iWorld
Opera TV tieup: ALTBalaji to be on smart TVs, Blu-rays & STBs
MUMBAI: OTT business in India seems to be a game of good yet reasonable content in the most accessible form.
ALTBalaji, a digital platform for exclusive and original shows from India, has announced its content availability on Opera TV. This means that all Smart TVs, Blu-ray disc players and set-top boxes powered by Opera TV, will provide instant access to over 250 hours of original content from ALTBalaji. Simultaneously, ALTBalaji subscribers will now be able to access the service using the Opera TV store.
ALTBalaji was launched globally on 16 April 2017 with six original show. The app claims to have already clocked more than three million downloads with subscribers from over 75 countries. Opera TV is a leader in enabling OTT through its embedded and cloud software portfolio that is integrated by manufacturers and operators. In the past five years, over 150 million connected TV devices have been enabled by Opera TV, awarding it a global market share of 33 per cent in Smart TVs.
ALTBalaji COO Sunil Nair said, “With this partnership, our content will be accessible for viewers on Smart TVs as well as other platforms like Blu-ray Disc players and set-top boxes. As per statistics, 29 per cent of TVs are Smart TVs, and 93 per cent of Smart TV owners connect their TV to the Internet. The wider offering and the intensive use of video on-demand content, fuel this development. Our aim is to provide a seamless and enjoyable user experience through our integration with Opera TV and making available our shows on the connected screens.”
“We, at Opera TV, are excited to partner with ALTBalaji as we share similar objectives of offering a variety of content to end users through state-of-the-art user experiences on the big screen. Digital shows offered by ALTBalaji are rich and resonates well with our existing selection of informative, entertaining and educational content. Today, a majority of our smart TV audience use OTT apps for watching movies and original shows and this partnership ensures that they’ll continue to avail of the best of entertainment through a hassle-free experience,” said Opera TV CEO Aneesh Rajaram.
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
