iWorld
Balaji to PayU VoD subscription
MUMBAI: PayU India has partnered with ALTBalaji, the digital platform of Balaji Telefilms Limited for opening an additional method of payment for the OTT platform’s subscription services. Payment options provided through PayU Biz are Credit Card, Debit Card, Net Banking, Itz Cash, Yes Pay, Ypay, PayU Money wallet and UPI. The global OTT entertainment platform – ALTBalaji will offer 250 hours of original content and subscribers in India and abroad will have the option to pay through PayU.
ALT Digital Media CEO Nachiket Pantvaidya said, “Our vision of providing a seamless experience to our subscribers is fulfilled by the ease with which PayU enables payments in India and abroad. By enabling UPI based payments we hope to pioneer digitally payments for entertainment a reality on our platform and reiterate our commitment towards Digital India. We hope to leverage the wide variety of payment options that PayU brings to ALTBalaji.”
PayU India head SMB business Pradeep Shekhawat said, “The association will move us forward in our endeavor to double our digital transactions by year end, which currently stands at around INR 6,000 crore per month. Using our secured payment gateway, consumers pay through Credit Card, Debit Card, Net Banking, Itz Cash, Yes Pay, Ypay, PayU Money wallet, UPI & USD and enjoy ALTBalaji’s subscribership.”
PayU has presence in 16 high growth markets in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa with an active user base of 30 million and processing 150 million transactions in 2016 worth a combined $4.2 billion.
Created to provide an alternative to mainstream Indian entertainment & TV content, ALTBalaji will bring fresh and interesting stories to audiences in varied genres. The platform will offer original content of 250 hours in the first year of its launch.
ALTBalaji app launched on 16 April 2017 with five new shows and will release new shows every fortnight for its viewers to binge watch. The content is created by some of the best talent of the Indian entertainment industry, including critically acclaimed directors and actors. The long illustrious list of artists comprises of Nagesh Kukunoor, Juhi Chawla, Nimrat Kaur, Rajkumar Rao, Hansal Mehta, Sakshi Tanwar, Ram Kapoor, Atul Kulkarni, Sameer Soni, Yudhishtar Urs, Dipannita Sharma Atwal, and more.
iWorld
Banijay Asia’s The 50 tops OTT charts with 8.1 million JioHotstar views
Reality competition becomes most watched show on JioHotstar in debut week.
MUMBAI: Fifty contestants walked into a palace, but millions of viewers showed up for the drama. Reality competition The 50, produced by Banijay Asia, has emerged as the most watched show on JioHotstar, clocking 8.1 million views in its debut week. The figure, reported by Ormax Media, places the show at the top of the OTT viewership charts and marks a strong opening for the digital reality format.
Adapted from a popular French format, The 50 brings together 50 personalities from television, digital platforms, music and reality shows inside a grand palace setting. Over the course of a 50 day competition, participants form alliances, compete in unpredictable tasks and navigate eliminations as the field steadily narrows.
Guiding the game is a mysterious figure known as The Lion, an unseen game master whose voice introduces twists, challenges and strategic turns throughout the show, adding an extra layer of suspense to the contest.
What distinguishes The 50 from typical reality competitions is its audience driven prize structure. Instead of the winner taking home the final reward, the prize is awarded to one of the winner’s registered followers through the show’s dedicated app. The mechanism effectively turns viewers into participants, allowing fans to have a direct stake in the outcome.
The contestant lineup features a mix of television actors, reality stars and digital creators, including Karan Patel, Urvashi Dholakia, Divya Agarwal, Mr Faisu and Dushyant Kukreja, each bringing their own fan following to the show.
With its blend of celebrity personalities, strategic gameplay and interactive viewer participation, The 50 has quickly carved out a strong foothold in India’s digital entertainment landscape. Its 8.1 million views in the opening week underline the growing appetite for large scale reality formats designed specifically for OTT audiences.
