iWorld
Digital space is no longer about just viewing content on multiple devices: Subhash Chandra
MUMBAI: With digital content becoming increasingly mainstream, media juggernaut Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (Zeel) is taking extensive measures to drive larger market share of consumer eyeballs. The group intends to push for inorganic growth through improved content services and plans to leverage constant innovation to engage and ensure consumer stickiness on their media platforms
Zeel plans to monetise its digital offerings like dittoTV and OZEE through a mix of strategies including tie-ups with advertisers, targeted SEO and band solutions. To grow the subscription side of the digital business, the group will focus on multiple technological innovations that empowers consumer to get more by paying less and will allow better user experience and seamless content.
“The global media and entertainment industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4 per cent during 2015-18 to reach around $ 2.3 trillion. This may seem modest in relative terms but its absolute impact is significant… the share of various media is constantly getting recalibrated with digital growing at the fastest rate,” says ZEEL Chairman Subhash Chandra in the annual report 2015-16.
Further adding, “The digital space is no longer about just viewing content on multiple devices. On-demand viewing patterns have resulted in newer content formats, crisper episodes and differentiated content packaging tailor-made to audience preferences. This is where our expertise of rightly gauging the audience pulse is being leveraged ensuring that rich, engaging and relevant content is offered to our viewers across the globe.”
According to Chandra, India will be at the cusp of the transformation in the entertainment industry. Chandra and his team are definitely taking instrumental steps in achieving their long term goals and objectives. Its ditto TV offers its subscribers a complete on-the-go entertainment experience with a choice of over 120 premium live channels and over 40,000 hours of on demand content across TV shows, movies and videos. While all the Zeel channels form part of the ditto TV bouquet, it also aggregates both live and on-demand content from other broadcasters to cater to viewer preferences across genres and languages. ditto TV stands apart from other players for its ‘desh ka TV’ and ‘bees ka TV’ feature through which viewers can watch top shows, hours before their telecast along with digital premieres of movies. The platform has also entered the Limca Book of Records for being the only OTT service with the largest bouquet of channels across 13 languages.
“However, the share of wallet that entertainment commands today is lower than the global average presenting a great opportunity for growth,” he says.
The riposte recently launched dittoTV with a bouquet of 100 plus channels at a price point of just Rs 20 per month. The price gets even more lip smacking for users subscribing for three months (Rs 50), six months (Rs 90) and annually (Rs 170). The platform has tied up with major Indian broadcasters with the exception of the SunTV group and Star India giving it a portfolio of 100+ Hindi, English and regional language channels, encompassing general entertainment, sports, movies, news and lifestyle on board.
“With the new avatar of dittoTV, we aim to change the media landscape to suit the evolving media consumption preferences of consumers. It will allow users to control where they watch television in a way that has not been possible before. We are proud to present a platform that will help scale up this transformation by making it affordable for people across a wide economic spectrum,” voices Zeel MD & CEO Punit Goenka.
OZEE, Zeel’s free of cost VOD platform, launched to provide the vast library of entertainment on anytime anywhere basis, across devices. The platform showcases the latest and full episodes of TV shows from popular Zeel channels like Zee TV, & TV, Zee Marathi, Zee Telugu, Zee Tamil and more. The platform also hosts a vast library of popular music hits from Zee Music Company, and full length movies in Hindi and regional languages. It offers entertainment to over 11.6 mn users, generating 114.4 mn page views and 75.4 mn video views as of March 2016.
Zeel’s international OTT service, Zee Family TV streams over 30 live channels and has 2,000 plus movies on demand besides 25,000 plus hours of library content. It has over 86,000 users and is available across 152 countries. Zee Family TV is available across devices, and has considerably helped in curbing piracy.
“Increasing urbanisation coupled with the Phase III and IV digitisation by the government is ensuring better entertainment infrastructure and a more addressable and understandable. Zeel is proactively reorganising its operations focusing on newer delivery formats and ramping up its digital business in line with the changing dynamics of the operating environment,” opines Chandra.
The media brand offers content in multiple languages and has a strong presence in over 171 countries with a total viewership of 1 billion around the globe. It has a network share of 17.9 per cent while its total revenue comes close to Rs 58,515 million.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
