Almost a year ago, video-on-demand leader Netflix entered India. Last week another global biggie, Amazon, launched a desi edition of its Prime Video service, with a Godfather-like 'offer you can't refuse' — a big selection of newly released Bollywood and regional Indian movies, Hollywood fare and the latest US TV shows, children's programmes and original international and Indian content for less than Rs 500 a month. Indeed, the video service was a free add-on for Indian customers already subscribing to Amazon Prime service for accelerated and delivery charge-free online shopping.
Last week, I was watching the 2017 Golden Globes announcement, where the Amazon-produced serial comedy-drama 'Mozart in the Jungle', got multiple nominations and today, as part of my Prime subscription, I am able to watch the entire current season — on my phone, or laptop or smart TV.
Like Netflix, Amazon has carved out a new category of TV entertainment called Web Television that viewers worldwide are able to watch on multiple screens — from a 65 inch OLED TV to a 6.5 -inch OLED smart phone display. Indians are no longer limited by the TV fare that comes with satellite dish or digital cable subscription. The mobile phone has whetted their appetite to access a whole new ecosystem of entertainment without boundaries, from serials less than a day after their US airing to newly released Bollywood movies and the full archive of TV content in multiple Indian languages. Internet is the key: and Over The Top (OTT) video-on-demand is the name of the game.
In the year gone by, Indian providers of OTT video content have all gained market share, riding the boom in mobile data and broadband. Internet-driven TV was waiting for a tipping point -- when data became both affordable and fast enough for jitter-free viewing. Both have happened in recent weeks. Reliance Jio has disrupted the mobile market with a futuristic India-wide 4G VoLTE network. Airtel has launched of ‘V-Fiber’ — in Mumbai for starters — offering zippy fixed line data speeds of up to 100 Mbps, using state-of-the-art technology called Vectorization. And some 400 million Indians with Internet on their mobiles make up an audience almost half that for television.
Canny arrangements with telecom providers is one way Indian OTT players are growing: Eros Now, has deals in place with all major players in India including as Reliance Jio, Airtel, Idea and Vodafone. Between the four platforms there is a potential reach of 686 million subscribers which is almost 60 per cent of India’s total mobile population
Voot, has one big anchor programme: ‘Bigg Boss 10’. Along with the whole episodes, content will include stories from the house, with ‘Unseen Undekha’ which will be available on Voot website and through Android and iOS apps.
Muvizz, has an offbeat menu covering cult, classic and independent programming. Yupp TV has adopted that same Indian principle that saw shampoo in sachets: You can subscribe for just one day at Rs 5 or one month at Rs 99. Ozee, Hotstar and Sony Liv have content from their respective TV channels. Missed last night's episode of your favourite soup? View it for free today.
Will Amazon threaten these Indian players? Unlikely. They have the edge in language offerings. And there is always jugaad: VuClip, another video-on-demand service has created 'Viru ke Funde', a 15-episode, 2-minute serial based on Virender Sehwagt's one-liners on every subject under the sun. It launches a new video category — micro originals.
One way or another, 2017 will see a new era of video viewing in India, where content switches seamlessly, from TV to mobile, from dish to Net. Dekthey rahiye!
Nothing that is on offer, video-wise pleases you? Then create your own!
Twitter now lets you use your camera-phone to broadcast video live directly in your tweets using the Periscope, video tool. Compose a tweet, then tap “LIVE” which brings you to a pre-broadcast screen where you can frame your shot. When you’re ready, press “Go Live” to start broadcasting. Members of the audience within a live video on Twitter can interact with the broadcaster by commenting and sending hearts to show their support. Tweets that contain live video can be retweeted, liked, and shared anywhere that people can share a Tweet.
Bigo Live is another popular social media video streaming app app on mobile platform where you can start your own live stream and broadcast with your phone whenever and wherever you want. A new feature now lets you capture your game playing while you stream it directly to the Bigo Live community.
—IndiaTechOnline.
