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Tag: Vijay Singh

  • Sourav Ganguly revives jersey-waving moment in Bisk Farm’s cricket campaign

    Sourav Ganguly revives jersey-waving moment in Bisk Farm’s cricket campaign

    Mumbai: Cricket, in the incredible land of India, is more than just a sport, it’s like a religion. And the fans? Well, they’re the high priests of superstition when it comes to supporting our cricket team.

    All the cricket fans have some stories of superstition like staying put at that one spot on the couch, wearing the same lucky shirt that’s been through countless wash cycles, or even performing a mini-puja before the match, just to keep the cricket gods happy. It’s all part of the quirky charm of celebrating the gentleman’s game in India. Taking a cue from this, Bisk Farm, the fourth largest biscuit brand in India, launched a high-decibel 360-degree campaign for its Rich Marie range of products – ‘Me Time, Marie Time’, celebrating the diehard Indian cricket fans’ passion.

    Featuring Sourav Ganguly, the brand ambassador for Bisk Farm Rich Marie biscuits, the campaign celebrates the fan’s way and belief of contributing to the success of the Indian cricket team. It has Sourav Ganguly reenacting his signature jersey-waving act, this time not from the Lord’s pavilion but from the comfort of his couch.

    The campaign also draws inspiration from everyday funny life scenarios to illustrate the typical Indian fan’s behaviour during a cricket match. Built on a unique collage of relatable situations which embodies fandom, the TVC portrays Sourav Ganguly as one such superstitious fan. In the campaign, Sourav Ganguly is seen wearing his lucky jersey, not allowing any of his friends to move from their seats until the match ends. He’s got more Taabiz around his neck and arms than a rapper with gold chains and wears another on his forehead. He performs puja of the cricket bats praying for India’s victory.

    Commenting on the campaign, Bisk Farm managing director Vijay Singh said “India is a cricket-crazy nation. We feel, there’s a huge contribution of the Indian fans who for their passion for the sport, have transformed the game into a religion in India. Sourav Ganguly is a celebrated personality in India for his immense contribution to Indian cricket and we feel this campaign with Sourav Ganguly in the lead touches all the right chords to create excitement amongst Indian cricket fans. Cricket is celebrated across all spectrum of life, and biscuit is consumed by everyone hence it offers a great opportunity for us to promote the brand. We are confident that the campaign will perform well and contribute to our overall growth in this cricket season.”    

    Conceptualised by SoS Ideas, the 45-day-long 360-degree campaign went live on 14 October during the India vs. Pakistan match. The campaign rides high on TV, Digital, Print and OOH. Simultaneously, with an objective to connect with the youth on the go, Bisk Farm plans to majorly focus on cricket-specific content on OTT, and Meta platforms along with YouTube.

    SoS Ideas director Souvik Misra said “We are extremely excited to be part of this Sourav Ganguly Cheer for India campaign which is very quirky, over the top and plays deep into the Indian psyche of Sports! Let us all cheer for India”.

  • Sony Music and Sony Pictures launch joint venture – ‘Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India’

    Sony Music and Sony Pictures launch joint venture – ‘Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India’

    Mumbai: Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment have announced the creation of their first joint venture – Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI) to focus on creating opportunities for media talent in India.

     The new entity will offer actors, musicians, sportspersons, gamers & content creators in India opportunities for co-ventures, metaverse solutions, as well as brand partnerships and management.

    Shridhar Subramaniam, Sanford Panitch, and N.P. Singh (managing director and chief executive officer, Sony Pictures Networks India) comprise SETVI’s board of directors, and Vijay Singh will lead the new company as CEO.

    The joint venture for Sony Group looks to combine the expertise and global reach of the two companies, leveraging the vast pool of commercial talent and star-power in India to build investment opportunities, partnerships, metaverse solutions and more for talent. “India is on track to become the third largest consumer market by 2030 and sustains one of the largest local-language content creation ecosystems in the world,” said the statement.

    The talent represented by SETVI will also benefit from potential partnerships and global opportunities across the wider Sony Group such as PlayStation and Sony Electronics.

    “SETVI will leverage our expertise, deep local relationships and global reach to give talent the potential to scale, become household brands and fully realize their creative and commercial potential,” said Sony Music Entertainment president of corporate strategy and market development in Asia and Middle East Shridhar Subramaniam. “The digital revolution and India’s unique start-up culture bring huge opportunities and SETVI’s role will be to partner with talent to build and serve their fans in exciting new ways.”

    “Sony Group’s ecosystem in India offers far-reaching and unique opportunities for talent to build their brands in an authentic way,” said Sony Pictures Motions Picture Group president Sanford Panitch.

    Vijay Singh was previously the CEO at Fox Star Studios for over a decade from 2010 to 2020. Prior to this, Singh was managing director of developing markets at the Tetley Group in London, and also brings music industry experience to the role, having previously led Sony Music Entertainment India as managing director from 1996 to 2002.

    “Our ambition is to work as advisors to talent to build their wealth and legacy and unlock the best monetization opportunities for them in India and the world.” said Vijay Singh. “It’s exciting to be spearheading this new venture and I look forward to working with talent to fulfil their ambitions in the coming years.”

  • Vijay Singh quits Fox Star Studios India

    Vijay Singh quits Fox Star Studios India

    MUMBAI: Fox Star Studios chief executive officer Vijay Singh has resigned after his decade-long stint at the studio, which is going through the final phases of completing its acquisition by The Walt Disney Co.

    Though he has stepped down, he will be continuing at Fox Star Studios India for the next two or three months, helping Bikram Duggal, executive director and head – studio entertainment at The Walt Disney Company, take charge.

    Joining Fox Star Studios India in 2007, Singh went on to set up the Indian market, including the foray into Hindi films. Prior to Fox Star, he worked with The Tetley Group – Tata Global Beverages and Sony Music Entertainment India.

    According to media reports, Singh will join a foreign media technology brand which is eager to enter the Indian market.

  • Differentiated brand critical as online video, mobile ads may expand at 40-51 pc CAGR by ’21: KPMG-FICCI

    Differentiated brand critical as online video, mobile ads may expand at 40-51 pc CAGR by ’21: KPMG-FICCI

    MUMBAI: The ‘Over the top’ (OTT) video consumption in India has rapidly evolved over the last year, given the advancements in digital infrastructure and efforts by platforms to create compelling content for consumers at price points which provide value.

    Growing internet penetration and data consumption is likely to help increase digital advertisement spends in India at 30.8 per cent CAGR between 2016 and 2021 with mobile advertisement spends and social media-aided digital video advertisement spends expected to expand at 50.9 per cent and 40 per cent CAGR between 2016 and 2021, respectively, according to the KMPG’s “The ‘Digital First’ Journey” report launched in FICCI Knowledge series 2017 conference – Fast Track India.

    The Fast Track India conference, in association with LA India film Council (LAIFC), was focused on building out a digital company, the impact of evolving digital infrastructure on content consumption and rise in online piracy.

    Fox Star Studios India CEO Vijay Singh highlighted the need for M&E businesses to be future-ready in his keynote speech. He said, “Digital transformation of the M&E industry is unstoppable, and companies will need to focus on innovation and disruption. It will be important to get the digital building blocks to fall in place – be it in content creation or getting the right business model.”

    At the inaugural, KPMG India partner and co-head of media and entertainment Girish Menon said, “OTT consumption in India has reached a tipping point, with the 4G rollout and related data wars which have resulted in a dramatic and rapid growth in internet penetration and video consumption. Building a digital business is an evolving process and organizations would need to adopt a systematic approach balancing scalability and flexibility with speed to market and customer centricity.”

    The conference focused on three key features, i.e., evolution of content strategies from creation to monetisation, the impact of evolving digital infrastructure on content consumption patterns and the rise of online piracy – threats and remedies.

    OTT consumers continue to demand seamless access to services, compelling stories and value for money. The era of on-demand content has reached a tipping point with consumption becoming on-demand across mobile screens and going ‘mass’ – particularly on the back of pan India 4G roll outs by telecom operators.

    During the discussion, panellist agreed upon the fact that the mass launch of 4G services by Reliance Jio in 2016 and subsequent launches by incumbents was an inflection point in India’s data story. This disruption led to a rapid surge in data usage on the back of promotional offers by all leading telecom operators.

    The conference was divided into three panel discussions. The first panel, who have discussed broadly on building a digital platform, was held with Arre co-founder Ajay Chacko, Culture machine president Tuhin Menon, Qyuki Digital Media COO Sagar Gokhale and ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya and moderated by KPMG management consulting Neha Punater.

    Next panel on digital infrastructure transforming consumption of the content was addressed by the BARC business head Jamie Kenny, the Facebook India content head and media partnerships India-South Asia Saurabh Doshi, the Voot marketing head Akash Banerji and the Shemaroo director Hiren Gada.

    Lastly, on the protection of the online content in a digital economy, Disney India assistant regional counsel Anju Jain, the Viacom 18 SVP Thomas George, the Eros International general counsel Aamod Gupte, the TFCC governing council executive member Rajkumar Akella, the MPA Asia Pacific VP communications Stephen Jenner and The Indian Music Industry president and CEO Blaise Fernandes. Punnaryug Artvisions’ founder Ashish Kulkarni deliverd the welcome note.

    About the roadmap to become a digital company, Pantvaidya said, “The focus has to shift from just getting big numbers to actually engaging audiences. Watching videos on internet especially shows is slowly becoming an integral part of every Indian’s life – Thanks to quality internet being offered by Telco’s at affordable prices. We, at AltBalaji, believe that this trend can be effectively monetized by offering multi targeted, exclusive, original Indian content at a never before seen scale.”

    Qyuki Digital Media COO Sagar Gokhale said, “It’s a changing market, when we started, we saw 50 per cent split between mobile and computers but today it exceeds to 80 per cent towards mobile. Understanding of content is very important according to the consumer’s need. In India, large platform like Youtube is male dominated precisely under the age group of 18-35. So easy understanding is to create male centric content like comedy and music which works out the most. According to our data analysis, post-Jio, a lot of viewership was noted from tier 2-tier 3 cities like Jharkhand.”

    The four pillars of digital transformation outlined in the report comprise a holistic approach including; clearly defining the organisation’s digital vision and strategy, thorough understanding of the customer proposition, accurately assessing the business design and, lastly, carefully designing the execution plan.

    On building a robust enforcement model to protect content in a digital economy, MPA Asia Pacific VP communications Stephen Jenner said, “Around the globe, close collaborations between multiple stakeholders have lead to a number of successful content protection initiatives. This bodes well for growing digital economies, and the many creative people contributing to media and entertainment in those markets.”

    Doshi said, “Being passionate or even finicky about user experience is the key to building a successful digital platform. In this age of hyper-competition, it is imperative to focus on building a strong brand that is differentiated. With over 200 million people in India every month and millions globally on the platform, we think deeply on the best user experience we can provide and instant articles, live etc. are such examples.”

    Fernandes said, “Digital India is attracting lots of investments in content creation and distribution over the various digital platforms. This sets off a multiplier effect, employment generation, tax revenues and soft power. While all this happens it is necessary for protection measures to be in place, glad that FICCI and the LA India Film Council are giving copyright protection in the Internet age adequate weightage in their various forums”

    The path to digital transformation encompasses a holistic approach including; clearly defining the organisation’s digital vision and strategy, thorough understanding of the customer proposition, accurately assessing the business design and, finally, carefully designing the execution.

  • Copyright owners call for competitive pricing over TRAI regulation

    Copyright owners call for competitive pricing over TRAI regulation

    NEW DELHI: The Film and Television Producers Guild of India has expressed its voice against any mandated tariff as far as television channels are concerned.

    In a reaction to the recent Draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting And Cable Services) (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order 2016 drawn up by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Guild President Siddharth Roy Kapoor said: “As India continues to develop its thriving creative industry, a transparent, market-based environment free from mandated tariffs, is essential to build investor confidence and to foster the creation of quality content benefiting India’s consumers and its economy.”

    Guild secretary-general Kulmeet Makkar said: “We believe that price controls should only be considered when the market lacks competition which harms consumers or where there is clear systemic market failure. It would be advantageous to abolish any restrictions on price and thereby encourage FDI investments in India– as is the case in countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and South Korea, where the retail and wholesale rates are not subject to restrictions. A more economically efficient model would be to allow the market to determine prices while encouraging investment in quality content.”

    Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh said, “Since the availability of content is not an issue in the context of the Indian market, restricting numbers/genres/mix tantamount to predetermination and therefore, pre-empts creativity. There can never be an exhaustive list of genres for governments to determine any mix and TRAI’s intervention will have cataclysmic effect on the creative community as a whole as TRAI effectively has price capped creativity.”

    “Under the Copyright Act 1957, a content owner has the freedom to monetize copyright works and enter into contracts to monetize content in a manner he deems fit. However the price restrictions imposed by TRAI interferes with this basic freedom. It risks stifling creativity and may force smaller companies out of the market – resulting in less choice for consumers,” according to Motion Picture Distributors Association (India) Pvt. Ltd MD Uday Singh.

    Sectoral regulations have seriously impeded the growth of the film sector. Despite active participation by global studios and broadcasters, investments in the sector have trickled down in the past few years. Indian studios and independent producers are also facing similar challenges. An open market environment can best guarantee that the film sector will not be distorted to the detriment of consumers, creators and providers, the Guild said in its reaction.

    The Guild says that the Tariff Order is likely to take effect from 1 April 2017. It says that the current draft order prescribes maximum retail price caps for pay channels, by genre, Rs 10 (USD 0.15) for movie channels (a-la-carte), excluding taxes] and further caps channels into seven genres.

  • Copyright owners call for competitive pricing over TRAI regulation

    Copyright owners call for competitive pricing over TRAI regulation

    NEW DELHI: The Film and Television Producers Guild of India has expressed its voice against any mandated tariff as far as television channels are concerned.

    In a reaction to the recent Draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting And Cable Services) (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order 2016 drawn up by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Guild President Siddharth Roy Kapoor said: “As India continues to develop its thriving creative industry, a transparent, market-based environment free from mandated tariffs, is essential to build investor confidence and to foster the creation of quality content benefiting India’s consumers and its economy.”

    Guild secretary-general Kulmeet Makkar said: “We believe that price controls should only be considered when the market lacks competition which harms consumers or where there is clear systemic market failure. It would be advantageous to abolish any restrictions on price and thereby encourage FDI investments in India– as is the case in countries such as Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and South Korea, where the retail and wholesale rates are not subject to restrictions. A more economically efficient model would be to allow the market to determine prices while encouraging investment in quality content.”

    Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh said, “Since the availability of content is not an issue in the context of the Indian market, restricting numbers/genres/mix tantamount to predetermination and therefore, pre-empts creativity. There can never be an exhaustive list of genres for governments to determine any mix and TRAI’s intervention will have cataclysmic effect on the creative community as a whole as TRAI effectively has price capped creativity.”

    “Under the Copyright Act 1957, a content owner has the freedom to monetize copyright works and enter into contracts to monetize content in a manner he deems fit. However the price restrictions imposed by TRAI interferes with this basic freedom. It risks stifling creativity and may force smaller companies out of the market – resulting in less choice for consumers,” according to Motion Picture Distributors Association (India) Pvt. Ltd MD Uday Singh.

    Sectoral regulations have seriously impeded the growth of the film sector. Despite active participation by global studios and broadcasters, investments in the sector have trickled down in the past few years. Indian studios and independent producers are also facing similar challenges. An open market environment can best guarantee that the film sector will not be distorted to the detriment of consumers, creators and providers, the Guild said in its reaction.

    The Guild says that the Tariff Order is likely to take effect from 1 April 2017. It says that the current draft order prescribes maximum retail price caps for pay channels, by genre, Rs 10 (USD 0.15) for movie channels (a-la-carte), excluding taxes] and further caps channels into seven genres.

  • Reliance-FunOnGo’s multi-lingual Chillx app debuts in VOD market

    Reliance-FunOnGo’s multi-lingual Chillx app debuts in VOD market

    MUMBAI: “Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s monopoly,” is what kept Dhirubhai Ambani going in life. And, he could do all that just because he could dream, and dream big. Taking inspiration from the founder of Reliance Industries is yet another team. Founded by Vijay Singh and Ujjwal Narayan, FunOnGo is a content aggregator and licenses value added service.

    Anil Ambani-led Reliance Entertainment has bought a two-thirds stake in the FunOnGo Media and Entertainment LLP. With this deal, the younger one of the Ambani brothers has forayed into the digital media content and distribution space.

    It has launched its first offering in the entertainment space, an Android app called Chillx. The app offers 90 per cent of its content for free which is advertising-supported but also has a premium content ranging from movies, viral videos, music, games, infotainment, animation, short films, games, etc for different subscription packs. The rates range from Rs 10 a week for a game to a monthly charge of Rs 49 for standard definition (SD) and Rs 99 for high definition (HD).

    The paid content will be ad-free whereas any free content which exceeds five minutes will have ads. Users can either pay through payment gateways, reward points or Google Playstore. “We will launch with over 7,000 pieces of content and will add 150 pieces every week

    While apps downloaded are mostly in line with the global popularity, interest in content consumption in regional language is high. We have different models like subscription based, ad-supported, a la carte, etc. The priority in urban India which accounts for 33 per cent is entertainment, communication and social interactions whereas for rural which consists of 67 per cent first go for communication than social interactions followed by entertainment. This clearly indicates the digital galore from all India,” asserted Reliance Entertainment CEO content syndication Sweta Agnihotri.

    With most of the VODOTT platforms providing content majorly in English and Hindi, the app supplies content in 9 languages (apart from English)- Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi Staying true to their tagline ‘Apni Boli, Apna Entertainment,’ the app has a content strength of over 120000+ songs, 10000+ video clips, 5000+ full length movies, 5000+ TV show clips, 2000+ best movie clips, 50000+ ringtones, 50000+ wallpapers and 500+ games. The movie titles from its partners will be made available on the app in 45 days of time right after its launch.

    “We saw a clear need for a one-stop multi linguistic entertainment destination in India. Chillx is a one-stop-shop enabling and delivering entertainment on multiple smart devices like smartphones, smart television, tablets, etc. It provides a platform and promotes the consumption of content in numerous ways including preloading of content in devices, memory cards, pen drives amongst other advanced services. This endeavor allows us to widen the scope of consumer engagement on a scale that is possible only when you are a part of one of India’s leading conglomerates-Reliance Industries,” voiced Singh.

    It is known that smartphones are the primary device for content consumption for users. Keeping that in mind, the company has partnered with several Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and content curators. The app plans to provide a solution to not just the consumers but also their partners. Its clientele consisting of Karbonn, Lava, Micromax, Samsung, Intex, Videocon, etc, according to them make up for more than 60 per cent of the mobile market share. “32 per cent of the users consume entertainment which is mostly videos. With the mobile traffic growing to 72 per cent in 2020 from 40 per cent right now is a big thing. And they are all going to consume data in local languages. We have come up with co-branded OEM customization and exclusive content showcase with them,” added Singh.

    From the past two months, all these mobile brands have included the app’s logo on their boxes thus reaching out to the masses. The app is also available at telecom retail stores and on Google Playstore. It already has got a million handsets from its Phase I, and are targeting 30 million in a year.

    “Our content cost is much lower than other start-ups because of our existing relationships and group synergies. It is a good opportunity for us. We don’t plan to provide catch-up TV on our app because that is what the rest of the players are providing. For us, short format videos, games, apps and movies are a big play. We are providing the users one movie or game at Rs 10 which is very reasonable, according to me. Reliance believed in us and so did our advertisers which makes us very proud. The game section allows a user to try and buy premium games. We have an integrated telecom billing option ease of operation for the use and will launch with over 7,000 pieces of content and will add 150 pieces every week,” added Narayan.

    The app also allows users to share it on Whatsapp and enables them to increase the brightness, volume and lock the screen without stopping the video. It also allows a user to choose the data limit and download options. It is backed by technology partners Wicore, Xerxes Technologies and Good value.

    As far as the content goes, they have partnered with 9XM, Shemaroo, Phantom Films, Rajshri Entertainment, Disney UTV, Reliance Group Synergy, Plan C Studios, etc. Through this, the curators reach out to a larger audience, with better distribution, promotion and monetisation options. The partners can also live monitor all the action and have access to the online dashboard.

    “We are very happy to partner with Vijay and Ujjwal. It all started one and half year back and the most important aspect was the kind of people we are working with. We have invested into the company because we believed in their thought process. All the credit goes to Vijay, Ujjwal, Sweta and their team for all the hard work that they have invested. Digital platforms are encouraging a wider audience with diverse consumption patterns, we recognize that this calls for innovative approach in the manner we produce and present our content. We have got more than 100 partners on board. The launch of Chillx is in line with our business vision,” said Reliance Entertainment COO Shibasish Sarkar.

    With such a diverse content library, the company also plans to crowd-source content from across India. They have already got content fro 10 genre and are looking at approximately 2500 to 3000 content entries in 8 week’s time. It will also provide original content to the users.

    In a world where dozens of apps remain just decorative icons on your smartphones, Chillx, standing true to its name, is a breath of fresh air for the users seeking destinations for entertainment beyond generic methods.

  • Reliance-FunOnGo’s multi-lingual Chillx app debuts in VOD market

    Reliance-FunOnGo’s multi-lingual Chillx app debuts in VOD market

    MUMBAI: “Think big, think fast, think ahead. Ideas are no one’s monopoly,” is what kept Dhirubhai Ambani going in life. And, he could do all that just because he could dream, and dream big. Taking inspiration from the founder of Reliance Industries is yet another team. Founded by Vijay Singh and Ujjwal Narayan, FunOnGo is a content aggregator and licenses value added service.

    Anil Ambani-led Reliance Entertainment has bought a two-thirds stake in the FunOnGo Media and Entertainment LLP. With this deal, the younger one of the Ambani brothers has forayed into the digital media content and distribution space.

    It has launched its first offering in the entertainment space, an Android app called Chillx. The app offers 90 per cent of its content for free which is advertising-supported but also has a premium content ranging from movies, viral videos, music, games, infotainment, animation, short films, games, etc for different subscription packs. The rates range from Rs 10 a week for a game to a monthly charge of Rs 49 for standard definition (SD) and Rs 99 for high definition (HD).

    The paid content will be ad-free whereas any free content which exceeds five minutes will have ads. Users can either pay through payment gateways, reward points or Google Playstore. “We will launch with over 7,000 pieces of content and will add 150 pieces every week

    While apps downloaded are mostly in line with the global popularity, interest in content consumption in regional language is high. We have different models like subscription based, ad-supported, a la carte, etc. The priority in urban India which accounts for 33 per cent is entertainment, communication and social interactions whereas for rural which consists of 67 per cent first go for communication than social interactions followed by entertainment. This clearly indicates the digital galore from all India,” asserted Reliance Entertainment CEO content syndication Sweta Agnihotri.

    With most of the VODOTT platforms providing content majorly in English and Hindi, the app supplies content in 9 languages (apart from English)- Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi Staying true to their tagline ‘Apni Boli, Apna Entertainment,’ the app has a content strength of over 120000+ songs, 10000+ video clips, 5000+ full length movies, 5000+ TV show clips, 2000+ best movie clips, 50000+ ringtones, 50000+ wallpapers and 500+ games. The movie titles from its partners will be made available on the app in 45 days of time right after its launch.

    “We saw a clear need for a one-stop multi linguistic entertainment destination in India. Chillx is a one-stop-shop enabling and delivering entertainment on multiple smart devices like smartphones, smart television, tablets, etc. It provides a platform and promotes the consumption of content in numerous ways including preloading of content in devices, memory cards, pen drives amongst other advanced services. This endeavor allows us to widen the scope of consumer engagement on a scale that is possible only when you are a part of one of India’s leading conglomerates-Reliance Industries,” voiced Singh.

    It is known that smartphones are the primary device for content consumption for users. Keeping that in mind, the company has partnered with several Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and content curators. The app plans to provide a solution to not just the consumers but also their partners. Its clientele consisting of Karbonn, Lava, Micromax, Samsung, Intex, Videocon, etc, according to them make up for more than 60 per cent of the mobile market share. “32 per cent of the users consume entertainment which is mostly videos. With the mobile traffic growing to 72 per cent in 2020 from 40 per cent right now is a big thing. And they are all going to consume data in local languages. We have come up with co-branded OEM customization and exclusive content showcase with them,” added Singh.

    From the past two months, all these mobile brands have included the app’s logo on their boxes thus reaching out to the masses. The app is also available at telecom retail stores and on Google Playstore. It already has got a million handsets from its Phase I, and are targeting 30 million in a year.

    “Our content cost is much lower than other start-ups because of our existing relationships and group synergies. It is a good opportunity for us. We don’t plan to provide catch-up TV on our app because that is what the rest of the players are providing. For us, short format videos, games, apps and movies are a big play. We are providing the users one movie or game at Rs 10 which is very reasonable, according to me. Reliance believed in us and so did our advertisers which makes us very proud. The game section allows a user to try and buy premium games. We have an integrated telecom billing option ease of operation for the use and will launch with over 7,000 pieces of content and will add 150 pieces every week,” added Narayan.

    The app also allows users to share it on Whatsapp and enables them to increase the brightness, volume and lock the screen without stopping the video. It also allows a user to choose the data limit and download options. It is backed by technology partners Wicore, Xerxes Technologies and Good value.

    As far as the content goes, they have partnered with 9XM, Shemaroo, Phantom Films, Rajshri Entertainment, Disney UTV, Reliance Group Synergy, Plan C Studios, etc. Through this, the curators reach out to a larger audience, with better distribution, promotion and monetisation options. The partners can also live monitor all the action and have access to the online dashboard.

    “We are very happy to partner with Vijay and Ujjwal. It all started one and half year back and the most important aspect was the kind of people we are working with. We have invested into the company because we believed in their thought process. All the credit goes to Vijay, Ujjwal, Sweta and their team for all the hard work that they have invested. Digital platforms are encouraging a wider audience with diverse consumption patterns, we recognize that this calls for innovative approach in the manner we produce and present our content. We have got more than 100 partners on board. The launch of Chillx is in line with our business vision,” said Reliance Entertainment COO Shibasish Sarkar.

    With such a diverse content library, the company also plans to crowd-source content from across India. They have already got content fro 10 genre and are looking at approximately 2500 to 3000 content entries in 8 week’s time. It will also provide original content to the users.

    In a world where dozens of apps remain just decorative icons on your smartphones, Chillx, standing true to its name, is a breath of fresh air for the users seeking destinations for entertainment beyond generic methods.

  • Reliance Big Entertainment & FunOnGo ink deal for mobile entertainment content

    Reliance Big Entertainment & FunOnGo ink deal for mobile entertainment content

    MUMBAI: The ubiquitous nature of mobile phones has created a significant opportunity for monetization of video content on mobile Internet devices. Towards this objective Reliance Big Entertainment has entered into a strategic alliance with FunOnGo Entertainment, which provides customized platform and managed services. 

     

    FunOnGo is a content curator and licenses VAS content across movies, music, games and applications. The strategic alliance will focus on servicing Indian mobile handset brands. Across all its OEM clients such as Samsung, Micromax, Karbonn, Intex & Gionee, FunOnGo has the potential to reach 60 per cent of smartphone users in India.

     

    Handset vendors are moving from hardware specifications to focus on the user experience as a way to improve market penetration. FunOnGo helps OEMs set up on-device portals that allow users to easily browse, purchase and use content and services.

     

    Reliance Big Entertainment COO Sweta Agnihotri said, “We see the mobile phone brands as a fantastic gateway to the consumer. Our team will play an active operational role in this alliance wherein FunOnGo could leverage our understanding of content and industry relationships to amplify its value offering to the consumer.”

     

    FunOnGo CEO Vijay Singh added, “Until recently, the revenues generated through mobile came from on-deck services offered by telecom companies. Globally, the trend has shifted towards growth of off-deck services that are offered directly to consumers.”

     

    Maitreya Mass Media is a seed investor of FunOnGo & has business interests as wide-ranging as FMCG, hospitality, real estate and mass communication. 

     

    Maitreya Mass Media MD Varsha Satpalkar said, “The all-round growth on mobile be it devices, connections, traffic and content consumption, is astounding and we see that FunOnGo is rightly poised to gain from the momentum this ecosystem provides.”

  • Fox Star Studios inks nine film production & distribution deal with Karan Johar

    Fox Star Studios inks nine film production & distribution deal with Karan Johar

    MUMBAI: In one of the biggest deals in recent times, Fox Star Studios has inked a nine-film deal with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.

     

    As per the deal, which will run over the next three years, the two companies will jointly produce and distribute films, which will be helmed by directors like Johar, Ayan Mukerji and Karan Malhotra amongst others. The films are also likely to stars names like Ranbir Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt to name a few.

     

    Under the terms of this deal, while some films will be co-produced by the two companies, others will be for distribution only.

     

    Star India CEO Uday Shankar said, “The Indian film industry is an important market for us and this strategic partnership offers us an excellent opportunity to fundamentally change the content quality paradigm. This venture is the natural step in our progression to create entertaining and eclectic content for a global audience and to grow the business through game-changing innovation in content, marketing and distribution.”

     

    Johar added, “Movies for me have always been a blend of artistic and commercial resources. Dharma Productions has always endeavored to attain the highest form of celluloid excellence and entertain simultaneously. I am glad we have found a partner in Star India and Fox Star Studios for a visionary nine films alliance. This partnership will not only be the coming together of two forces who understand the need of the cinematic hour but also work as a unit to increase the footfall strength at the movies and empower other verticals. It’s a new age of cinema and this association is a glorious reflection of the times.”

     

    Fox Star Studios CEO Vijay Singh said, “This strategic alliance is path-breaking as it envisages the stakeholders pooling in their collective strengths and thereby chalking a new path for Bollywood, specifically in the way in which films are marketed and distributed. Consolidation through strategic alliances is the way forward in the film industry.”

     

    Dharma Productions CEO Apoorva Mehta added, “It is by far the biggest collaboration that the Indian film Industry has ever seen. With this strategic deal, Dharma has entered into a new phase of movie business, which will provide a disruptive growth model for all the parties involved. This landmark decision will bring on board the most visionary and astute leaders together who will drive the overall strategy for making, promoting and distributing movies. I am happy to say that Dharma is excited and geared up for these new opportunities in the coming years and it definitely looks like the beginning of a game-changing era for the industry.”