen week 20 data, the kids genre has grown to nine per cent compared to pre-Covid2019 period. Compared to other genres, the growth is slower despite the surge in viewership in lockdown. Moreover, the growth is not even expected to translate into ad revenue. Hence, all the major networks in the country will try to monetise the same on their OTT platforms. 

    ZEE5 launched its kids’ section during the lockdown where all content from the network will be promoted. Viacom18 has already charted its future in Voot Select. SonyYAY has also been promoting its content on SonyLIV. Netflix revealed its ambitious plan for the segment earlier after churning out Mighty Little Bheem. Amazon Prime Video made its kids and family content free when lockdown started. Broadcasters are left with no option but to use digital platforms to get money out of a slowly dying genre on TV, even in India.

    Even during the countrywide shelter-at-home phase, co-viewing got a boost but for OTTs via connected devices or smart TVs. Kids are not only getting OTTs as their babysitters but also an activity to do with parents. As they grow, when they will look back at these days, a generation will remember Disney+, Netflix, Amazon as Gen Y did Cartoon Network, Nick and Disney Channel. 

    However, Indian kids are still enjoying traditional TV as BARC data shows that the kid's genre viewership has grown by 53 per in lockdown compared to the pre-Covid2019 period . 

  • Apple TV recruits Netflix engineer to enhance subscription services

    Apple TV recruits Netflix engineer to enhance subscription services

    MUMBAI: Apple has hired one of Netflix’s top engineers Ruslan Meshenberg. He joined the technical team working for the company’s newly launched TV-streaming and subscription services. Ruslan Meshenberg was responsible for building Netflix’s platform, especially creating a speedier and consistent service for audiences. He helped build out a smoother platform with higher latency.

    According to reports, Michael Abbott, a former engineer with twitter who joined Apple last year is recruiting experienced engineers for Apple’s technical team. With Apple’s services expanding in recent times higher revenue generation, its decision to strengthen the technical department is no surprise.

    Meshenberg joins Apple at the time when it is expanding its $4.99-a-month TV+ service, bringing in additional movies and originals. This comes out as a complex move that has tripped up other competitors in the streaming world.

    Apple seems to have learned its lesson from Disney’s streaming platform Disney + who had a failed launch with subscribers not being able to login due to technical issues.

    In the past couple of years, Apple has struggled to keep up with its technology rivals in terms of its performance and newly launched services like iCloud, Maps and its music-streaming business. For example, its subscription-based magazine service; News+ faced heavy criticism from analysts and reviewers for its default sync system.

    However, Apple TV+ has not faced any major issues since its launch. Meshenberg has the expertise to help address the company’s technical challenges. While being at Netflix, he managed to run most of the infrastructure enabling to increase the streaming with more than one billion hours of weekly programming.

    Moreover, Apple TV+ which started in November with few shows in its kitty is now prepping up to add a bundle of TV movies and shows to its bucket and tapping the international market. It will help Apple to compete against streaming giants including Netflix, HBO, Amazon and Disney.

    This kind of talent acquisition is certainly helpful for strengthening the end-user experience, which is beneficial for consumers who are paying hefty amounts to enjoy a better quality product.

  • Netflix Originals most in-demand among OTTs: Report

    Netflix Originals most in-demand among OTTs: Report

    MUMBAI: At the moment, the future of streaming services' uncrowned king Netflix has been over-discussed due to the entry of deep-pocket competitors. But till the third quarter of 2019 (July-September), Netflix has been able to retain its leadership position. A report from Parrot Analytics says that Netflix digital originals has the highest share of demand for digital original series around the world.

    According to the report, 61.3 per cent of the global demand for all digital originals is expressed for Netflix originals. However, despite the dominance of Stranger Things this quarter, the 61.3 per cent figure for 2019 Q3 is 1.3 per cent lower than the 62.6 per cent Netflix share in 2019 Q2. On the other hand, Amazon Prime Video has the largest demand gain in this period as its share grew 1.6 per cent from the previous quarter’s (2019 Q2) 10.8 per cent demand share. Across all other platforms the demand share has been relatively stable across quarters.

    The report also provided an insight into how the genres and subgenres of digital originals performed in the quarter. In all the markets, undoubtedly drama was the highest in-demand genre. While US has the highest digital original drama demand share at 66.9 per cent, with 63.8 per cent of demand, Columbia acquires the second position. Peru is one of the three most drama dominated markets in the report where drama captures a robust 62.3 per cent of demand share. In all the ten markets- United States, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Vietnam, Malaysia, The Philippines- Stranger Things was highest in-demand digital original in the quarter.

    Among the sub-genres, sci-fi genre dominated the top position in almost all the markets. In Malaysia and the Philippines superhero series just edged out sci-fi drama for the top spot in the most in-demand subgenre ranking. On the other hand, fantasy drama acquired the top spot in Vietnam. In Greece, Argentina and Peru crime drama peaked as the second most in-demand subgenre.

    In the US market, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu are neck and neck to be the platform with the second highest share of demand for digital original drama series. Prime Video surged in the final month of the quarter to overtake Hulu. Other than in the US, Prime video witnessed good growth in the UK, Greece, Vietnam. 

  • Netflix discloses paid subscriber number region wise

    Netflix discloses paid subscriber number region wise

    MUMBAI: For the first time, streaming giant Netflix has disclosed operating results for international business. Although Asia-Pacific till now stands as the smallest market of Netflix with 14.5 million subscribers, the market boasts of highest growth.

    In the region, the revenue over the past two years grew at 153 per cent to $382 million at the end of the third quarter of 2019 while the streaming subscribers grew 148 per cent  over that time period. Netflix’s average revenue per subscriber in Asia-Pacific markets is $9.29 (Approx. Rs 650).

    According to the statistics shared by the platform, it has 67.1 million pay subscribers in the United States and Canada. In the Middle East, Europe and Africa region, the paying subscriber number currently stands at 47.4 million members. The region has seen a growth of 105 per cent compared to the same quarter two years prior.

    The paid membership grew by 61 per cent to 29.4 million over the same time period in its third largest market  Latin America while streaming revenue increased 71 per cent  from the end of the third quarter of 2017 to $741 million the end of the third quarter of 2019.

    The United States and Canada have the most revenue per subscriber at $13.08 (Approx. Rs 929) followed by EMEA’s $10.40 (Approx. Rs 739). Latin America has the lowest revenue per subscriber at $8.63 (Approx. Rs 613).

  • Disney enters 5-year production, post-production deal with Microsoft

    Disney enters 5-year production, post-production deal with Microsoft

    MUMBAI: The Walt Disney Studios (Disney) has entered a five-year deal with Microsoft to move key parts of its movie-making and distribution processes to the cloud. Under the new partnership, the initial focus will be on moving some of the studio’s editing to the cloud.

    According to a report from Variety, Disney’s StudioLab, an internal innovation incubation lab, will lead the deal. The ultimate goal is to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform all the way “from scene to screen”.

    “There are tons of benefits of being in the cloud,”  Walt Disney Studios chief technology officer Jamie Voris said as quoted by Variety. He also added that cloud-based editing will allow Walt Disney Studios to more easily collaborate across multiple locations. He explained that working collaboratively on the same project in the cloud will also cut down the need to store and administer many different copies of a file.

    “It really feels like we are at the tipping point for cloud in media and entertainment,” said Microsoft US president Kate Johnson. "We like to think of us as the platform cloud for media and entertainment,” she added further. Disney opted for Microsoft because other cloud competitors weren't as focused on the media space. 

  • Zomato forays into online video space, to launch 18 original shows

    Zomato forays into online video space, to launch 18 original shows

    MUMBAI: The streaming war is not limited to media houses anymore. From e-commerce apps to online cab-ride services are also jumping on the band-wagon to keep consumers engaged. Now, food delivery app Zomato has announced its foray into web streaming with 18 original shows over the next three months.

    There will be a new 'Videos' tab available in the Zomato app, starting Monday. The new shows ranging from three to 15 mintues will be categorised by genre across shows, recipes and Sneak Peek restaurant stories. It will launch with over 2000 videos that includes Zomato Originals, which will be available to stream in India, while Sneak Peek and recipe videos can be accessed anywhere in the world.

    “We are constantly looking for new ways to engage our users around food. Most of our users visit our app several times a week. This presents us with an opportunity to further delight our users using Zomato Originals," Zomato CEO and founder Deepinder Goyal said in a statement.

    “We combined all things food with binge-worthy genres and came up with a diverse slate of shows,” Zomato senior vice president growth  Durga Raghunath said.“With shows in both Hindi and English, we hope every corner of India will tune in to Zomato to hone their taste buds ," he added.

    The company also said that the shows will be around food and will include comedy, reality, fiction, advice and celebrity interviews. The new shows include titles like Food and You with Sanjeev Kapoor, Banake Dikha with stand-up comic Sumukhi Suresh, Starry Meals with Janice, Grandmaster Chef with Sahil Shah, Race Against the App.