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Tag: streaming

  • Maverick Records CEO Guy Oseary joins Saavn as investor and partner

    Maverick Records CEO Guy Oseary joins Saavn as investor and partner

    NEW DELHI: Legendary record executive, investor, talent manager, and CEO of Maverick Records Guy Oseary is joining entertainment streaming service Saavn as a partner and investor.

    Oseary’s career in the entertainment industry spans decades of achievement. At Maverick Records, he led the label to sales of over 100 million records, worldwide. His Maverick Films oversaw the Twilight movie series for a combined gross of more than $2 billion in global sales.

    In addition to working with Madonna for over 25 years, Oseary works alongside some of the best managers in the music business, representing some of the world’s greatest artists, including U2, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Jason Aldean, Fifth Harmony, G-Eazy, and the Weeknd.

    As an investor and partner in Saavn, Oseary will help the company continue to build a robust platform for streaming entertainment in India. With a foundation of more than 20 million music tracks, streaming to 196 countries in 13 languages, Saavn claimed its uniquely localized approach has established a new, effective model for international streaming entertainment.

    Oseary said: “I have been a big supporter and investor in music streaming for years. Saavn is the leading music service in one of the world’s largest and most dynamic markets. Many artists would love for their music to reach India’s over one billion residents. From the time I’ve been in the music business, that process has always been too complicated; now, through Saavn, it is finally possible to have a true local partner in India that gets it, and will work hand-in-hand with artists and their managers. I’m very impressed by Rishi’s vision and his exciting plans for Saavn moving forward.”

    Saavn’s disruptive business model, built around a native mobile advertising platform, fast-growing subscription base, and partnerships with leading mobile carriers, demonstrates a sustainable way forward for the streaming industry, while its original programming initiative is introducing Indian audiences to new modes of premium audio content never before heard in the country. In a region that has traditionally seen music and film consumed simultaneously, Saavn is into OTT distribution of new music and original programming for the millennial generation.

    Saavn CEO and Co-founder Rishi Malhotra said: “As we continue to evolve Saavn into the first stop for streaming entertainment in India, we focus on marrying the best content with the best mobile products. Our global perspective and local approach has enabled us to create a powerful streaming economy in India. Guy and I are developing unique artist collaborations for Saavn and we’re honoured to have him as a partner and investor. Guy has incredible instincts across entertainment and media. He understands that we are not building the Spotify or Pandora of India. We are building Saavn in India, for India, and we’re thrilled to work with him to build the company for the long term.”

  • Maverick Records CEO Guy Oseary joins Saavn as investor and partner

    Maverick Records CEO Guy Oseary joins Saavn as investor and partner

    NEW DELHI: Legendary record executive, investor, talent manager, and CEO of Maverick Records Guy Oseary is joining entertainment streaming service Saavn as a partner and investor.

    Oseary’s career in the entertainment industry spans decades of achievement. At Maverick Records, he led the label to sales of over 100 million records, worldwide. His Maverick Films oversaw the Twilight movie series for a combined gross of more than $2 billion in global sales.

    In addition to working with Madonna for over 25 years, Oseary works alongside some of the best managers in the music business, representing some of the world’s greatest artists, including U2, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Paul McCartney, Nicki Minaj, Jason Aldean, Fifth Harmony, G-Eazy, and the Weeknd.

    As an investor and partner in Saavn, Oseary will help the company continue to build a robust platform for streaming entertainment in India. With a foundation of more than 20 million music tracks, streaming to 196 countries in 13 languages, Saavn claimed its uniquely localized approach has established a new, effective model for international streaming entertainment.

    Oseary said: “I have been a big supporter and investor in music streaming for years. Saavn is the leading music service in one of the world’s largest and most dynamic markets. Many artists would love for their music to reach India’s over one billion residents. From the time I’ve been in the music business, that process has always been too complicated; now, through Saavn, it is finally possible to have a true local partner in India that gets it, and will work hand-in-hand with artists and their managers. I’m very impressed by Rishi’s vision and his exciting plans for Saavn moving forward.”

    Saavn’s disruptive business model, built around a native mobile advertising platform, fast-growing subscription base, and partnerships with leading mobile carriers, demonstrates a sustainable way forward for the streaming industry, while its original programming initiative is introducing Indian audiences to new modes of premium audio content never before heard in the country. In a region that has traditionally seen music and film consumed simultaneously, Saavn is into OTT distribution of new music and original programming for the millennial generation.

    Saavn CEO and Co-founder Rishi Malhotra said: “As we continue to evolve Saavn into the first stop for streaming entertainment in India, we focus on marrying the best content with the best mobile products. Our global perspective and local approach has enabled us to create a powerful streaming economy in India. Guy and I are developing unique artist collaborations for Saavn and we’re honoured to have him as a partner and investor. Guy has incredible instincts across entertainment and media. He understands that we are not building the Spotify or Pandora of India. We are building Saavn in India, for India, and we’re thrilled to work with him to build the company for the long term.”

  • Starsports.com gains big by streaming IPL 2014

    Starsports.com gains big by streaming IPL 2014

    MUMBAI: The nation is caught in the Pepsi IPL 2014 fever. The series that is being streamed on starsports.com, in its first week, has managed to garner an unprecedented traction of more than a million visitors every day. During the period, starsports.com has attracted around 47 lakh unique visitors across web and mobile delivering just more than a crore visits.

     

    During the first seven matches played in the current season, 150 million minutes of video were consumed by users with an average of more than 32 minutes per match. Consumption on mobile now stands at 42 per cent of the overall traffic. The majority of the viewer base is in the age group of 18-24 years in the top eight metro cities which contribute to overall 60 per cent of the traffic. Gender specifically, female traffic saw a significant surge contributing 27 per cent of the overall audience.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Star India EVP and head, new media Ajit Mohan said, “IPL 2014 is perhaps a turning point for sports consumption. For the first time, online consumption of sports is becoming about video, video, and video. And, our investment in creating a world class backbone for video delivery is showing up as a significant improvement in the experience for sports fans, especially on a mobile screen.”

     

    Since its inception in December 2012, starsports.com has invested heavily to build a video infrastructure customized for India, where the experience is characterized by a proliferation of mobile devices and where a large number of consumers still have access to low bandwidth. In addition, for IPL, the company has leveraged its television infrastructure to deliver mid-rolls (advertisements in the middle of the overs) in addition to the already prevalent pre-rolls (advertisements which roll before the start of the video). 

     

    Video streaming of Pepsi IPL 2014 on the sports website has attracted many sponsors-HUL as the presenting sponsor and amazon.in, Toyota, ITC Personal Care and Reckitt Benckiser as associate sponsors.

     

    Star India president sales Amit Chopra added, “The most innovative advertisers in India are recognising the power of the mobile screen. Many of them have been hesitant in the past about investing in video ads online, given the sketchy delivery of both content and ads. We have been able to offer a powerful proposition to these advertisers by delivering a great video experience and a highly engaged sports fan.”

     

    Powered by live and video rights, the rich digital platform covers many world sports like major cricket tournaments, BPL, La Liga and Serie A in football, F1, hockey, tennis and badminton. 

  • IPSOS Study: Watching ‘Live TV’ mainstay, but other forms of viewing catching on

    IPSOS Study: Watching ‘Live TV’ mainstay, but other forms of viewing catching on

    BENGALURU: Though a majority of Indians prefer watching ‘live TV’, other forms of content viewing such as streaming or downloading from a computer, internet TV, etc., are catching up reflect a new online poll of 15,551 adults in 20 countries conducted by Ipsos OTX – the global innovation centre for Ipsos, a global market and opinion research firm.

     

     “With so many new ways to view television programming, it might come as a surprise that 82 per cent of TV watchers in India still watch their shows “live on TV” – that is, on a regular television at the time they are programmed to appear. The indication, then, would be that television is still a prime venue for marketers to advertise,” said Ipsos in India head marketing communication, Biswarup Banerjee.

     

     “That is, of course, unless those couch-comfortable viewers are attached to their remote control devices and start surfing every time commercials come on or if they reach for their mute buttons when commercials are airing. What is clear is that while new televisions are capability-packed, most people watch TV as they are used to watching it – live,” added Banerjee.

     

    Most (82 per cent) Indian respondents who watch TV indicate they usually watch TV programming “live”, although other popular modes of watching are catching on like streaming or downloading from a computer (40 per cent), streaming from the internet to TV (23 per cent), using a DVR or other recording device attached to a TV (16 per cent), and on mobile device (21 per cent) says the study.

     

    Traditional ‘live’ TV watching is significantly more popular among Indian respondent’s ages 50-64 (89 per cent) compared to those 35-49 (88 per cent) and under 35 (76 per cent). Other modes of watching TV programming are more popular among younger respondents: on computer and laptop – under 35 (35 per cent), 35-49 (25 per cent), 50-64 (17 per cent); streaming from the internet – under 35 (20 per cent), 35-49 (16 per cent), 50-64 (11 per cent); on mobile device – under 35 (15 per cent), 35-49 (10 per cent), 50-64 (5 per cent). Using a DVR or other recording device attached to a TV is most popular with those 50-64 (18 per cent) compared to 35-64 (16 per cent) and under 35 (15 per cent).

     

    TV watching across geographies

    Live TV

    Those most likely to choose watching TV programming on live TV are from France (93 per cent), Spain (93 per cent), Germany (92 per cent), Turkey (90 per cent), Argentina (89 per cent), Sweden (89 per cent), and Australia (89 per cent). Those rounding out the middle of the pack are from: Brazil (89 per cent), Italy (89 per cent), South Korea (87 per cent), Great Britain (83 per cent), Mexico (82 per cent), Poland (82 per cent), and India (82 per cent). Those least likely to watch TV programming live are from: Japan (82 per cent), Russia (81 per cent), South Africa (81 per cent), United States (81 per cent), China (80 per cent), and Canada (77 per cent).

     

    TV on computer or laptop

    Watching TV on computer or laptop is chosen most often by those from: China (52 per cent), Russia (43 per cent), Turkey (42 per cent), India (40 per cent), Sweden (35 per cent), South Korea (31 per cent), and Great Britain (29 per cent). Those clustering around the center of the list are from: Poland (27 per cent), South Africa (26 per cent), Canada (26 per cent), Germany (24 per cent), Mexico (24 per cent), Spain (23 per cent), and Brazil (21 per cent). Those from Argentina (20 per cent), the United States (20 per cent), Australia (19 per cent), Italy (17 per cent), Japan (14 per cent) and France (12 per cent) are least likely to watch TV on computer or laptop.

     

    Streaming from the internet

    Streaming from the internet to TV is most popular among those in Turkey (44 per cent), Russia (36 per cent), China (33 per cent), South Korea (25 per cent), India (23 per cent), Sweden (19 per cent), and Great Britain (17 per cent). Those in the middle of the pack are from: Canada (17 per cent), the United States (17 per cent), Brazil (15 per cent), Mexico (13 per cent), Spain (12 per cent), Italy (11 per cent), and Australia (10 per cent). Those from South Africa (9 per cent), Argentina (9 per cent), Poland (7 per cent), Germany (5 per cent), France (5 per cent), and Japan (3 per cent) are least likely to choose streaming from internet to TV.

     

    DVR or other recording devices attached to a TV

    Those who are most likely to use a DVR or other recording devices attached to a TV are from Japan (45 per cent), the United States (40 per cent), Canada (32 per cent), Great Britain (31 per cent), South Africa (27 per cent), and Australia (25 per cent). Those in the middle of the pack are from Poland (18 per cent), India (16 per cent), Germany (11 per cent), France (11 per cent), China (10 per cent), Mexico (9 per cent), and Sweden (8 per cent). Respondents from Turkey (7 per cent), Brazil (7 per cent), Spain (7 per cent), Italy (7 per cent), Argentina (6 per cent), South Korea (5 per cent), and Russia (4 per cent) are least likely to use a DVR or other recording devices.

     

    TV on mobile device

    Watching TV programming on mobile device is most popular among respondents who are from South Korea (26 per cent), China (25 per cent), India (21 per cent), Turkey (20 per cent), Mexico (13 per cent), Great Britain (12 per cent), and Sweden (12 per cent). Those in the middle are from the United States (10 per cent), Australia (9 per cent), Spain (9 per cent), Brazil (8 per cent), Canada (7 per cent), South Africa (7 per cent), and Italy (7 per cent). Least likely to watch TV on mobile device are respondents from Argentina (7 per cent), Japan (6 per cent), Poland (5 per cent), Russia (5 per cent), Germany (4 per cent), and France (4 per cent).

  • April Broadcast launches Choice HD

    April Broadcast launches Choice HD

    MUMBAI: Mumbai based, April Broadcast Pvt. Ltd., a privately owned company in the Technology and Media space, announced the launch of CHOICE HDTM, a new video Switcher/Mixer application, developed in-house, especially for the Indian Wedding Video editing market. Watch the video here: www.youtube.com/abChoiceHai  

     

    This was demonstrated at the All India Photographic Trade and Industry Association’s (AIPTIA) Consumer Electronics and Imaging Fair 2014. The event, popularly known as Photofair, is India’s largest expo for Photography and Videography products, and was held in Mumbai from 9-12 January.

     

    “This segment has been growing steadily over the past few years and we noticed that wedding videographers did not have too many options when it came to producing these typical wedding videos. With CHOICE HDTM, we have, literally, given them the freedom of choice to unleash their creativity and make something really beautiful for the bridal couple.” said Sandeep N Ohri, Founder, April Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.

     

    CHOICE HDTM leverages industry-standard video I/O cards to give the professional video editor a simple-to-use, yet powerful solution, that runs on Windows-based PCs.

     

    CHOICE HDTM is extremely versatile and simultaneously switch/mix 4 digital HD/SD or analog video inputs, 2 recorded media inputs, 2 graphics and 2 tickers (both in different languages). In addition, CHOICE HDTM has a variety of special transition effects, handles audio I/O and allows simultaneous recording in HD and web-streaming of the output.

     

    According to industry estimates, the Indian wedding market as a whole is around US$ 25 billion, (approx. Rs 1.5 lakh crores), and growing at 25 to 30 per cent a year. In India, no wedding is complete without the production of a wedding video to capture and preserve this all-important life event.

     

    Today, Indian wedding videos are increasingly inspired by Bollywood (the largely popular Indian Hindi film industry) and bridal couples aspire to have their videos shot to the tune of the latest popular film songs! This involves complex editing of videos captured from various cameras and angles, application of special effects and finally, expert editing to synchronize this to the background. With HD TVs and Blu-ray DVD players becoming cheaper, all of this is now required in full HD resolution.

     

    “In addition to handling existing legacy analog and digital SD video, CHOICE HDTM handles full HD digital video and is also upgradeable to handle 2K and 4K resolutions as well, making this a safe investment for videographers in this fast changing technology landscape.” said Salim Shaikh, co-founder, April Broadcast Pvt. Ltd.

     

    CHOICE HDTM will ship to customers in February 2014 and is the third application developed by April Broadcast in less than 9 months, since its inception. Other solutions are an entry-level HDMI-based virtual studio solution for Education and a high-end virtual studio solution for television broadcast.

  • Aereo soon to be available on Android devices

     

    MUMBAI: Aereo, the upstart television streaming service, is set to launch its product on Android devices this September.

     

    Aereo had originally hoped to roll out an app for Google’s operating system, which boasts a larger market share than Apple’s iOS, late last summer. An exact date has yet to be determined.

    Aereo has expanded rapidly over the last year, ballooning from its starting locations of New York City, Boston, Atlanta and the state of Utah to nearly two-dozen other cities east of Denver.

     

    PlayOn, a separate subscription online TV company, claims it allows users to watch Aereo streams on its service. But Aereo says it had no relationship with the company.

     

    The Barry Diller-backed startup picks up over-the-air broadcast signals, much like old rabbit-ear TV antennas, with dime-sized antennas at Aereo‘s headquarters. Users can then watch and record live television through their Aereo subscriptions, which cost $8 to $12 per month.

  • Hungama app introduces its new version with adaptive streaming

    Hungama app introduces its new version with adaptive streaming

    MUMBAI: Hungama‘s next generation music app, with over a million downloads has been receiving rave reviews by users; now the app is set to engage its users with a musical experience.

    Keeping in mind the popular user demand via reviews for adaptive streaming, the app has added yet another enhancement by upgrading its version for iOS & Android with adaptive streaming for audio & video, airplay for iOS and compatibility with iPhone 5.

    With requests pouring in from consumers from various consumers outside India to facilitate a download & pay option for Android, the new build has addressed this request with Google Wallet integration.

    The Hungama app has a one of a kind, loyalty feature that rewards the user for every action on the app. The user can earn (and redeem) points every time he watches videos, play/share music, invite friends or even create playlists.

    Its innovative Mood Discovery finds and plays music to match the user‘s mood. This feature allows you to discover music based on user preferences – Mood, Tempo, Language, Genre or Era.

  • Mobile streaming platform Zenga TV looks to double revenues

    Mobile streaming platform Zenga TV looks to double revenues

    MUMBAI: Zenga Media, the mobile and web streaming company, has set itself an ambitious target of doubling its revenues in the current financial year.

    Zenga Media, which owns the mobile and web streaming platform Zenga TV, is promoted by former Sony TV executive Shabir Momin and Vikramjiet Roy.

    Shabir Momin, the MD and CTO of Zenga TV, says that the company‘s total revenue in the last fiscal was in the region of $2-3 million.

    According to Momin, the company has turned RoI (Return on Investment) positive in the last two fiscals and is paying for its own expenses.

    “The promoters did not have to infuse funds in the company as it is RoI positive,” he adds.

    No equity divestment is planned either, rather the aim is to grow the company before exploring fund raising avenues.

    Zenga TV is an ad-supported mobile and web streaming platform. It claims to have 22-23 million active users every month. Zenga‘s biggest differentiator, according to Momin, is that it is compatible with even feature phones and the technology is in-house.

    The digital streaming platform has content partnerships with the NDTV group, Times Television Network, BAG Network, Reliance Broadcast Network, and Raj TV Network.

    However, the big three television networks Star India, Zee Network, and MSM are missing from the platform. The Viacom18 channels too are no longer available on the platform.

    “While we don‘t have Star, Zee and Sony, we do have a lot international channels in our offering. Over and above that, we also produce content in various genres for our platform,” he avers.

    The absence of these powerful networks from Zenga TV means that the platform‘s entertainment bouquet is a a bit of a non-starter.

    However, Zenga TV has strong news offering with the presence of NDTV, Times Now, CNBC TV18, Aaj Tak and Headlines Today amongst others.

    News is one of the most consumed genres on mobile after entertainment and movies, says Momin. After news, the sports genre has a lot of traction among mobile TV consumers.

    However, the cost of acquiring sports rights makes it an unviable proposition to monetise, reveals Momin. After flirting with IPL rights in 2009, Zenga gave it up as it discovered it could not recoup its investments.

    “It‘s better to be profitable rather than taking risks with cricket rights,” he asserts.

    Zenga TV generally does 50-50 revenue share deals with broadcasters which means that its content costs is zilch. However, monetising content through advertisement is still not that easy a task.

    Reason: The ad spends on mobile are still very low compared to the kind of reach that it delivers. However, Momin is optimistic. His optimism stems from the predictions that mobile ad spends are expected to grow to Rs 3 billion by 2015 up from the current Rs 1.5 billion.

    Zenga TV plans to play the volume game by being a free content platform. Going pay is not a good option as one has to be at the mercy of telecom operators, who dictate terms to platform owners on revenue share, points out Momin.