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Tag: SVF

  • Hoichoi to introduce pay-per-view, offline payment method

    Hoichoi to introduce pay-per-view, offline payment method

    MUMBAI: SVF, the big name in Bengali entertainment industry, last year launched its Bengali OTT platform Hoichoi riding the wave of digital growth.  In the second season of its journey, it is expanding its footprint into Bangladesh and UAE market. Though dependent on the SVOD model since birth, it will now introduce pay per view model as well. Moreover, in a first of its kind move in the industry, it has launched Hoichoi Top Up card which will be available in nearest retailers or upcoming Hoichoi kiosks. Given the preference for cash payment, this is an offline payment method.

    Along with a new payment method and business plans, it has the ambition to add more than 100 hours of original content in the upcoming year. The new content pipeline includes 30 original shows, some of which are second seasons of popular web series already aired on the platform. While SVF, the parent company has a rich history in the Bengali film industry, the digital venture aims to add 12 original films.

    Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta mentioned the high user engagement of the app though kept mum on subscriber numbers. He claims the average time spent in-app is one hour per day. It is not certain how the company has been able to get its return but the awareness of Hoichoi has been created.

    Like other OTT platforms, Hoichoi is also seeing traffic from tier-II and III cities. In addition to that, almost 40 per cent of the audience comes from non-urban areas and Hoichoi director and co-founder Mahendra Soni mentions this as the rationale behind introducing offline payment method.

    While Bengali industry makes many good films, the natives living outside Bengal don’t get the chance to watch them in theatres often. The plan of digital premiere is aimed to bridge this gap. “In yet another first in the Bengali entertainment space, we are now introducing the ‘pay per view’ feature as part of the TVoD model. We will be releasing movies on Hoichoi very soon after their theatrical release and the viewers will have the option to pay for the content on an a-la-carte basis,” Hoichoi director and co-founder Shrikant Mohta said.

    A partnership with Airtel TV in India, Robi in Bangladesh and Etisalat and du in UAE have also been struck.

    There is also a plan for a Bengali app and website interface making it more comfortable for users. Simultaneously, Hoichoi wants to dub the shows into other languages like Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. To position it more strongly as a brand, the platform also start merchandising.

  • Hoichoi to double original content to 100 hours this year

    Hoichoi to double original content to 100 hours this year

    MUMBAI: The over the top (OTT) platform that has been a rage in the eastern part of India has ambitious plans for the coming year. With about 50 hours of original content live on the platform, Hoichoi aims to double that to 100 hours by the end of 2018.

    A product of Shree Venkatesh Films (SVF), Hoichoi has 16 original shows (with three in-house productions) and 500 movies thanks to its parent. With 20 years of experience in the media business, SVF was no stranger to the content business when it launched Hoichoi in September 2017. The mandate was simple: give premium and ad-free content in turn for subscription. While other players are jittery when it comes to subscription, Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta says it has been confident of an SVOD model in the niche Bengali market.

    Mohta says that out of the three plans of Rs 399 for 12 months, Rs 249 for six months and Rs 149 for three, the six-month plan is the opted for the least. As long as people continue to pick the annual plan, the lack of uptake for the middle one doesn’t bother.

    The first six months were dedicated entirely to brand awareness. Heavy marketing has been kept for later. However, Mohta believes that word of mouth will be a way to attract new customers. “We still believe very strongly that people, who want to watch content of this sort, will largely be driven by referrals. I think that drives a lot more business than pure marketing. We don’t do marketing on large scale. Our focus is largely on awareness,” he says. Last year’s #HoyeJak campaign was called a success and soon another campaign is on the anvil.

    Using feedback, Hoichoi keeps updating its library and recently added an audio-streaming option too. Despite having originals, Mohta thinks that the power to acquire customers lies in the movie section since West Bengal has an active movie market.

    “Movies make your decision easier when you subscribe because they come in handy on a Sunday afternoon.  Originals are about impulse, someone can see a trailer or may be told by a friend about a show. However, we made a promise to our consumers that we would continue with our originals,” he adds.

    Among recent originals, Japani Toy was launched on 12 May. Another original Dupur Thakurpo which got great traction across Bengal, will see its second season launch on 26 May. Another show Shei Je Holud Pakhi, starring famous faces from the Bengali film industry Saswata Chatterjee and Tridha Choudhury will be launched sometime in June.

    Hoichoi sees a potential market outside the state in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Agartala. Even the Indian diaspora markets of the US, UK and Middle East and even Bangladesh are large pockets offering good opportunities to leverage. For exploring the Bangladeshi market more, Hoichoi will provide payment options in local currency in the next one or two months. It has also bundled up one Bangladeshi show shot there and directed by a local name. The show Dhaka Metro will be followed by at least two more in 2018 itself.

    Being in an industry which is backed by partnerships, Hoichoi is dependent on Viulift since its launch for tech support. To provide customers a seamless experience, Hoichoi depends on Amazon Cloudfront as CDN partner. It is in talks with many telcos both in India and Bangladesh too.

    Customers are demanding more features, especially from second seasons, and this has thrown challenges for Hoichoi. But it looks like the plan for 2018 is a done deal.

  • Catch the 1st international Bangla Cinema Carnival, organized by SVF, on Star Jalsha this sunday evening

    Catch the 1st international Bangla Cinema Carnival, organized by SVF, on Star Jalsha this sunday evening

    MUMBAI: SVF, Eastern India’s largest movie production house recently organized an international Bengali cinema carnival in Bangkok with much fanfare. The star-studded, glitzy carnival, held in the Thailand capital, will air exclusively on Star Jalsha this coming Sunday (February 25), a must-watch for anyone who is interested in Bengali cinema. It is yet another first from SVF which ensured that Bengali filmdom finally landed on foreign shores.

    From Dev to Ankush, Mimi to Nusrat and Imon to JeetGannguli, the Tollywood stars, singers and musicians were all there, singing, dancing and milling around, rubbing shoulders with one another. If Shruti Pathak started with the song Shubharambh, Nakash Aziz’s Jabra Fan, Lagnajita’sBasantoEsheGeche and Jeet’sChinteParli Na, had the audience in raptures.

    While Sayantika grooved to superhits like TammaTamma and TuCheezBadi Hai Mast Mast as well as Phoolkoli and Remix Qawali; Nusrat performed on Aayat from the movie BajiraoMastani as well as Ami Je KeTomar’s title track. Yash made the fans go crazy when he danced to the peppy Mon from the movie Total Dadagiri and ThikEmonEbhabe; Mimi was seen dancing to the biggest party numbers of 2017KarGayiChull and Senorita as well as Emotional Saiyaan and Honey Bunny while Ankushchipped in with performances on Shona, Take it Easy and Darling and more

    The first Bengali international film carnival was not just about songs and dances, though. It paid rich tributes to ‘Yesterday Actresses’ such as Suchitra Sen, Supriya Devi, Madhabi Mukherjee, Tanuja, Aparna Sen and Sandhya Roy. The tribute was brought alive by Rituparna Sengupta who danced to the numbers of the films these legendary actresses starred in.

    SVF co-founder & Director, Mahendra Soni said “It’s an attempt from us to take Bengali cinema to international scene by organizing the carnival in the city of Bangkok, something few have thought of before. We are sure that people will enjoy watching this magnificent show on Star Jalsha on Sunday evening. The show will have a red carpet segment from 6 to 7pm, followed by a 4 hour performance based show till 11pm,’’

    Dev brought the house down, dancing to Party Shoes and BhojoGournango (from the SVF-produced Bindass and Challenge), while Rituparna Sengupta danced to numbers like E ShudhuGaner Din and AajMon Chheyeche Ami HariyeJabo, rekindling nostalgia that seeped through the first-ever carnival of its kind.

  • Bengali film Posto to premiere on Hoichoi before satellite TV

    Bengali film Posto to premiere on Hoichoi before satellite TV

    NEW DELHI: Digital Bengali entertainment content platform Hoichoi has acquired exclusive digital rights of this year’s most successful Bengali feature film Posto, ensuring it a world digital premiere today before a satellite TV premiere.

    This will provide Bengali moviemakers a robust additional pipeline of movie-loving Bengali diaspora across the world, who have so far been deprived of many movies in the language because most have a weak or no international theatrical release.

    Hoichoi has already created a huge buzz in the Bengali entertainment industry with the launch of a slew of engaging original web series and shorts, and the acquisition of the Shiboprosad Mukherjee and Nandita Roy directorial venture, Posto, is set to further disrupt the industry.

    SVF & Hoichoi co-founder Mahendra Soni said, “What adds to our delight is that it is with this, the most successful film of 2017 so far, that Hoichoi will not only delight the Bengali diaspora across the world but will also help the Bengali film industry to overcome the challenges and limitations of international theatrical releases and take their forthcoming movies to a massive global audience of movie lovers worldwide.”

    Posto, which grossed more than Rs 50 million within four weeks of its release, received critical acclaim from the film fraternity. Portrayed by Arghya Basu Roy, Posto is a little boy raised by his grandparents (Soumitra Chatterjee and Lily Chakraboty) in Shantiniketan, a small town in Birbhum district, West Bengal. Posto’s parents (Jisshu Sengupta and Mimi Chakraborty) who are settled 200 km away in Kolkata, visit their son only on weekends.

    Trouble ensues when Posto’s father gets a new job offer outside India and plans to take Posto along with him. The boy’s grandparents are against the decision and the argument finally drags the kid into the courtroom.

    The film’s director, Shiboprosad Mukherjee, said, “It gives me great pleasure to announce that Posto will be exclusively available on Hoichoi, which has become the one-stop destination for people looking for great Bengali entertainment content. Any director would want his creation to be seen and liked by as many people as possible and Hoichoi will enable my film Posto to do just that!”

    Hoichoi showcases exclusive original shows every month and more than 500 Bengali movies. Founded in 2017, it is SVF New Media’s maiden venture. Hoichoi is headed by co-founder Vishnu Mohta, who is also SVF’s executive director.