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<keyword id="5214" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Balaji-telefilms">Balaji Telefilms</keyword>, the production house that has been munching stereotypical saas-bahu sagas in the name of entertainment for quite some time now, seems to have come of age. Catching up with the trend of going digital, Balaji has come up with a digital platform called ALTBalaji, which they say houses the biggest library of original exclusive digital content in India. With varied shows that cater to a different audience than Balaji’s usual, the platform has had an overwhelming response, says CEO <keyword id="158783" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nachiket-Pantvaidya">Nachiket Pantvaidya</keyword>, adding that they have got close to four million downloads and customers from more than 80 countries. Unlike other players in the industry that offer viewers a free period to watch their shows, ALTBalaji provides them with free episodes of every show on <keyword id="10879" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="YouTube">YouTube</keyword>, and when they like it and want to proceed with further episodes, they can subscribe to the service. Pantvaidya feels that even though rival platforms were launched before ALTBalaji, their timing couldn’t have been better because of demonetisation and <keyword id="6354504" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>’s launch, which made an average Indian more digital- and internet friendly. Talking of the future, Pantvaidya says that India is still afar from the time when internet would replace television, but digital entertainment channels still have three defined types of audience to cater to: Indian men, who don’t have anything to watch on the television; people who would like to watch a finite series with limited episodes; and lastly, audiences who want to see better production values, which sadly Indian television can’t provide because of the compulsion of daily episodes. To gain massive success, he says that digital entertainment platforms need to create a habit of OTT viewing in Indian audience, and have affordable subscription plans to further attract them. Also, commitment to good characters and good stories is important as well. About the transition from television to internet, he says that the transition required us to deep-dive and come up with shows that were not typically Balaji-types, in order to create a variety. When asked why there’s a sudden shift from television to internet, he credits the speed and spread of internet and the technology of internet-ready devices, which has led to people watch digital shows at great speed, from anywhere across the country, and on bigger screens as per their preference. While Balaji has been stereotyping women and men in gender roles for as long as we remember, ALTBalaji, Pantvaidya suggests, is doing the opposite by bringing out female characters that defy these stereotypes. In <keyword id="4302697" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karrle-Tu-Bhi-Mohabbat">Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat</keyword>, Sakshi Tanwar’s character is a single, working woman who is committed to her profession. In the female-centric show of DevDD, lead character Devika is taking on the system, standing up for women and their right to express themselves. Even in <keyword id="4408510" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="bewafaa-sii-wafaa">Bewafaa sii Wafaa</keyword>, the female lead Meghna, played by <keyword id="444213" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Aditi-Vasudev">Aditi Vasudev</keyword>, has an affair, which you won’t see in any of the shows that Balaji has produced. While we don’t agree with the idea that in order to appear modern and unconventional, a woman needs to have an extramarital affair, we understand what he means by saying that the women in these shows are different from their television counterparts. Speaking of the financial aspects of these web series, they work on a subscriber model and not an advertising model. Therefore, they need to give it some time to work to return money. While they get new subscriptions every month, they are also coming up with a new show every 15 days, so it’s difficult to decide as of now if a particular show is financially working or not. About a year or so down the line, they might also have some way to measure the success of individual shows, but it’s too soon to talk about that, signs off Pantvaidya.

In conversation with ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya on foraying into digital space

<ul><li>After the comeback of epics such as Ramayan and Mahabharat, there is a huge demand for classics. Riding on the nostalgia wave, <keyword id="2810265" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ott-players">OTT players</keyword> are also using their old content. </li><li>For the first time in history, to overcome the restrictions and market their content in the best way possible, OTT players have tied up with TV channels to push their content. </li></ul>After Doordarshan brought back its two epics, Ramayan and Mahabharat, Star TV and Sony followed the trend and is taking us back to the golden era by rerunning some old shows like Sarabhai VS Sarabhai, Khichdi, CID, and Aahat respectively. Now owing to the fact that production has been stalled till the lockdown is lifted, OTT platforms are taking a similar route. While ShemarooMe is premiering Bollywood movies every Friday, it has also seen a huge jump in people watching classic movies. “There is a lot of experimentation happening right now -- the audience is actually going back and watching blockbuster movies from the past such as Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron or older shows like Nukkad. And it’s been consumed by the younger generation too. So, that's opening up a new set of content for a new set of audience who have not been exposed to it till now. And that's sort of interesting for us as a platform to wait and watch,” shares Rahul Mishra, Head Marketing and Communications, Shemaroo Entertainment. <keyword id="4241922" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ALTBalaji">ALTBalaji</keyword>, on the other hand, which already has a huge library of content, is also considering bringing back a few of its classic, much-loved serials. Moreover they are also in talks with other platforms for content syndications, to broaden their content offering. “We are utilising this time to do business syndications, we did one with ZEE. We are also utilising our vast content library and queuing up our originals ready,” said Divya Dixit, SVP, Marketing, Analytics &amp; Direct Revenue, ALTBalaji. <keyword id="7444876" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Discovery-Plus">Discovery Plus</keyword> is also leveraging its global partnerships to help consumers stay indoors and stream the outdoors. To stay relevant in today’s environment, they have lined up COVID-19 documentaries. “Discovery has a lot of content that hasn’t been exposed to Indian audience. We have a strong global library to sustain for a long period of time. For us, it’s a mix of marquee specials, global library and partnership content. We already had a couple of pieces ready on Coronavirus, we are trying to stay relevant as we can,” said Issac John, Business Head – Digital (South Asia), Discovery. Moreover, with gaming seeing a spike across the world, platforms like <keyword id="2214311" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mx-player">MX Player</keyword>, that had recently introduced gaming on its platform, has an edge as people are on the lookout for different modes of entertainment. “We introduced gaming about 8-10 weeks back and in the last five weeks, it has seen a 4X surge in engagement. And we are using that inventory available on our platform to cross promote our own shows. In terms of the number of games played by one user and the time spent by that user on the gaming tab is actually something that we didn't expect and we are actually using that to cross promote our own shows,” said Abhishek Joshi, Head of Marketing and Business Partnerships, MX Player. He also shared that MX Player has recently inked a content deal with Sony Pictures Television and Paramount. “We are the first Indian AVOD platform to have struck such a deal with an international studio.” Tough times are pushing marketers to come up with creative ways to sell their content. Disney+ Hotstar original series Hostages is now airing on Disney-owned TV channel Star Plus. For the first time in history, OTT content is broadcasted on a TV channel. ALTBalaji has also partnered with ZEEL to broadcast its originals such as Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain, Baarish, Karrle Tu Bhi Mohabbat. Joshi says, “While this integration has happened at an unfortunate time, it will help the OTT players embark on a collaborative journey rather than an either-or strategy, which we have always been speaking about.”

OTT players bank on content archives and work on content syndication to meet the rising demand due to the COVID-19 lockdown

If you are in the age group of 18-40 years and own a smartphone, watching TV series and movies through apps is nothing new. Thanks to <keyword id="128682" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Netflix">Netflix</keyword>, Hotstar and TVF, who have ventured into the Indian <keyword id="1245953" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="OTT">OTT</keyword> (Over -the -Top) content landscape last year and made the urban youths accustomed to the culture of paying and watching original video contents ranging from TV series to stand up comedies and movies. And now, the OTTs would be in run for money as the <keyword id="6377522" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="queen">Queen</keyword> of Television, <keyword id="6354597" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ekta-Kapoor">Ekta Kapoor</keyword> has now ventured into the OTT front with Alt Balaji app. <keyword id="53" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kapoor">Kapoor</keyword>, who had revolutionised the daily television in the early 2000s with family soaps and made media coin the term ‘saas-bahu’ shows has always been successful with her ventures. Though the family dramas, which the millennials agree to be tacky or her horror movies that lacked sense, Kapoor has her signature magic that made them a major hit. However with the viewers in OTT being different from the homemakers, ALTBalaji will deal with original contents only. How is it different from the competitors? Unlike others, the platform will offer 250+ hours of original, exclusive content to its subscribers. This ad free, subscription based platform is now commercially available with few of these original shows. “The most endearing feature of ALTBalaji is its content; we are launching with the promise to bring fresh and never heard of stories to our viewers. While we are starting with 5 shows, it will be followed by a new show every 15 days for the binge watch lovers. On one hand we offer story of India’s first female in combative role- THE TEST CASE on the other we have most loved TV stars in KARRLE TU BHI MOHABBAT. It is intriguing and fresh story-telling,” Nachiket Pantvaidya, CEO of ALTBalaji told Business Insider. “ Content As far as the teasers are to be believed, ALTBalaji is showing a great change in its dimension. Ranging from gay love story to woman army commando’s struggle, it seems to have some great content. Regional take This is one point where ALTBalaji made a major impact. While most OTT are focussed on English language, Kapoor’s venture will have most regional shows ranging from Tamil, Odiya and Bengali. ALTBalaji definitely takes the brownie for understanding the potential vernacular market of India. No new talents? The shows on video on demand platform are created by the best talent of Indian entertainment industry including critically acclaimed directors and actors. The long illustrious list of artists comprises of Nagesh Kukunoor, <keyword id="6371319" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Juhi-Chawla">Juhi Chawla</keyword>, Nimrat Kaur, Rajkumar Rao, Hansal Mehta, Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, <keyword id="7559" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sameer-Soni">Sameer Soni</keyword>, Yudhishtar Urs, Dipannita Sharma Atwal, and many more. Does that mean unlike other OTTs, ALTBalaji will deal only with established actors and screenwriters and not give chance to new talents? Nachiket assures the first few series are planned with established ones but the door is open for new talents as well. Regularity One major issue with most OTTs who provide original contents is keeping with the pace. If the first series comes this month, the second season may appear after two months. Being in the business for more than decades, Kapoor’s ALTBalaji will have new series coming up every 15 days. <div type="image" title="ALTBalaji Logo" msid="58497517" hostid="261"></div>

 Pricing The introductory plan starts at Rs 300 for 12 months and Rs 100 for three months. However the normal plan will be Rs 90/month. Also the plan is to get the viewers watch first three episodes of all shows for free. We have seen tons of start ups focussing on app based OTT have been doing good business in India. But then most of the other OTTs are mostly in the area where TV shows are re-ran to keep the regular viewer updated in case he missed out on an episode. However ALTBalaji seems quite different.

Netflix cannot really chill as TV queen Ekta Kapoor now enters OTT sector with ALTBalaji

<ul><li>While the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> outbreak has led to productions of films and daily soaps being stopped across the country, TV viewership is going up due to people staying at home.</li><li>However, the GECs re now faced with the challenge of coming up with fresh content for its viewers.</li><li>In such a scenario, how are these channels planning to tackle the situation?</li></ul>It’s been close to 2 weeks since India’s film and television bodies decided to suspend shootings from to avoid the spread of the novel Coronavirus. The Indian Film &amp; Television Directors' Association (IFTDA), Producers Guild of India and Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) had decided on March 17 to put production and shooting on hold till March 31. As the PM announced his 21-day complete lockdown, production will not start before April 14. The biggest impact of this will be on GEC channels that usually work with a content bank of about two weeks. However, with the lockdown, these channels will soon run out of fresh content to air. Considering most people are stuck at home, OTT and TV viewership saw a spike, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India data. The total TV consumption saw a spike of 8% across India in the week ended March 20 (<keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid-19">Covid-19</keyword> Week 1), while the total time spent per user on smartphones went increased by 6.2% to 25 hours a week. Moreover, the consumption growth in the Hindi speaking markets (HSM) was at around 10% in comparison to the South region that grew by 5%. The HSM region saw an increase in terms of both reach and time spent. While this opens up possibilities for advertisers to catch more eyeballs, GECs are now faced with the problem of running out of content. In such a scenario, what is the strategy they are employing to ensure that they do not lose their audience who can only stay engaged if they are offered something new to watch? Ensuring all-round entertainment for consumers While production has come to a complete halt, all the channels believe that the show mustn’t stop and are strategizing at how to make the best use of the content at their disposal currently. Speaking about how it is working around the current situation, <keyword id="3387826" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Prathyusha-Agarwal">Prathyusha Agarwal</keyword>, Chief Consumer Officer, <keyword id="174248" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zee-Entertainment-Enterprises-Ltd">Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd</keyword> said, “Taking into consideration the explosion in TV consumption and the changing composition of audiences, there is a need to customize programming for this emerging trend. At ZEE, we have geared up to serve these emerging trends with content for everyone in the family. For instance, starting March 25, Zee TV introduced an exclusive band ‘PyaarVyaar Originals’ with three new finite series including Sakshi Tanwar and Ram Kapoor starrer ‘Karle Tu Bhi Mohabbat’, Sharman Joshi Starrer ‘Baarish’ and Ronit Roy Starrer ‘Kehne Ko Humsafar Hain’ for the first time on television between 9 pm and 11 pm every week night. Longer binge-worthy episodes of our popular fiction shows have also been lined up across most channels to provide an immersive experience to our viewers who are staying much longer in front of the television. &amp;tv has also lined up curated specials of their comedy hits along with inspirational and devotional content to bring in positivity into our viewers’ living rooms.” For <keyword id="1570722" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Manisha-Sharma">Manisha Sharma</keyword>, Chief Content Officer, Hindi Mass Entertainment, <keyword id="187712" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Viacom18">Viacom18</keyword>, the need of the hour is for the channels to take care of every family’s all-round entertainment needs. Speaking about what their roadmap in terms of content is, Sharma said, “At a time like this, we want to give our viewers the best of the content mix which will keep them smiling and comforted and hopefully let this time go by smiling and watching with their families in the confines of their homes. We have an eclectic mix of current and popular erstwhile shows that will take care of all their entertainment needs ranging from comedy, drama, slice of life, and reality shows. We have dedicated blocks for comedy, drama, and romance to give the viewers the best of the best content. A healthy dose of comedy between 5-6 pm with reruns of Belan Wali Bahu, popular show Dil Se Dil Tak starring Sidharth Shukla and Rashami Desai will be back at 6pm. We will continue to air fresh episodes of Vidya, Choti Sarrdaarni, Shakti…Astitva Ke Ehsaas Kii, Barrister Babu, Shubharambh and Naati Pinky Ki Lambi Love Story at their respective timeslots.” Riding on the nostalgia wave Doordarshan played a masterstroke with the announcement of the re-launch of yesteryear classics including Ramayan, Mahabharat and Byomkesh Bakshi. A lot of people have been talking on various social media platforms about what are the shows they would want channels to bring back. And a lot of the channels are listening to what the audience wants. Zee is bringing back some of its old, popular shows from its library across its channels, like ‘Kasamh Se’ on Zee TV and ‘Sambhaji’ on Zee Marathi and ‘Goyenda Ginni’ on Zee Bangla amongst others. Similarly, Viacom18 will be bringing back its show Dil Se Dil Tak and Bigg Boss 13. Speaking about what viewers can expect from its stable, <keyword id="8986388" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="arpit-machhar">Arpit Machhar</keyword>, Head of Marketing, <keyword id="8986387" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="enterr10-television-network">Enterr10 Television Network</keyword> (<keyword id="7514645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dangal-TV">Dangal TV</keyword>) said, “We go through a lot of historical data before acquiring the license of any show. Dangal TV ratings, undoubtedly, have also been helpful in successfully monetising already aired shows. In the past, shows like Bandini, Chandragupt Maurya, Bhagwaan Shree Krishna have done exceptionally well. Ramayana, too has a very strong connect with viewers across India beyond the Hindi speaking markets. Mythological and historical shows along with some well-produced thrillers and family dramas make it an interesting package for viewers. We are in tune with this, considering Dangal TV too has been airing Ramayana as well as similar mythological shows like Devi Adi Parashakti, Mahima Shani Dev Ki for a while now. Devi Adi Parashakti and Mahima Shani Dev Ki are among the top 2 shows across Hindi GEC, HSM(U+R) as per latest data by BARC India for Week 11. We are aware that such content always has an audience and therefore we will continue to keep our viewers engaged with such shows.” Covid-19’s business impact While many sectors like events and out-of-home have been badly hit due to the lockdown, broadcasters are hopeful that they will be impacted less. Considering viewership is on the rise too, it presents an opportunity for both broadcasters and advertisers to make something out of an adverse situation. Dangal TV has seen a spike in its viewership, like most other GECs and is not focusing on new ideas. “Despite the COVID-19 challenge, Dangal TV is experiencing a spike in the average time spent.We are witnessing the early signs of a consumption uptick with an increase in the viewership. At Enterr10 Television Network, we are strongly connected and engaged with our viewers. Our numbers have been ahead of us. We are readily willing at focusing on exploring new ideas, IPs, etc. We haven’t stepped back in terms of exploring what more is possible, even during this period. Even in this unprecedented situation, we will continue to invest in good library, innovative programming and in distribution that will further aid in consolidating our position in both rural and urban markets. While there is huge competition amongst TV channels, our first priority is to consolidate, maintain and further strengthen our leadership position on television.” Pointing towards the fact that a lot of advertising on TV comes from FMCG that have been relatively less impacted, Sharma shared her optimism about the future. “The lockdown has hit the manufacturing, supply chain and consumption of all brands and that will invariably have an effect on ad spends. However, TV and digital will have a marginal impact as compared to other mediums like print, outdoors and radio as TV viewership is expected to see an upswing due to the forced lockdown. Secondly, a large amount of advertising revenue for a GEC comes from FMCG brands that are relatively less impacted in the current situation. Also, since it is an industry phenomenon, all GEC channels will witness a drop in ad spends,” explained Sharma. Added Agarwal, “Over the next 3 weeks, we expect content consumption on TV to go up as people look to keep themselves entertained. Given the temporary nature of the lockdown, it would be imprudent to quote any implication as of now, but we are sure that TV has become an essential service providing the much needed companionship to families in the current times.”

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In conversation with ALTBalaji CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya on foraying into digital space

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OTT players bank on content archives and work on content syndication to meet the rising demand due to the COVID-19 lockdown

Samarpita

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Netflix cannot really chill as TV queen Ekta Kapoor now enters OTT sector with ALTBalaji

Suchayan Mandal

With limited fresh content at their disposal, here's how GECs are tackling the lockdown

Samarpita Banerjee

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